Author Archives Laura Arnold

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Campbellsburg, IN – Faculty may not mind if the students of West Washington High School take a few more moments when washing their hands from now on as they will be washing with water heated from the sun. Students and faculty at West Washington High School will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their two new solar hot water systems installed at the beginning of the school year. The two systems have supplied the school with clean, energy efficient hot water ever since.

The unique system is the first of its kind for an Indiana public school, and features a two-panel and a three-panel system located at opposite ends of the building to supply hot water to each end. The solar hot water systems will provide up to 70% of the hot water needed by the school over the course of the year, saving tons of greenhouse gases linked to climate change and saving many thousands of taxpayer dollars in energy savings over its projected 30 year life span. The design of the system into two loops allowed the existing large hot water recirculation loop to be reconfigured so that hot water doesn’t have to travel from one end of the school to the other, resulting in even more energy savings.

“We were spending hundreds of dollars every month just to keep hot water circulating in that loop, even when the school was empty,” said Tim Reinhart, Facilities Manager for the school, “I‘ve been looking for a way to increase our efficiency and reduce our expenses, and the solar hot water systems are doing just that, plus providing our students with a unique and valuable learning tool.”

The project was made possible through collaboration, teamwork and a generous grant of $25,000.00 from Hoosier Energy and Jackson County REMC. Officials from both utilities will be on hand at the event to present a ceremonial check to the school. “We are thrilled to help West Washington School with this grant. We wanted to distribute the grant money to the renewable energy project that would have the most impact, both short term and long term, and we knew that the school had high electric bills,” Said Brian Wolka of Jackson County REMC. “We put a monitor on their hot water system and found that the recirculation loop and their aging 600-gallon boiler were the culprits. We approached Tim with the idea of solar hot water and he was all for it. The energy savings, plus the great educational opportunity for the students, faculty and community make this project a winner for everyone.”

The ribbon cutting will be held on Monday, October 19th at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria at West Washington High School, located at 8028 West Batts Road, Campbellsburg, IN 47108. Refreshments will be provided, followed by the ribbon cutting and presentation of the grant money, and brief statements from key players in the solar project and local officials and community and school leaders from around the state. Educational information about the solar hot water system and solar energy in general will also be provided and time will be available for photos and questions from the media and community.

For more information please contact:

Carol Hoar,
West Washington School Corporation
9699 West Mt. Tabor Rd.
Campbellsburg, IN 47108-9454
Phone 812-755-4872
FAX 812-755-4843

The system was installed by InREA member Mann Plumbing of Bloomington.

Gary Post-Tribune Editorial Oct 6, 2009
http://www.post-trib.com/news/opinion/1808201,edit-epa.article

It's about time.

Starting Jan. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require the largest greenhouse gas emitters to monitor and report what's spewed into the nation's skies.

It's 2009 -- nearly 40 years after the Clean Air Act passed -- and we still have little handle on how much greenhouse gas is emitted each year.

How are we to get a handle on challenging climate change without knowing the full extent of emissions?

(And for those people who insist climate change is a hoax, the Flat Earth Society is seeking like-minded members.)

The new rule covers refineries, iron and steel production, electricity generation, cement production and some municipal solid waste landfills. Small businesses, homeowners and schools are exempt because the EPA is most concerned about the biggest emitters of the gases.

What makes this more important is that the federal mandate affects recalcitrant states that lag not just in environmental enforcement but in environmental concern as well.

Can you say Indiana?

The Hoosier state is just one of nine that has chosen not to be part of the voluntary reporting system called the Climate Registry.

It should come as no surprise that the state is one of a handful that wouldn't be involved voluntarily.

The Daniels administration has shown not just a lack of concern about the environment; it has paraded its antipathy toward green initiatives loudly and clearly around the state.

For the majority of Hoosiers who care about the environment -- in spite of the governor -- it's a tremendous step forward for the state and the country.

It is, after all, hard to fix a problem unless you understand what's causing it.
And it's about time we know.

Rep. Ryan Dvorak (D-South Bend) introduced HB 1352 during the 2009 Regular Session of the Indiana General Assembly.

Synopsis of HB 1352: The climate registry. Requires the state of Indiana to become a member of and participate in the climate registry concerning greenhouse gas emissions reporting and reduction. Requires the governor or the governor's designee to sign the registry's statement of principles and goals to become a member of the registry and deliver a copy of the signed statement to the registry before July 1, 2009. Establishes an exception to the registry membership requirement if a petition of opposition is submitted to the governor by the majority of the local economic development commissions in the state. Allows the governor to withdraw the state from the registry if the governor determines that membership causes a loss of jobs or missed opportunities for jobs.

September 27, 2009

The impact of the alternative energy industry
on Muncie is the subject of a Wednesday session.

By KEITH ROYSDON, The Star Press, kroysdon@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE -- With green energy companies taking root in Delaware County, what's the future of the industry in Muncie?

A forum on Wednesday evening will explore "Community Readiness for Alternative Energy."

The forum, set for 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ball State University Alumni Center, is sponsored by Ball State's Miller College of Business and The Star Press.

"We talk about alternative energy a lot, but I hope this forum will give a perspective on local issues," said Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State. "This is not what's happening in China or Massachusetts, but what's happening in Delaware County and East Central Indiana, what we're doing at the local level to take advantage of what I think, and most analysts think, could be growth in wind energy."

Panelists for the forum are state Sen. Sue Errington (D-Muncie); Terry Murphy of the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance; Roy Budd, executive director of Energize-ECI; and Greg Winkler, director of project development for Brevini Wind.

