sustainable energy principles & practice

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PRINCIPLES & PRACTICE

Auroville Green Practices

December 2016

© 2016 Auroville Consulting

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© 2015 Auroville Consulting

This publication documents the 10-day Auroville Green Practices program ‘Sustainable Energy Principles & Prac-

tices’. The publication was prepared in a collaborative way by participating students. Those were: Lisa Au, Madeline Chosy, Jackie Dowling, Edie Emmings, Alejandro Gallardo,

Jerrilyn Goldberg, David Higgs, Erik Lagerquist, Art McCray, Matt Mikos, Alex Newkirk, Sarah Ogle, Anna Robinson,

Kayla Toney, Eric Wang and Nyla Worker.

“IN ORDER TO CARRY A POSITIVE ACTION WE MUST DEVELOP HERE A POSITIVE VISION.”

- DALAI LAMA

Auroville Green Practices

December 2016

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FOREWORD

The issue of ‘energy’ is the biggest science and technology problem of the 21st century, and arguably the greatest challenge of any sort that humanity faces in this century. Not only are there a myriad of very interesting technical issues to be understood and resolved, but en-ergy is also fundamental to our way of being. Whether looking at a country or a city or the globe, it is not possible to be a thriving econ-omy and culture without easy access to inex-pensive sources of energy, for transportation, for our industrial machines, for our technical devices, for our heating, cooling, and illumina-tion. However, humanity has only learned to feed its energy hunger via the ‘hunter-gath-erer’ mode of finding and burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and petroleum. Since the replacement timescale is millions of times slower than our consumption timescale, this is not sustainable by definition. But what’s worse is that fossil fuel use is changing our planetary

dynamics: the presence of the carbon-dioxide and methane released from their use are al-tering how energy gets trapped in the atmo-sphere, and all that energy is slowly heating the planet. Our short term interests are radi-cally altering our long term future. This is what we have been learning about in our class on Sustainable Energy Principles and Practice at Carleton College. Part of the challenge of learning about these things is to realise how difficult and complicated this problem can be particularly when applied to a real situation. We have come to India to see what a country with growing energy needs looks like, and why implementing solutions can be so difficult. And we have come in particular to Auroville to see how real-world solutions for sustain-able energy are created and implemented at this remarkable future-facing community. The goal was to get away from book-learning and from artificially separated disciplines, and to

understand that the solutions must be holistic, must incorporate multiple perspectives and vi-sions, and must tap everyone’s creativity and resilience as we work together into the future. The bigger goal is to understand how it might be possible to scale up sustainable living from a small city-wide scale to the global. We will take our many remarkable experiences and learning from this short but intense visit and keep working on individual and group projects back in Minnesota, and keep the commitment to finding solutions to the ‘energy problem’.

- Arjendu Pattanayak

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Sustainable Energy Principles & Practice is the result of the dedicated work of Ar-jendu Pattanayak, Balu Ramalingam, Helena Kaufman, Jasnwanth, Martin Scherfler, De-babrata Sahoo and Vimal Bhojraj. We would like to express our deep appreciation to the team of the Tibetan Pavilion, for their encour-agement and support in providing a venue for the program. Many thanks to the countless Auroville resource persons that interacted with the participants and shared their expertise. This program was made possible through sup-port of Auroville Consulting and Sunlit Future.

List of contributing resource persons:

Balu Sundaram, Director, Auroville Bamboo Research

Centre

Deepti Tiwari, Facilitator, Last School

Elke, Facilitator, Theater Games

Krishna McKenzie, Permaculturist, Solitude Farm

Lara Davis, Architect, Structural mason, Faculty, Auroville

Earth Institute

Lucas Dengel, Executive, EcoPro

Martin Scherfler, Consultant, Auroville Consulting

Mouhsine Serrar, COE, Prakti Design

Priya Vincent, Manager, Buddha Garden

Samuka da Índia, Facilitator, Capoeira

Toine van Megen, Co-Founder, Auroville Consulting

Vikram Devatha, Executive, Auroville Consulting


Sustainable Energy Principles & Practice is an initiative using Auroville and its outstanding experience in human unity & sustainable liv-ing as a platform for the learning and personal growth of students from around the world.A learning-in-action program, it connects core human values with system thinking and hands-on work experience by introducing participants to local and global energy issues policies and exposing them to potential energy conserva-tion and efficiency interventions.

The program is based on the 3H approach that nurtures hands (skills), head (competencies) and heart (inner capacities) of all participants. 16 students participated in this 10-day pro-gram held in December 2016 at Auroville Inter-national Township in Tamil Nadu, India.

AUROVILLE

Auroville is a growing international township near Puducherry on the Coromandel Coast in India. Spread over more than 4000 acres for an intended population of 50,000 residents, it is an inspiring model for sustainable practices and ecologically responsible living. Founded in 1968, Auroville is based on the vision of The Mother from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and is endorsed by UNESCO and Government of India as an ongoing experiment in human unity. The Auroville Foundation was established in 1988 by an act of parliament of the Government of India to govern its affairs. Over the years, Auroville has won international acclaim for its efforts in social and environmental sustain-ability. The current population of Auroville Township is over 2200 residents from about 45 nations.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

PARTICIPANTS PROFILES & LEARNING 10 - 23

FROM CONCEPT TO MANIFESTATION 24 - 31

OUR FUTURE COMMITMENTS 32 - 49

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PARTICIPANTS PROFILES & LEARNING

“THE ULTIMATE MEASURE OF A MAN IS NOT WHERE HE STANDS IN MOMENTS OF COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE, BUT WHERE HE STANDS AT TIMES OF CHALLENGE AND CONTROVERSY.”

- MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

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LISA AUMy name is Lisa Au and I study chemistry. I enjoy traveling and learning about different cultures. I had many experiences learning about environmental sustainability and energy especially when I traveled to India and China. My experiences and interests helped me un-derstand that these issues are complex and multifaceted. Going to Auroville and installing solar panels furthered my interest in energy as well as see how it connects with every part of our lives. Since a challenge for implementing sustainable energy is the high costs, develop-ing cheaper technology will reduce the cost and make it more accessible. I hope to learn more about how technology can be effectively imple-mented in different places to make a positive impact. With my background in science, I am particularly interested in developing techno-logical innovations to address energy issues.

JACKIE DOWLINGMy name is Jackie and I stand for wisdom through

diverse perspectives. I am a chemistry student at

Carleton College in Northfield Minnesota, and I

started the Energy Club there. This club aims to

leverage locally based project initiatives (similar

to Auroville), with multidisciplinary perspectives to

increase awareness and use of renewable energy.

I would like to see a shift in the way people think

about energy consumption. There are many instanc-

es where the same service can be provided while

using less energy. For example, LED lights use less

energy than incandescent bulbs, and produce more

lumens of light. It is important to shift away from

the idea of meeting a certain energy consumption

level, and instead focusing on energy services. For

a deeper and more permanent transition to renew-

able energy sources, energy conservation should be

addressed before carbon emitting energy sources

are replaced with renewable energy sources. My

contribution is an energy audit project for the

addition of occupancy sensors in bathrooms and

stairwells of 40 buildings at Carleton College.

MADELINE CHOSYMy name is Madeline. I’m studying Chemistry at Carleton College in Minnesota. I stand for respect, happiness and unity. Growing up I was never enrolled in a traditional school in the US and my parents and family encouraged me to follow my passions. Particularly science and how it can make a difference in the world. I re-ally care about sustainable energy and I would like to see a shift toward more sustainable so-lutions to today’s problems. Being in Auroville has been very informative and inspiring. I have really enjoyed getting to meet Aurovillians and hear about their projects. Yesterday, we heard a great talk about ecological sanitation in India. Next term at Carleton, I’m working with some other students to make campus lighting more energy efficient. In the future, I would like to work towards making my life more sustainable as well as continue to experience more things and meet people who are doing things I care about.

EDIE EMMINGSMy name is Edie. I study chemistry at Carleton College in the United States. I grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota where I went to grade school and played soccer. I value education, commu-nity, and personal growth. When it comes to sus-tainable energy and reducing carbon emissions, there is a huge issue with diffusion of respon-sibility. Ideally I’d like to see an attitude shift towards more personal accountability among people who consume a lot of energy, especially in developed economies. I also understand that systematic shifts require an extremely long process of many people making small changes. Therefore I am committed to taking responsibil-ity for my own carbon footprint as well as chip-ping away at the problem through small local initiatives.

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ALEJANDRO GALLARDOI am Alejandro Gallardo. Although I was born in New

York City, as a kid I lived in a village outside the capital

of the Dominican Republic. I would often venture into

abandoned constructions sites, green forests, and into

odd rivers. Eventually, I moved to the United States,

where I solidified my passion in music and the sciences.

I now study Physics at Carleton College. I care about sup-

portive education for all, animal rights, and the develop-

ment of efficient sustainable energy sources. Although

I find all of these topics incredibly important, I have

accepted I need to focus on one at a time to efficiently

make an impact. In terms of developing energy sources,

I want to see a change in the production, distribution

and consumption of electricity. A fundamental transi-

tion towards renewable energies in the production of

electricity, the development of smart renewable energy

friendly grids, and the increase in efficient consumption

seem to be promising changes that could gently reduce

carbon emissions. I believe I could contribute in increas-

ing efficient consumption of electricity by helping in the

implementation of light sensors, and other systems,

which focus on increasing effective usage.

JERRILYN GOLDBERGMy name is Jerrilyn, I’m a junior at Carleton College

in USA majoring in physics and environmental stud-

ies. Through my stay here in Auroville I’ve gained

exposure to one approach to finding social and

ecological sustainability. One of the most interest-

ing aspects of our stay here was learning about the

unique backgrounds of some long-term residents. I

am passionate about creating and sharing sustain-

able alternatives to Western behaviors that do not

yet consider their true costs. One manifestation of

this is waste management, an industry which does

not yet consider fuel generation potential and its

impact on the nutrient cycle. On a larger scale this

translates into systemic shifts in economic analysis

so that embodied costs are appropriately factored

into the retail price. From this comes economically

based accountability for industries and a large

reality check for consumers, a powerful and inertial

group when it comes to large scale behavior chang-

es. I aspire to work on programs that integrate this

shift into commodity production.

