Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Solar Tour


Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Alaska Solar Tour
10am to 4pm including Kenai Peninsula sites

The ALASKA SOLAR TOUR is a free self directed tour from 10am to 4pm at 25 different sites around the state. The Alaska Solar Tour is sponsored by the Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology in conjunction with the American Solar Energy Society.

The Alaska Solar Tour will feature home and business sites in our community that showcase installations of Solar thermal, Photovoltaic, and green building features. Find out how your neighbors are trimming their energy bills, generating their own electricity, and improving the future of our planet by living sustainably today.

No registration required. View the map of host sites at www.AlaskaSolarTour.ORG and get a carload of friends to visit a few of your neighbor’s open house sites. Communities involved include: Anchorage, Mat-Su, Kenai/Soldotna/Kasilof, Fairbanks/Delta Junction, Nome, Homer, and Kalgin Island. Join us in tribute to these trail blazer Alaskans who have ventured out ahead of the crowd using a cleaner, safer, and renewable source of energy.

In the Kenai/Soldotna/Kasilof area we have 2 sites; the 1st site; (open from 10am-Noon) is the Fox Farm on K-beach and Old Timer Rd. It has a newly installed 700 watt PV system that produces 50% of the power needed for this small home. There will be refreshments and a performance by Amy Hettinger* at 11am. Amy is a folk singer and a volunteer for Bioneers in Alaska. Also present will be Timothy Oliver – the Kasilof artist who was commissioned to paint the artwork for the 2009 poster.

From Noon - 4pm Ionia will provide a home grown vegetarian buffet while sustainable energy seekers are energized by the angelic sounds of Amy Hettinger* on the guitar from 1- 2pm. Ionia will provide tours of their community demonstrating their focus on sustainability. A high efficiency wood fired Garn boiler and 4 large Heliodyne flat plate solar collectors provide hot water for domestic use as well as space heating. Each year Ionia continues to get closer to the sustainability goal we all strive for. This organic community has replaced $12,000 per year of propane and $3,000 per year of heating oil with clean, safe, and renewable energy.

*Amy Lou Hettinger
Born and raised in a log cabin her parents built in the knobs of Kentucky, singer-songwriter Amy Lou grew up 'porch pickin' and singin' with an amazing family of musicians. Three years ago, she began to write her own songs and migrated north, where she promptly fell in love with the Alaskan mountains and people. Just back from completing an intense Masters in Education at Harvard, she's glad to be home. Amy Lou’s fresh and uplifting music has been called “edifying,” and her voice, “lilting” and “angelic.” You can get a taste of Amy Lou's music, and see a schedule of upcoming shows,
at www.myspace.com/amylousings.