Cow Power Grants Turn Waste Into Electricity

The first Cow Power grants were given to a pair of Stephenson County farms that will turn animal waste into electricity. A $225,000 Opportunity Returns grant is going to Scheidairy Farms in Freeport, while Hunter Haven Farms in Pearl City will receive a grant of almost $225,000.

Anaerobic digesters will be used to produce methane gas from livestock waste that can then be used to generate electricity. Each farm will produce enough power for 60 homes. Because digesters eliminate odor problems associated with livestock, they can also help the livestock industry be a good neighbor.

"It is my hope that other dairy owners from across the state, and around the nation, will visit these facilities and take this state-of-the-art, environmentally beneficial technology back to their farms," said Governor Rod Blagojevich. The grant funds are through the State of Illinois' Renewable Energy Resources Program administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

After the digestion processes, the effluents are more bio available than the typical lagoon dairy waste. "This Opportunity Returns grant is a necessary part of pursuing our family farm's goal of building a methane digester to produce electricity and bedding fiber for ourselves and others," said Doug Scheider of Scheidairy Farms.

Beyond producing electricity from a renewable energy resource with a value-added end product, these projects also present a positive solution to one of agriculture's growing problems - odor complaints.

Child ID Kits Available

Touchstone Energy® cooperatives are sponsoring the Child I.D. kits National Child Identification Program, which is dedicated to providing parents and guardians with a tool they can use to help protect their children. Inkless fingerprint I.D. kits are used to record the child's fingerprints and physical characteristics on a card, which is kept at home. Call, or pick up Child I.D. kits at your local Touchstone Energy co-op.

Energy Technology Part of New Economy

Former President Bill Clinton and President George Bush agree that energy technology has the potential to be a driving force in a new economy.

Former President Clinton said, "If I were running for president as a Democrat I would be saying we need to create a new energy economy and we're going to create a million jobs with it." President Bush said, "Our entire economy depends on steady affordable supplies of energy, encouraging conservation, promoting efficient technology, modernizing our electricity grid, and increasing energy production here at home."

Renewable energy sources are a hot topic both politically and in the financial community. The investment sector is starting to view alternative energy as a new global profit center. Investment in alternative energy has tripled. Investment in U.S. renewable energy companies totaled $21 billion in 2002. Investors put $3 trillion into socially responsible funds in 2002, a 400 percent increase since 1995.

New technology, combined with new money, has come together to take renewable energy technology from wind to biomass energy from new-age dreams to real world possibilities. Some see high-tech, clean energy companies as the Microsoft investment of the future. With the growing demand for energy worldwide, and the Middle East in constant turmoil, there is no greater need than sustainable, flexible, clean, and cost efficient new energy technology.

Entrepreneur Help in Western Illinois

Western Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) are partnering to create the Western Illinois Entrepreneurship Center Network, with entrepreneurship centers in Macomb, Galesburg, and Quincy.

The centers, and their combined resources through their partners, including the regional economic development organizations, the Small Business Development Center, and other Western Illinois University resources will provide entrepreneurs and existing businesses with the expertise and tools they need to translate their ideas into successful business ventures and help existing businesses grow.

Each center will link clients with resources and expertise, and on a competitive basis will offer $5,000 Business Enhancement Awards for startup and business expansion. For more information, or for assistance, contact Sadiq Shah at (309) 298-2205, Quincy Center Manager Charles Bell at (217) 223-4313 or Galesburg Center Manager Richard Johnson at (309) 341-2001, or visit www.wiuec.org.

New Organization Dedicated to Strengthening Rural America

The 80-55 Coalition (www.8055.org) is a growing nonpartisan group of advocacy, policy, and research organizations dedicated to strengthening rural America. The term 80-55 is derived from federal statistics showing that rural America represents approximately 80 percent of the nation's landmass and is home to about 55 million Americans. Member organizations are working together to identify strategies for change, and educating policy makers and key decision makers on rural issues.

One of the key goals of the coalition is to ensure that the myths associated with rural America are dispelled. For example, it is a myth that poverty is just a big city issue. Rural poverty has been higher than metro poverty for the last 40 years.

Economic development, health care, transportation, education, and infrastructure are just some of the issues that are important to all Americans. But the 80-55 Coalition says national policies cannot be addressed by "one-size-fits-all" solutions. A single policy can have different, unintended effects on rural areas.

Source: www.8055.org.

Kill-A-Watt Energy Efficiency Tester

If you are thinking about replacing an appliance because it's old and not energy efficient, a new efficiency tester may help you make the decision. The Kill-A-Watt appliance efficiency tester measures electricity consumption by the kilowatt-hour and displays it on a large LCD display. All you have to do is plug in your appliance. Other options with the tester allow you to figure your electrical expenses by the hour, day, week, month, and even the year. Visit http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-HG.html for more information.