DAVID HIGGSMy name is David Higgs. I was born and raised in

Texas, USA. I am a third year physics major inter-

ested in material science and energy. I am also inter-

ested in social issues of inclusivity and diversity spe-

cifically in science and academia. I have a personal

belief that any individual or institution that produces

knowledge or solutions should be aware of their

positionality. This is especially true for solutions

concerning sustainability where culture and customs

can be important factors to consider. During my time

at Auroville, I have seen initiatives that work to im-

plement modern science into sustainable practices

that strongly consider cultural practices and norms.

I believe that the success of this solutions depend

equally on the science and awareness of the culture

of the community. I want to continue this practice

and incorporate it in my own work in science. I would

also like to apply this method to my own community

to create sustainable urban development. In the fu-

ture I would like to see science that is not dominated

my a single perspective and communities that grow

with the future in mind.

SARAH OGLEMy name is Sarah Ogle. I stand for happiness creativity and compassion. I study Geology at Carleton College, lead an environmental club play softball and enjoy social dance club. I am fascinated by earth sciences from both the scientific perspectives of meteorology, geology and oceanography and the artistic perspective of appreciating the beauty of nature and representing it through paintings and drawings. I would like to see a global shift to a diverse array of renewable energy tech-nology technologies such as wind/solar. I will help this change by helping Carleton be more sustainable through my environment club and trying to live a more sustainable life style.

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ERIK LAGERQUISTMy name is Erik Lagerquist. I am from Ver-mont, USA and I study Physics at Carleton College. I grew up playing sports, drawing, and spending time outside with my family. I am passionate about sustainability and equality and I think that there is a lot of work to be done if these issues are to be improved in the future. I want to see changes in a lot of areas such as city planning, energy, educa-tion. There is no single issue that will solve all of the world’s problems. I want to see recognition of the interconnectedness of all of the issues we face. At the moment, I see myself working either with transportation or with energy. In my opinion, it’s clear that our current transportation and energy systems are far from sustainable. I want to work to improve these systems for a sustainable future.

ART MCCRAYMy name is Arthur and I am a physics student at Carleton College, originally from Seattle. I want to help create tools and devices that provide energy to everyone, no matter their socioeconomic status. The first step of this is I think electricity, as it’s one area in which small changes can make a big difference. I’ve ob-served firsthand the tremendous difference a single working light bulb can make in a home previously without a good source of light after sundown. Inspired by the small-scale wind tur-bine project in Auroville, I plan to create and develop my own wind turbine over the coming term. As I continue my education I will forever be able to carry with me this experience and the inspiration to myself make a difference.

MATT MIKOSMy name is Matt Mikos. I’m a Physics student from Minnesota. I stand for generosity, creativ-ity and ambition. I’m passionate about issues of energy such as sustainability and acces-sibility, as well as unified human progress through the sharing of ideas and resources to do anything from space exploration to ending poverty. I want to both live in and help cre-ate a world where barriers are broken down through cooperation. Where issues too big for any one nation like ‘climate change’ are solvable through disregard for individual gain and urgent commitment to the greater good of all living things on this planet. I hope to work both as an engineer creating and implement-ing solutions to issues on any scale, as well as an activist promoting ideas of understanding, awareness, and sustainability.

ALEX NEWKIRKMy name is Alex Newkirk and I stand for joy, dignity, and flexibility. I am from Illinois in the United States, but I study at Carleton Col-lege. I study physics, my father is a lawyer, my mother is a food stylist, and my sister is an educator. I found my visit to auroville re-warding, and I think I learned a lot, although there is still so much I have to process. I found the community engaging and friendly, and I think their approach is effectively ad-dressing the problems in the community. I am interested in shifting our power genera-tion, infrastructure, and consumption pat-terns towards sustainability. I will work to ad-just my own lifestyle to be more sustainable and never cease learning about our universe and its inhabitants.

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ANNA ROBINSONMy name is Anna. I am a physics student at Carleton College in Minnesota, though I am originally from Austin, Texas. I am passionate about education because I find it empower-ing for those being educated and for those teaching. As an aspiring engineer I hope to see advances not only in technology to improve the standard of living but also a social change in the way technology is distributed. Being in Auroville has taught me some ways of sharing technology and ideas that benefit the many rather than the elite few.

KAYLA TONEYMy name is Kayla Toney and I study art and science. What I care about in the world is helping people build knowledge and wisdom through various types of education. The changes I want to see involve people pivoting their perspectives and understanding mul-tiple facets rather than being closed minded. Because I want to see this change, I want to contribute my teaching skills to educate oth-ers on many topics and disciplines.

ERIC WANGMy name is Zifeng (Eric) Wang. I’m from Shenyang,

China and I study Environmental Studies at Car-

leton College. I love beautiful natural landscapes

and fantastic living creatures and I enjoy traveling.

I’m passionate about the environment and sustain-

able development, and I dream to work to improve

the sustainability of our social and economic

systems. I’m also deeply interested in the history,

cultures and artifacts of the diverse human civiliza-

tions around the world and I believe that solutions

to the environmental challenges has to be rooted

in local cultures and communities. I want to see

changes in our social systems and policies that

can promote more sustainable technologies and

actions, and thus create more harmony between

the human society and the environment. With my

learning and future inquiry into economics and

politics, I hope I can contribute by studying the

societies and their environmental problems in

order to design better policy solutions to those

environmental challenges.

