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Winds of change
Sustainable energy sources loom large
in quest to clear the air.
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Editor’s Note: The following is part of a series of articles in GCM that explores the golf course management industry’s role in America’s quest to achieve energy independence through alternative, renewable resources.
The call for a sustainable world through renewable energy resources is hard upon us. Green power, as many advocates like to call it, represents the task of harnessing wind, sun, water and whatever other appendages of Mother Nature are applicable in the 21st-century quest to save mankind from itself.
The Everyman’s original sin, pollution, is now mortal and called global
warming, that dark phenomenon of the millennium that officially emerged from political and scientific debate recently when a non-political United Nations-commissioned group declared that it’s the real deal.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — comprising hundreds of scientists and government officials from around the world — issued a statement in early February that identified human activities as the chief cause of global warming, and for good measure added a series of scary forecasts: average temperatures will continue to increase, once-everlasting ice and snow packs will shrink, seas will rise and inundate many coastal regions and severe droughts will become commonplace. Plus, the panel said, the predictions are likely no matter what is done now to deal with runaway fossil-fuel emissions.
A step at a time
Amid those dire circumstances, however, there are — as resilient mankind is prone to do — things being done.
A National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist, Jerry Mahlman, said in the wake of the U.N. panel’s report that fossil-fuel emissions would have to be reduced by as much as 75 percent, which is “not a recycle-your-garbage-on-the-street kind of thing,” he added.
No, it’s a century or more-sized task. But you might be surprised at how much effort is already being expended, much of it in the United States, where a quarter of the world’s atmospheric pollution reportedly resides. Alternative fuels and power produced by renewable resources — from farm crops to recycled cooking grease to many of nature’s own phenomena — are the main pollution-busters of our time.
In its April issue, GCM looked at the growing impact of alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol and hydrogen, and their emergence within the golf course industry. This month the focus is on the renewable sources that can produce modern society’s lifeblood, electricity, in place of fossil fuel-generated power.
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Once solar energy is collected, it needs to be stored for future use. |
Wind power and solar power are nothing new, but they are the leading options to provide clean, non-polluting energy. The trick is to convince a somewhat hesitant nation to replace one massive, mind-bogglingly expensive power infrastructure with another just as big and just as costly, albeit much more humankind-friendly.
Harnessing the wind
Wind power, tapped by man for centuries, now stands as a leading source of clean, sustainable domestic energy. Technology has advanced far beyond the windmills of the past to today’s sleek steel turbines as much as 300 feet tall and topped with blades 100 to 200 feet long. These towers can easily generate large-scale power from dependable winds of 10 to 20 mph.
U.S. wind energy facilities, better known as wind farms, currently are producing more than 30 billion kilowatt hours annually, which is enough to serve 3 million homes, as well as displace about 23 million tons of the nation’s No. 1 pollutant, carbon dioxide.
Wind farms are found throughout the country. More are in development, and Congress recently extended a production tax credit through 2008. Indeed, led by Texas, California, Washington, New York and Minnesota, the industry built new wind farms in 2006 with a generating capacity of almost 2,500 megawatts at an investment of $4 billion.
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Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said in January that she would include money in her next budget proposal for transmission lines to move wind farm-generated power to customers. |
Stand-up stances
Consider the words of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius during her January State of the State address: “Our goal is to produce 10 percent of our state’s electricity from wind power by 2010 and 20 percent by 2020.... The leaders of our utilities agree that these goals are achievable. There is no reason our state should not lead the nation in wind energy. That’s why I’ve included money in my budget to plan for transmission lines to move electricity from wind farms to customers.”
Consider also the Colorado State Legislature, which is mulling a bill that would enable that state to join California, Nevada and New Mexico in pursuing renewable energy targets. The Colorado bill would require the state to get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Further, Xcel Energy, which serves customers in 10 western states, has proposed increasing its on-line wind power to 2,341 megawatts, which would make it the largest wind-power utility in the country.
