Pushing S**t Uphill with a Sunbeam: Abhayagiri’s New Solar Systems

Copyright © 2005 David Monniaux. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.

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There is an old “Kiwi” saying from New Zealand describing an impossible task as being “like trying to push s**t uphill with a stick.” The monks at Abhayagiri are planning to install two major solar systems in the monastery this year that, among many other things, will do just that.

After receipt of a generous dedicated donation, encouragement from a number of laypeople and an enthusiastic blessing from the Board of Directors, Abhayagiri has contracted with solar expert Dick “Paco” Jordan to design and install two extensive solar panel arrays with accompanying hardware.

The larger system will be installed in the monastery’s central “cloister” area. The array will be composed of some sixty 208-watt solar panels mounted on the roofs of the existing Dhamma hall and original residence. No storage batteries will be used. Instead, the arrays will tie directly into Pacific Gas and Electric power lines. This “inter-tie” system will exploit the monastery’s conducive south facing “solar-friendly” site and off-peak use power needs to approach or achieve complete energy independence.

During the monastery’s peak use periods, early morning, mid-morning, and evening, electricity will be drawn from the P,G & E grid, while power will be shunted back into the main power grid during the rest of the day. This will allow almost all electricity generated at the site during urban peak use periods to be sent into the main power grid. P,G & E will then credit the monastery’s power bill for this high-rate energy contribution. It is predicted that with restrained power use, these credits will offset the monastery’s draw of low-rate off-peak electricity and thus come close to or achieve complete energy independence. It also will allow the monastery to maintain closer control over its operating budget.

While the sixty panel inter-tie system will cost around $80,000 to install, the monastery will be eligible for about a $30,000 rebate through the California state government to help offset some of the costs.

During the newly begun second phase of monastery construction, the monastic focus of activity will be moving into the upper Page 2 of 3

forest. The second system, a more traditional 15 panel array with storage batteries and a back-up gas generator, will be installed in this upper forest area near the central cluster of sleeping cabins. Three small independent systems already serving 7 cabins will remain separate from the new system.

While the system’s first use will be to support the four new cabins presently under construction, it is designed to incorporate future needs as well. It is planned that the system will supply energy needs for a small meditation hall and monks’ utility building that are slated for construction in the coming years.

One important new use for the system will involve supplying electricity for pumping sewage from the two new “elders’” cabins' septic tank up a substantial hill and across a broad swath of forest to the central leach field of the monastery's new septic system. Co-abbot Ajahn Amaro smilingly describes this function of the new system as “pushing s**t uphill with a sunbeam.” The new centralized leach field will also service two other septic tanks located at the future sites of the Monks Utility Building and the upper Meditation Hall.

Ajahn Amaro is “extremely happy” to see the monastery taking steps to move off the grid. Recent sky-high rate spikes and a future of generally predicted higher power costs makes the initial high costs, a combined $120,000 for both systems, a prudent use of the generous dedicated donation already received. The Ajahn noted that the monastery’s goal of energy independence will set a good example for others as well. It’s useful for people and small organizations to see that access to clean, quiet, renewable, locally available energy is a real possibility.

Such an expensive project is obviously a major step, but as energy availability and cost becomes increasingly uncertain, the 7 to 10 year payback period is looking like a good deal. In addition, Ajahn Sudanto, the monk who is spearheading the project, says that after payback the monastery should have 15 years or more of free energy use.







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In Thailand, it is traditional for faithful lay people to give the local monastery gifts of candles, and more recently, fluorescent light bulbs, as gifts both practical and symbolic. Just as the Dhamma brings light to the darkness of ignorance and delusion, so the gift of light allows the practice of the Dhamma to continue even in the dark of night.

The new project gives a modern spin to this gracious and ancient tradition. If monastery supporters wish to augment the dedicated donation already received, they have the opportunity to donate additional solar panels. These panels would further support the monastery’s power supply, lighting up and cooling down Dhamma halls and forest retreat cabins alike while helping the monastery control its operating costs. In this way everyone can benefit.