Greenpower or Renewable Energy Uptake

Hi Dean

I know this is a few years ago now and you've probably seen this, but have you see the Community Power website down your way:
http://www.communitypower.org/

Luke Reade
Advisor - Environmental Performance (Energy and Greenhouse)
Redland City Council
Australia
www.redland.qld.gov.au

There are researchers at the University of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) whose work focuses on green power issues and marketplace policy development, including Ian Rowlands. Here's a relevant page with links to recent papers: http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/research/greenpower/projects/elec_transformation ..html

Regards,
Kevin Devitt
Toronto, Canada

Hi Carolyn and Dean,

Have a look at our web site. Our programs include making rebates available to assist with the cost of installing solar hot water systems, photovoltaic power supplies and high efficiency gas heaters to replace older less efficient units. The rebates have been very successful in promoting the use of these items. As an example, during the last six-and-a-half years, 11,000 households have taken rebates to install solar hot water units in Victoria.

Regards
John

John Osborne
Renewables, Sustainability Victoria
T: 03 8626 8783
F: 03 9663 1007
Level 28, Urban Workshop,
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 3000
www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

Regarding Green House Gases: My name is James Conlon, and I interned at the American Council On Renewable Energy and now work as an energy consultant focused on green house gases at WindCurrent - a company that markets clean energy (mostly wind). I am using clean energy to mean renewable energy projects (renewables) that displace base load fossil fuel-generated electricity, and while I am in the US, the protocol is global. As someone who consults daily to people/companies looking to get lean, clean and green, I am happy to share the basics: conservationefficiency*team building*renewables. - Step 1 is conservation. Speaking on behalf of an American energy consultancy, there are staggering amounts of energy to be conserved (and by extension $ to be saved or reallocated - more below). I feel comfortable stating that every entity (yes, absolutely every entity from a kid in a dorm room to the leanest manufacturing company and every homeowner, biz, congregation, org, etc... in between) is wasting power and money due to superfluous energy usage. - Step 2 is efficiency. Once necessary power consuming devices (lights, computers, HVAC equipment, whatever) are identified, the next step is to quantify the amount of usage and to look critically (and often creatively) at having that power consumed more efficiently. ie less $/usage. CFLs are an easy and powerful icon of a simple efficiency improvement. Surprisingly, new equipment often makes economic sense. - Step 3 is the creative part of the process. It changes depending on scale of the entity, but in general it amounts to bringing together vested interests. For a commercial example, witnessing the managers of operations, marketing, and accounting all leaving a meeting happy is a rare and rewarding victory. In short, step 3 amounts to bridging knowledge silos to create positive, cost effective solutions. - Step 4 is choosing clean power. For organizations (public or private) with a few thousand square feet of real estate, you might be in a position to deploy on-site renewables on the cheap. Contact me offline for the details, but many states have incentives in place to stimulate renewables, and there are companies that want to help you meet corporate or municipal mandates that will lower your costs (ie save you $) or create a competitive hedge against electricity price increases. For everyone else, supporting green power programs basically means you're electing to funnel your $ towards clean energy projects. Much of what I do is consulting on conservation and efficiency to mobilize the capital to support clean energy without affecting the bottom line. That's right, transfer your dollars from inefficiency to clean energy in one motion. This is something about which I am very familiar, and will gladly share my knowledge to whomever inquires. We have also put our attentions towards carbon impact and carbon balancing/offsetting for electricity, transportation and shipping. Don't forget that reusing and recycling are also necessary parts of a sustainable future, and I hope this isn't too elementary. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] for any inquiries.

Best,
James Conlon

Hi folks,

Love your approach and web site. You may want to look into 'Sustainability Street" program from Vox Bandicoot in Melb as it goes to reducing consumption of water and energy by about 30%, plus reduction of waste by that amount too. It is more wholistic/sustainable than just emissions based and builds community along the way, as you are aiming to do I feel. Check www.voxbandicoot.com.au under the Sustainability Street banner when the web site gets back up as it seems to be experiencing an error now. Or google it and see who elsewhere is doing what and how.

Kind regards,
Paul Payten
GEENI