2010 Indy Solar Tour Kick-off at Hamilton Co. Park Dept. Cool Creek Nature Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Arnold
Indiana Renewable Energy Association
LauraArnold@indianarenew.org
(317) 635-1701


INDIANAPOLIS - On Saturday, Oct 2nd from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., central Indiana residents will have an opportunity to learn about solar power for their home or business. The 2010 Indy Solar Tour is a practical, hands-on educational opportunity to see operating solar thermal and solar photovoltaic, small wind, as well as energy efficiency and other renewable energy technologies at various locations in the greater Indianapolis area.

The tour will kick-off at the Hamilton County Parks Department’s Cool Creek Nature Center which features a 15.7 kilowatt Solar PV system. On a typical sunny day, the grid-tied system installed by ECI Wind and Solar in August 2010 produces 75% - 100% of the center’s electrical load.

“The solar system is projected to save the nature center $125,000 in utility costs and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 18 tons annually,” according to Eric Cotton, president of ECI Wind and Solar. “By installing this solar system, Hamilton County Parks Department has shown real commitment when it comes to education and environmental stewardship” Mr. Cotton, will be at the Nature Center from 2 -5 p.m. to explain how the solar PV system works. He will be joined by Travis Murphy of the Indiana Office of Energy Development among others who will be discussing the state’s role in renewable energy development and the benefit it holds for Indiana consumers.

The Cool Creek Nature Center is located at 2000 East 151st Street, Carmel, IN 46033 and serves as the central hub for many different indoor and outdoor activities in a beautiful 90-acre park.

This free, self-guided tour is part of the 15th annual ASES National Solar Tour, the world's largest grassroots solar event, and is organized by Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA) with assistance from the Indiana Office of Energy Development, Indianapolis Power and Light and Duke Energy. In 2009, about 150,000 attendees visited some 5,000 buildings in 3,000 participating communities throughout the United States. A tour map will be available at the nature center and the InREA website.

Indiana Renewable Energy Association - Organized in 2008, Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA) is the official Indiana state chapter of the American Solar Energy Society. InREA was established for the purpose of representing businesses which produce, and consumers who use, renewable energy throughout the state of Indiana. For more information, visit http://www.indianarenew.org/.

Indiana Office of Energy Development - The Indiana Office of Energy Development, under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman, is responsible for Indiana's energy policy. That policy is outlined in the state's strategic energy plan, Hoosier Homegrown Energy which promotes locally derived energy resources such as solar and wind. Visit the OED homepage for more details, http://www.energy.in.gov/.

American Solar Energy Society – Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Its mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. For more information, visit http://www.ases.org/

 

Solar panel manufacturer may open in Tipton County two years earlier than

by Ken de la Bastide and Daniel Human, Kokomo Tribune Staff Writers

TIPTON - The Colorado solar panel manufacturer planning to move into the never-used transmission plant in Tipton County could come to Indiana about two years sooner than originally expected, company and county officials said Wednesday.

Abound Solar Inc. plans to close Nov. 16 on its purchase of the former Getrag Transmission LLC plant at the corner of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28, said company spokesman Mark Chen.

The company originally planned to have created 850 jobs by 2013, but hiring could now begin as soon as late 2011, Chen said.

The solar panel manufacturer is moving forward with its plans more quickly to keep up with the increasing number of orders it is receiving, Chen said.

Abound hasn't finished mapping out how many of the 850 jobs it would initially create or when operations would begin in Tipton, he said.

President Barack Obama announced in July that Abound Solar would receive a $400 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its operations in Colorado, then purchase the never-used, approximately 800,000-square-foot factory.

The company had one manufacturing line in place before the loan at its plant in Longmont, Colo.

The Department of Energy will give Abound $50 million to put in a second line and another $50 million for a third in Longmont. The company will then receive $300 million to install eight lines in Tipton.

Tipton County Commissioner Jane Harper said Abound exercised its option to purchase the building from a trust established in 2009 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Michigan after Getrag filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company has entered into a binding agreement with the trust, Harper said.

Abound is purchasing the building from the trust for $25 million with Tipton County providing $13 million through Tax Increment Financing to lower the purchase price, she said.

The proceeds of the sale will go to contractors who were not paid for work done when Getrag filed for bankruptcy.

"This is the best deal for Tipton County," Harper said of Abound purchasing the facility. "It fits best with the community and our green technology.

"With our predominant agricultural base, the establishment of Abound Solar at the crossroads of our community and three wind-energy companies with plans to place wind farms in our county, we can create a unique marketing opportunity in selling Tipton County and its products as the 'green' capital," she said.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Abound Solar Inc. up to $11.85 million in performance-based tax credits and $250,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. The IEDC will also provide work force and ombudsperson assistance.

Tipton County has approved additional incentives, including tax abatements for the company along with TIF money to the trust that owns the building.

The Getrag plant was being constructed as a joint venture between Chrysler and Germany-based Getrag. The plant was expected to provide more than 1,000 jobs. But soon before construction ended in 2008, Chrysler pulled out of the agreement and filed a lawsuit against Getrag. Getrag then filed for bankruptcy and backed out of the project, leaving the plant empty since.

This article brought to by Indiana Renewable Energy Association.

IU energy seminar series receives successful kick-off, seven speakers to follow during Themester

John Haselden (photo right) of Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL) spoke Sept. 15 as the first guest in The Grand Energy Challenge seminar series. Haselden is currently serving as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Renewable Energy Association. IPL is also a member of the association.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 16, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An impressive speaker series on climate change and energy, titled by organizers "The Grand Energy Challenge," received a successful launch Wednesday (Sept. 15) as part of Indiana University's fall 2010 Themester: "sustain•ability: Thriving on a Small Planet."

