Nov 25, 2016: Repower Excitement and Episode 6 In last week’s Newsletter I mentioned that Repower ‘s fourth investment round was due to open on Monday this week. Well… not only did it open on Monday at 3pm but it was completely filled by Wednesday at 9am. It only took 42 hours to raise the required $139,600 in local, ethical, community investments to fund the three solar power systems included in this round. This is a fantastic result for Repower and goes to show that there is plenty of excitement around community investments in renewable energy.
Repower ‘s Solar Mentors are already working on signing up the next group of businesses for Repower 5 so, if you missed out on this week’s investment opportunity, don’t worry… the next one won’t be far away. In fact the best thing to do (if you haven’t already) is to go to repower.net.au , click on ‘Join’, and become a member. That way you’ll receive updates from Repower and notification when the next investment round becomes available. Anyone can join for a $20 donation and you have to be a member to invest.
Meanwhile The Energy Retrofit Continues
VIDEO
In between various renewable energy projects, George and I are continuing to plug away at the energy retrofit of the old fibro cottage next to the Greeny Flat. As you’ll see in the video above, this week we put a new roof on the front porch and we’re gradually working our way around the house installing the metal flashings and cladding on the exterior walls.
Cronulla Leading the Way With Bio-gas
I was happy to learn via this Ecogeneration article that there is work being done in Australia to use methane digesters to generate Bio-gas on a commercial scale. Many years ago I worked on a Permaculture project in Hawaii and one of my responsibilities was to tend to their experimental methane digester. It was a very rudimentary system of 44 gallon drums filled with sugar cane waste and cow’s intestines but it produced a wonderfully clean-burning bio-gas. Periodically a researcher from the University of Hawaii would show up and take samples of the gas for testing and found that it was a potent mix of methane, hydrogen and other stuff. All I know is that I used to use the gas to cook my dinner and it was so clean that I could never tell when the burner was lit until I burned myself.
It has always seemed crazy to me that we treat our waste water in open ponds and don’t capture the methane gas that is produces. Not only is methane a very useful fuel, it is also a very potent greenhouse gas (something like nine times worse than CO2) so it’s much better to capture and use it than to let it escape into the atmosphere.
Cronulla’s methane digester plant.
I’m glad to know there is at least one project in Australia where they’re capturing methane gas from a sewage treatment plant and using it to run a generator to power the plant. I wish our local treatment plants would employ the same technology. I was a bit surprised to learn that Cronulla is leading the way with this technology. It’s not a place that’s known for being at the forefront of the clean energy revolution. I find it mildly ironic that the NSW Environment Minister, Mark Speakman, happens to be the Member for Cronulla but at least he’s walking the talk in his own electorate. Let’s hope he’s equally active in persuading other councils to adopt the same sort of technology.
Thanks for reading. Andy
We will not share your information with anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Recent Newsletters
Apr 1, 2022: These floods are no joke
Mar 4, 2022: Disasters of Our Own Design
Nov 12, 2021: Free Zoom Screening of ‘Now’ Movie on Sunday
Nov 5, 2021: The Times They Are A-Changing
Oct 14, 2021: Sustainable House Day is Back… virtually
Sep 24, 2021: Two Years In the Cottage
Jun 25, 2021: Cheap and Simple EV
May 14, 2021: 3D Printed Earth Home
Feb 26, 2021: Doing Something About It
Feb 12, 2021: Barangarooted
Jan 29, 2021: Our House on the ABC
Jan 8, 2021: Electric Vehicle Madness
Dec 12, 2020: Water Works and Solar Cars
Nov 13, 2020: Arts Trail Open House
Oct 2, 2020: Another Year of Living Positively
Sept 18, 2020: Virtual Sustainable House Day on Sunday
Sept 11, 2020: Back in Mittagong
Aug 28, 2020: One More Week in Port Macquarie
August 21, 2020: Progress Report
August 14, 2020: This week’s progress report
August 7, 2020: Port Project Photos
July 17, 2020: Port Macquarie Project Progress
June 26, 2020: All Electric Workhorses.
