From: Rita Schenck [rita@iere.org]

Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 11:21 AM

Subject: Energy update #11

Dear Friends:

Although I have been quiet, it has not been due to lack of progress on renewable energy-- quite the opposite!

Due to generous donations from community members, we will be purchasing an electric truck this month. The truck, an '86 Toyota flatbed, will be available as a "flextruck" for islanders needing a truck for the day. The truck is functional, though not beautiful. Please contact me if you are interested in becoming a flextruck member/user.

Next spring, we intend to install solar cells that will offset the electricity use of the truck. We had hoped to do so before getting the truck, but administrative delays in getting the money to us mean that the solar cells won't be bought until next year.

This summer, with a generous grant from the Bullitt Foundation, we did a renewable energy survey of the entire island. Almost 6 percent of households responded, a very high response rate. Islanders were enthusiastic in their support. Over 3/4 of the island supported energy independence. Only 23% of islanders were unwilling to pay a bit more for renewable energy produced locally. The majority wanted a Public Utility District (PUD) to get us there. The full report on the survey can be seen at http://www.iere.org/energy/SurveyResults.pdf

A group of islanders led by Cliff Goodman are now looking into forming a PUD on the island. Such an organization could provide both renewable energy and septic services to the island. Other municipal services are also permissible under Washington State law (e.g. transportation services). Cliff is working on getting money to do an economic study for forming a PUD.

With the help of advisors from the Social Investor's Forum, we have been working on developing a biodiesel manufacturing facility for the island. Our hope is to displace all the diesel use on the island with biodiesel. Since over 30% of the energy use on the island comes from diesel consumption, we would immediately have a huge portion of our energy from renewables. Most of the diesel use on the island comes from running the ferries, but we also use diesel (a.k.a #2 fuel oil) to heat our homes, to run cars, trucks, buses, boats and tractors. In November, we will be pitching the social investors to get the seed money to help make this dream a reality.

We are also looking at how best to take the entire island to an all-renewables future. A generous donation from Vulcan, Inc. has funded a planning exercise. In it we decided that we should look at renewable energy options at three scales: a single home, a neighborhood and the entire island. We'll look at the energy and conservation technology options and evaluate economic, policy and engineering issues to develop a strong and flexible plan.

There is so much work to do-- but we are making progress.

We invite you to share this note with anyone you believe would be interested. We will gladly add the names of anyone who requests it to this mail list. Likewise, if you wish to be removed, send me a note and I'll remove your name.

Rita Schenck
Institute for Environmental Research and Education
PO Box 2449
Vashon, WA 98070

Phone 206-463-7430
Fax 206-279-1570
www.iere.org