THE BARNINGHAM SUNHOUSE
By Liz Barningham

We have been living comfortably in our new home, the Sunhouse, for almost a year now. It is an off-grid house built and inspired by the ideas of Hans Albarda, a founding member of CFRE, based on high thermal mass and passive solar orientation.

It was wonderful to have many local community members involved in the planning, construction and even painting of the house. During construction, there was a steady stream of visitors and when we were not there, Randy Martin, who coordinated all the work, did a fine job of conducting house tours. I received many comments about what a friendly and welcoming building site it was.

Interest in the house has not waned. We held and open house in the spring that 60 people attended. This is not a big house! In September, we held another open house and though there were fewer people, they received a more comprehensive tour and more opportunity to ask questions. As a result of the many questions we are constantly being asked, we decided to hold a workshop; "Using less energy and saving resources; how to prepare for a solar/wind/grid house."

The workshop was attended by about a dozen people and we already have a waiting list for future workshops. We started with the mysteries of the hydro bill and worked through conservation and some of the vocabulary of renewable energy solar thermal, photo voltaic. There were plenty of questions which seemed to multiply during the break for tea and cookies! We both feel that we just skimmed the surface of knowledge it has taken us years to acquire, but I am confident that the participants are now more aware of their energy use and possible renewable alternatives.

We also spent some time on sharing resources of magazines, catalogues, CFRE newsletters and membership forms. Several people want to come back and talk more about their specific situation. Everybody had the opportunity to spend a comfortable afternoon experiencing an "off grid" home and we received many generous donations to the local food bank.

When we decided to build this house, Barney and I made a commitment to use it as a learning tool and to pass on Hans Albarda's generosity. The ripples keep flowing and I feel that every open house, workshop, house tour or visit by local school children is like another pebble cast into the pond and those ripples ARE renewable energy!

THE AWARENESS PROJECT
By J.W. (Hans) Albarda

With approximately five billion people sharing this planet, it is barely possible to believe that one citizen can make a difference to global problems. We've been reveling in a one-hundred-and-fifty-year-long-gala-party, fuelled by cheap and carefree energy (oil and gas), and now we have to get sobered up and get wise. This will not be easy because our elected (and unelected) leaders are carbon (& uranium) dealers and addicts themselves. Believing in individual empowerment is an immense challenge, but his is where real change has to start.

Massive problems are always most effectively challenged by one person. The AIDS epidemic is being subdued by one person deciding to wear a condom. The number of drunk driving fatalities is being reduced by on person to hail a taxi. This is where real change happens, with one person.

It is always fun to pick up a magazine which shows a whole lot of immensely interesting projects that people are doing. Most of these projects are out of reach for the average person (i.e. too big, too technical, too expensive), but there's often one simple worthwhile project included which is within reach. There is one simple worthwhile project which we can all individually do to definitely change the world. Let's call this "The Awareness Project."

You may have already experienced something similar. For instance, if you have been fortunate enough to have taken classes in drawing, painting and/or photography, you will know that the whole world looks different after the first few lessons. When you are given an assignment requiring that you seek out (and record) certain shapes, colours or textures, you will suddenly begin to see those elements whenever and wherever you look, day or night. You have attained a strong new awareness. This new awareness stays with you for a long time.

You can give yourself and energy Awareness Project assignment. Over a one week period, seek out (and take note of) as many energy wasting situations as you can find. For the first time you will notice that your favorite department store has no windows or skylights, but has several hundred electric lights burning during the middle of a sunny day. You begin to see energy being lavishly squandered wherever you look, day or night. You have attained a strong new awareness. This new awareness will stay with you for a long time.

Individual awareness and individual self-empowerment is where real global change begins. Real change depends on one person.

SPECIAL NOTICE!

With the new year in sight and income tax time looming there is a chance to divert your taxes into a more worthwhile direction. CFRE can provide you with charitable receipts if you make out your donation cheque to CCWM (Citizens' Clearinghouse for Waste Management) and write 'Donation CFRE' on the reference line. Send it to our office at:

462 East Rd., RR4,
Lion's Head ON N0H 1W0

You can be sure that your money will help to fight for a cleaner and safer future for our children!

