The developers claim that it’s almost 100% accurate in identifying train and air travel while it’s less accurate (65%-75%) when guessing if people are traveling by bus. This information is then aggregated and stored for the user to track their carbon footprint and identify ways to minimize it in the future.

While it’s not perfect, this real time data collection is a pretty amazing step! Maybe someday the application will become so advanced that companies like Community Energy Inc. could offer real time carbon offsets based on the information that’s collected. It’s a pretty empowering thought!

Ani was very enthusiastic about a 100% wind powered concert!  She dedicated two songs to Community Energy and invited CEI’s Linda Burtis on stage to tell her audience how they could “be like Ani” and purchase wind power on their electricity bills.  Ani’s magic worked:  Community Energy’s booth was deluged with concert-goers wanting to sign up for wind power! 

Under our agreement with Smith College, we own and operate the solar system and sell the electricity generated to them at a flat rate over 20 years. This is a great way for Smith College to bring solar power to campus without the upfront investment.

By a stroke of luck, Smith College actually has a web cam pointed at the roof of the campus center so that we can watch the installation as it goes on all this week: November 23 through December 1, 2009.

The Friday after Thanksgiving sounds like it will be the day that the panels get placed on the racking so that should be an exciting day to watch. Hopefully, the weather will be good. Right now it is raining, unfortunately, which doesn’t make for great conditions.

To view the construction process live, click here!

In recognition of Yards Brewing Company's continued dedication to the    environmental stewardship of the Greater Philadelphia region and leadership in promoting a sustainable urban business model.

In appreciation of Yards' customers and supporters, who support the local craft beer movement and Yards' dedication to clean air, fresh water and great tasting beer.

In acknowledgment of Yards' dedicated employees, who consistently develop new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in all facets of the brewery's operations.

Tom Kehoe, Owner and Founder of YARDS, was delighted to accept this award on behalf of his environmentally friendly brews and bros.  “The employees of Yards are very proud to have been recognized for this award," he said.  "Collectively we strive to reduce our waste and we take many efforts to cut our waste stream wherever possible.  Across the board we are all active in participating in this effort."

So remember, quality does not have to be sacrificed by choosing a more sustainable path. YARDS strives to prove this point every day through business operations and company culture. We should all recognize these noble efforts from our favorite beer guys and make the next round a YARDS.

*YARDS was recognized earlier this year by PennFuture for being the first 100% Wind Powered Brewery in Pennsylvania!

This youthful group shared ideas and presentations at classroom style workshops varying from Renewable Energy to Empowering your Community to Funding Campus Sustainability Projects and Explaining the Cap and Trade System.  I attended the Funding Campus Sustainability Projects workshop and was impressed with the leadership, experience and tenacity the students displayed in pursuit of setting up Green Funds at their college or university. Moreover, it felt great to be in a classroom with excited voices shouting through the halls, all while enjoying the view of the beautiful fall leaves coloring the campus.

If you are a student or young person who believes in a renewable energy future for America and want to get involved with an organization making a difference, this is the group is for you. If joining a group is not for you but you want to make a difference, sign up for wind power today!

Last week it was brought to my attention (due to a friend’s very keen observation) that Community Energy has, in fact, broken into the product placement game on the Big Screen.  In this case however, it was substantially cheaper (i.e. free) and at least on our end, completely unintentional.

In 2008, a movie was released entitled “Stop-Loss” starring Ryan Phillippe.  In the film, Phillippe is a decorated Iraq War vet who gets called back into active service due to the United State’s controversial Stop-loss policy.  I can’t really speak for the movie (as I’ve never seen it in its entirety), but around the 88th minute of the film the characters meet up in New York City.
 
While they don’t say exactly where, they appear to be in a pub/restaurant of some sort.  Around minute 88:30 in the movie, there is a shot of a woman playing with a stack of coasters.  If you’re watching closely, you can plainly see CEI’s Turbine Logo on the coasters!
 
Unbeknownst to Community Energy, the scene was being shot at the Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn.  The Brooklyn Brewery has been a customer with us since 2003, purchasing 100% wind energy.  To celebrate their purchase, the brewery made coasters which featured our Community Energy Logo.  These coasters are still a staple at the brewery and consequently ended up in the film.

It kind of makes you wonder where else CEI’s footprint is waiting to be found…

The basic story is about a guy named the “Once-ler” who finds an amazing tree and builds a business selling a garment made from its leaves. As the business grows, he ends up cutting down every last one of these beautiful trees, pollutes the air and water and basically destroys the forest. The Lorax is a funny-looking little man who tries to stop him. “I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues,” he proclaims.

Seuss’s naming of the businessman as “Once-ler” is particularly apt to the theme of sustainability in today’s business environment. Once-ler builds a very financially successful business, making his whole family rich. He is only able to achieve this feat once, however, because he uses up all the resources and raw material inputs for his product. After the last tree is cut, the business no longer can exist and Once-ler must sit and contemplate the impact of what he’s done while his factory crumbles around him.

