Suggestions for Upcoming Meetings
Please send us suggestions for future meeting locations and programs!
We also need volunteers to help organize and plan programs and activities.
Plans are currently underway for our annual membership meeting this fall.
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Seeking Nominations to InREA Board of Directors
The Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA) is seeking nominations to the Board of Directors. Please send your nominations to info@indianarenew.org. | |
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Greetings!
Join us at the WIndiana 2009 Conference Tuesday, July 21 and Wednesday, July 22, 2009, in Indianapolis. This is Indiana's only statewide wind conference. The Indiana Renewable Energy Association will be an exhibitor at the second WIndiana Conference. Please visit us at Booth 36.
Several InREA members will be exhibitors this year including: ECI Wind and Solar; Lucid Energy Technologies; White Construction and Wind Energy Services. Be sure to visit our members!
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Union City & Randolph Eastern School Begin Wind Project
Union City, Indiana-- The City of Union City, Indiana and the Randolph Eastern School Corporation made history as the first community in the nation to have a wind turbine project produce energy for both a city and a school. A ceremonial groundbreaking event was held at Union City Community High School on Friday, June 19, 2009.
The project will include two 330-foot high, i megawatt (MW) 2-blade Nordic WindPower turbines. The revenue generated will benefit the city and school budgets by offsetting current utility costs.
InREA members Steve Roy and David Baker with Wind Energy Services of Westfield; Ryan Stout and Luke Case with BatteryXpress of Yorktown and Laura Ann Arnold with The Arnold Group of Indianapolis attended the groundbreaking event with InREA member City Manager Monte Poling with Union City and Union City Mayor Bryan Conklin.
The Union City wind site is SW of town near the Union City well field. The mean wind speed is 6.55 meters per second @ 70 meters high. It will be visible from SR 32. The city owns the property of both wind turbine locations. Each 1 MW wind turbine is expected to generate in excess of 2.4 million kWh annually, which is equivalent to powering 250 homes in a single year. The wind turbines will displace 172.4 tons of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming.
When thinking of a wind turbine, most people visualize a three-blade image. And while a majority of today's commercial wind turbines utilize three-blades, the technology and economy of the Nordic two-blade turbine was selected by the engineering company for this project. Specifically, the engineering company stated the following advantages for this project design as follows:
- Lower turbine manufacturing cost
- Minimal difference in efficiency due to the longer, wider blade structure
- Lower turbine installation costs due to easier handling and assembly during erection
- Lower annual operational and maintenance costs
- Excellent operational reliability
- Slightly less noise than a corresponding three-blade
The wind turbine groundbreaking event served as the kickoff to a daylong BOOMTOWN USA celebration, recognizing Union City as the renewable energy corridor of Indiana.
Union City is a member of InREA.
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Vectren Receives Approval for Additional Wind Power
EVANSVILLE, Indiana Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana (NYSE: VVC) will add 50 megawatts (MW) of wind energy from an Indiana wind farm -- thanks to the approval June 17, 2009, by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
The purchase will provide enough energy to power about 15,000 homes annually and will bring Vectren's total wind power portfolio to 80 MW, which allows Vectren to meet 4 percent of its customers' needs with renewable energy.
"Today's decision allows us to further increase our renewable power portfolio," said Vectren Chairman and CEO Niel Ellerbrook. "This homegrown, Indiana energy not only adds green power for our customers, but it also helps position us to meet any future state or federal renewable requirement."
The renewable energy is from phase two of the Fowler Ridge wind farm in Benton County, Ind, which is expected to move into construction later this year. This 20-year power purchase agreement is the second wind energy contract for Vectren.
In addition, June marked the one-year anniversary of wind power in the local generation mix. The utility signed a 20-year contract in December 2007 with another independently-owned wind farm in Benton County. That contract provided 30 MW of energy or roughly 95 million kWh, which is enough to power 8,000 homes.
The Fowler Ridge wind farm, which will be the largest in the Midwest when completed, is owned and operated through a joint venture of BP Wind Energy and Dominion, in which BP Wind Energy retains sole ownership of 100 MW.
Vectren's electric utility serves all or portions of seven counties in southwestern Indiana, including Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Gibson, Posey, Pike and Dubois.
About VectrenVectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) is an energy holding company headquartered in Evansville, Ind.Vectren's energy delivery subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to more than one million customers in adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and west central Ohio. Vectren's nonutility subsidiaries and affiliates currently offer energy-related products and services to customers throughout the Midwest and Southeast. These include gas marketing and related services; coal production and sales; and energy infrastructure services. To learn more about Vectren, visit www.vectren.com.
Contact: Mike Roeder, +1-812-491-5255
Vectren is a member of InREA. |
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Join Us for InREA Feed-in Tariff Webinar --Aug. 5th
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What is a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) or an advanced renewable energy tariff?
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Are you a relatively new member of InREA and you missed our reception and meeting with FIT advocate Paul Gipe last September in Ft. Wayne?
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Want to know how FIT's compare to net metering and a renewable electricity standard (RES)?
InREA members Chris Striebeck with IDS of Indianapolis and Laura Ann Arnold with The Arnold Group of Indianapolis are planning a Webinar on FIT's. This webinar will cover an introduction to FIT's as well as a status report on recent FIT proposals in the US and abroad. You won't want to miss this important event that will include a sneak preview of the FIT proposed by Indianapolis Power & Light currently pending before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
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U.S Secretary of Energy Steven Chu Tours WaterFurnace International
Tour Coincides with Announcement of $50 Million in Funding for Geothermal Systems
Fort Wayne, IN. - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu toured the world headquarters of WaterFurnace International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of residential, commercial, industrial
and institutional geothermal and water source heat pumps, during a visit to Fort Wayne on June 2. His visit to Fort Wayne also included the announcement of a $50 million program that will encourage the installation of geothermal heating and cooling systems like the ones manufactured by WaterFurnace.
Sec. Chu visited the city to discuss federal recovery efforts for auto communities and workers. As part of his visit, the secretary participated in a roundtable discussion with
WaterFurnace executives, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry, a WaterFurnace employee and a
WaterFurnace dealer. Following the discussion, Sec. Chu toured the WaterFurnace facility with
WaterFurnace President and CEO Tom Huntington, Chairman of the Board Tim Shields and Mayor Henry.
According to Sec. Chu, the $50 million program will support three programs. The largest of the three will fund competitive grants open to companies like WaterFurnace that manufacture geothermal heating and cooling systems. These grants will apply to cost-shared technology demonstration projects that retrofit or incorporate a minimum of 50 tons of heating and cooling capacity.
Another program will provide grants to improve geothermal system technology, and a third will create a national certification process to increase consumer confidence.
"We are very excited about Sec. Chu's announcement today and the leadership
WaterFurnace will continue to play in our country's movement toward clean energy technology,"
said Huntington. "But what's more, it was an honor to have Sec. Chu recognize WaterFurnace
as a people-oriented company; that not only do we stand out as a company that is progressive
in our technology, but also a company invested in our people."
"The products we build and promote are among the most environmentally friendly heating and cooling products available in the world today," Huntington continued. "We've also implemented a number of initiatives here in Fort Wayne that reduce our carbon footprint and make a positive contribution to the environment of our community."
In fact, the city of Fort Wayne recently recognized WaterFurnace as the first business in
Fort Wayne to achieve Green City Business certification. As part of the Green City Business
certification process, WaterFurnace attended a training session sponsored by the Fort Wayne
Environmental and Energy Department. The program helps businesses save money on energy
costs and adopt more environmentally friendly business practices as it targets pollution
prevention, solid waste reduction and energy and water conservation.
"As we continue to practice good stewardship of our environment, WaterFurnace has been able to sustain a leadership position in an industry that has become the choice for environmentally friendly and super energy-efficient heating, cooling and hot water products," said Huntington. "Our products save as much as 70 percent on heating, cooling and hot water costs and emit no carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or other greenhouse gases.
Tim Shields, chairman of the board at WaterFurnace said, "Because geothermal energy
is homegrown, using geothermal energy reduces the country's dependence on foreign oil and creates 'green collar' jobs in the United States. The allocation of funds announced by Sec. Chu
will certainly have a positive impact on our business and the smaller businesses the geothermal industry supports, including heating and air-conditioning contractors, electricians, plumbers, excavators and drilling machine operators."