June 19, 2020: Port Macquarie Project
June 5, 2020: Mount Gibraltar Stone Stairway
May 22, 2020: Morrison Wants To Give $11M To A Coal Baron
April 22, 2020: Happy Earth Day
Mar 13, 2020: Coronavirus makes me feel lucky
Feb 20, 2020: Kitchen finished
Jan 31, 2020: How To Build a Fire-proof House
Jan 24, 2020: Back To Work
Jan 3, 2020: Childhood Beach Devastated By Fire
Nov 22, 2019: Energy Positive Success
Nov 1, 2019: Art Studio Trail This Weekend
Oct 18, 2019: Solar Monitoring and Upcoming Events
Oct 11, 2019: Queen St Renovations
Sept 28, 2019: Greta vs Growth
Sept 6, 2019: Sustainable House Day 2019 next weekend.
Aug 30, 2019: Solar Installed
Aug 23rd, 2019: Solar System Ordered and Other Notable Stuff
Aug 16, 2019: Two Projects Finished and Sustainable House Day Coming Up.
July 12, 2019: The Beauty of Bamboo
July 5, 2019: Back To Russell Island
June 28, 2019: Kitchen Upgrade
June 21, 2019: What’s Your 2040?
May 24, 2019: Public Meeting in Bowral on Friday 31st of May
April 26, 2019: Reader Feedback on Granny Flat Economics
April 12, 2019: The Economics of Granny Flats
Feb 20, 2019: Russell Island Home Tour
Feb 8, 2019: Russell Island Nearly Finished
Jan 25, 2019: Progress and Other Good Stuff
Jan 18, 2019: New Leaf and Progress Photos
Jan 4, 2019: Doors and Architraves
Dec 28, 2018: Russell Island house progress.
Dec 12, 2018: Back on Russell Island
Nov 16, 2018: Greeny Flat For Rent
Nov 9, 2018: A Tale of Two Houses
Oct 2018: Is The Housing Market Starting to See the Light?
Sept 16, 2018: Greeny Flat Testimonial.
Sept 7, 2018: Lighter Roofs and Cheaper PHEVs
August 31, 2018: Windows and Cladding
August 17, 2018: Adamant About Eaves
August 3rd, 2018: Raising the Roof
July 27, 2018: Progress Photos
July 13, 2018: Project Progress
July 7, 2018: Affordable Housing Project in QLD
May 11, 2018: DIY Retrofit Double-Glazing
May 4th, 2018: Greeny Flat Available to Rent – Jun/Jul/Aug
April 20, 2018: Why you MUST monitor your solar system.
April 6, 2018: 4th Earth Day Party – April 22
March 30, 2018: It’s a Great Time For Solar
March 23, 2018: Beware of Tradies In Your Attic
March 16, 2018: More Sustainable Subdivisions
March 2, 2018: More Solar For Landlords and Renters
Feb 23, 2018: The Reroofing Begins
Feb 16, 2018: Record Year for Rooftop Solar
Feb 9, 2018: Cooking With Compost
Feb 2, 2018: Waste-to-Energy Systems
Jan 16, 2018: Should I Replace My Tile Roof
Dec 12, 2018: More About Keeping Cool
Jan 5, 2018: Keeping Your Cool
Dec 29, 2017: Happy New Year
Dec 22, 2017: Upside-down Season
Dec 8, 2017: Bitcoin Climate Disruption
Dec 1, 2017: The Coming Disruption
Nov 24, 2017: Suncrowd Review – 0 Stars
Nov 17, 2017: Tesla Tiny House Here Next Week
Nov 2, 2017: Montana Off-grid Eco Tiny House
Oct 27, 2017: Glorious Rain and Good Results
Oct 20, 2017: Cattle… Good or Bad?
Oct 13, 2017: The Snow Shows Where the Heat Goes
Sept 6, 2017: Tesla Tiny House coming to Bowral
Sept 29, 2017: Home Solar and Double-dipping on Carbon Emissions
Sept 22, 2017: Time to Load Up On Solar
Sept 15, 2017: Sustainable House Day This Sunday.
Sept 8, 2017: Project Progress, Yellowstone, Etc
August 31, 2017: Day Tripping in Montana
August 25, 2016: Electric Vehicle Update
August 18, 2017: State of The States
August 11, 2017: Cool Stuff
August 4, 2017: Going to Montana
July 28, 2017: Episode 13 – West Side Shade Awning and Deck
July 21, 2017: Now That’s True Sustainability!
July 14, 2017: How To Choose The Best Electricity Retailer
July 7, 2017: A Year of PHEVing It.
