The Green Leaf Inn is a unique project that combines a building renovation, new construction, commercial and residential as a hotel. This is a demonstration project for sustainable green building products and energy and water systems. As the first net zero energy hotel project, we will show products for all rooms of a home owner and also a commercial enerterpirse and of course hospitality goes without saying. Education and being exposed to different products and energy systems and water treatment is critical for building a sustainable future. With the population expected to be 450 million in the USA we can’t continue on our same path. It doesn’t mean living poor but choosing where we apply our assets and investments.
As we create new energy systems and green building oroducts, we create new economic opportunities that will keep more money in the local economy.
The Green Leaf Inn will be videotaping the entire building of the hotel to show people what is available in the market, how it works, where you can get it and how to implement it at your home or building. We will be setting up an online tv show as well as using youtube. As the first net zero energy hotel, your products will not only be seen online and in print, but every year, 4,000 upper income couples will be coming to stay at the Inn and hear the story
Even in preparation for full construction and renovation, we greened up 100% of our electricity through RECs (100% wind green-e energy certified) as a demonstration of a sustainable and responsible company. Cost Containment Intl, a member of our project team handled the procurement process. (www.c2intl.com )
Everything takes ten times longer and costs twice as much- actually we will be working on both of those items over the next couple of months to get some things finalized. Our real estate investment company is going to own the solar at The Green Leaf Inn all due to some issues on some grants. GLI will just host the systems and purchase the electricity- KMV will get all of the tax benefits.
Thanks to Tom who did our energy audit and solar site survey (available here at our website) we will be doing a bunch of noise level tests. This will help us quantifyactual noise documentation compared to statements like a wind turbine is like putting a bumble bee in each ear and ductaping it shut. More on that in a couple of weeks.
We need some co-operation from the weather to get the construction area back to something other than a mud version of slip and slide but we have finally set a date for the commissioning. This will be a great opportunity for officials and other area residents to be up close and personal for the first time to a real wind turbine. It is important for people to have the opportunity to see solar panels, solar tracking modules, turbines and towers to hear a turbine up close and get used to seeing these technologies all around. It was no different when telephone poles and electric wires were being strung everywhere. People were up in arms tearing them down. Can you imagine not having electricity or phone service.
I still don’t like seeing celltowers everywhere but not having calls dropped has been important to growing commerce. When cell towers were first coming out, local authorities were doing everything they can to block the ugly things from being installed in their backyards. It finally took national pre-emptive laws to remove the local barriers to get cell service rolled out under the commerce and national security clauses.
Personally, I can’t imagine not having a wind turbine in my back yard.
Actually, Alliant Energy, our local electric utility powered up the transformer a couple of weeks ago setting the stage for the wind turbine installation. It was amazing how quickly their installation crew was in the cold weather.
Cost overruns are another story!
