National Renwable Energy Lab

In Golden Colorado we were given the honor to tour the National Renewable Energy Lab with NOA's very own Sandy MacDonald, creator of Science on a Sphere. Jim Bosch (NREL) was our energetic tour guide, and started us in the visitor's center with the brand new Science on a Sphere exhibit that Sandy himself presented to us. He had the idea to project various aspects of the latest climate models on a sphere one day driving home from work. From The satelite images of lights at night, to wind and solar forcasts, to global photosynthesis, to carbon sources and sinks, to the world oil flow and more, the spherical rendition put all of these findings into a whole new and more understandable perspective.

From there we traveled up to the solar mesa overlooking the entire facility and city. This is where the solar radiation research is taking place from Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) with solar troughs, to a high Flux Solar Furnace the primary goal of the research up here is to displace conventional fuels in an industrial sense, using more renewable energy sources such as the sun. We ventured to the solar deck where a plethora of space age looking instruments worked to measure the solar forecast. Without some sort of a solar forecast, utilities are not interested in using solar for economic reasons. They are interested in watts/m2, and that is precisely what NREL is measuring. Other research taking place at NREL includes photo voltaic research on the atomic level, growing polycrystalline for solar energy use, wind technology, pressed biomass as building material, and more. All of the areas pursued keep the three E's in mind . . . Environment, Economy and Energy Security.

Rapid City Farmer's Market

Rapid City's Saturday morning Farmer's Market is a festive place which attracts a variety of community members. Local growers and local shoppers alike welcomed our bus as we joined the booths at the Market. Local area growers were excited about DRA's enthusiasm and commitment to local foods as we handed them South Dakota Local Foods Directories. We were extremely excited to hear stories from old timers like the Cottonwood Farm folks, who at 80 have been growing and selling produce for over 50 years and will continue until they no longer can, or younger folks who are new to the area and are looking into hoop houses to begin growing in the area and selling at the Market. Their stories and continued enthusiasm demonstrate that there is support and much potential for local foods in the Rapid City area. 

In addition to interest in local foods, we met folks with interests and personal experience in green building practices, and renewable energy and efficiency as whole. Most exciting of all  was seeing our organizing and outreach abilities put into practice as we met some people working on biodiesel who were able to connect with one another as a result of the bus.

Sturgis, South Dakota

Sturgis is a conservative town of about 7,000 people nestled up in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We arrived about 10 days before the 68^th annual motorcycle rally that will bring in about 500,000 enthusiasts from around the country. We set up the green bus amidst a sea of pre-preparations going on in the downtown area.

It didn’t take long before interested folks stopped by to see what the green bus was all about. One guy was really excited to share the story of his first two batches of home-brewed biodiesel. We troubled-shot some of his issues about breaking emulsions and linked him up with some good biofuel resources from the bus.

When planning our South Dakota events, we expected to buy some biodiesel in Sturgis.  Unfortunately, the local Cenex was not carrying the fuel this year. Less Star, local sales manager from Cenex, stopped by to visit us at the bus. He loves the “soy diesel” and his customers do too. Used on the farm and in the trucks, the Cenex B2 and B5 Ruby Fieldmaster adds power and lubricity to engine performance. Unfortunately, the increased price of soy and transportation costs has the local stores out of the biodiesel market this year.  Less believes either a local source or rail transportation could keep prices down and promote a local source for biodiesel in western South Dakota.  

 

Wind Turbine Interview with Gary Cammack

Interview with Gary Cammack

Interviewer: Chelsea Hummon

Background:

The bus crew is at Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center SD because they carry small scale wind turbines from Skystream Energy. They have had two turbines installed to supplement their energy supply for about 18 months now.

Q: How many KW are the two turbines outside capable of producing?

A: They are capable of producing 2,500 KW/month a piece, but are currently at 400-600KW/month. The lower output is due to regulatory issues.

Q: Why are the turbines governed?

A: There were originally safety concerns with the generators producing over 600KW/month. Since then the UL has done research proving otherwise. In addition to safety, it was easier for Skystream to get them on the market at the lower output and change them from there. So, currently they are waiting for the green light from regulator organization to change the software for a higher output.

