Residential Solar Hot Water Workshop

Want to learn what a solar hot water system would look like and cost for your home?

• Solar hot water systems are more affordable, efficient, and reliable than ever before.
• You’ll learn about system options that work well in Montana, how to size a system for your home, costs, current financial incentives, and what to ask an installer.
• Bring your water bills and a picture of your home’s south-side to take a closer look at whether a system is right for you!

When: Saturday, May 19, 2012; Workshop: 9 am – 2 pm Optional 1-Hour Tour afterward to see an installed system.
Where: Missoula County Extension Conference Room
2825 Santa Fe Court; Missoula, MT 59808
Directly behind Albertson’s in the Northgate Shopping Center; Call 258-4200 for detailed directions
Lunch: Bring your own OR bring $10 for on-site ordering.

Pre-Registration is required for this FREE workshop (for handout planning).

Register by contacting Susan Bilo at Susan.Bilo@montana.edu or (406) 994-2225. Provide your name, address, and phone #.

Hosted By:
Montana State University Extension, Bozeman & Missoula County
Human Resource Council, District XI
University of Montana, Missoula, Office of Sustainability

Click here for pdf flyer

AERO is seeking an intern through Governor Schweitzer’s Energy Intern Program.

Position Description:

An Energy Intern with AERO would work on our Repower MT campaign to share energy success stories from across the state. We have developed a web platform for users to submit their renewable energy and energy conservation stories, pictures, and videos. The primary focus of the Energy Intern would be on outreach efforts to identified organizations and individuals in order to populate the site and to help them share their story. In addition to outreach the Intern would work on communication strategies to reach a wider audience through media, social media, and AERO communications tools (ie: enewsletter, newsletter, website).

Applicants must:

• Be enrolled at least part time in a public Montana college/university
• Be eligible for need-based financial aid or be able to obtain a letter stating financial need
• Be willing to commit to 200 hours on a project
• Be excited about gaining experience while earning a scholarship!

Energy Interns receive a $2000.00 education award after completing a 200 hour internship.

Click here to apply.

Join us for this energy workshop in Missoula!

Across Montana, communities are taking action to meet the huge challenges of rising energy costs and global climate change. Homeowners, businesses, and local governments are looking to conservation and renewable energy to not only cut energy costs, but to create local jobs, build our nation’s energy independence, and protect our clean air, water, and the landscapes we cherish.

This energy solutions workshop hosted by AERO will provide the information and hands-on demonstrations you need to reduce your energy use and get started with renewable energy.

Program highlights:

• Tour of UM FLAT
• Renewables 101 by Diana Maneta, Executive Director, Montana Renewable Energy Association
• Financing Energy Projects, Kathi Montgomery, Department of Environmental Quality
• Build Your Own Solar Cell Phone Charger
• Energy Audit Demo: How to Save Money & Energy in Your Home, Andy Lemann  & Skander Spies, Energetechs
• Passive Solar Principles, Andy Lemann, Energetechs
• The Future of Climate Action Planning in Missoula: Opportunities for Engagement
• Jill Alban,  Clark Fork Coalition
• Chase Jones, City of Missoula Office of Planning and Grants
• Derek Kanwischer, Transition Towns
• Andrew Valainis, Energy Corps Member, City of Missoula Office of Planning and Grants
• Sharing Your Energy Success Story
• Networking among energy professionals and communities leaders who are working to build the resilience and sustainability Missoula
• BBQ Social Hour to follow
  

Friday June 15, 2012, 10:00am-4:00pm

UM FLAT, 633 5^th St East, Missoula

$20 registration fee

Pre-registration Required. Fill out the form below or email slesnar@aeromt.org or call (406)443-7272

Last September in Philipsburg, AERO—the Alternative Energy Resources Organization—facilitated the third of four summer and fall public renewable energy tours generously sponsored by NorthWestern Energy.  During that tour a group of about 20 participants learned about Philpsburg’s two micro-hydro generators installed on the town’s municipal water supply line.  That line plummets well over 2,000 feet from Fred Burr Lake, at about 7,600 feet in elevation, to the town.  The generators supply the power for several municipal buildings at a rate typically 10% below the utility’s.

This is a big deal for Philipsburg.  These hydro generators save the town considerable money, which translates into saved jobs and funds for service equipment.  The system and savings span decades.

Standing near one of the generators that day, my Lego-loving, inner engineer was keenly interested in the technical details—the kilowatts and kilowatt-hours, flow rates and turbine blades.  But the more captivating story was—and still is—the personal one about how those installations ever came to be.  The key character in which is one Walter Johnson, affectionately known as “Tiny,” though the city operations manager with a smile assured us that the name was not to be taken literally.

