Hudson, N.Y.: Eco-Grid's Green Energy City
by Denis Collet

If Richard Cohen has his way, the historic city of Hudson, working with the Town of Greenport, may soon become a model net-zero community—one that produces as much energy as it consumes. Beyond that, the energy used would come from locally available renewable fuels like wood residue and biomass sources, possibly combined with geothermal, solar and wind power. His vehicle for accomplishing this: Eco-Grid, a not for profit grass-roots organization created by Richard as a means to enlighten, engage and transform the towns by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and simultaneously contributing to the economic vitality and sustainability of the region.

Richard is one of those rare individuals who is willing to commit his energy, resources and skills to healing the planet. He is also no stranger to social activism. At age 19, he convinced the State of Illinois to plant hundreds of trees along a stretch of highway near his native city, Chicago. Today he is a successful owner and manager of a voice recording company in New York. He also happens to be a trained actor and singer who toured the former Soviet Block with a Youth Troop of American Musical Theater.

If Richard hadn't overcome his initial feelings about his adopted city, Eco-Grid might not exist. As he recounts it, "I started coming here just over 22 years ago. I got off the train, walked up to what was Union Street at that time, turned around and went back to the train and waited for my friends to come and pick me up. Hudson, at that point, was a pretty scary place for some... My first impression... Where are all the lights? I could hear things going bump in the night. But, I couldn't see them..."

Over the years Richard would occasionally visit friends in the area. And when he officially took up residence in Hudson four years ago, the last thing he was interested in doing was taking on a big project. "And yet, four days after arriving, I was buying these five buildings in the center of Hudson. It was not on my radar at all... I came up here to help a friend and got myself into the thick of this. And then I said Wow!... It's the center of the town!... Energy!... Self sufficiency has been of interest to me for the last 30 years. And so I thought to myself 'Geothermal!'... Maybe I can run these buildings on some alternative energy...

"Then I said 'Wait a minute. These buildings are on a grid. Maybe I can do more than just my buildings... Maybe there are other people interested in doing this also...' I found that there are a lot of unique people here. Thinking people. People who have vision, and are excited about the potential of Hudson. They shared an idea of what this very special community could become...". (Richard currently divides his time between Manhattan, Long Island and Hudson.)

From the Romans to Chaos & Pollution
Richard's talk of a "grid" harks back to a technical concept with a long history known as district heating. Early records of district heating date to Roman times, where it was used for heating the public baths and adjacent buildings. A central heating source was constructed to provide heat and hot air. It was then distributed through a network of tunnels to the baths or buildings and into under floor heating systems known as hypocausts. In the US, perhaps one of the first district heating systems can be attributed to Benjamin Franklin. In the early 18th century, Franklin designed a small central heating plant that was used to supply heat to several adjacent residences in Philadelphia.

These early examples were focused solely on heat generation and distribution. District heating took an evolutionary leap with the advent of electrical power. District heating was replaced with a new concept, combined heating and power generation or CHP. Advocates of CHP, also known as co-generation, argued compellingly that integrating heat and energy production in the same plant would transform the waste-byproduct of electrical generation into a source of revenue for the utilities and an inexpensive source of heat for the consumers. Several cities in upstate NY and the Midwest developed district heating systems by the turn of the century. The Detroit Edison Company, for example, began providing heat to 12 customers in 1903; by the mid-1940s, they had laid 42 miles of underground mains and constructed 2½ miles of tunnels, serving approximately 1,650 customers.

Such early co-generation systems piped waste-heat steam to nearby businesses and residences; the development of the distribution network of pipes and electrical conduits to disseminate steam heat and electricity went hand in hand. The initial investment in heat production and distribution was intended to help sell electricity, with heating viewed as a secondary source of revenue. As electrical generation technology evolved, however, plants moved further from the residential and economic centers. With an ability to distribute and transmit electricity over greater distances through suspension wires, the economical advantages of distributing heat energy and electricity diminished. This, coupled with alternative modes of heating and the proliferation of readily available cheap fossil fuels, eventually replaced the cogeneration plants of the first half of the 20th century.

Since then, electrical utilities have tended to enjoy a rate-of-return protected by state government. However, public pressure calling for competitive service providers and an end to monopolistic pricing has led to fits and starts of deregulation. This has not been accompanied by any decrease in costs, whether to consumer or utility. Meanwhile, environmental concern has mounted over pollution, global warming and the industry's use of antiquated electrical generation technologies relying on fossil fuels. With safety and environmental concerns over such alternatives as large-scale nuclear power plants still unresolved, it's no wonder that public confidence is practically nil in the chaotic, decentralized, electrical generating technology that we know today. Our new economic, ecological and social reality is forcing communities to lighten their carbon footprint. But how? Eco-Grid points the way by reexamining the potential benefits of sustainable CHP/district heating and cooling alternatives.

