An Assessment of Technology for Local Development (January 1981)

An Assessment of Technology for Local Development

January 1981

NTIS order #PB81-189979 -.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 81-600026

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword

The late Dr. Pearly F. Ayre, a sociologist who spent several decades working with people in Appalachia, finally became disenchanted with the long-term effectiveness of many of the Federal development programs aimed at that region. He is remembered for his memo- rable observation in praise of local initiative: “We must do for ourselves, or be done for.” This OTA study addresses the question of local development and the opportunities for–and appropriateness of–various technologies that can help local people to take advantage of local resources in meeting the needs of their own communities. In many instances there are also close connections between local and national needs; as a result, these local solutions can sometimes add up to national solutions. OTA has made extensive use of case studies to assess a variety of community projects. One clear conclusion that emerges from these cases is that individuality, ingenuity, and initiative are far from lacking in the United States. It is also evident that many communities are strongly attracted to the principles of local reliance and self-sufficiency. When a community evaluates and chooses a technology for local development, it should take into account nonmarket goals and priorities, as well as purely market factors. In many cases this broader perspective–the attempt to find and develop an “appropriate technology” (AT)– can greatly influence the overall utility of the project. OTA found that neither “big” nor “small” technologies are consistently more attractive or effective. The historic progression toward larger scale is not universally optimal; indeed, some large-scale projects can result in a diseconomy of scale. Recent developments in science and technology have created an increasing number of opportunities for economic activities on a smaller scale, as well as on a decentralized basis.

Because AT by definition reflects local goals and values, as well as local resources and conditions, the broader adoption of AT may well lead not only to a more diverse and re- silient economic system, but also to one that better serves the social and human needs of communities throughout the Nation. /yd#. . ~ JOHN H. GIBBONS Director

iii Technology for Local Development Assessment Advisors

Roger Blobaum Lola Redford President President Roger Blobaum and Associates Consumer Action Now George Burrill Co-Director Constantine Safilios-Rothschild Center for Studies in Food Self-Sufficiency Professor of Human Development Pennsylvania State University Patricia Cloherty President Tessler & Cloherty, Inc. Steve Serfling President John Hammock Solar AquaSystems, Inc. Executive Director ACCION International Martha Stuart Mary Houghton President Executive Vice President Martha Stuart Communications, Inc. South Shore National Bank Byron Kennard Richard P. Taub Community Organizer Associate Professor & Chairman of Public Affairs University of Chicago David Lawrence Executive Committee Chairman of the Dan Tessler Boettcher & Co. Chairman William Nicoson Tessler & Cloherty, Inc. Counsel Lynn Preston Sean Wellesley-Miller Acting Head, Problem Analysis Group Assistant Professor National Science Foundation Massachusetts Institute of Technology Assessment of Technology for Local Development Project Staff

John Andelin, Assistant Director, OTA Science, Information, and Natural Resources Division William Mills,* Acting Program Manager, National R&D Priorities & Policies Michaela Walsh,** Project Director Paul B. Phelps,† Editor and Writer Marsha Mistretta, Administrative Assistant Leslie Sederlund, Research Assistant Jeffrey Magnin, Research Assistant Babette Racca,† Analyst Michael Fischer,† Analyst

Other Staff Contributors

Christopher Ansell† Junior Bridge Geraldine Duskie Robert Friedman Robert Olson†

Contractors and Consultants

Caroline Edwards James Sullivan Peter Harnik Richard Taub Paul Hoover Sean Wellesley-Miller Claudia Lorge ACCION International William Nicoson Roger Blobaum & Associates Bruce Porter Center for Community Change Constantine Safilios-Rothschild Counsel for Community Development Marsha Steinberg

OTA Publishing Staff

John C. Holmes, Publishing Officer John Bergling† Kathie S. Boss Debra M. Datcher Patricia A. Dyson† Mary Harvey† Joe Henson

*Acting Project Director after June 1980. **Project Director through May 1980; continuing as contractor through December 1980. †OTA contract personnel. Contents

chapter Page 1. Executive Summary ...... 3 2. Introduction ...... 17 3. Resource-Efficient Residential Architect ure ...... 29 4. Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses...... 67 5. Small Farm Systems ...... 91 6. Farmers’ Markets...... 123 7. Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste ...... 147 8. Community Wastewater Treatment ...... 173 9. Community Energy Generation ...... 197 10. Health CareSystems ...... 217 11. Overview...... 233 Appendix.–Members of the Appropriate Technology Workshop, Study Teams, and Task Force...... 249 Chapter 1 Executive Summary Contents

Page Page Findings ...... 4 Public Perception and Participation ...... 10 Technical Information and Expertise...... 10 The Case Studies ...... 5 Essential Resources...... 10 Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ...... 5 Financing...... 10 Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ...... 6 Institutional Factors ...... 10 Small Farm Systems ...... 6 Farmers’ Markets ...... 7 Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste. . . 7 Options for Federal Policy ...... 11 Community Wastewater Treatment...... 8 Data Gathering ...... 11 Community Energy Generation ...... 9 Information Dissemination ...... 11 Community Health Care Systems ...... 9 Technical Assistance ...... 12 Critical Factors ...... 10 Financial Assistance ...... 12 CHAPTER 1 Executive Summary

Appropriate technology (AT) involves an at- designed for changing resource conditions. In re- tempt to tailor the scale and complexity of a tech- sponse to the current economic environment, for nology to the job it needs to do. AT has been pro- instance, a number of relatively sophisticated posed by some of its advocates as an answer to technologies have been de~’eloped that are effi- many of the social and economic problems created cient users of energy and material resources. In by large-scale, centralized technology in both the this view’, the main challenge is to integrate industrialized countries and the Third World. numerous applications of AT in efficient, sus- Through greater diversity and decentralization, tainable systems in the local community. they argue, it is possible to achieve a “technology mix” that makes more effective use of limited OTA’s exploratory study is not intended to be capital and is better adapted to, and less disruptive comprehensive. Nevertheless, the AT projects ex- of, the social and natural environment. Large- amined in this study exhibit a great diversity in scale approaches may be necessary for some tasks, size, complexity, and location. They range from but for others it is possible to scale down existing attached solar heating greenhouses built by indi- technology or, in some cases, to replace it with vidual homeowners in New Mexico to a plant that more traditional methods that have been im- converts municipal waste to steam heat for down- proved on through the application of advanced town Akron, Ohio; from a heat-retentive house materials, designs, or techniques. Ideally, AT em- designed for low-income families in Alaska to a phasizes resource efficiency, environmental sound- cooperative market for small-scale farmers in Loui- ness, community control, and labor rather than siana; and from an innovative sewage treatment capital intensiveness. plant in California to a pair of recommissioned hydroelectric projects in New England. AT proponents cannot always agree on exactly what the concept entails, however, and its empha- Congress has frequently taken the lead in pro- sis has changed and broadened over the last 10 moting the development of AT. This interest was years, depending on where and when it was ap- demonstrated by the creation of the National plied. In one of its earliest forms, AT was proposed Center for Appropriate Technology by the 94th as an alternative approach to economic develop- Congress and the Office of Small Scale Technol- ment in the Third World. Observers like British ogy within the Department of Energy (DOE) by economist E. F. Schumacher noted that when an the 95th Congress. In June 1978, OTA was asked advanced, capital-intensive technology is intro- to conduct an exploratory study to: duced into a developing nation, it sometimes cr- assess the conceptual base for AT; ates as many social and economic problems as it assess technologies which are appropriate for solves. What is needed, Schumacher suggested, is local community development; and an “intermediate technology” that is far more pro- collect information on promising— new tech- ductive than traditional methods but is still more nologies now being innovated in energy, labor intensive (and less capital intensive) than the waste disposal, housing, agriculture, and sophisticated, large-scale technologies of the indus- health that may provide an alternative and trialized nations. possibly more effective approach to communi- In the past few years, on the other hand, a grow- ty and regional development. ing number of appropriate technologists have The request for the OTA study came from Sena- come to view themselves as pioneers, operating “at tors Ribicoff, Percy, Javits, Humphrey, Leahy, the frontier” in several areas of applied science. Brooke, McIntrye, McGovern, and Hart, as well They argue that much of what is called AT is in as Representatives George Brown, Scheuer, and fact a particular kind of advanced technology, one Udall.

3 4 ● Assessment o/ Technology for Local Development

Findings

The projects examined in this study had widely s develop new sources of energy for munici- varying objectives, and their significance can be pal services and local industrial use; and quite different when viewed from the national per- . recommission abandoned or underutilized spective instead of the local. Thus, no simple judg- energy-generating facilities for local use. ment of “success” or “failure” can be applied: each 3. Health care and social services.— case must be examined from both points of view. . increase the availabilit y of primary health care; Viewed broadly, local development is not al- . reduce the cost of medical services; and ways simply a question of economic growth as con- ● provide community activities for the elder- ventionally measured. Efficient and cost-effective ly and the handicapped. municipal services—the goal of several of the projects—are a necessary underpinning to local On the national level, projects also address several development, as is the availability of health care important and vexing problems that will face the and the affordability of housing. United States during the next 20 years. If these and similar efforts are replicated on a nationwide basis, Creating employment and new industry was not the results could be significant in the following the principal objective of the projects examined. areas: Nevertheless, one project saved local jobs that otherwise would have been lost, and other projects ● greater energy conservation in the residential sec- provided help in severely depressed areas by creat- tor—which currently accounts for over 20 per- ing temporary jobs and by providing marketable cent of U.S. energy consumption—could training and work experience. Some of the proj- make an important contribution to achieving ects helped to improve the viability of existing the national goal of independence from im- enterprises (small farms), and others could create ported oil; significant opportunities for small business ● new Production and marketing techniques for

(notably in the construction and home-improve- small-scale farmers may contribute to the reten- ment sector). tion of the Nation’s farmland-which is being From the local perspective, the primary significance converted to nonagricultural use at the rate of of these projects is their potential for reducing—or at 1 million acre/yr; least stabilizing—the real costs of community services. ● alternative wastewater treatment technologies The following are some examples taken from the could reduce the cost of expanding and upgrad- case studies: ing the Nation’s sewage treatment facilities—an enormously costly process that might other- 1. Waste management and resource recovery.— wise be beyond the available resources of Fed- ● reduce the operating costs of secondary eral, State, and local governments; wastewater treatment; ● installing new generating capacity at existing ● use municipal solid waste as a fuel to gener- damsites--many of which are abandoned or ate steam for use in the downtown area; underutilized, could greatly increase the Na- ● recover materials from municipal wastes, tion’s supply of hydroelectric power; and including compost and water as well as alu- ● community health centers and prepaid health minum, glass, iron, and steel; plans could lead to significant savings in the cost ● reduce the volume of sludge and other resi- of health care—which now consumes almost dues that must be disposed of; and 10 percent of U.S. gross national product. ● reduce the air, water, and land pollution associated with waste management. Given these potential national benefits, the 2. Energy.– process by which the technologies were adopted . reduce the energy consumption of waste- and the potential barriers to their replication by water treatment facilities; other communities become important considera- Ch. 1–ExecutIw Summary ● 5 tions. Close attention to local needs, goals, and re- eral effort to promote such projects; existing programs sources was found to be an essential factor in most could, however, be improved in four specific areas: of the successful projects. In some cases, a signifi- ● gathering reliable data on the design, cost, and cant barrier to transferability was the availability performance of the technologies, either of reliable information on the design, cost, and through modified project design, redirected performance of the technologies themselves. In research, or expanded Federal monitoring ef- other cases, the barriers were institutional: opposi- forts; tion from commercial interests; reluctance on the ● information dissemination, both through re- part of engineers, builders, or lending institutions gional “demonstration projects and through to accept innovative designs; and insensitivity in the encouragement of networking and other the application of building codes, waste manage- informal, local mechanisms for information ment guidelines, medical practice laws, and other exchange; regulations by various levels of government. ● technical assistance, including both communi- Existing Federal policies and programs have been ty workshops for individuals and planning relatively effective in encouraging the development and aids for municipalities; and adoption of AT projects like those examined in the ● financial assistance, such as tax credits or cost case studies. Based on these case studies, there ap- sharing for individuals and risk sharing for pears to be no justification for a new, centralized Fed- municipalities.

The Case Studies Resource-Efficient Residential patented “solar staircase” roof and a number Architecture of advanced building materials; ● the “Conserver Home” on Prince Edward In 1977, energy consumption for heating and Island, Canada, also designed by Solsearch cooling in the residential sector totaled 17 quad- Architects, a low-cost house that uses “Ar- rillion Btu, or almost one-quarter of total U.S. kansas framing,” thick insulation, and other energy consumption. Rising energy prices and po- design features to retain the heat given off by tential supply shortages have forced architects and the occupants and their activities, thereby builders to develop residential housing designs greatly reducing the need for supplemental that are less dependent on fossil fuels. Some heating; houses being built today require less than one-fifth ● the “Bethel House,” designed and built by the as much energy to maintain acceptable inside tem- faculty and students of Kuskokwim Commu- peratures as typical housing stock built in the nity College in Bethel, Alaska, another low- 1970’s. A few new heat-retentive designs promise cost heat-retentive design that uses superin- to all but eliminate the need for backup heating. sulation and a number of innovative design Several alternatives are discussed in five case features that conserve building materials as studies: well as energy in a demanding climate; and ● the “thermal envelope” house, built by Tom ● solar heating greenhouses in New Mexico, which collect heat from the sun for use in Smith near Lake Tahoe, Calif., which con- both the greenhouse and the house to which sists of a “house within a house” that com- it is attached, and which can be built by in- bines a solar greenhouse, convection cur- rents, and a buffer space to produce a house dividual homeowners at a low cost, often with scra or salvaged materials; that is less expensive to heat in the winter and p cool in the summer. ● the “Ark II, ” a passive solar-heated house designed by Solsearch Architects for the These and similar designs promise considerable Cooley family of Washington, Corm., and energy savings for individual families, but the costs built by the Cooleys, which incorporates the of the solar and thermal-envelope houses are such 6 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

grants from the Community Services Administra- tion, the project was notable for the degree of community participation in the planning, construction, operation, and management of the greenhouse. It has also provided job training for students, alternative service for youth offenders, educational opportunities for children, and activities for elderly and handicapped members of the community. Produce grown in the greenhouse is distributed to low-income and elderly volunteers who work there and through local meals programs. The project has been less than successful when evaluated strictly as a food-producing enterprise. It has encountered a number of design and operation problems, crop yields have been low, and it has yet to become self supporting. Although the project was successful in delivering social services, Photo credit: OffIce of Technology Assessment there has been no study of whether this kind of Bethel House, Bethel, Alaska project is the most cost-effective way to deliver those services. that they are being built primarily for the middle- and high-income custom housing market. The attached solar greenhouse offers a low-cost retrofit that can be applied to existing homes in many locations, and the Conserver, Bethel, and other heat-retentive designs show considerable promise for new low-income housing. At present, however, there is a lack of reliable data on the cost and performance of some of the designs, and no “preferred” solutions have gained general acceptance from financial institutions or the building industry.

Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment Solar greenhouses have two features of special Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse, Cheyenne, Wyo. interest: they can provide a year-round source of fresh, locally grown produce, even in the coldest climates; and, unlike conventional greenhouse Small Farm Systems production or the mass distribution of remotely The three major operating costs associated with grown winter vegetables, they do not require large farming–feed for livestock, fertilizer for fields, and quantities of oil or other fossil fuels. By combining fuel for machinery and buildings–have all been these two benefits, solar greenhouses may be able affected by rising petroleum prices. These factors to reduce the food budgets as well as the energy have endangered the economic viability of the budgets of individual families, community groups, small family farm. The New Life Farm (NLF) and and the Nation as a whole. Small Farm Energy Project (SFEP) are two at- The 5,000-ft2 Cheyenne (Wyoming) Communi- tempts to reduce the energy costs and increase the

ty Solar Greenhouse is the largest freestanding self-sufficienc y of small-scale agriculture in their solar greenhouse in the United States. Funded by regions. Ch. 1–Executive Summary ● 7

NLF is developing a “system” of alternative because it made a greater attempt to involve the energy sources and energy-conserving farming community in the planning and execution of its techniques suited to the needs of low-income programs. Self-selection by the innovating farmers farmers in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, a was a particularly valuable feature, and the project region of thin and badly eroded topsoil. Their seems to have had a considerable effect on non- principal innovation has been the biogas digester, participating members of the community, many of in which the anaerobic decomposition of manure whom undertook similar conservation steps. or plant wastes produces a gas that is 60 percent methane. This gas can then be burned to heat the Farmers’ Markets farmhouse, to generate electricity, or to distill alcohol as a fuel for farm machinery. Cutting production costs is one way to improve the profitability of small-scale agriculture; another is the time-honored practice of marketing produce directly to the consumer. Case studies of six farmers’ markets–in Rutland, Vt., Morehouse Parish, La., Ravinia, Ill., Boston, Mass., Balti- more, Md., and Seattle, Wash.—show that this food-marketing technology can still benefit farmer and consumer alike. The markets were organized by a variety of local groups, including farmers, consumers, businessmen, municipal governments, and local extension agents. All of them, however, depend vitally on the participation of farmers and local consumers, and when the needs and convenience of these groups were given greater attention the success of the market was more assured. Photo credit. New Life Farm Most of the farmers’ markets contributed to Digester building, New Life Farm, Drury, Mo. local development, primarily by expanding the local market for fresh produce or creating markets SFEP, in Cedar County, Nebr., is a 3-year pro- where none had existed before. The profitability gram to demonstrate how far a group of low-in- of direct marketing led local farmers to diversify come farmers can progress toward energy self-suffi- their crops and improve their farming methods, ciency when provided with technical and cost- and several of them said that the farmers’ market sharing assistance. The farmers were introduced to had influenced their decision to keep their land in proven, primarily solar technologies through a production. Nationwide, the availability of similar series of seminars, hands-on workshops, and lec- local markets may help to prevent the further tures by farmers from other areas who had under- “paving over” of farmland near urban centers. taken similar projects. They were then allowed to select the projects that would best suit their farm- Resource Recovery From ing operations. About half of the projects involved Municipal Solid Waste conservation measures, a few involved improved The United States generates over 135 million farming methods, and a third involved applica- tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year, tions of renewable energy sources, including a and its disposal is a rapidly growing problem in wind generator, a portable solar collector, two many areas. Conventional methods, such as open solar grain dryers, and a solar-heated farrowing dumping, landfill, incineration, and ocean burial, barn. are either too expensive or environmentally unac- Both of these projects promise considerable ceptable. Interest is also growing in methods of benefits to the small-scale farmer, but SFEP had a recovering valuable resources of MSW, which con- far greater impact on the local community, largely tains two-thirds of the national consumption of 8 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

paper and glass, one-fifth of the aluminum, and ble-strewn lots into parks and gardens. The project over one-eighth of the iron and steel. In addition, has encountered some difficulties with State sani- the combustible portion of this waste could, if tary codes and with funding; it may, however, be burned, provide almost 2 percent of the Nation’s able to become self-supporting if it increases its tip- annual energy consumption. Improved resource ping fees and its commercial sales. recovery technologies could, therefore, contribute Both projects demonstrate promising alterna- not only to inexpensive and environmentally tives for resource recovery from MSW, but they sound waste management but also to energy con- also demonstrate the problems associated with the servation and the more efficient use of material control of the “waste stream’ ’—RES with an ade- resources. quate quantity of waste and the Bronx project In Akron, Ohio, the steam that heats many of with waste quality. Federal initiatives may be re- the downtown buildings is now being provided by quired to resolve this issue. the Recycle Energy System (RES), a centralized recovery facility that uses combustible MSW as Community Wastewater Treatment fuel and also recovers ferrous materials for sale. The General Accounting Office has recently The project has contributed to the revitalization of concluded that, due to the scope and enormous the previously deteriorating central business dis- costs of upgrading the Nation’s sewage treatment trict. To assure itself of an adequate supply of system, it is imperative that lower cost approaches MSW, however, the city was forced to pass a con- be found for providing this community service. troversial ordinance requiring private haulers to The Solar AquaCell treatment facility in Her- dump at the RES site. The ordinance is currently cules, Calif., is one such alternative. The facility under legal challenge, and if the decision goes consists of a series of lagoons, enclosed in a against the city it may jeopardize the future of the greenhouse cover, in which wastes are consumed project. by water hyacinths, duckweed, small marine animals, and bacteria. The system is still too new to make a definitive evaluation, but it promises to use less energy and chemicals than conventional systems. The biological components of the system are fairly hardy, which may also give the facility increased flexibility in adapting to varying types and concentrations of wastes. The AquaCell facility was a municipal undertaking with relatively little community input, but

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In New York City’s South Bronx, the Bronx Frontier Development Corp. has established a comporting operation that converts vegetable wastes from a nearby produce market into humus, an essential soil conditioner. Some of the humus is sold commercially, but most of it is donated to Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment various community groups that are turning rub- Solar AquaCell Treatment Facility, Hercules, Cal if. Ch. 1–Executive Summary ● 9 it has subsequently received widespread support from local citizens, many of whom have taken steps to reduce their water consumption. The city’s unique revenue base made development possible without Federal funds, and this has freed Hercules from the constraints on its growth that might otherwise have been imposed by regional sewage planning. However, it also raises questions about the transferability of the technology to communities that lack similar financial resources, although the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Innovative and Alternative Technologies Program has made some funds available for this purpose. Photo credit: Elizabeth Pezzoli Community Energy Generation Tremont Dam, Wareham, Mass. Hydropower, which represents 13 to 15 percent of developing underutilized local resources. Power of U.S. electrical generation, is currently the most from these and similar projects elsewhere can be widely used renewable source of energy in the applied to local energy needs, either for cutting the United States. Price increases for fossil fuels, as costs of municipal services, for sale to the local well as environmental considerations, have made utility company, or for attracting industry to the hydroelectricity increasingly attractive over the area. Both projects received general support from last 10 years and have stimulated interest in local residents, although widespread misconcep- developing the Nation’s hydropower potential. A tions about the size and uses of the projects existed recent survey by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- in both communities. neers suggests that current capacity could be greatly increased simply by upgrading current facilities Community Health Care Systems or by installing generators at existing damsites that do not currently produce electricity. Small- The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Health scale dams, with their lower capital costs, are par- Center was organized by local residents as an alter- ticularly attractive for this purpose; about two- native to the fragmented and often inadequate thirds of these dams are located in New England. health services on Chicago’s South Side. Initial funding was provided by a Federal grant and the Woonsocket, R. I., is converting an existing dam sale of $110,000 in debentures to members of the to generate electricity. The project was undertaken community. The center is currently operating in at the encouragement of the State Energy Office the black. Located on the second floor of a reha- and was initially supported by a feasibility study bilitated building, it provides primary health care grant from DOE; the voters subsequently ap- for three types of patients: private patients who

proved a municipal bond issue to fund the major pay on a fee-for-service basis; those who are part of the construction. Electricity from the dam covered by medicare and medicaid; and those who will be used to run the regional sewage treatment belong to prepaid health plans through their em- plant and the city waterworks, surplus power will ployers or unions. be sold to the local utility company. A similar project in Wareham, Mass., has run into trouble The center is managed by a board of directors because of the city’s insistence on funding the proj- elected by its dues-paying members, but Illinois law requires a separate medical group; as a result, ect entirely through grants, Wareham plans to sell the issue of communit control is still unresolved. all of its power to the local utilit company. y y The center has increased the availability of pri- The Wareham project demonstrates the difficul- mary health care and reduced its costs, however, ties that can arise from dependence on the grant’s and its programs of preventive medicine and economy, but both projects illustrate the benefits health education could help to improve the gener-

74-435 0 - 81 - 2 10 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development al health of the community. Widespread creation sources found in Hyde Park-Kenwood would not of similar health maintenance organizations in be available in most inner-city areas, and entirely other communities could have a significant impact different approaches will probably be required in on the enormous cost of health care in the United rural areas. States. However, the human and financial re-

Critical Factors The uniqueness of some of the projects, which Essential Resources might limit the transferability of the technologies to other communities, was largely the result of The availability of essential resources–material, capital, and institutional—was most commonl special conditions or resources—human, financial, y or material. Nevertheless, a number of lessons found to be unique to the community and there- were learned about those factors most likely to af- fore most likely to affect the transferability. An ap- fect the success or failure of individual projects and parent lack of resources was often overcome by their transferability to other communities. determined and imaginative organizers working from within the community. Some of the most Public Perception and Participation promising technologies—the manure digester, for instance—were based on what might to outsiders Public participation was not a major factor in seem to be the least promising resource base. the municipal projects, although greater citizen involvement might have encouraged the consideration of alternative approaches in the planning Financing stages. Participation by local residents was more The forms of financing used by the projects were important in projects undertaken by community almost as varied as their financial needs. Grants groups, such as the health center and the various were most effective as initial seed money, either to farmers’ markets. A high degree of public interest attract conventional financing or to allow the and involvement was essential—almost by defini- projects to become self-supporting; projects that tion—in individual projects like the small farm sys- continued to depend on grants, contracts, or sub- tems and passive solar houses. sidies were less successful. Cost-sharing assistance and grants for community workshops were effec- Technical Information and Expertise tive mechanisms for encouraging widespread The availability of technical information and adoption of some of the small-scale technologies, expertise was found to be essential for the suc- such as farm energy systems, solar greenhouse cessful planning, construction, and operation of retrofits, and residential conservation strategies. all of the projects. In the larger projects, city plan- Large-scale municipal projects, on the other hand, ners and engineers demanded reliable data on the may require Federal intervention to reduce finan- capital costs and technical performance of the cial risks and attract conventional financing. technology; where this information is lacking, professional resistance and financial difficulties can be Institutional Factors expected. In the less complicated community undertakings, the need for information can often be Some of the projects encountered resistance met through “networking” among groups that from commercial interests, who feared competi- have similar interests. In the individual undertak- tion, or professional interests, who were leery of ing, on the other hand, the greatest need is for per- innovative but unproven approaches. The devel- sonal hands-on experience in design and con- opment of the AquaCell was impeded by the cur- struction; community workshops and individual- rent state of the venture capital market. Financial ized technical assistance were successful in trans- institutions generally were hesitant to underwrite ferring these skills and information. innovative projects. Some of the projects also ex- Ch. l–Executive Summary ● 11 perienced opposition or insensitivity from regula- codes, waste management guidelines, and medical tory and other government agencies. Building practice laws were a particular source of difficulty.