As I recall the story we heard while standing next to one of the humming generators on the steep hillside, it was Mr. Johnson—a local teacher—who had one of those “ah-ha” moments.  He saw the potential to generate electricity for the town by taking advantage of that gravity-driven flow of water.  Simple physics is often a beautiful, thrifty thing.

I do not know all the details of the countless steps in between the birth of Mr. Johnson’s idea and the ultimate installation of the systems.  But the gist is an idea was conceived,  followed by typical discussion, skepticism, and delay, and ultimately, success—success owing to confidence in a good idea, effective communication, persistence, and courage.

There’s a student scholarship in Philipsburg awarded in the name of—in the words of the local foundation—“much revered teacher and local historian & activist Walter (Tiny) Johnson” who passed away in 2007.

I wish I’d known Mr. Johnson.  It’s a really great story.

And it illustrates what AERO members and friends have come to know over 38 years of energy tours and workshops, New Western Energy Shows, and annual meetings: there are countless energy success stories across Montana.

Over the years we’ve introduced thousands of people to energy efficient homes and businesses with cost-effective conservation measures.  We’ve toured solar, wind, and geothermal installations large and small across the state on schools, homes, farms, ranches, and my personal favorite:  breweries.

But it’s become ever clearer that the personal stories are as important—perhaps more important, in fact—than the actual renewable energy installations themselves and their associated costs, incentives, simple payback, and megawatt hours. Personal stories inspire us.  They can engage, entertain, and educate.  And they put a face on what is all too often overly technical and impersonal.  The facts and data are necessary, certainly, but not sufficient.

With that in mind, AERO recently launched a campaign we call Repower MT:  Energy Success Stories from across Montana.  The central hub of the campaign is an interactive online forum where folks across the state can share their stories in words, photos, video, geography, data, and dollars.  It’s a public resource for sharing experience, knowledge and results.

Montana is filled with innovators, and the solutions they’ve deployed have been earned through creative thinking, experimentation, trial and error, some luck, and an indomitable can-do spirit.

These aren’t just energy engineers and technical experts.  They are business owners like Dale Brackman and his auto repair and service shop in Helena with his 6.2-kilowatt solar system.  Or Brian Patrick, the former Superintendent of Townsend School District whose leadership brought solar, wind and biomass to Townsend’s schools to reduce costs and serve as educational tools.  Or the good folks at Garden City Harvest and their solar tracker at the PEAS Farm in Missoula—where every dollar saved on utility costs is a dollar that can go to their community gardens.  These are the Walter Johnson’s taking action across the state—whether the projects save or generate kilowatts or megawatts.

We built Repower MT to get these stories out to a wider audience than the 20 folks who attended that tour in Philipsburg—to make them available throughout Montana and to help others help themselves.

So, please add your story to the mix.  Share it.  Get on the Repower MT map.  We’re here to help.

In Missoula, I’m Bryan von Lossberg, AERO’s executive director.  AERO has been linking people with sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974.  Visit online and add your story to Repower MT at aeromt.org.

This commentary aired on April 26, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

AERO is proud to announce Repower MT, a campaign to highlight conservation and renewable energy success stories from across Montana. This campaign will empower every citizen with the facts, strategies, resources, and personal testimonials needed to undertake their own energy project.

What is it?

Repower MT is a new website that tells the stories of homeowners, businesses, and organizations across the state that have reduced energy use or installed renewable energy. The site is built on a crowd-sourced platform that creates a page for each project. Anyone can submit a project, no matter how large or small. Site visitors can upload photos and videos as well as write their energy success story to share it with others.

How does it work?

Projects are tracked on a map as well as a ticker that tallies kilowatt hours saved by the conservation and renewable energy projects each year. Site visitors can search for projects based on the technology they are interested in, for example: solar, wind, hydropower, etc; or they can search by the building type, for example: business, home, farm, or public. Projects are displayed on a map which gives a spatial representation of projects throughout the state.

Why?

The goal of the website is to demonstrate the power that many small actions have when taken together and to learn from each others’ successes and challenges. For example, you can learn how Dale Brackman, an independent auto mechanic, was able to install solar panels on his shop so he no longer pays an electric bill. Or see pictures from Lane Coulston’s energy efficiency renovation and learn which products he used

If you have a project, submit your story today!

Help spread the word! Add the link repowermt.org to your website today!

There is a sense of change in the air and it is not just spring coming.  There is a change happening and it is about the food we eat. The Montana local food movement is shifting gears and is moving into the mainstream of Montana’s food economy. This shift is the result of a decade of work from committed farmers, ranchers, markets, cooperators and organizations.

Western Montana’s local food movement is creating new economic opportunities for our Montana communities. According to Ken Meter, a regional food analyst, if western Montana consumers purchased only 15% of the food they need for home use directly from the region’s farmers, this would generate approximately $66 million of new farm income to our farmers and ranchers.

