But before we offend our fans and appear to be hypocrites. Let us clarify. We stated simply in Caution, that leasing should be considered after cash and options for traditional financing are considered. And while this order of consideration may not be popular with lease providers, it is still how we feel.

The main problems with the solar leases that have exploded in popularity over the past 14 months are simple.

A) Many of the now lease holders could have qualified for financing, thereby owning their systems, taking advantage of the 30% federal tax credit, CSI cash refunds, and be set to make 5-10 times as much return on their system’s production.

B) Most of the leases themselves are marketed/sold by companies that closer resemble large finance machines out to maximize their lease portfolio, rather than clean energy advocates dedicated to understanding the customer’s architectural and energy needs and prescribing the best economic and environmental solutions.

But on the plus side….

A) More people have clean power and are saving money with solar than would have otherwise.

B) The competition in the solar financing industry is heating up, causing better products to be produced for us to choose from and in turn offer our clients.

C) We have sourced our own lease products that HPE can endorse and present to our clients when it’s actually appropriate.

Just like energy needs and architectural aesthetics, every client’s finances are different and require personalized financial solutions. The importance of the wide spread adoption of rooftop solar cannot be understated, and neither can the importance of providing sound financial options to get this done.

To us, offering a lease as part of our financing options allows us to offer the most tools to the most people. The more point of use solar savings the better.

THE HPE LEASE

The first thing to point out is that we are offering a lease on our custom designed and installed system, not just energy production. Many of the leases out there don’t even specify who the installer is or what equipment is being used, but rather simply promote the monthly savings as if all systems are the same and aesthetics and quality aren’t important.

The next important attribute of our lease is that it is designed to be flexible. A young couple and a retired couple have different financial needs. Both couples need to save money on energy, both need to protect themselves from energy inflation, both want to do something for the environment, but their income expectations and concerns are vastly different. Our leases offer personal choices that allow us to adjust the lease terms to fit their specific needs.

Some HPE lease highlights:

o You choose the down payment – Down payments vary from $0 to $5000, adjusting the long-term profitability of the system vs. the monthly payment.

o You Choose the Interest Rate – Fixed or variable interest rates are available between 0 and 4.9 % You determine if your lease payment is fixed over time or if it starts lower increases per the chosen interest schedule.

o Defined lease exit provisions, offering reasonable price per watt buyouts and/or buy-downs.

o HPE designs and installs our customized systems exactly the same as our purchase clients, with the best equipment, installation, and production.

It’s important for us to reiterate that we prefer to sell solar than to lease it. Not because we make more on a sale, we don’t, but because it offers the most robust returns. But for those who are on fixed retirement income, are house rich cash poor, impatient waiting on the Feds, don’t need the tax deduction, or can’t use the tax deduction (Oh Canada), the lease moves up on the list of preferred choices real fast.

We are committed to continue working for our clients to determine the best energy solutions, from balancing their energy use and system design, to determining the best purchase arrangement per their personal financial requirements.

We will continue to review the evolution of the financial products offered and update accordingly. But for those that see this evolution of finance as a reason to delay solar, don’t.

The sooner you start using the suns energy the sooner you save. Those are the facts, no matter how you “get” solar.

We’d like to reach out to survivors and say the worst is behind them and give them comfort in knowing as they grieve, that we are here to help them rebuild their lives. Sadly, that is not the case. The world continues to watch in horror as the damaged nuclear power plant that hampered rescue efforts, grows worse by the day, causing thousands to be relocated, and quietly releases radiation into the air and water. Rebuilding lives within miles of the Fukushima plant is now generations away.

As an alternative energy advocate, maybe it’s easier for me to point at nuclear energy and say it’s not worth the risks. But looking at our national response, I see it’s not so easy for others. The nuclear lobby is strong. The dollars invested are massive. But we, the souls effected, the bystanders of any nuclear accident have a right to stop this dangerous energy production.

With the recent global economic collapse and now this 9.0 earthquake and tsunami we as a global community should be able to agree on one thing. Things have a way of getting a lot worse than our economic models and our modern imaginations can comprehend. Going forward, we have to look at the real costs of the energy we use: human, financial, and environmental.

Somehow our energy addiction has allowed us to collectively accept that the byproduct of properly functioning nuclear energy is radioactive waste that needs to be “securely” stored for a millennium or so. The byproducts of properly burning oil and coal are pollution and airborne health risks, not to mention the environmental effects. Those are the accepted byproducts from normal production, and if not bad enough, we now can’t deny that normal production will continue to be disrupted by natural and manmade disasters with epic consequences ranging in scope from the loss of life and livelihoods, the loss of natural habitat and communities, and of course costing billions and billions of dollars worldwide.