Options for Federal Policy

A variety of Federal policies have contributed, where human behavior is a significant vari- directly or indirectly, to the development and able (e.g., solar-heated houses and resource adoption of these technologies, and existing Fed- recovery); and eral programs, for the most part, have seemed ef- support and expand cur-rent Federal monitoring fective. However, a number of criticisms have programs, like ‘those undertaken by the Na- been raised concerning their extent, coordination, tional Center for Appropriate Technology, to and management. There appear to be four prin- provide assistance in assessing the perform- cipal areas in which Federal programs for local ance of existing projects for energy-efficient development might be modified and improved: housing and agriculture. ● data gathering; . information dissemination; Information Dissemination ● technical assistance; and Even when a technology is fairly well developed ● financial assistance. in one project, its diffusion can be impeded if other Data Gathering potential developers are unaware of the project or unable to obtain detailed data on design, costs, The technologies examined in the case studies and performance. In some cases this will cause were at varying stages of development, but most of communities to overlook a promising alternative, the projects would have profited from more reli- in other cases it will result in resistance from engi- able data on the design, cost, performance, and/or neers and financial sources who consider the proj- reliability of the technology itself, as well as on the ect too risky, and in a few cases it might cause the experience of other communities in applying it. failure of a project because its organizers were un- Some of the case studies, however, involved tech- aware of the problems, and solutions, that have nologies that were being applied for the first time been discovered in similar projects elsewhere. This in a full commercial- or municipal-scale facility; in problem can be compounded if Federal activities other cases, the local development project in- in the field of AT are not explicitly identified as volved an innovative application of a proven tech- such. nology. The future dissemination of both types of technologies could be assisted by comprehensive The problem of information dissemination can evaluation and comparison with more conven- be addressed through a number of measures— tional approaches. local, regional, and national–including but not limited to the following: There are a number of steps that can be taken by Federal funding agencies and local project orga- ● encourage networking between local and re- nizers to ensure that adequate data-gathering is in gional groups with related interests. This was fact carried out. These steps include, but are not effective in organizing farmers’ markets in limited to, the following: Boston and disseminating information on ● modify project design to include a strong data- small farm systems in Nebraska. Federal agen- gathering component, where possible, by pro- cies, particularly those like the Agricultural viding additional funding or earmarking a Extension Service and the Community Serv- portion of the project’s funds specifically for ices Administration that have extensive local data gathering; representation, are in a good position to en- ● redirect existing research to gather not more courage the establishment of such networks data but a different kind of data, particularly throughout the Nation; 12 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

establish regional demonstration projects, which ● one-on-one technical assistance from organizers were particularly effective in stimulating pub- and outside experts was useful in helping lic interest and promoting further adoption of farmers to build solar installations in Nebras- proven, cost-effective technologies by local ka and organize a farmers’ market in Loui- residents in Nebraska, Wyoming, and New siana; the existing extension program of DOE Mexico; and and the U.S. Department of Agriculture encourage information exchange between dif- could be used as a mechanism for this form of ferent levels of government, and between gov- assistance; ernment and private industry, by creating ● computer models and other planning aids allow and funding a more extensive program of re- small communities to conduct low-cost site gional panels, seminars, and workshops at evaluations and feasibility studies for small- which interested parties could be exposed to scale hydropower projects, farmers’ markets, recent developments in their fields; both EPA and community health care centers; similar and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board technical and organizational guides for ener- have established such programs. gy-efficient housing and farm systems, resource-recovery systems, and wastewater Technical Assistance treatment facilities would allow other communities to conduct their own evaluations Even when reliable design and performance and planning, without the need for extensive data are available, the development of a particular Federal involvement or funding; and project will not be possible unless an adequate skill ● expert assistance panels, like the teams of tech- base exists, or can be developed, in the local com- nical, financial, -marketing, and institutional munity. This can be a problem even with the sim- specialists provided to State and local govern- plest of the projects, although the skills needed for ments through EPA’s Technical Assistance planning and building an attached solar green- Panels Program, might be useful in promoting house, for instance, can be taught rather easily. In the consideration, adoption, and construc- the case of the larger municipal projects, even the tion of local projects for wastewater treat- expertise needed for planning the project or deter- ment, energy generation, and health care. mining its feasibility may be beyond the means of a given community. Financial Assistance There are a number of approaches to this prob- Some of the technologies had the virtue of low lem. Direct, project-related technical assistance cost, which allowed them to be developed by local usually involves greater Federal involvement and communities. In several of the case studies the greater expense; skill transfer and other indirect costs of the project were minimal and the project assistance usually cost less and benefit the com- rapidly became self-supporting. This was particu- munity more, since the skill base they develop will larly true of the farmers’ markets and some of the remain in the community after the completion of energy-saving retrofits for residential and farm the project. The following represent a range of op- buildings. Some of the large projects, however, in- tions for technical assistance: volved initial investments or economic risks that ● workshops were highly effective for the sim- could be too great for some communities to bear plest of the projects, particularly those that without governmental assistance. Given the po- are to be built by individual homeowners or tential expense of these municipal services and the farmers, and were also successful in demon- potential benefits to the Nation of developing strating the technology in the local communi- innovative methods of delivering them, it might ty and stimulating additional installations; be appropriate that the Federal Government inter- ● vene to reduce the financial risks and burdens training programs and seminars, like those of they might impose on local communities. the Small Farm Energy Project, can expose local residents to a wide variety of potential Several of the projects examined in the case applications and provide valuable skills; studies could be replicated by other communities Ch. l–Executive Summary ● 13 without Federal financial assistance. However, . investment tax credits and accelerated deprecia- where assistance is necessary there are several tion might encourage the commercialization ways in which the Federal Government can help of some of the technologies and the creation hold down the cost to the local community and of small local businesses to produce and/or encourage adoption. These measures include, but install necessary equipment; and are not limited to, the following: ● stimulating markets through Federal procure- ● technical risk reduction, through efforts to ment guidelines, like those for recycled steel, gather and disseminate reliable information might ensure a market for locally grown pro- on the technologies (particularly cost-benefit duce or for materials recovered from munici- and lifecycle cost data), can reduce the finan- pal waste. cial risks of the projects and prevent costly planning errors; Options for direct Federal financial assistance ● financial risk sharing, including risk guarantees include the following: for the correction of facilities that do not work properly (available under EPA’s Inno- ● provide short- and medium-term loans and grants vative and Alternative Technology Program) for long-term planning and front-end costs or tax-free bonding for municipal projects, (i.e., feasibility and market studies); might encourage the consideration of alternative technologies; ● provide long-term financing options for com- ● tax credits and other incentives, such as the Res- munity projects with favorable lifecycle costs, idential Energy Credit, might encourage the projects that might otherwise have to be fi- adoption of several of the smaller technol- nanced with short- and medium-term debt: ogies (current Internal Revenue Service and guidelines do not allow credits for attached solar greenhouses; extension of credits to in- ● establish financial intermediaries, authorized to clude farm installations might also promote make direct loans to community-based AT the more rapid adoption of biogas digesters projects, in order to spread risk and reduce in- and onfarm solar installations); formation and transaction costs. Chapter 2 Introduction Contents

Page Page Concepts of Appropriate Technology...... 17 93d Congress ...... 22 Problems Addressed by Appropriate 94th Congress ...... 23 Technology ...... 19 95th Congress ...... 24 Problems of Economic Growth ...... 19 96th Congress ...... 24 Problems of International Equity ...... 19 The Scope and Methods of This Report . . . . . 25 Problems of Domestic Equity...... 20 Problems of Participation and Regulation...... 21 Implications for Politics...... 21 Table

Congressional Interest in Appropriate Table No. Page Technology ...... 21 1. Federal Legislation and Appropriations Background ...... 21 Related to Appropriate Technology ...... 22 CHAPTER 2 Introduction

Concepts of Appropriate Technology

For his different purposes man needs many different structures, both small ones and large ones, some exclusive and some comprehensive . . . * * * What scale is appropriate? It depends on what we are trying to do.

–E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautifull

Appropriate technology (AT) involves an at- an “intermediate technology” that is far more pro- tempt to tailor the scale and complexity of a ductive than traditional methods, but still more technology to the job that needs to be done on the labor intensive and less capital intensive than the basis of human as well as purely economic values; sophisticated technologies of the industrialized na- it tries to be sensitive to the needs, desires, and tions. In the agricultural sector this might be a resources of the people who will use the technol- metal plow, for instance, as opposed to a hoe at ogy; and it is sometimes offered as an alternative one extreme and an air-conditioned tractor at the or supplement to the centralized technology of the other. In the Third World, then, AT is usually industrialized West. Any attempt to define AT associated with small-scale, decentralized indus- precisely is likely to end in frustration, however: tries that make extensive use of an abundant re- the proponents of AT cannot always agree among source—unskilled labor-and are more sparing of themselves on exactly what the concept entails, resources that are less abundant-energy, invest- and its emphasis has changed several times in the ment capital, and skilled labor. An example in the last 10 years, depending on where and when it was manufacturing sector might be a village foundry applied. What follows, then, is a sample of the that produces and repairs the metal plows: such a positions held by various AT advocates and project would provide training and jobs in the groups at different times. It is not a definitive treat- countryside; its product would improve the yields ment, but rather a summary illustration of the and lives of local farmers; and multiplied by hun- many threads that have come together in the AT dreds of villages, it would lay the foundation for movement. This movement’s beliefs are distinctive an advanced but decentralized iron and steel in- but not always strictly coherent—this to some de- dustry. An “intermediate” technology, in short, is gree may be inevitable, since AT embodies the often more appropriate than an advanced technol- principles of diversity and selectivity in its re- ogy to the needs and the resources of a developing sponse to varying local conditions and priorities. nation. AT proponents claim that, if it does the In one of its earliest forms, AT was proposed as job better, it represents the economically sensible an alternative approach to economic development choice both for the Third World and for the in- in the Third World. Observers like British econo- dustrialized nations who are aiding its devel- mist E. F. Schumacher noted that, when advanced opment. technology (particularly the capital-intensive kind In the United States, by contrast, AT was origi- employed by industrialized societies) was intro- nally associated with the environmentalist and duced into a developing nation, it sometimes cre- “back to the land” movements of the late 1960’s ated as many social and economic problems as it and early 1970’s. Its early proponents were influ- solved. What is needed, Schumacher suggested, is enced by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) with its prophecy of an ecological catastrophe,2 by the

IE. F. Schumacher, Smd is Beautt/u/: Economics as if People Mat- tered (New York: Harper and Row, 1973), pp. 61-62. ZRachel Carson, Silent Spring (New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 1962).

17 18 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development publication of The Limits to Growth (1972) with its that the whole AT movement is simply a manifes- prediction of the “overshoot and collapse” of tation of an increasing tendency toward diversity’ world industrial growth,3 and by a spreading dis- and pluralism in today’s world. Thus, it is argued, enchantment with an advanced technology that, AT will occupy an increasing number of ecological despite its material benefits, was felt to be an over- niches in the global technology but only in places bearing and sometimes destructive presence. Some where it is adapted to its environment . . . . [The] special characteristics of smallness of scale and of these early advocates concentrated on reviving susceptibility to community control are less impor- traditional techniques like organic farming and log tant than the overall measure of adaptation to the houses, but for others the emphasis on smallness social and natural environment, which may imply and simplicity became what Witold Rybczynski large scale and centralized control in some in- has called “a cheerless reaction against the ex- stances, small scale and decentralized control in cessive optimism that had been prevalent in the others, or some symbiotic combination of the industrial nations.’” For a few of them AT repre- twos sented a negation of the values of advanced tech- This ecological metaphor is apt, since environ- nology and other large-scale social institutions, mental compatibility remains a major criterion in and their attacks became so extreme that E. F. this selection process. In the past few years, how- Schumacher came to regret the title of his influen- ever, a growing number of appropriate technol- tial Small is Beautiful, which he feared was be- ogists have come to view themselves as pioneers coming a simplistic dogma. Others dismissed the operating “at the frontier” in several areas of ap- AT movement at that time as “antitechnology” plied science. They argue that much of what is and a retreat to more primitive standards of living. called AT is in fact a particular kind of advanced Over the last decade a broader and more prag- technology designed for changing resource condi- matic concept of AT has emerged side by side with tions. In adapting to the current economic en- the first. A growing number of observers have vironment, for instance, AT has led to a number pointed out that, while small may be “beautiful” of relatively sophisticated technologies that are ef- in many ways, it is not always sensible. For some ficient users of energy and material resources. In jobs it is possible to scale down or decentralize a this view, the main technical challenge is to in- large technology, but impossible or undesirable to tegrate AT applications in community systems do away with it entirely. In this view, AT em- that incorporate resource-efficient architecture, in- bodies the principle of selectivity in assigning (or tegrated aquiculture-agriculture systems, water developing) a “mix” of large and small technol- conservation and wastewater reclamation, new ogies to meet specific tasks and conditions: domestic applications of computers and communication technologies, and the like, In the ideological view, AT is an antidote to the past trends in Western technology, particularly There appear to be four major areas of concern those of the last twenty-five years . . . . in which AT can make a specific, productive con- The alternative view stems from a more prag- tribution: matic definition of AT and leads to the conclusion ● problems of economic growth; ● problems of international equity; }D. H. Meadows, et d., l% Limits to Growth: A Report/or the C~U~ ● problems of domestic equity; and oj Rome’s Project on the Predicament oj Mankind (New York: Potomac • problems of regulation and participation. Associates/Universe Books, 1972). 4W1told Rybczynski, “After Appropriate Technology,” paper presented to the American Academy for the Advancement of Science sHarvey Brooks, “A Critique of the Concept of Appropriate Tech- annual meeting, Washington, D. C., Feb. 15, 1980, See also his Paper nology, ” in Appropriate Technolo~ and Social Values—A Critical Ap- Heroes: A Review of Appropriate Technology (New York: Anchor, praisal, edited by F. A. Long and A. Oleson (Cambridge, Mass.: Bal- 1980), linger, 1980), pp. 55-56. Ch. 2–lntroduction ● 19

Problems Addressed by Appropriate Technology Problems of Economic Growth possible, use the wastes of one process as raw material for another. AT proponents may not be able to agree on just how much economic growth the world and Na- 3. Environmentally sound growth.–Attempts to tion can sustain, but most of them conclude that put “filter tips” on existing industries should there has to be some middle path between head- be only a transitional stage in the develop- long expansion and no growth at all. Continued ment of technologies that procure and process indiscriminate growth would contribute to further materials with fewer and less harmful wastes. pollution of the environment, depletion of energy 4. Decentralized growth. –More care should be resources and other raw materials, inflation and taken to adjust the scale and geographical dis- supply shortages so severe as to threaten the tribution of technology to the actual distribu- economic system, and increasing social and politi- tion of needs; this can also cut costs (e.g., cal tensions. No growth at all—a position at- transportation) by taking advantage of the tributed to the AT movement by some people— human and material resources available in would have catastrophic effects on the interna- the local community or region. tional and domestic economies and, by betraying 5. Diversified growth.—There is a need for a the hopes and expectations of the less fortunate, diverse “mix” of technologies from which to might lead to widespread social unrest. pick those that are (or can be) best tailored to the job and the location. There are a number of positions in the AT dialog over growth: some proponents feel that the Problems of International Equity United States is “misdeveloped” and that there must be a change to more frugal lifestyles and an The poorest nations, by and large, are staying end to the ever-increasing consumption of materi- poor. The Third World, where 90 percent of new als; many feel that some growth is possible, but babies are born, is less able than the industrialized only in selected sectors or at a slower pace; still West to cope with inflation and rising energy others believe that the wise application of technol- costs, and less able to accumulate needed capital. ogy (e.g., the careful use of energy, particularly Schumacher and others have argued that the in- through conservation measures and the develop- discriminate development of capital- and energy- ment of renewable sources) could make growth intensive technology- is bound to run into trouble possible and sustainable, although perhaps not at under these conditions. It can lead to higher the rate of the past 25 years. Most observers, how- unemployment, the social and economic destruc- ever, see the search for solutions to the problems tion of rural areas, and mass migrations to the ur- of growth as a monumental challenge to human ban slums. As Congressman Clarence D. Long, a ingenuity, as well as an opportunity to redress proponent of AT in U.S. aid programs, has noted: some of the perceived errors and wrongs of the As I think back on the role of professional econ- past. omists in foreign aid, as an economist, I simply Five major themes emerge from this dialog: have to blush. Economists were ignoring the principles of economics that they taught in their own 1. A human definition of growth .–The quality of classrooms, namely that the factors of production life is as important as the quantity of material could be combined in proportions appropriate to outputs; increased consumption of raw mate- their relative abundance and scarcity . . . . rials is not a satisfactory measure of human Anyone who looks at the sidewalks of Bombay progress. or at the countryside outside the cities in any poor 2. Sustainable growth. —Mature industrial econo- country can see that heavy capital development mies must make the transition from produc- strategies have, if anything, created extreme con- tion processes that exhaust resources and pro- centrations of wealth in poor nations while at the duce undesirable wastes to processes that use same time disemploying, or failing to employ,

renewable or recyclable resources and, where thousands and millions. Our foreign aid, originally 20 ● Assessment of technology for Local Development

thought of as a way of heading off communism, problems that currently face the industrialized may well have been a boost to communism by in- West. creasing the already glaring disparities between the 6 rich and the poor. Problems of Domestic Equity Schumacher argued that AT would allow a “bottom up” form of development. It would The thrust of industrial and technological establish more work places for a smaller capital in- growth over the past century has been to substi- vestment, and by creating more jobs it would tute energy and capital for labor, thereby increas- benefit more people. These ideas were not univer- ing worker productivity. Most nations, however, sally popular. For years, many economists had are now beginning to encounter scarcities of both held that developing countries would move up capital and cheap energy, making this approach through the “stages of economic growth” by less satisfactory. AT advocates point to a number adopting the capital-intensive technology of the of inequities that seem to be created or exacer- West. When the nation would reach a “take off’ bated by highly centralized advanced technology: point, it would evolve toward modern mass pro- ● the increasing concentration of wealth in a duction and consumption patterns, and the bene- few national and multinational corporations; fits would “trickle down” to the vast poorer pop- ● ulation.7 This economic program, however, unemployment, underemployment, and seldom came to pass, and the benefits of develop- worker unrest from stultifying or nerve- ment have been further delayed or diverted by re- wracking jobs; cent rises in energy costs and by the mounting ● lack of satisfying social roles for the elderly, costs of caring for rapidly growing populations. the young, women, and minorities; ● disproportionate hardships for low- and fixed- Appropriate technology has also been criticized income people coping with rising energy costs as a “second rate” technology, not as “good” as the and other effects of inflation; and technology used by the developed countries. This ● undermining of self-respect produced by the attitude is based in part on the notion that AT is “welfare orientation” toward the unemployed antitechnology and antiprogress. AT advocates and the poor. counter that an intermediate technology is a “first step” technology, one that improves upon tradi- AT advocates fear that failure to deal decisively tional methods and lays the foundation for an with the problems of growth will make these prob- equitable form of development by promoting the lems worse, and they offer three basic approaches skills and expertise that will be required by the ad- to solving the problems of domestic equity: vanced technologies that can, if desired, be 1. Replace highly capital- and energy-intensive developed later. technologies with small-scale, decentralized More recently, AT proponents have introduced technologies that will create new jobs in more ideas and techniques which might properly be numerous locations. called “advanced appropriate technologies. ” They 2. Combine the factors of production in a pro- are relatively sophisticated but easy to use, and portion that responds to changing patterns of they fit into the traditional village way of life. Ex- abundance and scarcity: when both unem- amples include several renewable energy technol- ployment and energy prices are rising, it ogies, small-scale industries, and the use of solid- might make better sense to substitute labor state communication technologies for education for energy–not wheelbarrows instead of and village health care. Advocates of these new trucks, but better maintenance (and im- technologies think they would help some nations proved efficiency) of existing trucks. leapfrog the Industrial Revolution and avoid the 3. Emphasize a “community development” approach to the problems of poverty by using 6Hon. Clarence D. Long, Congresslonul Record, Feb. 8, 1977. 7 appropriate technologies as a basis for public See W. W. Rostow, The S[uges oj Economtc Growth: A Non-Com- munist ,Munl/esto, 2d ed. (Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univer- projects and local enterprises that will devel- sity Press, 197 1). op local skills, provide jobs for the young and Ch. 2–introduction ● 2 I

productive activities for the elderly, and cre- 1. Develop new ways to foster active citizen par- ate opportunities for small local businesses. ticipation in evaluating the technological choices that affect their communities. Problems of Participation 2. Develop technologies that allow individuals and Regulation and communities to reduce their dependence on large, remote institutions, no community Most AT advocates believe that increases in can be totally self-reliant, but a reduction of Government regulation have occurred in response scale could result in a reduction in the level of to the increasing size and impact of advanced Federal involvement and regulation. technology. They point out that this “Govern- 3. Develop inherently low-impact technologies, ment explosion” has occurred in every in- which will not only ease the problems of dustrialized nation, regardless of ideology: growth but will also require less regulatory We seem unwilling to come to terms with the control; a truly advanced technology should fact that each increase in the order of technological have few unintended side effects. mastery and managerial control leads to a concom- itant order of magnitude of government coordina- Implications for Politics tion and control. . . . [Advanced] industrialized societies . . . generate a bewildering increase in un- AT appears to offer no specific prescriptions for anticipated social costs: in human maladjustment, action, no hard and fast rules of the road. It does, community disruption, and environmental deple- however, offer a distinctive way of analyzing the tion. . . . The cost of cleaning up the mess and car- needs and resources of a community, as well as a ing for the human casualties of unplanned technol- 8 broader context in which to judge the suitability ogy . . . mounts ever higher. of the various technologies’ solutions to the com- By contrast, the social philosophy of the AT munity’s problems. It has also drawn greater atten- movement tends to favor a shrinking of Govern- tion to the issue of how the character of a tech- ment. The investors and small businessmen who nology can influence the character of a society. are attracted to AT complain that Government AT advocates warn that, by continuing single- regulation inhibits technological innovation and mindedly along the path of centralized technol- diversity; social activists complain that growing ogy, society will be led into worse problems that technical, organizational, and regulatory complex- will only become more difficult and more expen- ity leaves the ordinary citizen powerless to under- sive to remedy in the future. They argue that we stand or influence the choices that will affect him. must instead choose a different path, a technology AT proponents therefore offer three approaches to more appropriate to human values and goals, one the problems of regulation and participation: that treads more softly on nature and leaves more 8Hazel Henderson, Creating A/ternatme Futures (New York: 13erke- options (and fewer problems) for future genera- ley, 1978), p. 84. tions.

Congressional Interest in Appropriate Technology Background priate technology were initiated by the 94th Con- Congress has frequently taken the lead in en- gress (1975-76): couraging the development of AT, but although a number of bills relating to small-scale solar tech- ● the National Center for Appropriate Tech- nologies and energy conservation were introduced nology (NCAT); as early as the 1950’s, the specific phrase “appro- ● the appropriate technology program of the priate technology” is not found in any action of National Science Foundation (NSF); and any Congress before the 93d (1973-74). Three of the four major existing Federal programs in appro- ● A.T. International, Inc. (ATI). 22 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

The fourth major program was initiated by the down of Federal legislation and funding for AT 95th Congress (1977-78): programs see table 1.) • the Appropriate Technology Small Grants Program of the Office of Small-Scale Technol- 93d Congress ogy (OSST) within the Department of Energy The 93d Congress passed two major pieces of (DOE). solar legislation that prepared the way for the The 95th Congress also passed a number of meas- more extensive work on AT that was to follow. ures related to AT, including the Energy Exten- The Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration sion Service, the Agricultural Solar Energy Re- Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-409) established a joint search, Development, and Demonstration Act of program in the National Aeronautics and Space 1977, and the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. Administration (NASA) and the Department of Federal funding for these AT programs is growing Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to de- but still small. In 1978, when total Federal R&D velop solar heating and cooling devices and to en- funding amounted to approximately $26.3 billion, courage their commercialization. The aim of the of which about $2.8 billion was spent on energy program, as implemented, was to promote the de- R&D, only 1 percent ($30 million) was spent on velopment of large-scale, advanced solar systems; Federal AT programs. (For a more detailed break- it gave little attention to small-scale, dispersed ap-

Table 1 .—Federal Legislation and Appropriations Related to Appropriate Technology Total authorized or AT authorized Public Law Date AT appropriated or appropriated - (bill) Title enacted Committees sections (millions) (millions) Public Law 94-1611 International Development and Dec. 20, 1975 Senate Foreign Relations 306 $1,363 $20 (total for fiscal years (H.R. 9005) Food Assistance Act of 1975 House International 1976, 1977, and 1978 Relations Public Law 94-187 Authorized & appropriated— Dec. 31, 1975 Senate Interior & 101(a)(2) $3,658.7 $97.1 (for solar energy (H.R. 3474) ERDA (FY 76) Insular Affairs development; not all AT House Science & Technology Public Law 94-439 Depts. of Labor, HEW Sept. 30,1976 Senate Appropriations None; in $511.2 $0.4 (for NCAT) (H.R. 14232) Appropriations Act, 1977 House Appropriations report (for CSA) language Public Law 95-39 Authorized & appropriated for June 3, 1977 Senate Interior& 101(7)(h) $1,640 $7.5 (for DOE AT small (s. 36) ERDA Insular Affairs grants program) House Science & Title V $18 (for Energy Technology Extension Service) Public Law 95-88 International Development & Aug. 3, 1977 Senate Foreign Relations Title I $2,502 $18 (for FY 78) (H.R. 6714) Food Assistance Act of 1977 House International 114 (title 1) Relations Public Law 95-113 Food & Agricultural Act of 1977 Sept. 29, 1977 Senate Agriculture 1420 Indeterminate $60 (S. 275) House Agriculture 1452 $20 Public Law 95-205 Continuing Appropriations, Dec. 9, 1977 Senate Appropriations — Indeterminate $1.5 (for NCAT) (H.J.Res. 662) 1978 House Appropriations Public Law 95238 Department of Energy Act of Feb. 25, 1978 Senate Energy & Natural Title 1, $6,081 $8 (for Energy Extension (s. 1340) 1978—Civil Applications Resources 101(16) Service) House Science & 101(17) $8 (for AT small grants) Technology Public Law 95-424 Foreign Assistance& Related Oct. 6, 1978 Senate Foreign Relations 107, 111 $2,478 Indeterminate (H.R. 1920) Programs Appropriations Act, House International 1979 (title 1) Relations Public Law 95-482 Appropriations for FY Oct. 18,1978 Senate Appropriations — Indeterminate $1.8 (for NCAT) (H.J.Res. 1139) 1979—Continuance House Appropriations Public Law 95-434 National Science Foundation Oct. 10,1978 Senate Human Resources 2 (8) $930 $0.2 (H.R. 11400) Authorization Act House Science & Technology Public Law 96-44 National Science Foundation Aug. 2,1979 Senate Labor & Human 2(b)(l), $998 $2.75 (H.R. 2729) Authorization Act for FY 1980 Resources 2(c)(3) Senate Science & Technology