John Haselden, principal engineer in corporate affairs for Indianapolis Power and Light, spoke on the topic of "Moving to Sustainable Energy Supply," to an attentive and inquisitive group of students and community members, according to co-organizer Rebecca Barthelmie, an IU professor of atmospheric science. His talk was the first in a series of presentations that will include visits by a Patten lecturer, a leading state energy official, and researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Colorado School of Mines and Purdue University.

"John was an inspiring speaker who stayed behind to answer a lot of questions from students," Barthelmie said. "We've had to move the talks to larger venues to accommodate the much larger than expected audience. That is excellent, of course, and shows there is a lot of interest."

The series is being supported by the IU College of Arts and Sciences, a grant from Duke Energy Foundation, and the Multidisciplinary Ventures and Seminars Fund of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs at IU Bloomington.

Co-organizers of the event with Barthelmie are Sara Pryor, also an atmospheric scientist in the IU Department of Geography, and John Rupp and Maria Mastalerz from the Indiana Geological Survey.

The series will include seven more presentations, listed here:

• "Coal's role in Indiana's future," by Purdue University's Tom Sparrow, Wednesday, Sept. 29, from 4-5 p.m. at the Department of Chemistry Building, room 001.
• "The role of international treaties in tackling climate change," by Griffith University's Jean Palutikof, from 7:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 11, as part of the Patten Lecture Series. Fine Arts Building, room 015.
• "Low Impact Fossil Energy: Keystone to Sustainability" by Julio Friedmann, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, from 1-2 p.m., at the State Room East, Indiana Memorial Union.
• "Climate change adaptation strategies: a poor man's solution?" by Jean Palutikof, Griffith University, from 7:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 12, as part of the Patten Lecture Series. Fine Arts Building, room 015.
• "Renewable energy development in Indiana," by Travis Murphy of the Indiana Office of Energy Development, from 4-5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Woodburn Hall, room 100.
• "Wind energy," by Matt Hendrickson, Horizon Wind Energy, from 4-5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the Dogwood Room, Indiana Memorial Union.
• "The Global Energy Challenge," by Roel Snieder, Colorado School of Mines, from 4-5 p.m., Monday, Nov. 15, at the Geological Sciences Building, room 143.

For more information or to speak with Barthelmie or other organizers, please contact Steve Chaplin, University Communications, at 812-856-1896 or stjchap@indiana.edu.


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Web Version
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/15578.html

USDA Seeks Applications from Producers to Conduct Renewable Energy Feasibility Studies

Release No. 0445.10
Contact: Weldon Freeman (202) 690-1384
WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of funding under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy systems for agriculture producers and rural small businesses.

"Renewable energy production represents a promising revenue source for America's producers while meeting the nation's need for new sources of renewable energy," Vilsack said. "These grants will help encourage the development of viable renewable energy projects across the nation and help small business owners, farmers, ranchers and agriculture producers conduct feasibility studies that identify renewable energy opportunities."

Eligible feasibility studies for renewable energy systems include projects that will produce energy from wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro power and hydrogen-based sources. The energy to be produced includes heat, electricity or fuel. For all projects, the system must be located in a rural area, must be technically feasible and must be owned by the applicant. More information is available by visiting http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_ReapGrants.html.

Under this notice, USDA is making $3 million available to conduct feasibility studies. Grants are limited to $50,000 per study and the application deadline is October 5, 2010. The funding announced today is authorized under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. More information on how to apply for funding is available in the August 6, 2010 Federal Register, page 47525.

USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of 6,100 employees located in the nation's capital and 500 state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $142 billion in loans and loan guarantees.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or  (202) 720-6382  (TDD).

This article brought to you by the Indiana Renewable Energy Association.

Imperial Biofuels Subsidiary Clears Milestone

Press Release Source: Imperial Petroleum, Inc. On Wednesday September 1, 2010, 7:00 am EDT EVANSVILLE, Ind.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Imperial Petroleum, Inc. (OTCBB:IPMN – News) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, e-biofuels, LLC, a Middletown, Indiana biodiesel producer, cleared a milestone in its development. After becoming part of Imperial and as the result of negotiating a series of feedstock purchase agreements and biodiesel off-take sales contracts, e-biofuels generated revenues of approximately $3.5 million in the month of July 2010 alone on fuel sales of about 1.2 million gallons and as a result the subsidiary expects to be highly profitable going forward. Fuel sales for August 2010 are approximately 1.4 million gallons with revenues of just over $4.0 million for the month.

“Expanding the plant throughput to its current capacity was one of our early goals for e-biofuels and a great deal of credit goes to the management of e-biofuels for their efforts and achievements thus far. August sales to date are on pace to exceed the July results,” commented Jeffrey T. Wilson, President of Imperial. “As a result of the mandates under the Renewable Fuels programs, e-biofuels has been in a unique position to take advantage of its certification as an advanced biofuels producer to rapidly increase its market presence. Our products are sold to some of the largest retail outlets and truck stop owners in the United States. Upon the closing of our financing for the Company, we expect to proceed quickly to expand the biodiesel production capacity to 25 MMGPY; convert the plant over to our more-efficient process technology and add bio-jet fuel capabilities. Our goal is to add slow pyrolysis equipment into the facility over the next year to produce both electricity for re-sale to the power grid and bio-oil for inclusion in our renewable boiler fuel and renewable heating oil products.”

Imperial is an energy company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described herein. Although the Company believes that the expectations in such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.

Contact: Imperial Petroleum, Inc. Jeffrey T. Wilson, CEO
Phone 812-867-1433 Fax 812-867-1678
email: jtwilsonx1@aol.com

This article brought to you be the Indiana Renewable Energy Association.