Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA recently hired The Alpha Group, Alpha Energy to install a 21kW solar power system to be commissioned on October 3.

“It is exciting to see educational institutions getting involved in renewable energy projects like this,” said Drew Zogby, President and COO of Alpha Technologies. “By showing their own commitment to going green, Whitman College is leading by example and encouraging their students to follow the same path. By providing Whitman with high quality system design, installation and innovative monitoring systems, Alpha Energy is demonstrating our own commitment to the best at what we do. This turnkey system is something Whitman and their students can be proud of.”

The 2,500 sq. ft. rooftop installation includes 120 photovoltaic panels, and is one of the largest solar arrays in Walla Walla County and in the Washington territories of Pacific Power and Light (PPL) company. The system will generate an estimated 25,000 kWhs annually, which constitutes about 20% of the Bratton Tennis Center’s power needs. A solar monitoring station will be located on the first floor of the Hall of Science allowing students and the general public to monitor the system’s output.

“The educational aspect of the project is a vital component,” said Bob Carson, Grace Farnsworth Phillips professor of geology and environmental studies. “And Whitman is ideally suited to educate members of the Whitman and Walla Walla communities about the importance of alternative energy solutions. This project shows students and community members that what needs to done, can be done. It’s a public acknowledgement that we can’t continue to get all of our power from fossil fuels, because we do have alternative energy solutions.”

The monitoring Web site for the system is currently online, and an official dedication of the solar panels will be held Saturday, Oct 3, at 3:30 p.m. in Kimball Theatre, Hunter Conservatory.

The village has made becoming the country’s first zero carbon emissions community its goal, according to a piece by Sarah Mukherjee, environment correspondent for BBC News. It all started when Garry Charnock, a local resident, attended a literary festival where he heard the government’s former chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, talking about the need for action on climate change. “I came away wondering how I could make a difference,” he told the reporter. “And I realized that the little things, switching off lights, turning down your thermostat, that sort of thing, could make a big change overall if you did it at a community level.”
Charnock pulled Roy Alexander, another villager who is also professor of environmental sustainability at the University of Chester, on board, and the idea took off. Now, by doing the easy things like turning down the thermostat, the village has reduced its energy consumption by 23 percent. Charnock and Alexander even convinced the skeptical owner of the local pub to pitch in, telling him he could save as much as £250 by turning off his cooker in the mornings and keeping the beer outdoors rather than running the cooler in the winter.
Now the village is home to solar panels, wind turbines and other sources of alternative energy. And residents have successfully lobbied for a path linking the school, the railways and other communities to encourage walking. But the biggest plus to come out of the whole endeavor was the sense of community the project inspired. “I’ve lived in the village for 25 years, and I’ve met people I’ve never met before as a result of the project,” Lynn May, a local businesswoman, told the BBC.

States spend about 10 percent of their operating budgets on energy bills, and EPA says those costs can be greatly reduced through adoption of well-designed state energy management and greenhouse gas reduction programs.

The Clean Energy Lead by Example (LBE) Guide highlights key strategies, resources, and tools
to help states identify the suite of options best suited to their needs. Each of the strategies promoted in the guide, which include facility-level energy efficiency, green power purchases, clean distributed generation, is road-tested and cost-effective.

The LBE guide is provided through EPA’s State Climate and Clean Energy Program, which assists states in developing and implementing clean energy policies and solutions to climate change.

Montana State University in Bozeman is employing roof tiles that include 80 percent recycled content to put the lid on its Zero Energy House Project. The house, a project of the university’s Extension Housing and Environmental Health Program, is designed to educate builders, architects, engineers, homeowners, students and the general public about resource efficiency.

The Majestic Slate tiles were donated to the project by EcoStar, a Carlisle, Pa.-based division of Carlisle SynTec and a leading manufacturer of sustainable, environmentally friendly steep-slope roofing products. The tiles are made from 80 percent recycled materials and contain little to no inorganic filler material.

“We were excited about the roofing tiles because they are made from recycled materials,” Project Coordinator Jennifer Grossenbacher explained. “We hope to show people that using building products that rely less on natural resources can cost less than traditional building approaches.”

The tiles will be featured on the renovated, World War II-era, Family and Graduate Housing home that showcases practical and financially feasible ways for homeowners and builders to conserve energy and water while saving money and building a healthier home at the same time. In addition, the project will serve as a regional link to credible and sustainable national building information, research, technologies, resources, demonstration and technical/training support for the housing industry.

Billings, Mt.-based MacArthur Company supplied the nails and underlayments necessary for a long-lasting roof. Timmer Roofing of Bozeman is donating labor to install the roofing tiles.

Majestic Slate tiles are half the weight of traditional slate, yet offer superior durability and long-term protection backed by a 50-year Gold Star Warranty.

DOE has allocated a total of $27 million for the awards. The funding opportunity is open to all domestic institutions and entities. Funding will be provided to expand training and professional development to instructors who are creating or improving existing training courses for their local PV or SHC installation workforce. Funding will also be provided to administer the National Consortium for Solar Installer Instructor Training, which will regularly convene stakeholders from industry, education, government and other organizations to meet DOE’s objectives to expand instructor capacity in the PV and SHC installer fields.

To read the full funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0000078), visit https://www.fedconnect.net and click on “Search Public Opportunities” on the right-hand side of the page. Under “Search Criteria,” select “Issuing Office,” enter “Golden Field Office,” then click on “Search.” Once the screen comes up, look for the announcement named “Recovery Act: Solar Market Transformation.” The announcement is split into two topics; the solar installer training is covered under Topic 2.

