RENEWABLE ENERGY - THE EASY WAY
By J.W. (Hans) Albarda, 1-902-542-4029

Jane and David of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, wanted to do as much as they could, on a limited budget, to reduce the energy consumption of their home.

They had already re-insulated, re-caulked re-glazed, etc. Then they decided to tackle the way they used electricity. After having carefully cut back on their consumption they decided to look into using renewable energy. They had $ 6,000 to invest.

A renewable energy project for $ 6,000 will not usually power a whole home. Jane and David knew that but wanted to go ahead anyway. They decided that they wanted a small, but expandable, photovoltaic system for a portion of their house.

No outdoor surface of their house faces true South, so a mounting-pole was put up in a sunny spot nearby. A pre-fabricated top-of-pole mount, capable of holding four panels was installed on the pole. Two PV panels were bolted on (leaving room for two more later). Electric wires were run from the panels to the basement to a PBE-MS2012 Magnum E-panel power board. An SS-20L SunSaver controller regulates the incoming power to two 530 AmpHour Surrette batteries. The 2000 Watt inverter on the power board changes the electricity to normal household type AC 115V to keep the power of a uniform type throughout the house.

A small breaker-box was mounted beside their existing grid-powered one. Jane and David decided that they wanted their living-room and dining-room, and an up-stairs bedroom and bathroom to be powered by the sun. An electrician was hired to disconnect the wires leading to these rooms from the old breaker box, move them over a few inches and connect them to the new small box.

The new system was turned on and worked perfectly on the first day. Over the next couple of days, however, the Voltage in the new batteries went steadily downward. Something was very wrong. Thanks to the sophisticated electronics of the E-panel power board, it didn't take long to find out where the problems were. Jane and David's old breaker box had originally been mislabeled, the wires, which were moved, actually powered much more than what was indicated. The other problem was a phantom-load: the sound system in the living room had been using power, for years, even when switched off!

Now that the glitches have been corrected, Jane and David's new system works perfectly. Their new, clean power system serves them well. Their grid-power bills have gone down, they reduced their ecological footprint and they have a built-in back-up system for grid blackouts. The project was completed within their budget. Since an over-sized PV panel mount, controller, wires, etc., have already been installed, Jane and David can expand their system at a later date - without having to replace any components- at very little cost.

Makes sense.

SPOTLIGHT ON...CFRE Member's House

Another success story from one of our long-time members!

The Heinzle family, farming in St. Eugene (eastern Ontario), built an impressive strawbale house in the late 90’s ( I visited them shortly after completion) and in 1999 they added 8 PV panels and a 3 kW wind turbine, making them almost independent from the grid.

To help with the fairly minimal heating requirements (strawbale homes have an R-40 insulation value!), they installed a ‘Pioneer’ wood stove and lately added a second boiler to be pre-heated by the wood stove. This feature reduced their heating oil consumption enormously.

Not to be outdone, two of their sons each operate dairy farms nearby and have built biogas generators (manure digesters) able to produce 750 kW of electricity and with the possibility to step them up to 2,000 kW with outside supply.

Unfortunately they are having major problems to get hooked up to Hydro One to feed back into the grid in spite of having their systems designed by an engineer and having met all requirements, incurring large costs.

These comparatively small systems are a valuable source of reducing the demand from our large, inefficient electricity generators. It is high time that our government walks the talk when it boasts about its Standard Offer Program being a ‘First in North America’ and an example for other jurisdictions to follow!

NOTABLES...CFRE Postcards

Thanks to the efforts of Gary Bastin, we have 2 different post card designs showing the off-grid homes of 2 of our board members.

They are priced at $ 1 each and we'll allow 20% discount on orders of 20 or more.

Please help us get these out to the public, to 'illuminate' clean and safe power generation from sun and wind!

Another great fundraising project, Gary!

Email cfre at web.ca to order your postcards

DIALLING THE SUN... From Black to Grey. Mill Tackling to Renewable Energy
By Liz Barningham

Christine and Peter Smith have settled into their "dream" house in Grey County, Ontario and have done what many dream or talk of: they have totally changed the direction of their way of life.