NYLA WORKER My name is Nyla Worker and I’m a physics stu-dent at Carleton College. I moved from Bolivia to the US in hopes of getting a better under-standing of the world in order to target global issues, such as climate change. One of my main interests/concerns is the future of energy. Therefore, I came to Auroville to learn more about it and to install solar panels. Throughout my time in Auroville, I was able to explore what other people from different countries and cul-tures were interested in and what global issue they cared the most about. Their perspectives gave me more insight in not only sustainable energy, and also in sustainable development in countries such as India.

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MARTIN SCHERFLERMy name is Martin. I stand for integrity, com-passion and courage to create. I was born in a small village settlement at the heart of Austria. I grew up playing in the local forests, running after the soccer ball and supporting (often reluctantly so) my parents in their daily farm work and their restaurant business. I hold a masters degree in sociology. In 2005 I moved to Auroville, India where I have been living and working since. Inspired by some of the environmental and educational work done at Auroville, I chose to make this my main area of activity. I am passionate about creating programs and projects that contribute to environmental and social justice and give participants a sense of completion. I love to share this passion with students, volunteers and interns of all ages and backgrounds. People can count on me for being responsible, doing what I say I will do and for me trying to do the best I can.

VIMAL BHOJRAJMy name is Vimal Bhojraj. I stand for creativ-ity, joy and helpfulness. I come from Ooty, the Queen of Hills. When growing up I was a stub-born young boy at home, then I went to board-ing for high school, which helped me to dis-cover what life is. In 2004 I came to Auroville with the intention to stay for two months only, but I stayed on and made Auroville my home. My joy is the learning that I experience in every project I take on and completing a project as imagined is what makes the most flourishing experience. My work at Auroville Consulting broadly involves communication design in the form of photography, film making and graphic design. I enjoyed the process of producing the video and photograpic documentation in this program.

BALU RAMALINGAMMy name is Balu Ramalingam, I have been born and bought up in Auroville. I have been working with Auroville Consulting for the past 3 years. My educational profile includes schooling at Auroville and further studies at Puducherry University, which has contributed in generating awareness with respect to my surroundings. I stand for confidence, deter-mination and sincerity. I aim at providing maximum number of students the kind of ex-posure they expect to get at Auroville in terms of educational experiences. I personally like to express myself through verbal communica-tion. I am good at organizing and managing workshops. Best part of the program was that the students were sincere and hardworking. The program has inspired me to evolve my role not only as a coordinator but also as a participant.

DEBABRATA SAHOOMy name is Debabrata Sahoo (Debo). I was born in Odisha and moved to Pondicheery at the age of 10. I continued my schooling and did my collage studies in Sri Aurobindo Ash-ram Pondicherry. After my graduation I worked in CSR (Center for Scientific Research, Auro-ville), doing various sustainable applied sci-ence research projects for one and half year. I wanted to do higher studies and left Auroville to do a post-graduate diploma in advertising and marketing and worked in the same field in Mumbai till I came back to Auroville and start-ed working at Sunlit Future. After installing solar PV, pumping and hot water systems all over the country from Ladakh to Kanyakumari, with this experience we developing a training program to share our knowledge students, volunteers and who ever is interested in sus-tainable energy solutions. My work at Sunlit Future is of project manager, system designer and I enjoy to take training programs.

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ARJENDU PATTANAYAKArjendu Pattanayak is Professor of Physics at Carleton College. He has worked on the nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics of nonlinear systems at the quantum scale for the last 25 years. He has been lucky to indulge other interests and skills, including serving as Associate Dean of the College at Carleton Col-lege and teaching in the Cross-Cultural Studies program. He is currently focusing on learning and teaching about sustainable energy, par-ticularly in the context of India.

STEPHANIE COXStephanie has been teaching Francophone Studies and Cross-Cultural Studies at Car-leton College in Northfield, MN since 2007. She is running a pilot residential program Civil Discourse on A Diverse Campus: Experi-ential Living-Learning Community. She also illustrates comic books.

MIRELLAHi, I’m Mirella, from Bangalore, India’s “Silicon Valley”. A graduate in Business Administration and the mother of an adorable 4-year old, I manage India operations for ConnectInc from our headquarters in Bangalore. As a keen trav-eler, I’m always ready to go out into the field with students on cultural and learning tours. Fluent in five languages, the team claims I’m a steady hand in a pinch and a fun person to catch up with at a Bangalore night spot, or anywhere else in India.

MATT WENNERSTENMy name is Matt Wennersten. I’m a reformed IT consultant who discovered a more meaning-ful career as a public school teacher in the US, only to find true love in Chennai, India. With Masters Degrees in Engineering and Education from the US and the UK, I alternate between living “joint family” in Chennai and working as a free-lance education consultant for universi-ties, non-profits, and companies around the world. Chennai to me is the “Queen of the South” – I’ve had an incredible time living in India and I’m always keen to help more people see how amazing, diverse, and safe India can be.