Applications must be submitted through FedConnect to be considered. Instructions for registering are available in the FedConnect Quick Start Guide at: https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/PublicPages/FedConnect_Ready_Set_Go.pd. State and local officials interested in additional information about developing and implementing cost-effective clean energy and environmental strategies that help further environmental and clean energy goals and achieve public health and economic benefits may visit: http://epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/state-and-local/index.html

The solar unit replaces the city’s current lighting system on 30 foot utility poles commonly used on residential and busy streets. Solar power is stored in batteries, and at dusk the the unit powers up white or yellow LEDs for 8 to 12 hours of lighting.

CEO Shane Chapin has some cost projections: “In a town with 50,000 lights the current monthly expense is about $215,400 based on running the lights for 10 hours per day. Switching to ISS generates average savings of about $158,400. Cost savings depend on the available sunlight and we can assess the expected savings for each community.”

Eco Alternative Solutions expects to be able to ship “upwards of 500,000 units per month” from US manufacturers in different regions of the country by mid-2010. The company is also prepared to help cities comply with the American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for funding assistance, and has financing options that keep payments at or below current energy expenses.

Cities wishing to participate in the trial program can contact Chapin at 217-381-8901.

]]> http://www.citiesgogreen.com/2009/06/06/seeking-cities-to-test-solar-streetlights/feed/ 2 http://www.citiesgogreen.com/2009/06/02/304/ http://www.citiesgogreen.com/2009/06/02/304/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:25:25 +0000 admin http://citiesgogreen.com/?p=304 Creating a green team can be easy. Here’s how a staff member in Missoula,
Montana did it, along the team’s 25 top ways to save money, energy and resources.

Read more…

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA has a free webinar for anyone in local government  on How to Make Your School Buses Cleaner this Friday, June 5 at 1-2 p.m. Eastern

You can learn how to make your school buses cleaner, more efficient, and reduce harmful pollution associated with diesel exhaust. Get the tools and resources needed to start a program in your school district to:

• Complete technology retrofits on school buses to burn diesel more efficiently;
• Switch from petroleum diesel to a biodiesel blend; and
• Reduce vehicle idling around school buildings.

The webinar will introduce three toolkits (click to get them immediately) designed to help your school district.  Each toolkit contains a step-by-step guide, fact sheets, outreach materials, case studies, and more.

A few days before the event, participants will be sent an email with instructions on how to participate in the webinar.  You will need a computer with internet access and a phone.

by Ken Moore, MD
Alderman at Large
Franklin, Tennessee

The City of Franklin, Tennessee has long been recognized as a desirable place to live because of its respect for history, its vibrant economy, and its educational excellence.

Just this year it was recognized by the National Historic Trust as a “top twelve” destination in America; Southern Living Magazine also rated Franklin one of the top ten in the nation for best small town, and Business Week Online named our city the best in Tennessee to start a small business.

However, with the associated rapid growth, issues of a lag in infrastructure and congestion have become more of an issue.

In 2006 when former Mayor Tom Miller signed the Mayor’s Climate Project Agreement, it went almost unnoticed until companies relocating in the area began to bring in green practices from other areas of the country and the question was raised why Franklin was not on the “top twenty-five” green cities list. Current Mayor John Schroer responded to this question by appointing Alderman Ken Moore to lead the effort for the City.

In the fall of 2008, a group of almost 250 citizens attended a series of workshops facilitated by Johnson Controls, Inc. The workshops focused on Franklin’s sustainability needs and practices for the City. Over two thousand comments came from these sessions to guide Franklin’s vision and a task force was created to develop a sustainability plan for the City that matched its vision for the future.

The Sustainability Task Force was convened early in 2009 and nine committees were established to write Franklin’s Sustainability Plan. The committees are made up of interested citizens and residents, many of whom are experts in their field. Each committee has enthusiastically accepted the challenge to develop three actionable items in their category, determine a metric to measure progress, a plan of implementation and timeline. Their energy and ideas have been inspirational to all involved. These nine committees are: Energy; Alternative Fuels and Energy; Environmental Health; Solid Waste; Transportation; Water; Urban Design; Urban Nature; and Public Education.

The City’s Sustainability Plan is now in its first draft and is being vetted by participants and experts across the country. This plan is a tool for the community of Franklin and its citizens, not just for city programs and policies. The City already has demonstrated leadership by the use of “gray water,” LED traffic signals; office recycling efforts, a soon to be completed LEED certified Police Headquarters and establishing its own Alternative Fuel and Energy Action Plan.

Since the inception of this effort, we have recognized that the City would need to create a sustainability coordinator position but were hesitant to proceed given the current economic times. Then officials read the CitiesGoGreen article “What’s a Sustainability Coordinator?” in the October 2008 issue. The fact that the position is funded by savings to the City made it a much easier sell. The article was used as supporting evidence and created momentum for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to approve the position recently.

This article and others in the CitiesGoGreen have helped us understand the process and keeps us from having to reinvent the wheel while still being able to craft a plan and strategy unique to our City.

The position has now been posted and we are looking forward to the new hire and continuing the momentum to become a top 25 sustainable community and an example for others to follow as we implement our plan. The plan is currently in draft form and can be viewed on the City’s web site at www.franklintn.gov.

Photo courtesy VisitFranklin.com