FeedsSolar improvements planned at county fairgrounds
The Wayne County Fairgrounds in Belleville could be the next to go green.
In an effort to cut costs and help to save the environment, members of the Wayne County Fair Association are proposing a solar plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and lower the level of carbon emission they produce.
“The idea in general is to solarize most of the fairgrounds, if we can, and do it in increments,” said Dave Sauers, who is spearheading the initiative.
“As we all know, man kind has abused the environment due to his lack of knowledge and the false sense that the supply of fossil fuel was never ending. As the natural resources become overcome from this dependency, we need to seek out other ways to produce the energy we need to live,” he added. “If we can’t do something for the grounds now it won’t be here in 10 years.”
The plan includes: reviewing the total energy requirements; lowering energy waste through replacing old energy wasting equipment; energy metering and replacing lighting to new technology illumination tubes; implementing a solar introduction through a design plan for solar photovoltaic, solar hot water and biofuel systems; a recycling plan designed to reuse compost waste; green recovery, brown recovery, paper product waste, hard waste, like cans, glass and wood and a rain water recovery system and farming techniques to tolerant planting; organic production; using less water for irrigation and the proper use of non-organic fertilizers.
Frank Rochowiak, president of the Wayne County Fair Association Board of Directors, said the start is to do simple things.
“Putting in solar tubes for daylight and parking lights with solar panels, those are some; it’s going to be an experiment,” he said. “We’re looking at all the things that can be done and trying to go high-tech.”
Not only will a major benefit be saving the environment, but there would be major cost savings in utilizes, too, Sauers said.
Since 1946—when the fairgrounds was founded—the price of a barrel of crude oil has climbed to over $100, which is 90 percent more now to run the fairgrounds, he added.
“That year the cost of electric was about $.01 per kilowatt hour, but as we consume natural resources at an alarming rate. We need to stop the wasting so old mother earth can keep our future and the future of generations to come,” said Sauers. “It costs over $9,200 to light our four buildings for one year, that means that these four buildings use 16-27 times their footprint. All this is based on today’s costs, but if you factor in a third increase, you’ll be facing an annual cost of $12,236 or more.
“The solar plan can reduce the overall energy footprint by 50 percent or more within a few years,” he added. “This amounts to reducing electric cost to less than $6,200 per year. Just think of what we can do with the savings.”
To help with their initiative, they are filing for a $50,000 grant to help fund the solar plan system to generate electricity, which they hope to find out shortly after April 4 if they will receive the funds, Rochowiak said.
“Our utilities run over $20,000 a year at the fairgrounds so we’re looking at ways to reduce that through solar conservation,” he said. “We’re looking at ways to use the sun so we don’t have to rely on foreign oil.”
