Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy
Pioneering community-owned renewable energy
New cars these days don’t come with a spare tire. What little that may reduce the price of the car, if any, just doesn’t seem worth it when a flat strands you on the side of the road. That’s the analogy Nobel Prize economist Joseph Stiglitz [1] uses to critique the old economic and political
Did my EV driving cause a coup in Bolivia? That’s a question too big and complicated for this space on many levels, but the point is to connect a few dots. In the consumption-driven western world, we seem mostly oblivious to dots, or at least look the other way to avoid the messy inconvenience of
Wherever your place and community may be, you need a guiding question. DO YOU HAVE A VILLAGE WIRING VISION? Whether you’re a faith community, university, city, rural community, or other community of interest, this ought to be a central organizing question. Of course AIRE’s specific focus is community-owned renewable energy, but Sister Mary Baird gives
More great images from the Center at Donaldson. Thanks to Tom VanNevel for these great images from the drone. All photos courtesy of Poor Handmaids for Jesus Christ.
Jeff Deal and I spend 3 days up in northern Indiana last week participating in a variety of solar activities at the Center at Donaldson, home to some very inspiring projects of the Poor Handmaids for Jesus Christ. We’ve posted numerous times on their work over the past year plus, so if you wish to
With an enrollment of 550 students, Ancilla College may just have more solar per student than any other college. I haven’t actually verified that because my point isn’t quantitative. Rather, it’s qualitative. It’s about doing what is necessary and what is urgent. DOING. It’s about doing what our youth know that we must and that’s
Ancilla College is going green! so says South Bend, Indiana ABC channel 57. This is most certainly not fake news. We’re mighty proud of Poor Handmaids and the folks behind their groundbreaking work. The provincial leadership is worthy of 5-stars for it’s leadership and the lay staff (CFO, building/maintenance/engineering, fleet management, etc.) have perfectly executed
As I’ve posted numerous times previously, we’re constantly inspired by what this group, the Poor Handmaids, are doing at the Center at Donaldson. The major renewable energy projects they’ve undertaken in a short period are impressive enough to stand on their own, but I’ve been interested in what makes it all work in a time
Just a week after breaking ground, a half megawatt of solar panels arrived on site today for installation on the Poor Handmaids Center at Donaldson Phase 2 solar project. Hat’s off to the Center’s provincial and laystaff for this great work. Green Alternatives, Inc. of Kokomo, Indiana, the installer in cooperation with its industry partners
This is what progress looks like– vision, purpose, plan and act. The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ have broken ground on their 515kW (more than ½ a megawatt) phase 2 solar at The Center at Donaldson. The provincial and laystaff are showing others the way to move forward on clean energy, cooperation, and climate in