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FROM CONCEPT TO MANIFESTATION

“IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT’S DONE.” -NELSON MANDELA

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TIBETAN PAVILIONThe Tibetan Pavilion is located at the inter-national zone of Auroville. It is dedicated to promotion of the culture of Tibet and serves as a training centre for Tibetan refugees living in India. The Tibetan Pavilion has a strong commitment towards environmentally sound management practices and practices this commitment in its day to day operations. The management team of the Tibetan Pavilion was extremely welcoming and supportive to the idea of implementing an Energy Conservation and Efficiency program and installing a 1,2 kWp grid-interactive solar PV system at its premises in order to reduce its environmental footprint on the planet.

ENERGY EFFICIENCYAt the outset of the program participating students conducted a building energy audit at the Tibetan Pavilion. Data on all installed appliances, respective power rating, average usage time, and the bi-monthly building en-ergy consumption for the last two years were provided. The aim of this exercise was to iden-tify electricity saving potential through energy efficiency interventions (such as replacing in-efficient lights with more efficient ones).

A fixed budget of INR 80,000 for new fixtures was given as a financial limitation. Students came up with proposed interventions and calculated respective financial and electricity saving potential as well as the corresponding payback period for each proposed interven-tion.

The proposed interventions were consolidated and consequently implemented. A saving in electric energy consumption of 32% based on the baseline electricity consumption due to en-ergy efficiency interventions is expected. For details please refer to table 1& 2 and to figure 1 on page 28.

SOLAR PV INSTALLATIONAs a next exercise students were requested to calculate the Solar PV capacity requirement in order to make the Tibetan Pavilion self-sufficient in terms of electric energy consump-tion. Two scenarios were explored a) Solar PV capacity required without Energy Efficiency intervention and b) Solar PV capacity required after Energy Efficiency interventions. For de-tails refer to table 3). Eventually it was decided to install a 1,2 kWp grid-interactive Solar PV system on the rooftop of the Tibetan Pavilion. This will supply about 29% of the buildings electricity demand (refer to table 3)

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9,515.74

6,423.59

-‐ 1,000.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 6,000.00 7,000.00 8,000.00 9,000.00

10,000.00

Before EE A6er EE

Before EE After EEAnnual Consumption in kWh 9,515.74 6,423.59 Annual Bill Amount in INR 76,601.72 55,143.40 Annual saving in kWh 3,092.15 Annual savings in INR 21,458.31 Savings in % 32%Investment in INR 82,820.00 Payback in years 3.86

Table 1: Proposed Energy Efficiency Interventions at the Tibetan Pavilion

Figure 1: Estimated Results due to proposed Energy Efficiency Interventions at the Tibetan Pavilion

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Office Fan 75 1 Super Efficient Fan 35 3,300.00 11.53 92.80 0% 35.56 Doctor Room CFL 15 3 LED (Generic) 8 1,920.00 48.72 392.20 4% 4.90 Doctor Room Fan 75 1 Super Efficient Fan 35 3,300.00 92.22 742.37 1% 4.45 Caretaker Room CFL 15 2 LED (Generic) 8 1,280.00 24.36 196.10 0% 6.53 Caretaker Room CFL 15 1 LED (Generic) 8 640.00 12.18 98.05 0% 6.53 Caretaker Room CFL 15 1 LED (Generic) 8 640.00 12.18 98.05 0% 6.53 Guest Room 1 CFL 15 3 LED (Generic) 8 1,920.00 48.72 392.20 1% 4.90 Guest Room 2 CFL 15 3 LED (Generic) 8 1,920.00 48.72 392.20 1% 4.90 Guest Room 2 CFL 15 3 LED (Generic) 8 1,920.00 48.72 392.20 1% 4.90 Guest Room 3 CFL 15 3 LED (Generic) 8 1,920.00 48.72 392.20 1% 4.90 Guest Room 4 CFL 15 3 LED (Generic) 8 1,920.00 48.72 392.20 1% 4.90 Guest Room 5 CFL 15 4 LED (Generic) 8 2,560.00 40.60 326.83 0% 7.83 Hall CFL 15 1 LED (Generic) 8 640.00 12.18 98.05 0% 6.53 Rest Room CFL 15 4 LED (Generic) 8 2,560.00 64.96 522.93 1% 4.90

entrance T12 with Electronic Ballast 48 1 T5 28 550.00 29.00 233.45 0% 2.36

street light T8 with Electronic Ballast 36 1 T5 28 550.00 27.84 224.11 0% 2.45

street light CFL 15 2 LED (Generic) 8 1,280.00 48.72 392.20 1% 3.26

Kitchen Electrolux ER200 SHARP 190 l 0 1 SAMSUNG

RR21K274ZDZ/NL 212 l 15,000.00 753.55 6,066.09 8% 2.47

Kitchen LG 250 l 0 1 SAMSUNG RT28K3723UT/HL 253 l 24,000.00 852.28 6,860.88 9% 3.50

Corridor Godrej 165 l 0 1 SAMSUNG RR20K172ZS8/HL 192 l 15,000.00 818.22 6,586.70 9% 2.28

82,820.00 3,092.15 24,891.78 32% 3.86

Table 1: Estimated Results due to proposed Energy Efficiency Interventions at the Tibetan Pavilion

