Energy Independence is the pathway to Economic Growth

Tweet

This is a follow up report on the Sustainable Planning workshop held at Town of Williamson, N.Y.

It was my pleasure to be a part of this group session and the group interacted exceptionally well. The experience was very encouraging and many folks left inspired by the possibility of change in the community.

The ideas developed at this meeting will help to implement new renewable energy based initiatives to encourage economic development.

This is an example of sustainable green planning helping us go toward Energy Independence and economic development. Hopefully this EPA funded study will be a good example for others so more communities can do the same. This is an excellent program to bring local community leaders to come together and create a sustainable green vision for their hometown.

EPA supports Sustainable Green Communities Smart & Growth at Town of Williamson, N.Y.

Tweet

Last night I took part in a workshop for Town of Williamson in Wayne County NY. EPA had given a grant to this community to hold a workshop and review the potential tools to help in economic development and prepare a strategy to achieve their goals.
Today there is going to be a whole day session with community leaders to review their options and develop their plan to become a sustainable community. I hope to share some ideas with the group and offer to help them to achieve this dream over time.
With large scale solar system planned to make them a net-zero community Town of Williamson has already taken a bold step toward energy independence. Many other communities should follow the Town of Williamson example and do the same.

The journey from "Net- Zero Energy" to "Energy Independence" for sustainable Green Coomunities

Tweet

Does  Net-Zero Energy  mean Energy Independence?

The answer depends on the various forms of energy that are addressed by the User. This includes Electrical Energy, Thermal energy for Heat and Fuels for Transportation.

Normally these energy improvements depend on the incentives offered by the state or Federal Agencies. For example, currently New York State has very attractive grants and tax incentives for electrical power generation and energy efficiency retrofits. Some of our Municipal clients are now implementing projects to produce large scale solar PV system to produce as much power over the Year as they consume in their multiple buildings. They plan to achieve the first step of Net-Zero Energy  by 2014. We are proud to have these visionary Village and Town leaders in Finger Lakes region that have made the decision to do so.

So where do they go from this stage onwards?

Upgrade of the HVAC system would be next as the funds are available and long term financing of Geothermal and/or solar thermal systems may be the technologies to provide very efficient green system to replace non-renewable fuels and reduce their carbon foot print.

So what is the next step after they achieve this goal?

Transportation is key to our energy independence and finding alternative fuels for transportation and having the refueling infrastructure would be the next opportunity. CNG,  hybrid gas & Electric vehicles, and Electric Vehicles are the possible options to replace expensive gasoline or diesel with new cleaner fuels. This step will keep the money in America and avoid importing oil from overseas.

When all of these steps are completed the community will truly become an Energy Independent community. In Europe such communities exist now. It is time that America takes the lead and helps develops such examples of energy independence. It will be a dream come true. Hopefully in next 10 years.

Ram

March forward with Renewable Energy under NY Sun Rising program

Tweet

 NY State passed the budget last week and it contains the funding and investment incentives to help implement energy conservation and green power generation projects.

Sustainable Green Communities will take advantage of this opportunity.
As the earth day approaches on April 22, 2013 it is good time for all power consumers to think about what they can do to change and help support energy conservation and switch to green power generation.

Energy independence can be achieved if we make up our mind to do it. Hopefully the future will bring examples of such communities and business leaders that will inspire others to follow and make their own contribution.

Better days are ahead.

Gas Prices were supposed to go down. What happened?

Tweet

Have you seen the prices at the gas pump in last month? Gone up by more than 20 cents in Rochester NY and in most other places. The projections were that it will continue to go down over the year since we have developed more domestic resources and  the demand is down.

What went wrong?

Middle East and some concerns for their impact on oil supply interruption could be reason. Iran defies the world and Syria has a civil war. Korea wants to build more missile launching capability and Palestinian crisis remains unsolved. So how can we get out of this dependence on importing oil from such places which is affected by what happens in these countries?

We are lucky to have Oil and Gas resources of our own and we have the technology to invent smart solutions for transforming how we use energy.
We should go full blast with developing our own petroleum resources now so we can Stop importing oil from foreign countries. As a condition for developing these resources by drilling for oil and natural gases we should impose an " energy Independence " Tax on developers to invest in renewable energy technology. These dedicated funds should be protected and be only used for renewable energy grants, tax incentives, and creation of low interest revolving loan funds.

Imagine our hybrid cars giving 50 miles per gallon, all of our homes using LED lights, Wind mills installed away from the shores to avoid visibility, solar PV  farms powering our communities.. this dream can come true in 10 years.

We need our National leaders to decide to act and take advantage of our natural resources to enable our Energy Independence. Write to them and ask to do what is right for our economy and global environment.

What are we willing to pay for Energy Independence?

Tweet

Climate change and Global warming are getting more accepted by people and there is willingness to take action to prevent future problems. There are now incentives available in New York State to help generate Green power with Solar PV and  farm waste digestion. These measures are good for the environment but sometime financially challenging to justify the investment.

Review of past movements related to freedom and independence clearly indicate the suffering and hardship by the people who supported it. It was the common good that prevailed and inspired the action.

Energy Independence should be the same for better long term results. If the cost is marginally higher today but cheaper in future then we should be willing to make this sacrifice or investment for the better future for next generation.
However, in reality people are willing to do it if it saves money TODAY.

It will take leadership and better communication of the dangers of inaction to increase greater participation. NY State is giving a positive push to this effort by including Green funding in the Development plan starting in 2013.
This will allow us to take a lead in this area as compared to rest of USA.

The Governor of  New York State should be congratulated for taking some bold action on promoting Green under the New York Rising program.

New York Sun Rising- a message for Sustainability

Tweet

For New Yorkers the state of the State address by our Governor Cuomo brings a message of hope and commitment for economic development. This bold strategy recognizes the value of Green renewable energy and how action must be taken to deal with Climate change.

Yesterday was the warmest day with temperatures in Finger Lakes approaching 60 F on January 12th. The snow is just about gone and green lawns are reminding us that our climate has changed and Global warming is also a reality.

The question is whether we act proactively to prevent future problems or react to problems when they happen? Sandy has left a multi Billion dollars damage for New York and New Jersey. What are where we may see similar or lot worse natural disasters?

New York is now investing in Green Energy technology with the new development plan as outlined in 2013 last week's Speech by Governor Cuomo. Solar and Farm waste digester energy are key element of this plan. This is lot safer approach to implement than our search for drilled oil and natural gas.
It is our hope that we do not settle for the old easy way with strong push from very strong and expensive lobby from established petroleum industry. This is the time to be pragmatic and use the revenues from nonrenewable sources to invest in developing renewable energy from solar, wind and bio gas digesters.

We are fortunate to have Leaders that have long term vision and are willing to take action to protect and preserve the environment. Sun Rising in NY brings new meaning to the State. Many communities now have an opportunity to become Energy Independent for serving their Municipal facilities.

It feels good  to be a New Yorker. Thank you Governor Cuomo for your Leadersip.

New York announces funding incentives to dairy farmers to produce renewable power from waste

Tweet

December 26th was a great day for New York dairy farmers or food processing plants as NYSERDA, an agency announced their program opportunity notice PON 2684. approx 29 million dollars are available on "First come first served" basis to applicants with max grant of 2 million dollars each.
Many smart farmers will take action fast to solve their waste disposal and energy problem by building anaerobic digesters and cogen system fired by biogas. Energy produced from their waste can now power the dairy farm and make them energy independent. The grant incentive will enable these farmers to require lower capital and improve the economic feasibility of the project.
Early bird catches the worm. Do not wait too long. Apply now because by February the money will be gone.