This year's MicroGeneration to PowerParks conference (MGPP03) will be on November 17-18, 2003 at the James Henry Conference Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. GLREA is partnering with Shepherd Advisors to present MGPP03. The day and a half long conference and trade show will focus on education sessions that address commercialization opportunities for renewable and advanced energy technologies. In addition, on the afternoon of November 18, Shepherd Advisors is sponsoring a buyer/seller forum for attendees interested in Combined Heating & Power (CHP) technologies and GLREA will be hosting a Wind Energy Town Meeting (see below). If you are interested in getting involved as a sponsor or planning the conference agenda please contact Aileen at 800-434-9788 or info@glrea.org.

Wind Energy Town Meetings Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the State of Michigan Energy Office and the US Department of Energy, GLREA will sponsor two Wind Energy Town Meetings. The town meetings will provide an opportunity for participants to learn about Michigan wind power projects and wind energy technologies and their applications. One town meeting is scheduled for the afternoon of November 18 at the James Henry Conference Center immediately following MGPP03. The other Wind Energy Town Meeting will take place in northern Michigan in early 2004.

GLREA held several Renewable Energy Seminars this past spring. Over 75 people attended seminars at the Pierce Cedar Creek in Hastings and at the new GLREA center in Dimondale. Dave Lankheet of Sundu Solar presented on topics such as "Solar PV Technology", "Solar Hot Water Heating" and "Solar Pool Heating".

The National Solar Tour is being held on October 4, 2003 and a number of tours are taking place around Michigan. There will be Solar Tours in Traverse City; Houghton/Hancock; Southwestern Michigan, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and the Greater Lansing area. GLREA will be posting Solar Tour information on the GLREA website "www.glrea.org". Our partner organization, Urban Options is assisting with promotion of the activities. If you are interested in sponsoring one (or all) of the tours or would like to host a Solar Tour in your area, please contact GLREA at 800-434-9788 or info@glrea.org. Additional information on the National Solar Tour is available at www.ases.org.

The GLREA Energy Demonstration Center has made quite a bit of progress in the last few months. The first floor of the building is nearly completed and will be occupied this summer. In the last issue of Energy Times we reported how the brick exterior of the building was repaired and that the furnace duct work was sealed and insulated.

Since then the walls have been framed, insulated (R-19) and dry-walled. The basement ceiling also had insulation (R-11) applied to it, which, along with the cellulose insulation (R-45) that has been blown into the floor cavity of the second floor, makes the entire first floor air tight and very well insulated.

The gaps in the original wood ceiling needed caulking to make it air tight and prevent moisture from damaging the insulation. This gave us one of the more interesting sights of the renovation…three volunteers (Dave Lankheet, Bob Pratt and David Haviland) were all lined up on tall ladders painstakingly caulking the ceiling. As David H. observed, "It was like the slowest horse race ever".

Then the walls were painted and the original wood molding and 8foot French doors were restored.

Also added were energy-efficient ceiling fans, which do a great job of keeping GLREA cool. Energy Star rated lighting has been installed, the kitchen is finished and the best news of all, we have plumbing and a bathroom!

The next steps will be to restore the showroom floor, install a solar PV system on the roof and replace the single pane storefront windows with Energy Star rated Low E glass models.

The first floor of GLREA's headquarters will be open to the public this summer to demonstrate how to renew a 19th century small commercial building with 20th century technology. Renewable energy and energy efficiency displays and literature are featured in the first floor showroom and the site will be used for several of GLREA's seminars and trainings.

Much of the above progress was made possible with the dedicated efforts of GLREA volunteers. In addition to Dave, Bob, and David H., Alileen Gow, Karen Lankheet, Bob Tinker, Sue Warren, Patti Witte, Susan Barnes, Jim Beaver, David Haviland, Kathy Erard, Dominic Crea and the Jeanne Day-LaBo family. We even got some help from local Village of Dimondale Council member, Ray Dutcher, who popped in to visit.

As an Energy Star partner, GLREA is working on getting our headquarters designated as an Energy Star building. Bob Tinker of Kelly-Tinker Architects and Doug Black of Enerficiency and Best Options are assisting GLREA with the process. And, because of the strong link between renewable energy and energy efficiency, GLREA is featuring the benefits of Energy Star products and practices in Energy Times and on the GLREA website "www.glrea.org". Energy Star related literature is also available at the GLREA Energy Center.

GLREA's Membership continues to grow as more people and companies support the renewable energy education efforts of the organization. We have over 165 members. Please help us to reach the 200 mark this summer by informing your friends and associates about how they can help to advance the use of renewable energy by joining GLREA. Just 5 referrals will get you a vintage GLREA t-shirt!

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Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association
URL: www.glrea.org
Email: info@glrea.org
Lansing:
(517) 646.6269
Toll Free:
1.800.434.9788

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GLREA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and contributions may be tax deductable.