A Team with Technical Depth
Eco-Grid's vision is no mere pipe dream, but a proven technology that has matured in many parts of Europe over the past 30 years. In Denmark, for example, explains Eco-Grid's project manager Matt de la Houssaye, "Sixty percent of Danish homes have district heat. They also have a policy context that aids that." In other words, the forward-looking Danish government has passed legislation favorable to DHC. In that regard, Matt points out that "A leadership role is absolutely essential... Here, if you want to get four energy users to sign up to use the same energy system, you will have to have someone like Eco-Grid... Otherwise, even if it makes all the economic sense in the world, it's not going to happen."

The Eco-Grid team consists of a heterogeneous group of individuals with varying backgrounds. Maria Miller has been the Executive Director of Eco-Grid from its inception and brings two decades of New York City-based business management and communications experience to Eco-Grid, along with a background in fundraising and development for non-profits in the arts. She has effectively leveraged her skills to provide the outreach and organizational leadership necessary to communicate with other agencies and community groups. In 2004 Richard and Maria held an informational gathering attended by a group of about 20 local property owners and interested community business leaders to listen to a presentation and to discuss the benefits of district heating and cooling and other green technologies as possible options for the city of Hudson. As the result of positive feed back from the meeting, and drawing on inspiration from other community activists and organizations, Eco-Grid was officially conceived.

Understanding their technical limitations, Richard and Maria sought additional help to develop the appropriate specialized resources and oversight for their road map while continuing to build the momentum behind the project. One early recruit was the project manager quoted above, Matt de la Houssaye, a young graduate of a Swedish institute for industrial and environmental economics who has hands-on experience with district heating utilities. As principal advisor, they enlisted Morris Pierce, a globally recognized authority and expert on cogeneration and district heating who has worked closely with major European energy organizations in London and northern Europe. As lead engineering contractor they have engaged FVB Energy, Inc., a consulting group originally based in Europe with 30 years' experience in the CHP district industry, including the design and development in Rochester, New York, of a 250 million Btu/hour low temperature hot water plant and underground network distribution that services 95 buildings.

Eco-Grid is taking a holistic approach in their efforts. They are working with local government, farmers, businesses and residents. They are planning to meet with local farmers to determine what kind of crops could be raised to provide a sustainable biomass supply. They have discussed with the property owners of brown fields (contaminated industrial sites) the option of capping them and reusing them as site locations for sustainable energy infrastructure such as geothermal, solar and CHP systems. Cohen has visited local colleges such as Columbia-Greene and Bard to better understand and evaluate their geothermal systems. Matt is currently a member of an advisory subcommittee of the Hudson Department of Public Works, itself part of American mayors' "Cool Cities" initiative to meet and exceed the Kyoto Protocol. Matt has raised the idea of combining work efforts with the DPW when the city excavates its streets to upgrade water and sewer lines. If properly coordinated, the opportunity could be used to lay pipelines to distribute hot water throughout the city grid. Besides the endorsements from local government, businesses, institutions and community activist organizations, perhaps the most significant boost for Eco-Grid has been a matching grant of $101,520 from New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA). The grant must be matched by more than twice that amount in in-kind labor contribution to the project, for a total of nearly $340,000.

Questions to Be Answered
Eco-Grid's phased approach is to first conduct an analysis and comparison of current energy use in the Hudson/Greenport area. This will be followed by an extended study of the feasibility and marketability of a district-energy system based on renewable, locally available fuels. Depending on the results of the study, they will then provide the technical and promotional leadership to drive the implementation of a sustainable-energy, district CHP/heating and cooling system for the City of Hudson.

The funding from NYSERDA indicates the value the state places on the data that will be collected during the Eco-Grid study. Regardless of the outcome, this information will provide a baseline indication of economic and ecological potential of a DHP/biomass solution as replacement for fossil-fuel in communities along the Hudson facing similar challenges. According to Richard and Matt, empirical evidence suggests that using biomass and wood residue instead of fossil fuels to generate electricity will not only have a fraction of the impact on the environment, but prove economically beneficial as well—especially if you factor in the costs for mining or drilling, refining, storing and transporting fuels from their source.

Regardless of the outcome of the Eco-Grid feasibility study, the research needs to be done to obtain an honest appraisal of our current environment and how energy is being used. If their hypothesis proves correct, we can look forward to a renaissance of DHP solutions with the added bonus of protecting future generations from the spiraling effects of global warming and greed.

To volunteer, contribute, or just find out more about Eco-Grid, go to www.eco-grid.org or call (518) 822-0222.