Electricity Consumption Kwh/year

Solar PV Capacity Required kWp

Before Energy Efficiency 9,515.74 6.03

After Energy Efficiency 6,423.50 4.07

Hours per year 8,760

Capacity Utilization Factor in % 18%

Space required per KWp solar In m2 12

Solar PV capacity installed in kWp 1.2

Exected annual solar energy production in kWh/year

1,892.16

% of solar energy on total consumption after Energy Efficiency

29%

Assumptions for Solar PV Capacity Calculation

Implemented

Table 3: Solar PV calculations for Tibetan Pavilion

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OUR FUTURE COMMITMENTSParticipants voluntary projects

“WE ARE ALL INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE WE PLAN TO SPEND

THE REST OF OUR LIVES.”- VILLAIN IN SUPERMAN COMIC BOOK EPISODE

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CLIMATE CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITYMy idea for a project is still very much in its infancy. However, I hope to create a profile of various social enterprises with a focus on those, which address issues of ‘climate change’ and ‘sustainability’. I then hope to be able to present this profile to the off campus stud-ies office as a better alternative for carbon offsets. Ideally, I would also like to work with the divestment group on campus to offer a new perspective on where the fossil fuel investment funds could be allocated and spark a new con-versation about the value of impact.

I hope my project will be able to increase the awareness of how essential finance and think-ing economically is when dealing with issues of social and environmental justice. I believe that this would help to increase the efficiency and success rates of projects aimed at tackling these kinds of issues.

The biggest thing I think I have learned about sustainability and creating an impact from this trip is how important the financial side is and how it is so often neglected at great cost.

I hope my project can contribute to a shift in the standard understanding of how we ap-proach these issues and that the economic approach is just as valid and important if not more so then the technological and social. The greatest challenge here, I believe, is the gathering of information from various enter-prises as well as finding a valuable metric to show the strengths and weaknesses of each enterprise.

- By Matt Mikos

SMALL SCALE WIND TURBINESIn the upcoming term, I plan to first develop and build a small turbine that generates electricity from wind power. This is a well-studied idea and I intend to look at a variety of designs, picking and choosing the parts from each that I will incorporate. My interests in small-scale wind were piqued when we saw the wind turbines built by Jorgé in Auroville. I was impressed by how little technical ma-terials were required and how, as he put it, the only necessities are patience, patience, and more patience. My primary goals for this project are to develop my own personal en-gineering design skills and to prepare myself for working in other, more experimental forms of electricity generation like micro-hydro and wind.

Small-scale wind turbines have many impor-tant applications. Climate permitting, they are one of the most environmentally practical ways of bringing power to off grid communi-

ties. The effects of a single light bulb can be tremendous when introduced to a village or home without power, and is an important first step in providing equal access to technology to everyone.

My first step in this project is to make my own working wind turbine. I realize that small scale turbines are not where I’ll be able to make a difference—there are lots of highly trained en-gineers and scientists with years of experience working on the major issues, namely making them cheaper, more efficient, and resilient. My hope is that my project will provide me with much needed hands-on experience building a turbine, letting me learn skills and design techniques that I will next be able to apply to less developed forms of generating electricity.

- By Arthur McCray

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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTUREFor a future where electricity generation relies on

sustainable fuels, communities need to diversify

their energy sources and decentralize electricity

generation. While solar energy is the first renewable

resource most people consider turning to, many op-

tions are available and the most effective combina-

tion is completely dependent on the region. Beyond

these variations, practical recommendations must

consider the socio-economic norms and class most

prevalent in the community. I would like to create

a platform for streamlining recommendations for

incorporating renewable energy into communities

based on socio-economic and natural climates.

This project will use a technical foundation to com-

municate qualitative results through geospatial

analysis and a smooth, user-friendly interface. The

program will aid consumers and consultors and

government officials to streamline their process

for approaching sustainable energy because it will

provide a background for further research. Identify-

ing enough reliable sources of data for economic

and climactic classifications will be challenging in

and of itself, but pushing for systemic shifts to

renewable energy will be a much more intensive

challenge because it relies on more than time and

careful methodological planning. For even meager

success in this project, I will need to prompt and

contribute to a series of cultural shifts from ignor-

ing the total cost of electricity and fuel use to

considering the full cost of fossil fuels such that a

variety of potent pollutants are taken into account

in an appropriate, factual manner. One approach

I will consider is showing the medical costs ac-

crued by miners and other people working within

or affected by the industries generating their

electricity. This is one mechanism for transparent,

relatable explanations of the true cost for each

Watt consumed. Overall, this project will generate

fact-based recommendations for integrating re-

newable fuels like solar, wind, and bio-gas so that

communities can achieve sustainability with the

least-cost solution.

- By Jerrilyn Goldbert

NO IMPACT CHALLENGE

My project is called the No Impact Challenge. During

two weeks of environmentally focused activities at

Carleton College, students from Carleton and St. Olaf

College will carry all of their plastic bags to increase

awareness of how much waste we produce. This will

be a competition and should motivate people to

produce less waste. People can form teams in each

college and will weigh their waste at the end of the

weeks. The team and college that has the lowest aver-

age weight of waste will win. I will need to be dedi-

cated, hard working, communicative, organized and

creative to make this project reach the most people

possible. I hope that we have lots of participation and

that people will decrease the amount of waste they

produce.

-By Sarah Ogle

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT APPThe project I will be working on the next semester is

to construct an app that scans products and gives

feedback on the environmental impact of the product.