Peter and Christine hail originally from northern England: Blackburn, Lancashire - mills and breweries. In Canada since 1982, they were living in the Newmarket area, but in 2005 they made the move to Grey County: the right house, a perfect view of gently rolling country and forest - an ideal location for solar energy and bird watching! They are relieved to have exchanged the noisy pollution of dirt bikes and "all terrain vehicles" in a subdivision, for the calm, peace, and hard work, entailed in rural living.

Dialling the Sun in Durham, Ontario

Their house is designed on passive solar principles (orientation, windows etc.,) to benefit from light and sunshine throughout the winter, well insulated to help maintain a comfortable temperature and heated by an efficient woodstove. When they moved into this house, there was already a solar thermal panel to preheat water but they have now installed an extensive system to take advantage of the power so reliably and freely available from the sun. They have six solar panels: 3 Sharp 175 watt, 4.5A, 35.4V single crystal PV modules and 3 Sharp 180 watt single crystal PV modules. These are aligned with a 3500 watt grid tie inverter and 16 golf cart batteries - 880 amp hours or 11kWh of back up power. Peter and Christine are both revelling in being able to feed power back into the grid and so reduce, even if only by a little, our dependence on polluting power producers.

The decision to change their lifestyle has involved not only moving to rural life, producing much of the energy they use and helping to feed into the grid. They are also in the process of changing their business. They are working hard to put their beliefs into practice - using Renewable Energy to allow them to respect their surroundings. They are gradually changing from the realm of contract painting where they learned all about toxicity and pollution, to Renewable Energy. They value each other's health and are conscious of the importance of healthy nutrition - Christine is also a Reiki practitioner and is currently training to be an instructor of Body Control Pilates.

As President of Sundial Renewable Energy, Christine would like to see them earning just enough to maintain their simple rural lifestyle: enjoying the view from their decks, listening to the songbirds, coyotes, spring peepers in the pond and lying in bed at night looking up through the skylights at the stars in a clear, unpolluted sky. With Sundial Renewable Energy, Peter has become an authorised dealer for Energy Alternatives of British Columbia. He has embraced the challenge of learning anew and has become impressively knowledgeable about Renewable Energy. Working with Energy Alternatives, they have access to electrical engineers and years of experience in Renewable Energy as well as to an accountant who lives in Ontario and who keeps right up to date with government policies, initiatives and potential allowances. For Peter and Christine, Energy Alternatives is a perfect fit. Peter really wants to be able to work locally and contribute to his local community. His friendly personality, gentle people skills and sound knowledge base enable him to guide those who are dipping their toes into the pool of Renewable Energy for the first time. He is able to refer questions to the experts at Energy Alternatives and then to order from them systems which are well designed and which have the backing of a well established company.

Sundial Renewable Energy is developing steadily and gaining momentum as the first installations are complete and growing. Peter recognises the importance of allowing people time to become comfortable with the concept of Renewable Energy and then designing a system which can be installed and paid for a piece at a time. Sundial already has satisfied clients who are helping to promote Renewable Energy and who are living more gently on the planet. Peter has conducted seminars and workshops where he has worked effectively to move people forward on the path to clean and safe Renewable Energy. Education has come first for both Peter and Christine - they have recognised the ever changing nature of the Renewable Energy field and they work at keeping up to date and at generously sharing their knowledge.

The first "Open House" at Sundial was a resounding success - more than 50 visitors in one afternoon. It was a wonderful opportunity for people to see Renewable Energy in practice and to be able to ask questions.

Christine with her canine companion

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

In today's world it has become almost fashionable, if not politically correct, to be going green. However, the use of the word green appears to take on various meanings, some quite different from my ideals of environmental stewardship and responsibility. In my daily activities, I encounter many who either promote their new appreciation of going green or where they fit into this new green revolution. As wonderful as this may sound, I find myself looking at a green masked monster ready to suck the life out of this planet.

