DATES: 2nd Tuesday of September, November,and April. 3rd Tuesday of February
HeldSeptember 14th–Presentation on Energy Education and Energy Industry Development by Dr. DebraRowe. Hear about a variety of opportunites to increase your energy awareness knowledge base, offered by a variety of local sources including OaklandCommunity College and the Michigan Public Service Commision.
HeldNovember 9th –1. Election meeting (and) 2. Presentation on the IHM Motherhouse Renovation Project. This USGreenBuilding Council registered project incorporated sustainable living design including safeguarding water and water efficiency, energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, conservation of material and resources and improving IAQ. This project features geothermal and graywater systems, energy efficient and natural lighting; reuse of salvaged bricks/millwork/windows; green products; and constructed wetlands, swalls, and meadows.
NEXT PRESENTATION:February 15th(to be confirmed) –Joint meeting with DetroitASHRAE on 90.1.
April 12th – Site visit to the Ford Rouge factory tour. The first Model Ts took 11 days to roll off the assembly line. The Rouge factory changed assembly to less than 90 seconds a vehicle and did so with green energy and resource conservation. See how Ford’s soybean conversion plant turned soybeans into plastic auto parts. Learn how the 1920 power plant supplied both heat and electricity making it one of the first combined heat and power distributed generation plants in the country. Witness a glimpse of several other technological innovations that this plant implemented into daily use. Note earlier time of 2:15 PM for factory tour.
LOCATION: To be announced
COST: Free for Chapter Members on new schedule Guests = $25
AGENDA:4:30p.m. -- Board Meeting (closed session)
5:00 p.m. -- Social Time (Cash Bar)
6:00 p.m.--Dinner
6:45 p.m.--Chapter Business
7:00 p.m-- Presentation/Questions
7:30 p.m.--Adjourn (additional Social time available)
High School and College Students and seniors are welcome to attend all EMAEE meetings at a reduced dinner fee of $19. This invitation will be for all meetings this year. An accurate count is needed for the dinner. Please respond as directed on the attached registration form. Thanks!GUESTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AT OUR MEETINGS
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December 2004 Newsletter
Notes from the Editor!
Chapter President and Secretary Officers were re-elected at the November 9th meeting. Both Bruce and I will continue to assume the responsibilities of office. Thank you for your confidence and vote.
My goal as your Chapter President is to continue to grow the chapter and to make our surrounding business environment more aware of our membership’s involvement in Energy and Environmental issues.
Like the beautiful Detroit skyline above, things change …. we now have a meeting attendance chairperson, Ed Cox. I’m sure Ed will be contacting you to support the chapter in the future.
See you at the February meeting!
Keith A. Willis
Bits and Pieces!
We are looking for energy/environmental projects that deserve promotion for results achieved. Tell me your story and we will publish in our newsletter. If your project is truly notable, we will nominate for a chapter or regional award. Note regional awards get international attention.
Know someone in school that could use a few bucks? Tell David Everest (Chapter VP) and that person may qualify to earn one of our scholarships.
Does your company want attention in the industry? Sponsor one of our meetings, advertise in our newsletter, submit a project for award nomination. We are actively searching for notable companies and projects. Contact me for further information.
Do you have a customer that needs funding? Does your company have an energy project that didn’t get budgeted this year? Do you need help developing a project? Contact me for sources of available energy funds and contract/project development help.
Like creating web sites or know of someone who does? The chapter is looking for that special person to be our Web-Master. Please contact one of the officers.
The following links are for AEE Member Services: see for job opportunities for reviewing local chapter Web pages. The web at also lists several new on-line courses for your further education or refresher-use.
November Meeting
The November meeting presentation was one of our best, if not the best presentation this chapter has heard. Danielle Conroyd, the Project Director for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters (IHM) presented an overview of their $56 million renovation of their motherhouse; a home for 600~ residents with a median age of 76 years old. The IHM 280 acre campus in Monroe also has 35 acre native woodland, a 100 acre leased farmland, organic garden, 5 acre cemetery and a 3 acre pond adjacent to the main property. For the IMH community, sustainability is a spiritual and moral mandate in the 21st century.