June 30, 2017: Case Study – Holiday House Energy Upgrade
June 23, 2017: In The News This Week
June 16, 2017: Grow Your Bricks and Monitor Your Energy
June 9, 2016: A New Ethical Energy Retailer
June 2, 2017: Dark Days and Bright Spots
May 19, 2017: Things That Caught My Eye
May 12, 2017: The Sublime and the Ridiculous
May 4, 2017: Episode 12 – Replacing the Sewer Lines
April 28, 2017: Doing the Dirty Work
April 21, 2017: Ban the Bag
April 14, 2017: One Down, One Billion to Go.
April 7, 2017: 3RD EARTH DAY PARTY – April 22
March 30, 2017: Electric Shocks
March 17, 2017: Big Changes Coming
March3, 2017: Massive Erections
Feb 24, 2017: PHEV Love
Feb 2, 2017: Every Home Needs This!
Feb 3, 2017: Episode 11 – How To Make a Solar Air Heating Wall
Jan 20, 2017: Episode 10 – Why Build a Solar Air Heating Wall?
Jan 13, 2017: Agents of Change and a New Local Brew
Jan 6, 2017: Starfish and the Cost of Australia’s Poor Quality Houses
Dec 23, 2016: Episode 9 – What’s a Trombe Wall?
Dec 16, 2016: Episode 8 – Retrofitting Passive Solar
Dec 11, 2016: Episode 7 – New Windows in Old Walls
Nov 25, 2016: Repower Excitement and Episode 6
Nov 18, 2016: Community Renewable Energy Investment Opportunity
Nov 4, 2016: Window Replacement and Tesla’s New Battery
Oct 28, 2016: Suncrowd! What a Buzz!
Oct 20, 2016: Episode 4 and Catchpower Answers
Oct 14, 2016: Episode 3 – Borers, Rot and Underfloor Ventilation
Oct 7, 2016: Episode 2 and SunCrowd Invitation
Sept 30, 2016: Home Energy Retrofit Video 1
Sept 23, 2016: Catch Power – So What’s The Catch?
Sept 16, 2016: What To Do at the End of the 60c Feed-in Tariff
Sept 9, 2016: Happy Sustainable House Day!
Sept 2, 2016: The Beginning of the End of Solar Subsidies in NSW
August 25th, 2016: Lessons from an Infrared Camera
Aug 19, 2016: Open Source Tiny Homes
August 12, 2016: Sustainable House Day 2016
Aug 4, 2016: Solar Bulk-buy with SunCrowd
July 29, 2016: ‘Free’ Power with Repower
July 21, 2016: Fibro Cottage Energy Retrofit
July 15, 2016: Science With a Conscience
July 8, 2016: Election Day – Droning On
June 25, 2016: ‘Renewable Electricity’ is NOT ‘Renewable Energy’
June 19, 2016: The Power of TV and The Rise of The Machines
June 12, 2016: Magnetite, Drones and Climate Action
June 4, 2016: Stools to Fuels
May 29th, 2016: The Future of Energy?
May 21, 2016: Concrete Alternatives and PCM’s
May 15, 2016: First the Good News
May 8, 2016: Underslab Insulation
May 1, 2016: Counting Comfort and Costs
April 24, 2016: Celebrating Two Years of Energy Positive Living
April 17, 2016: Gimme Three Reasons
Apr 10, 2016: Second Earth Day Party, 4-7pm April 22nd.
April 3, 2016: Home Battery Updates
Mar 26, 2016: An Electric Transportation Revolution
Mar 18, 2016: Mould and Other Fun Stuff
Mar 12, 2016: Reader Feedback and Lithium Issues
Mar 6, 2016: Beware of ‘Standard Practices’
Feb 28, 2016: Fossil Fools
Feb 20, 2016: Grow, Cook, Eat – Offgrid Power – and Welsh Cars
Feb 14th, 2016: Gotta Love These Little Houses
Feb 7, 2016: Renewable Energy Prepares For Take Off
Jan 24, 2016: PHEV Goes Bush
Jan 17, 2016: 1.5L/100km
Jan 10, 2016: How To Reduce Our Carbon Footprint
Jan 3, 2016: PHEV Goes Camping
Dec 27, 2015: Electric Driving Less Than Half The Cost of Petrol
Dec 20, 2015: Our First Week With an Electric Vehicle
Dec 13, 2015: Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is.
Dec 13, 2015: Paris Talks Waffle?
Nov 29, 2015: Walking for Climate Action and Driving Electric Vehicles
Nov 15, 2015: Battery Storage Options
Oct 8, 2015: The Big Disconnect?
