Energy Fairs! Richard Perez Dreams can become real. The Green Dream certainly did so at all the Energy Fairs held this summer. Thousands attended fairs in Summertown TN, Truxton NY, Willits CA and Amhurst WI. We dreamed a sane, safe, and renewable energy future for all on this planet to share. People, not Panels Our practice of renewable energy leads us to focus on things. Things like PV panels, hydro generators, wind machines, batteries and inverters. It's easy to get fixated on the hardware, the technology and its application. It's easy to forget what this is really about- the people who make and use the hardware. These are the folks whose work and dreams have made the use of renewable energy a reality. And this summer's fairs brought us together to share information, courage and laughter. It was a chance to meet old friends for the first time. It was a festival of life shared & celebrated by everyone from forty year old hippies to three piece suit types. So that's what this report is about- people. In documenting these fairs, I first attempted to take the point of view of a reporter- a disinterested and impartial observer recording the proceedings. I failed miserably. Here is the point of view of a participant. Attempts to be disinterested resulted in lame information ending in a "You had to be thereÉ" attitude. So please understand that these reports, while entirely factual, are first person, from my experiences at the Fairs. Since I can only be in one place at a time, these reports are bound to contain omissions. My apologies in advance to people and events not mentioned. Those of you that were there will understand, those of you who missed attending the Fairs will hopefully come to know the flavor and fervor of the events. So here goes- - Gonzo photo journalism. MREF Richard Perez On August 17 through 19, 1990 the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair took place in Amhurst, Wisconsin. During the three day fair over 3,500 people entered the local fairgrounds to talk to more than 60 exibitors. There were more than fifty seminars on subjects like PVs, System design, Solar heating, Wind power, Hydro power, Batteries, Methane, Hydrogen generation & use. Wind and PVs supplied the power for the lighting, the PA system, and the music nightly. BoldHeading TEXT The journeyÉ It's a long way from Oregon to Wisconsin. A long way. A very long way. Karen, Bob-O and I accomplished it in 42 hours of nonstop road burning. We arrived with enough time to get a bit of sleep and head for the fairgrounds in Amhurst. It was easy to find the fair, just look for the big wind machine on the tall tower. We arrived and set up Friday morning under partially cloudy skys. We had stuffed the pickup with thousands of copies of Home Power and we didn't have room for our erector set PV pavilion. Instead, we set up on tables. Immediately after the fair opened crowds gathered around the array of booths and tables. Folks from everywhere with a hunger for renewable energy. These folks were well informed and had specific questions showing that they were experienced. No one once asked me how much hot water a PV panel made. The Exibitors There were more exibitors than a body could see in the three days of the fair. All the renewables were respresented by dealers, distributors, and makers from far and wide. Many of the individual and companies are chronicled in the photos. One really new product was located at the booth next to ours. Midway Labs in the persons of Paul Collard Wind Power Saves the Day! With the stormy weather, the PVs weren't producing much power. The large battery was feeding all the fair's power. High on the tower the old Jacobs way gently whooshed the kWh into the batteries. Perhaps the best way I can communicate the MREF Crew's comittment and work is to tell you about the wind machine. These amazing folks put up a working 2,000 Watt Jacobs wind system on an eighty foot tall free standing tower-- just for the weekend! Mick Sagrillo, fearless leader of the wind project, first hauled all this gear from his place in Michigan to Amhurst with one anemic VW pickup. One tower section on top of the pickup, the Jacobs broken down inside. The remainder of the tower sections were nested together, had an axle bolted to them, and then towed as a trailer behind the same VW pickup. I'm amazed. Saturday Afternoon It began to rain buckets. Within an hour we experienced over 2 inches of rain. Everyone and everything was immediately and completely soaking wet. There would be no camping in the tent tonight. The venerable mountain tent was floating in about four inches of water and listing badly to starboard. We made a run for a motel, taking Conrad from Jordan Energy Institute's Solar Car crew with us. We drove many miles across soaked roads before finding a vacant room. The local hostels must have been very pleased indeed, between the rain and the fair, there wasn't a room available for miles. Fortunately Karen, in her usually superefficient manner, had arranged all via phone. We slipped into dry sheets, sighing like wet rats under a warm stove. Sunday Morning Folks showed up at the fairground at 7 AM for the exhibitors breakfast. It was still raining and everyone was bundled up against the cold. Hot coffee, fresh fruit, and granola brought smiles and yawns. Ellen from the MREF crew made the finest wheat pastries any of us have ever eaten and they were HOT. I talked with individuals in the crew and more than a few wondered if the fair could go on that day. It was so wet and cold. Would anyone come? The group huddled in a circle and the doubts vaporized. As a group, the crew found the strength and courage of lions. The fair would go on! And on it went. Over eight hundred folks came to stand about pleasantly in the rain and discuss renewable energy.