The renovation of the 1932, 376000 sqft structure with 18-inch thick walls, features the following:
* Geothermal system with 232 boreholes, 450’ deep
(each), 484 fan coil units, 47 miles of piping, aux
8400 Mbh boiler and a 240 ton chiller
* Graywater system diverting 7000 gallons water/day
to wetland ponds, back to recycle 5500 gallons/day
to toilets, reducing fresh water usage by 55%
* Low-flow, water conserving fixtures were used
throughout
* Recycled 50% of plaster back to road paver, 450
Cherry doors, 800 wood windows, 45000 sqft of
carpeting to other facilities, and recycled all
marbel/ashphalt/top soil/brick
* Green products were used for flooring, low VOC
paints and drywall
IHM Sustainability Renovation Project -- continued
* Original lighting was retrofitted to energy saving
technology including the use of occupancy sensors
* 5 acres of lawn was converted to meadows saving
water and fertilizer
* All 100 year old Savanna Oak trees were saved and
site has 163 trees helping the environment
At $150/sqft to renovate, why did they choose to renovate rather than build new? Their response says it rather well …. “The IHM community chose an “environmentally responsive sustainable design”, renovating the indoors and restoring the campus as one sustainable and cohesive system.”
This U.S. Green Building Council registered facility and National Clean Air Award recipient from the EPA has set the standard for being responsible caretakers of earth. Thank you Danielle Conroyd for the excellent presentation.
AEE Member-Get a-Member
This year’s totally new Member-Get-a-Member Campaign offers you a chance to not only introduce your colleagues to the many benefits and opportunities of membership in AEE, but to earn exciting prizes for yourself as well. Everyone who helps recruit members earn valuable gifts!
As we enter our 28th year, AEE is stronger than ever. Our membership has grown to 10,000, and AEE’s influence continues to grow around the world. Here is your chance to be our partner in advancing AEE’s position in the energy industry. Help AEE, help yourself, and help your associates all at the same time.
How a colleague can join! Have the new member you are referring fill out the special membership form. Make sure they put your name in the “referring member’s name” box so you will receive credit for the referral.
Put the AEE logo and special membership form on your website. Ask visitors to your site to use the form to join the AEE and to put your name in the “referring member’s name” box so you will get credit for the referral. . Click here for logo and link.
.For more information on how to participate in this year’s campaign and to see the valuable gifts you can earn, contact Ruth Marie: (770) 447-5083, Ext. 210 or
Don’t gamble with your Environmental and Energy issues, use the skills of an experienced Certified Energy Manager or Business Energy Professional to help you.
Contact one of the Board Members for more information.
Energy/Environment News!
1. METHANE FROM THE SEA!
Gas production in the U.S. is about the same for 30 years yet demand has forced prices to double since 1999. Buried below the ocean floor along the continental shelf and the Artic permafrost are vast deposits of clean-burning crystallized natural gas suspended in ice, known as methane hydrate.
The U.S. Geological Survey projects methane hydrate reserves to contain twice as much energy as the world’s known deposits of oil, natural gas, and coal combined.
Exploiting this energy economically has yet to be developed. The methane hydrate is too dispersed among the sediment to be pumped to the surface like gas or oil. Dredging won’t work because it means scooping up tons of muck and hoisting it to the surface for separation. Chevron Texaco Corp working with the DOE, has identified sites in the Gulf of Mexico that appear to contain storehouses of methane hydrate. The oil giant plans to sink wells next spring to bring up core samples to develop a recovery plan. Japan and India are also developing methane hydrate recovery research. Hopefully by 2025, recovery of methane hydrate will be an economically feasible process. For more information read article in BusinessWeek, October 11, 2004.
2. ENERGY STRETCHERS
Several new developed technologies have been placed into service to decrease the energy burden as follows:
- 40 ship terminals are being built to transport super-cooled, liquefied natural gas (LNG)
- Clusters of light-emitting diodes are being used in outdoor signs instead of using incandescent bulbs. They consume 1/10th the energy and last 100x longer.
- Affordable diodes (LED) that work in regular room settings are being developed by several companies.
- New, lower-cost photovoltaic panels have been developed and are being tested in Japan, India and Nigeria.