The obvious truth is that our current energy policy, or poison policy, is in a word, destructive. We claim these energy sources are vital to our economy, yet with every barrel of oil, ton of coal, and nuclear powered kilowatt used, we are causing real measurable harm on the good days, and mass destruction on the bad ones. Why in this day and age of technology and shared information, do we collectively choose to turn a blind eye to reality? Why accept the wars and the health risks? Why do we continue to support these products and building these industries up when we know they cause such disastrous repercussions? Or are we all just lazy when it comes to energy, willing to accept the drip feed of power despite what we know about its poisons.

I was watching the evening news last week, and the energy industry “expert” said, “every energy source has its risks, oil and coal pollute the air (causing millions to die each year), nuclear has radiation (that can cause decades of illness and birth defects), and there aren’t enough alternatives to currently power our electricity needs.” Amazing. “Not enough alternative energy” is a risk on par with oil spills, air pollution, and radiation? Here’s a crazy idea on par with all this energy insanity, let’s produce enough energy from clean energy sources. Out of denial and into solutions.

The cost per kilowatt hour from solar was already cheaper than from nuclear even before this disaster. Where will the cost go from here? The cost of oil is subsidized and the money spent on the clean up and health effects ignored in its cost. Simply put, we have been hell-bent on protecting oil production despite all the bad it knowingly does. If you look at the real picture, the real world we live in, the one that has earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and hurricanes , the best energy sources are the natural, abundant, never ending, clean sources, not just because they are clean, but because they costs less, in the short and long term. There is not a damaged Solar Array in Japan contaminating the grass, the cows, and the milk in Oregon.

Despite what the lobbyist and talking heads say, it’s not a jobs issue either. Investing in a clean energy policy expands the economy and adds jobs. We don’t blame the oil, coal, or nuclear companies for protecting their billions invested in growth expectation or projected profit. They need not worry, even if we all wanted an electric car, we would be decades away from being able to pull it off. No, let’s recognize our addictions for what they are, really, really, really bad habits, and decide to collectively kick them. Addiction by definition is hard to stop, but we are being sold a bill of goods that we can’t have a healthy economy and a lifestyle we enjoy based on clean independent energy.

Talking with a fellow energy professional this week, he exclaimed in frustration that “The transfer to clean energy would only take one generation.” But the question we have to ask ourselves is who’s generation? We know it’s a needed transition, or at least, we know a world without such dangerous energy sources would be preferable. But who has the reins on this?

President Obama spoke this week about our national energy policy, putting investment into drilling for U.S. Oil over importing oil, importing Canadian and Mexican Oil over Middle East Oil, and to turning to bio fuels and alternatives. This is a good slow and steady reduction in at least Imported Adversarial Oil, with an ultimate goal of less oil emissions and security. This is better than no plan and is heading in the right direction. While we’d like more we understand that this is probably as robust a plan as our government can promote. The lobbyist, the pocket partisanship, the misinformation and energy fat, drip fed public, it’s probably about all we can muster. But sadly we need to do more. If not, be prepared for more epic annual deaths and destruction worldwide.

Please know your energy options and promote energy conservation and change. As we argue about global warming and the best way to “kill” a runaway oil well, please don’t ignore the elephants in the living room.

We hope that this doesn’t seem incentives to those suffering in Japan. Please let us all learn from the global disasters and demand the energy sources without such risks.

To Do:
Talk about the byproducts of the energy you use.
Write your representatives and let them know how you feel.
Vote for those who support clean energy production.

http://www.epa.gov/

The truth is, if you paid cash or financed via a home equity line, property tax assessed loan, or one of our preferred lenders, you would save more money each month as well as be able to take advantage of the federal 30% tax deduction, and in the end save 10’s if not 100,000 of dollars more than if you leased…

For us, we think the best ways to get solar are based on a careful review of the energy consumed, problem solving any waste, and then sizing a system to produce the best return on investment. Namely:

1: Purchase with Cash. Best rebates, best return on investment.
2: Finance via a home equity loan, Property Tax Assessment Financing known as PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), or through one of our preferred lenders.
3: Lease, but only as our last resort.

We understand that not everyone has the cash for option 1, but if you are able to qualify for a lease, then you should also be able to qualify for proper financing. This will give you full ownership of your system for the 25+ years of its production, full incentives and rebates, as well as the ability to sell the system with your home and to produce your own clean power at the lowest fixed rate per kilowatt.