Although this may sound judgmental, I believe that the green issue must maintain a level of zero tolerance towards wasteful, destructive and materialistic thinking if life as we know it is to survive. I am, therefore, motivated by a selfless stewardship that respects all, both physically and spiritually. All of us to some degree are facing opportunities and/or obstacles daily. Every decision we make impacts upon everyone else. We see many of these decisions being made in the energy field, in transportation, in food, in the home, in the workplace and in our feelings towards the environment. And interestingly all major decisions are seemingly based wholly on their impact on the economy, on jobs, and on security. If a device, service, habit, or law, seem to cause a loss of jobs and security, a large segment of our society rejects this new thinking in favour of a limited vision of practicality.

Current ideas on energy production alternatives that may seem responsible and sustainable only seem to address the symptoms of our energy ailment and fog our vision towards solving the cause of our energy problems. Politicians and those in power seem to be barren of visionary, creative thinking that can lead us to a sustainable lifestyle and existence. All solutions seem to be directed into the field of science and technology. Thank goodness only a small portion of life embraces current principles of science and technology.

So beware of technological devices and thinking that appear to be for our benefit and that of the planet. Carefully explore all the aspects of a problem that technology is trying to solve. Let's heal the planet by directing our attention to the root of the problem. It's time to get serious about the true meaning of life and seek the answers to our problems in the realm where true genius and caring exist.

Vitold Kreutzer; 519-923-3005

NOTABLES...Web Site's New Look

Our web site , www.cfre.ca has a new look! Thanks to the diligent work of Karen Gventer it is much more 'viewer friendly' and has more content added.

Take the time to look it up and send her any comments or suggestions kgventer at sympatico.ca

ANOTHER UPDATE ON 'RELIABLE' NUCLEAR POWER

With the continuing hype about affordable and reliable nuclear power generation as the solution to Climate Change coming from industry and lobbyists, here is an eye-opening list of facts showing the opposite. ( We already know about the affordability – paying off the debt reduction charge on the electricity bills until the cows come home!).

At the Bruce Power plant : Reactor # 6 was taken off for a ‘planned maintenance program’ on January 20 and finally returned to operation on April 10 – 78 days later, and that during some of the coldest days this winter! Bruce Power had just boasted about the record performance of this reactor, operating all 365 days during 2006. What they didn’t admit was that it had been out for maintenance for 17 days returning by Dec. 30 of the previous year!

Reactor # 8 was out for 4 days in March and recently refurbished # 4 reactor had to go on a ‘maintenance program’ for a full month from March 17 to April 17, the other newly refurbished # 3 reactor was out from April 26 to May 17 for ‘inspection’ and conked out again on May 13 and started up 5 days later and then # 7 reactor had to be taken ‘offline’ May 21, returning to production on May 26. Reactors # 1 and # 2 are not mentioned because they are still being hollowed out to be re-built and probably not performing much better than their refurbished sister reactors!

This information was retrieved from Bruce Power’s web site www.brucepower.com/pagecontent.aspx?navuid=1212

At Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Pickering plant Reactor # 4 ( the Billion dollar Baby) was still being patched up in January after being shut down on October1st last year.

Reactor # 1 was doing a bit better. Of course their sister reactors #2 and # 3 will not be turning out a single kiloWatt as they are now being de-fuelled and in permanent lay-up.

On the newer Pickering B site problems abounded with reactor # 7 still out in January after more than 2 months maintenance last year. Reactors # 6 and 8 had to be shut down after OPG discovered impurities in the boiler feed water system on Dec. 21 and Jan. 6 respectively, leaving only lonely reactor # 5 producing power from January 6 to January 16 ! (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) Significant Development Report No. 2007-1).

Reactor # 5’s turn came on April 2nd and at the time of writing it is still not operating!!

At Darlington reactor # 4 was shut down on March 4th and was still out as of March 27. And then on May 11th it was Reactor # 3’s turn. There goes the saga of RELIABLE NUCLEAR POWER…..

QUOTABLES...

Graffiti on a wall close to the Gorleben Nuclear Site in Germany

FROM THE COORDINATOR...

The month of May must have been the sunniest on record! While the first half was quite cool the days were clear as a bell. The coordinator’s PV panels were producing so much power that there was lots of surplus, but no way of feeding it back to the grid as the connection was severed 13 years ago.

