A guided bus tour of businesses using cutting-edge technologies and land use concepts to lower costs, protect natural resources, & strengthen the local economy.
Who Should Attend: Government officials; Business & industry representatives; Conservation group delegates; Interested local residents.
Date: Friday, July 29, 2011 - Time: 8:30am — 12:00pm
Cost: $10 (cash or check to UW-Extension)
Departing From & Returning To: UW-Fond du Lac (north parking lot), 400 University Dr., Fond du Lac
To Register Contact: 920/929-3173 or diana.tscheschlok@ces.uwex.edu. Space is limited.
Can’t Wait? Take a virtual tour online at www.FDLHealthyAir.com.
Visited on the Tour:
Harris-Morris Residence
This house is equipped with a tankless water heater and a geothermal pond system that provides both heat and air conditioning. Talk to the family about how they chose these technologies and their experiences using them.
Wildlife Acres
Lot orientations in this subdivision maximize possibilities for houses to be built with passive solar and geothermal systems. A stocked retention pond can be used for fishing and watering lawns.
Mid-States Aluminum Corporation
This company has saved $86,000 per year on energy costs thanks to Lean Six Sigma techniques and a volunteer Energy Team. Learn about the process they used to involve associates in conservation projects and the unexpected places they found savings.
J. F. Ahern
Tour their LEED Gold headquarters and see the “greenwater” system that captures and reuses rainwater, an efficient ice storage system for cooling, and the atrium with unique indoor air quality and lighting features.
Showing posts with label Geothermal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geothermal. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
UW-Oshkosh works to modernize facilities with renewable energy
From an article by Doug Zellmer in the Appleton Post-Crescent:
Work is expected to start soon on a $32 million suite-style residence hall, and the new $40 million academic building started about a year ago should be completed by next summer.
Also, a groundbreaking ceremony will take place Wednesday for the nation's first commercial-scale dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester.
"We're very excited. What we're trying to provide is the right kind of facilities for staff, students and the community," said Tom Sonnleitner, vice chancellor for administrative services at UWO. . . .
The suite-style residence hall will have a geothermal heating and cooling field that will provide 50 percent of the building's
heat. . . .
It is expected to save the school an estimated $182,000 a year in energy costs. A thin layer of indigenous drought resistant plant species will be placed on a portion of the new academic building roof to absorb heat and control stormwater runoff. Solar heat panels will heat water in the building. . . .
Officials from UWO reported the renewable energy facility (biodigester) located on Dempsey Trail adjacent to the Campus Services Center, will include heat and power generators, which will produce up to 10 percent of the campus's electricity and heat. The majority of the 8,000 tons of organic biodegradable waste needed per year will be produced by campus and community sources.
Work is expected to start soon on a $32 million suite-style residence hall, and the new $40 million academic building started about a year ago should be completed by next summer.
Also, a groundbreaking ceremony will take place Wednesday for the nation's first commercial-scale dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester.
"We're very excited. What we're trying to provide is the right kind of facilities for staff, students and the community," said Tom Sonnleitner, vice chancellor for administrative services at UWO. . . .
The suite-style residence hall will have a geothermal heating and cooling field that will provide 50 percent of the building's
heat. . . .
It is expected to save the school an estimated $182,000 a year in energy costs. A thin layer of indigenous drought resistant plant species will be placed on a portion of the new academic building roof to absorb heat and control stormwater runoff. Solar heat panels will heat water in the building. . . .
Officials from UWO reported the renewable energy facility (biodigester) located on Dempsey Trail adjacent to the Campus Services Center, will include heat and power generators, which will produce up to 10 percent of the campus's electricity and heat. The majority of the 8,000 tons of organic biodegradable waste needed per year will be produced by campus and community sources.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tax credits help fuel interest in alternative energies
From an article by Malavika Jagannathan in the Green Bay Press Gazette:
The promise of tax credits and savings could persuade more people to tap into alternative energy sources for their homes, businesses and cars in the coming years.
"People who have gas or fuel oil want to get away from it," said Rick Mccutchin, president and owner of Alternate Energys Inc. in Wrightstown. "Now with this stimulus package, if people know about (the tax credits), I believe they will flock to alternative sources."
Mccutchin's company originally installed conventional heating and cooling systems, offering geothermal systems as an alternative.
About two to three years ago, the company did about half and half.
Today they only install geothermal systems, which extracts and exchanges the earth's heat, providing either cooler or warmer temperatures inside a building.
Last year the company did about 64 installations — about 70 percent in existing homes and 30 percent in new homes — but Mccutchin expects more to come his way this year, partially thanks to the increase in tax credits as outlined in the stimulus package.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — the stimulus bill signed into law by President Barack Obama — included a number of changes to the energy efficiency tax credits. Federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements have been raised from 10 percent to 30 percent, and caps on certain tax credits such as installing efficient windows and furnaces have been eliminated.
For a $20,000 geothermal system, a 30 percent tax credit would put it in the same cost range as a conventional heating and cooling system, Mccutchin said.
This stuff is not inexpensive," said Guy Fortin of Lake Michigan Wind & Sun in Sturgeon Bay. "Anything they can do to incentivize this helps."
If the cost of a solar electric system is $50,000, that could be cut in half when the 30 percent federal tax credits are combined with tax incentives from the state, Fortin explains.
The other attractiveness of renewable energy is its cleanliness when compared with fossil fuels, said Andy Williams, co-founder of Manitowoc-based GreenSky Energetics Inc., which installs solar thermal water heaters and solar forced air systems.
The promise of tax credits and savings could persuade more people to tap into alternative energy sources for their homes, businesses and cars in the coming years.
"People who have gas or fuel oil want to get away from it," said Rick Mccutchin, president and owner of Alternate Energys Inc. in Wrightstown. "Now with this stimulus package, if people know about (the tax credits), I believe they will flock to alternative sources."
Mccutchin's company originally installed conventional heating and cooling systems, offering geothermal systems as an alternative.
About two to three years ago, the company did about half and half.
Today they only install geothermal systems, which extracts and exchanges the earth's heat, providing either cooler or warmer temperatures inside a building.
Last year the company did about 64 installations — about 70 percent in existing homes and 30 percent in new homes — but Mccutchin expects more to come his way this year, partially thanks to the increase in tax credits as outlined in the stimulus package.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — the stimulus bill signed into law by President Barack Obama — included a number of changes to the energy efficiency tax credits. Federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements have been raised from 10 percent to 30 percent, and caps on certain tax credits such as installing efficient windows and furnaces have been eliminated.
For a $20,000 geothermal system, a 30 percent tax credit would put it in the same cost range as a conventional heating and cooling system, Mccutchin said.
This stuff is not inexpensive," said Guy Fortin of Lake Michigan Wind & Sun in Sturgeon Bay. "Anything they can do to incentivize this helps."
If the cost of a solar electric system is $50,000, that could be cut in half when the 30 percent federal tax credits are combined with tax incentives from the state, Fortin explains.
The other attractiveness of renewable energy is its cleanliness when compared with fossil fuels, said Andy Williams, co-founder of Manitowoc-based GreenSky Energetics Inc., which installs solar thermal water heaters and solar forced air systems.
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