Q: How much of the power to Cammack Ranch Supply is from the wind turbines?

A: Currently those turbines are powering about 1/3 of the total power used for the buildings, with between 600 and 1200 KW/ month combined.

Q: Have there been any noise complaints concerning the spinning of the turbine blades?

A: No, there have been no comments from customers.

Q: How high does the wind speed get before the turbines lock up?

A: They lock up around 50-60 mph, but they have made it through a couple of 70-80 mph wind storms. The survival speed is 140 mph.

Q: Are the skystream energy windturbines popular here?

A: I’ve sold two or three of them this year.

Q: Do you recommend them to everyone?

A: I recommend that folks wait for the software changes that are in the works so that the energy output is greater. But, if a household wants to use one of these as is, it would supply just about enough energy to power an average home.

Q: What one thing would you like to see happen in SD and/or nationally to encourage locally owned wind?

A: I would like to see a national power grid so that all of this energy can get on the grid, but even without it people can use it at their own homes.

The Winds of Change

On our way to Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center we passed through Highmore and headed due south. It became apparent to us that the times are changing with regards to our energy supply as we approached yet another wind project about 10 miles out of Highmore, SD. It was beautiful to see the wheat field waving at the base of the first turbine we approached, leading our gazes towards a vegetable garden and then out to pasture for the cattle. It is great to see farming and ranching taking place around the projects.

At the small interpretive set up across the street from the sub station collecting the windy power, there was a statement about the Basin Electric Co. customers requesting renewable energy. This is a good indication that the phone calls coming from energy consumers to their power providers asking for renewables is making a difference, and shouldn’t cease.

Though it isn’t a locally owned project, it is still benefiting the surrounding community by paying landowners a set amount per turbine per year. As we move forward in reaching energy independence I hope and expect to see the legislation require a certain percentage of new projects to be locally owned. Locally owned projects bring five times the return back into the community than out of state owned projects such as Florida Power and Light. A good community/locally owned wind resource is www.windustry.org

Ice Cream Social and BBQ in Faulkton, SD

We are proud to say that our big green bus livened up Faulkton's sleepy city Park on Monday afternoon. The Bus itself, our demos, and of course the delicious SDSU ice cream attracted many passersby, including many local kids en-route to the public swimming pool nearby. DRA's Amanda and Faulkton native, Braden dished out ice cream as well as some info on local issues that DRA is working on. Many DRA members showed their support and enthusiasm for the bus tour and joined us for the event. Their interest for renewable energy and sustainable biofuels, biodiesel in particular encouraged the crew and generated interest and further discussion among passersby. 

The Ice Cream social quickly turned into a festive BBQ where local grass-fed beef from Cliff Millsapps' farm was served. Many local residents with a wide-range of interests joined us for the event, ranging from the Girl Scouts leader who wants to get the girls involved in local environmental issues, to the Agriculture Co-op leader who is interested in community scale agriculture as well as in biodiesel. 

We were also joined by Nick Nemec, South Dakota State Senate hopeful. Nick is deeply committed to promoting renewable energy alternatives in South Dakota and was very interested in the bus tour. 

We really enjoyed spending a lazy summer day with folks from Faulkton and the surrounding areas, who were so receptive and welcoming.

Lake Preston, SD - Kingsbury Klassic Kruiser Car Show

So, the big green bus rolled into yet another town.  This time the bus pulled in amongst many hotrod and classic cars.  The community closed off the main street to the 700 person town to host owners of cars from a '54  Bel Air to a '07 Corvette and everything in between and even older. Cars lined the street three wide for three blocks.

At the far south end of the street, we parked the bus.  A little toward the end of the line, people still came down to the biodiesel bus to find out what we were all about.  We talked with people from the community and others from different parts.  Many of those we spoke with showed interest in biodiesel and the local member group, Dakota Rural Action .