SOURCE: Joe Belden of Roger Blobaum & Associates. Ch. 2–Introduction ● 23 placations of solar technology. The Solar Energy to National Needs program commissioned an in- Research, Development, and Demonstration Act quiry into the nature and extent of AT activities of 1974 (Public Law 93-473) had a similar empha- in the United States and published three reports sis. The Energy Research and Development Ad- in 1977: Appropriate Technology in the United ministration (ERDA), created by another Act of States–An Exploratory Study, Appropriate Tech- the 93d Congress, eventually became the lead nology-A Directory of Activities and Projects, and agency for the solar program, with HUD remain- Appropriate Technology and Agriculture in the ing responsible for residential applications. United States. In January 1978, NSF held a national workshop to bring together scientists and 94th Congress innovators in AT, and the recommendations of Three of the four major Federal programs in ap- this conference were also published. propriate technology were products of the 94th Again at Congress’ urging, NSF conducted Congress. seven regional public forums in September and National Center for Appropriate Tech- October of 1978. The resulting recommendations nology.–Congress urged in report language that were incorporated in a program proposal that in- the Community Services Administration (CSA) cluded the following project areas: fund NCAT. In September of 1976 CSA approved ● AT and urban innovation; an initial $400,000 grant to fund the Center, • small-scale industrial technology; which is headquartered in Butte, Mont., with a ● recycling, resource recovery, and conserva- staff that now numbers about 60. NCAT was or- tion; ganized to make the benefits of AT developments ● AT, rural revitalization, and the small family available to low-income individuals and com- farm; munities throughout the United States. Its pro- • food and nutrition; and gram includes three basic areas: ● AT’s role and impact on society, the ● a small grants program for low-income groups economy, and technological development. to fund field demonstrations in energy, hous- Although NSF sought no funding to implement ing, agriculture, and recycling; the plan in its fiscal year 1980 budget request, ● technical research and evaluation; and Congress authorized $2.5 million for the . national and regional outreach through pub- program—$1.8 million for applied research and lications, conferences, field workers, and an $700,000 for education and information. information service. A. T. International, Inc.—ATI was estab- Many NCAT projects are closely associated lished as a private, nonprofit corporation by the with CSA’s network of community action agen- International Development and Food Assistance cies, but the Center also publishes bibliographies Act of 1975, which authorized $20 million over a and technical research papers and sponsors re- 3-year period for: gional conferences and technical workshops. It has come under some criticism for poor communica- . . . activities in the field of intermediate technol- tions—due, in part, to its location in Butte, ogy, through grants in support of an expanded and Mont.–and some AT proponents believe that coordinated private effort to promote the develop- NCAT is too narrowly focused to serve as a truly ment and dissemination of technologies appropri- national AT institution, Despite their reserva- ate for developing countries. tions, however, AT advocates tend to be highly Headquartered in Washington, D. C., ATI’s supportive of NCAT’s work. staff includes specialists on Latin America, Asia, National Science Foundation.–The House Africa, and the South Pacific; its basic objectives Science and Technology Committee, in a report emphasize field projects in developing countries accompanying the NSF budget authorization bill rather than conferences or other activities in the for fiscal year 1977, urged NSF to support work in United States. ATI has deliberately experimented appropriate technology. NSF’s Research Applied with new approaches to development assistance, including support for AT extension, resource cen- The Energy Extension Service (EES) was estab- ters, and the encouragement of private-sector in- lished by the fiscal year 1978 ERDA authorization volvement in AT. Some AT proponents have exact to encourage smaller consumers of energy to pressed disappointment that ATI’s initial Board of reduce their energy use and adopt renewable re- Directors contained few actual practitioners of sources. EES began as a 2-year pilot program in 10 AT, and an AID review noted a variety of pro- States, with projects aimed at homeowners and gram weaknesses, the most important of which small businesses. It is now being expanded to in- probably is that ATI’s approach has been poorly clude all of the States, on the model of the Agri- focused. Despite these criticisms, however, ATI re- cultural Extension Service of the U.S. Department mains the principal manifestation of official U.S. of Agriculture (USDA). support for private-sector AT efforts in the world arena; its creation reflects a significant change in The Agricultural Solar Energy Research, Devel- the nature of U.S. development aid. opment and Demonstration Act of 1977, enacted as a subtitle of the Food and Agriculture Act of 95th Congress 1977 (Public Law 95-1 13), broadened USDA’s involvement in AT as well. The Act recognized the Interest in AT continued to increase during the present agricultural system’s dependence on ener- 95th Congress, which held the first congressional gy-intensive machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, and hearing to deal exclusively with AT. The 95th herbicides, and called for the development of an Congress also created DOE, which continued to “alternative farming technology” that uses solar work on solar energy and began a very small AT and renewable energy sources to reduce the program under OSST. farmer’s vulnerability to fossil-fuel shortages and Office of Small-Scale Technology.–The price increases. Appropriate Technology Small Grants Program The Innovative and Alternative Technology was initiated in the first year of the new DOE at Program, established by the Environmental Pro- the urging of several members of Congress. Ad- tection Agency (EPA) in October 1978, provides ministered by OSST within DOE, the program be- risk guarantees and an increased Federal share in gan in 1977 as a pilot effort in the Federal Pacific the funding of wastewater treatment projects. Southwest Region; the success of that demonstra- Qualifying projects involve either proven technol- tion led to an expansion of the program to the na- ogies that are not yet in extensive use or developed tional level, although the program’s regional basis but unproven technologies that show potential for has been retained. improved reliability and efficiency or for reduced The Small Grants Program offers awards of up energy use and lifecycle costs. This program had to $50,000 for development and demonstration of funded 212 such projects by the midpoint of its ini- ATs and up to $10,000 for concept development. tial 3-year authorization and has also established As of June 22, 1979, 12,876 proposals had been an extensive information and training network. received nationwide, asking for a total of $343 million; the OSST staff estimates that about 20 96th Congress percent of proposals are good to excellent. Projects completed under the program have included ef- The major AT-related legislation enacted by the forts in solar thermal, heat recovery, conservation, 96th Congress was the Energy Security Act (Pub- biomass, wind, geothermal, hydro, aquiculture, lic Law 96-294), which created the Solar Energy integrated systems, and education. and Energy Conservation Bank. The Bank is authorized to- provide grants and subsidized loans for The successes or failures of the DOE Small the installation of solar and conservation technol- Grants Program have yet to be measured. Judging ogies, with particular attention to conservation in by the large number of applicants, the AT Small existing buildings and solar features in new struc- Grants Program is one of DOE’s most popular pro- tures. The funding level of this program is tied to grams, but enthusiasm at policymaking levels of the level of revenues from the windfall oil profits the executive branch is less apparent. tax. Also passed was the Technology Innovation Ch. 2–introduction ● 25

Act (Public Law 96-480), which authorizes Federal Commercialization Act of 1979 (S. 950), which R&D centers to participate in AT-related activ- would set a national goal (to be achieved by the ities. year 2000) of at least 20 quadrillion Btu of energy production annually from renewable sources. The Other AT bills introduced in the 96th Congress latter bill also calls for the establishment of a Solar include the Energy Productivity Act (an amend- Energy Development Corp., a lending institution ment to S. 388), which would authorize $58 billion similar to the Solar Bank. over 10 years for conservation and alternative energy programs, and the Omnibus Solar Energy

The Scope and Methods of This Report In June 1978, several Members of Congress chosen by an ad hoc OTA Task Force on Appro-

asked OTA to conduct an exploratory stud-y of priate Technology (a panel of individuals repre- AT, with particular instructions that the study: senting various AT interests) from a list of candidates identified through literature searches, ● assess “the conceptual base for appropriate technologies;” questionnaires, and interviews. Care was taken that the case studies would reflect: ● assess “technologies which are appropriate for local community development;” and ● the basic needs of human settlements (hous- ● “collect data on promising new technologies ing, food, and health care, as well as energy, now being innovated in energy, waste dis- resource recovery, and waste management); posal, housing, agriculture, and health that different types of “community” and different may provide an alternative and possibly more regions of the Nation (a farming county in effective approach to community and region- Nebraska, a village in New England, a small al development. ” town in California, an industrial city in the In response to this request, OTA surveyed a Midwest, and so on); the various software and hardware aspects of wide, representative range of technology projects undertaken by public and private groups in urban, AT; and suburban, small-town, and rural communities. the different ways of financing community

Several factors posed methodological problems: projects (some were financed by Federal grants, others by community groups, and a lack of agreement on what constitutes an “ap- few by individual families). propriate” technology; variation in the definition of “community” Five of the case studies were conducted by com- and “community development;” munity teams made up of 10 to 12 local residents, the wide range of technologies to be studied; eight were conducted by teams from the Harvard

the focus on AT as a community initiative; University Workshop on Appropriate Technol- and ogy; and the remaining case studies were con- the fact that many ATs are still in the early ducted by OTA contractors and staff. This made stages of development and use by the com- it difficult to generalize from the data, since each munity. case study had to be treated as a separate entity and there was a wide variation in the study teams The case study approach, chosen in part to gathering the data. An initial set of guidelines was overcome these difficulties, meshed well with the developed to demarcate the major areas of inquiry, nature of the technologies referred to as “ap- and for purposes of comparison the case studies propriate” because it focused on the experience of are presented in the following format: specific communities in trying to develop technologies tailored to particular local needs, resources, . Community setting (a profile of the community> and constraints. Projects for the case studies were its needs, and its resources);

74-435 0 - 81 - 3 26 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

development (the original initiative, the vari- • the ability to locate or develop the needed ous groups and institutions involved, and managerial know-how and skills in the user the process by which the project was selected, community. planned, and organized); 4 Financing.– ● technology (a brief discussion of the technology the ability of individuals, community itself and the ways in which it was applied to groups, and municipalities to finance their local uses); and own projects, either out-of-pocket, through performance (the problems and/or benefits of donations, or through general revenues the completed facility, but not a full evalua- and local bond issues; tion of its social and economic impacts). ● the availability, size, and effectiveness of tax credits, cost-sharing, grants, low-cost In each chapter, the case study is preceded by an loans or loan guarantees, tax-free bonding, introduction that establishes the context for the and other incentives; technology and, in some cases, by a discussion of ● the stability and flexibility of grants and the conventional technology it might replace or subsidies from both public and private supplement. sources; ● Several “critical factors” encouraged or impeded the availability and costs of conventional the process of community adoption. Because they market financing; also affect the transferability of the technology to ● the degree to which potential lenders per- other communities, these factors are discussed in ceive an AT project as a high risk, due to each chapter as a way of framing issues for further unfamiliarity with the technology or lack of analysis: confidence in the credit worthiness and 1. Public perception and participation.— management ability of the borrower; and ● the degree of citizen initiative and access to ● the degree to which the decisions of poten- decisionmaking bodies; tial investors and/or lenders are distorted ● the extent to which those who will use the by considering only initial capital costs, technology are actively involved in its de- rather than lifecycle costs, in comparing velopment, construction, and manage- conventional and innovative options. ment; 5. Institutional factors.— ● the degree to which the general public ac- the degree of opposition from vested com- cepts and supports the project; and mercial, professional, and political interests ● the extent to which education and out- who feel threatened by AT and community reach activities are able to influence public initiatives; perceptions. ● the degree to which regulations, such as 2. Essential resources.— health and building codes, are either out of ● the ability to utilize available resources and date, arbitrarily applied, or prescriptive raw materials, particularly salvage or rather than performance oriented; and “waste” materials; ● the extent to which regulatory require- ● the ability to acquire the needed informa- ments and permitting procedures require as tion, tools, hardware, and facilities; and much time and money for small-scale proj- ● the ability to acquire or train labor for con- ects as for much larger projects. struction, operation, and maintenance. 3. Technical information and expertise.— Because these technologies promise substantial ● the availability of reliable, detailed in- benefits in areas of major national concern, each formation on the design, costs, and per- chapter concludes with a discussion of relevant formance of the technologies; Federal legislation, existing Federal programs of ● the accessibility of this information to technical and financial assistance, and the issues potential users: and and options for possible further Federal action. Chapter 3 Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture Contents

Page Page Introduction ...... 29 Critical Factors ...... 56 Public Perception and Participation ...... 56 Residential Housing and Energy Essential Resources...... 57 Conservation ...... 30 Technical Information and Expertise...... 58 A Case Study of the Solar Heating Financing ...... 59 Greenhouse, New Mexico...... 31 Institutional Factors ...... 59 The Community Setting...... 31 Federal Policy ...... +.. 60 Development ...... 31 Background ...... 60 Solar Greenhouse Technology ...... 32 Current Federal Programs for Residential Energy Solar Greenhouse Performance and Costs ...... 35 Conservation ...... 60 A Case Study of Solar Architecture—The Issues and Options...... 61 Cooley House, Washington, Conn...... 40 Development ...... 40 List of Tables Integrated Solar Technology ...... 41 Table No. Page Performance and Costs...... 41 2. Chavez Greenhouse Performance ...... 36 A Case Study of Heat-Retentive Homes 3. Hinesberg Greenhouse Performance...... 38 (I)—The Solsearch ’’Conserver Home,” 4. Theoretical Performance and Fuel Reduction Prince Edward Island, Canada ...... 43 Contributed by an Attached Solar Development ...... 43 Greenhouse in 12 U.S. Metropolitan Areas . . . . 40 Conserver Home Technology ...... 43 5. Daily Activity Energy for a Family of Four . . . . . 43 Performance and Costs...... 45 6. Cost and Heating Performance of Selected Resource-Efficient Houses ...... 54 A Case Study of Heat-Retentive Homes (II)–The Bethel House, Bethel, Alaska. . . 45 The Community Setting...... 45 List of Figures Development ...... 46 Figure No. Page The Bethel House Technology...... 47 l. Two Freestanding New Mexico Solar costs ...... ,, ...... 50 Greenhouses ...... 33 2. Attached New Mexico Solar Greenhouses . . . . 34 A Case Study of Hybrid Resource-Efficient 3. Solsearch ’’Ark II’’ Low-Energy House ...... 42 Homes—The Tom Smith’’ Thermal 4. Solar Staircase Roof ...... 42 Envelope’’ House ...... 50 5. The Conserver Home ...... 44 Development ...... 50 6. Bethel, Alaska ...... 45 Thermal Envelope Technologv ...... 50 7. The’’Mark IV’Bethel House...... 46 Performance and Costs...... 53 8. Cross-Section of the Bethel House ...... 48 Discussion of Solar” Heated and Heat- 9. Innovative Structural Details, Bethel House... 49 Retentive Houses ...... 53 10. Thermal Envelope House, Heat-Gain Cycle . . . 51 Performance ...... 53 11. Thermal Envelope House, Heat-Loss Cycle. . . . 51 costs ...... $ ...... 54 12. Thermal Envelope House, Ventilation and Potential Problems ...... 55 Cooling Cycle...... 52 CHAPTER 3 Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture

Introduction Shelter has always been one of mankind’s most seem to suggest that conservation is a strategy that basic needs, but in the past the relationship be- can be successfully pursued in all regions of the tween shelter and the local environment was Nation. much closer than it is today. Buildings were necessarily built with materials that were locally This chapter discusses the larger context of available, and their designs usually responded to resource-efficient architecture, its potential the local climate. Steeply sloping roofs in northern benefits and problems, and two major approaches to resource-efficient design and construction: solar New England, for instance, prevented snow from heating, which uses the energy of the sun to sup- accumulating; similarly, the flat roofs and open breezeways of the Southwest made for comfortable plement or replace fossil fuels for space heating; and heat retention, which tightens the “thermal living in a hot, arid climate. shell” of a house to reduce the total energy needed In the last 30 years, however, as climate control for space heating. The five case histories present systems became more sophisticated, as energy be- innovative examples of both approaches: came cheaper, and as building materials became ● standardized and more easily transported, the Solar heating greenhouses in New Mexico, need for indigenous styles of architecture declined. which are attached to houses and collect heat It became possible to build similar homes in Vir- from the sun for use in both the greenhouse and the rest of the house. ginia and Vermont, and indeed this was often ● done. The “Ark II,” a solar-heated home designed by Solsearch Architects for the Cooley family Recent developments are changing this trend. of Washington, Corm. Energy is growing much more expensive, as are ● The “Conserver Home” on Prince Edward building materials and the cost of transporting Island, Canada, also designed by Solsearch them over long distances. Once again there is both Architects, which requires very little space a need and a demand for architecture that utilizes heating because of its heavily insulated shell resources more efficiently in construction and and many other heat-retaining design fea- minimizes the energy needed to maintain accept- tures. able comfort. As a result, the development of re- ● An energy-efficient house developed by source-efficient housing has become a significant students and faculty of Kuskokwim Commu- movement in U.S. architectural design and con- nity College in Bethel, Alaska, which uses a struction. variety of nonconventional construction The case studies in this chapter illustrate the techniques to produce a house that is energy efficient and uses few imported materials. great diversity of this movement and the wide ● variety of energy -saving strategies that it has made A “thermal envelope” house in Lake Tahoe, Calif., owned b Tom Smith. The house is lit- available. This progress, which has been achieved y through individual efforts in numerous locations, erally a “house within a house, ” combining has advanced the goal of residential energy conser- principles of solar heating with those of a vation by making a wide range of strategies avail- highly heat-retentive structure. able (singly and in combination) for achieving the In this and the following chapters, case studies best results in diverse sites and climates. The of individual applications of the technologies will diversity and adaptability of these technologies be followed by a discussion of critical factors that

29 30 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development may affect their future diffusion and adoption. vant Federal policy and issues and options for fur- Each chapter will close with a discussion of rele- ther action.

Residential Housing and Energy Conservation

Total energy consumed for residential space As experience is gained, the best aspects of these heating and cooling is estimated to be 17 Quads, various strategies are being incorporated into new or about one-quarter of total U.S. energy con- designs for very energy-efficient houses that can be sumption in 1977.1 Typical residences constructed built and marketed widely by local contractors in the 1970’s using standard building technology and builders. For example, the Tennessee Valley and practice require between 10 and 15 Btu per Authority has designed and built, and is currently square foot per heating degree day (Btu/ft2/dd) to testing 11 different designs for their seven-State maintain acceptable inside temperatures. Older, service area.2 The Mid-American Solar Energy poorly insulated or uninsulated residences may re- Complex (MASEC) is sponsoring a “Solar 80” quire as much as five times this energy input. home design program, through which houses using less than 2.5 Btu/ft2/dd of fuel energy are Some housing being constructed today requires 3 2 being constructed and demonstrated. The pro- less than 2 Btu/ft /dd input from fossil fuel gram requires that the construction costs of these sources. This low energy consumption is being houses are not to exceed by more than 5 percent achieved by a wide range of strategies. At one end those of a similar house without any special of the spectrum are active solar houses, which energy-conserving features. This cost requirement have standard levels of insulation and airtightness, is possible because the added costs of high-insu- but to which solar collectors and heat storage have lation, low-infiltration, and simple passive solar been added to reduce the need for backup energy. features are largely offset by the reduced size and Next come the passive solar homes, which are cost of space-heating equipment, which in some somewhat better insulated and in which the solar cases may be eliminated entirely.4 collector and storage are integral parts of the structure. These homes also achieve low backup energy Reducing the fuel requirements for heating and needs. The Cooley house described in this chapter cooling existing homes present more complex is an example of integrated passive design, which problems. Adding insulation or reorienting win- also reduces backup energy needs. dow locations, even in recently constructed houses, is often not feasible; and weatherizing At the other extreme are heat-retentive houses, older structures, while essential, cannot reduce superinsulated structures that reduce the heating space-heating loads to the low levels that can easi- load to near the levels of energy released by oc- ly be achieved in new construction. However, low- cupants and their normal activities. The Con- cost solar retrofits offer an additional strategy for server Home and Bethel House described below reducing fuel needs in existing housing. Attached are examples of superinsulated structures. The solar heating greenhouses are proving to be a pop- “thermal envelope” house described in the final ular and apparently cost-effective solar retrofit. case study is a hybrid, which combines elements of both solar heating and heat retention with a num- “’Solar Homes for the Valley Project,” W. C. Adkins, Chief Ar- chitect, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Term. ber of other energy-conserving design features. IDavld Pogany and Don Krafi, ‘{Mid-American’s passive Homes, ” Soiu~&e, vol. 5, No. 4, April 1980, p. 107. 4R. w. ksant, R. S. Dumont, and G. Schoenau, “Saskatchewan

House: 100 Percent Solar in a Severe Climate,” Soku Age, vol. 4, No. 5, May 1979; and E, H. Leger and S. D, Gautam, “An Affordable IResldmtla/ Enern conservation (Washington, D. C.: office of Tech- Solar House,” Proceedings oj the ~th National Passive SoLm Conference, nology Assessment, U.S. Congress, July 1979), vol. 1, p. 4. Kansas City, Me., Oct. 3-5, 1979, p. 317. Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 31

A Case Study of the Solar Heating Greenhouse, New Mexico5 The Community Setting ice, but to their surprise the plants in their pit greenhouse did not freeze. The design collected New Mexico was particularly well suited for the solar heat so effectively, in fact, that despite the initial development of solar greenhouse designs. cold weather the Yandas had to vent excess heat The winter in the northern part of the State is during the day. This led them to the idea of an cold but very sunny, with an average January solar attached solar greenhouse that produced heat as availability of over 70 percent. Under such condi- well as food: “Why not help heat your house with tions, the daily heat gain of even a crude green- that excess heat, instead of venting it to the house will often exceed its heating load. But New outside?” Mexico was also suited to greenhouse development because of the human and institutional Development resources that were available. Drawing on their personal experience, the Yan- During the late 1960’s, northern New Mexico das felt that the attached solar greenhouse had suf- was the site of a number of alternative commu- ficiently low cost, in terms of its heat- and food- nities. They attracted young people from middle- producing potential, to be a viable approach to income backgrounds, many of them college edu- solar heating for low-income families. cated, who brought design skills and a sense of ad- venture to the development of small-scale alter- In the spring of 1974, they applied for and native technologies. One such community was the received an initial demonstration grant from the Lama Foundation in Taos, N. Mex., which (with Four Corners Commission, a regional agency the help of designers Steve Baer and Day Charou- funded by Federal and State governments. They di) developed a pit greenhouse based on the “bio- built 12 attached solar greenhouses in mountain sphere concept. ” villages in northern New Mexico, for houses occupied mostly by low-income families of Spanish, The pit greenhouse, often called a “grow hole,” Indian, and Anglo heritage. In the spring of 1976, is simply a hole dug in the south side of a hill and the Yandas received a contract from the State glazed over; they have been used for centuries to Energy and Resources Board (now the New Mex- extend the growing season. The biosphere concept ico Department of Energy and Minerals) to build adds heat storage, in the form of plastic jugs of 12 more attached solar greenhouses throughout water and thermal mass in the walls and floors, to the State. keep the greenhouse warm at night and during periods of cloudiness. The result is a freestanding, This second project was different from the first integrated passive solar greenhouse in which because it utilized the workshop process to build plants can be grown year-round. (See ch. 4 for fur- the greenhouses. The greenhouse workshop was ther discussion of freestanding solar greenhouses.) like a barn-raising: homeowners, neighbors, and friends came together for a long weekend to learn In 1973, Bill Yanda from Nambe, N. Mex., also about and build a solar greenhouse. Usually the became interested in pit greenhouses. After visit- greenhouses were three-quarters completed at the ing the Lama Foundation’s solar grow hole, he end of the weekend. According to Bill Yanda, the built one for his own family. The following winter process had a multiplier effect: “For every work- was an unusually cold one in northern New Mex- shop, ten more greenhouses were built in the com- 6 5Materlal in this section is based on the working paper, “New Mex- munity.” ico Solar Greenhouse Study, ” prepared by the New Mexico Commu- mty Study Team (see appendix), 6Stat To date, the Yandas have built 30 solar green- ● seal the greenhouse shell carefully in order to houses in New Mexico. In 1977, they setup a work prevent unwanted air infiltration; group, the Solar Sustenance Team, which has ● insulate heavily all nonglazed exterior sur- helped facilitate the building of solar greenhouses faces; and on a broader scale and by organizing workshops to ● provide sufficient heat storage that nighttime train people all over the United States. The team and cloudy day heat losses can be drawn from supplied leaders for workshops that built com- storage and not from a backup source burn- munity greenhouses for the Wooster (Ohio) Food ing fossil fuels (adequate storage also moder- Cooperative in 1979 and for the Cleveland Hun- ates temperature swings). ger Task Force in August 1980. The result is a greenhouse that looks quite dif- The workshop concept is now being widely em- ferent from conventional greenhouses, which have ulated across the country. Although no hard data low-pitched roofs and all-around glazing. is available, evidence for the spread of workshops can be seen in the number of reports on statewide Although a solar greenhouse may be freestand- greenhouse construction programs. The 1978 Na- ing (see figure 1), most residential applications of tional Passive Solar Conference heard only one this technology are attached to the house: “lean- such report—from the Yandas—while in 1979 tos” built against the south wall of the structure or there were reports from 5 States: Colorado, Mis- extended from the east or west walls but facing souri, Ohio, Wyoming, and Arkansas.7 south (see figure 2). This type of construction reduces costs, permits transfer of excess energy Solar Greenhouse Technology from the greenhouse to the main structure, usually allows access to the greenhouse from a heated A greenhouse is a glazed structure that admits space, and often adds an attractive living space to visible and infrared solar radiation, which is con- the dwelling. verted to heat by absorption on surfaces within the greenhouse. This heat is trapped in the struc- Glazing materials include glass, fiberglass, and ture by the glazing materials, most of which are various plastic films. Most plastics, including opaque to the long-wave infrared radiation fiberglass, are damaged by the ultraviolet radiation emitted by objects at about room temperature. in sunlight. The plastic material used in green- Simply stated, it is easier for radiant energy to get houses is protected by ultraviolet inhibitors and into the structure than it is for it to escape again. has an expected lifetime of 10 to 20 years. Plastics Glazing materials are very poor insulators, how- are lightweight, easy to cut, and available in large ever, so heat losses at night and on cold cloudy sheets; for these reasons, many greenhouse-build- days can be considerable. For this reason, the con- ing groups working with relatively unskilled work- ventional “glass houses” are prodigious users of shop participants use plastics exclusively. Glass is energy during winter months. also an excellent glazing material, but it is generally more expensive than plastics, heavier, and more Solar greenhouses, on the other hand, are de- difficult to mount successfully. signed to provide adequate light for plant growth, but to limit heat losses and to store sufficient heat Heat storage is usually provided by incorporat- to achieve a net heat gain during the heating sea- ing thermal mass into the greenhouse structure son. Several design modifications are needed to (such as a concrete floor slab or a rock or gravel achieve these results: bed below the floor) or by placing thermal mass in the greenhouse (such as water-filled 55-gal drums ● glaze only the south-facing surfaces; or plastic milk jugs stacked along the north wall, • use two layers of glazing in most northern cli- or rocks held against a wall by wire mesh). Ther- mates; mal mass that is in direct sunlight functions more effectively than mass to which heat must be transferred by air movement or conduction. Because 7procee&ngs of the zd National Passite Solar Conference, Philadelphia, Pa., Mar. 16-18, 1978; and Proceedings of the 4th National Passive Solar heat storage mass placed in the greenhouse can be Conference, Kansas City, Me., Oct. 3-5, 1979. added or removed quite easily, adjustment and Ch. 3-Rt'~()urct'-Efficit'nt Rt'~idt.'ntilll ATchitt.'ctUTt.' • 33

