Chena Hot Springs hosts energy fair

SNRAS will be well represented at the Fifth Annual Renewable Energy Fair hosted by Chena Hot Springs Resort on Sunday, August 15. Speaking from SNRAS will be Dean and Director Carol E. Lewis, Professor Meriam Karlsson, Research Professional Jeff Werner, and Assistant Professor Andy Soria.

The fair will provide free workshops, seminars hosted by speakers on various topics, an art display of recycled art presented by the Fairbanks Arts Association, and science experiments for children of all ages. There will be a variety of renewable energy vendor booths and free food.

Charles Baron, Google's Geothermal Program leader, will represent Google's philanthropic arm, which has been leading the charge into renewable energy sources with its Recharge IT project, a program that has been seeding innovation, demonstrating new technology, and striving to stimulate market demand.

Arun Majumdar, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy will also be in attendance as a keynote speaker. His research career includes the science and engineering of energy conversion, transport, and storage ranging from molecular and nanoscale level to large energy systems.

Other noteworthy speakers include Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Mark Begich, Rep. Don Young, Gov. Sean Parnell, Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins, Brian Hirsch from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, University of Alaska President Pat Gamble, and former Sen. Ted Stevens. Modern day father of hydrogen, Roy McAlister, author of H2Nation and The Philosopher Mechanic, will be in attendance as well.

This year Chena Hot Springs Resort will be showcasing two new special pieces of technology, one of which is a Fodder Unit, a hydroponic growing room that has been specifically developed to sprout grain for highly nutritious but cost effective livestock feed. Amazingly, this unit can produce its yield with only six days between seeding and feeding out. The other new piece of technology is a new gasifier. There will be presentation on a biomass power plant, under construction outside Fairbanks.

Electric vehicles, a water ram, a three-pressure absorption chiller, the hydroponics greenhouse, and the geothermal power plant will be a part of the day. The event, which is free, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For shuttle information call 451-8104, extension 0.