Renewable energy group to tour Miami Valley sites

Five locations use wind, solar technology

By James Cummings
Dayton Daily News
September 25, 2005

Green Energy Ohio, a renewable energy advocacy group, will conduct tours this week at five Miami Valley sites that use wind and solar energy technology.

Green Energy Ohio officials say most Ohioans don't realize the state is dotted with working alternative energy installations, and the tours and workshops are designed to introduce them to the public..

Three area sites will be featured Saturday in the statewide Ohio Solar tour, an event showcasing 160 such places across the state. Stops are described in a booklet, Ohio Solar Tour 2005, and the booklet will serve as admission to any tour site. The $5 booklet can be ordered by calling Christina Panoska of Green Energy Ohio at (866) GREEN-OH or by visiting the Web site at www.GreenEnergyOhio.org.

One site Saturday will be the Foos/Lapinski home at 1030 McPherson Road, Xenia. The log home features geothermal heating and cooling with a propane back-up system. A 20-kilowatt wind turbine supplies part of the home's electricity. The home will be open for tours Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Students at the Springfield-Clark County Joint Vocational School added a solar panel to their mobile construction trailer that lets them use power tools at remote construction sites without setting up a generator or tying into existing electrical lines. The JVS Solar Construction Container will be on display Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 12266 Collins-Arbogast Road in South Vienna.

The Ecology Research Center at Miami University will conduct a tour and open house from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5608 Somersville Road in Oxford. The 200-acre field station features a 1-kilowatt solar electric system and a 180-square-foot solar wall that provides light for classrooms.

A five-hour wind power workshop followed by tours will be held in Montgomery County on Wednesday. There is a $10 fee for those wishing to attend; participants are asked to preregister by calling Christina Panoska of Green Energy Ohio at (866) GREEN-OH or by e-mailing her Christina@GreenEnergyOhio.org.

The workshop will be held at the Dull Homestead Farm, 10404 National Road, Brookville, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The farm features six 10-kilowatt wind generators. A farm tour will be conducted from 2 to 3 p.m. after the workshop.

Also available for touring Wednesday is the Montgomery County Renewable Energy Demonstration Center at Madison Lakes Park. The center at 581 Olive Road in Trotwood is the site of a combination solar and wind electrical system under construction.

The tours will run from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday.