1992 Midwest Renewable Energy Fair Chris Greacen The 1992 Midwest Renewable Energy Fair (MREF) over solstice weekend in Amherst, Wisconsin was saturated in an intoxicating "doing-it-right, doing-it-now" spirit. On the road again... The Home Power crew rented a behemoth 15 passenger van for the trip. On Tuesday, June 16th we loaded "Moby Dodge" and drove for 45 hours, stopping only for gas and grits. At noon Thursday, just outside Amherst, we saw a large blue wind machine towering over a wooded lot, its 14 foot white tipped blades spinning in the wind. We knew we had arrived. A Dynamic Flag The wind machine, a 3 kW Jacobs from the 1930's, was the dynamic flag of MREF. You couldn't help but look up at it every now and then to see the motion pumping the electrons which powered the fair. Wind has excellent PRÄyou can see it happening. It also breeds a kind of wind-righteousness. Mick Sagrillo, the owner and installer of the 60 year old "Jake" inspired mild wrath from solar folks when he commented on stage during the exhibitors' opening ceremony, "The PV racks can help trickle charge the batteries that the wind generator has charged." The PV racks held 3 kiloWatts peak of panels. Thursday, everyone was hard at work. I joined a stirling-engine tinkerer, a mother and daughter, and an older man with two grandsons who had volunteered to set up. We moved about 700 chairs into eight huge tents and two shelters that would hold the full schedule of workshops. Julie Weier, the official and full time mastermind of this year's MREF, did her work well. All was arranged, all was ready for the upcoming weekend. Opening Day Not to break traditon, Friday was rainy and cold, but 1600 people showed up. There was serious work happening in those tents and shelters. At 10:30 am you could go to your choice of: Site Analysis for Renewables, The Passive Solar Home, Wisconsin's RE Assistance program, Elementary Science and Energy Books, Energy Efficient Lighting, Jordan Energy Institute: advanced education in our energy future, Vertically Integrated Farm Energy Systems, Solar Food Drying, Intro to PV Systems, Renewables are Ready: junior and senior high curriculum, Building a Renewable Village, or Energy Savers workshops. An and a half later there was another set of twelve to choose from. These workshops continued every day from 10:30 am to 6 pm (9:30 to 7 on Saturday). There were workshops on electric vehicles by Michael Hackleman, wind systems by Mick Sagrillo, ultra-low head hydro by Ron MacLeod, concentrator PVs by Bob Hoffman of Midway Labs, batteries and inverters by Richard Perez, methane by Al Rutan, on the physics of PVs by Richard Komp, air to air heat exchangers, wildlife, sustainable gardening, utility.RE applications, high mileage cars, attached solar greenhouses, lobbying for energy and the environment...and on and on. There were 72 workshops in all. Most were repeated during the three day weekend. Saturday and Sunday brought better weather, and attendance broke 7,500 for the three days combined. "Real Work is Going on in those Tents" The workshops were presented by people who have been working in their particular niche of renewable energy for ten, sometimes twenty or thirty years. Each had more to tell than he or she could possibly fit into each ninety minute workshop, but each knew where to begin and how to simply cover the ground. There were many questions, often on technical fine points. The workshops taught and advised novices to techies. Attendees saw avenues they could pursue and dead-ends to avoid. The wealth of information is about as close as one can get to the 90-minute Vulcan Mind Meld. The only suggestion I have is for more beginner/advanced separation in the workshops. For example, the inverter class could be divided into a class on inverters for beginners and a class for advanced. That way the people who want to know intricate details won't waste the time of the folks learning the basics. Renewable Kid Energy Usually, energy fairs aren't places for kids. Not this one. MREF was full of kids, and high quality kids' and education workshops. Older kids led younger kids in a myriad of workshops involving solar powered Legos, cardboard villages, lots of musical instruments, and theater. In the Artists and Scientists workshop, participants took scientific measurements of the area (temperature, humidity, etc) and made an artistic mural of the findings. Kids built solar ovens from cardboard. Ellen Davis, Lyn and Jeff Mosurinjohn, and the young folks at Center Stage Productions are to be thanked for the "Next Generation" workshops. Booths and People from Everywhere You could have spent the three days just wandering around the 68 booths and exhibits and talking with the folks who ran them. Where to begin? There was a guy named Phil who built small stirling cycle engines out of tuna fish cans, wire, and pieces of shock absorber. On the other end of the spectrum was a tracking concentrator photovoltaic rack by Midway Labs, using fresnel lenses and non-imaging optics to concentrate light on small high-efficiency Spectrolab space solar cells. There were booths on wildlife rehabilitation, green