This app is targeted to the American audience. I think

that it is not fair that countries such as the us are us-

ing so many resources and are not conscious of that

impact. Therefore, I want to give them easy access to

the environmental information of each product.

The challenges project faces are finding a metric to

measure the impact of each product. This metric has

to be reliable and provide an accurate description on

the products impact. The ideal metric is incredibly

complicated and would take into account all of the

small things involved in the product manufacture.

Given this challenges we would start by focusing on

some products on the local supermarket. Since the

metric cannot be perfect we will refrain ourselves to

choose products that are either very sustainable or

not at all. This will give us an idea of how feasible the

project is and see how to continue. I believe that if

each American had an idea of how much impact

each of the products they consume on a daily ba-

sis. At least some of them will be more thoughtful

on their purchases.

-By Nyla Worker

IMPROVING ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION GRIDFor my project I’d like to conduct a survey of

research and produce a report on potential improve-

ments to the electrical distribution grid. Our current

infrastructure is crumbling and there is significant

losses endemic to our centralized system of electri-

cal distribution. While there is almost universal

agreement that the system needs an overhaul, there

is persistent inaction. I’d seek to motivate action

through communication of costs and benefits to grid

improvements and employ this analysis to target im-

provements towards their most receptive audiences.

This infrastructure is not owned by clearly demar-

cated individuals or institutions, but instead by leaky

and piecemeal unaffiliated organizations. Thus any

improvement must come from cooperation across

many organizations and entities. I would seek to

analyze existing research into potential grid improve-

ments to determine their respective technological

feasibility, implementation costs, environmental

costs, and their economic, social and environmental

benefits. I could then identify the most promising

avenues to pursue, and could in turn communicate

these benefits to parties most likely to respond to

them. Inexpensive economically beneficial improve-

ments could be targeted towards corporate actors

while socially beneficial but never economically

profitable technologies could be targeted towards

institutional and governmental actors. I think this

targeting especially will be a crucial component

of this project, as any improvement to the grid is

messy. While a top down complete overhaul of

the grid would theoretically be optimal, it would

be logistically impossible, prohibitively expensive,

and would leave all consumers without power for

the duration of improvement. This is partially what

has prevented improvement for so long, and I think

determination of those improvements that could

be made to the existing infrastructure and develop-

ment could help alleviate this stagnation.

- -By Alex Newkirk

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SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCES & ENERGY CONSERVATION There needs to be a shift in the way people think about energy. Current global energy consumption is unsustainable and there are many instances where the same service could be provided while using less energy. Our project involves installing occupancy sensors to reduce energy consumption on Carleton’s campus by ensuring that lights in the stairwells and bath-rooms are only on when someone is using these spaces.

This project will be funded through Carleton’s Sustainable Revolving Fund (SRF), and part of our project includes raising awareness of the resources at Carleton available for pursuing sustainability projects in the future. The Sustain-able Revolving Fund was created for students to pursue and implement project ideas centered around sustainability. Our SRF project aims to grow diverse student innovation by increasing the fund’s accessibility. We want the hands on

lighting project to make students feel fulfilled by facilitating Carleton’s transition to sustain-able energy. The Sustainable Revolving Fund is very large, but not well known, and underutilized. We plan on creating a pamphlet showcasing previous projects and the history of the fund. Our pam-phlet will also include details about our lighting project as well as a guide for students on how to put together a successful project based on on-campus resources and past projects. Our plan for the lighting project is to perform energy audits of restrooms and stairwells of forty buildings on campus. To do this, we will determine the number and type of light in bathrooms and stairwells in all campus build-ings. This data will be used to calculate energy consumption and determine how much energy

and money would be saved if sensors were installed. If Carleton has sufficient improvement capacity, the SRF fund will grow after a payback period. We are excited to contribute to Carleton’s transi-tion to sustainable energy. We were inspired by the locally implemented, innovative solutions we learned about in Auroville, India.

- By Lisa Au, Madeline Chosy and Jackie Dowling

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MICRO OFF-GRID POWER GENERATION Limited resources and unequal distribution of power means that a large percentage of the world population does not have access to elec-tricity. This means that once it gets dark, their day essentially ends. If energy-poor individuals had access to light, they could use that time to work and study, allowing them to increase their earnings and livelihood. This would especially empower young women by allowing them to dedicate more time to their education and skills. In order for this to change on a global scale, there would have to be tremendous changes in government policy, monetary distribution, infra-structure, and general attitude of the energy-rich population. This process would take a huge amount of resources and time and is beyond the scope of a local student initiative. We hope to approach this problem by designing small off-grid windmills from inexpensive or recycled ma-terials. These could include rigid plastics, wood, aluminum cans, or glass. Also, assembly should not require power tools or special equipment.

Ideally, a screwdriver, hammer, and a sharp object should be the only tools needed. These kits could be sold internationally to be assem-bled by the unskilled user for the purpose of powering a light bulb. We hope to execute this project through resources and funding from Carleton. We will design and build a public statement piece as an example for our com-munity. It will utilize recycled unsustainable materials that are commonly used by students (e.g. plastic cups and aluminum cans). In ad-dition to raising awareness about our project and the greater issue of energy equality, this installment will remind students of the impact of their own behaviors. This windmill will be constructed using the kit to demonstrate its accessibility and functionality.

