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M
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15, 2011
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We have tried ourmowers, in search o the perect one toreplace that polluting, gas sucking, noisymachine. With the price o gas, theremight be more bugs breeding in sometall unmowed lawns this summer! Here’sthe low-down:
editors’ page, subscriptions
...2transportation...................4, 5community ............................... 6group net metering...............7solar instalation..............8-13solar pv......................................9solar hot water....................11wind......................................14,15hydro.........................................15
incentives
.............................16,17heating ................................16,36
sustainable features
....18,19,33south village....................22,23news, clues & reviews..........24biochar, compost.................25seal & insulate.......................26construction +.................26-30passiv haus..............................27view from the top.................31resources, classifieds........34the green life..............35,37-39
contents
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be energy independent!
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By Chad Farrel & Dylan Raap
Creating Energy Awareness & Understanding…
green energy t mes
i 8
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m 15, 2011
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.. 802.439.6675
g.e.t. it!
yes you can! ... be energy independent!
A 150kW solar array currently under con-struction in South Burlington, Vermont,will soon be generating electricity for anuncommon consortium of users includ-ing a farm, a residential community andthe City of South Burlington. This netmetered solar array is a proof-of-con-cept project associated with a farm anda community energy venture programbeing created by Vermont entrepreneurWill Raap and Encore Redevelopment of Burlington, Ver-mont (encor-eredevelop-ment.com). The528 panels arebeing installedon a 10-acreorganic veg-etable farmin South Burlington called the Farm atSouth Village which is a part of SouthVillage Communities LLC (southvillage.
i ts
o u r
2
n d
a n n i v e rsa r y
!
> Cont'd on p.3 >>
the
Middlebury
So.Village
Professional oce building
>> Cont'd on p.2 >
A S
olAr
P
owered
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free
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com), a 220 acre conservation develop-ment located at the intersection of SpearStreet and Allen Road, approximately10 minutes from downtown Burlington.South Village Communities is currentlyin Phase 1 of construction, with 20 unitsexpected to be completed by the end of 2011.The Farm at South Village is at thecenter of the South Village community inboth location and spirit. Now in its thirdyear of opera-tion, the farmhas approxi-mately 5 acresunder cultiva-tion, with theremainingland beingpreparedfor additional vegetable crops, berries,orchards and greenhouses. The Farmat South Village CSA, which is open to
innovav communy powrs islf
with
renewable
energy
and
The City of South Burlington
Ground Mounted Solar Racks with View of the Adirondack Mountainsin the background at South Village, South Burlington, VT
montpelier, v | my 12, 2011
A bill promoting renewable energy de-velopment in Vermont and clean energy jobs won nal approval by the VermontLegislature this session.Martha Staskus, Chair o the Board o Renewable Energy Vermont (REV), theorganization that supported and pro-moted this legislation says the bill helpskeep Vermont on the map as a leader inrenewable energy and energy eciency.“The bill will spur the development o new local renewable energy, produceeconomic growth, and continue to growclean jobs.”H.56, The Vermont Energy Act o 2011continues Vermont’s eorts to promotea green economy and energy indepen-dence. It expands and improves Ver-mont’s successul net metering programwhich allows Vermont ratepayers togenerate their own energy with renew-able systems and run their meter back-wards when producing excess power.Recognizing the peak power savings o net metered solar, the new bill creates anancial incentive to catalyze more netmetered solar by requiring utilities tooer a 20¢ credit to solar net meteringcustomers or the energy they produce.“The new statewide solar adder givesVermont homeowners, businesses, non-prots and municipalities the incentiveand ability to produce their own solarenergy while recognizing the publicbenet o distributed solar energy to
Vermont Renewable IndustryHails Passage of Energy Bill
new statewide solar adder promises to expadet meterig throughout vermot
At
to Middle-bury, in the Middlebury South Vil-lage (MSV) planned development, therecently completed MSV Proessional O-ce Building, is a testament to achievinghigh energy perormance through a col-laborative team eort. The team o thedeveloper, Renaissance DevelopmentCompany, Maclay Architects and Naylor& Breen Builders recently received recordsetting results on an air sealing test thatilluminates the benets o a detail o-cused, fexible, team-oriented approachto goal-setting, design and construc-tion. Blower door test results set recordsor both the architect and builder as thetightest, commercial building envelopeeither rm has designed or constructed.
