Advancing Renewables in the Midwest conference draws interest from business, government
COLUMBIA — Mayor Bob McDavid set the tone for the Advancing Renewables in the Midwest conference in his opening remarks.
“Being frugal with energy is patriotic …We need to make renewable energy more affordable,” McDavid said.
His concern was echoed by many of the businessmen, engineers, scientists and government officials who presented at the conference. While some of the presentations offered only possibilities, others offered immediate economic opportunities for Columbia.
Growing Fuels for a Growing Market
“The best way to facilitate new technologies is a big purchase order,” said Nancy Heimann, business manager of Enginuity Worldwide.
Simple “Business 101” logic guided Enginuity’s decision to build a 130 megawatt data center at the Ewing Industrial Park in north Columbia, Heimann said. Data centers, the storehouses of internet content, need large amounts of energy. Enginuity needs to know the supply and price will be steady in the long term. They plan to do that by integrating power production with power use.
Enginuity plans to power data center by burning compressed pellets of grass and wood grown locally.
Germany’s Sunny Disposition
Missouri has little solar power generation, yet Germany — which is cloudier than the Show Me State — relies heavily on solar power. What made Germany decide to invest in solar?
The manufacturing base that existed in Germany beforehand was a big reason, said Tom Nicholas of the Solar Electric Power Association in response to a question during his presentation. German entrepreneurs realized in the 1990’s that the factories they already had could be re-fit to manufacture solar panels.
Many opportunities for re-fitting factories exist in Missouri as well, said Chris Chung, CEO of the Missouri Partnership, an industry advocacy group. Zoltek in St. Louis and Able Manufacturing in Joplin both added windmill blades to the list of products they produce, he noted.
Locally, a Columbia company has considered transitioning to producing parts for solar panels, but Chung said he couldn’t reveal their name.
Home Makeover: EPA Style
“You must reduce before you produce,” Chandler von Schrader said during his presentation on the Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES) program. Von Schrader directs the program for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The HPwES program is a government certification system that verifies the energy efficiency of products, including home improvements. The local sponsor of the program is the Columbia Water and Light Department.
According to Von Schrader:
Missouri was 5th in the U.S. for sponsoring Home Performance with Energy Star jobs in 2009
442 HPwES jobs were carried out by Columbia Water and Light in 2009
$9.5 million have been spent to date on efficiency audits and upgrades in Missouri
Terry Freeman of Columbia Water and Light said in an interview after the presentation that he believes one reason for success is that the HPwES program is market-based.
Audits used to be free and people didn’t seem to value them as much, Freeman said. He feels paying for audits increased the perceived value to the homeowner and allowed the program to grow and thrive on its own.
Another reason for the increase in interest may be the current recession, said Freeman. Fewer people buy new homes, now. Instead they improve the home they have.
Whatever the reason for its success, Freeman is “like a kid in a candy store,” with the new program.
“It’s fantastic…In the 30 years I’ve done energy audits, we finally have a system that works,” he said.
-Tim Wall
