November 13, 2008
PPL East Mountain Business Center: Get paid to reduce your electricity usage!
Announcement | Brochure | Presentation

A presentation was made from John Choma of Energy Connect. The gist of the presentation is that users of large amounts of electricity can get paid for reducing their electrical demand during peak times during the summer. The logic is that this is less expensive than bringing the more expensive power plants on line to meet the demand.

Also presented were energy efficiency efforts at Scranton Army Ammunition Plant and Tobyhanna Army Depot.

August 21, 2008
Green Roofs Energy Efficiency and Partnering
Announcement | DEP link

On August 21, twenty five individuals attended the PAEP P2E2 Roundtable held in Lancaster. The topic of the meeting was on partnering efforts between the Lancaster County Planning Commission, Millersville University and several businesses in the area that have installed green roofs as part of stormwater and energy management.

The meeting began with a tour of the vegetative roof at National Novelty Brush Company (www.nnbc-pa.com), with their President, Rick Seavey, as our guide. Mr. Seavey stated that the roof is projected to last 75 years and that they have no need to put air conditioning in the warehouse due to the 20% energy savings. Stormwater runoff is also reduced up to 90%. Maintenance is minimal but the roof does have to be weeded. Photos of the project construction can be seen at: http://www.tahconstructioninc.com/default.asp?PageID=124589 (scroll down to "Date: April 30, 2008 : Starting The Installation of The Green Roof")

Dr. Richard Clark ,Chairman, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Millersville University and Mary Gattis-Schell, Senior Planner, Economic Development Planning Division, Lancaster County Planning Commission discussed the partnership effort that enabled the project and entitled their presentation "Working Together to Green Roofs". Ms. Gattis-Schell also became a member of our Roundtable at the meeting. Randy Didier, Chief, Environmental Management Division, Tobyhanna Army Depot also participated and presented their analytical data on energy savings realized as the result of the green roof system they're planning on expanding. Bob Zaccano presented information on the OETD grant Programs.

Organizations present at the meeting included Wal Mart, Sanofi-Pasteur, PPl, Fort Indian Town Gap, Lancaster Housing and Redevelopment Authority; Lancaster County Conservation District, Susquehanna Sustainable Business Network, Live Green, and the Sierra Club. Wilkes University already has plans to try to model the way that Lancaster County has brought this project to fruition with the use of the Energy Harvest Grant with the Planning Commission conducting the administration and the university assisting with data collection and monitoring.

After the meeting the Steering Committee met to discuss future meeting topics. Many thanks to Bob Zaccano from our SCRO for doing such a great job assisting us in bringing this partnering effort to the attention of the PAEP Roundtable. Courtesy of Dr. Marleen Troy, Wilkes University, photos of the roundtable event are attached. (Contact: Bob Zaccano 717-705-4797 or Janet Warnick 570-826-2475)

After the meeting, we received a note from Sanofi Pasteur, a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Monroe County included below:

I wanted to thank you for providing a very interesting and useful meeting on Vegetative Roofing and Partnering yesterday. The tour and the insights shared were very helpful as we work towards our own first green roof project. In yesterday's meeting I got the chance to ask some specific questions of green roof owners and also from a university faculty member about real-life experiences that I found valuable. Also yesterday, as in all of the P2E2 meetings, it provided a great opportunity for interaction and networking with other environmental professionals. I find the dynamics of interacting with various sized businesses, agency representatives, educational representatives and technology experts, very helpful. For example yesterday I learned about green fuel technology grants from DEP and a DEP representative is going to connect me with a university contact that can help me with my food waste composting and my biofuels projects. In fact I try not to miss any of the P2E2 events since I do find them so valuable. I prefer these types of events more than paid commercial seminars. The P2E2 meetings and teaming is far more practical and useful to me and my organization. Please keep up the great work and you can count on my future participation.

Sincerely,
Ken Zinis

May 7- 9, 2008
2008 Annual PAEP Conference: Adapting to Global Climate Change -A Pennsylvania Perspective
Click here for details

Conference Keynote Speaker was a global leader on climate change issues: Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. Mr. Schweiger also served as the head on the Pennsylvania Western Conservancy for eight years.

• Presentations on climate change in Pennsylvania were made by leading officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and other prominent organizations as part of the Land Use Program Track and Plenary Session.

• A separate Program Track included topics such as ‘Making Wetland Jurisdictional Determinations Post-Rapanos,’ ‘Specialty Certifications for Environmental Professionals,’ and ‘The New PennDOT Transportation Project Development Process.’

• The Pollution Prevention/Energy Efficiency (P2/E2) Program Track offered many additional seminars, including ‘Performing an Energy Efficiency Assessment,’ ‘ Green Building,’ and ‘Business Sustainability and Climate Change.’

• Two “all new” alternate Traveling Workshops kicked-off the conference on May 7: a "North Tour" with site visits to the Locust Ridge Wind Farm, the Frackville Coal Reprocessing Plant, and Hawk Mountain; and a "South Tour" with visits to Three Mile Island, Keystone Biofuels Plant, and the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

February 21, 2008
PPL East Mountain Business Center
Meeting Announcement | Fluke Thermography Presentation | PAEP Presentation

Thirty people attended the 2008 first quarterly meeting of the PAEP P2E2 Roundtable held at the PPL East Mountain Business Center in Luzerne County . The meeting attracted industry, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. All of the participants were very interested in seeing the demonstration of the infrared cameras by Fluke instruments and the applications related to detecting temperature differentials to assist in optimizing energy efficiency operations in industry, businesses, and commercial and residential buildings. Several organizations expressed an interest in purchasing the cameras for use at their facilities.

In addition, PPL Energy Services also provided an excellent discussion on energy performance contracts, energy service companies (ESCO’s), and PA Act 77 where guaranteed savings are generated through energy efficiency and improving operations and maintenance. Energy conservation measures that could be undertaken in lighting, HVAC improvements, air compressors and utilities were discussed. PPL Energy Services identifies and implements energy improvement projects and guarantees that the savings generated from the projects are enough to fund the costs. PPL Energy Services and other ESCO’s prepare bids, conduct feasibility studies and provide consulting services. Initial consultations are free of charge. Many school districts in the central and eastern portions of the state are current performance contracting customers.

The meeting was very well received and several organizations are planning on requesting assistance from ESCO’s to help control the electricity demand of their facilities. In addition, the PA Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) program was promoted. This program assists residential customers who wish to obtain financing to conduct energy improvements on their home. Additional information on the Keystone HELP program can be found at www.keystonehelp.com