Figure 1 .—Two Freestanding New Mexico Solar Greenhouses

. 1:.. .. ~', " " ,)' , .. if_ ,,: ~ .":' t ."" ..... , , ".I' •

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment 34 • Assessment of Technology for Local Det'Clopment

Figure 2.—Attached New Mexico Solar Greenhouses

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 35

“fine tuning” is possible; built-in heat storage re- measured net energy production are not yet avail- quires more precise design and construction. able. Tables 2 and 3 give the results of limited Existing modeling techniques are not adequate measurements of heat delivered by one attached predictors of greenhouse thermal behavior, be- greenhouse in New Mexico and another in Hines- cause the interaction of solar input, variable berg, Vt. Table 4 presents theoretical measurements for the performance of the Hinesberg de- weather, greenhouse heat losses, thermal mass, sign, extrapolated to 12 major metropolitan areas. and heat exchange with the main structure is so complex. Fortunately, the solar greenhouse has The out-of-pocket cost of building a solar turned out to be a rather forgiving and adjustable greenhouse varies greatly. In many cases the technology so that relatively crude design pro- owner or workshop members volunteer their cedures are adequate. labor, and they frequently make use of salvaged materials, particularly glass. In most areas of the Solar Greenhouse country, few contractors are prepared to bid on or Performance and Costs undertake the construction of greenhouses. Typi- cal material costs, if new materials are used, range The thermal performance of attached solar 2 greenhouses as heat producers depends on a num- between $8 and $12/ft (1979 dollars) of floor area. ber of factors. In areas of high solar availability, The most important cost variables are the type such as New Mexico, adequate sunlight will regu- and number of layers of glazing, the quantity of larly be captured both to charge the greenhouse concrete, and the quality of wood used for the storage and to provide excess heat for an attached frame. residence. In cloudier areas, such as Ohio, the average monthly gain will still exceed losses in a Only 19 of the 150 New Mexico greenhouse well-designed and well-constructed greenhouse, owners interviewed by OTA’s community study but the excess energy available to the residence team had enough data to perform any kind of during December, January, and February will be economic analysis. Those 19 had average costs, including estimated labor costs, of between $4 and small. The excess energy can be increased by re- 2 ducing the thermal mass in the greenhouse, but $17/ft , and they estimated their simple payback then freezing is likely on the coldest nights. An in- periods at between 4 and 8 years, based on fuel However, unlike solar collectors sulating “night curtain, ” which reduces nighttime savings alone. losses through the glazing, can greatly enhance (whose cost must be justified solely by the value of the net energy they produce), greenhouses are performance in poor solar climates. multipurpose devices which can pay the owners Thermal behavior has been measured for a back in terms of food production and desirable liv- number of existing greenhouses, but reports of ing space, as well as heat energy production. Performance data

Location ...... Anton Chico,N. Mex. Latitude...... 35oN Elevation...... 5,000 ft Heating dd ...... 3,795 Percent sun winter average ...... 70%

Greenhouse

Orientation ...... 15° East of South Glazed area...... 420 ft2 Plan of Chavez House and Greenhouse 65°/0 wall, Slope 75° 35% roof, slope 15° Floor area ...... 432 ft2 (36 x 12 (dirt floor) Glazing material...... fiberglass outer polyethylene inner Net transmission. . . . . 0.65 (estimated) Thermal storage...... Nine, 55-gal water-filled drums 18” thick adobe (house) wall 36‘ X 9 ‘ cost ...... $2.50 ft2 materials only (workshop constructed)

House

Type...... Adobe (no insulation) Floor area ...... 896 ft2 Annual heating load. . . 51 MMBtu (estimated) Annual internal sources...... 13 MMBtu (estimated) Net load...... 13 MMBtu

Performance

Annual greenhouse load ...... 62 MMBtu Solar energy captured (heating season only). 90 MMBtu Net available energy . . 28 MMBtu Solar fraction (whole house, supplied by greenhouse...... 0.73

Photo credit: Tech Repos, Inc.

Interior of Chavez Greenhouse Exterior view of Chavez Greenhouse DSun

1% /’1 Adobe walls \

Thermal Flow Diagram Table 3.— Hinesberg Greenhouse, Vermont

Performance data

Location ...... Hinesberg,Vt. House Latitude...... 44°N Type...... Older, frame Elevation...... 150ft Floor area ...... 1,800 ft2 (whole house) Heating dd ...... 8,100 Kitchen ...... 360 ft2 (estimated) Percent sun Kitchen load...... 26 MMBtu winter average ...... 36% Performance Greenhouse Greenhouse load . . . . . 10 MMBtu Orientation ...... South Solar energy captured. 19 MMBtu Glazed area...... 96 ft2wall, slope 600 Net available to kitchen 9 MMBtu Floor area ...... 98ft2 Solar fraction (kitchen (12’ x8’) load, supplied by Glazing material...... 2 layers fiberglass greenhouse) ...... 0.23 Thermal storage...... four 55-gal water-filled drums

cost...... $9.10 flt2 (1976)

SOURCE: Sandia Laboratories, Passive Solar BuiIdings, report N O . SAND 79-0824.

,, Sunshine through South Fan glazing — — . ——— —— — <1

> South

Fan House Interior Upper Lower ~oo>, fan fan kitchen

Thermal Flow Diagram of the Plan for the H I nesberg Greenhouse Hinesberg Greenhouse —

Exterior view of Hinesberg Greenhouse

Photo credits: Office of Technology Assessment Interior of Hinesberg Greenhouse 40 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Table 4.—Theoretical Performance and Fuel Reduction Contributed by an Attached Solar Greenhouse in 12 U.S. Metropolitan Areas

Solar heat Annual produced by Heat Iossb of Ratio of heat Dwelling degree days greenhouses greenhouse gain to fuelc reduction City (65° base) (kWh) (kWh) heat loss (%) Savings d ($) New York, N.Y...... 4,871 5,652 2,007 2.8 32.1 $324.85 Boston, Mass...... 5,634 5,592 1,856 3.0 28.5 227.90 Burlington, Vt...... 7,865 4,476 2,931 1.5 8.4 77.25 Philadelphia, Pa...... 5,251 5,452 1,548 3.5 32.0 206.91 Baltimore, Md...... 4,654 4,818 1,414 3.4 43.5 156.58 Chicago, Ill...... 6,155 4,993 2,159 2.3 19.8 130.36 Springfield, Ill...... 4,561 5,754 1,821 3.2 37.0 173.05 Milwaukee, Wis...... 7,205 5,965 2,735 2.2 19.2 125.97 Denver, Colo...... 6,283 7,897 1,996 4.0 40.3 224.24 Dayton, Ohio...... 5,597 4,803 2,042 2.4 21.1 99.40 Cincinnati, Ohio...... 4,870 5,003 1,356 3.7 32.1 124.00 Duluth, Minn...... 10,000 6,809 3,968 1.7 12.2 — aEnergy available after transmission and reflection losses subtracted. bBased on 55° nighttime setback. CDwelling is assumed to use 2.33 kWh/dd (base 65o). This quantity of heat is typical of an average U.S. home. dValue of energy is based on available electrical costs during January 1976.

A Case Study of Solar Architecture-- The Cooley House, Washington, Corm.8 Designing and orienting buildings to take ad- Development vantage of solar energy is an ancient practice. The Remans used passive solar design to warm their In 1976, Ruth and Frank Cooley contacted the baths and public buildings. Native Americans New Alchemy Institute of Falmouth, Mass., and built whole towns in the Southwest based on these asked how they could go about leading the kind of principles. energy-conserving self-sufficient life that the New Alchemists advocate. They were referred to the In- Interest in passive solar architecture, in which stitute’s architectural consultants, Solsearch Ar- solar energy is collected and stored through struc- chitects of Cambridge, Mass. Solsearch designed tural design and orientation, is growing rapidly in an integrated solar house for the Cooleys based on the United States. Four national passive solar the firm’s “Ark II” house (see figure 3). energy conferences have been held and attended by thousands of engineers, architects, builders, The “Ark II” is a scaled-down, single-family ver- and public officials. Hundreds of passive solar sion of the Ark, a $354,000 experiment in self-suf- structures have been built during the past 5 years, ficient living funded by the Canadian Govern- ranging from the airport terminal at Aspen, Colo., ment. The original Ark, which opened in 1976, is to entire residential subdivisions in California, intended to house, feed, and provide a livelihood New Mexico, and Ohio. The Cooley house is one for a family without dependence on outside energy example of this emerging architectural trend. sources. The Cooleys were active participants in all aspects of the construction of their home. For 6

months they lived in a tent at the building site, 8Material in this and the following case study is based on the work- where Ruth Cooley acted as the general contrac- ing paper, “Energy-Efficient Architecture,” prepared by Teresa Can- tor. She, four college students, and a retired field and James Greenwood for the Harvard Workshop on Appro- priate Technology for Community Development, Department of City carpenter did most of the carpentry, but she hired and Regional Planning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979. subcontractors to perform a number of specialized tasks, such as plumbing and wiring. A neighbor staircase.” Excess heat can be vented through a with 40 years of experience as a general contractor louver along the north end of the roof ridge; a helped her to find good subcontractors at com- noticeable breeze fills the house when the louver is petitive prices. The Cooleys moved into their par- opened. tially finished house in December of 1977, and the house was largely completed by the spring of 1979. Performance and Costs The major source of solar input is the glazed Integrated Solar Technology roof, which has an area of about 1,100 ft2. How- The Cooley House has 2,500 ft2 of living area, ever, the effective aperture of this “collector” is 700 ft2 of which is a daylight basement. The rest is equivalent to the sum of the area of the risers, or divided among three bedrooms and the main liv- only about 600 ft2. This area is enhanced by dou- ing area. The house is an example of “integrated” ble reflection from the steps, as is shown for ray 3 design, employing active as well as passive solar in figure 4. Sunlight directly penetrating the roof principles and advanced technological materials. undergoes transmission losses through four layers of glazing; reflected light has two additional reflec- The entire south roof is glazed by a patented sys- which is designed tion losses. It is expected that an average of 50 to tem called the “solar staircase,” 60 percent of the incident radiation will enter the to admit sunlight in winter and deflect it in sum- 9 house. mer (see figure 4). The system uses multiple layers of glazing: two outer layers of “Acrylite SDP;” the The heat resistance of the south roof depends “staircase,” which alternates polished aluminium on the effectiveness of the reflective staircase in horizontal steps with transparent vertical risers; reducing heat losses by radiation. The projected and an inner layer of “Tedlar” film. The down- gross heating load is about 8 Btu/ft2/dd, of which ward facing surfaces of the aluminium “steps” solar heat is estimated to provide about 50 per- reflect heat and thus help reduce thermal losses cent. Backup heat is provided by a wood stove; the through the roof. expected auxiliary winter load is about 45 million Sunlight passing through the roof in winter Btu, or approximately 3 cords of firewood. At (rays 2 and 3 in figure 4) is absorbed by the in- $120/cord, these costs would be under $360/yr. terior, and its heat transferred to the air, in the Average winter electricity bills are $24/me, same manner as in a solar greenhouse (see above). including lights, cooking, and the heating system The heated air rises and collects along the roof fans. peak, where it is drawn into ducts by two fans and The Cooley house has already cost almost delivered into a rock bed under the floor of the $81,000 to build, with the solar features (the roof main living area. The thermal storage contains and rock storage bed) accounting for about 100 yd3 of graded river rock and will store about $7,000, or 9 percent of incremental costs. How- 65,000 Btu for every 10 F in temperature change. ever, these costs do not include the value of the Heat may be recovered from the storage either by labor donated by the owners and other volun- radiation from the floor slab above the storage teers, which in the case of the Cooleys (as in sev- bed, or by fans that draw air through the warmed eral other cases studied in this chapter) was signifi- rock and into the living space. Backup heat is pro- cant. The Cooleys were forced to sell about half of vided by a wood-burning stove. their 5-acre lot to raise the money that will be In summer, as the altitude of the sun increases, needed to complete the house. the majority of the light (ray 1 in figure 4) is Because of a change in Frank Cooley’s job, the reflected by the aluminum “steps” of the “solar family will soon be moving to Oregon, where they ‘The solar staircase was invented by Norman Saunders of the Cir- hope to build a totally passive house that will cuit Engineers Co., Weston, Mass., who allowed the Cooleys the use allow them to become more fully self-sufficient. As of this design for $15 on condition that they document its perform- they prepared to sell their present house, however, ance. See his “The Overall Solution to Solar Heating,” Proceedings of the Conference on Energy Conserving Solar Heated Greenhouses, Marl- they became aware of three factors that might af- boro, Vt., Nov. 19-20, 1977, p. 39. fect its marketability. First, it may be difficult to

74-435 0 - 81 - 4 42 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Figure 3.—Solsearch “Ark II” Low-Energy House

Figure 4.-Solar Staircase Roof

Summer sun

~ Winter sun

4’Acrylite SDP”

&/ /

“Tedl;r” \ Section through the “solar staircase” roof

Photo credits: Office of Technology Assessment Greenhouse interior Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 43 find a buyer (or a lender) willing to take a risk on sary operational chores, such as opening and clos- such a new technology and an unconventional ing vents and feeding the wood-burning stove that house. Second, prospective buyers may not be provides backup heat. If, for these or other rea- willing to tolerate the fluctuations in indoor sons, the full value of the additional solar features temperature that are characteristic of this passive cannot be recovered when the house is resold, the design. Third, people with enough money to buy difference should properly be considered an addi- the house may not be willing to perform the neces- tional cost of the house.

A Case Study of Heat= Retentive Homes (l)– The Solsearch "Conserver Home,” Prince Edward Island, Canada Development energy consumption but who cannot afford the relatively high price of more elaborate solar Solsearch Architects, the designers of the Cana- designs. The first two Conserver Homes were built dian “Ark” and the Cooley house in Connecticut during 1977-78 on Prince Edward Island, Canada, (see above), feel that passive solar energy systems a region of long, cool, and cloudy winters—not an work reliably and can be built at a reasonable cost. ideal location for a solar house, but a good one for However, although they welcome the current in- a low-cost, heat-retentive house. The population is terest in passive solar architecture, partner Ole largely blue-collar and is primarily employed in Hammarlund has written that solar is not the only mining and fishing. One Conserver Home has way to go. Solar energy may have advantages in been occupied by a local family since September terms of the health of the occupants or the esthet- 1978; the second remains unoccupied while its in- ics of the house, he writes, but in terms of econom- terior temperature and heat loss are carefully ics it rates much lower than insulation and other monitored by the Canadian Institute of Man and conservation measures. Once a house has been de- Resources. signed with heat retention in mind, “there is no economic justification for [active] solar, since there Conserver Home Technology is no need for any additional solar heat. ”10 Table 5 shows the estimated heat energy gener- Drawing an analogy to the human body, Ham- ated by activities inside a house. “Activity” energy marlund points out that a person can be warmed is released by people, lights, and appliances; a fur- by standing in the sunlight or by putting on a coat ther increment of solar energy is added by south- and relying on the retention of body heat. A facing windows and glass doors, even if the total house, too, has internal heat sources–people, appliances, lights, and water heater—and Hammar- lund contends that with a proper “coat” of insulation the heat from these internal sources can be re- Table 5.—Daily Activity Energy for a Family of Four tained and will provide much of the space-heating People...... 29,000 Btu needs of the house. Cooking...... 18,000 Btu Motors, appliances, lights...... 59,500 Btu Solsearch developed its Conserver Home to Water heater losses...... 10,000 Btu demonstrate this principle, and to show that a Activity total ...... 116,500 Btua design based on heat retention could produce a Winter average solar input...... 20,000 Btub low-cost, resource-efficient house that would meet Winter average total nonauxiliary heat available 136,500 Btu the needs of home buyers who want to reduce aEstimates by other workers for “activity” energy range from 50,000 Btu (Illinois Lo-Cal House) to 90,000 Btu/day (P. S. Lumont’s average internal energy estimate for 13 Saskatoon houses plus 29,000 Btu/day for 4 people). lool~ Hamrn~rlun~, “Wlrfl Body Heat Who Needs .$dar?” unpub- b402 Btu/day/ft2 for 86 ft2 of south glazing. lished paper, 1978, SOURCE: Ole Hammarlund. 44 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development glazed area is no more than is commonly expected. sulated to R-10. The total glazed area in the win- The challenge for Solsearch was to design a cost- dows and patio door is 135 ft2, or about 9 percent effective and livable home that would use these of the 1,540-ft2 floor area. (Window area equaling energy sources as the major source of heat without 10 percent of floor area is at the low end of typical increasing the complexity or costs of construction. current tract housing.) Of this glass area, 65 per- The Conserver homes use “Arkansas framing,” cent faces south and only 4 percent faces north. a construction technique that has been widely The projected gross heating load for this home publicized11 by Owens/Corning, an insulation man- is about 5,400 Btu/dd for every 10 F temperature ufacturer. This system permits 12 inches of fiber- difference between the inside and outside, or glass batting in the ceilings (R-38), 6 inches of about 3.5 Btu/ft2/dd. Since an estimated 136,000 fiberglass batting in the walls (R-19), and a con- Btu would be generated each day by the normal tinuous vapor barrier to prevent moisture and air activities of the residents and by solar input, these infiltration (see figure 5). In addition, headers over heat sources would support the heating load so doors and windows are box framed and insulated, long as the average temperature difference be- as is the band-board. Doors are foamed-filled tween the inside and outside of the house is less metal, and windows are triple-glazed on the north, than 250 F.12 In other words, no additional space east, and west and double-glazed on the south. heating will be needed to maintain an average in- The foundation is treated wood rather than con- door temperature of600 F (650 F day, 500 F night) crete, primarily because of high concrete costs until the daily average outside temperature falls ($50/yd 3) on Prince Edward Island, and is in- below about 350 F. The feasibility of the system 1 IOWenS.Corning, 1nC.} does not require this low temperature range which “Energy Saving Homes: The Arkansas was the basis for the designers’ calculations: aver- Story,” 1977. Arkansas framing was developed by Henry Tschumi (HVAC Engineer), Les Blades (Arkansas Power & Light), and Frank Holtzclaw (HUD design and construction analyst). 12( 136,500 &u) ~ (3.5 B[u/ft2/dd) - ( 1,540 f[2) = 25.32 ddo

Figure 5.— The Conserver Home

Photo credit: The Institute of Man and Resources, Charlottetown, P.E.I. Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 45 age indoor temperatures of650 F (700 F day, 55” F Performance and Costs night) can be maintained without auxiliary heating when average outdoor temperatures are 400 F Over the Prince Edward Island heating season or above. of about 8,300 dd, about 50 percent of the expected space-heating load will be met by “activity” The house’s low rate of heat loss also means that energy of the occupants and 20 percent by solar temperature variations tend to be damped: surplus energy. The remaining energy, about 15 million energy generated during high-activity periods Btu will be drawn from the hot water heater, (morning and evening) will be carried over into which is gas-fueled in Conserver I and oil-fueled in low-activity hours. The Conserver Home contains Conserver II. At $1/gal for fuel oil, total heating no separate furnace; instead, backup heat is pro- season costs for the Conserver II are expected to be vided (through a base-board hot-water system) by about $150. a conventional hot water heater. This system, combined with activity and solar inputs, is ade- Conserver I was commercially constructed and sold for $26,000 in 1978. Conserver II has been quate to meet design heating load requirements of 2 15,000 Btu/hr. It will thus keep inside tempera- sold for $30,000. These low prices, about $17/ft , tures at 600 F even when average outside tempera- apparently reflect very economic design (including tures falls to – 50 F. 13 the wood foundation) and the lower labor costs in the Canadian Maritimes. Current construction

= 1 J( 1 j,~~~ ~ru/hr) x (~+ hr) - (3.5 Btu/ft2/dd) + ( 1,540 ftz) costs for conventional homes in the United States 2 66.7%M. range from about $30 to $50/ft .

A Case Study of Heat-Retentive Homes (II)– The Bethel House, Bethel, Alaska14

The Community Setting Figure 6.- Bethel, Alaska In contrast to the scenic beauty of much of Alaska, Bethel is a drab and depressing place. Many houses are dilapidated and would be considered substandard by the criteria of the lower 48 ,4 States. The land is flat, and there is almost no 0 T -T II I vegetation. During the s ring breakup, when snow and ice are melting, t he entire town (except for the two paved streets) is 6 to 12 inches deep in mud. During the summer, he mud turns to dust (see figure 6). There are no roads to Bethel. Everything must be flown or barged in, and therefore everything is expensive. Milk is over $5/gal, propane $16/gal, electricity 37 cents/kWh. Bethel offers excellent examples of inappropriate Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment applications of housing technology from the lower 48. In villages which have been electrified, housing tric stoves and central heating. Many of the authorities have equipped many homes with elec- houses, however, are designed for California; the cost and difficulty of heating them in the Alaska lqMdr~rla\ in this case study is based on the working paper, “Ener- winter are enormous, and (as one resident re- gy-Efficient House Construction, ” prepared by Steven Klein and ported)”. . . when the power fails, as it often does, Richard DeSanti for the Harvard Workshop on Appropriate Tech- the homes are uninhabitable. ” Heat leakage nolog y for Community Development, Department of City and Re. gional Planning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979. through the thin floors of prefab houses melts the 46 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development tundra and causes them to settle. Standard hous- ket to recover their administrative expenses and ing is not structurally rigid enough to withstand cost of materials. the forces imposed by seasonal thawing and freezing of the tundra. Thus houses rapidly become out The ultimate goal of the KCC faculty is to in- of square, with ill-fitting doors and windows and a fluence the design of subsidized public housing dilapidated appearance. built for Alaska natives by the State Housing Agency and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. How- The Bethel House is the result of ongoing efforts ever, they are using the private market to test, within the local community to develop a housing refine, and demonstrate the soundness of their technology appropriate to the resources, economy, design. When their latest house, called the “Mark and environmental conditions of the area. IV” (see figure 7), is completed, they hope to build a small subdivision of houses to be sold in the Development private market. Several years ago, the Kuskokwim Community In developing appropriate housing for the needs College (KCC) in Bethel began a Maintenance and conditions of Bethel, therefore, KCC design- Technology Program. KCC’s student body is ers have addressed five vital concerns: largely Eskimo, and is drawn from surrounding villages as well as Bethel itself. The original pur- 1. Energy conservation. —Sub-zero winter tem- pose of the program was to train students in repair peratures, combined with the high cost of fuel and construction skills in the context of the hun- oil in this remote location, make well-insu- ting and fishing subsistence economy that is still lated, energy-conserving homes an economic dominant in the villages. The design for the struc- and physical necessity. ture that became known as the “Bethel House” 2. Structural stability. —Bethel is in a permafrost evolved over the years as the students (as part of tundra area, which means that a conven- their coursework) built several small prototype tional foundation is impractical and that houses, which KCC then sold on the private mar- houses need to be engineered for greater solid-

Figure 7.—The “Mark IV” Bethel House

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment ity. Typically, heat loss from a poorly insu- seeping through the floor and melting the tundra lated house causes the underlying tundra to underneath the house. melt, which in turn causes the house to shift Floor.–In a conventional house, solid 2- by 12- and settle. This can cause walls to separate inch timbers (or “joists”) spaced 16 inches apart from floors, windows and doors to fit poorly, are used to support the floor. These joists account and air infiltration to become a major prob- for up to 15 percent of the floor area and account lem. for a substantial heat loss, since solid wood is a 3. Materials cost. –Almost everything in Bethel relatively poor insulator. The KCC design substi- has to be shipped in from the outside–either tutes a “plywood I-beam” (figure 9) for these solid by plane, or, during the summer months, by wood joists. The I-beam is simply a piece of 5/8- barge from Seattle. This adds substantially to inch thick plywood, held vertically between hori- the cost of all products, especially bulky zontal 2- by 4-inch “spacers” to prevent warping or building materials. There is thus a need for a twisting. Because the plywood sections of the I- home design that provides improvements beam are only 5/8-inch thick, heat loss through over existing structures without increasing the floor framing is reduced. Because of its shape, the already-high cost of materials. the plywood I-beam is stronger than a solid wood 4. A pleasant living environment.–Another goal beam; only 7 I-beams are needed, instead of 24 is to create a house that is roomy and plea- conventional joists. Heat loss through floor fram- sant, in order to alleviate some of the psycho- ing is reduced from 15 percent to only 2 percent, logical and social pressures of life in an iso- and savings are also realized on the cost of lated community with few amenities and very materials. long winters. 5. A regional architectural style.–The traditional Similarly, the KCC design replaces solid wood native sod huts have long since disappeared, perimeter timbers with plywood “box beams” and Bethel has no typical architectural style. (figure 9). The box-beams are constructed of four Buildings tend to be an assortment of designs, pieces of vertical plywood, 5/8-inch thick, sand- consisting of whatever was cheapest or easiest wiched between two 2- by 4-inch spacers placed to build, or whatever was available from the horizontally across the top and bottom. The hol- “lower 48” in prefabricated form. low space within the box-beams can be stuffed with insulation. The result is a very strong insulated beam, which reduces the heat loss and can The Bethel House Technology be constructed with materials costing about one- The three principal features of the Bethel House third as much to ship to Bethel as conventional design (figure 8) are: solid beams. The system also provides a very rigid floor, which requires only 10 support posts instead ● extensive use of insulation; . use of structural members made from ply- of nearly 20 for a conventional floor system. wood in many places where a conventional Wall-to-Floor Joint.–In a conventional design would use solid wood timbers; and house, the walls rest on top of the floor. In the . use of glue to reinforce joints and create a KCC house, the I-beams and perimeter box-beams more solid structure than would result from are joined together such that the I-beams project the use of nails and screws alone. above the box-beams (figure 9). As a result, the walls rest on the perimeter box-beams “outside” In addition, KCC designers have developed a the floor, actually extending below it. This design, number of innovative structural features. which is similar to framing techniques used in the Foundation.–The house is elevated several 19th century, allows the builders to anchor the feet above the ground on a “pad and post” assem- walls vertically to the box-beam and horizontally bly (figure 9), which involves placing pilings into to the I-beams, thereby increasing the rigidity and the tundra on pads of sand. This elevated design, strength of the house. Second, it also allows them plus extra floor insulation, prevents heat from to install continuous insulation through the walls 48 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Figure 8. Cross-Section of the Bethel House

5/8-inch sheetrock

2-by 4-inch wall stud T 1-1

4- by 12-inch insulation

6 mil vapor barrier T 1-11 R40 II II 11- 5/8-inch 2 x 6 nailer 2 x 4 lateral stabilizer 2 x 8 plate

5/8” bolts Plywood box beam I

View of I beam and box beam showing method of joining the two

1- center core

. u II Cutaway view J

Box-beam

Plywood gusset T plate, glued and nailed I 1-l

-4;-.<. % t. @ - “ . . . . - . . . , $ -...... , . . ‘ - ‘ ...... -. . . .* 8. , . . , . ,...... c ,. “ ...... “ ...... , ...... 2’ minimum . : . . . ,...... ~ ...... * . . . . .- . ., . . . . - , t . . - . . - - . .--* . - -- . . -. - . . . . . - . . . .- - ...... - Tundra - View of pad-and-post assembly for elevating the house above the tundra 50 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

partially assembled at the building site before in- market, its costs must be brought down. The one- stallation, which should make them easier to in- story Mark IV house is an attempt to do this, and stall without machinery or a large number of peo- KCC estimates the cost of this design can even- ple. tually be reduced to about $30,000. By compari- Windows and Doors.–Bethel is at latitude son, recent public housing units in Bethel cost 60° N, which means that midwinter solar energy only $20,000 to build, but they suffer from all of availability is small. However, the climate is fairly the problems that the Bethel House is designed to sunny and solar availability is quite good from avoid. As a result, they incur much higher mainte- January through May. Most of the windows are lo- nance, repair, and heating costs than the KCC de- cated on the south side of the Bethel House to take sign. Detailed lifecycle cost estimates would allow advantage of solar energy for lighting and heating, better economic comparison to be made between the Mark IV and the conventional alternatives. and are double- or triple-glazed and tightly sealed. One local builder is currently building six costs houses that include several–but not all–of the KCC estimates that the two-story version of the Bethel House principles. His modifications of the Bethel House, built commercially, would cost KCC design have often been intended to make it more acceptable to his native Alaskan customers, $55,000 to $65,000. Construction is more labor intensive—time is required to fabricate building many of whom are skeptical of the kind of technological “fixes” that have been sold to them in the elements such as box-beams and floor framing— but less materials intensive than conventional past. This builder may play an important role in construction. And in an economy where general the ultimate dissemination of the technology, costs are very high, $40/ft2 (1977 dollars) seems since he is also the owner of the local lumber yard. hardly out of line (current construction costs in He is already convinced enough of the merits of the lower 48 States are between $30 and $50/ft2. gluing joints that he automatically includes the proper amount of glue with any lumber order from Clearly, however, if the Bethel House is to a bush village, whether his customers have asked penetrate the Government-subsidized housing for it or not.