In response to this challenge, last winter  the Five Valley Food and Agriculture Summit was held where farmers, ranchers, consumers, institutions, coops and others gathered to look deeper into how we can work together to strengthen our regional food system and open new opportunities for food commerce and business development. Values based food supply chains and food hubs were explored by the participants as alternatives to traditional business models.  In traditional business models relationships often are framed in “win-lose” terms.   Relationships are seen as competitive, even adversarial (companies seek to buy cheap and sell as expensively as possible) and farmers, and ranchers are often interchangeable suppliers of “raw materials.” In contrast Values based food supply chains are viewed as long-term networks or relationships of partnering business enterprises who work together to maximize value for the partners and consumers of a particular product or service creating a win-win situation for all. In values based food supply chains there is an emphasis on shared vision and commitment to the welfare of all participants, including fair profit margins, fair wages, & business agreements of appropriate length (that persist over time).  There is the priority of sustainability of the land, energy, water, and other resources and producing food with sustainable practices to ensure region’s ability to produce food in the future which equates to regional self-reliance.

These models offer a new way of doing business and offer opportunities in building a regional food supply chain.  Western MT has examples of such businesses that are growing and expanding – Western Montana Growers Cooperative, Charlie’s Produce, Mannix Beef, Kalispell Creamery, University of Montana and a growth of new market farmers that are responding to the increased opportunity for creating value chain partnerships.  New enterprises are emerging such as an on-line food coop, and a farm to school value chain between local growers, local schools and the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center.  As one participant of the Summit noted “I envision a network and cooperative of local growers forming to pool resources in order to better facilitate movement of food products into mainstream local markets”

These developments will take our local food economy to a new level – where local food is a mainstream in our grocers and a broader base of the community will enjoy the benefits of the freshness, higher nutrition, and the deeper community values such purchases can bring. Values such as community engagement, preservation of local farmland, environmentally sound practices of small farmers, and the list goes on.

I am excited for what the next decade will bring and I urge you-  If you already buy locally grown food then buy more, and  if you aren’t then it’s time to start now. Be a driver in our emerging food economy.

In Polson I’m Jan Tusick for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO has been linking people with sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974. Visit us on line at aeromt.org.

This commentary aired on March 29, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

On Tuesday, April 10^th, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Helena Community Gardens invites the Helena community to attend a potluck and panel discussion at our 5th annual Grow Local event. The focus for the evening will be on creating vibrant local food systems that keep both food and money in Montana, with panelists from four Montana farms discussing organic farm practices and Community Support Agriculture (CSA) programs.

Grow Local starts at 5:30 pm with a community potluck. All are welcome to attend and bring a local food dish to share. At 7:00, we kick off the program with two inspiring songs by the Montana Women’s Chorus under the direction of Judy Fjell.  The panel discussion is an opportunity for Helena residents to learn about and discuss the food system and the significance of local food, an issue of growing international interest. This year a panel of Montana farmers will share various models of community farming and discuss the benefits of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a way that consumers and farmers collaborate to produce healthy, local food.

What: Grow Local
When: April 10 at 5:30 pm
Where: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Cost: Free
Contact:  Jim Barngrover, 442-3505

Panelists include:

Eric and Audra Bergman, Groundworks Farm. Eric and Audra Bergman are in their third year of building a diversified, direct-market farm west of Great Falls.  A vegetable CSA is at the heart of the operation, with current production also including pastured-broilers and range-raised hogs.  A 20-week summer CSA and other products serve participants in the Great Falls area; Fall Harvest Shares and pork are offered for Helena delivery as well.  Ecological principles guide the farm practices, and the motivation is to participate in a food economy that builds health and abundance for our family, our communities, and the landscape.

Anna Jones-Crabtree and Doug Crabtree, Vilicus Farms. Anna Jones-Crabtree and Doug Crabtree became beginning farmers in their early 40’s.  In March of 2009, following a lifelong dream, they traded 20 years of savings, good credit and secure retirement plans for 1,280 acres of Conservation Reserve Program land off the open market in North Central Montana, founding Vilicus Farms.  As Stewards, conservation practices are integral to their farming system, including not only organic certification but also a 5+ year diverse crop rotation of small grains, oilseeds/broadleaves and legumes.

Cindy Hanson, North-Valley Co-op. Cindy moved to Montana in 1980 and began working on a farm in the Bitterroot Valley. Then in 1983, she moved to Bozeman, where she put in a small garden. She also rented a space from Rocky Creek Farm and grew herbs to sell in the local farmers market. She moved to Helena in 1990 and occasionally sold produce at the farmers market. In 2012 she collaborated with Lorna Milne and Gay and Bill Eyman to found the North-Valley Co-op, Helena’s first Community Supported Agriculture program.