GORBACHEV URGES G8 TO BACK SOLAR POWER, NOT OIL OR NUCLEAR
Published on Thursday, April 27, 2006 by Agence France Presse
By Philip Thornton

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev urged the world's biggest industrialized nations to set up a 50-billion-dollar (44-billion-euro) fund to support solar power, warning that oil or nuclear energy were not viable energy sources for the future.

Gorbachev - who chairs an environmental thinktank, Green Cross International -- called on leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations to invest in renewable energy sources, in a statement marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

As leader of the Soviet Union in 1986, Gorbachev led the immediate response to the world's worst nuclear disaster, which led to at least 4,000 deaths and sent a radioactive cloud over parts of Europe.

The Green Cross proposals were contained in a letter sent to the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations who are due to meet in Russia in July. Some of the proposals were reported last week in the Financial Times.

"This idea reflects our vision of a way of helping the energy-impoverished in the developing world, while creating concentrations of solar energy in cities that could be used to prevent blackouts," Gorbachev said.

Solar energy would also "lower electricity bills, and would provide a source in the future for generating renewable hydrogen fuels," he added.

"The fund could easily be raised by cutting subsidies for fossil fuels like oil and coal."

Rising oil prices and supply concerns, as well as the growing need to combat global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, have raised the profile and economic viability of some renewable energy sources.

Those concerns have also sparked renewed interest in nuclear power as a source of climate-friendly energy.

The debate has been amplified by the need for some European countries to plan soon for the replacement of earlier generations of nuclear power stations that are due to come to the end of their lifespan in the next two decades.

But Gorbachev has said that nuclear power "doesn't add up economically, environmentally or socially".

"Nuclear power is neither the answer to modern energy problems nor a panacea for climate change challenges," he claimed.

Green Cross said nuclear technology requires huge amounts of initial capital, while decommissioning plants is hugely expensive and costs continue to be incurred long after a nuclear power station is closed.

Direct subsidies to nuclear energy in the United States totalled 115 billion dollars between 1947 and 1999 with a further 145 billion dollars in indirect subsidies, according to the non-governmental agency.

It said they dwarfed those spent on solar or wind power.

The G8 brings together Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse; Used in accordance with the publisher's copyright

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

As this festive season of Christmas approaches and the weather changes, we are forced into our annual ritual of bundling up and preparing our homes and vehicles for the winter conditions ahead. Out of respect for the power of mother nature, we change our habits in order maintain some normalcy in our lives. As I grow older, I realize how strongly my life conditions and health depend upon the natural environment.

But already before the end of October, weather conditions have wreaked havoc upon many residents of Ontario. Strong winds, heavy downpours and unusual weather patterns have brought about power outages, downed trees and flooding. As these events become a regular and expected occurrence, our dependency on old, antiquated systems of power generation and distribution becomes more apparent. I, for one, believe these volatilities in weather patterns will continue to increase in number and in strength. Our current way of life including wasteful pollution habits and the use of a centralized non-sustainable energy system is leading to a global climate change that affects all life on this planet.

Governments and large corporations seem very slow and reluctant to change their narrow thinking towards a modern sustainable lifestyle, so it is left up to individuals to make the necessary changes in their thinking and their actions for a bright and healthy future. As I pray for guidance to lead me closer to such a sustainable lifestyle, I hope that my actions and thoughts will represent a growing trend in our society.

Local renewable energy is just one aspect of this new lifestyle. As we develop awareness for a selfless, healthy, well being existence, our usage of renewable, less polluting and greater efficient resources will expand. Hoping all of you remain healthy, aware and part of the solution to our current human dilemma.

Vitold Kreutzer; 519-923-3005

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!

Our Special Workshop and Annual General Meeting has been set for the last Sunday in May, the 27th, after the Victoria Day Holiday weekend.

We have reserved our favourite spot,

Please try to make time and come to this beautiful spot in Mennonite country!

Details in our March newsletter.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

The lonely 1.8 MW Ferndale windturbine got company!

Two more of these sleek, beautiful structures were added this fall in record construction time, bringing the private Skygeneration Inc. Ferndale (Bruce Peninsula) project to its full capacity of just over 5 MW.

Over 100 enthusiasts celebrated the Grand Opening on Nov. 18 including a number of dignitaries as well as the CEO of Bullfrog Power, Tom Heintzman.

Congratulations, Glen, for pioneering the fight for a clean environment!!

