BioTown, USA: Is Total Energy Self-Sufficiency Possible?
Sure, it’s easy enough for one person to attempt energy self-sufficiency: put a solar panel on your roof, run your car on biodiesel, and you’re halfway there. But how easy is it for an entire town to become self-sufficient?
That’s the question that Reynolds, Indiana has been trying to answer for the past 3 years. In 2005, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels declared the town to be BioTown, USA—a model of energy self-sufficiency for the state.
The town was chosen mainly because of its small size (pop. 547), excellent rail and road access, and proximity to organic waste (within 15 miles of more than 150,000 hogs). According to the BioTown website, the finished project will showcase efficient methods of converting biomass into energy, use bioenergy to fuel homes and businesses throughout the town, promote alternative energies across the United States, and show that agricultural energy is safe, reliable, and consistent.
These are certainly some lofty goals for such a tiny town, and progress on the project has been slow. In fact, external signs of energy independence in Reynolds have been few and far between. So where does the project stand now?
As of June 9th, the White County Area Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a re-zoning to allow construction of a methane gas-producing digester. This would use animal and human waste to create methane, which would power local homes and businesses.
However, there are still many hoops for the town to jump through before achieving energy independence. While the proposed methane digester will be useful, it may not be enough. And even if it is, the White County Commissioners still need to ultimately decide whether to approve the re-zoning request.
Reynolds is a prime example of why communities need to prepare for energy crises far in advance. If it takes a prominent project such as BioTown, USA nearly 5 years to achieve their goal—with a population of 547—how long will it take grassroots initiatives in larger towns and cities?
More Posts on Energy and Sustainability:
- San Francisco Plans The City’s First Grease-To-Biodiesel Plant
- How Peak Oil-Ready Is Your City?
- Nebraska Aims Move from 19th to 6th in Wind Power
It’s great that they’re making the attempt — someday, they will be seen as The Town Where It Started!
In the American system, many times we have to allow the politicians to have their photo op and give their speech before the real work begins. Citizenre is facing the same thing with its solar rental program. Learn more at http://www.NewSolarParadigm.com
LOL, Not as long as Dictator Bush is at the helm. Sonner we rid the White house of that baggage, we might return to normal.
JT
http://www.Fireme.to/udi
Yeah, Evil Bush is keeping this town from being powered by pig poop! (rolls eyes)
In energy conservation on a societal scale, a little done by many will outperform a lot done by a few everytime - while simultaneously being politically more palatable.
It’s a good experiment anyway.
I’m curious if they are just trying to make a sustainable infrastructure with no change of habits for the locals or if the citizens are going out of their way to reduce consumption and lower the bar that the infrastructure has to reach.
If they’re not doing things like replacing AC units with ground loop systems, installing solar water heaters, and sending gas guzzling vehicles off to be recycled, I don’t see it happening.
Reynolds is my home town, though I now reside in Hawaii.
Regarding Sam’s question, the people in Reynolds are doing all they can to make this work. However, we’re talking about a very rural, somewhat poor farming community. They are not financially able to replace AC units (many don’t have central air), install solar panels and buy hybrid cars. Most need large pickup trucks to handle transporting of things you need to work a farm. Some are already driving trucks run on Ethanol though. There is no curbside recycling, but many people in the town collect their recyclables and haul them 15 miles into the nearest town that recycles.
As in any other endeavor, only time will tell. The Vanderbilt mansion in Newport, Rhode Island was built with both oil and electric chandeliers because no one was sure electricity would work out. In fact, the Vanderbilts were mocked for even putting electricity in because everyone thought it was a preposterous idea.
Change takes time, but it’s definitely time for a change!
[...] by Ariel Schwartz originally published at Ecolocalizer Tagged as: BioTown [...]
[...] I don’t expect the entire city of Flint to try to go completely green (like Reynolds, Indiana). Flint and Michigan politicians in general all have a “green vision” that is one dimensional [...]