Nov 11, 2015: 7,377,870,064 Elephants in the Room
Oct 25, 2015: Pros and Cons of Granny Flats
Oct 16, 2015: Greeny Flat Wins Green Globe Award!
Oct 11, 2015: What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Sep 27, 2015: Build Tight, Vent Right
Sep 20, 2015: Driving Sustainability
Sept 12, 2015: Greeny Flat Named 2015 Green Globe Awards Finalist
Sept 6, 2015: Sustainable House Day
August 27, 2015: Water, Water Everywhere!
August 23, 2015: Back in Brazil
August 14, 2015: Ranch Life and Sustainable House Day
August 7, 2015: Greetings From Montana
August 8, 2015: Renewable Choice for Oz Voters
July18, 2015: Whoops, I Spoke Too Soon
Jul 12, 2015: Nice Weather for Eskimos
Jul 5, 2015: Solar Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Jun 28, 2015: Greeny Flat Welcomes Sustainable Lifestyle
Jun 21, 2015: Happy Winter Solstice!
Jun 14, 2015: Test Drive the Greeny Flat
Jun 7, 2015: Visit to a Local Food Forest
May 31, 2015: Exciting Times!
May 24, 2015: The Heat Goes On
May 17, 2015: DIY Solar Air Heater Prototype
May 10, 2015: K.I.S.S. My House
May 3rd, 2015: Tesla Reinvents Electicity
Apr 26, 2015: Party Pics and Random Bits.
Apr 22, 2015: Experiment Declared Resounding Success!
Apr 19, 2015: Greeny Flat’s 1st Earth Day Party this week
Apr 12, 2015: Sand Wars, Floating Solar Farms and other Fun Stuff.
Apr 5, 2015: Invitation to a Party
Apr 4, 2015: UK’s First Carbon Neutral Town
Mar 21, 2015: Latest Results and Reader Feedback
Mar 16, 2015: Our Double-glazed Windows
Mar 8, 2015: Form Follows Function
Mar 8, 2015: Reader Feedback
Mar 1, 2015: Some Fun Stuff
Feb 22, 2015: Proof Positive
Feb 15, 2015: Case Studies – Heat Doesn’t Rise
Feb 8, 2015: In all sorts of hot water
Feb 2, 2015: Rethinking the way we design and build
Jan 25, 2015: Latest Results and Electric Vehicles.
Jan 20, 2015: The GreenPower plot thickens
Jan 18, 2015: Switching to Green Power
Jan 11, 2015: Our surface-mounted electrical system
Jan 4, 2015: Our Solar Power System
Dec 28, 2014: Sandwiches for Cathedrals
Dec 24, 2014: December Results
Dec 16, 2014: Eco-home Display Village Concept
Dec 14, 2014: All New Homes to be Energy Positive by 2016.
Dec 7, 2014: $41 Energy Bill for last three months
Nov 25, 2014: Think light for a cooler roof
Nov 22, 2014: Staying cool in the heat
Nov 9, 2014: The benefits of a small home.
Oct 26, 2014: Last Sunday the Greeny Flat made 4 TIMES as much energy as it used!
Oct 12, 2014: Lessons learned so far
Oct 10, 2014: Why an all electric house?
Sept 22, 2014: Great Day for Renewable Energy
Sept 21, 2014: Greeny Flat Cost Analysis
Sept 11, 2014: $10.63 worth of energy in 3 months.
August 30, 2014: Greeny Flat open for Sustainable House Day
August 22, 2014: Four months and going strong.
July 22, 2014: Three month’s results… All Positive!
July 4, 2014: Energy Independence Day!
June 11, 2014: Cintia’s winter
May 27, 2014: Greeny Flat on ABC
May 27, 2014: Cool Fridge Wins Energy Star Wars
May 23, 2014: Testing the air-tightness
May 19, 2014: First month’s results… VERY promising!
Apr 22, 2014: Earth Day marks the start of one year of monitoring
Mar 24, 2014: start of a big week
Mar 7, 2014: BASIX is a JOKE!
Mar 6, 2014: starting on the kitchen
Mar 1, 2014: Pumps and Solar Hot Water: decisions, Decision, DECISIONS!
Feb 24, 2014: Greeny Flat in the news
Feb 20, 2014: surface mounted electrical system
Feb 19, 2014: end in sight for the construction phase.
Leave a Reply