This fine weather sure woke up nature and flowers are everywhere on the farm. After the golden sea of daffodils had faded, the little blue star flowers (Scylla) put on quite a show, followed by the dainty wild columbines and now the apple trees and lilacs are in full bloom, filling the calm air with their beautiful scent.

It’s a delightful time of year, tempting to overshadow the warnings about Climate Change. But farmers already here are worrying about the lack of rain and a hot, dry summer has been forecast.

The nuclear industry keeps mounting an ever increasing lobbying campaign touting nuclear energy as the salvation from Global Warming, claiming their generation process being free of greenhouse gas emissions. One has to look only to the polluting process of mining, milling , refining and transporting the fuel to find a huge source of CO2 emissions before the uranium fuel goes into the reactor. We, at CFRE, have to keep on pointing that out to give a clear picture of this so-called ’clean’ energy source, not to mention the huge amounts of the highly irradiated, deadly waste!

That’s why we keep intervening in the Environmental Assessments (EAs) in the proposed refurbishing of the Pickering B reactors and the proposed New Build by Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) of 4 reactors each.

CFRE members have been visiting Open House sessions and information workshops to give comments on the project proposals.

Request for comments on regulatory documents are coming also from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) requiring many hours of study and internet research.

Of course, we can’t neglect our main mission and in that cause the coordinator attended the Kimbercote KiloWatt Conference in late March, a fabulous informative 2 ½ day event. He had the honour to give the last presentation containing a rallying effort to give renewable energy – People Power – a chance in Ontario’s future energy mix. He had another chance to address an audience of seniors in the village of Alma later.

Our display at the Earth Day Treeplanting Festival in Downsview, ably assisted by board member Jeff Harti, found a lot of interest. Two trips to Ottawa in April were necessary to present a submission on the licence renewal request by OPG for their huge radioactive waste site at the shore of Lake Huron, also the proposed site for deep underground disposal of radioactive waste, and to work with the CNSC’s Regulatory Affairs department at the newly established Non-Government-Organization (NGO) Advisory Committee. Another trip to Ottawa by the coordinator in May was avoided when our Eastern Ontario director George Wright was able to present a CFRE submission to the CNSC hearing on the McMaster Experimental Reactor licence renewal request.

And then, of course, came our important event - each year on the last Sunday in May - our Annual General Meeting , coupled with a high-profile workshop, this time on the topic of Energy Conservation.

We had the privilege of the Minister of Energy’s Senior Policy Advisor, Marion Fraser, attending, giving us background information and insight into the workings of the Ministry, answering quite a number of follow-up questions on conservation efforts and programs.

Breakout sessions into discussion groups followed, resulting in many valuable suggestions. An after-lunch lecture in super-energy-efficiency and conservation, by Peter Bursztyn, supported by interesting statistics, topped off the workshop session.

In our business meeting the Annual Report and Financial Paper were tabled and found in good order, and a section in our by-laws on membership was clarified. (Those reports and the Minutes from the AGM are available to our members on request). The 2-year term of our board members Annette and George had expired, but both agreed to serve another term. Board member Gary Bastin, our busy fund-raising chair, did not go for another term, creating a vacancy. We were very fortunate to have Frank (Barney) Barningham with his wife Liz as alternate, owners of a new off-grid solar-powered home, stand as candidates and with no other nominations fielded, they were acclaimed to fill the open position.

Our thanks goes to Gary for all his efforts in fund-raising and to Barney and Liz for volunteering their services. The composition of the board and committee chairs will be decided at the next board call.

The coordinator with CFRE member Tim Spencer then carried on to Toronto to spend the next 2 days at the Sustainable TransForum, another great effort on conservation and efficiency, sponsored by the Minister of Transportation, and featuring a number of presenters bringing novel ideas.

Another event coming up will be the 25th Anniversary and AGM of Great Lakes United (GLU), the international coalition of over 160 organizations dedicated to protect and restore our Great Lakes. The coordinator will attend and present a ‘Resolution to Amend the 30-year old Nuclear Liability Act’ by CFRE, endorsed by 2 Michigan organizations.

On invitation by the Premier and the Minister of Environment the coordinator will attend the Shared Air Summit in Toronto in mid-June, after which, hopefully, the pace will slow down somewhat. Have an enjoyable summer!