To repeat, we want you to use clean power, but we also want you to take advantage of the power your system is producing, not merely save a few bucks a month while being tied to a lease agreement that will cost you more in the long run.

We are here to help you determine the best way to cut your energy bills and to produce clean power. In some cases, a lease may be the best option, but we hope not.

Parting question: What other home system do you rent? Why?

Research Solar Financing at: http://www.residentialsolar101.org/solar-finance-overview

Reflecting on the day’s events, we wanted to first say how impressed we were with the large turn out and also, how poignant and sophistication your questions were. It’s clear that we are not alone here at HPE on our quest for energy conservation and lower energy bills. That is encouraging, so thank you. But the moment that stood out the most for us was the reflection by the legendary architect William Krisel about the hard fact that we as a society have not only permitted heavy energy consumption in the past decades, but actually encourage it.

“We were encouraged to just put more air conditioning, more electric heat, more energy, and they gave you a rating of a silver medal, or a bronze medal, or a gold medal if you used more. So the houses were designed so that you did use more. But the attitude was that it didn’t pay you to do anything energy wise…. so you were discouraged, not encouraged to conserve energy, and now we are paying the price and thanks to Nate we’ve got people who are educating people to be aware of that.”
Master Architect William Krisel, speaking at the HPE Event 2011

Thank you Mr. Krisel for telling us the way it was. Your acknolegement that we as a society got it wrong, will no doubt help countless others in reassessing their attitudes about power consumption.

Cheap endless energy is a myth from the past, so please don’t live today as if it’s a reality. We are facing rising energy prices and are watching as the world scrambles to keep up with the rising demands. Environmental effects and the costs of getting the fuel to run the generators are at crises levels and without a serious change is only going to get worse.

We have the answers. As consumers, as builders, as architects, as citizens we all have the power to significantly reduce our consumption by 20, 30, 40% very easily. Add your own Point of Use Solar Power and you can run your home for 80-90% less money and use a fraction of the power.

There are rebates and tax incentives to help you. We are here to help you. Energy Upgrade California (energyupgradeca.org) has been created to help you navigate the rebates, the contractors, and the many energy saving ideas. Why? Because the crises is real! The days of endless energy are gone, and we all need to change. As Mr Krisel said, “We are now paying the price.”

Live and learn. And change. Please.

We wish we could ignore it.  The images are horrific and the reality that it is only going to get worse is terrifying.   But being in denial isn’t going to make it better, and feeling powerless is certainly not the American way.  No, as we stated in Bounty, our backs are against the wall and it’s time to take action.

If we may be so bold, we have a simple action plan to make our lives better and save the Planet at the same time.  How you ask?  Simple, we clean up our homes!  The fact is that our home electricity production often accounts for over ½ of an individual’s carbon emissions.  By lessoning that load, we are making a positive change that is measured by less pollution, and less of our income being spent on dirty energy.

FOUR STEPS TO SAVING THE PLANET:

Step 1:   Sign our pledge to “Be a Better Neighbor.”

By doing so, you will be helping us advocate for more clean energy adoption both in the private and public sector.  You will be leading by example, taking the first step to recovery, acknowledging that there are consequences to using the dirty energy to power your house every day, and finally, you are up for changing this destructive norm.

Step 2:  Use Less Dirty Energy.   This can be as simple as turning off lights when you leave a room, or as proactive as installing solar power.  We have shared our top 10 list, but there are many ways and many websites dedicated to cost saving measures all designed to save you money and the environment.  (It starts to seem simple)

Step 3:  Spread The Word.   We ask that you forward our “Be a Better Neighbor Pledge” and help us educate your family, friends, and neighbors on the cost effective solutions just begging to be implemented.   We’re not talking about sacrifice, but rather, we are advocating smart energy solutions that save money and end our mindless addiction to expensive dirty energy.

Step 4:  Keep Your Head Up.    By being proactive about energy use, you are part of the solution and not just another polluting consumer.

Using less of an expensive, polluting, depleting source of energy is a Pledge worth making.  Thank you for becoming part of the solution.

You are now a Better Neighbor!

Thank you!

HPE

A couple of weeks ago my coworkers at HPE convinced me to go to what I believed would be the snooze fest of the year:  A summit sponsored by the Palm Springs Sustainability Office headlined by a guy who has written books about global warming for the last 20+ years. I was sure it would be gloom and doom and nothing new for me on the global warming front.

