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Community Energy Innovations: Changing the US Energy Portfolio From the Bottom Up

Community Energy Innovations: Changing the US Energy Portfolio From the Bottom Up. Thomas Sgueglia, Michael O’Neil, Zachary Dayton. Opening. Picture a family living in American Suburbia Massive resource usage Imagine a family that wishes to combat global warming

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Community Energy Innovations: Changing the US Energy Portfolio From the Bottom Up

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  1. Community Energy Innovations: Changing the US Energy Portfolio From the Bottom Up Thomas Sgueglia, Michael O’Neil, Zachary Dayton

  2. Opening • Picture a family living in American Suburbia • Massive resource usage • Imagine a family that wishes to combat global warming • They’d have to give up their lifestyle • Our project is designed so that American families don’t have to give up their lifestyle

  3. Aims Provide affordable alternative energy sources to the public Educate the public about climate change

  4. Rationale • SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS • Coal-fired power plant creates C02 • Greenhouse gasses and climate change • Wind turbines produce no C02 • Affects of global warming • Melting of polar ice caps (destroying habitat) • Rising sea levels (destroying habitat) • Destruction of ecosystems (Great Barrier Reef & rainforests in Brazil) (destroying habitat) • Wildfires in Australia (destroying habitat)

  5. More Rationale • ECONOMICS • Wind turbine (200 people) costs 1.2 – 2.6 million • Average payoff time period 6-8 years • Life expectancy 20-30 years • Free energy time period in worst case scenario? • 12 years (24 years in best case) • Maintain compared to mining?

  6. Overview • In order to address this issue, we will be setting up a small, local power company to provide local alternative energy. • We will use wind energy as our first renewable and then move on to install solar and geothermal. • This will increase alternative use and remove inefficiencies in power transmission through local distribution.

  7. Implementation • Secure an agreement with a community that would like to enroll in our program. • Secure a bank loan and other funding such as grants, carbon credits and private investment. • Purchase and install a 1 megawatt wind turbine in this community with this funding. • Each month until the wind turbine’s loan has been paid off, the homeowners in the community will pay their monthly electric bill to us, and we will use this money to pay off the loan. • Once the loan is paid off, the energy bill of the homeowners in this area will drop nearly to zero (a small amount will need to be paid to keep the company and services it provides up and running).

  8. Location • The pilot step of our project will take place outside of Reno, Nevada. • Subdivisions of houses of about 200 each. • Good wind, solar, and geothermal potential.

  9. Expertise • Three branches: engineering, financial, and customer service. • Financial: Businessmen and accountants • Engineering: Alternative energy technicians and electrical engineers • Customer Service: Service representatives

  10. Stakeholders • Local power company – not integrated • Local government – heavily integrated; contract will be made with them • Homeowners – heavily integrated; will make up as much of the local company as possible

  11. Social Alliances and Trends • Establish alliances with local and national environmental groups. • Help to spread knowledge of our program; allowing us to grow faster. • Environmental activism and Democrats will likely push the project forward.

  12. Social Alliances and Trends • Establish alliances with local and national environmental groups. • Help to spread knowledge of our program; allowing us to grow faster. • Environmental activism and Democrats will likely push the project forward.

  13. Future Plans • After a successful implementation, we will target similarly sized communities and implement the project in that community. • Local companies will be created for each of these communities, and a national company will support these local companies and find new locations. • We will also go back to the communities where we have already implemented one form of alternative energy and implement others in that community.

  14. Closing • In such a dire environmental situation, many Americans recognize the need to change the energy portfolio but feel helpless because coal-powered plants are the major source of energy • Cooperate and political America are no longer working with the best interest of the American public in mind • Our project would allow “the people” to make a choice as to where their energy comes from.

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