Is Green Energy in Your Future? Attend Nov. 19 Ohio State Workshop to Find Out

WOOSTER, Ohio -- A growing number of businesses and organizations are turning to green energy solutions to meet their power needs, manage waste and boost sustainability. Learn more about this trend and the opportunities it offers at Ohio State University's 2013 Renewable Energy Workshop, to be held Nov. 19 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Wooster.

The event will feature presentations by university and industry experts as well as tours highlighting a variety of alternative energy sources, including biogas, wind, solar and biomass, said Yebo Li, workshop organizer and a biosystems engineer with the university's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The morning portion of the workshop will take place in Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio, on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). OARDC is the research arm of the college.

The afternoon program will feature tours of Wooster-area companies, schools and government entities that have implemented on-site renewable energy projects.

"This workshop is an excellent opportunity for businesses and different types of organizations to find out about the various sources of alternative energy available and the opportunities that exist to implement cost-effective and sustainable energy-generation projects," said Li, who specializes in research and commercialization of renewable energy, fuel and industrial products.

"In addition, attendees get the chance to interact with representatives from renewable energy companies, ask questions about their products and services, and tour businesses and organizations that have successfully installed and operate renewable energy projects."

Registration (including lunch) costs $40 before Nov. 12 and $50 after that date. The cost for college students is $20. To register, fill out the form available on the workshop's brochure, downloadable at http://go.osu.edu/XR3, and follow instructions for making your payment; or contact Mary Wicks, 330-202-3533, wicks.14@osu.edu.

Morning presentations, all related to methane for transportation fuels, include:

--"Conversion Technologies," Li.

--"CNG (compressed natural gas) Vehicles," Jerrold Hutton, Clean Fuels Ohio.

--"Biogas from Anaerobic Digestion for Transportation," Ned Mast, quasar energy group.

--"Shale Gas Impacts," Jeff Daniels, Ohio State.

After lunch, workshop participants will tour four locations:

--G&S Titanium, which in March 2012 installed a 65-kW solar array at its Wooster plant.

--The College of Wooster's Scot Center, a fitness facility opened in 2012 and topped by a 20,000-square-foot solar panel array that produces 271,000 kW hours per year.

--Two biodigesters constructed by quasar energy group: The city of Wooster's newly built facility for converting sewage sludge to biogas; and quasar's flagship digester on the OARDC campus, which processes food waste.  

For more information about the workshop, contact Li at 330-263-3855 or li.851@osu.edu.

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