Well, I was right about one thing, it wasn’t the most uplifting event I have gone to.  But I was sure wrong about Global Warming, and so it seems was most everyone else.

The 2-300 people in attendance listened as Bill McKibben skipped my anticipated political bashing and condemnation for our dirty fuel consumption, but instead laid out the facts on what is going on around the world and basically highlighted how wrong he and the global warming scientist had been with their modeling and climate scenarios over the past two decades.

Without one hypothetical scenario or exaggerated truth he detailed how the poor Earth is in far worse shape environmentally than anybody thought it would be just 10 years ago.   In fact he concludes that the Earth as we all have known it has gone and isn’t coming back, we, as a global civilization better wake up to this fact and make the moves now needed to survive, yes survive, on the new planet that we have created.  Gloom and doom yes, snore fest, hardly.

I implore you to check out his www.350.org website and to read as, I just did, his new book Eaarth.  But for starters if you are unfamiliar with what “350” is all about I’ll try to summarize: in 2007 James Hansen of NASA and leading climatologist determined that the Earth ecosystem, the one we count on, can only sustain life for the long term if the carbon count in the atmosphere is at or below 350 parts per million.  Currently at 390 PPM, the carbon count had stayed constant at 275 PPM for the 10,000 years prior to the industrial revolution and has been rising ever since, hmmm, currently increasing roughly 2 PPM per year.  The implications of the higher PPM are, you guessed it, green house effect…aka Global Temperature Rise.

There are many reasons for this increase he tracks in the book; most obvious is the burning of fossil fuels: namely in order of carbon emissions, coal, oil, and natural gas and the destruction of carbon sinks (trees) to absorb the natural emissions. Scientist had previously pegged the PPM doomsday threshold at 650, 550, and 450 PPM but what is clear is that at 390, the irreversible damage is being done, and thus we are currently witnessing the destruction of the planet’s life-sustaining ecosystem right before our eyes.

Some current events of note:  The north pole, whose white snow deflects much of the suns rays during the summer months is melting witnessed by the first northern sea passage without and need of an ice breaker; glaciers are disappearing, causing ruin for millions of people who live downstream and have for thousands of years; the oceans are rising and are too acidic to support coral reefs and krill, and are warmer causing flooding and more frequent and more violent storms world wide; winters are shorter causing less snow pack to provide annual water, and causing the great forests to be more susceptible to fire and disease.  Sadly there are too many to mention here. Just look at the unprecedented monsoons that caused the flooding in Pakistan for further example.   The changes and effects are marked and real.   Floods, drought, fires, famine, you name it and its really going on.  And right now.

Where everyone got it wrong was not in predicting that global warming was going to happen, but in predicting how fast even minor global temperature change would have real effects.  At 390 PPM the cat is out of the bag and we are in a real fight, right now.   As McKibben said in his lecture, “this is not a problem for our grandchildren; this was a problem for our grandparents.”

Now I know that this is a bummer of a letter to send right before Thanksgiving, and there is a part of me that would really like not to send it.  Just like there is a part of me that wakes up each day wishing I hadn’t gone to the damn Summit, and that this would all just go away.  But sadly it isn’t.

The truth is we have had a great run as a nation and been truly blessed by Mother Nature from that first Pilgrim celebration.   We have built a nation based on growth and abundance and have prevailed, and yes we have had a lot to be thankful for.   But now more than ever its time for us to accept the gifts we have been given with some humility.  I think its time for us to say, “Thank you for everything, but really that’s plenty. What can I do for you?”

The truth is there are a lot of people out there that are much closer to environmental disasters than we are in the US.  Although the good people of Louisiana may disagree.  As it stands there are countries that provide less than a fraction of the overall carbon emissions that are losing their land and water as a result of global warming.   We as a nation have about 6% of the population and account for over a third of the carbon emissions. That’s even since we stopped making things so our goods we buy and ship to our shores account for even more…I guess what I am trying to say is that I hope we as Americans will stop denying our impact on the world’s ecosystem.

If we stop ignoring it or claiming it’s a problem we need to address in future generations, and instead admit it’s real and that we share significantly in its creation, we could collectively and actively all make the serious cultural and economic changes needed to make a difference.

While I hate to use war analogies, this climate change is a war on humanity.  It is a national threat, and an international one that needs fighting on all levels.