m s v (msv)
is a 31 acre mixed-use
,
‘smart growth’development. Within this smart growthcommunity, the MSV Proessional O-ce Building, a two story, 17,000 squareoot oce building, is the new home ordepartments o the Vermont Agency o Human Services
.
The Renaissance Development Com-pany determined early on that the lead-ing goal o the building project was tocreate an energy ecient and environ-mentally healthy building. A healthybuilding, rom the perspective o bothRenaissance Development Companyand Maclay Architects goes beyond mereenergy eciency, and includes ecient
High Performance Building the Result of a Collaborative Process
With no gas to buy, no emissions, nobelts to break, no engine noise, it is notonly a pleasure to use an all-electric lawnmower, but good on your pocketbook and the planet. We hope that soon wewill no longer hear that hum o a lawnmower engine that permeates our sum-mer’s serenity.Help is not ‘on the way’ - it is here! Wehave personally tested our o these onour rough country, VT lawn - a ormerpasture.All o the mowers we tried use no gas,oil or have umes (no ossil uels), nolters, plugs or belts, and are emissions-ree. This means no maintenance exceptto sharpen the blades. You DO have toplug the battery in to recharge the bat-tery. Clean. Quiet. Simple. Unplug andyou’’re on your way.
Cont'd on p.37 >
gas pices rise - so does you lawn!
Rechargable Mo
wers to the Rescue
>> Cont'd on p.22 >
The Solar Bus
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May15, 2011
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wants to hear what YOU are doing to help to reduce your and our dependence on Fossil Fuels.
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Green Energy Times is powered by 100% solar, o-grid with a3.8 kW PV system. We live and know that Energy Independenceis indeed possible - with clean, sustainable renewable energy.
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Correction for Feb.15, 2011 Issue:
It was brought to our attention that thecaption or one o the images in thebiomass article in the recent Feb. 15, 2011issue o GET was incorrect. The captionwas printed as ‘Burlington College inBurlington, VT’. It should have been‘Bennington College in Bennington, VT.’Apologies and the mistake were broughtto our attention just ater the publicationwas released, rom Cindy at BERC.
Net Zero
V
ermont
B
uilding
P
resented
in
m
ontreal
t
h amicn sociy of Hing,rfiging, nd ai-Condiioningengin (asHrae)
members, romaround the world, will convene in Mon-treal this June or an annual conerencetitled
“Sustainability Knows No Bor-ders”
.Five days o technical programswill run rom June 25th through June29th. ASHRAE, ounded in 1894, is aninternational, engineering organiza-tion with more than 50,000 members.ASHRAE ocuses on the advancemento heating, ventilation, air conditioningand rerigeration to serve humanity andpromote a sustainable world throughresearch, standards writing, publishingand continuing education.Speaking at this conerence will bethree experts rom New England, pre-senting a paper on theior collaborativedesign o the net-zero Putney SchoolField House:Andy Shapiro o Energy Balance,
•
Montpelier, VTDaniel C. Lewis o Kohler & Lewis
•
Keene, NHBill Maclay o Maclay Architects
•
Waitseld, VT The presentation on this ground-breaking project will be presented in asession ocused on Building IntegratedPhotovoltaic Systems as a part o theNet-Zero Energy Building Track. The net-zero, 16,800 square-oot Put-ney School Field House, located on thePutney School campus in Putney, VT,includes a gymnasium, as well as adja-cent spaces or recreation, health andsocializing. A 37 kW tracking PV array isprovides as much electricity in a year asthe building consumes. First occupiedNovember 2009, the rst year o datashows that the building achieved net-zero design perormance. Additionally,the building is currently on-track or aLEED 3.0 Platinum rating. The aorementioned design teammembers will present building statisticsand rst year energy data, and discussthe selection o air-source heat pumpsor building heating or this net-zero,cold climate building. They will alsodiscuss lessons learned during commis-sioning and rst year operation, includ-ing challenges relating to building net-zero in terms o cost, and marketplaceavailability o components.For more inormation on this coner-ence or this presentation in particularplease visit the ASHRAE conerencewebsite athttp://www.ashrae.org/events/2001-montreal-conerence