politics, peace, efficient stoves, solar water heating, and building insulation. Manufacturers and distributors of renewable energy products came from near and far with their wares. It was encouraging to see some utilities present, too. Electric, Human, and Corn Powered Vehicles An Oil Overcharge Grant provided funding for the Alternatively Fueled Vehicle Showcase. Fourteen cars and vans powered by natural gas, ethanol (there's lots of corn in the Midwest) and electricity were displayed. For one ethanol car, the only modification was a unit that plugged into the electronic fuel injection which changed the injection timing. Michael Mack came all the way from Santa Rosa, California with Solar Electric's PV assisted electric Fiero. Mike Brown and Shari Prange of Electro Automotive brought a "Voltsrabbit". Buy a dead VW Rabbit (diesels are common) and install their kitÄseries motor, controller, beefed up suspension, etc.Äand you've got a functional electric vehicle for a fraction of the cost of a new Detroit model. I drove itÄit moves well and accelerates quickly. A solar race car was parked at the fair, and a solar powered racing catamaran. There were several exhibitors of recumbent bicycles. Youth, adults, and some of the fair staff were frequently seen cruising and crashing these vehicles. Model Home Riding herd on the booths was a model conservation/renewable energy home. Cut-away walls showed energy efficient insulation techniques. Thermopane windows with night-time quilts and an appropriately-sized roof overhang illustrated ways to let nature warm the house in winter and cool it in summer. A low-flow shower head and complete solar water heating system, ultra-low flush toilet, compact fluorescents, and homemade efficient refrigerator showcased readily available technologies which save water and electricity with no sacrifice to the American standard of living. This home is the pet project of one of the more driven members of MREF, Kurt Nelson. Wind Power Just west of the Model Home was Lake Michigan Wind and Sun's blue "Jake" wind machine that helped power the fair. You could stand underneath it and feel the earth trembling slightly when there was a breeze. This booth became affectionately known as Mick Sagrillo's "windgenny supermarket". You could stand face to face with about ten different wind machines, from a 1920 era 6 Volt Wincharger to the 1992 1.5 kW Bergey. The entire fair was powered by wind and sun. Thanks goes to Lake Michigan Wind and Sun, Carrizo Solar, and Jim Kerbel for the fair's 4,000 Watt photovoltaic system and the 3 kW wind generator. Jim Kerbel of Photovoltaic Systems Company, another MREF board member, was responsible for seeing that the entire fair was "off-grid". Jim and seven workshop participants put in two weeks wiring the wind system and PVs into one massive hybrid system. This included the Model Home, all lighting, the electric ovens cooking food at the food booths, and the sine-wave power for the evening concerts. In the evening after the workshops were done, the fair participants gathered at the local eating places. Here we restored the day's spent energy with everything from Wisconsin fried cheese curds to some of the finest local moo ever eaten by this crew's carnivores. Here technical discussions ran rampant, their volume increasing with each penciled-up napkin. At night, after the solstice sun had set, music by Stoney Lonesome or Greg Brown floated over the fairgrounds. The wind machine was lit from below by PV powered lights. You could see the ole' Jake from a pretty fair radius, all night long. Underneath the spinning wind generator, people gathered, sharing stories. Techies talked tech. Their souls rang like steel forged in the sun, water, and wind. I couldn't help imagining the wind machine as the site of alchemical renewable energy rituals to the wind energy god. One late night session Chad Lampkin was at his booth nearby, and upon my request he demonstrated his 120 Volt DC to 120 volt ac inverter built in a Heart 2800 case. He had an 18,000 Watt bank of incandescent lights as a load to demonstrate the inverter surge capability. This is about twice the surge of a Heart 2800. The light from this load blinded onlookers for a good thirty seconds. These techies are seriously sick.... Back to the Future? We saw hundreds of square miles of petroleum intensive agriculture, giant Montana coal pit mines, and coal burning power plants on the way to the fair. We also saw the fantastic energy of the wind that blows across these immense flat lands. We saw sunlight pouring over the Midwest like honey. We met thousands of folks who are ready for a change. Get-togethers like Midwest Renewable Energy Fair not only show us the Future, but also give us the practical information we need to really get there. We at Home Power salute the hard work and dedication of the MREF crew, the information freely shared by the workshop presenters, the support of all the businesses attending, and all the fine folks who spent their weekend at Amherst. We had a great time and we'll see you there next year! Access Author: Chris Greacen, c/o Home Power, POB 130, Hornbrook, CA 96044 ù 916-475-3179