Capturing ol’ Sol
Solar power, meanwhile, featuring photovoltaic cells that convert light energy directly into electricity, is on a pace much less dramatic than wind energy because it remains more cost-prohibitive than current conventional power production in large applications.
But solar projects such as rooftop panels on homes, factories, malls, parking lots and other self-contained applications will continue until the industry develops cheaper and more dependable technology.
Self-contained renewable source projects have an added advantage: If they generate more power than a site can use, that power can be sold back to the utility company, usually at the going retail rate. However, there’s a 20-kilowatt limit to earning such credits.
Due diligence required
So, where does all this leave the golf course industry? In the opinion of those in both the renewable energy sector and golf, it’s mostly from the outside looking in — not unlike some superintendents interviewed by GCM for last month’s alternative fuels article who noted a lack of information about options available to them and their viability in a golf course management setting.
But in the case of renewable sources such as wind and solar power, and the much more limited development of ocean-wave power, the reality is that there is a lot of information out there these days. The twist, however, is that much of the marketing and many of the products are less than golf course-specific.
Gunn Haydon, president of the Independent American Energy Company out of San Angelo, near the vast wind farms of west Texas, wonders if the golf course industry might be taking a too conservative wait-and-see attitude.
“I expect that attitude to begin changing,” says Haydon, whose business assists landowners and other energy consumers in developing their own energy generation and has had few inquiries from golf interests. “I do have a potential client for a wind generator ... but the only products we represent are fairly pricey. The math works, however, if the course management is willing to make the initial investment. After about seven years, the energy generated by the equipment would be virtually free, with maintenance exceptions, of course, and the machine would be good to go for another 20 years.”
Haydon notes that other golf course applications could range from solar photovoltaic for charging electric golf cars to wind energy for all-around supplemental generation on the customer’s side of the utility meter.
“We have several industrial customers who are studying that latter possibility, so it makes sense that a golf course would benefit as well,” he says.
Helping hands
There are many companies like Independent American scattered around the U.S., as well as other businesses and organizations that nurture the quest for renewable energy. Some consult and sell products, others broker site assessments and provide information about available financing, government programs and incentives.
One example is Big Frog Mountain Corp. in Chattanooga, Tenn., a virtual online shopping mall (www.bigfrogmountain.com) for wind, solar and hydro energy systems and hardware. Big Frog’s wares include rooftop solar panels to power golf cars and solar-powered golf car battery chargers.
Another player is one of golf course management’s major allies, John Deere, whose Wind Energy Group focuses on community-based wind generation projects and provides support through its staff expertise and financial resources.
Probably the most common way superintendents are becoming part of renewable energy projects involves little interplay on their part. As a growing number of cities across the country purchase electricity generated by wind power, their municipal golf courses wind up using some of that power.
Under the muny umbrella
A case in point can be found in Park City, Utah, where the city council last year entered into a deal with Utah Power & Light, now Rocky Mountain Power, to buy 7.5 percent of the community’s electricity from wind power through a widely acclaimed renewable energy program called Blue Sky. Most of the energy for Blue Sky enrollment projects comes from wind farms that are popping up throughout the West, notably in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. RMP also purchases from wind farms in Oregon.
Included in the Park City deal, which will increase to 10 percent once some program goals are met, is the Park City Golf Club, an 18-hole mountain layout (6,800 feet) under the care of Class A superintendent Clint Dayley, an 18-year GCSAA member.
The city also is examining with Blue Sky the possibility of establishing its own wind-power infrastructure in the near future.
“They’ve been talking about looking into putting one of those turbines up in one of our park facilities,” Dayley says.
Meanwhile, Dayley is involved in a more hands-on renewable energy project on his golf course — the city also began a biodiesel program some months ago for its transit bus system, snow removal equipment and Park City GC’s diesel-powered maintenance equipment.
Dayley says he uses a B5 biodiesel blend in winter and a B20 mix in the summer.
“It’s been working fine, no problems at all — even in the cold temperatures moving snow,” he says.
