Environmental summit to shed light on green energy technology

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Updated: January 24, 2012 8:16AM

Homeowners and business people trying to reduce their impact on the environment — or those who just dread opening the mailbox because a massive utility bill might await them inside — have increasingly viable alternatives that may be worth a look.

DuPage County’s ninth annual environmental summit will give participants information about harnessing limitless sources of energy and using them to heat, cool and power their homes. With its focus on small-scale renewable energy systems, the free Jan. 11 event will feature speakers empowering home and business owners to take ownership of their energy consumption.

“We’re talking about things people can do at the residential or local level,” said Brook McDonald, president and CEO of the Naperville-based Conservation Foundation, one of the event’s main sponsors.

Specific topics will include solar and photovoltaic systems, small-scale wind generators and geothermal energy, “which anybody can do,” he said.

Naperville, which operates its own utility, is one of the communities in the Chicago area where officials are revisiting their regulations governing alternative energy sources. The city already derives a portion of its energy from commercial wind farms elsewhere, but the past couple of years have seen interest surge in gathering the power borne on breezes closer to home.

“There’s been recent local activity at the municipal level looking at ordinances,” McDonald said. “Obviously people are out there wanting to do this, and they’re forcing city councils to set guidelines.”

Consumer advice

Before the forces of nature can be captured, however, consumers need to rein in their energy use. Stephanie Hastings, president and a founding member of Naperville for Clean Energy and Conservation, will present the first of the afternoon’s half dozen sessions.

“I am planning on focusing on residential energy efficiency,” Hastings said.

She said she has attended past events and met people who indicate there is a very receptive audience for the message.

“They’ll say, ‘Well, what about me? How can I apply this at home?’” Hastings said. “The more I focus on what individuals can do, the more I can help them.”

She has acknowledged that the finite fuels that contribute to the greenhouse gas effect linked with climate change — coal, oil and natural gas — will remain a necessary part of the energy landscape for now. But because those resources are also non-renewable, slowing the pace of their depletion will be a plus.

“Adding renewables is important and is going to be part of the solution,” Hastings said. “But it won’t solve any problems unless we cut our consumption of fossil fuels.”

McDonald said another factor that made the topic especially suitable for the next summit is the recently completed Water Conservation and Renewable Energy Demonstration Project at the farm where the foundation is headquartered. Comprised of a modern-day cistern that gathers and reuses rainfall, solar roof panels and a 60-foot wind turbine, the undertaking is meant to show that solar and wind power are accessible resources for virtually everyone.

While there is significant investment involved up front, McDonald said the systems can reap fuel savings that lead to payback within 10 to 15 years, depending on what kind of assistance can be lined up, such as tax credits and state rebates. Nonprofits that upgrade to renewable energy systems also can tap private foundation support to help offset the cost.

“You can get anywhere from 30 to maybe 40, 50 percent of the cost taken care of,” McDonald said.

One summit session will be dedicated specifically to giving an overview of where to get money.

“You begin to add this stuff up, and play your cards right and you’re helping the environment,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”