350 represents a number that we can strive for. From crossing the continent, to putting a man on the moon, we Americans love a goal.  Look what we did in the 1940’s.  We went from isolated peace to winning two wars around the globe in less than a decade.  It took gumption and sacrifice and our collective American kick ass attitude.  We had our targets, and our backs were against the wall, and we kicked ass.

Well we have our target.  350 ppm.  And our backs are certainly against the wall.  What are we going to do?

We all should be extremely Thankful for the bounty we have received and pledge to show our thanks by actively pursuing and promoting more sustainable choices as individuals and as a society.
Nate Otto

P.S. please feel free to give any feedback. We are trying hard to make HPE a source of info for all of neighbors and friends. We are not about politics or pointing fingers; we are about addressing real threats and making smart choices.   We want to make sure what we offer helps our everyday life.

Oh and if your feedback is negative please send it to david@hotpurpleenrgy.com

Some Pertinent Links:

Artic Melting and Subsequent Shipping and Exploration:

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/111810/opi_737971928.shtml

Glacier Melt:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/20/climate-change-glaciers-melting

Ocean Acidity:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101116/ap_on_re_us/us_epa_acid_oceans

Ocean Rise:

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/rising-seas.html

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-temperature-rise/

Bark Beetle:

http://cbs4denver.com/news/bark.beetle.colorado.2.2013235.html

Pakistan Flood:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Pakistan_floods

350:

www.350.org

Hi Friends,

Sorry this month’s the letter is so late. I was originally planning on hitting you with the hard sell and direct you to our new web site, blog and Facebook and tell you why now is the time to get off the pot and get serious about renewable energy and HPE (which it is).

But the month was a busy one. And who knew social media would require so much great socializing? The precious time to spend perfecting my hard sell was spent attending some great sustainability and solar events. Blogging, facing, and tweeting about them. Ha. So in a way you are lucky for missing that hard selling Nate. But in another way, not at all, because I just witnessed the scariest movie ever and sharing this nightmare has taken precedence.

With Halloween at hand perhaps being frightened is more appropriate that doing good for the environment, and this movie will frighten you. It will send shivers down your spine, make you uncomfortable in your seat, and for any of you with school age children, nieces, nephews, grand children or loved ones this movie will make you go home and hold them tight. (You won’t want to take them to see it.) If you like thrillers, if you want to cry, if you want to know why we have such evil and despair in our cities then you can’t pass this up.

The worst part is that the story is true, the character’s real. Waiting for Superman is a documentary by Davis Guggenheim about of our country’s failed public education system. While some may dispute the messenger, the despair and lack of education option for so many is real. This has happened in our lifetimes. On our watch. A true disgrace and disaster.

Maybe you have a “good” school for your children. I hope you do– that you are involved, and the teachers are solid from start to finish. But applying NIMBY to our national education will haunt us forever just like allowing polluting energy sources to continue. When are we going to come to grips with the fact that if we don’t properly educate our children, we have no future?

My niece and cousin have dedicated themselves to helping our children. I’m sure a lot of you know someone as well. I can’t encourage you enough to watch Waiting for Superman and to get involved to change this disaster in progress. That’s my hard sell.

www.takepart.com/waitingforsuperman

www.HotPurpleEnergyblog.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palm-Springs-CA/Hot-Purple-Energy/116476321739702

Nate Otto
Hot Purple Energy
760.322.4433
760.898.3939

Last Friday, October 15th, the Palm Springs Office of Sustainability hosted the Electric and Alternative Fuels Vehicle Fair at the Palm Springs Convention Center, in partnership with Clean Cities Coachella Valley. Hot Purple Energy participated in the event through the exhibition of our clean, carbon neutral Veg-E-Powered fleet of Mercedes. Many other promoters, distributors and users of electric and alternative fuel vehicles attended the event: Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez attended the fair, showing his support for reducing carbon emissions in California’s 80th district; Reverend Gadget of Left Coast Electric brought his fancy moustache and even fancier electric-converted Porsche; Palm Springs and Burrtec showed their Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles; and Enterprise Rent-A-Car unveiled their new Nissan Leaf, which will become a regular part of their Palm Springs fleet in the next year. It was assuring to see so many folks using and interested in clean and green technology in the Coachella Valley.

However, this event did not occur in a vacuum. It was just one part of the nation-wide Alternative Fuels Vehicle Day, organized by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) headquartered at West Virginia University. Palm Springs joined over 100 cities across the country to heighten awareness of electric and alternative fuel-powered vehicles, which decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and keep our air clean. Our very own Palm Springs event was merely one piece of a large puzzle forming to create a big picture for change to a more sustainable future. For a local community of people striving for the reshaping of lifestyles in the Coachella Valley, it is refreshing to know that this striving is not our burden alone to carry. Rather, there is a system of networks to support us.

One such network for California is the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. If you are interested in purchasing a new clean vehicle, you may qualify for money back on your purchase. While we support the current nature of the Rebate Project, we at HPE hope that it will one day include rebates and incentives for converting used cars and trucks to run on electricity or clean burning fuels. While we all want to get to zero emissions vehicles, we need to recognize that the infrastructure and current fleet and auto investments prevent this from happening over night.

Offsetting the cost of conversion of existing cars and trucks—rather than solely the purchase of  brand new ones— would allow the consumer to convert to cleaner energy without the additional carbon-intensive production of a new vehicle, while still helping to decrease our use of dirty fuel.  It would benefit California to promote this practice of propelling us into the 21st century while re-using the technology from the 20th.

Obviously, we chose the retrofit option with the purchase of two used diesel Mercedes and their conversion to Veg-E Fuel. This solution works for us. We frequent Las Consuelas, Eat-a-Pita, and Taco Taco and are fortunate to have their support in providing their used vegetable oil.  But others have different needs and may find solar-charging a converted electric vehicle or running a fleet on compressed natural gas to be their best option ., .

We are excited because these options allow us to keep our love affairs with cars yet do it without sacrificing the environment or our national security.

Basically we can’t all sit around and wait for electric vehicles to contain more efficient and environmentally- friendly batteries, travel longer distances between charges, and power big rigs. A zero emission goal should remain our collective focus, but lessening our current footprint is essential.  We were glad to be part of the Electric and Alternative Fuels Vehicle Fair and to watch our neighbors come out and kick tires as we so many of us love to do.

Join the movement and choose the clean vehicle that’s right for you. The options are there; the solutions many.  It’s time to expand our love affair with autos to an affair of conversion and cleaner emissions—whether it’s a new electric, retrofitted electric, bio, or gas.

JR and Thrasher

Dear Palm Springs Residents and Visitors.

If you are looking for great local restaurants that are doing something for the environment, please consider Las Casuelas (www.lascasuelas.com),El Mirasol (http://elmirasolcocinamexicana.menutoeat.com), El Taco Asado, Tlaquepaque (www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-tlaquepaque-palm-springs) and Noura Café (www.yelp.com/biz/eat-a-pita-palm-springs#query:noura café) We love their food, but also the fact that they are helping us recycle their used vegetable oil!

If you haven’t met Thrasher or JR yet, they are the Rally Race inspired ’85 and ’87 Mercedes 300 Turbo Diesels that we have converted to run on waste vegetable oil. (WVO) You may have noticed the Environmental Race Series logos, the big Hot Purple Energy E’s, or the faint smell of French fries as we drive by. (Yes we know it CAN make you hungry)

The truth about the diesel engine is that Rudolf Diesel designed it to run on peanut oil, so basically we re-converted the cars to run on their fuel of choice. If you want to look into it we have two veggie mechanics and supply houses we will happily refer you too. Veggiebenz (www.veggiebenz.com) and Plant Drive (www.plantdrive.com) helped us do our conversions on the 300’s as well as our solar installation box truck, and have already helped those that we have recommended. While different cars and trucks have slightly different needs, we see getting a diesel to run on WTO costs about $1000-$1500 installed.

Basically, you will want to add an additional fuel pump and filter to your car. This is simply to aid in pumping the thicker veggie oil as well as filtering out any remaining waste debris. The other addition you may consider are adding heat coils to your fuel lines to warm the oil to decrease the viscosity before it hits the injectors.

On hot days we turn these elements off, but on cold mornings here in the desert. They help. A lot.

While there are more and more options for lessening fossil fuel consumption when driving, we prefer the old Mercedes to just about anything on the road. We spend a lot of time advocating for alternative fuels for cars and houses, and will do whatever we can to help others find their way. These cars are classic, great to drive, and last and last. But the best part is veggie oil is carbon neutral when it burns and we are preventing the oil from going to waste.

While there is a lot of emphases on new lower emission and electric cars, something to consider is that revitalizing an older car prevents a great deal of energy and materials from being expended on manufacturing a new one. Old cars aren’t for everyone, but should you be considered a viable alternative to buying new, think about a veggie diesel.

Ride on JR and Thrasher…ride on….!

PS if you need some Veg-E-Oil (WTO) while in Palm Springs just give us a call!