3. PEBBLE-BED MODULAR REACTORS (PBMR)
A commercial-scale atomic reactor that depart radically from current designs, is about to be built. The PBMR is a compact unit, fueled by thousands of ceramic-encased orbs of uranium, each about the size of a billiard ball (which was the size of the fuel used in the first U.S. atomic submarine – but only one was used) which heat a chamber of helium instead of steam, to spin the generators. For a comparison, today’s reactor designs use enriched uranium undergoing fission to make superheated steam to drive turbines which drive the generators. By using helium instead of steam, the plants should be at least 35% more efficient and the coolant water is considerably lower than today’s technology which produces 2700º F ~ 4900º F initial spin off temperatures. Additional safety benefits includes the fact that the ceramic shell locks in radioactive by-products, and the nuclear reaction slows as the chamber gets hotter; a safeguard against meltdown.
Although the PBMR still produces nuclear waste, its fuel is inexpensive and doesn’t dirty the air. China and South Africa expect to have demonstration plants on line by 2011 with 30 more plants being built over the next 20 years.
My Favorite Web Sites
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at
Energy Star Program at
U.S. Department of Energy at
Energy Education – Energy Quest at
Green Power Network at
Alliance to Save Energy at
Association of Energy Engineers at
U.S. Green Building Council at
Michigan Energy Office at
Meeting Schedules
Tuesday,February 15th
Tuesday,April 12th
Tuesday,September 13th
Tuesday,November 8th
27th WEEC Review
The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), along with host Austin Energy and several other supporting sponsors, recently presented the 27th World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC) in Austin, Texas. A post-show survey and an independent onsite survey are available in downloadable PDF file format at:
Controlling Utility Costs
AARP Michigan is fighting to control utility costs by campaigning against Senate Bills 1331-1336. These bills, which would take away the Michigan Public Service Commision’s authority to manage competition amoung electric power suppliers, could cost residents, businesses, schools and hospitals an additional $427 million annually. Residential ratepayers could face yet another increase of up to 25%. Members can connect directly by calling AARP’s utilities toll-free hotline at (877) 220-0729. See AARP November 2004 issue for more details. For an opposing point of view with an explaination of each bill, along with a link to your representative, go to
Chapter Officers
President ------Keith Willis, Ph.D, CEM, BEP
734-523-0224 ------term expires 12-31-06
Vice-President/Scholarships ------David Everest, Ph.D.
313-964-1700 ------term expires 12-31-05
(new)
Treasurer ------Paul Dobry, CEM
248-276-6123 ------term expires 12-31-05
(new)
Secretary& Awards ------Bruce Snyder, CEM
248-823-2174 ------term expires 12-31-06
New Technologies ------Don Edwards, CEM
248-874-2189 ------term expires 12-31-05
Membership/Attendance --- Ed Cox
248-420-3402 ------term expires 12-31-06
Website Administration ---- Open
Nominations ------Open
Training ------Open
Chapter Membership Dues!
EASTERN MICHIGAN CHAPTER – ASSOCIATION OF ENERGY ENGINEERS
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
NAME: ______
E-MAIL ADDRESS: ______
COMPANY: ______
WORK PHONE: ______
ADDRESS: ______
FAX: ______
CITY: ______STATE: _____
ZIP CODE: ______
DUES:Individual Memberships:______@ $65.00
Company Memberships:______# of People
(See Schedule Below)
______Total $
CHAIRPERSON/COMMITTEES OF INTEREST:
_____ Web Master_____ Program_____ Newsletter_____ Other
(______)
MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR 2004
Dues for year 2006 for local membership of EMAEE are due by the end of February 2006. Membership runs from January 1 through December 31, and includes all meeting attendance fees and meal cost (cash bar). Four meetings typically held 2nd Tuesday of February, April, September, and November. The dues structure beginning January 1, 2004 will be as follows:
Single Member: $65/person
Corporate Members:$120 for 2 people
$175 for 3 people
$230 for 4 people
$285 for 5 people
$50 each additional
member over 5
(Corporate Members are defined as more than one person from the same company.)
PLEASE RETURNAPPLICATION TO:
Paul Dobry, CEM ------
Scholarship Program
Information and application may be requested from David Everest, Ph.D.
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December 2004 Newsletter
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December 2004 Newsletter