♻
.Vermonters statewide,” added Staskus.The bill also prevents a gap in undingor the successul Clean Energy Devel-opment Fund (CEDF). This und makes itmore aordable or Vermont homeown-ers and businesses to install small-scalerenewable energy systems. The bill includes expansions Vermont’sexisting Property Assessed Clean Energy(PACE) districts, a program that allowstowns to oer loans to homeownerslooking to make energy efciency retro-ts. Other provisions in the bill provideincentives or consumers looking toinstall high efciency biomass heatingsystems. It also establishes low sulurand biouel mandates or heating oilsold in Vermont, timed to match imple-mentation by surrounding states.Governor Peter Shumlin is slated tosign the bill on May 25 at the commis-sioning o a 150kW solar array at theFarm at South Village in S. Burlington. The event will run rom 1:00pm - 3:00pmat 130 Allen Road East, in S. Burlington,VT.For more inormation visit www.REV-ermont.org
<< Cont'd from Front Cover <
ENERGY BILL
Letters to the Editor
Jan. 9, 2011You have a great blog that is packed withgreat inormation. I don't think manypeople realize the great benets theycan potentially recieve just rom "goinggreen"... Good stu...
David Webb
Mar. 16, 2011Your website is a ascinating source o inormation.-
Jim Masland, Thetford Center, VT
April 7, 2011My business ad in the Green Energy Timesresulted in several calls rom potentialclients within 3 days o the newspaper'srelease date. Those responses were armore and aster than any o our pastyellow pages ads have ever yielded. The sta at G.E.T. have put together adynamic blend o high quality technicalinormation with a comortable grassroots charm that repeatedly drawsreaders to the Green Energy Times.
- Dewey and Associates
April 7, 2011We've met several times, casually, atvarious green-related events. I've been"digitally stalking" (that's a good thing)Green Energy Times and I think you aredoing some really cool, creative stu... -
Robert Farnum, Hanover, NH
April 9, 2011I teach green industry technologies at
North Country Career Center in Newport,VT. I have been getting your newspaper
"green energy times" wherever i cannd it. Great Stuf!!! I have been sharingthe inormation with my classes. Wouldit be possible to get 12 copies o thetimes here at school? I am currentlyteaching alternative energy to 2 classes& sustainability to another. I am workingwith the state Dept o Ed and my bossto create a 2 year program in greenenergy. Any inormation etc. you cansend or email would be most greatlyappreciated. R
egards on this sunny day.
- Tim Gustafson-Byrne, Newport, VT
From a Reader:
“Statistics show that
the United States still derives 90% of itselectricity from pollutants such as coal and nuclear power plants. Coal-burning
power plants are the country’s largest
emitter of carbon dioxide, a greenhousegas that traps heat in the atmospherecausing global warming. Coal is alsoresponsible for several other health riskssuch as asthma attack and other lungailments. It worsens the decade-longenvironmental problems that we still fail
to address nowadays.”
We ALL need to listen NOW and do
our part and encourage everyone to do
likewise and then do some more! What have you done TODAY to reduce your carbon emissions?
April 7, 2011 The article by Abraham Noe-Hays en-titled “Saving Energy with Composting Toilets in Your Community” was espe-cially inormative and well written. Iwould like to request permission to re-produce this article or local distributionand or submission to our local newspa-per (Cape Cod Times). Thank You,- Jim Corven, Sandwich, MA.