The Kill-A-Watt appliance energy-efficiency tester measures electricity consumption by the kilowatt-hour, and displays it on a large LCD display.

Touchstone Energy® Co-ops Highly Rated in Survey

Some employees at Southern California Edison rigged customer satisfaction surveys by changing the phone numbers of customers to those of friends and family members. The employees apparently were trying to ensure their department would meet year-end goals and get maximum payouts.

Touchstone Energy cooperatives didn't have to rig an independent survey to outscore the rest of the industry in customer satisfaction. In the third and fourth quarters of 2003, Touchstone Energy co-ops scored 80 out of a possible 100 points in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), while the industry average dropped from 73 to 72.

The University of Michigan Business School manages the survey.

Homework Club Helps Students Succeed and School Budgets Survive

Students were struggling and budgets were stretched to the limit. Something had to be done and retired schoolteacher Eula Durston had an idea. In February 2001, with the support of the First Presbyterian Church of Witt, she formed the Homework Club.

Since its inception, the club's network of teachers from the Nokomis and Witt school districts has helped more than 500 children in need of tutoring. The First Presbyterian congregation reimburses the schools for the teachers' time through an endowment, ensuring that the program is cost-free to the children and the schools. Children are recommended for tutoring by their teachers to the school principal. After receiving the names of referred children, the principal pairs them with volunteer teacher-tutors for help.

For more information about the Homework Club, you can reach North Elementary School principal James Rupert at (217) 563-8521.

AUGUST 2004 www.aiec.coop 7

Find Answers at New Government Science Web Site

Looking for that lifeline to help answer a million-dollar science question? Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has a suggestion. Go to the recently launched Web site www.Science.gov 2.0, the next major step in government science information retrieval.

Science.gov is the gateway to reliable information about science and technology from across federal government organizations. Science.gov 2.0 offers groundbreaking, user-friendly technology enhancements to the interagency science portal. It is for the educational and library communities, as well as business people, entrepreneurs, agency scientists, and anyone with an interest in science.

The Science.gov Web site provides the unique ability to search across 30 databases as well as across 1,700 Web sites. Hosted by the Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Science.gov is made possible through a collaboration of 12 major science agencies.

Enough Power But Transmission Questionable

While the grid, overall, is expected to perform with reliability in the near future, portions are nearing their reliability limits as demand drives an increasing flow of power.

Electricity generation is expected to keep pace with growing North American demand over the next few years, but the wholesale transmission system might not, experts said in a forecast of electric reliability.

Those responsible for delivering bulk power must closely follow reliability standards to keep the system dependable, said the North American Electric Reliability Council in its 2003-2012 reliability assessment.

Consumers will require an additional 67,000 megawatts (mw) over the next three years, which will be met easily by a projected 89,000 mw of additional generation in the same period, the council said.

The report painted a less rosy picture for transmission, saying, "Some portions of the grid will not be able to transmit the output of all new generating units to their target markets."

Source: Electric Co-op Today, Bill Pritchard

Support For Safe Electricity Grows

More than a thousand people are killed, and tens of thousands injured each year in electrical accidents and fires. The vast majority of electrical accidents can be prevented.

Safe Electricity^SM, a safety education initiative of the Illinois Electric Council, was created through a cooperative effort of Illinois electric cooperatives, investor-owned electric utilities, municipal electric utilities, the University of Illinois, and others. Now Safe Electricity is pleased to announce a sponsorship from Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange to support safety awareness outreach activities. Federated is the leading provider of property and casualty insurance for roughly 700 rural electric utilities in 40 states.

"We are delighted to have Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange as the largest sponsor of the program," said Molly Hall, Director of Safe Electricity. "Federated's support and involvement will help us to improve and expand outreach efforts beyond Illinois' borders to help educate consumers in other parts of the nation."

"We have been very pleased with the Safe Electricity program in Illinois," says Earl Struck, President and CEO of the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. "It's been a well-received public education effort that we believe really makes a difference."

For more information and teacher resources go to www.SafeElectricity.org.

Household Energy Consumption Expected To Increase

Given larger homes with greater energy needs and an increasing number of consumer electronics, residential energy use is projected to increase by 25 percent between 2002 and 2025, according to the Annual Energy Outlook 2004 released by the Energy Information Administration. Most of the projected growth is related to increased use of electricity.

According to the Energy Outlook, sustained growth in housing with almost all new homes using central air conditioning, is an important part of the national trend. Newly-built homes are on average 26 percent larger than existing homes with greater needs for heating, cooling, and lighting. Residential energy use per square foot has gone down, however, due to more stringent building codes and appliance standards. Home office equipment and security systems are also part of the expected increase in electricity use.

Natural gas use in the residential sector is projected to grow by 1.5 percent per year from 2002 to 2010 and 0.9 percent per year to 2025, maintaining a constant share of total residential energy consumption. To view Energy Outlook 2004, visit www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo.

Source: Energy Information Administration

8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING www.icl.coop