ClubCorp goes green
You’ll find one of the country’s largest wind-power projects involving golf in and around Houston, where a partnership between Green Mountain Energy Co., the nation’s leading retail provider of green power, and ClubCorp will provide 13 ClubCorp golf properties and private clubs in the area with wind-generated electricity. The courses and clubs use nearly a combined 23,000 megawatts of power a year, and non-polluting wind energy prevents the release of nearly 3.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
Sun and surf
Not surprisingly, solar and wave power are becoming big items in the Hawaiian Islands. The Mauna Lani Resort on Hawaii, for instance, operates a large, comprehensive multiple photovoltaic system that generates a half-megawatt of electricity to power resort needs and also its two golf courses, including a fleet of 160 solar-powered golf cars.
And a unique renewable energy-producing system lies just off Kaneohe Bay on the island of Oahu, a PowerBuoy developed by Ocean Power Technologies Inc. of Pennington, N.J. The company’s technology harnesses ocean wave power with its modular, ocean-going buoys that create mechanical energy that’s converted into electricity.
The company’s ventures include a PowerBuoy in operation closer to home off Tuckerton, N.J., as part of that state’s Board of Public Utilities Renewable Energy and Economic Development Program. It recently filed for permits to develop two 100 megawatt projects along the Oregon coast off Coos Bay and Newport, each capable of providing enough electricity to power 50,000 homes.
OPT has a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom that is developing wave energy projects in Europe.
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A turbine tower measures wind speeds to determine if speeds are consistant enough to support wind-generated power. |
Green for the greens
There are superintendents who are involved in self-contained, site-specific renewable energy systems.
A couple of instances are Steve Mann, CGCS at Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Mass., on Cape Cod, and Tod Blankenship, CGCS at Big Fish Golf Club in the Wisconsin north woods near Hayward. Their story lines center on the preliminary stages and decision-making processes that come with wind and solar power projects.
For a little more than a year, Mann has assisted in a wind resource assessment at Captains, a 36-hole, city-owned facility near the north shore facing Cape Cod Bay. The test, conducted by the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts, features a 150-foot-tall turbine tower to measure wind speeds. The idea is that if the golf course site passes the UMass lab’s muster, the city of Brewster can then ponder the financial consequences of the real thing, a 300-foot tower capable of serving the entire golf course operation, a new water department facility nearby and possibly more.
It’s a weighty decision. The cost of the tower, which would be capable of generating around 4 million kilowatt hours a year, is in the vicinity of $3 million-plus. It appears the ball will be in the city’s court soon. Mann notes that the assessment site is a good one, registering sustainable winds of 15 to 15 ½ mph, compared with the average goal of 11 mph.
“It’s looking good; they have options,” confirms Sally Wright of the Renewable Energy Research Lab. “Typically, after we finish the resource assessment, then another consultant comes in to do a detailed economic study.”
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Solar collection panels like these — along with wind power — are the leading options for providing clean, non-polluting energy. |
Mann, a member of GCSAA for 23 years, has long been a proponent of using wind power at Captains. He notes that annual utility costs at the facility run $75,000 to $80,000. Even with the many tax and rebate incentives and government grants available, the payback on putting up a tower would be formidable.
“It would be nice. We’ve got a great site for it; we’re well above the average,” he says. “But I think the cost is going to be outrageous. It’s an issue we’re going to have to deal with. I’ve done some research myself and I think a lot of people don’t get into this just because the payback takes so long.”
Mann adds that while the golf course would need the bulk of the power generated by the tower during the summer months, the winds are higher and more consistent in the winter. The key would be to receive utility credits for excess power generated in the winter and use those credits in the peak period.
If Brewster decides to pursue installation incentives, grants and tax breaks and floats a bond issue, and if the system is successful, it’s likely the golf course tower could be joined by one or two or so more to power up the entire city (pop. 2,300).
Wright points out that Brewster is part of the region’s Community Wind Collaborative, an association that helps with siting and resource assessment and also assists in public outreach and education to weigh a project’s pros and cons. The UMass lab currently has several test sites around the state.
“There is no doubt the system is costly right now, but it will make money in the end,” she says.