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how
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is your
CommuNITy
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g e tm lcm Dvd C.smb h f g.e.t.!
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vd'
role in our challenging businessdevelopment and growth can help usmake much more o an impact with ourmission to promote energy awareness,understanding and independence. He hasalready proven himsel to be a valuableasset to the production o our publication.His passion to work hard to make adiference on our planet and attempt tomake a diference with the energy crisesand climate change is a breathe o resh air.David brings his enthusiasm anddevotion to addressing the climate crisesand action as a ounding member o Climate Action Now. We encourage all to join this organization o networking:http://climateactionnow.ning.com/David's proessional history andaccomplishments are too numerous tomention. We eel very ortunate to havehime on board to help us meet the uturwith more certainty.
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An infrared scan of the MSV building
Take a closer look at what runs through a Green MountainPower line. Behind the electrons, you’ll see an abundanceof renewable generation, the passion of dedicatedemployees, a commitment to Vermont-based wind andsolar development, customer choices about the source ofgeneration for their electricity, and the promise to makethe environment and our communities better every day.
Read our new energy plan at
greenmountainpower.com
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NAYLOR & BREEN
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(802) 247-6527
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Naylor & Breen is committed to providingthe highest quality construction on schedule,and at a competitive price, while buildingstrong and lasting relationships with ourclients, employees,subcontractors, vendorsand professional
partners.
Middlebury South Village Professional Office Building
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water use, local materials, and providesa healthy work environment or its oc-cupants. Maclay Architects pushed thisgoal by providing clear metrics in thespecications and developing designdetails that helped bring this to reality. The project specications set an ambi-tious original goal or an air sealing tar-get, beyond that required by VermontEnergy Code, and this goal was exceededby a signicant margin. Ater completiono the building envelope, a nal blowerdoor test completed by Eciency Ver-mont determined the nal air inltrationreading to be 0.06 CFM50/sq. t. exteriorsurace area. This reading means thator every square oot o exterior suracearea o the building envelope, 0.06 cu-bic eet per minute o air travels throughthe envelope when pressurized to 50pascals. “The goal set out in the designspecications was 0.20 CFM50/sq. t. ex-terior surace area, so this result is 2/3rdsbetter than anticipated
,
” according toBill Maclay rom Maclay Architects.Energy consultant, Sandy LaFlamme,o Eciency Vermont states that
,
“Thisis one o the tightest commercial build-ings tested by Eciency Vermont – andit also achieved Core Perormance, a na-tionally recognized set o high-perorm-ing building standards ofered throughEciency Vermont
.
” These results really‘push the envelope.’ Sandy LaFlammealso indicates that, “This building willsave an estimated $2,800 annually inpropane costs over a 2011 code-mini-mum air sealed building.” And this sav-ings is only or the rst year, i energyprices continue to increase; the savingswill only go up. The high blower door test results atthe MSV Proessional Oce Buildingwere due to several actors, but accord-ing to Nick Denardo, superintendentor Naylor & Breen Builders, “The majorreason this project was so successul isbecause o the time that Jef Glassberg,MSV’s owner representative, took togather all o the project team togetherand explain what he was trying to ac-complish.”The selection and installation o build-ing envelope components are also o utmost importance to ensure that ma-terials perorm at their optimum ratings.Window installation is likely the most
Silicon from just one ton of sand, used in photovoltaic cells, v could produce as much electricity as burning 500,000tons of coal.The amount of recycling in 2007 saved the energy v equivalentof 10.7 billion gallons of gasoline and prevented therelease of carbon dioxide of approximately 35 millioncars. After Ireland created a 15-cent charge per plastic bag in v 2002, bag consumption dropped by 90 percent. In 2008,the average person in Ireland used 27 plastic bags, whilethe average person in Britain used 220. The program hasraised millions in revenue.
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