Renewable energy program discusses new technologies

By 2030, global energy consumption is projected to be 55% higher than it is today due to population growth, continued urbanization, and economic expansion. But renewable energy technologies are now ready for use on a large scale and have the potential to meet world energy demand many times over. USGBC Long Island assembled an accomplished panel of experts to discuss energy efficiency, weatherization, solar photovoltaic and solar thermal, wind and geothermal. The program was moderated by Terese Kinsley, PE, LEED AP - chief sustainability officer for the Town of Huntington who is transforming the municipality of 191,032 residents into a lean sustainable town. Starting with assessing their $4.6 million 2008 LIPA bill where 39% are costs attributed to streetlighting and traffic signals, energy efficiency and conservation quickly became a top priority. The town began changing or retrofitting street lights with high efficiency induction or LED lighting where changing one streetlight to a 120w induction fixture results in $8.20/month/fixture savings or $14,382/year. The town estimates changing all 18,723 fixtures will result in $696,024 annual savings, thus reducing the streetlighting to 15% of the total LIPA bill. Rich Manning from Energy Master Environmental Solutions explained what energy consultants find in existing buildings and how energy savings are evaluated. Manning described what upgrades can be performed to lower the energy cost of the homeowner and how the upgrades may affect their safety and why testing measures are used to ensure a safe environment. He further emphasized why it makes sense to review low-cost measures that make the house as energy efficient as possible prior to any additional upgrades such as renewables. Gary Minnick, president of Go Solar, presented the advantages of Solar Electric and Solar Thermal and the value of roof space and roof space utilization, solar water heating systems, incentives and rebates. Jeff Lang, vice president/director wind technology of Eastern Energy Systems and Matthew Brown, energy engineer, building efficiency division of Johnson Controls discussed the conceptual and mechanical operation of wind turbines. With an actual residential wind turbine on display, the two discussed turbine placement in the wind resource of Long Island, case studies of turbines installed, how wind turbines garner LEED points and the limiting factors for their use on Long Island such as permits, zoning and NIMBY. Lang and Brown addressed incentive programs such as LIPA rebates, federal ITC, accelerated depreciation, as well as examples of the cost and payback ROI for residential, commercial, and municipal wind turbines in an average wind location on the East End. Paul Boyce, PE - vice president and principal at PW Grosser Consulting, spoke of the differences between "Geothermal" and "GeoExchange," the theoretical basis of geothermal technology, the basics of ground-source heat pump systems and their benefits. Geothermal heat pumps take advantage of the relatively stable ground or water temperatures near the earth's surface (roughly 50 to 55 degrees F year-round) to heat or cool buildings above-ground. Instead of creating heat, geothermal pumps "move" heat in the desired direction. In the winter, geothermal pumps capture the latent heat stored in the ground and use a compressor to "bump up" the temperature in your home to the desired level (e.g. 71 degrees). In the summer, the system captures the heat in the home and moves it back to the ground. Boyce covered its benefits, feasibility analysis and types of ground couples. Richard Neuman is chair - programs committe for USGBC and is a partner for Relocation Management Solutions.