A Case Study of Hybrid Resource= Efficient Homes— 15 The Tom Smith “Thermal Envelope” House. Development fornia. He designed the house with several goals in mind: it should use standard construction tech- The original idea for Tom Smith’s “thermal niques and conventional, locally available materi- envelope” house came from a house in Taos, als; it should also be comfortable to live in, estheti- N. Mex., that was based on passive solar prin- cally pleasing to the general homebuyer, and easy ciples. The house was to be built from adobe with to finance through conventional mortgage bor- cool rooms on the north side and a heating solar rowing; finally, the design should be adaptable to greenhouse on the south, a design with strong other climates. After consulting a number of ex- parallels to the Indian pueblo, the original in- perts, he arrived at a design that is now frequently digenous architectural style in the area. called a double or thermal envelope. In 1977, Smith began making plans to build his own passive solar home near Lake Tahoe in Cali- Thermal Envelope Technology lfMaterial in this case stud is based on the working paper, “Ener- y The Smith house (figures 10, 11, and 12) con- gy-Efficient Architecture,” prepared by Teresa Canfield and James sists of an inner and an outer structure, which Greenwcod for the Harvard Workshop on Appropriate Technology for Community Development, Department of City and Regional share common east and west walls. The inner Planning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979. north wall is separated from the outer wall by Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 51

Figure 10.—Thermal Envelope House, Heat-Gain Cycle

Heat ~ Heat loss at * sun at south north face of face drives envelope helps ● convective loop drive gravity convective loop

I Heat absorbed bv earth in crawl sDace I

Figure Il.—Thermal Envelope “House, Heat”Loss Cycle

I Heat Max. heat

Greater heat loss at large glass area causes loop to flow in reverse

Earth supplies heat to air in conv. loop 52 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Dvelopment

Figure 12.—Thermal Envelope House, Ventilation and Cooling Cycle

Fresh air Introduction of fresh air to living space b is by opening windows or doors ““’A to envelope space

Average air temp. in envelope is 7 e F cooler than outside due to thermal log mass earth cooling

h I 0 Pre-conditioning tube supplies. . 78 F at base air steady rate u u 1 -I

about 12 inches This gap is connected to a base- earth—and back into the greenhouse through ment crawl space and the attic plenums, which in openings in the greenhouse floor. At night or on turn are open to the floor and ceiling of an at- cold cloudy days (figure 11) when the greenhouse tached greenhouse or solarium. As a result, air can is cooler than the cavity spaces, a reverse cycle oc- pass in a large loop around the inner structure. curs: the coldest air gathers at the floor level of the Both the inner and outer walls of the double greenhouse, flows through the crawl space where envelope are insulated. it picks up heat from the earth—and then up the north wall cavity, across the ceiling, and back into The principles on which the double envelope the greenhouse. (It should be noted that the greenhouse is designed to work are straightforward. On house can be closed off from the inner house to a sunny day (figure 10) the air in the greenhouse limit direct cooling of the living space at night.) heats up and rises between the inner and outer ceilings, losing heat to both the outside and inside As a result of these air flows, most of the inner space; as its density increases due to cooling, the envelope (all except the east and west walls) is buf- air flows down the north cavity and through the fered from the outside both by the outer shell’s in- crawl space—where it gives additional heat to the sulation and by the convective flows of air heated by the greenhouse or the earth storage. Summer ments of the design: greenhouse, living space, and cooling (figure 12) is also enhanced by natural con- crawl space thermal storage. vection: warm air is released through an operable vent in the ceiling plenum and vented from the at- That the convective processes described above tic cavity. In the Smith house, replacement air in fact explain the performance of Smith’s or other enters through open windows, in some other de- envelope houses has been questioned. Whatever signs, replacement air is drawn through buried the precise operation, however, those living in the “preconditioning” tubes and the crawl space, to be houses uniformly report very stable temperatures cooled by the earth before entering the living in the living space and very low auxiliary heat re- space. quirements, although none have been monitored consistently and few have been occupied for more Performance and Costs than one heating season. Ultimately, heat loss is governed by the heat Tom Smith built his house in late 1977 with the resistance of the outer shell and by the tempera- least expensive materials available at a cost of ap- ture difference between the exterior and the air proximately $30/ft2. This figure compares flowing between the shells. The most interesting favorably with the average cost of $35 to $37/ft2 but least understood aspect of the design is the for conventional new housing constructed in the passive heat exchange between the various ele- Lake Tahoe area.

Discussion of Solar-Heated and Heat-Retentive Houses Performance them inconvenient. Similarly, transferring heat into and out of the thermal storage requires a daily Table 6 summarizes performance and cost infor- 0 mation for a variety of passive solar, superinsu- temperature cycle, often in the range of IO to 200 lated, and hybrid houses, including several of F. Some people find this temperature cycling ac- those described in the preceding case studies. The ceptable; others may level out the cycle by using reader should be cautioned, however, that the ex- auxiliary heating or by venting excess heat. In short, occupant behavior—the human factor—is a tent and reliability of performance data varies from house to house. The construction of such significant but largely unmeasured variable in the resource-efficient houses is a very recent phenome- performance of many of these resource-efficient non, and most of the houses have been occupied houses. for less than 5 years, many for only one or two Column 5 of table 6 gives estimated values for heating seasons. Consequently, although a num- the gross heating loud of the houses—the amount of ber of them have been monitored for temperature heat required to maintain an average inside tem-

behavior, few of them have had the kind of rigor- perature of 60° F, assuming no internal “activity ous, detailed study that would be necessary to heat” input and no solar input, Many of the draw firm, experimentally verified conclusions passive solar designs have projected loads of a about their precise thermal performance. magnitude similar to the “standard practice” In addition, occupied houses are particularly dif- house (typical conventional stock built after 1977). On the other hand, heat-retentive houses have ficult to study, largely because the behavior of the 2 occupants has a significant effect on the thermal gross loads around or below the 2.5-Btu/ft /dd, a performance of their house. For instance, many widely accepted standard for energy efficiency. passive designs require the residents to interact Column 6 gives estimated seasonal net loads with the passive system by opening and closing after solar and activity heat inputs have been windows, shutters, vents, etc., at different times in taken into account. Column 7 presents the cost of the daily heating cycle. Some owners find these to the auxiliary fuel-based heat required by each be easy and even satisfying chores, others find house, adjusted for size and location. These low 54 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Table 6.—Cost and Heating Performance of Selected Resource-Efficient Houses

Adjusted seasonal cost Gross Net Net cost of of auxiliary Heating Ioada Ioadb solard and heatinge Size degree- (Btu/ft2 (Btu/ft 2 conservation ($/1,000 ft2 House Location (ft 2 ) days /dd) /dd) Total costc features /1,000 dd) Conventional 1. “Standard practice” New York 1,600 6,450 11.0 8.0 $61,000 (79) $0 $94.19 Passive solar 2. Green Mountain Royalton, Vt. 1,264 8,269 7.0 3.2 40,000 (77) 1,350 39.03 3. Hunn Los Alamos, N. Mex. 1,955 6,300 10.0 3.2 67,000 (77) 5,400 38.97 4. Cooley Washington, Corm. 2,500 5,840 8.0 5.0 81,000 (78) 7,000 36.99 5. Shankland White Rock, N. Mex. 2,000 6,155 11.0 2.7 65,000 (77) 4,000 32.17 6. Mobile/Modular Los Alamos, N. Mex. 1,090 6,000 13.0 1.2 25,000 (77) 4,000 14.68 7. Star Tannery Star Tannery, V.I. 1,250 4,224 9.0 1.1 34,000 (77) NA 13.64 8. Balcomb Santa Fe, N. Mex. 2,300 5,797 7.0 80,000 (76) 12,000 9.90 9. Kelbaugh Princeton, N.J. 1,850 4,980 7.0 0.7 55,000 (77) 8,000-10,000 9.12 Heat retentive 10. Leger Pepperell, Mass. 1,100 6,800 2.6 54,000 (79) 400 30.48 11. Average of 13 Saskatoon, Canada 1,100-11,000 3.0 1.7 — — — residences 3,500 12. Arkansas framing Arkansas 1,200 4,300 4.5 1.2 30,000 (76) o 13.95 13. Conserver P. E. I., Canada 1,536 8,300 4.0 1.0 26,000 (78) 0 13.18 Combination 14. MASEC 27008 Eau Clair, Wis. 2,000 8,000 6.0 2.5 80,000 (80) 2,200 21.00 15. MASEC 27004 Cedar Rapids, la. 1,200 6,500 3.0 1.0 56,000 (80) 1,200 12.31 16. ZumFelde Wauseon, Ohio 3,760 6,000 2.7 0.8 84,000 (79) 5,000 10.11 4,000 cons. 2.76 17. Saskatchewan Regina, Canada 2,01610,800 0.2 NA (77) 2.0 { 15,000 active 0.00 1,800 cons. 18. Northfield Northfield, Minn. 1,800 8,250 2.3 0.1 55,000 (77) 1.62 { 6,000 active }

e aExcluding solar and activity heat inputs. Seasonal heating costs, adjusted for differences in size and climate; assumes bIncluding solar and activity heat inputs. fuel costs at $12/MMBtu, or about $1/gal for oil burned in a 70-percent efficient cTotal construction costs, excluding donated labor. furnace, or about $0.04/kWh for electricity used in a resistance system. dTotal cost of special solar or conservation features, less savings due to size reduction or elimination of conventional heating system. SOURCES: 1. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Passive Design Ideas for 12. Owens/Corning Fiberglass, “Energy Saving Homes: The Arkansas Story,” the Energy-Conscious Architect,” National Solar Heating and Cooling in- 1977. formation Center. The standard-practice home is a two-story frame structure 14 and 15. Mid-American Solar Energy Complex, “Solar 80 Home Designs,” with R-13 insulation in the walls, R-19 in ceilings, double-glazed windows (21 1960. percent of floor area), and an unheated, uninsulated basement. 16. Dale and Paul ZumFelde, “A Passive Solar Energy House That Works,” 1960. 2, 3 and 5-9. Sandia Laboratories, “Passive Solar Buildings,” SAND report No. An independently designed double-envelope house similar to Tom Smith’s 79-0624, July 1979. thermal-envelope design. 4 and 13. Solsearch Architects. 17. Ft. W. Besant, R. S. Dumont, and G. Schoenau, “Saskatchewan House: 100 10. Jim Harding, “Surviving the Massachusetts Winter Without a Furnace,” Soft Percent Solar in a Severe Climate,” Solar Age, vol. 4, No. 5, May 1979. A Energy Notes, February 1960. small (192 ft2) active solar collector is used to supply auxiliary heat. 11. R. S. Dumont, H. W. Orr, C. P. Hedlin, and J. T. Makohon, “Measured Energy 18. David A. Robinson, “The Art of the Possible,” Solar Age, vol. 4, No. 10, Oc- Consumption of a Group of Low-Energy Houses,” prepublication copy, Na- tober 1979. tional Research Council of Canada, Division of Building Research, May 1960. costs are indeed impressive and tend to confirm costs the occupants’ claims that very little auxiliary heat Where estimates are available, column 8 of table is needed. If all U.S. housing required these levels 6 lists the incremental costs of solar and/or 2 of auxiliary energy, say 2 to 4 Btu/ft /dd, U.S. superinsulation features. Whenever possible, these residential heating energy consumption could be are net cost figures: any savings due to reduced size reduced by more than 80 percent, to only about 4 or elimination of conventional heating systems Quads/yr. have been deducted from the added cost of the Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 55

solar system or extra insulation. The incremental Temperature Control.–Passive structures, costs are generally small and, in the case of particularly direct-gain designs, often exhibit superinsulated homes, can be almost incidental. rather large daily temperature swings, often as These figures are somewhat speculative, but to the high as 20° F. Because the living space is the solar degree that they prove accurate and typical, in- collector and often the thermal storage as well, cremental costs do not appear to be a barrier to control is sometimes difficult and may demand achieving substantially improved thermal per- considerable attention from the occupants. Indi- formance in new residential housing. rect-gain structures (Trombe walls, greenhouses, etc.) have fewer problems with temperature con- One of the most important implications of table trol. Superinsulated homes have a relatively low 6 is that excellent thermal performance can be mass and therefore are sensitive to sudden in- achieved by a wide variety of residential designs. It crements of energy. A south window area of only will not be necessary to demand drab uniformity 100 ft2 on the Leger house is large enough to cause in the name of efficiency, nor to vastly change overheating on sunny days. A gathering of people consumer tastes concerning styles of housing, nor will rapidly raise room temperatures, and small to plat every subdivision with an eye to protecting operable window areas may not provide adequate solar access. It would also appear that energy- natural ventilation. efficient houses can be constructed throughout the entire price range. Internal Light Levels.—South-facing windows on passive solar houses may make the interi- Potential Problems or painfully bright on sunny days, particularly in The following are some of the problems which winter with snow on the ground. Fading of col- have been encountered with resource-efficient ored furniture and cloth is sometimes a problem. structures. Direct-gain designs are more often subject to this problem than other passive designs. Conversely, Air Quality .–Indoor air quality is a matter of 16 reducing total window area to reduce heat losses in increasing general concern. Very tight houses superinsulated homes, or reducing glazed areas on like the heat-retentive homes listed in table 6 have walls other than south in many solar homes, may measured infiltration rates as low as 0.05 air make north rooms dark and unattractive. Good changes per hour under conditions in which con- architectural design is needed to deal with this ventional houses would have about 1 air change problem. per hour. Low air-exchange rates allow buildups of nitric oxides and carbon monoxides from a gas Livability.–Livability is a matter of taste and stove, radon from masonry, formaldehyde from lifestyles, so hard and fast statements are not ap- furniture and plywood products, and carcinogens propriate. However, the open floorplan character- from cigarette smoke or other sources. Humidity istic of many passive designs, which permits natu- can also build up to the point where condensation ral air circulation and light penetration, also per- becomes a problem. To cope with air quality prob- mits sound and odor diffusion. As mentioned lems without losing heat, air-to-air heat ex- above, system operation and temperature cycling changers are being installed (e.g., in the Leger are acceptable to some people but not to others. house, Saskatchewan house, and Northfield house) which can recuperate up to 80 percent of Maintenance. —Few maintenance problems the heat in outgoing air. A small residential heat have been reported, but most of these homes are exchanger can be built for $150 or bought (from a less than 5 years old, and some future problem Japanese company) for under $250. ’7 areas seem possible. If transparent glazing is used, the large glazed areas will require cleaning. The “J. L. Repace and A. H. Lowrey, “Indoor Air Pollution, Tobacco greenhouse in the Zumfelde home, for example, is Smoke and Public Health,” Scwnce, vol. 208, May 2, 1980, p. 454. I TC. C{)n]ey, “clearing the Air: Air to Air Heat Exchangers in En- glazed with insulated glass panels covering an area ergy Efflclent Houses,” Sojt Energy N’otes, February 1980, p. 25. 13 ft high by 40 ft long, and additional windows 56 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development separate the greenhouse from the living space. potential problem in thermal envelope designs. Maintaining a clear view in such a house might re- Some fire codes require fireproof dampers that will quire a considerable effort. In the longer term, close off the north wall or ceiling cavities in case of ultraviolet radiation will eventually darken and fire. Large expanses of glass, particularly when weaken plastic glazing. Accidental breakage and placed high above the living space, can also vandalism are also potential problems. Very become a hazard to the occupants. Tempered glass strong glazing materials such as polycarbonates are should be used in these situations. available but are also quite expensive. Safety. -In addition to the indoor air quality problems already mentioned, fire safety may be a

Critical Factors Public Perception and Participation ● public awareness and acceptance of new resource-efficient designs and construction The two approaches to improved residential practices, insofar as they affect a house’s ap- energy efficiency that have been discussed in this pearance, thermal behavior, operation, first chapter—solar greenhouse retrofits and the con- costs, financing, and marketability; struction of new passive solar or heat-retentive ● builder awareness and acceptance and the houses–are both highly decentralized. Most new rate at which information about and experi- home construction is done by small businesses ence with new designs and practices can be operating only in their local area, and the average disseminated (see below); and builder produces fewer than 20 units per year. ● the degree of standardization that can be Solar greenhouse construction has been accom- achieve-d in the designs and materials, which plished largely by do-it-yourself or by “barn rais- will reduce or eliminate the need for special ing” workshops involving neighbors and friends. architectural and engineering services. Both instances reveal the virtues as well as the limitations of decentralization, one of the major Public acceptance occurs in two stages: first in- criteria of appropriate technology. terest and awareness, then confidence and demand. The first stage has come relatively easily in Home builders, whether they work under con- the case of solar energy. As one prominent solar tract with the new owner or work on speculation, builder has noted, “Anybody who has partici- must serve the perceived needs, tastes, and pated in the early solar demonstration programs budgets of the prospective buyers. “Spec” housing knows the wonder of opening the door . . . and in particular must be as low-risk as possible, and seeing thousands of visitors heading down the the current high interest rates make rapid turn- walk. ” However, he adds, the question is “when over critical. As a result, spec housing (which will these lookers become buyers?”18 Marketability represents well over half of all U.S. housing starts) is also a concern for the owner/builders of existing is not the place to experiment with new designs resource-efficient houses, as demonstrated in the and features whose marketability is not yet case study of the Cooley house. proven. The vast majority of resource-efficient houses are custom-built for their owners. The construction of solar greenhouse retrofits, on the other hand, has been largely outside the It is to be expected that innovative energy- commercial market and mainly by owners or vol- efficient architecture will penetrate the custom unteer workshops. Awareness and interest have market first: risks to the builder are reduced, and been generated by word of mouth, newspaper and the owner tends to be well-educated, aware of the available technologies, and relatively affluent. IsWayne D. Nichols, “Marketing the Passive Solar Home,” Pro- Penetration of the speculative housing market, ceedings oj the 2d National Passite Sob Conference, Philadelphia, Pa., depends on three interrelated factors: Mar. 16-18, 1978, p. 704. Ch. 3—Resource-Efficient Residential Archtecture ● 57 magazine articles, and a few nationally distributed tached solar greenhouses and other retrofits on books.19 The influence of demonstration projects high-density urban housing. In addition, solar on public perception and demand is marked. In designs perform best in areas with high sunlight New Mexico, says Bill Yanda, “For every work- availability, which makes them more appropriate shop, 10 more greenhouses were built in the com- to a location with sunny winters like New Mexico munity.” In Yellow Springs, Ohio, a community (average solar availability 70 percent in January) of about 5,000 people, a greenhouse was con- than to an area with cloudy winters like Prince Ed- structed by a workshop in the summer of 1978; as ward Island or Ohio (25 to 35 percent availabili- of spring 1980 there were seven other attached ty).20 In the latter locations, the greenhouse or greenhouses in the community, all owner or work- glazed area would have to be larger (and more ex- shop constructed. Because there is little formal pensive) to give the same benefits. On the other marketing of the greenhouse idea, the critical fac- hand, the heat-retentive designs in table 5 could tor in public awareness is a sufficient number and be cost-effective under these conditions. distribution of these local demonstration projects, Most of the building materials for the houses so that a large number of people can become aware described in the case studies were standard sup- of the idea through direct observation and plies, available at the local lumber yard or con- through the experience of their neighbors. Work- struction supply store. One of the goals of the shop participation also builds confidence and en- Bethel House designers was to conserve materials courages people to move from “lookers” to “build- in an area where all supplies are expensive. They ers. ” did this by using plywood instead of solid wood Finally, many people who are aware of the tech- and by making use of scrap wood where possible. nology are not interested in the do-it-yourself ap- Solar greenhouse builders in New Mexico also proach. This would appear to create an opportuni- kept materials cost low by using salvaged glass and ty for commercial construction, but the home im- lumber when they were available, and Tom Smith provement industry does not as yet appear to be made a point of using the cheapest materials possi- aware of this opportunity—or to be technically ble in building his thermal-envelope house. Simi- prepared to undertake solar greenhouse retrofits. larly, Solsearch Architects built their low-cost In addition, while economic payback may not be Conserver Home with as few special design fea- the most important criterion in the eyes of some tures as possible. Some of the more elaborate do-it-yourself builders, commercial participation passive solar and double-envelope designs do re- will require better economic and performance quire specialized materials that may not be readily analysis than is currently available. or cheaply available, such as glazing materials and ventilating fans. Essential Resources Most of the labor required for construction was The resources required to apply these energy- unskilled or semiskilled, and building contractors conserving technologies vary widely from house to or subcontractors are generally available for house, according to the type and size of the struc- skilled items such as plumbing and electrical wir- ture. These resources include a building site, ing. The barn-raising approach of the New Mexico standard building materials, a few special solar workshops was an effective way of developing the materials, and labor. necessary local skill base, as well as a way to finish most of an attached greenhouse in a single week- Most solar installations work best on a generally end. This approach is less appropriate to the larger southfacing site with relatively unobstructed projects, however, but in some cases the owners direct sunlight. This does not limit their ap- provided a significant amount of labor—the plicability to low-density suburban and rural Cooleys, for instance, lived in a tent on the con- areas, however; man opportunities exist for at- y struction site for 6 months, and were still working 19]ame~ Mccu]]agh, ed., The .War Greenhouse Book (Emmaus, pa,: Rodale Press, 1978); and Rick Fisher and Bill Yanda, The Food and Zopau] S. Hoover and Phil Schneider, “Solar Availability in Ohio, ”

Heat Producing Solar Greenhouse (Sante Fe, N. Mex.: John Muir Pub- AT, the Ohio Appropriate Techno/o~ Bullet[n, vol. 1, No. 2, May 1980, lications, 1976, rev. ed. 1980). p. 7., table 2.