Published in 1971 in close proximity to the origins of the environmental movement, the Lorax is also a parable of the failings of this movement. While the Lorax pleads with the Once-ler to stop what he’s doing, Once-ler simply becomes more adamant about growing his business regardless of the consequences.  This confrontational attitude of environmentalists certainly succeeded in curbing some of the most egregious infractions of industry, but has fallen short of building a sustainable world.

I can imagine a modern-day Lorax who is the sustainability consultant who meets with the Once-ler to help him develop a plan for sustainably managing the forest and eliminating the toxic outputs from the factory. In this vision, the story ends with a thriving business employing lots of people and a sustainable forest filled with abundant wildlife. I think Dr. Seuss would be pleased with this adaptation.

Nevertheless, about ten years ago Samso set out in pursuit of energy independence. At first, the process was slow. The people pushing the planning initiatives were far outweighed by skeptical residents. But as time went on, residents began buying into the concept. This prompted their neighbors and friends to also get behind the idea, until the chain reaction of support had almost everyone on board.

Many Samso residents began partnering with neighbors and even non-island residents to purchase large industrial scale wind turbines. While the upfront investment is expensive, the various sizes of investor groups could suit people in different financial situations. These shareholders then receive annual dividend checks for the power that their machine produced over the course of the year.

 Danish utilities are required to offer the owners of these projects 10 year, fixed rate contracts. The contracts are designed to, with normal energy production and barring catastrophic events, pay off the turbine in 8 years…8 YEARS!!!

So not only are you building a source of clean, renewable energy, but you’re basically guaranteed to make 25% on your investment over the first 10 years. Not to mention that turbines normally have a life span of double that if not longer!

Now, it’s easy to say that because of the utility policy in Denmark and the excellent wind resources in Samso that this is an ideal case that would be very difficult to replicate, and in some respects that’s true. However, there are a number of lessons that we can learn from this prime example.

First, we need to give renewable generation a high enough priority that we will make it financially feasible for the investor. This can come from subsidies as is the case in the US, but I would argue that Denmark has a better solution.

By requiring the utilities to offer fixed power purchase agreements for a period long enough to recoup the initial investment, we pass the expense along to the end user. This not only takes the long bureaucratic process out of the government’s hands (i.e. grant and subsidy processing which is inherently inefficient but still uses the rate payer’s tax dollars), but also basically guarantees the financial success of the project.

This high electric price along with the potentially lucrative return on investment makes investing in wind appealing to residents in other communities who are encouraged to develop projects of their own. This type of system is self perpetuating unlike artificially inflated government funding.

If the goal of renewable development in the rest of the world is to do so in a healthy and sustainable manner (which hopefully it is), the Danish community wind model has my vote!

I was both impressed and pleased to see such a well-spoken panel with true experience in utilizing solar power to electrify poor communities.  Currently, 1.6 billion people world-wide live without electricity.  By micro-financing solar projects, or perhaps a direct donation of solar panels, families and communities are able to increase productivity (and therefore earnings) and maintain proper health clinics, for example – which all helps to break the extreme cycle of poverty that persists in certain regions.  Clive Ponting’s A Green History of the World discusses why the underdeveloped world is concentrated most heavily around the Equator.  Solar energy is a natural fit for these regions- due to the fact that it is reliable, scalable, distributed, and sustainable.  

I have a strong personal interest in this type of work, and have been lucky enough to visit an Ayu Foundation project in a rural part of Mexico where the land is not fit for agriculture, leaving the local people with little opportunity for income.  This particular project works to provide local populations with greenhouses to grow tomatoes, roses, and other native produce.  Irrigation systems powered by solar panels on the greenhouses help to increase productivity three-fold, tripling the returns to the local families that work there.  I was incredibly touched by the sincerity of the local people who had the opportunity to work in the greenhouses.  Solar power truly has the potential to transform underdeveloped regions of the world.

How do we all get involved?  SELF, the Solar Electric Light Fund, is an organization that works to bring green electricity to rural populations.  Individuals and organizations can participate at any level to help further their mission.

As stated on their website, “Environmental Advocates of New York’s Air & Energy Program is focused on reducing air pollution and promoting the clean technologies that will set New York on the path to a safe and sustainable energy future.  Our work includes promoting policies that will improve air quality and reduce global warming pollution, as well as supporting New York’s efforts to increase energy efficiency and conservation and accelerate clean energy development.”  In practical support of this position, Environmental Advocates offsets 100% of their electricity usage with wind generated renewable energy credits through Community Energy.  This purchase of wind energy supports wind farm development in New York State and leads us towards a clean energy future.

As Community Energy celebrates its ten year anniversary, we congratulate Environmental Advocates of New York on its forty year anniversary and its commitment to renewable energy.