How Will We Fund Alternative Energy Projects?

[jay]

I attended a party today and collected a small bag of aluminum cans for our Youngstown solar initiative.

Questions
Where is the best place to sell aluminum cans?
What is the going price for Aluminum cans?

[AllanY2525]

Here is one example (web link) to an article regarding government grant
money for the development of alternative energy sources:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/203344/how_to_go_for_grants_for_alternative.html?page=2




Another good link regarding the cost of producing both Ethanol (for "gasohol") and
biodiesel fuels:

http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/RENEW/Biomass/Cost.shtml

Basically, the article explains that under the right conditions, production of
both of these fuels (when mixed with their petroleum-base counterparts)
is ALREADY cost effective.

Here are just a couple benefits from the use of these alternative fuells:

1) Less impact on the environment in the form of reduced pollution
from internal combustion engines, as well as a reduction in the amount
of our "garbage" that ends up in land-fills.

2) Mixing these organically-based fuels with their petroleum-based
conterparts will stretch an already-diminishing supply of oil (which
we WILL run out of, someday) and make it last longer.

I have always believed that Youngstown and the surrounding, rural
areas already have many of the natural resources to produce
Ethanol and Biodiesel locally - which would help everyone who
drives a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle in the Youngstown area
by offering them alternative, "hybrid" fuels at a lower cost than
what they are currently paying for 100% petroleum fuels.

Manufacturing of these fuels locally would also create new JOBS
for an area the desperately needs them.

Here is another interesting link to what is termed "Peak Oil",
and the impending crisis that will arise as a result of if:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

The time to start researching and producing alternative
fuels is RIGHT NOW.  Yes, we are not going to run out of
oil in OUR lifetimes, but the cost of finding, exploiting,
and producing a gallon of gasoline or diesel is steadily
increasing because most of the "cheap and easy" sources
of oil are already at, or approaching, exhaustion.

Try a GOOGLE search on the phrase "Peak Oil" for more
information on this topic.

[Rick Rowlands]

When it become economically feasible to embrace alternative energy it will happen.  Trying to force it upon people when there is still a source of fossil fuels to use up is ridiculous. Let the free market work. 

[Towntalk]

Here is the link to a company that sells a whole lot of great stuff using solar energy.

http://www.solarhome.org/browseproducts/

There are no doubt other companies on line that are in the same business.

[jay]

What we need is some type of small project to get the alternative energy concept before the public.  Through a series of fundraisers, we might acquire enough money to purchase a few solar panels to attach to a building in downtown Youngstown.

Please list some ideas to raise funds.  These are two examples.

Hold a spaghetti dinner
Collect aluminum cans

[Towntalk]

Great question.

Given that we would be talking about multi millions of dollars, just on the acquiring of the land to place the wind turbines, or solar panels, and then another multi millions on land prep and construction, and still another multi million on the equipment, and millions more on connection to the customers (hard wiring) and hundreds of thousands a year on staff, we're talking real money.

Judging from what I've seen on television about these places, we're talking about a huge amount of land that would have to be devoted to nothing but solar panels or wind turbines. A farm for either in the city would take a big bite out of the city. Were the farms be located outside the city proper, there would be a significant increase.

Where would the city's share come from? Increases in taxes? Local property tax? Bond issues?

Once everything is in place, and everything is paid for there could be a conceivable rate drop, but until then, the end consumer would be paying twice as much on their electric bill as they are paying now, and as everyone knows, once a corporation is use to high bills, and large profits, it's imposable for them to accept less. I doubt that in the lifetime of anyone here, we would see a dramatic drop in our electric bills if we did go solar or wind. But we could say that we are doing our part to save our planet as we struggle to put food on out table, environmental friendly cloths on our backs, pay our mortgages, and all the other taxes we are weighed down with.

On my web site I have a whole page devoted to Global Warming with links to well over 600 articles on the subject covering the whole gamete of topics related to the subject, and it would do everyone well to take a look at all these papers (... mainstream newspaper articles and scientific journals) and then decide for themselves what the cost would be to them and their families before they give the politically correct response.

http://farrell-report.tripod.com

[jay]

How will we fund alternative energy projects?
I'm sure this question will soon be on the mind of the average citizen.  We often talk about getting grants but many grants have to be matched from a local funding source.   How will our area raise the money needed for these projects?