74-435 0 - 81 - 5 on their house almost 2 years after it was first Bethel case, some aspects of the demonstration begun. In addition, an increasing number of small design will be adopted by others in the same locali- contractors (like the local builder in Bethel) are ty even though the entire design may not be. mastering the construction techniques required by Arkansas framing, for example, is becoming com- these solar and heat-retaining designs, which pri- mon in the Midwest, due in part to the demonstra- marily require careful attention to details rather tion and publicity program of Owens/Corning. than unusual technical skills. Similarly, more than 50 heat-retentive houses were privately constructed during 1978-79 in the Technical Information and Expertise Saskatoon area using principles developed and demonstrated at the Saskatchewan House. General information on passive solar energy and solar greenhouses is available from Federal agen- As already noted, dissemination of solar green- cies like the National Solar Heating and Cooling house know-now and skills has been accomplished Information Center, from State solar offices and by a workshop process. In both design and con- regional centers, and from private organizations struction workshops, the orientation is do-it-your- and publications such as Rodale Press, The Inter- self and the information conveyed is very prac- national Solar Energy Society, Alternative Sources tical. However, as a means of transmitting tech- of Energy, Mother Earth News, and the Center for nical information and expertise, the workshop ap- Renewable Resources. Most public libraries can proach is limited by a number of factors: also provide solar literature. If anything, the problem is selecting relevant sources of information ● The number of participants must be kept from a very large and diverse pool. small (about 15 maximum for a construction However, specific information directly applicable workshop) to ensure safety and to give every- to a particular locale, site, and design problem is one a chance to participate. not always easy to obtain. Much of the available ● Management skills needed to organize, publi- information is national in scope or orientation, cize, and supervise a workshop are consid- and too general to be of help to a builder or owner erable. If this effort were not voluntary, it making vital design or construction decisions for a might be cheaper to construct the greenhouse particular job. The lack of specific local micro- professionally. climate information is a good example: it is desir- ● The programs do not always include follow- able in most (but not all) areas of Ohio to orient up, so the people participating in the work- glazing 15 to 20 degrees east of south, rather than shop do not have continuing access to the ex- due south, because winter mornings are clear more pertise of those brought in to run the work- often than afternoons and because the prevailing shop. winds are from the southwest. This sort of site- specific information is not readily available in ● Only a limited number of people are inter- many areas, although regional organizations like ested in and prepared for undertaking solar the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Mid- greenhouse construction as a do-it-yourself or American Solar Energy Complex are developing community project. Transfer of knowledge designs that take advantage of local climatic condi- and skills to the private home-improvement tions. KCC’s Bethel House development is a good sector may be necessary if these designs are to example of a design that is appropriate to local be adopted on a widespread basis. conditions; it and the other heat-retentive houses In a few cases access to information or a are less dependent on microclimate conditions technology is limited by proprietary interests, as than the solar designs. with Norman Saunders’ “solar staircase” roof. Local demonstration projects have proven to be However, the ideas behind these systems are sim- an effective means of disseminating technical in- ple enough, and are discussed widely enough in formation, since they give builders as well as the literature, that most architects and many buyers a chance to see that resource-efficient builders should find no difficulty in producing designs can work under local conditions. As in the similar designs of their own. Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 59

Financing For the middle- and upper-income populations who are the major purchasers of new single family Skepticism regarding the workability, efficiency, housing, energy costs of new conventional homes and acceptabilit of passive solar homes often y are a small part (10 to 15 percent) of the cost of leads to problems in acquiring financing from local home ownership. Thus, while low energy costs for lenders, for owners and speculative builders alike. passive and superinsulated homes have received The Cooleys had difficulty obtaining a construc- attention and publicity, economic incentives may tion loan, and the Bethel House was possible only not be the only factor in decisions of current because KCC was willing to “loan” the funds builders and purchasers. Noneconomic factors, needed for construction until the house could be such as achieving greater energy independence sold. Obtaining a loan sometimes means that the and security, concern about the environment, and lender just be educated or that the builder must the desire to innovate, also seem to play an impor- accept design compromises, such as a convention- tant role.23 al backup heating system that may increase building costs substantially and unnecessarily. It is equally difficult to assess the economics of attached solar greenhouses. At least three poten- Single-family homes are financed primarily tial benefits of this retrofit must be considered: through local banks or savings and loan associa- added living space, food or flower production, and tions. There are some 23,000 lending institutions, net heat energy production. Food production de- so the task of educating lenders is considerable. pends critically on the skills and attention of the The lenders tend to be risk-averse, and the ap- gardener (see ch. 4), but limited analysis of the praisers who estimate sale values for them also New Mexico greenhouses found construction costs tend to be conservative regarding the marketabili- in the range of $4 to $ 17/ft2 and simple paybacks ty of most innovations. These factors can pose a (in terms of heat and food production) of 4 to 8 substantial barrier to the financing and diffusion years. In terms of heat production alone, the per- of resource-efficient housing, and one housing formance of the Hinesburg greenhouse, when ex- developer notes that his first solar development trapolated to 12 U.S. cities, shows a wide variation “would never have happened if we had not been in fuel savings (see tables 3 and 4). This illustrates able to do the design, the financing, the land 21 the difficulty of making generalizations about development, and the construction ourselves.” feasibility and points up the need for site-specific Economic assessment of passive solar and heat- economic assessment, the lack of site-specific retentive houses is also difficult because their ac- microclimate data (see above) may also be a barrier tual heating performance depends on uncertain to commercial interest in solar greenhouse and indeterminant factors such as weather, inter- retrofits. nal heat gains, and occupant behavior. Long-term average performance may be predictable, but Institutional Factors potential owners and lenders are also concerned Other potential barriers to the diffusion and about day-to-da liveability. Similarly, the life- y adoption of these resource-efficient housing tech- cycle analysis may be impressive, but lifecycle nologies may arise from the patent system, the costing involves many uncertainties and is gener- building industry, utility companies, and building ally more important to society as a whole than to 22 and fire codes. Some of the designs, like the “solar individual purchasers, lenders, or buyers. The staircase, ” are patented, although the owner of builder loses interest in the house when it is sold, that patent allowed the Cooleys to use the design the average purchaser moves within 5 years, and for a $15 fee if they would monitor its perform- owners and lenders alike are more concerned about preserving equit and meeting monthl ance. David Bergmark of Solsearch Architects has y y indicated that low-energy house designers do not payments. ZINlchols, Op. cit., p. 706.

ZZM. A. Thayer, D. BrUnmn, and S. A. Nell, “solar Econornic- z~R. W. Gilmer, The Social Contro/ oj Energy: A ~e jor tb prOmiSe Analysis: An Alternative Approach,” Proceedings 0/ the 4th INationul oj Decentralized Solar Technology (Oakridge, Term.: Institute for Ener- Pusswe Solar Conference, Kansas City, Me., Oct. 3-5, 1979, p. 241. gyAnalysis, March 1979). 60 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development always cooperate with one another in the ex- let. Two owners wanted to install a Clivus Mul- change and improvement of concepts and designs. trum comporting toilet, but code requirements Several of the designers have approached the forced them to build conventional septic tanks builders of low-cost and tract housing about their and drain fields. In other cases local codes forced designs, although with less success than in the the builders to enlarge the windows on the east, Bethel case study. They attribute this lack of in- west, and north walls, or limited their use of glass panels on the roof. The double-envelope design terest to the unfamiliarity of the technologies and the builders’ aversion to risk. raised concern because the free circulation of air around the structure might allow a fire to spread A final barrier may arise from building and fire more rapidly. The designers believe they can re- codes. In some of the case studies the local codes move this potential hazard by installing heat-acti- required electrical wiring installations that would vated dampers that will block air circulation in the reduce the depth of the insulation behind the out- event of fire.

Federal Policy

Background mandate the use of solar equipment in military construction.24 Unlike some of the technologies studied in other chapters of this assessment, small-scale In JuIy 1977, on the basis of these and other technologies for residential energy conservation Acts, President Carter issued Executive Order No. enjoy widespread attention from the Federal Gov- 12003, setting forth energy performance standards ernment. Congressional interest in solar and con- for federally owned buildings. The order also calls servation programs can be found in a number of for the development of a method for estimating Acts, dating from 1973 to the present. and comparing the lifecycle capital and operating costs of Federal buildings, includin residential. The Solar Energy Research, Development, and g Demonstration Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-473) is the principal legislation authorizing broad-based Current Federal Programs for solar energy research programs. The Solar Heating Residential Energy Conservation and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974 (Public The policies and programs mandated by existing Law 93-409) calls for the commercial demonstra- legislation have been implemented by several Fed- tion of solar heating and cooling systems; the eral agencies in a large number of programs affec- Rural Development Act of 1972 (Public Law ting resource-efficient architecture. The following 92-419) authorizes a program of low-cost loans for discussion illustrates the scope and variety of these energy-efficient retrofits and new housing; and the activities. National Energy Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-618) provides purchaser tax credits for the home in- The Department of Energy (DOE), as the desig- stallation of solar devices as well as a loan program nated lead agency in these efforts, is involved not for solar devices through the Federal National only in research, development, and demonstration Mortgage Association. Related legislation includes programs, but also manages several different pro- the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 grams of technical assistance and information (Public Law 94-163), which calls for the estab- dissemination, as well as funding grants programs lishment of building energy efficiency standards and providing much of the “pass through” funding and creates the Residential Conservation Service for the programs of other Federal agencies. DOE is and Federal Energy Management Program. Other also responsible, under the Energy Conservation laws provide incentives to small businesses and farmers, encourage international programs, and 2+ Res1dat1a/ Ener~ Conservation, OP. cit., PP. 64-6S. —

Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 61 and Production Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-385), the strictest in the Federal Government, and in for establishing and promulgating Building Energy 1979 the FmHA loan programs provided for Performance Standards (BEPS). The BEPS pro- almost 175,000 new rural housing units. FmHA is gram has become the subject of some controversy, also developing a “home energy indexing system” however, and the standards—which were to have designed to “rate the energy efficiency of heating been announced in August 1980 and included in and cooling systems and construction features of State and local building codes by August 1981– specific house plans. ”27 (Further discussion of the have been delayed. Some of the objections to the farm and rural energy programs of USDA will be BEPS program will be raised in the discussion of found at the end of ch. 5.) issues and options, below. The Department of Defense (DOD), under its The residential energy-efficiency programs of Energy Conservation Investment Program, has the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- embarked on an ambitious program to retrofit ex- ment (HUD), like those of the Community Serv- isting military buildings (including residential) ices Administration (see the section on Federal with solar energy systems and to include these policy in ch. 4), emphasize self-help projects at the systems in the designs of new buildings. The neighborhood level. One of HUD’s major pro- Military Construction Act of 1980 (Public Law grams is its household counseling service, which 96-125) requires that DOD analyze all new family provides conservation and other information housing to determine whether solar designs would through a network of 600 local community groups. be cost effective, and, if so, to install or in- Some of HUD’s building energy-efficiency pro- corporate the systems. DOD is responsible for grams have been transferred to DOE, but one of- 400,000 housing units worldwide. ficial at HUD’s Office of Energy Conservation has The Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the regu- suggested that technologies like those discussed in latory agency for the Nation’s 4,400 savings and this chapter would fare better if DOE concen- loan associations, is actively encouraging those trated on R&D and HUD on financing and appli- associations to include energy-efficiency re- cation. She points out that there is still some feel- quirements in their home loan programs. There is ing at the Federal level that small-scale conserva- no legislative mandate for these efforts, which the tion technologies cannot have a large impact on board has undertaken out of its concern for the the Nation’s energy problems, and that the tech- national energ situation. In the past year it has nologies might be adopted more rapidl if a greater y y conducted four workshops for local associations, portion of Federal funds went straight to the providing technical and economic information on neighborhoods or if local groups were allowed a 25 solar retrofits and solar systems for new housing larger role in project planning. In addition, and publicizing the different energy-efficiency around 400 VISTA volunteers are working on 90 standards that have already been adopted by some energy-related projects nationwide, and an official associations. says that VISTA hopes to raise the number to 26 1,000 volunteers in 1980. Issues and Options With pass-through funding from DOE, the U.S. The existing Federal programs for residential Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports sev- energy conservation, though extensive, have been eral research programs designed to promote the variously criticized as misdirected, uncoordinated, adoption and application of small-scale technol- or ineffective. The issues raised by these criticisms, ogies. USDA, through the Farmers Home Admin- as they relate to the technologies discussed in the istration (FmHA), also makes available low-cost loans for energy-efficient retrofits and new con- case studies, fall into four related areas: struction. USDA officials claim that their depart- ● program priorities and coordination; ● ments’ energy standards for new rural housing are R&D;

-’sGIOrla Cousar, DlreCtOr, Office of Energy Conservation, HUD, ZiDonald L. Van Dyne, Policy Analyst, USDA, pemml com- persc)nal communication, Aug. 15, 1980. munication, and his presentation to the Northeast Agricultural Mar- “Jack Colhurn, VISTA, personal communication, August 1980. keting Committee, Sturbridge, Mass., June 19, 1980. 62 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

● ● demonstration and information dissemina- C&SE lacks a clear vision of where it is going tion; and and how it will get there. ● ● financing. DOE does not appear to have set priorities among the various programs in C&SE to en- ISSUE 1: sure that the total resources are being appor- Program Priorities and Coordination. tioned to achieve the maximum benefit. ● C&SE needs to develop the capability to de- A number of studies, including those presented termine what it can accomplish for the coun- in table 6, suggest that energy-efficient architec- try, to make sound policy and program deci- ture can reduce residential heating loads by an sions to reach these objectives, and to keep order of magnitude and that energy-saving retro- the programs moving steadily toward the fits and new housing are cost effective against pres- goals in the face of pressures to alter course in ent energy prices. Other studies also suggest that ways not necessarily in the national in- improving the energy efficiency of buildings could terest.30 represent the fastest and the cheapest means to The study also found that: reduce national energy consumption and U.S. dependence on imported fuels. An earlier OTA re- ● C&SE could improve its coordination with port concluded that “the potential for conserva- other Federal agencies, such as HUD, and tion before the end of the century dwarfs that of other government levels (State, local, and solar. ”28 foreign). ● Closer cooperation between solar and conser- Nevertheless, the impact of Federal activity on vation programs is needed to formulate a the development and application of passive solar least-cost buildings strategy for combining and heat-retentive technologies in residential passive features, active systems, and conserva- housing has been relatively limited to date. In tion measures in the most economical way for large part, this lack of impact reflects a lack of em- different types of buildings and climates. Sev- phasis on residential conservation in the existing eral important areas are underemphasized, in- energy programs of the Federal Government. cluding building retrofits. Another OTA study suggests that: ● The Office of State and Local Programs needs Because of the wide variety of programs influenc- increased technical capability and discretion- ing both housing and conservation, many mecha- ary monies to properly encourage flexible and nisms exist to affect energy consumption in responsible efforts to meet local and State homes . . . . [But] energy conservation has not needs as well as national goals.31 been a major priority for most Federal programs, and there has not been strong coordination of the Option 1-A: Review Federal Policy and various departmental efforts. A stronger commit- Program Priorities.–Congress may wish to ex- ment to energy conservation, combined with im- ercise its oversight powers to order a thorough proved technical work and more sophisticated cost review of Federal programs for residential energy analysis, could mean a much stronger response to conservation and/or to direct DOE to modify its conservation goals from both the public and 29 priorities and programs to give greater emphasis to private sector. conservation measures, particularly those appro- As the lead agency, DOE, and especially its priate to low-cost retrofits and new low-income Conservation and Solar Energy (C&SE) Pro- housing. grams, have been the subject of particular criticism. OTA’s critique of these programs in- Congress has agreed to DOE’s request for a 1- year delay in the promulgation of the BEPS concluded the following findings: servation standards (see above), originally scheduled for August 1980. These standards are likely to

ZsConservation and Solar Energy Programs Oj the Department O/ En~gy: A Critique (Washington, D.C.: Office of Technology Assessment, JOConSert,ation and so~ar Enera Programs oj the DePanment 0/ Enevw U.S. Congress, June 1980), p. 14. A Critique, op. cit., pp. 3 and 13. ZgResidentia/ Ener~ Conservation, op. Cit., p. 13. JIIbid., pp. 4, 5, and 32. Ch. 3–Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture ● 63 become the model for State and local building sale value of the houses to which these technol- codes, and once established they will hasten the ogies have been applied. widespread application of the resource-efficient technologies discussed in this chapter. Further R&D might also focus on the interaction of these technologies and the optimal com- Congress might also choose to investigate bination of solar and heat-retentive features. means of improving the programs of technical and Another area for further investigation is the cost financial assistance to State agencies and local of the conservation measures, particularly their organizations. The case studies suggest that locally lifecycle costs. An important technical area that based efforts are very successful in encouraging the has thus far been underemphasized is the potential adoption of these technologies. benefit of energy-conserving retrofits for existing Option 1-B: Redirect Federal R&D Ef- housing. Finally, because the application of these forts.–The case studies in this chapter and the technologies is highly site specific, there is also a studies cited in table 5 suggest that a variety of need for detailed microclimate information for dif- conservation measures can be taken at a ferent areas of the country. reasonable cost, but much remains to be learned about the best combinations of features for dif- ISSUE 2: ferent climates. OTA’s Critique concluded that Demonstration and information “DOE has paid insufficient attention to basic Dissemination. research directed at energy conservation and solar energy. ”32 Similarly, OTA’s Residential Energy Some demonstration projects have shown them- Conservation found that: selves to be very effective in increasing public awareness and interest in resource-efficient hous- The short-term focus of current DOE conserva- ing. The Cooley house has visitors almost every tion R&D ignores some longer term options that day, and when it was included on a local solar also have high returns . . . Research on attitudes, housing tour it had 450 visitors in a single day. energy use patterns, institutional and legal barriers Similar results were common in the other cases, to conservation, and similar important areas have not received adequate emphasis. Research and pol- and in the case of greenhouse retrofits a single demonstration house can lead to the adoption of icy decisions on energy technology do not adequately consider the conservation applications of this technology by a large number of families in new technologies, the potential of conservation to the same community or region. The Federal Home reduce demand and provide time for shifting to Loan Bank Board’s information program for lend-

new energy systems is not fully appreciated. The ing institutions has also had a degree of success in policy appears to reflect an attitude by DOE and disseminating information and changing attitudes the Office of Management and Budget that conser- about resource-efficient housing, as have some vation should be viewed as a stop gap that merits DOE efforts. DOE has three different information little Federal research funding, in sharp contrast to 33 programs—the Energy Extension Service, the Na- new production approaches. tional Solar Heating and Cooling Information Congress may wish to direct DOE to reorganize Center, and the Regional Solar Energy Centers—

its programs and redirect its residential energy each located under a different deputy secretary R&D to reflect the findings of projects like those and pursuing a separate mission. Some critics, referred to above. In particular, there is a need to however, have expressed concern that these pro-

gather “social science” data on the attitudes and grams are poorly thought out, poorly coordinated preference of home buyers and the effects of occu- within DOE, and poorly coordinated with the ef- pant behavior on the thermal performance of forts of other Federal information programs and energy-efficient houses. This information would the needs of State and local agencies. also be useful in determining the impact of resource-efficient design on the marketability and re- Option 2: Establish a Central Clearing. house.–Congress may wish to investigate the ‘21bid., p. 26. benefits of establishing a single office to gather and 3~Reslden[1a/ Enero Conserttulon, op. cit., p. 13. disseminate information on energy-efficient tech- 64 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

nologies for residential housing. Such a clearing- created Solar Bank will provide subsidized loans, house might also be given responsibility for devel- another useful new effort is an information and oping a compendium of Federal programs for the training program for real estate appraisers, whose use of State and local governments and for compil- familiarity with the technologies often influences ing handbooks of technical and microclimate data the resale value and marketability of resource- for local building contractors and owner-builders efficient houses. (see above). This information should include data on the design and cost of retrofits like the attached Option 3-A: Gather and Disseminate Cost solar greenhouse. These goals might be achieved Data.—The availability of reliable economic in- by expanding the National Solar Heating and formation, including detailed lifecycle costing, would do much to eliminate remaining uncertain- Cooling Information Service, but a network of regional clearinghouses might also be effective. ties about these technologies. Congress might direct DOE to include the gathering and disseminating of such data among the priorities of its re- ISSUE 3: . search and information programs (see above). Financing. Option 3-B: Increased or Earmarked The case studies in this chapter represent only a Funding.—Congress may wish to demonstrate its tiny sample of the thousands of resource-efficient commitment to residential energy conservation by retrofits, additions, and new houses that have increasing the funding level of the programs and been built in the last 5 or 10 years. Like most of proposals discussed above, or by earmarking funds the case studies, the majority of these applications for these purposes in authorizations for other programs. Current funding has been called “woefull have been made privately by middle- and upper- y income families, without Federal funds and often inadequate” to the potential savings that could be without a tax incentive. achieved through energy-saving retrofits and new housing. In view of these potential benefits, such To increase the rate of adoption, however, and funding represents a highly profitable social in- to ensure the application of these technologies to vestment, and the investment might best be pro- Government-subsidized and private low-income tected (and its benefits best achieved) through self- housing, will require further efforts to reduce the help and self-sufficiency programs like those of risks involved for owners, builders, and lenders HUD and CSA. Through such programs, the alike, whether private or public. The Federal funds cease to be a continuing subsidy and become

Home Loan Bank Board’s efforts in this area have instead a way to permanently reduce the energy been particularly effective, but a board official has needs of local households. Direct funding of neigh- said that the local savings and loan associations borhood groups for workshops and other local would prefer not to have formal regulation issued self-help projects may prove to be far more cost ef- in this area, so that they may keep as much flex- fective than subsidies in achieving the Nation’s ibility as possible in their programs. The newly residential energy goals. Chapter 4 Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses Contents

Page Page Introduction ...... 67 Food Protection and Solar Greenhouse Programs of the Community Services Administration . . . . 84 Conventional Greenhouse Technology. . . . . 68 Issues and Options ...... 85 Solar GreenhouseTechnology...... 68 Design ...... 69 List of Tables Plant Production ...... 70 Table No. Page Solar Greenhouse Horticulture—A Case 7. Typical yields of Commercia Vegetables in Study of the Cheyenne Community Solar Conventional Greenhouses. ...,...... 68 Greenhouse ...... 72 8. Estimated Yields of Commer ial Vegetables in The Community Setting...... 72 Solar Greenhouses ...... 71 Development ...... 73 9. Major Crops in Cheyenne Greenhouse ...... 76 The CCSG Solar Horticulture Technology ...... 74 10. Cheyenne Solar Greenhouse Monthly Yields TheCCSG Project ...... 77 During First 2 Years of Operation...... 77 Critical Factors ...... 79 Public Perception and Participation ...... 79 List of Figures Essential Resources...... 80 Figure No. Page Technical Information and Expertise...... 81 l3. Recommended Minimum Insulation and Financing ...... 81 Heat Storage for Solar Greenhouses in Institutional Factors...... 82 the United States ...... ,,..,. 70 Federal Policy ...... 82 14. Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse Background ...... 82 Floor Plan...... 75 CHAPTER 4 Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses

Introduction

In the last chapter, solar greenhouses were Locally grown vegetables, if properly grown, discussed as passive solar collectors that could sup- have a higher nutritional value simply because ply part of the space-heating load of the houses to they reach the consumer faster. They usually re- which they were attached. In this chapter they will quire less processing, packaging, and transporta- be discussed as a technology for producing food for tion—factors which account for as much as 85 per- the individual family and for the community. In cent of the cost of supermarket vegetables. This this capacity, solar greenhouses have two features has led to heightened private and public interest of special interest: they can provide a source of in alternatives to conventional, energy-intensive fresh, locally grown produce year-round, even in technologies for the mass production and distribu- the coldest climates; and, unlike conventional tion of fruits and vegetables. greenhouse production or the mass distribution of remotely grown winter vegetables, they do not re- Community gardening has received the most attention from government agencies at all levels: quire large quantities of oil or other fossil fuels. By combining these two benefits, solar greenhouses City lot projects, youth gardens, employee can reduce the food budgets and energy budgets of gardens, and gardens for retired people and the individual families, community groups, and the handicapped have sprung up throughout the coun- Nation as a whole. try. High food costs caused in part by resource shortages is the major reason why so many have According to the estimates of the U.S. Depart- become involved in community gardening . . . . ment of Agriculture (USDA), per capita consump- For low-income people in urban areas, gardens are an opportunity to reduce fuel and food costs si- tion of vegetables in the United States was 223 lb 2 in 1975. As nutrition becomes a more important multaneously. concern, this figure is likely to rise, and with it the The next two chapters will discuss steps that have demand for locally grown produce. A recent re- also been taken to develop low-cost energy sources port on the Community Food and Nutrition Pro- for small-scale farmers (ch. 5) and local marketing gram observes that: systems for their produce (ch. 6). Both are meth- The focus on quality promises to be the overrid- ods by which the viability of small farms and ing concern of Federal nutrition research for the quality of produce may be improved, and the costs 1980’s. This concern, which first surfaced within of both reduced. the Federal Government in a major way when the This chapter will examine a communit project Senate [Select Committee on Nutrition and Hu- y man Needs] released its “Dietary Goals for Amer- in which produce is grown on an energy-efficient icans” in 1978, has now penetrated the Federal basis year-round while at the same time providing bureaucracy. In the very near future, it is expected job training, employment, and a basis for local that USDA and HEW [now the Department of economic development. Health and Human Resources] will jointly issue a set of nutrition guidelines calling on all Americans to consume less sugar, salt, and fat and eat more vegetables, grains, fruits, and fiber-rich foods . . . . The concern for improving the quality of the American diet is reflected in the increasing interest shown by Congress in the labeling of foods and in nutrition education. 1 ‘Ann Becker, “Appropriate Technology and Agriculture in the United States,” background paper for Appropriate Technology in the Icommunity ServicM Administration, “A Preliminary Report to United States, prepared by Integrative Design Associates, Inc., for the

Congress on the Community Food and Nutrition Program of the National Science Foundation, Research Applied to National Needs, Community Services Administration, ’’Jan. 15, 1980, pp. 30-31. grant No. 76-21350, 1977, p. 13.

67 68 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Conventional Greenhouse Technology Greenhouse food production is not a new idea. yields are shown in table 7. Factors that influence Europeans cultivated pineapples and oranges in yields include: hothouses in the 1600’s, using troughs filled with charcoals to keep the tropical fruit warm during light levels; the northern winter. The present-day greenhouse growing temperatures; structure with glass walls and roof made its ap- transpiration rates (the rates at which the pearance about 1700, and by 1800 was sometimes plants lose moisture into the air); attached to the south sides of houses, opening carbon dioxide (CO levels; onto the parlor or salon through folding doors. 2 These glassed-in rooms, called “conservatories,” structure of growing medium and availability were quite fashionable in Victorian England and of nutrients; and enjoyed a brief vogue in the United States, as well. pest and disease control. They were not used to grow food crops, however, Commercial growers control all of these factors and because so many were poorly designed or carefully in order to achieve the highest possible built, their popularity faded by 1900. yields under very dense planting conditions. Conventional greenhouses—freestanding struc- Because of the all-glass design, much of the light tures, glassed in on all sides and heated by oil, that enters the structure goes out again through natural gas, or electricity—are not customarily the north wall, so supplemental lighting is com- used to grow a variety of common garden vege- mon. The glass walls and roof allow a great deal of tables. Their inefficient designs and high operating heat to escape from the greenhouse, especially at costs make them economical for high-return hor- night, so operators must use a standard space- ticulture, such as flowers, tropical plants, and ex- heating system to maintain stable temperatures. otic or out-of-season produce. The last category in- To keep transpiration rates low, greenhouse hu- cludes the three crops that are the mainstay of the midity is kept high and many operators install limited commercial greenhouse production of automatic misting systems. It is also common for vegetables: tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers. Re- greenhouse air to be enriched with additional search on greenhouse vegetable yields has focused CO2, and chemicals are almost always used for fer- on these three commercial crops; typical annual tilizers and for disease and pest control.

Table 7.—Typical Yields of Commercial Vegetables in Conventional Greenhouses

1980 value Annual yielda Annual Average yieldb (cents/lb) Crop (ton/acre) crops (lb/ft 2/month) Wholesale Retail Tomatoes ...... 120 2 0.46 60-80 70-120 Lettuce ...... 140 5-7 0.53 45-75 60-100 Cucumbers ...... 175 2 0.67 35-100 60-110 aMarketable yield after removing culls. bYields vary greatly by season; e.g., spring tomatoes yield about three times as much as fall crops, and spring cucumbers yield about 2.2 times as much as fall crops.

SOURCE: Personal communication from William Bauerle, associate professor of horticulture, OARDC, Wooster, Ohio.

