Education is goal of energy expo

DALLAS – Ideas for saving energy are on display this weekend at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds at the Northeast Pennsylvania Energy Solutions Expo.

The event, which opened Saturday and continues today, is the second annual event hosted by Pocono Northeast, Resource Conservation & Development Council..

Going green requires knowledge of the different technologies, the cost factor and federal rebates or tax credits available. Robert and Ruth Lunt of Starrucca drove a little over an hour to attend the event to learn about Marcellus Shale gas drilling and gather information on renewable energy.

“We are interested in anything to make the Earth better,” Lunt said. “There is so much new technology out there. The public needs to be educated on the opportunities.”

Education is one of the goals of the expo. Several hour-long seminars were held Saturday covering a wide range of subjects such as home energy conservation, geothermal, solar, native grass for energy, energy audits and groundwater testing.

Today, seminars will begin at 11 a.m. with energy audits and cover other subjects including hydrogen fuel cell technologies, wind energy, bottled water quality, solar and solar photovoltaics.

All seminars are free, but admission to the expo is $5. Children 12 and under are free. Compliments of EnCana Oil and Gas USA, a $1-off coupon for admission is available at www.pnercd.org. Click on the Northeast Pennsylvania Energy Solutions Expo link.

Right inside the doors, EnCana greeted participants. Eager to educate the public on its Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling methods, representatives of the company had a table displaying drill bits, a type of “fracking” sand and a shale core sample. “Fracking” refers to the hydraulic fracturing used to liberate gas from the shale.

With drilling to start off Zosh Road in Lake Township this summer, Wendy Wiedenbeck, community relations advisor for EnCana, said the company wanted to take this opportunity to educate the public.

PPL was handing out energy-efficient light bulbs while discussing rebate programs for recycling appliances and energy-saving tips such as dusting light bulbs to increase their output.

If you are looking to cut down on your carbon footprint, Solar LED Innovations may have the right gadget for you: a solar powered flashlight that could recharge double-A batteries, and with various adaptors with which to charge most cell phones.

Lee Zagorski, Solar LED Innovations representative, said that over the course of a year, the device could save the average person 40 AA batteries.

Andrew Vack, 17, of Weatherly, was displaying his own design for a “green” house. With help from Mark Ninnaman, Vack spent about 100 hours designing his energy-efficient house for his senior project at Weatherly Area Senior High School

The model house uses geothermal radiant heating for the first floor and passive solar for the second, he said.

Michael Mosley of Greenfield Energy said solar is trending to be more popular than wind power.

“Solar power would pay for itself within five to six years,” Mosley said. “Windmills usually take at least 10 to 11 years.”