We stayed at the event for 4 hours and talked with about 40 different people.  As the show ended, promptly at 3:00pm, we began to hear cars start and the engines rev.  One-by-one the participants rolled out of town, some leaving a trail of rubber on the ground and a cloud of black smoke in the air.  After the last car left, the big green bus pulled out of town toward Huron, where the crew stayed that night.  

Brookings, SD- Farmer's Market and Evening Events

 The Bus rolled into Brookings early in the morning to meet up with DRA members and staff for breakfast at the Cottonwood Bistro, co-owned by DRA Chair, Jacob. Jacob was busy at the Brookings Farmer's Market selling veggies from his own nearby farm, Glacial Till. To learn a bit more about Jacob, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt1u1y-dqc.

Jacob's enthusiasm for food and community set the tone for the rest of our day as we headed to the Brookings Farmer's Market. At the Market we were able to talk to many of the local growers as well as avid Market shoppers about the importance of local foods in places like Brookings. These conversations were sparked and/or complemented by the DRA's Local Food's Directory Handbook, www.dakotarural.org which the crew, Silvia, Amanda and Braden distributed widely at the Market. The Market coordinator told me that they are always looking for ways to expand, both by getting new growers interested in selling at the Market as well as in diversifying and expanding the number of shoppers. Currently, the Market hosts about 15 stands selling flowers, produce, honey, grass-fed beef, buffalo jerky, and homemade potato baking bags to name a few. At the Market the crew and our local hosts invited many folks to our evening events, BBQ and outdoor screening of 'A Snowmobile for George'.

The evening events brought forth many interested and interesting folks. Many of them familiar with DRA and/or interested in sustainable renewable energy issues. The intimate event allowed us to get to know these community members a little bit better and become inspired by many of them including a professor going to Russia on a Fulbright Scholarship to teach about rural sociology, a person working in maintenance and mechanics of small wind operations, local ranchers and growers, and a young couple making it as entrepreneurs and farmers (see video clip, to be posted at a later date).

We hope that Brookings, our first stop in South Dakota, will set the tone for the rest of our stay here in ranching and farming country and that we may continue to hear stories about the land and people who are living with and off of it.

Fargo Street Fair

The bus was beckoned to raise a green flag for sustainability at the downtown Street Fair in Fargo, ND. Set up outside Island Park Cycles within the ‘green acre’, we were met with an enthusiastic crowd hungry for a sustainable future. As usual, the beneficial facets of biodiesel were a big hit. Several farmers expressed a need and desire for small-scale biodiesel production. Lowell from Idaho has been using vegetable oilseeds for biodiesel since the early 80’s. We received praise and encouragement from our visitors who were inspired by our message and jealous of our summer travels on the bus. We passed out business cards with an invitation to check out WORC and follow the adventures of the bus this summer.

We started off the second day of the street fair with a tour of the biofuel research facility at the NDSU Agricultural Extension Office. This tour provided a background on the basics of the local and current research being done on biodiesel and ethanol. It was great being able to refer people from the bus to Lynn Wolf and Betty Steiglitz of South Agassiz Resource Council ‘SARC’. They fielded questions and gathered names to support more local foods in schools and nursing homes in the area. The local bike coop set to work tuning bikes and spreading the good word of sustainable transportation. The city bus rolled up next to us running on a twenty percent blend of biodiesel and a living roof company provided a bit of vegetation for the green-themed assortment of folks outside the bike shop. We bid farewell to Fargo after two of our busiest days this summer. The crew extends gratitude to the Kanwischer family, Chris and Amy, and Lynn/Betty for their hospitality and support in Fargo-Moorhead.

Grand Forks, Sustainability Fair

The sustainability fair in Grand Forks pulled amazing community members out of the woodwork. From the start, an electric car pulled up to join us, hanging out for the majority of the day. Members from the local food co-op, the student body president from NDSU, Mayor Brown and Pete Haga all attended. Pete was really excited about the prospect of a glass crusher in the city of Grand Forks to offset a bit of the landfill issues. Amoung the attendees, an employee of a local biofuels magazine called BBI stoped by, and Will Kusler from The Dakota Foundation who works in funding renewable energy projects in North Dakota came to join us on both days.