Brevini Wind, an offshoot of Italian gearbox maker Brevini, has begun construction on a plant to make gearboxes for energy-generating wind turbines at Park One/332 in western Delaware County. Brevini Wind will employ 450 people by 2011.

Park One is also home to VAT, a German company that will make wind-and-solar-powered street lights and vertical wind vanes. VAT will employ more than 100 people by 2011.

Winkler said he hoped Wednesday's forum would see discussion of "what about green energy makes sense at this point, what needs to change, what needs to happen and what policy pieces are in place. It'll be an interesting exploration."

Murphy said he believed the forum would provide insight for the community.

"We need to build on what we already have, but we need to showcase that we're the headquarters for Brevini and VAT. And with VAT, we're already implementing some of that green technology in that we'll be installing wind-and-solar-powered street lights and a vertical vane windmill."

Murphy said he also hoped for community recognition of Ball State's geothermal energy project.

The Indiana Renewable Energy Association in conjunction with the World Future Council are sponsoring three experts to testify on Advanced Renewable Energy Contracts (aka Feed-in Tariffs) 9/29/09 at 10 AM to the Regulatory Flexibility Committee in the Indiana Senate Chambers, State House, Indianapolis, IN..

Click HERE for details

http://www.in.gov/legislative/interim/committee/notices/RFSCC9T.pdf

The meeting will be broadcast over the Internet for those unable to attend.

Please visit http://mediaserver.ihets.org/senate to listen to the Webcast.

Martha Duggan, VP Regulatory and Government Affairs, ECD/United Solar, (202) 271-4395 or mduggan@uni-solar.com

Martha A. Duggan serves as Vice President, Government and Regulatory Affairs for United Solar Ovonic (a division of Energy Conversion Devices), headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan. United Solar is the leading global manufacturer of thin-film flexible solar laminate products for the building integrated and commercial rooftop markets. Ms. Duggan is responsible for policy development and advocacy before state, federal and international governments and energy regulatory bodies. Prior to joining United Solar, Ms. Duggan served as Vice President, Government Affairs for SunEdison, a leading solar integrator. At SunEdison, Ms. Duggan managed a team of solar policy experts across North America. Ms. Duggan has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry. She has worked at regulated utilities, deregulated energy companies, and consulting firms. She is experienced in executive management, finance, operations, policy and sales.

From 2003 until 2008 Ms. Duggan worked for Constellation Energy in a variety of positions including Vice President, Mid-Atlantic region, Vice President, Business Development and Director of Regulatory Affairs. Ms. Duggan has also served at Reliant Energy, Amerada Hess, Statoil Energy and the New Power Company working on policy matters impacting retail and wholesale electricity and natural gas matters. She has testified before state public utility commissions and legislatures and she is a frequently invited presenter at industry seminars. Ms. Duggan serves on the Board of Directors of the Solar Energy Industries Association. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Solar Alliance. She is active in the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and is participating in the Department of Energy’s Solar Vision study. Ms. Duggan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Languages and Linguistics from Georgetown University and a Masters in Business Administration from The George Washington University. She lives in Arlington VA with her husband and two teen age sons.

John Farrell, Senior Researcher, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, (612) 379-3815 or jfarrell@ilsr.org

John Farrell is a senior researcher on the New Rules Project at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where he examines the benefits of local ownership and dispersed generation of renewable energy. His forthcoming paper is the second and expanded edition of Energy Self Reliant States, examining the potential for all 50 states to serve their own renewable energy needs. He has also written and testified about the potential benefits from feed-in tariffs and other advanced renewable energy policies and has worked with rural Minnesota communities to pursue locally owned renewable energy projects. You can find more of his work and more information on the New Rules Project at www.newrules.org.

Farrell holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute and a B.A. in Mathematics and American Politics and Participatory Democracy from St. Olaf College. John currently lives with his wife, Kristin, and son Benjamin under the north parallel runway of the international airport in south Minneapolis.

Toby D. Couture, Energy & Financial Markets Analyst, Director of Energy Analysis, E3 Analytics, (506) 292-2585 or toby@e3analytics.ca

Toby Couture is currently Energy and Financial Markets Analyst with E3 Analytics, based on the east coast of Canada in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

E3 Analytics is an energy consulting company focusing on the analysis of energy markets, energy policy, and energy economics. It provides leading analysis on the interactions between renewable energy policy and financial markets, focusing primarily on the U.S, Canada, and Europe. Toby is currently serving as Director of Energy Analysis with the firm, and focuses the role of policy in driving renewable energy deployment.

In 2008 and 2009, Couture was leading the National Renewable Energy Lab’s (NREL) analysis on feed-in tariff policies in Golden, Colorado. He has worked closely with the states of Washington, California, Florida, Hawaii and Michigan among others on better understanding the policy and on better adapting it to the U.S. market and regulatory context. He has advised both regulators and state legislators on renewable energy policy and advanced renewable tariffs in Washington, California, Michigan, as well as in Florida and continues to work closely with the Canadian Province of Ontario.

Toby was recently a Fulbright Scholar, and holds a Masters in Energy Policy and Sustainable Development from the University of Moncton, in Canada, as well as Honors in Philosophy and from the University of Mount Allison. He has published widely on renewable energy policy, energy markets, and the role that policy can play in reducing market risks and accelerating renewable energy investment. He currently lives in Canada.

For more information, please contact:
Laura Ann Arnold, President, Indiana Renewable Energy Association, (317) 635-1701 or lauraarnold@indianarenew.org or

Chris Striebeck, LEED-AP Principal, IDS (317) 809-4383 or chris@idsustainability.com