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Renewable energy workshop taking place in southern Indiana

By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

OLDENBURG, Ind. — Small businesses and rural residents who are interested in renewable energy systems have a chance to learn more during an all-day workshop in Oldenburg, Ind., on March 2. Sponsored by Purdue Extension and the Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC), the workshop will focus on solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and various energy efficiency techniques.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to identify different opportunities for rural landowners and the agricultural community, and explain what it takes to install these renewable energy systems on their property,” said Chad Martin, renewable energy expert at Purdue and one of the speakers at the workshop. “We’ll also give an overview of different types of funding that are available.”

The workshop, which costs $40 and is hosted by the Oldenburg Franciscan Center, starts out with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by presentations on different types of renewable energy systems. The afternoon program features a talk about financing options and a panel of local users of renewable energy. There will also be time to network and visit vendors between speakers and after the program wraps up at 4 p.m.

Commercial wind developments have grown rapidly in Indiana the past couple of years, and the opportunities for smaller community wind projects have grown along with them. Several counties, school systems and groups of individuals have already put up small wind turbines in the state. And although electric-generating photovoltaic solar panels are still expensive, other types of solar systems, such as solar water heaters, are an example of a renewable energy technology that’s becoming more economically viable.

“This is an energy security issue. Some people are looking at maybe producing their own energy, so they’ll be less dependent on foreign sources of energy. In some cases we have folks who are interested in putting it up based on environmental concerns. Some are used for educational purposes. We get a wide variety of people,” Martin said. “We want to help these projects become economically-feasible.”

According to Bob White, ICDC’s program specialist, this will be the first time a renewable energy workshop is held in southeastern Indiana. “We’ve received over 20 inquiries already, and several people have registered. Some are coming in from Ohio, and we’ve got some coming in from the Anderson and Lafayette areas. We may even get some people from Kentucky,” he said.

Martin said the interest in renewable energy has been relatively steady the past couple of years, though it fluctuates somewhat depending on energy prices and the economy. “When we had four-dollar gasoline, people saw the dollar signs scroll by when they filled their tanks, and the agricultural community saw propane spike last year. Anytime there’s uncertainty, it spurs people’s interest in (renewable energy), because sometimes with these setups you can lock in the price,” Martin said. “Oftentimes people come to this from an economic perspective; they want to know how they can save money. But the capital costs involved can be pretty high and with the economic downturn there’s not much cash available.”

The workshop will cover some of the financial incentives available, both from federal programs through USDA Rural Development and Indiana’s Office of Energy Development. “Those programs can help cover some of the initial costs, and we want to make sure people know about them,” Martin said.

White added, “USDA Rural Development has quite a bit of money, and there’s some stimulus money available as well. Last year, they were overwhelmed with applications and they anticipate the same thing to happen this year. If you’re a small business or an individual in rural Indiana, there’s a good pot of money to draw from.”

For more information about the workshop, call Janet Born at 812-933-0818.

2/10/2010