Lynn Wolf, an organizer for the Dakota Resource Council (DRC) was introduced to lots of folks talking about the land fill issue in Grand Forks, which is what DRC has recently worked around in the Grand Forks Area. The local non-profit group organizing around local issues is the Grand Forks Citizens Council Coalition - GFC3, and they are currently looking for a site for a new landfill. Beyond the landfill, Lynn talked with community members and realized that there are many people wanting to organize around local foods, creating a community garden and a CSA. To fit right in with that, the mayor's Green Grand Forks council doesn't currently have a local foods component in their layout for a greener city. . . that could be a perfect spot to get a local foods campaign running.

Another conversation worth mentioning is one of a small wind turbine(s) on the roof of one or more of the UND buildings to suplement their power usage. Tyrone, the student body president at UND, is looking into the possibility and is in contact with Will Kusler, who may be able to stear him in the right direction. Some exciting things are budding in Grand Forks, ND.

We had donations from the Dakota Harvest Bakery, Amazing Grains, Pourpoura and Waste Management for a drawing from the names of those who had signed our Call to Action for a Renewable Energy Future.

On Your Marks, Get Set, Race... Turtles that Is.

We left Gene Wirtz’s house and drove 20 miles to Turtle Lake for the Turtle Day parade. Less than 500 people live in Turtle Lake, but the length of the line competed with those of towns and cities much larger – including the Billings, MT St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Fire trucks, churches, and even a local band went through the town’s center.

We entered the Biodiesel Bus in the parade and ended up toward the center of the line. In addition to the four crew members, Gene’s son – Jeremy, Chelsea’s boyfriend – Jason(DRC Member), and two of the wonderful DRC Staff we met in Bismarck joined us – Mary Mitchell and Marie Hoff. We blasted the John Smillie’s Biodiesel song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtvS8dJqtvU&feature=related) – this time we hooked up the front bullhorn as well as the side speakers – and rolled through the parade.

After the event, we parked near the location of the Turtle races. The wind whipped over 40 mph, but we still met some amazing people into renewable energy. We met a gentleman who brews his own fuel – from French fry grease – and a farmer who wants to get off the grid. We also watched the Turtle Races. Overall, this event went well.

Urban Harvest, Bismarck, ND

GO LOCAL! Local foods, local arts and crafts, local produce, local music and local street theater filled the streets of downtown Bismarck on the opening day of the 4^th annual Urban Harvest. The Urban Harvest is a  six week open air market  whose goal is revitalize the local economy while building community. The all day celebration attracts many friendly folks who enjoy engaging in conversations about renewable energy and don’t mind taking a couple of minutes to listen to a presentation about the importance of local foods.  Through there was a lot of movement while the presentation on local foods was going on, we were able to meet some interesting people and sparked some great one on one conversations as we walked around the market. Mary Mitchell of the Missouri Valley Resource Council as well as Marie Hoff and other members  joined us for the day at Urban Harvest and we were able to hand out over 200 recycling brochures, a key issue that MVRC is working on.  As the North Dakota winds  started to howl and the sky turned darker, the market came to an early close. It was, however, a successful first market day for all. 

Assumption Abbey - Richardton, ND

Rolling up to the Assumption Abbey, the view just took my breath away. Father Terrance, a long time board member of the Dakota Resource Council, greeted us in. The Monks welcomed us with a dinner and joined us in front of the chapel for a presentation on the Renewable Energy Bus Tour and locally owned wind. Sister Paula joined us on behalf of the local wind project at the monastery. It was quite an event, with about 30 people in the audience and a dynamic discussion following the presentation. We learned about a proposed wind project near to the Abbey, and had some great questions asked about wind development and weather patterns.

The next morning we visited sister Paula for a closer look at the 10 year running wind project at the monastery. She was kind enough to do an interview about the process, successes and obstacles of pursuing a locally owned wind project, (check back soon for footage of the interview). At the base of the two 100 KW wind turbines the llamas were roaming, which are raised on pasture and their fur is used by the nuns to spin wool and knit beautiful garments.