In addition to these businesses, homeowners will benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under the provisions of this act, homeowners who install a geothermal system before Dec. 31, 2016 can take advantage of a federal renewable energy tax credit of 30 percent of the total investment for the system. This tax incentive is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009. Homeowners can also take advantage of utility rebates and state tax incentives where available
to make geothermal systems more affordable than ever.
WaterFurnace International, Inc.
WaterFurnace International, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of residential, commercial, industrial
and institutional geothermal and water source heat pumps. Products from WaterFurnace include
energy-efficient and environmentally friendly geothermal comfort systems, indoor air quality
products and pool heaters. WaterFurnace (TSX:WFI) was founded in 1983, the company is
headquartered in Fort Wayne, Ind.
For additional information, please visit www.waterfurnace.com.
WaterFurnace is a member of InREA.
WaterFurnace Names New President, CEO
WaterFurnace International Inc., a manufacturer of residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional geothermal and water-source heat pumps, has named Tom Huntington as president and chief executive officer. Huntington is taking over for Bruce Ritchey, who is retiring from the company after 10 years in the position.
Huntington comes to WaterFurnace from the Building Efficiency Division of Johnson Controls Inc. In 2005, Johnson Controls acquired York International, where Huntington was president of York's $1 billion Unitary Products Group from 2000 until 2006. Huntington continued to run that group under Johnson Controls.
Previously, Huntington served as senior vice president of engineering and vice president of global sales and marketing at Bristol Compressors. He helped grow Evcon/Coleman Industries from $35 million to $150 million in sales from 1992 through 1995, when the company was acquired by York International. Huntington continued as general manager of Evcon Industries under York until 1997.
Well-known within the heating and air-conditioning industry, Huntington was chairman of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association and was involved in its consolidation with the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute. He currently serves on the planning board of the resulting organization, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute. He also serves on the board of North American Technician Excellence, a testing and certification organization for service-technician training.
Huntington holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology from Rochester Institute of Technology. Upon graduation, he completed a two-year manufacturing-management training program with General Electric before pursuing a master's degree in engineering administration from Syracuse University.
InREA Welcomes Tom Huntington to Indiana. |
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Energy Conversion Devices Signs Supply Agreement With Inovateus Solar
Rochester Hills, Mich., July 14, 2009 - Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) (ECD), a manufacturer of proprietary, thin-film amorphous silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) laminates announced that it has signed a supply agreement with Inovateus Solar. Inovateus expects to purchase up to 10MW of UNI-SOLAR® laminates from ECD through the end of 2011.
"This new agreement with Inovateus Solar is another example of how we are working together with our distribution partners to further establish UNI-SOLAR laminates as the leader in rooftop PV. We look forward to expanding our relationship with Inovateus Solar," said Mark Morelli, president and CEO of Energy Conversion Devices.
Inovateus Solar will use UNI-SOLAR brand PV laminates for building-integrated photovoltaic systems in commercial rooftop applications.
"We are very excited to continue to grow our relationship with United Solar Ovonic. We've found that UNI-SOLAR products provide an array of benefits that other photovoltaic brands can't offer. We believe this agreement for 10MW's is a conservative estimate and our actual numbers should well supersede this," said T.J. Kanczuzewski, Executive Vice President of Inovateus Solar.
About Energy Conversion Devices
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. is the leader in building integrated and commercial rooftop photovoltaics, one of the fastest growing segments of the solar power industry. The company manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. ECD's UNI-SOLAR brand products are unique because of their flexibility, light weight, ease of installation, durability, and real-world efficiency. ECD also pioneers other alternative technologies, including a new type of nonvolatile digital memory technology that is significantly faster, less expensive, and ideal for use in a variety of applications including cell phones, digital cameras and personal computers. For more information, please visit www.ovonic.com.
About Inovateus Solar LLC
Inovateus Solar is a national distributor for UNI-SOLAR products and provides turn-key solutions for large commercial and industrial projects.
Inovateus Solar is a member of InREA. | |
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As always, thank you for your involvement in InREA and we hope to see you at our next meeting!
Sincerely,
Laura Ann Arnold
Indiana Renewable Energy Association
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