Solar Greenhouse Technology Solar greenhouses are not yet in widespread use tional greenhouses, and as a result crop yields are for commercial vegetable production. As presently unpredictable. On the other hand, home and constructed, they have a more highly variable communit y solar greenhouses can be used to grow growing environment than is permitted in conven- a much wider variety of vegetables, many of which Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 69 have a limited history as greenhouse crops in the United States; and their resource-efficient design, combined with the innovative horticultural methods, can lead to lower operating costs. Design The simplest forms of resource-efficient greenhouses are the cloche, originally a bell-shaped jar or bottomless glass jug, and the cold- or hot-frame, a small seedbed enclosed in a glass-topped box. These traditional small-scale methods of protecting individual plants or rows, which have been used since the 1600’s by European peasants and Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment market farmers, have been improved on in the Representative model of small freestanding greenhouse modern, energy-efficient solar greenhouse. These modern applications are the attached greenhouse deliver up to 33 percent more light to the plants (examined inch. 3), which can supply part of the during the winter.3 space-heating and food-producing needs of a family home, and the larger freestanding greenhouse, To retain the solar heat that enters the green- which is more appropriate to the needs of a com- house, it is heavily insulated. The south roof is munity gardening project and is potentially adapt- double-glazed with glass or, increasingly, fiberglass able to low-cost commercial production. The discussion that follows focuses on the freestanding solar greenhouse. Three principal features of solar greenhouse design and construction account for its energy efficiency: . sun-catching design, ● insulation, and

● heat storage. The south-facing translucent roof is the primary receptor of the Sun’s light and heat. Because heating needs are greatest during the winter months, the slope of the roof is angled to be perpendicular to the Sun’s rays when it is lowest on the horizon; the farther north the greenhouse, the greater this slope. The north roof is angled to allow sunlight to strike the rear interior wall, and the east, west, and north walls—since they are not needed to admit solar energy—are made of well- insulated wood, masonry, or other materials. Sev- eral features allow the greenhouse to capture the greatest amount of light and heat: the peak of the roof is about as high as the building is deep; the Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment structure is at least twice as wide (east to west) as it Heavy insulation retains heat that enters greenhouse is deep, and the inside surface of the opaque walls and north roof are painted white or lined with re- 3Jack Ruttle, “The Solar Greenhouse That’s Right for You,” flective materials. These features can combine to Organic Gardening, vol. 25, No. 8, August 1978, p. 51. 70 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

and clear plastic. Triple-glazing might be necessary for tropical plants or for extreme climates, but a night curtain is usually more effective than a third layer of glazing. The north roof and opaque walls are insulated according to climate, with the insulation extending into the ground below the frost line on all four sides. Figure 13 shows the recommended amount of insulation for different regions of the United States. All seams and joints are caulked and weatherstripped to prevent drafts and heat loss. Unlike conventional greenhouses with standard space-heating systems, solar greenhouses are kept warm at night and during periods of cloudiness by warmth released from a heat storage medium such as rocks, water, or thermochemical materials. Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment Water holds heat well and is cheap, drums stacked Single row of water-filled 55-gal drums along the rear wall in direct sunlight are a common design. Heat storage stabilizes temperatures in two ways: it absorbs incoming heat during the also include a backup system to provide heat when outside temperatures are particularly low or dur- day, thus keeping the greenhouse from overheating, and the heat is released slowly as the greening extended periods of cloudiness. house cools, thus keeping it warmer at night. The amount of heat storage will vary with climate (see Plant Production figure 13), and by adding more heat storage the Solar greenhouse horticulture is still in the early builders can avoid the need for excessively thick stages of development, but a number of innovative and expensive insulation. Some solar greenhouses methods have been discovered. In keeping with

Figure 13.—Recommended Minimum Insulation and Heat Storage for Solar Greenhouses in the United States

Regional recommendations for minimum amounts of insulation in walls and roof, below ground and of water for heat storage.

Zone 1 wall and roof, R-40 Zone 5 walls and roof, R-6.5 below ground, R-15 to 3 below ground, R-5 to 1 feet deep foot deep heat storage, 4 gallons per heat storage, 2 gallons square foot of floor square foot of floor Zone 2 wall and roof, R-22 Zone 6 walls and roof, R-6 below ground, R-15 to 3 below ground, R-5 to 1 feet deep foot deep heat storage, 3 gallons per heat storage, 1 gallon per square foot of floor square foot of floor Zone 3 walls and roof, R-12 Zone 7, 8, 9 These regions need in- below ground, R-10 to 2 sulation and night curtains, but to i feet deep much lower insulating values. heat storage, 3 gallons per Greenhouses in these regions do square foot of floor not require double glazing, but it Zone 4 walls and roof, R-6.5 will help. No heat storage or below- ‘1 below ground, R-10 to 2 ground insulation is needed for feet deep minimum performance. About half heat storage, 2 gallons per the north slope of the roof should 9-8 Y square foot of floor I be glazed.

Source: Organic Gardening and Farming Research Center, In Organic Gardening Magazine, August 1978, p. 54. Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 71 principles of resource conservation and environ- greenhouse can also be exploited to meet the grow- mental safety, these have tended to be organic ing conditions of different plants in the same rather than chemical techniques. Pest control, for space: cool crops can be grown at floor level or instance, can be accomplished with natural preda- near the glazing; crops that need more warmth can tors such as praying mantises or small reptiles. be grown in hanging containers or on top of the

CO2 can be provided by keeping a compost pile or heat storage. Since home and community green- by incorporating large amounts of organic materi- houses are used to grow a wide variety of crops, als into the growth medium, this will also improve these variations may actually be an advantage. the structure and fertility of the soil. The horticulture department at Pennsylvania Unlike conventional greenhouses, where plants State University has begun an evaluation of the are grown in pots on waist-high benches, solar commercial vegetable production potential of greenhouses usually have 18-inch deep beds on the several solar greenhouse designs.4 Preliminary floor, which both increase the growing area and results showed a rather high degree of variability protect plant roots from the larger swings in air in time to fruiting and expected total yields (see temperature. The variable conditions in a solar table 8). The investigators reported that the quality of the produce was generally as high or higher than the quality of the same crop grown in a conventional greenhouse. These preliminary results involve too many variables to be readily comparable with the yield figures for conventional greenhouses given in table 7, but they do suggest that some plant varieties are better suited to solar greenhouses than others. Further research and experience will be required to determine the crop yield potential of solar greenhouses and the best crop varieties and horticultural methods for realizing that potential.

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment +Carla Mueller, 1. w. White, and R. A. Aldrich, “The Growth and Response of Vegetables in Sub-Optimum Greenhouse Environments, 18-inch-deep beds on the fIoor of the Proceedings o/ the Conference on Energy-Conserving Sokzr-l+eated Green- Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse houses, Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vt., Nov. 12-19, 1977.

Table 8.—Estimated Yields of Commercial Vegetables in Solar Greenhouses

Time to first yield (days) Yield per crop (ton/acre) Average yieldb (Ib/ft 2/month) Crop and varieties #1 #2 #3 #4 #1 #2 #3 #4 #1 #2 #3 #4 Tomatoes 9102M c ...... 70 66 58 24 8 35 36 0.18 0.06 0.27 0.28 “Small Fry’’d...... 114 116 102 93 55 33 60 36 0.42 0.25 0.46 0.28 Lettuce Bibb c...... 101 101 89 87 21 20 20 19 0.24 0.23 0.23 0.22 Buttercrunch c ...... — — — — 20 22 18 14 0.23 0.25 0.21 0.16 Cucumber “La Reine”c ...... 83 76 51 51 10.4 12.1 13.9 12.8 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.15 aGreenhouse designs: bAssuming constant yield at single-crop rate, with two crops/yr of tomatoes, #1—20 by 20 ft double-barrel vault fiberglass house with heat storage. and three crops/yr of lettuce and cucumbers. Figures are at best approximate, #2—Same as #1 but without heat storage. since it is not known whether the yield figures reflect spring, summer, or fall #3—20 by 20 ft two-ridge gable-roofed house double-glazed with acrylic panel- crops. ing. cTransplant. #4—12 by 16 ft traditional single-glazed glass house. ‘Seed. Backup heat was supplied to all houses, but on average temperatures were lower in #1 and #2.

SOURCE: Carla Mueller, J. W. White, and R. A. Aldrich, “The Growth and Response of Vegetables in Sub-Optimal Greenhouse Environments,” Proceedings of the Con- ference on Energy Conserving Solar Heated Greenhouses, Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vt., Nov. 19-20,1977. 72 ● Assessment of Technologyf or Local Development

Relatively large freestanding solar greenhouses year after 2 years of operations The case study are currently under construction or recently put that follows will discuss a fourth installation, the into operation by cooperatives in Orange, Mass., Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse in Lara- and Flagstaff, Ariz.; the Cherokee Nation has con- mie County, Wyo. structed a number of solar greenhouses which they hope will show profits of as much as $1 million per sBob Hathaway, Cherokee Nation, personal communication.

Solar Greenhouse Horticulture—A Case Study of the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse6 The Community Setting Cheyenne, the capital and largest city of Wyo- ming, is located in Laramie County in the south- *b ‘& eastern corner of the State. The city has a population of approximately 60,000, of which 20 percent are Hispanic and 2.5 percent are black; over 10 percent of the city’s residents are 60 years of age or older. A surge of development has been taking place in the area since the early 1970’s, with the population of Laramie County growing by 15 percent between 1970 and 1976 after remaining relatively stable in the preceding decade. This growth is attributed primarily to the recent acceleration of domestic energy production, especially coal, and increased mineral exploration in the region. Rapid expansion, particularly in the outlying fringes of Cheyenne, has focused the city government’s attention on its infrastructure (streets, water system, and fire and police protection) and on its management and financial capabilities for dealing with this growth. The mayor has cited the local government’s difficulties in responding to all of the city’s needs simultaneously, and emphasized that priority must be given to necessary projects Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment and those that can “pay their own way. ” The elderly and low income are recipients of the harvest from the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse Rapid growth has also had some “boomtown” effects, including an inflationary impact on the local economy, particularly on the food, housing, inadequacies, expensive and energy-inefficient and energy costs for Cheyenne’s low-income and housing, limited health services, and physical elderly residents. The directors of the Laramie isolation as the major problems facing the city’s County Senior Citizens Center cited nutritional elderly residents; the same problems face much of the low-income population. bMaterial in this case stud is based on a working y PaPer) “com- Community Action of Laramie County munity Solar Greenhouse, ” prepared by Katherine Day and Babette (CALC), the local branch of the Community Racca for the Harvard Workshop on Appropriate Technology for Community Development, Department of City and Regional Plan- Service Administration (CSA), is the largest social ning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979. service agency in Cheyenne. Its clientele consists Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 73 largely of the low-income and elderly segments of nized the technology’s potential as a focus for local the city’s population, and it has a history of under- development that could encourage low-cost self- taking innovative community projects. CALC has help among its low-income clients, provide a established an Energy Advocacy Program, which meaningful activity for senior citizens, and im- has been used as a forum to examine utility rate prove the nutrition of those using the local meal hikes; a Foster Grandparents Program, which programs. To realize these potential benefits and among other things places senior citizens in the to encourage the widespread adoption of the tech- school system to share their experiences and skills nology, CALC decided to pursue a large-scale with students; and a Weatherization Program, demonstration project—a freestanding community which both provides job training and improves solar greenhouse. the energy efficienc y of low-income housing. Another innovative local agency is Youth Alter- Development natives, a program that places young offenders in public service projects to work off court fines or as In the fall of 1976, CALC submitted a grant re- an alternative to jail terms. quest to CSA’s Community Food and Nutrition Program for $56,000 to fund the construction In 1976, as a part of CALC’s efforts to develop of the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse innovative and instructive uses for Federal funds, (CCSG). It was awarded $42,700 by CSA, which the agency recruited 15 Summer Youth Program had also funded the pilot project. In December of participants for a pilot project to design, build, the same year, initial plans for the design of the and plant three 10 by 16 ft solar greenhouses at- greenhouse were developed by 30 local volunteers, tached to the homes of local low-income families. ranging from engineers to high school students, The participants, all from low-income families, who participated in a workshop and training ses- ranged in age from 16 to 22 and included several sion conducted by CALC in conjunction with the from work-release programs like Youth Alterna- Domestic Technology Institute (DTI) of Denver, tives. The summer program was a success and gen- Colo. These plans were revised and a final draft erated considerable enthusiasm in the community. prepared by DTI; the extent of their revisions is It convinced CALC that solar greenhouse tech- unclear and the subject of controversy (see below). nology was simple and inexpensive, and that it could serve as an imaginative, productive way to After a 2-month search for a site in the city train community members in design, construc- proved fruitless, CALC was able to find a suitable tion, and horticultural skills. CALC also recog- (if somewhat remote) location for the greenhouse

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Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment

Workmen, mostly volunteers, constructing the roof of the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse

74-435 0 - 81 - 6 74 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment

Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse, Cheyenne, Wyo. on a 2.5-acre parcel of land on the outskirts of Cheyenne, about 5 miles east of the center of town. The land belonged to a local family, who gave CALC possession of the site for 10 years with the option of extending their use of the land for an additional 10 years thereafter. In return for the use of the site, it was agreed that at the end of the 10- or 20-year period the land and the greenhouse would revert to the owners. Construction began in June 1977. The construction crew was supervised by two paid carpenters from the community, and consisted of about 50 workers, most of them volunteers, including Sum- mer Youth Program participants, senior citizens, and other local residents. One 60-year-old woman, the first licensed woman plumber in Wyoming, contributed a great deal of time to the design and Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment construction of the greenhouse’s plumbing system. Community gardening plots help reduce family food costs DTI also provided occasional technical assistance. Seven months later, in January 1978, construction summer, with 50 percent of them going to low- was completed and planting began. To help cover income gardeners. Also located on the site are two operating costs, CALC immediately began devel- solar food dryers, comporting bins, an adobe oven oping one section of the greenhouse for the com- used for soil sterilization, and two small geodesic mercial production of flowers, seedlings, and domes. starter flats. The CCSG Solar Horticulture The land surrounding the greenhouse was developed as a community gardening site, consisting Technology of 22 plots, each 12 by 30 ft. Low-income residents The 5,000-ft2 CCSG consists of three separate were given priority in the assignment of these out- growing chambers of about 1,500 ft2 each, permit- door plots; all of the plots were planted the first ting individual climate and pest control in each —

Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouse ● 75 chamber (see figure 14). Located at latitude 41 ‘N, its roof has a 450 slope and is oriented 150 west of true south. The roof is double-glazed, with an outer layer of Filon, a corrugated fiberglass, and an inner layer of Monsanto 602, a strong, clear plastic. The foundation contains 120 yd3 of concrete and is insulated along the outside with polyure- thane foam. The east, north, and west walls are insulated with 8 inches of blown-in insulation; the north-facing roof contains 10 inches of insulation. As further protection against heat loss to winter winds, the north wall is bermed on the outside with step-like layers of compacted earth and wooden beams. All seams and joints have been carefully caulked or weatherstripped to prevent infiltration. Wall studs were placed 4 ft apart to reduce con- in a single row along the south kneewall and two struction costs, and interior walls are paneled with or three high in a single row along the north wall. particle board painted white to provide maximum Each drum stores about 450,000 Btu/yr; the total light reflection. heat storage capacity of the greenhouse is esti- Heat storage is provided by 180 water-filled 55- mated to be almost 1 million Btu/yr. Backup heat gal drums painted flat black. The drums are placed is provided by two wood-burning stoves that were

Figure 14.—Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse Floor Plan

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N s \ 76 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

built by a local high school welding class and in- All of the greenhouse’s plant wastes are currently stalled in the east and west wings. Heat loss occurs being recycled in compost bins, which provide primarily through the glazing at night, and DTI heat, CO2, and fertilizer. In addition, the water has recommended installing night curtains; but drawn from a nearby well for use in the green- the staff feels that funding for such an expensive house is partially recycled and stored in a gray- purchase will not be available for some time. How- water recovery tank until it can be reused for plant ever, heat loss is not a serious problem: tempera- irrigation. tures rarely drop below 40° F during winter nights, and the lowest temperature recorded dur- Over 100 varieties of plants are grown in the ing the first year of operation was 320 F. greenhouse. Table 9 lists the major vegetable During the summer, excess heat is vented by Table 9.—Major Crops in Cheyenne Greenhouse nine wind turbines, three in each chamber, and 13 Beets Green beans Peppers vents allow cooler outside air to enter through the Broccoli Green peppers Potatoes walls. Five electric fans also assist air intake and Brussel sprouts Herbs Radishes Cabbage Kohlrabi Squash circulation. These design features have proven in- Carrots Lettuce Swiss chard adequate, however, and serious overheating prob- Cauliflower Okra Tomatoes lems were encountered during the first summer of Celery Onions Turnips Cucumbers Peas Wax beans operation, with peak temperatures of 1160 F. Such Eggplant heat, combined with the high humidity in the greenhouse, severely restricted the activities of SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. elderly workers and caused tremendous stress on plant life. DTI has recommended the installation crops, and bedding plants and a variety of flowers of day curtains to keep the unwanted heat from are also cultivated. In keeping with the concepts of entering the greenhouse, but the staff fears that resource conservation and environmental aware- this would cut light flow too severely and thereby ness, the methods used in CCSG are oriented inhibit plant growth; other solutions to the over- toward organic rather than conventional (chemical) horticulture. The staff and volunteers also heating problem are being explored. practice a number of innovative horticultural Originally, a methane digester (see ch. 5) was in- techniques: cluded in the greenhouse design to provide backup heat as well as carbon dioxide and fertilizer for the ● Biological pest control.—The CCSG staff has introduced several varieties of natural pred- plants. It was found, however, that the design capacit y of the digester was far less than claimed— only about 60,000 Btu/day—and that even this level of operation would require CCSG to use a compressor and to obtain additional manure from surrounding farms, as well as diverting valuable staff time to operating the digester. But the greatest obstacle to using the digester was a fundamental design flaw: the methane storage tank and gas burner were placed in the same room, greatly increasing the danger of an explosion. No insurance company will cover such an operation, and for lack of insurance the digester system has never been used. CALC blames DTI, which drafted the final design, and may pursue legal action against the firm.

Paradoxically, the purpose the digester was in- Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment tended to serve has been satisfied by a far simpler, Staff and volunteers promote maximum productivity safer, and less costly alternative: a compost pile. while growing over 100 varieties of plants Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 77

ators to control insect pests; the lace-wing Table 10.—Cheyenne Solar Greenhouse Monthly flies, ladybugs, and praying mantises released Yields During First 2 Years of Operation in the greenhouse are now establishing self- (in Ibs of produce) reproducing populations. In addition, a num- Month Yield Month Yield a ber of predators native to Wyoming, in- March 1978 ...... 7 March 1979...... 216 cluding three varieties of wasps, the surfid April 1978 ...... 80 April 1979...... 182 May 1978...... 136 May 1979...... 167 (hoover) fly, and several varieties of spiders, June 1978...... 177 June 1979...... 178 have introduced themselves into the green- July 1978...... 266 July 1979...... 182 house through vents and doors. August 1978...... 242 August 1979 ..., ...... 506 ● September 1978...... 202 September 1979...... 359 Companion planting. –Rather than planting a October 1978...... 305 October 1979...... 231 given bed with a single crop, plants with com- November 1978...... 168 November 1979...... 297 patible root systems and foliage are densely December 1978...... 87 December 1979...... 213 January 1979...... 88 January 1980...... 308 interplanted. This promotes maximum pro- February 1979...... 172 February 1980...... 215 ductivity while reducing susceptibility to the Total...... 1,930 3,054 spread of insects and plant diseases through aArea use: the beds. In some cases the companions (e.g., bVirrter-5% carrots, 3% radishes, 400/. lettuce, 25% swiss chard, 10% cab- carrots and onions) repel each other’s pests. bage, 5°A spinach, 5Y0 peas, 2Y0 herbs. &It?ItIW-50°h tOITINOeS, 250/. cucumbers, 5% peppers, 5“/0 greens ● Multiple-harvest varieties.—To further boost (spinach), 7Y0 squash, 2% herbs, 5% miscellaneous. productivity, experiments are underway to re- SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. place plants that can be picked or harvested only a few times with substitutes that can be presents the quantities of vegetables harvested picked continuously yet continue to grow and each month during the first 2 years of operation. produce. This data should be viewed in light of several con- ● New varieties.—Experiments are also under- siderations. First, the east chamber is occupied by way to find plants and plant varieties that will bedding plants and a work area and is being devel- produce satisfactory yields even under the oped for commercial use, so most of the vegetables stressful conditions characteristic of solar were harvested from the center and west chambers. Of the 3,000 ft2 in these two sections, only greenhouses—i.e., high daytime temperatures 2 in summer and low nighttime temperatures in about 85 percent or 2,500 ft is actual growing space, the remainder being taken up by the water- winter. Research is also being conducted to 7 develop and use a range of plants which will filled drums and walkways. Second, yields for the grow to greater heights, thereby making more first few months were low because not all of the efficient use of the limited floor space in the beds had yet been planted; in addition, the crops greenhouse. first planted in January 1978 and picked in March ● Optimum timing of planting and harvest.– should have been planted the previous October, Unlike field agriculture (which has one grow- which would also have increased yields. Third, ing season in Wyoming) and conventional yields during the summer months were low due to greenhouse horticulture (which has virtually overheating problems. Fourth, the records for the no seasons), solar greenhouses are subject to first year may be imprecise, since it was difficult to two seasons. “Summer” crops flourish be- ensure that volunteers remembered to record their tween March and November; “winter” crops pickings. are grown between September and March. Most importantly, however, the staff and volun- CCSG’s staff is trying to determine optimum teers had little expertise in greenhouse horti- planting and harvesting times, as well as the ?Th~ ~PaC~glven over t. heat storage is unavoidable, although it best crops, in order to make most effective use could be reduced by substituting more expensive thermochemical or of this cycle in growing seasons. phase-conversion devices. The amount of space given over to walkways is a reflection of CCSG’S particular clientele: extra space had to be given over from plant beds to walkways in order to provide ramps The CCSG Project between levels and chambers and to remove other architectural barriers that would have made the greenhouse less accessible to the elder- By March 1979, crops had been produced from ly and the handicapped. CALC is currently attempting to increase all three sections of the greenhouse; table 10 participation by the handicapped. 78 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development culture at the outset, and they also had to make do services rendered, rather than a handout. As one with whatever seeds were donated. They antici- elderly volunteer commented, “People should pated that yields would increase as they gained ex- work for their vegetables.” perience and a better knowledge of crop varieties. Total capital costs for design and construction Figures for the second year of operation, which were about $64,500, including the purchase of the show a 57-percent increase in yields, would seem unused methane digester. The actual costs of con- to confirm this expectation, preliminary figures for struction were borne primarily by CSA, but with- the third year of operation indicate a further sig- out the large donations of land, materials, and nificant increase in yields. labor by the local community and paid staff (who During the first year of operation, the vegetables worked many hours beyond their contractual obli- grown by CCSG were distributed as follows: gations) the project would have required addi-

● tional funding. The same might be said of operat- 67 percent to volunteers, with first priority to ing expenses, which total $38,000 per year for sala- senior citizens and low-income workers; ● ries, supplies, and electricity for lights and fans. 15 percent to local nutrition programs, in- Volunteer work represents most of the labor sup- cluding Meals-On-Wheels and Needs, Inc., plied to the project, which is labor intensive by and the Cheyenne Attention Home; ● design; the only capital equipment that might be 9 percent to paid staff and other CALC ac- substituted for volunteer or paid labor would be tivities; and ● an automatic sprinkler system to mist the plant 9 percent for sale to the public. beds. Produce distribution is done on an informal Senior citizens reported that they were pleased volunteer basis, and patrons of the commercial not only by the produce and exercise the project section come to the site to obtain plants, produce, provided, but also by the chance to do something and seeds. new and interesting and the opportunity to see CALC currently covers operating costs through their friends and meet new people. Head Start Federal funding and other Government programs teachers often brought small children to the site, like CETA. At its present stage of development, which offers special advantages for learning about the commercial section of the greenhouse provides natural processes while exploring the greenhouse. little supplemental revenue. CCSG’s staff is ex- Summer Youth Program and CETA participants ploring ways to develop its commercial operation have had a chance to learn carpentry and other and is investigating the regional market for or- skills, and the director of the Youth Alternatives namental plants, seeds, and starter flats for home program reports that the recidivism rate for teen- gardens. No estimates of the size of this market or agers working at the greenhouse is much lower the anticipated capture rate are available, but the than for those who participate in more conven- staff is certain that the market would support any tional alternatives. amount of commercial products they might offer CCSG provides jobs for two managers (one a at current prices. They also think they might horticulturalist from Colorado, the other a local develop a certain edge by selling unusual and carpenter), a fill-time CETA worker (a horticul- hard-to-obtain plants, teas, and herbs. However, tural trainee in the Green Thumb Program), and solar greenhouses present certain problems in full- several part-time CETA workers (including stu- scale exploitation of seasonal flower markets: dents from Cheyenne’s alternative high school). In Easter lilies and poinsettias, for instance, cannot addition, 50 senior citizens and 20 other volun- be raised in solar greenhouses because of the teers worked at the site during 1978. Salaries for relatively wide temperature fluctuations character- the staff totaled $35,000; volunteers considered istic of these installations, the same is true of most the produce they received to be compensation for tropical plant varieties. Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 79