DARDESHEIM A SHINING EXAMPLE!
By S.(Ziggy) Kleinau

A little town near Magdeburg/Germany is calling itself the "Town of Renewable Energies". And rightly so, because its citizens have banded together to produce almost all their energy requirements from clean and safe renewable power sources .

A wind farm, built through local investment, large roof installations of solar photovoltaic panels and solar water heating systems produce the power which is fed through a local distribution grid into homes, farms and businesses.

And if the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow they don't need a large battery storage they fire up a biomass plant to generate the electricity from plant residues, wood pellets and manure.

Truly a marvellous achievement and proof that, if citizens band together in a common goal, they can combine their investment for long term benefits and a renewable future! The output of the wind turbines alone avoid approximately 80 tons of Greenhouse Gases(CO2). I was able to see this beautiful little town and its achievements by myself and bring you photos to illustrate my report.

Dardesheim utility building

Windpark: Druiberg, near Dardesheim

FROM THE COORDINATOR...

Having spent a lot of time travelling over the last 2 months I am finally settled in my winter residence no, not in Florida or South Carolina or other points south, just 15 km in the southerly direction in the beautiful village of Lion's Head in rented quarters.

Getting up in age I need a little more comfort away from shovelling snow and lugging firewood.

But let me tell you from my 5 weeks in Germany from the end of September till the end of October: First of all I enjoyed the most beautiful weather there, which, according to the weather service, resulted in a record warm October. Solar Power was abundant!

Travelling by train I saw many wind turbines turning out that clean and safe electricity.

Solar roofs glistened in the sun and new subdivisions had many houses sporting solar water heating panels.

Visiting friends near Dresden I discovered a house with its roof completely decked with photovoltaic (PV) panels. Talking to the owner he proudly told me that, together with more modules in his backyard, he had a 15 kW solar system and sold most of the output back to the utility at a premium. He showed me a set-up of Amp-meters where he could check the output of integrated panels.

My nephew in the small town where one of my sisters lives installed a solar water heating system, with some funding from the government, and is very happy with its performance.

And then, with the help of a niece and her husband I was able to visit a wind farm which boasted the largest wind turbine ever built in a land location a 6 MW giant. The blades of the slightly smaller ones turned somewhat faster, while the giant's wings had a leisurely mode to it. And of course the sound of all of them was a comforting 'swoosh swoosh'.

Watching a televised discussion about energy and transmission issues with the federal energy minister and industry-, Laender- and consumer - representatives I was very happy to hear Sigmar Gabriel, the energy minister, state that already renewable energies are producing more power in Germany than nuclear reactors! What a worthwhile goal for this province which continues to invest BILLIONS of our tax dollars into refurbishing aging reactors instead of supporting private investors who want to bring clean and SAFE natural power into the energy mix!!

Following an invitation to a multi-stakeholder workshop on climate change and conservation by the Ministry of the Environment I presented a short submission on the potential of a 100,000 Solar Roof Program for Ontario, explaining the benefits of this renewable energy mode as conservation with the power produced on location right where it is consumed no impact on transmission capacity, especially during peak demand during hot summer days!!

I also represented CFRE at a Non-Government Organization (NGO) meeting called by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission(CNSC) in Ottawa to find a way to establish a Regulatory Affairs Committee with organizations who do not represent the nuclear industry. Apparently the CNSC got stung by a petition to the Auditor General to investigate CNSC's handling of their regulatory activities.

To bring CFRE's perspective on refurbishing aging nuclear reactors I attended an OPG workshop on the Environmental Assessment of Pickering B refurbishing and life extension until the year 2042. Other attendants had critical questions about a costly project like this and its benefits.

But then we were invited to have a display at the largest health exhibition in Canada, the Whole Life Expo at the Toronto Convention Centre, with the space donated!

It was gratifying to sense the connection between health issues and the need for pollution-free power generation from the audience. It resulted in signing up a number of new members. Thanks to Gary, Kerry, Jeff and Vitold for their help staffing the 2-day display!

Another trip to Toronto( 3 1/2 hour by car from my location) was made to follow a personal invitation from the Ministry of Energy to a 'Conservation Showcase' at Queens Park. Again I was able to promote especially solar power as conservation method and made valuable connections with government and industry representatives.

To facilitate and coordinate the workings of our diverse committees the CFRE board now holds bi-monthly conference calls.

