Articles by Erik Hoffner

‘Run of river’ projects set for a boom?

When I bought my house, I didn't realize that the stream that travels its acres is perennial and spring-fed ... which seemed like the perfect scenario for a microhydro generator. These units make a lot of power all day and night, unlike solar and (usually) wind. It works by siphoning off a portion of water to run through a pipe, then through a generator, and then back into the creek. Voilà! So I did the measurements and found 140 gallons per minute, which is about enough for the purpose, but less than a 20 foot drop in elevation, which is the killer. Microhydro usually requires either high head or high volumes to pencil out, but I have barely the minimum of each.

At best, it would account for 20 percent of the house's needs -- not quite good enough for me to think too deeply about the capital expense or the fact that the town's Conservation Commission probably wouldn't allow the use. Other nearby commissions have also been unfriendly to residents employing or proposing it on their properties, even though microhydro is not a consumptive use and requires no dams.

I have some small consolation, though, knowing that all the electricity in this portion of my county's grid is already 100 percent hydro, due to its proximity to the Deerfield River (one of the most developed rivers in the country, with small dams working up a good portion of its length from southern Vermont into western Massachusetts). Which is nice, in a way: the next nearest power plant to my community uses coal from a mountaintop removal mine in Appalachia, so this somewhat green power is welcome.

So I was interested to see news that small hydro is possibly on the verge of a boom, with new estimates of 30,000 MW of potential small hydro capacity in the U.S. alone. This would build on small hydro's ubiquity in the industry, if the article is right that 80 percent of the existing hydro projects in the U.S. are low power (under 1 MW) or small hydro (1 to 30 MW).

The industry is saying it can get more power out of falling water without any more dams:

National Hanging Out Day on April 19

Here's a great way to mark Earth Day next month. Each year, the grassroots group Project Laundry List promotes the very picturesque observance of National Hanging Out Day, both to raise awareness about the enormous energy benefits of air-drying laundry and also to draw attention to the fact that, amazingly, this practice is severely restricted in many places around the U.S., especially green ol' California, where 35,000 homeowners' associations have banned the practice.

But electric dryers are inefficient and expensive to run, so the "right to dry" is becoming a new rallying cry around the land. PLL is pushing legislation in a number of states, including its home state of New Hampshire, where the measure recently failed.

So on April 19, consider a colorful clothesline display, plus info from PLL's site to enlighten and amuse. A lot hangs in the balance, you might say.

A different way to mark April Fools’ Day

Just one week until Fossil Fools Day! April 1 will mark a day of creative protest against global fossil energy industry hegemony, sparked by grassroots action group Rising Tide.

Here's their list of suggested targets:

1. New coal plants
2. Proposed liquefied natural gas import terminals
3. Proposed oil and natural gas pipelines
4. Oil refineries
5. Existing coal plants
6. Local electricity providers
7. Mountaintop removal mining sites near or connected to you
8. Tar sands

Check their site for suggested actions.

Voting is open for the Orion Readers’ Choice Award

Read a good green-themed book lately? The editors of Orion have, and in advance of their award of the annual Orion Book Award next month, for an outstanding book exploring the interaction of people and the natural world, they've just posted all the nominated books here for voting in a "people's choice" contest.

From The World Without Us to Blessed Unrest, it's an impressive list that makes me realize how many books I want to crack open. But after looking them over, I did at least take the time to vote for my own favorite of 2007. Hope you will, too.