4th of July Pow Wow

The 4th of July Pow Wow, held 3 miles south of Lame Deer, MT, is the largest pow-wow held on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. The Native American Pow Wow is the people’s way of meeting together, dancing, singing, and visiting to celebrate old traditions and preserve a rich heritage.

Traditional costumes, drumming, singing, and dancing set the colorful atmosphere around us where we all felt very fortunate to interact and mingle amongst the festivities.
The green bus attracted a diverse group of event participants and observers. The main issues we addressed were energy, biofuels, and green building.

Also present at the PowWow was a university group from Penn State working locally to enhance sustainable building practices on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The students and faculty from Penn State Native American Housing Initiative are exploring straw bale building and affordable green designs to promote sustainable housing solutions for low-income areas. The building initiative can be visited at www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild.

4th of July in Glendive, Montana

We left Miles City around 7:00am in order to arrive in Glendive in time for the parade which started at 9:00am. When we pulled into Glendive, Amy Hoff – a member and ex-chair of Dawson Resource Council (DRC) met us at a car wash on the edge of town. After ensuring the bus sparkled, we purchased some breakfast foods from a locally owned super market and then drove to the part of town where the parade would take place.

Amy rode on the bus and directed us to the line for the event. Derek lined up the bus behind an old car. Pretty soon old-school tractors and 70 year old farmers surrounded the bus, while waiting for the line to move. Dennis Getz, an individual running for office in MT House District 38 came aboard the bus and talked about his interest in biodiesel. He said farmers in the region grew camelina the past year, but needed more harvests to get through the learning curve.

Shortly after he departed us, the line began to move. The line converged from three different points into one line half a block in front of the bus. We watched many different floats pass in front of us, including political floats (Republican and Democrat), Coke, local wrecker services, old cars and tractors, and many other types of floats. Derek drove the bus, Chelsea and Amy walked with the banner, Jeff rode his bike with the sun face Teresa Ericson made, and Laura walked and handed out candy.

The parade lasted through the entire main street of Glendive. The street went on for about 6 blocks and 15 – 20 minutes. During the parade, kids, parents, friends, young, and old people lined the street. Children raced to the street for each bit of candy thrown and people smiled and waved at the bus. People really seemed to like the bus.

After the parade, we parked and tabled in a parking lot at the end of the street. We pulled out the LCD TV and ran through our general slide show. At this tabling the local broadcast (TV) reporter arrived spoke with Laura about the logistics of the bus and Amy about local issues.

Later in the day, after visiting with Bruce Smith on local foods (we have a dedicated post to this experience), we went to Amy’s house. She offered to take us up to Makoshika State Park. She said she joined DRC to protect the park. Evidentially, the BLM leased the minerals under the badland area for oil and gas development. Amy could not see her favorite park destroyed from industry. She and the group successfully held of development to current day.

Laura and Jeff decided to go to the park with her, while Derek and Chelsea stayed back at her home (on the 100 degree day) to work. Amy took the two who went with her to her favorite spots in the park. The badlands really made a person think about the concept of time. On the side of the hills, the different layers of strata colored the hillsides in a horizontal array of grays, reds, and yellows. The place certainly would look different and take away from the “Lewis and Clark” feeling a person gets while in the park. Visiting this fabulous area really gave an appreciation for her and the work of all those involved. The park also brought home one of the many reasons we promote renewable energy and efficiency.

Overall, the Glendive event went well. And to top off a fabulous July 4^th with the parade, idea sharing, and park visit, Alvin and Dena Hoff invited us to their house where we stayed in their cabin (without electricity or plumbing) near the river. The two treated us extremely well and we got to meet their border collie and eat blue-corn pancakes for breakfast.

