We're here at the Green Power presentation at the library. May live blog if there's anything interesting. Bonus: refreshments! (No photos. The Mrs. left our camera hooked up to her PC and ran down the battery. Seems ironic.)

TVA swag, too, including a little red LED flashlight keychain that will be perfect for astronomy night work...

OK, live blogging follows.

Maryville College Students Laura Debusk, Ashley McBee, Thomas Hankinson presenting...

Average home in the SE consumes 30% more electricity than average home in the U.S.

Mountaintop removal is relatively new, developed in the last 40 years. Tourism accounts for more revenue in West VA than coal, but mountaintop removal is destroying what brings tourists. Coal mining counties are some of the poorest in the nation, and where the most wealth is being removed. Coal production is up, but coal mine employment is down because of new technology and mountaintop removal.

More than 7% of Appalachian forests have been cut down and more than 1500 miles of streams across the region have been buried or polluted between 1985 and 2001.

Slurry impoundments can flood and wipe out entire towns.

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83% of visibility-reducing haze n the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a product of sulfate particulates from coal-burning power plants.

Rain in the GSMNP is 5 to 10 times more acidic than it should be.

Asthma is an epidemic near coal-fired power plants.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest unregulated source of mercury emissions.

Nuclear waste: life is 4.5 billion years, containers won’t last that long.

Recycling one alumnimum can saves enough energy to power a television for three hours.

Steve McMinn, Marketing, Green power switch (TVA)

TVA spends $1 million per day on coal plant pollution controls (don’t get me started)

18 Green Power Switch Sites

Solar, wind, and one methane gas facility in Memphis

1998 survey, 84% said they would purchase green power if TVA offered it

Comprised of TVA-owned and consumer-owned renewable resources

37 megawatts of green power.

Solar: 16 TVA PV sites, 375kW capacity

34 consumer-owned solar sites, 171kW

Wind: 18 turbines (3 TVA, 15 Invenergy, 29MW capacity, 3500 homes

5 consumer-owned wind sites, 34kW

Methane: 8MW capacity, replaces need for 20,000 tons of coal per year.

All utilities participating in generating partners program must allow net metering

TVA purchases 100% of output at 15 cents per kwh, you buy back at 7.5 cents. (20 cents per kWh for Demand Metered agreement)

Pilot program through 12.31.07

Maximum system size = 50kw

No solar hot water heater program at this time, but are looking at it

2006: generation partners 0.1%, solar 0.5%, methane 37.9%, wind 61.5%, about 1% of TVA total power generation.

Parking lot at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga covered by solar panels, at schools, Dollywood, Ijams, high visibility, Lyle’s Acres Organic Farms private solar system.

Five “zero energy” Habitat for Humanity houses in Lenoir City, partnership with ORNL, 800-900 sq. foot house, $150,000.

Green power: $4 per block, 1 block = 150kWh

TVA is currently selling only 75-80% of green power they are producing. Need more consumers to sign up. Will not add more until they max out. Average customer buys two blocks, about 25% of normal usage.

No minimum for residential customers. Commercial, minimums based on size of account, otherwise can’t advertise green logo. Small 5 blocks (50kw demand), medium 25 blocks (51-1000 kw), large 250 blocks, mega 375 blocks.

Residential: 12,174 customers, 24,191 blocks, 4,628,650 kwh

Commercial: 489 customers, 14,341 blocks, 2,151,150 kwh

Maryville College is the only commercial green power account at MUB.

Something I learned: there is no credit swapping, etc. If TVA sells more than they produce they have one year to increase capacity to meet demand.

Two blocks per month = planting 1 acre of trees or not driving four months.

Wrapup with a bunch of great conservation ideas from MC students, will post about those later. Great presentation, we're out of here!