With the Holiday Season fast approaching may I on behalf of our directors and myself extend to all of you our greetings and best wishes for a healthy, happy and blessed Christmas and a new year with lots of Renewable Energy activity!!

15 kW Solar system on roof (and backyard) near Dresden, Germany

QUOTABLES...

Ancient proverb

RELIABLE (AND AFFORDABLE) NUCLEAR POWER? (An Update)
Information taken from CMD 06-M59 and
www.sygration.com/gendata/today.html

Ads and commercials from the Power Workers Union (PWU) keep appearing on TV screens and in newspapers praising, among other generation modes('Clean coal'), nuclear power generation's reliable performance in their "A better energy plan" website.

So let's look at the performance of Ontario's reactors over the several months:

While Bruce Power's #1 and #2 reactors are being ripped apart to be made 'like new' to churn out power for another 30 years, the other 2 reactors from Bruce A have had their hick-ups. The B section is performing steadily after an almost 2 months maintenance outage of #8 reactor.

At Darlington Unit 1 has been undergoing repairs and maintenance for almost 2 months, while the 800 MW had to be replaced by coal-fired or imported power. The other reactors are producing.

At Pickering Unit 1 (refurbished at a cost of $1 Billion!) was generating at reduced power due to generator cooling issues and suffered a forced outage for 2 weeks to correct Liquid Zone Control System problems.

Unit 2 and 3 have been shut down since last year when OPG's Board of Directors decided it would be too expensive to refurbish them(!!), and are being de-fuelled.

Unit 4(refurbished at a cost of $ 2 ¬ Billion) was shut down October 1st with similar problems as Unit 1 and has not been re-started 2 month after the shut-down, now jogging along at 1 MW per hour!!

At Pickering B Unit 5 was shut down for repairs for 2 weeks in November and was taken out again recently for 'maintenance'.

Unit 7 has been in a maintenance outage for over 2 months now while the other 2 reactors hung in producing 500 MW each.

Now if anybody can call that dismal record a reliable performance then, I guess, we need a new definition for 'reliable'!

THE COST QUESTION
By J.W. (Hans) Albarda
Wolfville, Nova Scotia

"Should I go with solar power or should I stick with the local electric power company?" is a question which is being asked more and more frequently these days. In an ideal world the answer could be easy, given what is now known about environmental and geo-political consequences of using traditional commercial electric power in North America (i.e. Nova Scotia Power Corp.), most thinking people would choose to tap into their own free and clean renewable energy instead.

Renewable energy is growing, but nevertheless, remains very much in the minority. The perception of a high financial cost, of photovoltaics (PV) for instance, is a deterrent for most people. Let's compare costs to determine whether such a deterrent really exists using a very simple example of a 100 Watt PV panel.

In 2006, a 100 Watt first class PV panel costs around $800. The average Nova Scotia daily number of sunlight hours is 3.5, therefore, the PV panel will produce 350 Watt-hours (Wh) of electricity per day. At this rate, in a year 128,000 Wh is produced. This is equal to 128 kilowatt-hours (KWh).

If you use this PV panel for one year, then you've paid $800 for 128 kWh of electricity. You have paid $6.25 per kWh. Even when all charges are included, the local power company charges just under 10 cents! It looks as though you have paid a great deal too much, but wait, there's more.

Power prices are subject to a rate of inflation of at least 5% per year (modest estimate). This year, your power company will charge you $12.80 for 128 kWh of electricity. At 5% per year inflation, compounded annually, after 28 years, you will have paid a total of $800 for 128kWh yearly. Eureka! You can do the same with your 100 Watt PV panel!

An example of a similar investment may be re-insulating the attic. Lots of people spend hundreds of dollars insulating their attics for a drop in their future energy costs. This pays off over a number of years (possibly 28). Many people are re-insulating their attics. A long-term investment in a home is normal.

Buying solar PV panels doesn't look so far fetched after all!

...and we haven't even mentioned that your PV panel operates pollution free, will supply electricity when your neighborhood is experiencing a black out, will protect you from wild fluctuations in energy prices and will probably last for more than five decades.

P.S. Similar considerations would be applicable in Ontario. (the coordinator)

SPOTLIGHT ON...Organic Conference

We have reserved display space again at the lower level at Guelph University Centre for the Organic Conference, January 27 and 28.

Come and see us, always a great time to say hello and catch up on the latest news!!