Fred Michel, a Wooster-based biosystems engineer with CFAES, has solar panels gleaming on his home and his car.
He’ll share his experiences with both setups in a Renewable Energy Workshop during the Scarlet, Gray and Green Fair in Wooster.
The fair is on April 19, during Earth Week, at CFAES’s research arm, OARDC.
The workshop is a “chance to learn from folks with experience in this field,” said co-organizer Mary Wicks of CFAES’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
Michel is an associate professor in that department, based at OARDC, where he studies composting and bioenergy.
He’s also president of the Wayne County Sustainable Energy Network, which together with OARDC is one of the fair’s two coordinating sponsors.
How to cut your energy bills
His talk will look at how solar can reduce a homeowner’s energy bills — in this case, his own — and improve the environment.
Also speaking during the workshop will be:
- Dick Radosevic of the nonprofit group Green Energy Ohio (“The Sun, Fossil Fuels and the GEO Tour”);
- Jim Rocco of Aurora-based Sage Risk Solutions (“Motor Fuels: Renewable and Alternative Solutions”); and
- Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station in Philo (“Living in a House Made of Tires”).
A Q-and-A session will follow the four speakers’ talks.
The workshop is a “mini version” of similar workshops presented by the department throughout the year, Wicks said. A program last month, for example, looked at adding solar power on farms.
The workshop is from 10 a.m. to noon in Room 111 in OARDC’s Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave. The fair itself is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in and around the same building.
Both the fair and workshop are free. But space in the workshop is limited, so participants need to register in advance by contacting Wicks at wicks.14@osu.edu or 330-202-3533.
Visit green energy vendors
The fair, whose theme is “Green Is for Life!” will have about 50 vendors and exhibitors. Among them will be many related to renewable energy, including Green Energy Ohio; Wooster-based Genahol (ethanol production from cellulose); Bold Alternatives of Cleveland (solar); Paradise Energy Solutions of Sugarcreek (solar); and Cleveland-based quasar energy group (methane production from anaerobic digestion), which has a lab, digester and engineering office on the OARDC campus.
OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The center is about 60 miles south of Cleveland and 95 miles northeast of Columbus.
Further details about the fair are at u.osu.edu/sggf, or contact Gwen Zimmerly at zimmerly.30@osu.edu or 330-263-3719.