“Granted, there are some maintenance costs to think about too, and you’d have to work that out,” adds Mann. “But, I would love to see it. I was pushing for this before we expanded to 36 holes eight years ago . . . to help with that. It’s a good thing to do.”
Sun-saving solution
A drought that has persisted almost since the course opened and a resulting hefty irrigation utility bill prompted Blankenship, a Class A member of GCSAA, to set the wheels in motion to bring solar energy to two-year-old Big Fish GC in northwest Wisconsin along the Namekagon River, less than 60 miles from Lake Superior.
Blankenship has been working with Focus on Energy of Wisconsin, a kind of one-stop source for information and consultation on renewable energy programs. The company specializes in planning assistance by putting clients in contact with renewable energy technical experts, suppliers and installers.
Big Fish GC currently is being studied by a certified solar site assessor referred to Blankenship by Focus on Energy. As part of the industry’s checks and balances, the latter will review the former’s site assessment before moving on to financial considerations.
The assessor, Kris Schmid, also owns a solar power business, Legacy Solar, in Frederic, Wis. He notes that when he does a site assessment on referral from Focus on Energy, “it’s not a sales visit. I just relate the facts and nothing but the facts.”
Schmid uses a tracking device to pinpoint a site’s best solar window — unshaded year-round from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He assesses the property owner’s goals, such as how much solar power in required. He also stresses recommendations for electric efficiency.
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Tod Blankenship, CGCS at Big Fish GC in Wisconsin, says that the “sticker shock” of solar and wind power might scare people, but that grants and tax reductions can make such programs possible. |
“In general, every dollar spent on efficiency improvements will save between $3 and $5 on the cost of a solar energy system that would provide that amount of power,” Schmid says.
Blankenship’s wish list for Big Fish GC is solar power for his irrigation pond’s well pump, the irrigation pump house, the maintenance facility and possibly the course’s new restaurant.
“We think it’s very promising; it’s a good site,” the seven-year GCSAA member says. “Everyone has sun. Solar, to me, is the right way to go. Ideally, if we can overcome some tree issues, we’d like to see the whole golf course operation solar powered.”
The assessor agrees for the most part. He sees few if any site issues for applying solar power at Big Fish.
“For the solar access and the ability to mount panels, it’s all very promising,” Schmid says. “But it would be very costly to produce all the energy the operation is currently using.”
Schmid notes that the irrigation pond’s well pump could be outfitted to provide net zero energy usage because the wintertime power generated can be sold back to the local utility, while summer usage would be solar plus some buy-back. Basically, it would break even over 12 months.
But the up-front cost would be about $200,000. With incentives and state and federal assistance, that might drop below $150,000.
As for the other three sites, besides the cost, none could be net zero because the entire system would surpass the 20-kilowatt limit. So Schmid figures the irrigation pump would tap into 20 percent solar and the maintenance building just 10 percent. The restaurant, if it’s included, could recoup 50 percent or more.
Kurt Nelson, site assessment coordinator for Focus on Energy, points out that the program offers a 60 percent cost/share incentive for site assessments for solar or wind power, as well as a cash-back reward of up to 25 percent of installation costs. He adds that there are federal tax incentives for 30 percent of installation costs and that no property taxes are assessed on renewable energy infrastructures.
“The sticker shock might scare most people, but there are a lot of grants and programs and tax reductions out there,” Blankenship says. “I believe the system can pay for itself in five years.”
The superintendent is determined that alternative energy sources are in order for the young golf course, which features some pretty specific grass varieties — Colonial bentgrass and fine fescue tees and fairways and Velvet bentgrass greens — in some harsh times. Last summer the Hayward area set state records with 100-degree-plus readings.
“Our initial thoughts were that we paid about $15,000 in utility costs for our irrigation wells and pumps last year, plus there’s the prolonged drought,” Blankenship says. “The golf course itself was designed to be environmentally sustainable and progressive. We’d like to stay along those lines. But, really, it comes down to money — do what we can to produce our own energy and save money in the long run.”
— T.O
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