- By Edie Emmings and Anna Robinson

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION FOR NORTHFIELD:

Being in Auroville and seeing the sustainable ini-tiatives has given us a context to understand how to create sustainable solutions for specific com-munities and cultures. Looking at our own com-munity we have identified an issue that needs to be solved and that can benefit from being solved in a sustainable way. The issue we want to work on is transportation in our college town. Northfield is small city with a population of 20,000 in rural Minnesota. Transportation in Northfield is prob-lematic because it only accommodates for motor-ized vehicles running on fossil fuels. What little public transportation that exists is inconsistent and inaccessible to majority of the community. A potential sustainable solution to this would be to make space for bikes and add charging stations for electric vehicles. Northfield is also only 45 minutes away from a major city but there isn’t a convenient way to travel expect by car. A passen-ger train using preexisting tracks could easily save

people money from the cost of traveling and also greatly reduce the daily carbon emission from commuters. These issues are not being addressed because they are not an immediate issue and there is no clear economic value. Additionally, the car and truck culture is strong within the community. However, we believe that there is need to invest in a sustainable future.Our first step in addressing this issue is to research the current political policy in our town more in depth and better understand the com-munity’s cultural values. Next we would need to do cost and benefit analysis on implantation of potential projects like charging stations or passenger trains. We can then inform policy makers in our city and hopefully make change.

- By Erik Lagerquist and David Higgs

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IMPROVING THE VISIBILITY OF EN-ERGY COST ON CAMPUS THROUGH ENERGY LABELLINGFood waste in dinning halls has always been a huge problem on the campus of Carleton Col-lege. Students dump a lot of their food wastes into compost everyday, which generates a huge burden in waste management and also leads to enormous water use for dishwashing.

Early projects conducted by student activists found that once the food dump is monitored by people, the amount of food wasted would be significantly reduced. However, once the moni-tors are gone, food waste would bounce back. Therefore, raising awareness through campaigns does not seem like a good idea for generating behavioral changes in the long run that can help reduce the food waste on campus.

Economic incentives might be an alternative to awareness-raising as a possible solution to the food waste problem on campus. With their cur-

rent meal plans, students at Carleton pay a fixed cost for each of their meal and the price is actually quite high. There is no incentive at all for the students to conserve their food, and there is even an incentive for them to take more food than they actually need since they don’t pay for what they waste. Therefore, a change in the dinning hall pricing scheme that can make students pay for their food waste can probably be an effective way to reduce food waste and save students’ money at the same time. If students pay for each dish they consume they would not take more than they need, and would also try to “clean their plates” as much as possible since any waste food dumped would also be a waste of their own money.

My project would start by doing some re-searches on the possible impacts of different

pricing schemes studied by previous scholars to find some theories that can inform my project. Then I would the related stakeholders (students and Dinning Hall decision mak-ers) and experts in the field (Environmental Economics professors) about the feasibility of the scheme. After that I can do a student willingness-to-pay survey to see a possible alternative pricing scheme, which can on one hand help the Dinning Hall to design an ac-ceptable way to price its products, and on the other hand help the student realize how much money they can possibly save if they are not paying an “all-you-can-eat” price.

A change in the pricing scheme would be a huge shock to the current dinning hall sys-tem since in most of the dinning halls in the United States as well as in other countries, a buffet-style pricing scheme is used and simi-

lar problems with food wastes are there. What can be learned from this project can definitely inform decision makings in many parts of the world and let people rethink about the pricing system of the food we eat at public dinning halls. It can possibly lead to the changes in the pricing schemes that can better take into account the energy consumption and environmental impacts in dealing with food wastes.

- By Eric Wang

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Auroville Consulting

COLLABORATORSAuroville Green Practices aims to bring together various stakeholders to envision future townships that offer a habitat that is ecologically, socially and economically nurturing. Auroville Green Practices is managed by Auroville Consulting a unit under the Auroville Founda-tion.

Sunlit Future is an integrated service provider bringing high qual-ity renewable energy solutions to both rural and urban India. Based in Auroville, an international township in south India, we dedicate ourselves to experimentation and research on solar photovoltaic and thermal technologies and products. The key team members of Sunlit Future have been actively involved in the field of solar energy over the past 12 years building trust and credibility.

The Tibetan Pavilion is a cultural center of Tibet in the international zone of Auroville, and a training center for young Tibetans wanting to take advantage of Auroville 30 years of researches and experiments. Since 20 years, the Pavilion has been a major host of Auroville’s ac-tivities, such as lectures, workshops, art exhibitions, cultural events, Tibetan festivals, student exchanges, vocational training and Tibetan medicine consultations, as well as an annual Light Mandala on New Year’s Eve.

Auroville Consulting provides comprehensive consulting and adviso-ry services for project developers, manufacturers and policy makers engaged in ecologically and socially responsible development areas. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, we create unique solutions in the domains of sustainable resource management (energy & water) and sustainable management practices.

“THERE ARE TRIVIAL TRUTHS AND THE GREAT TRUTHS. THE OPPOSITE OF A TRIVIAL TRUTH IS PLAINLY FALSE. THE OPPOSITE OF A GREAT TRUTH IS ALSO TRUE.” - NIELS BOHR