Hello Darryl,
You wrote: Personally, I love 'payback period' as a means
of ranking different alternative projects open to me,
.....
Out of curiosity, could you give an example?
Maybe I should rethink how I do things.
Tom
> Hi Thomas,
>
> sadly, such examples are still sufficiently rare that they
> still
> constitute news, and small enough they only warrant local
> coverage if
> any at all. When I find these nuggets, I like to share,
> in hopes they
> will inspire other 'small' victories.
>
> Regarding the math, I think the reporter jumbled 2 things
> together which
> create confusion. My reading is that Mr. Sperling figures
> a $50,000
> investment will allow him to produce most of his
> electricity and recoup
> his investment in about 2 years from avoided utility
> costs. The
> reporter doesn't spell that out before shifting
> conversation to the U.S.
> Vegawatt example, which only proposes to provide 10-25% of
> the power
> used by their example customer restaurant (not Mr.
> Sperling's operation).
>
> Personally, I love 'payback period' as a means of ranking
> different
> alternative projects open to me, but it isn't the only
> factor that bears
> on my decisions (personal interest, satisfaction, learning
> potential,
> ease of implementation, risk factors, impacts on existing
> situation and
> others are at least as important). There has to be some
> way to put a
> value on beauty (not necessarily in dollars), or we would
> not build art
> galleries or put up pictures on our walls.
>
> Darryl
>
> On 17/06/2014 9:25 AM, Thomas Kelly wrote:
>> Darryl,
>> Thanks for articles such as these. It's nice to hear
>> about people who do things. They talk, they listen, but
>> ultimately they act. Whether it's putting something to
>> work that they would otherwise discard, or
>> about someone who scratches in the dirt to grow food
>> they will eat, without first poisoning it.
>>
>> I have a problem with the term "payback period".
>>
>> We don't ask about "payback period" when we go on
>> vacation, or buy a car with all the options. Does
>> the gardener really calculate the payback period for
>> the time and cost of planting and tending the garden?
>> Why would anyone plant flower beds?
>> My experience is that "payback period" is often used
>> an
>> excuse for inaction. Blessings to those who read,
>> listen and learn, calculate feasibility and then act
>> with
>> the understanding that sustainability is the goal and
>> joy
>> is part of the payoff.
>>
>> Actually another problem:
>> Article states that:
>> -cost will be about $50,000
>> -savings will be about $10,000/year ($900/mo)
>> -payback will be within 2 years
>>
>> Are there tax incentives or is this a simple
>> miscalculation as it would seem that payback would be
>> about 5 years at their savings.
>> (Nothing wrong with a 5 year payback as a diesel
>> generator will live long past that)
>>
>> Thanks again,
>> Tom
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Restaurateur+energized+veggie/9935141/story.html
>>>
>>> Regina restaurateur energized by old veggie oil
>>>
>>> By Natascia Lypny, The Leader-Post June 13, 2014
>>>
>>> A Regina restaurateur thinks the leftover grease from
>>> french fries, fish
>>> and chips, and other greasy goodies could be the
>> solution
>>> to
>>> Saskatchewan's power grid strain.
>>>
>>> Adam Sperling, owner of La Bodega and Slow Pub,
>> envisions
>>> a Regina
>>> powered by restaurants' waste vegetable oil.
>>>
>>> "Right now all that is, is a drain on power," he said
>>> of
>>> the city's
>>> expanding restaurant scene. "It's draining our grid. We
>>> can turn that
>>> into a power resource."
>>>
>>> The Environment Advisory Committee member plans to
>>> bring
>>> forward a
>>> motion that the city conduct a feasibility study
>> involving
>>> a pilot
>>> project of vegetable oil electricity generation at
>>> three
>>> locations of
>>> varying size. Thursday's committee meeting was
>> cancelled,
>>> but Sperling
>>> plans to bring the motion up the next time the
>>> committee
>>> sits.
>>>
>>> It's an idea the restaurateur has been picking away at
>> for
>>> a decade.
>>> According to his research, a generator would cost
>> $50,000
>>> installed. In
>>> a restaurant with one deep fryer, such as La Bodega,
>>> the
>>> generator would
>>> pay for itself within two years, then practically nix
>> the
>>> restaurant's
>>> power bill, said Sperling.
>>>
>>> His vision for the generator is ambitious. Vegawatt, a
>>> similar machine
>>> developed by a Massachusetts company, advertises itself
>> as
>>> providing
>>> 10-25 per cent of a restaurant's power and cutting its
>>> monthly power
>>> bill by $890. No examples of such a product exist in
>>> Canada.
>>>
>>> Currently, waste vegetable oil is picked up from
>>> restaurants, then
>>> reused for cosmetics, biodiesel and on roads to control
>>> dust.
>>>
>>> Sperling hopes the pilot leads to the eventual
>>> installation of
>>> generators at all Regina restaurants and food vendors
>> with
>>> two or more
>>> deep fryers.
>>>
>>> "This is an opportunity for Regina and for SaskPower to
>> be
>>> leaders and
>>> innovators in recycling and being sustainable, and
>>> relieving the power
>>> grid of so much stress," he said.
>>>
>>> SaskPower's grid is currently strained under the
>> pressures
>>> of increased
>>> demand due to a growing population and the age of the
>>> infrastructure.
>>> Its sections average 30 to 50 years old, said spokesman
>>> Tyler Hopson.
>>> "At the current time, expanding our generation fleet is
>>> something
>>> SaskPower is interested in doing, something we have to
>> do
>>> as the
>>> province grows in terms of population and demand for
>> power
>>> increases,"
>>> he said, adding the situation's not critical.
>>>
>>> Sperling's idea is far from fruition. He hasn't
>> developed
>>> the machine,
>>> nor discussed it with SaskPower. The corporation,
>> though,
>>> is open to
>>> innovation, said Hopson. While he couldn't comment on
>> this
>>> particular
>>> idea, Hopson said SaskPower accepts unsolicited
>> proposals.
>>> It also has a
>>> Small Power Producers Program by which people can
>> generate
>>> electricity
>>> either to offset their own bill or to sell to
>>> SaskPower.
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
> --
> Darryl McMahon
> Project Manager,
> Common Assessment and Referral for Enhanced Support
> Services (CARESS)
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