Jacob and Courtney Cowgill, Prairie Heritage Farm. Prairie Heritage Farm is an organic, diversified farm near Conrad, Montana, on the short grass prairie where the Rocky Mountains meet the plains.The farm is owned and operated by Jacob and Courtney Cowgill, two central Montana kids returning to their roots. They grow vegetables, raise heritage turkeys, and grow ancient and heritage grains and seeds like Prairie Farro and Sonora Heritage Wheat. They market the majority of what they grow through various Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSA). Prairie Heritage Farm is, in a lot of ways, the kind of farm that existed in the region 50-100 years ago: diversified, small-scale and locally based. Their vision is to be a model for how to revive elements of that old kind of agriculture alongside the kind of agriculture that has sustained communities in the last several decades. They believe that family farms nourish not only the people who work them, but the people they feed and communities in which they live. They believe organic agriculture, diversification and a robust local food system are good for the health of the farm, the customers, the community, themselves, and the environment. They have a deep appreciation for the opportunity to be on the land, feeding their neighbors and friends.

About Helena Community Gardens

Helena Community Gardens, formerly known as the Growing Community Project, works to build gardens, provide tools and knowledge to grow food and increase access to healthy and affordable foods. We are diverse group of individuals and organizations working together to manage seven community gardens in the Helena area. Our goal is to develop community gardens within walking distance of every neighborhood in Helena, Montana.

The next issue of AERO’s newsletter, the Sun Times, will be issued in May. The Sun Times is as important as ever in our communications with members and other supporters. Printed newsletters are mailed to a list of more than 700 households, businesses, and organizations.  The newsletter is part of the welcome packet that we send to new members and hundreds will be distributed at task force meetings, farm and energy tours, conferences, and tabling events around Montana. We also plan to make this issue available online.

Content of the Sun Times typically includes updates from Agriculture and Energy Program Managers, AERO member commentaries, upcoming events, and highlights innovative projects around Montana. For example, the May Sun Times will include a save the date and preview of the 2012 Local Energy Solutions Workshops in Missoula and Red Lodge and a recap of the 2011 Annual Meeting and planning underway for the 2012 Meeting in Lewistown. If you are interested in sponsoring the 2012 Annual Meeting we can offer a discounted ad price.

Ad Prices:
1/8 PAGE, 3.75”x2.5” = $50
1/4 PAGE, 3.75”x5” = $100
1/2 Page, 7.5”x5” = $200
Full page, 7.5”x10” = $400

If needed, AERO can help to create the ad. Just send your images and text.

If interested, reserve your space today! Please reply with the following information by Tuesday, April 3rd:
- Business Name
- Contact Name and Information
- Ad size
- Whether you will need AERO to put the ad together

If you are interested in buying ad space or submitting written work, including poetry and articles, contact Caroline at cwallace@aeromt.org!

AERO has partnered with the Montana Department of Agriculture on a food system mapping project. We are collaborating to produce an interactive database and maps that shows market information relating to local food, such as the names and locations of direct marketing farms, businesses storing, processing, and distributing local foods, farmers markets, and restaurants, institutions, and grocery stores that serve local. Through a map-based format, we will identify where the existing opportunities and gaps are, and where we need to prioritize our efforts for improvements.

We began building our database by tapping into our networks and partner organizations to accumulate lists of farmers and other businesses that we know are participating in local food value chains. Then, we added comprehensive lists of all of Montana’s food businesses, and are in the process of sorting through these and identifying the ones that are participating in local commerce.

THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN! We need you to share your knowledge of the local food businesses in your area by sorting through the database by your county, and marking the businesses that are playing a part in building local food value chains. After this step, we will print initial maps, and take them to communities around the state so local people can double-check them for accuracy, and to add any businesses that are missing. Your knowledge about your local food system can play an important role in develop the most accurate and useful maps as possible.

Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about this volunteer opportunity, or if you would like to get started. Contact: (406) 443-7272 or email kmoore@aeromt.org.

On March 28th, Paul Tschida of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) performed an energy audit on AERO member Lynda Saul’s home. The audit was completed to show Lynda the best tactics for making her home more energy efficient in an upcoming remodel, as well as to educate the public on energy audits. An energy audit determines the efficiency of a home’s heating and cooling system, in addition to pinpointing air leaks. The audit of Lynda’s home consisted of a blower door test, which measures the extent of air leaks in the building envelope and the use of an infrared camera, which reveals hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.

Helena area contractors specializing in weatherization were on hand to answer questions and make recommendations for Lynda’s upcoming renovation. A duplicate test will be completed in the fall to see how the home performs after renovation.

To learn more about energy audits visit the DEQ’s website here.

To get an energy audit on your home contact your utility company to inquire about audit programs.

Click here for information on tax incentives for energy conservation projects.

For news coverage of the event follow these links: Beartooth NBC and Helena IR.