Local Food Flourishes in Glendive

Bruce towers over his tarragon and mint plants and ducks under the doorway of the Prairie Development Center as he lets us in to a world of ideas and shows us the realities that will make them happen. Bruce is Glendive’s food man. He has organized farming and garden aficionados to partake in a community garden in Glendive. Located in an unlikely spot beside the Albertson’s Grocery store parking lot, the gardens are a maze of rows. Organic and conventional fruits and veggies grow behind a deer proof fence, with water from an onsite well and the care and persistence of it’s 15 dedicated members. Produce from the garden is sold each Saturday morning at the market situated set before the Prairie Development Center.
The Prairie Development Center is the future home of a local foods restaurant and micro-brewery, and currently houses packaging and distribution center for ‘Prairie Home Cuisine’: a homegrown label for locally produced products such as hulled barley and chokecherry sauce sold in Missoula, Bozeman and Billings at food co-ops and health food stores.
Though Bruce towers over his garden greens, his roots in food production have helped to foster a community-based model of development which has gained support in Glendive. This small-scale local foods movement has helped to create a community of people that extend outside of the Development Center.

Roundup Independence Day Events

We arrived in an empty parking lot and decided to find Mary Ann Petri, an organizer of the Round-up Independence Days Events (RIDE), at her restaurant, the Busy Bee. She welcomed us with tasty food and we headed back up to the parking lot for the Roundup Independence Day Events (RIDE).

Elizabeth and Wilbur Wood of AERO were there waiting for us, eager to tell us about the Renewable Energy Bus Tour that they had embarked on in 1976. It was inspiring to hear their story of a traveling renewable energy theatre spanning the state of Montana. With thirteen participants varying in expertise they had a regular street theatre, announcer and all. Leaving behind a hand crafted solar hot water heater in each visited community the first year, the tour continued for 6 years running.

Though there are over thirty years between the two tours, so many things are right in line with each other with regards to the times. We are in a time of need for energy independence with rising oil prices and decreasing accessibility of oil. Therefore, a need for renewable energies such as solar, wind and geothermal has set in once again. The Difference now is that our technologies are so much further along, efficiency and availability wise.

The RIDE events themselves were great! Performances by community members and a flag ceremony from the Boy Scouts preceded our introduction from Senator Kelly Gebhard. After being introduced, the spectators were much more open to visiting the bus, cloggers and cowboys alike. We found out some interesting things in the community. For example, the school and many of the homes in the area are run on diesel, and are perfect biodiesel candidates because it is so expensive to switch the equipment over from running on diesel. There is also a guy looking to make a human powered glass crusher, as well as a few people running their homes on locally owned wind generators.

Livingston Rodeo Parade

For a small town, Livingston, MT can boast about one of the most festive parades we have ever seen. Offices are vacant, children play in the streets, fireworks pop in the distance, as spectators patiently line the streets with lawn chairs to wait for the parade! The Livingston Rodeo Parade is vibrant with decorated floats, horses, and local business in the parade, the rest of town sits and cheers amongst the sea of people in a red white and blue theme.

Call it happenstance if you will. But, our green bus fortuitously linked up with the Park County Biodiesel Coop and participated in the parade behind them as a biodiesel, renewable energy block. Livingston cheered us on, mimicking the biodiesel song booming from the speakers as we tooted our horn lurching our way through festive streets. With Drew and Daniel, Livingston friends in front with the banner, Jeff as a sun on his bike, Charlotte as a windmill with her dog Ebony, and Laura with a giant bag of candy on the side of bus, the bus looked fun, happy and fitting.

With a 300-gallon biodiesel tank in tow, the Park County Biodiesel Coop led the way after the parade to the Livingston Farmers Market sponsored by the Corporation for the Northern Rockies. We set up the bus amidst a sea of locals meandering through vendors of produce, crafts, and kettle corn. Market-goers were enthusiastic about the resources and issues we were advocating at the bus.

Staged next to the biodiesel coop, we were able to draw people in and share our resources for promoting biofuels in Montana. The Park County Coop is currently the only source for biodiesel in Western Montana. The grassroots operation seeks to make biodiesel more affordable in a region where a biodiesel infrastructure is slowly budding. The biodiesel coop can be reached at www.parkbiofuels.net.