AECP’S 7TH ANNUAL GREEN LIVING AND ENERGY EXPO IS MAJOR SUCCESS
AECP held its 7th annual Green Living and Energy Expo on December 1 and 2 at the Roanoke Civic Center. Approximately 1500 people attended the two-day event. There were 50 exhibits and several workshops. The attendance represented our best showing ever and the number of exhibits was a 20% increase over the previous year. Our first event had 13 exhibits and attendance was about 200 people. So we have grown and the Expo has become an annual event that is successful in providing educational opportunities to the general public on a wide variety of topics, issues, products, and services – all related to sustainability and how we can improve the world we live in.
Exhibits included information and expertise on solar energy, rainwater management systems, wind energy, geothermal heat pumps, outdoor wood furnaces, organic cotton clothing, green building, green architectural services, recycling, weatherization, alternative fueled vehicles, land conservation, green investing, global warming, organic farming, straw bale construction, green building materials, carbon monoxide, water conservation, insulation, naturalism, energy efficient lighting, green roofs, sustainable forestry and products, pressure diagnostics, duct systems, the blower door, and much more.
Workshops included sessions on residential and commercial green building, green sanctuaries, peak oil, green roofs, green products and the environment, sustainable forestry and products, and the House of Pressure.
Engagement between exhibitors and attendees was superb. Everyone who attended also had the opportunity to pick up a huge variety of educational brochures, pamphlets, and documents. As always admission to the Expo was free.
Next year we plan on moving into the new exhibit hall that is being built adjacent to the existing venue. The new hall will be ready in the spring of 2007. Our plan is to have 75 exhibits and a much expanded workshop schedule.
Much thanks and appreciation goes out to all of the AECP members who helped in the planning and coordination of the Expo as well as participating as exhibitors and workshop leaders.
NEW HAMPSHIRE UTILITY CONVERTS COAL PLANT TO WOOD FUEL
A 50-megawatt power plant that used to be fueled with coal is now running entirely on wood chips. Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) announced in early December that its $75 million “Northern Wood Power Project” is in service, providing power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses throughout the state. The rebuilt plant avoids the burning of 130,000 tons of coal each year, replacing it with about 400,000 tons of wood from local resources. According to PSNH, the wood fueled boiler will emit only one-quarter of the nitrous oxides and only 2% of the sulfur dioxide that was emitted by the coal plant. Construction of the project began in October 2004 and includes a storage facility capable of holding about 10,000 tons of wood chips, a wood-fuel delivery system, and a 110-foot-high boiler.
OLDER WOODSTOVES CAN BE SERIOUS POLLUTERS
There are over 10 million woodstoves in use in America. Woodstoves burn a renewable type of fuel and often the wood that is burned is from dead or waste material. But 70-80% of these woodstoves are old and inefficient and they can be the single largest residential contributor of particle air pollution or fine particulate matter (PM), which is the nation’s most dangerous form of air pollution. PM is caused by fossil fuel combustion – power plants, vehicles, and home energy use. PM in the air we breathe is responsible for thousands of pre-mature deaths in America each year and is directly related to an epidemic of asthma and respiratory illness. What we do in our own home can impact everyone in the community as well as the occupants of the home. So be sure that the woodstove that you use is an EPA certified unit because it will emit 70% less pollution and fine particulate matter. If your wood stove is not EPA certified then the renewable source of fuel you are using is contributing to increased air pollution. Do everyone a favor and replace the old and inefficient woodstove with a new unit that has an EPA certification. EPA certified stoves are designed to burn wood more completely, more cleanly, and reduce the heat lost up the chimney.