Great article! If more towns would at least try to go green it would make a dramatic change on the planet.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
‘United Stated Energy Bonds’ Can Revive The Economy Quickly
Re: ‘United Stated Energy Bonds’ and ‘United States Energy Stamps’
Immediate funding for new national alternative energy infrastructure
Immediate funding for millions of jobs
Developing capital apart from Wall Street or tax revenues
Within every problem lies an opportunity. We can immediately take advantage of this truth to greatly benefit our country by addressing several problems simultaneously.
We need a large number of new jobs for the people of America, (millions of jobs ASAP).
We need a trillion dollars a year in capital for the next ten or so years to build a new alternative energy base for our country.
We need to raise this enormous sum of money, to the greatest extent, without recourse to the financial industry, which is in turmoil and is likely to remain so for a long time, or to the country’s general tax revenues, of which there are not nearly enough for all the other demands already being made upon them.
The government is fiscally stretched, with huge deficits and it will be difficult to fund programs that will put people to work, without fueling inflation.
An old idea, modernized Liberty Bonds can help solve all these problems.
‘United Stated Energy Bonds’ and ‘United States Energy Stamps’
United States Energy Backed Financial Instruments are an excellent alternative solution, that will generate enormous amounts of capital without upsetting other areas of the economy. There is a huge pool of money available within our country and around the world that could purchase these instruments. And these can be offered within a very short period of time, 60 to 90 days after the new President is sworn in.
Energy bonds will generate hundreds of billions of dollars, very quickly and eventually as the funds are repaid, create a capital fund of several trillions of dollars.
United States Energy Backed Financial Instruments would be placed with the citizens of our country or citizens of the world. They would pay a modest interest and would be repaid from the money that is saved or earned from the energy projects both small and large, that are funded with the money raised through them.
The money raised with Energy Bonds should be legally segregated from the general funds raised through taxes and other revenue procedures of the Federal Government, allowing them to build to the tremendous levels that will be required to redevelop our energy generation and energy use infrastructure. These funds should not be commingled in any way with other government funds. This money should be loaned or should be used for loan guarantees, rather than given or granted. With time, as this pool of money grows, enormous amounts of money will be available to help launch the many large alternative energy projects the business and industrial sectors of United States must build (high mileage autos, solar thermal generators, solid state power panel manufacturing and other facilities to produce all the necessary equipment and systems),and also, to capitalize the very great amount of work, the people must do, (home energy improvements, water and air heating systems, heat pumps, distributed end use solar electric systems, et c.), to re-found our country on a new secure energy base.
Eventually, in ten or twenty or thirty years, when the new alternative energy infrastructure has come into existence, and the enormous pool of funds that will have built it up is no longer required, the money might be turned over to the social security administration to cover the enormous cost of social security and other entitlement programs. The U.S. is facing huge funding deficits for these social programs, daunting problems that have no apparent solution at this time. The future Energy Bond Fund, having served it’s intended purpose, might help solve these deficit problems.
In conclusion, it should be noted, that Energy Bonds would be unique revenue bonds that fund projects that will pay the interest and repay the principal. The money raised through their use would be raised apart from Wall Street. In this way, the shortage of credit in the financial community will have very little or no effect on the raising of money needed to finance a new alternative energy infrastructure. Building the infrastructure will generate millions of new jobs the U.S. needs to create as quickly as possible. And the Economy will boom as all this money flows into the hands of our people.
The secret to the power of Energy Bonds is due to their unique ability to be repaid with money from energy saved or from energy generated and sold. Unlike a typical revenue bond, such as bonds repaid from tolls on a new bridge or highway, Energy Bonds will lower costs and/or raise income that will pay the bond’s obligations.
This unique repayment situation will make United States Energy Bonds the most secure bonds on earth.
In these ways, many problems and many opportunities can combine to create many excellent solutions.
There are several other benefits to using Energy Bonds to capitalize a new energy system for the United States, but time and space are limited