Critical Factors

Public Perception and Participation greenhouse is carried out by 50 to 100 local volunteers and trainees, supervised by a paid staff. The idea of building a large solar greenhouse came from the director of CALC, who was en- The operation of the greenhouse is managed by couraged by the success of the pilot project in the the three paid, full-time staff members, who spend summer of 1976 and saw the development of a much of their time experimenting with different community-scale project as a means of demon- solar greenhouse horticultural methods. Regular strating the feasibility of the technology and volunteers have certain assigned tasks or respon- stimulating its widespread adoption in the com- sibilities—the herb garden, for instance—but munity. CALC, the local arm of CSA’s Com- much of their work is determined by the chores at munity Action Program, has a history of innova- hand. Key staff decisions on greenhouse horticul- tion in designing programs to serve its varied ture and operations are guided by the Greenhouse clientele; CCSG is an example of a project in Policy Advisory Committee, which in addition to which the public participated in designing the the staff includes several senior citizens and other technology to address local needs and achieving community representatives. Larger financial and local objectives: policy issues are decided by the 18-member board teaching marketable skills; of CALC, which includes 6 representatives elected involving senior citizens in meaningful ac- by the low-income segment of the community; 6 tivities; representatives of civic and community organiza- providing fresh locally grown produce year- tions, such as the League of Women Voters, Kiwa- round; nis Club, NAACP, and Latin-American Associa- developing a focus for community organization; and 6 representatives of local governments, tion and cooperation; and including 3 city and 3 county commissioners or demonstrating a technology relevant to local their appointees. development. - Local government apparently favors the project, One distinctive feature of this project was the but thus far has been unable to give it much sup- central role of community volunteers in the de- port because of more pressing demands on its time sign, construction, and operation of the green- and resources. General community interest has house. The training session and workshop orga- been high, and the staff has been pleasantly sur- nized by CALC allowed the planning group to prised by the interest shown and volunteer labor gain some necessary expertise and help ensure that donated by the wealthier segments of the commu- local needs and desires would be expressed and, nity. Several hundred local residents visited the where possible, incorporated into the plans. The site during the first year of operation, and the staff review and revision of the plans by DTI should offers tours of the facility as well as outdoor gar- have ensured that no technical errors remained in dening classes and other outreach activities. Sev- the final design, but the methane digester and eral members of the community have built their overheating problems suggest that this was not the own attached greenhouses after being involved in case (see below). The actual construction of the the project, including one elderly volunteer who greenhouse was also carried out by local labor, in- built his at no cost with materials salvaged from cluding two paid carpenters who supervised the the local dump. Other local residents plan to do work of trainees from CETA and the Summer so, and the staff, encouraged by these spinoffs, Youth Program and the efforts of as many as 50 have kept in touch with the builders and are cur- local volunteers. Similarly, the operation of the rently developing workshops on solar greenhouse 80 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development operation and food production to stimulate fur- drums, which were donated by a local company. ther adoption of the technology. Equipment costs consisted primarily of the methane digester, which was purchased with $6,000 Nevertheless, although the staff regularly uses from the CALC general fund. Additional equip- radio and other media to publicize the project, ment was donated or loaned by local sources. many members of the community have never heard of the greenhouse. Interviews with 15 elder- Labor costs included $20,000 for two carpenter/ ly residents at the Laramie County Senior Citizens supervisors and $4,500 for Summer Work Program Center revealed that only one of them had any workers. Additional labor was donated by local knowledge of CCSG, and the center’s director re- volunteers and Youth Alternative workers. De- ported that, although their newsletter reached tailed records of donated labor, materials, and over half of the area’s elderly population, only one equipment are unavailable, but the CCSG staff article about the greenhouse had appeared in it— estimates that they were worth about half as much and the publication of this one article was at his as the recorded development costs. suggestion, not CALC’s. The director expressed Raw materials used in the production process an interest in getting more of the center’s clients costs include soil, water, gardening tools, seeds, a involved in the greenhouse, but noted four major limited amount of electricity, containers for com- barriers: mercial potting, and the natural predators used for ● lack of coordination between CALC and the pest control. With the exception of the seeds and center; natural predators, all of these resources were ● poor transportation services to the site; available locally at a relatively low cost. The ● senior citizens’ fears of venturing outside the predators were in some cases purchased from com- city limits, away from medical services and mercial laboratories and suppliers, but no further friends; and purchases will be necessary if stable and self- ● lack of interest on the part of some of the reproducing populations have been established in elderly in any social activities, even those tak- the greenhouse. Many of the original seeds were ing place in a hall adjacent to the center. donated, and CCSG is now producing some of their seed within the greenhouse from previous Essential Resources crops. The topsoil excavated during the construction of the greenhouse was placed in its planting Material inputs for the construction of the beds after it was completed, and soil quality has Cheyenne greenhouse included land, building ma- been continuously improved by the addition of terials, labor, and a few pieces of specialized equip- compost and nutrients. Water is drawn from a ment. The 2.5-acre greenhouse site, as mentioned nearby well and partially recycled in the green- above, was donated by a local family and thus house for reuse in irrigation. Water usage is dra- represented no cost; however, at the end of 10 or matically reduced because of reduced evaporation: 20 years the land, the greenhouse, and any other field-grown tomatoes require 162,500 gal/ton of improvements on the site will revert to the own- fruit, compared to 11,700 gal/ton in a greenhouse, ers. This is hardly an ideal arrangement, and other a savings of almost 93 percent;8 this is an impor- communities might well consider the relative tant consideration in semiarid areas like Wyo- benefits of short-term savings on land against the ming, which receives an average of only 14.65 long-term possession of their entire facility. CALC inches of precipitation annually. Electricity bills had no choice in this instance; the terms of the for running the well pump, fans, and lights aver- CSA grant did not permit purchase of the prop- age between $10 and $20 per month. erty. Building materials represented a little over half of the capital costs of the project and were purchased with CSA funds and a $2,000 grant from Laramie County. Additional materials were do- ‘James C. McCullagh, cd., The Solar Greenhouse Book (Emmaus, nated by community sources, including the 55-gal Pa.: Rodale Press, 1978). Ch. 4–Food-producing Solar Greenhouses ● 81

Technical Information and Expertise as mentioned above, the methane storage tank and the gas burner were placed in the same room, Although solar greenhouse technology appears creating a serious danger of an explosion. Ac- fairly simple when compared to some of the other cording to CALC and the CCSG staff, DTI was technologies studied in this assessment, such as responsible since it had drafted the final design resource recovery (ch. 7) or wastewater treatment plans; for its part, DTI has complained that agen- (ch. 8), the design and construction of a green- cies like CALC are unable to deal with technical house on this scale is fairl complex and may re- y difficulties. Cooperation between CALC and DTI quire knowledge and skills that are beyond the has ceased, and litigation is being pursued. reach of many local residents and social service agencies. A greater degree of technical expertise among the CALC and CCSG staffs during the design CALC’s experience with their design consult- and construction phases might have prevented ants, DTI, shows that even with expert advice these design flaws and might have provided problems do crop up. Although the training ses- greater learning opportunities for the members of sion and design workshop for the planning group the construction crew. Nevertheless, public par- was conducted by CALC in conjunction with ticipation in the planning group as well as in the DTI, and although the firm made the final revi- construction and operation of the greenhouse has sion of the plans for the greenhouse, two design served to create a pool of community residents flaws seem to have found their way into the final who are familiar with the principles of solar design. The first is inadequate ventilation, which greenhouse horticulture and experienced in the led to serious overheating problems during the design, construction, and operation of the first summer of operation. DTI recommended the greenhouses. They have been a valuable source of installation of day curtains to keep out unwanted advice for residents who planned to build their summer heat, just as it had recommended the in- own attached greenhouses and have done a good stallation of night curtains to prevent winter heat deal to promote the further dissemination and loss; both modifications would have required sig- adoption of the technology in Cheyenne. nificant additional costs, however, and the CCSG Experience elsewhere has shown that this staff feels that day curtains would severely cut light flow and thus inhibit plant growth. grassroots approach to technology transfer can be very effective. CSA, which has funded several A more serious problem involved the proposed solar greenhouse projects, recommends “network- methane digester. DTI claimed that the digester ing,” the sharing of information and experience would produce enough methane to provide be- among local public agencies. Interviews with the tween 140,000 and 315,000 Btu/day in backup owners of attached solar greenhouses in New Mex- heat. The CCSG staff, after consulting the Solar ico (see ch. 3) showed that 88 percent of them had Energy Research Institute in Golden, Colo., in- recommended the technology to their neighbors sisted that the maximum design capacity of the and 55 percent of them knew of other attached digester was only 60,000 Btu/day, and that even greenhouses that had been built as a result. They this level of output would require the addition of a also stressed the effectiveness of the workshop ap- compressor and the extra cost of obtaining ma- proach, in which neighbors come together for a nure from local farms. Furthermore, the operation weekend to learn about and build a greenhouse, in of the digester would have required an estimated 2 the dissemination of the technology. man-hours per day of skilled staff time, which was at a premium, and might have presented insur- Financing mountable training problems for volunteers. Under these conditions, both the appropriateness The CCSG project was financed on a debt-free and the cost effectiveness of the digester were open basis, as were most of the New Mexico attached to question. solar greenhouses studied in the last chapter. But where the New Mexico builders paid for their By far the greatest obstacle to the use of the greenhouses out of pocket, the Cheyenne green- digester, however, was a fundamental design flaw: house has been financed primarily by Federal 82 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development grants. Construction costs were met by two grants economically feasible for private individuals, par- from CSA (an initial grant of $42,700 in 1976, fol- ticularly if they were given tax incentives; but a lowed by a continuation grant of $13,800 in 1977) mixed social service/commercial project on the and $6,000 from CALC's general fund (which also scale of CCSG must necessarily resort to a grant, comes from CSA), plus a $2,000 grant from Lara- at least for its capital costs. Lack of Government mie County. Operating expenses for 1978 were subsidies would bar the development of similar paid by another $23,000 from the CALC general projects unless grant funding could be obtained fund, an estimated $15,000 in CETA and Green from private foundations. Thumb funds, and about $500 in sales revenues (which was used for incidental expenses such as Institutional Factors seeds and office supplies). As has been seen, local governments were able An additional, unrecognized source of financing to give the CCSG project only limited support, is the volunteer labor and materials donated by but they did not oppose it. The only opposition local residents and firms. These, too, represent an came from the owner of a commercial greenhouse, investment of local resources in the project, and who feared that he would lose part of his market unless they are included the actual cost of the for plants and flowers. Coordination with other greenhouse is obscured not only from the local social service agencies left much to be desired, but developers but also from potential users in other presented no barrier to implementation. Nor did communities. Similarly, no dollar figures were building codes, OSHA regulations, or other local available on the cost savings made possible by and Federal regulations pose serious obstacles to CCSG’s donations of food to local meals programs the development of the greenhouse. Because of the or on the intangible benefits of job training, im- design error with the methane digester, no insur- proved nutrition, offender rehabilitation, or ac- ance company would cover the greenhouse with- tivities for the elderly. The adoption of accounting out assurances that the digester would not be used; practices which quantify both the investment of but with a properly designed digester–or in the nonmonetary resources and the return of intangi- absence of such equipment—obtaining insurance ble benefits would help clarify the financial would probably create few serious problems for a unknowns and risks involved in such projects. project of this sort. CALC chose Government grants as its source Perhaps the most significant institutional factor of financing for three reasons: 1) they were in the development of the Cheyenne greenhouse, available; 2) they were debt-free; and 3) it was and the most important issue affecting its transfer- assumed that local banks would not finance a proj- ability to other communities, concerns the char- ect before its operation began and before its acter of CALC itself. This agency seems to be economic viability could be ascertained. Since the extraordinarily committed to exploring innovative “commercial” section of the greenhouse has as yet ways of responding to the needs of its constituents. generated no significant revenue, it appears highly The presence of these same qualities may well be a unlikely that financial institutions would invest in vital requirement in any attempt to duplicate the it, either. Attached solar greenhouses might be Cheyenne experience.

Federal Policy Background is not considering any proposals on solar greenhouses; and if the committee considers them in the No existing Federal legislation deals principally future, according to one staff member, they would or specifically with food-producing solar green- probably be more interested in their potential for houses. Nor, it appears, are there any prospects for saving energy rather than growing crops.9 This at- legislative action on this subject in the near future. 9Gary Norton, assistant counsel, House Committee on Agricul- The House Agriculture Committee, for instance, ture, personal communication, July 31, 1980. Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 83 titude seems to be shared by other congressional alternative energy projects such as solar heaters, committees and Federal agencies, and it appears to alcohol stills, and solar greenhouses; it is unclear, result from: 1) an overwhelming preoccupation however, whether they have tried to exploit the with the energy crisis and measures to alleviate it, latter’s food-producing potential.12 The National and 2) a greater emphasis on the national econ- Science Foundation (NSF) has also sponsored a omy and international competitiveness rather limited amount of research on the application of than local development and the delivery of com- alternative technologies to agriculture and urban munity services. gardening. 13 Although no legislation directly addresses the USDA, despite its mandated concentration on subject, however, a number of acts contain provi- food production and its responsibility for ad- sions, that indirectly or implicitly support the ministering the many Federal food programs, has development of food-producing solar greenhouses. no specific programs to investigate or develop These acts include: food-producing solar greenhouses. This is not to say that USDA ignores greenhouses entirely: its ● the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964; Farmers Home Administration makes loans avail- ● the consolidated Farmers Home Administra- tion Act; able for the construction of solar greenhouses, and the Department has a few small research efforts ● the Rural Development Act of 1972; and underway, but the focus of both loans and re- ● the Housing and Community Development Act, as amended in 1978. search is on energy savings. This emphasis reflects the source of finding: USDA “mostly takes its These are the primary Acts upon which various marching orders from the Department of Energy” Federal agencies have based their programs of (DOE), which provides the funds for energy re- funding, information dissemination, and a limited search and demonstration projects and then turns amount of research (much of it aimed at energy many of them over to USDA for management .*4 conservation) for food-producing solar greenhouses. An indirect but increasingly important source of support for food-producing solar greenhouses, The Department of Housing and Urban Devel- however, has been the Federal food aid programs opment, through its Office of Neighborhood Self- administered by USDA. Until the 1960’s, these Help Development, gathers and disseminates tech- programs were relatively small and were directed nical information that will be useful to commu- toward the needs of the American farmer. By the nities in revitalizing local neighborhoods and pro- late 1960’s, it had become clear that domestic viding services and products needed by local resi- hunger and malnutrition were far more serious dents. The Office has provided funds for a series of than had previously been recognized. In 1967, publications on energy and urban gardening pre- after a series of national inquiries, it was estimated pared by the Civic Action Institute, one of these that “some 10 million to 15 million low-income publications, “Neighborhood Food Programs,” in- Americans were suffering from gross malnutrition cludes some information on the possible use of while millions of others were skirting nutritional solar greenhouses as a part of such programs. 10 collapse due to borderline deficiencies. ”15 Other The Department of Commerce, through the studies suggested that malnutrition was a major Economic Development Administration, has provided funds for the construction of at least one IzScot Sklar, National Center for Appropriate Technology, per- food-producing greenhouse, a controversial hy- sonal communication. 13See Ann Becker, “Appropriate Technology and Agriculture in brid solar/hydroponic project of the Kickapoo the United States,” background paper for Appropriate Technology in 11 the United Stares—An Exploratory Study, prepared by Integrative De- tribe in Oklahoma. VISTA volunteers regularly sign Associates, Inc., for the National Science Foundation, Research assist low-income groups in the development of Applied to National Needs, grant No. 76-21350, 1977.

14Bill Hougart, David FeId, et al., Farmers Home Administration, IOMatt Andrea, Office Of Neighborhood Self-Help Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, personal communication. Department of Housing and Urban Development, personal com- 15”A Preliminary Report to Congress on the Community Food and munication. Nutrition Program of the Community Services Administration,” op. I I Mb Hathaway, Cherokee Nation, personal communication. cit., p. 1. 84 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development factor leading to unemployability and chronic we’re supposed to be getting people out of the wel- dependence on public assistance programs. fare trap.16 In response to these and other findings, Con- An example of CSA’s emphasis on self-suffi- gress created a number of large new nutrition and ciency and its role as a local “action clearing- food aid programs, including the Food Stamp Pro- house” is its Community Food and Nutrition Pro- gram (which now costs $12 billion per year) and gram (CFNP). Originally established as the Emer- the School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs gency Food and Medical Services Program under administered by USDA. At the same time, Con- section 222(a)(1) of the Economic Opportunity gress also created a relatively tiny program—the Act of 1964, it now operates under the following Emergency Food and Medical Services Program– mandate: to be carried out by the Office of Economic Op- . . . improve the delivery of food and nutrition portunity, which has since been renamed the services by other agencies, to mobilize other anti- Community Services Administration. hunger resources both public and private, to coordinate anti-hunger activities at all levels of govern- Food Production and Solar Greenhouse ment, to develop new approaches to the problem Programs of the Community Services of hunger among the poor, and to do all of this in the context of promoting ultimate self-sufficiency Administration for those among the poor who are capable of be-

The Office of Economic Opportunity was cre- coming self-sufficient. 17 ated by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 Recent estimates suggest that the average low- and was renamed the Community Services Ad- income family spends over 50 percent of its income ministration (CSA) in 1974. A part of President on food, compared with a national average of less Johnson’s “war on poverty,” it was originally de- than 20 percent; as many as 40 percent of those signed to reach the poor directly by bypassing who are eligible, however, still do not participate State and local governments and distributing in the Food Stamp Program.18 This and other food funds to grassroots organizers. Some 900 com- aid programs provide significant economic benefits munity action agencies (CAAs), almost one for to low-income families by freeing up additional in- every county in the Nation, have been set up to come, but the emphasis of most of the programs is provide jobs for the poor and to provide informa- on providing immediate relief and short-term tion and financial support for projects that will maintenance—”welfare’’—rather than investing lead to local self-sufficiency. These programs are public and private resources in projects that will intended to break the cycle of poverty by promot- lead to long-term economic development and in- ing community independence, employment, and dependence. CFNP, on the other hand, tries to long-term economic development. promote better nutrition and local self-sufficiency Because of its strong grassroots orientation CSA at the same time through its efforts to develop: also provided a mechanism for distributing other . . . the ability of low-income people to produce, forms of Federal assistance. According to one preserve, purchase, or market their own foodstuffs. CSA official, the CAAs and their respective pro- These foodstuffs may and often do supplement grams became: those provided by Federal feeding programs or by . . . vehicles for delivering the services of other private sector institutions . . . . Activities eligible agencies, such as the CETA programs for the De- for funding under this [program] include but are partment of Labor, the weatherization programs of not limited to: (1) Conservation, distribution, and the Department of Energy, and the Head Start utilization of foodstuffs, such as (i) Organizing fam- program of the former Department of Health, Edu- 16Mar~hal] ~arman, Cornrnunity Food and Nutrition program, cation, and Welfare. We have the network and the Community Services Administration, personal communication. outreach people, other agencies have programs; so 17”A Preliminary Report on the Community Food and Nutrition Program of the Community Services Administration,” op. cit. we broker the services. We are an action clearing- 161bid. p. 35; Community Services Administration, “community house of sorts. That’s fine, but it takes us away Food and Nutrition Program, Final Rules,” Federal Register, pt. IV, from our goal and puts us into a welfare slot when vol. 45, No. 99, May 20, 1980, p, 33798. Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 85

ily and community gardens . . . . [and] (iii) Estab- CSA is now taking steps to fill in some of the lishing greenhouses, canneries, etc.19 gaps in the technical information about solar Other provisions in CSA’s mandate call for pro- greenhouse design and food production. The viding more assistance to small-scale and part-time National Center for Appropriate Technology growers and for promoting the use of idle Federal, (NCAT), which is almost entirely funded by CSA, State, and local land for food production, especial- is currently conducting two research programs ly by the poor.20 As a result, CFNP and other that will generate data on solar greenhouses. The CSA programs have promoted community gar- first is the Solar Utility Economic Development dens, food cooperatives, pick-your-own farms, and and Employment Program (SUEDE), which is a farmers’ markets (see ch. 6), as well as solar good example of CSA’s function as an “action greenhouses and other relatively sophisticated clearinghouse:” the program was conceived and food-production technologies. While CSA is inter- funded by CSA; the Department of Labor pro- ested in the technology of projects like solar green- vides workers through the CETA Program; DOE houses, it is more interested in the jobs that a com- pays for materials; and NCAT is monitoring all of munity greenhouse might provide, the food it the 15 individual projects, several of which are could produce, and the subsequent improvements solar greenhouses. NCAT set the standards for in nutrition, food and energy costs, and general evaluation and is looking at how the projects were constructed, how they perform, and what poten- economic well-being that might result from its 23 development. tial they have for wider application. The second program is the New England Solar Greenhouse CSA does not have a well-developed research Monitoring Program, in which NCAT is gather- program. It is primarily a funding source for self- ing data on 18 separate greenhouse projects in sufficiency projects, and as such it does not de- order to generate information on: mand the kind of detailed data that an agency like NSF or DOE might require from a research proj- . indoor and outdoor temperature ranges; ect. Neither has it been able to persuade USDA or . energy consumption for operation and back- the land-grant universities to undertake any up heating; significant research on alternative technologies . reduction in fuel consumption when a solar greenhouse is attached to a residential struc- that would be appropriate21 to these small-scale, self- sufficient projects. CSA has been unable to ture; and gather a body of information or experience on . crop productivity. greenhouse design or horticultural methods, and a NCAT has had difficulty in analyzing the results number of the solar greenhouses built by local of the New England program, however, because of CAAs have been too small for effective food pro- the great differences in the designs of the green- duction or energy conservation. A further criti- houses and the varying expertise of the people cism has been that when local CAAs build green- who built and used them.24 Furthermore, not all houses they often give little or no training in how of the greenhouses are used for food production, to manage and use them and seldom follow up on and crop yield data is a low priority. the project to deal with problems or monitor performance. 22 Issues and Options Food-producing solar greenhouses have the potential of increasing the availability of locally pro- 19’’Community Food and Nutrition Program, Final Rules,” op. cit., p. 33791. duced vegetables, which might in turn improve ‘“Ibid. nutrition, lower food costs, and reduce the energy 21 R Blobaum, AT consultant, personal JUIY oger communication, consumed in growing, processing, and transport- 24, 1980. It should be pointed out, however, that the horticulture department at Pennsylvania State University is currently evaluating several solar greenhouse designs for the commercial production of ZjScott Sklar, National Center for Appropriate Technology, w- vegetables and flowers, and that a book on the same subject has sonal communication. recently been published by Michigan State University Press (Wittwer 24Andy Shapiro, “NCAT New England Solar Greenhouse Moni- and Honma, Greenhouse Tomatoes, Lettuce and Cucumbers, 1979). toring Program—Second Progress Report,” National Center for 22 Bob Hathaway, Cherokee Nation, personal cOrnrnunication. Appropriate Technology, Sept. 1, 1980. 86 ● Assessment of Technologyfor Local Development ing these vegetables from remote growing areas. preliminary data base, and it is already grappling The horticultural methods used in these green- with the difficulties of analyzing data from dif- houses also promise to use less chemical fertilizers, ferent designs, conditions, and user behaviors. A less pesticides, and less water than conventional simple, standardized format would allow operators methods; in addition, their solar design may re- to report details of greenhouse design, operation, duce the economic and energy costs of operating local weather conditions, and other useful infor- the greenhouses. Finally, by achieving all of these mation. Data on crop varieties planted, growing goals in a context of self-sufficiency, community conditions, time to harvest, and yields would also greenhouses promise to provide jobs, teach valu- aid in evaluating different plant varieties and able skills, develop the local economic base, and horticultural methods. A designated central clear- reduce the dependence of elderly and low-income inghouse could disseminate as well as gather in- citizens on Government services and assistance formation on greenhouse methods and perform- programs. ance, thereby giving technical assistance to present operators and providing necessary information Principal barriers relate to the gathering and to potential operators and developers. dissemination of detailed information on the energy-saving and food-producing features of the Option 1-B: Support or Expand Existing greenhouses. Problems also exist in promoting Monitoring Programs.–NCAT’s current serious consideration of this technology by com- SUEDE and New England monitoring programs munity groups and the financial community, as will yield useful information, but they are studying well as in providing technical advice and assist- a limited number of individual projects. Addi- ance for their development. tional funds might be made available for a more extensive monitoring effort, either by NCAT or ISSUE 1: by local CAAs. Technical Information on the Option 1-C: Redirect Existing Research.– Potential Effectiveness of Solar USDA has recently announced plans to increase Greenhouse Technology. funding for research on organic farming methods. Since many solar greenhouses and community The single most serious barrier to the wide- gardens use organic methods, Congress may wish spread adoption of this technology is the lack of to direct USDA to target some of these funds reliable data on the design of solar greenhouses specifically for the investigation of methods and and on their potential for saving energy and pro- plant varieties appropriate to greenhouse hor- ducing food crops. CSA has a mandate to improve ticulture. programs of community assistance, including small-scale food production. However, DOE, Option 1-D: Fund Additional Research.– USDA’s Extension Service, and the land-grant It may be productive to investigate the cost effec- colleges are doing very little research on the de- tiveness of community solar greenhouse projects sign, performance, and crop yields of solar green- versus that of more conventional food aid and houses or on the identification and breeding of economic assistance programs. Depending on the greenhouse crop varieties. Local CAAs and com- results, Congress might wish to authorize addi- munity groups seldom have the funds, the man- tional funds for R&D on improved solar green- power, or the expertise to undertake formal scien- house designs, crop varieties, and effective horti- tific monitoring programs, but thus far the results cultural methods. have been limited in scale and difficult to assess. ISSUE 2: Option 1-A: Designate a Central Clearing. Coordination of Existing Programs of house for information on Solar Greenhouse Technical Assistance. Technology.–NCAT might be a logical clearinghouse for gathering technical information on As discussed above, a number of Federal agen- solar greenhouse design and horticultural meth- cies have programs that offer some form of assist- ods. Its present monitoring projects may provide a ance or support for community greenhouses and Ch. 4–Food-Producing Solar Greenhouses ● 87 gardens. These different agencies and their local inghouses; specific operating responsibility for representatives have not always had adequate ex- both technical and assistance information might pertise in the development of such projects, how- be assigned to NCAT. ever, nor has their training and followup performance always been satisfactory. There is at present ISSUE 3: little coordination between these programs; in ad- Providing Financial Support for the dition, their very diversity presents a barrier to Development of Community Solar local organizers, who often do not know what as- Greenhouses. sistance is available to them or what eligibility requirements they must meet. As with most other small-scale technologies, Option 2-A: Designate a Lead Agency.– even those whose goal is self-sufficiency, there is a This option is resisted by both the agencies and shortage of front-end financing for the construc- their clients, primarily for financial reasons. As tion of solar greenhouses. Tax credits exist for noted earlier, DOE is the focal point for energy residential energy-conservation measures, but programs which are the likeliest source of funding none exist for food production; and tax credits are for solar greenhouse projects. Money is given to least useful to low-income families, whose need is DOE, which takes an overhead slice and then for- greatest, because they seldom have access to capi- wards the balance to USDA or some other agency tal to invest in these measures. Community proj- for the management of the various projects. Be- ects like the Cheyenne greenhouse also lack access cause of travel cutbacks and manpower shortages, to capital from conventional sources. Banks are however, USDA cannot inspect or monitor the hesitant to finance such unusual projects, espe- projects directly and must hire contractors to per- cially when there is little data on the technology form these tasks. By the time DOE, USDA, and involved. The CALC organizers went after Fed- the contractors have all taken out funds to cover eral grants for their project because they were their overhead and expenses, only 50 percent of available and debt-free; they assumed that no the original funds may be left for the actual proj- other financing would be available, and they may ect.25 In addition, the Government may often Pay have been correct in this assumption. more than necessary for the greenhouse construc- Option 3-A: Increase Tax Incentives.– tion it does support because of the lack of available Congress could choose to make attached solar personnel who understand both the potential of greenhouses eligible for residential tax credits or the technology and the needs and conditions of 26 tax deductions; this might be done through direc- the local community. tives to the Internal Revenue Service, which at Option 2-B: Designate a Central Clearing- present will not allow claims for solar greenhouses, house for information on Federal Assist. whether for energy-saving or food-producing pur- ance.–A designated clearinghouse for the gather- poses. However, this option would probably re- ing and dissemination of technical information on quire an amendment to the Income Tax Code of solar greenhouses (outlined above) could also serve 1954. as a clearinghouse for information on the financial Option 3-B: Increase Markets.—Another and technical assistance that is available through option for congressional action would be to in- other Federal agencies and programs, since it crease markets for locally grown produce by en- would already be in contact with both the existing couraging Federal food programs and other Feder- projects and the potential developers. CSA’s al agencies to procure vegetables and produce from grassroots network of local CAAs make it the ob- local producers wherever possible, with a special vious candidate to manage both types of clear- attention to community, cooperative, and other z~paul Sleusner, U.S. Department of Agriculture, personal com- nonprofit producers. This might be accomplished munication. through Federal procurement guidelines similar to zs~b Hathaway, Cherokee Nation, personal communication. those for recycled materials. Chapter 5 Small Farm Systems Contents

Page Introduction ...... 91 List of Tables Alternative Energy Technologies (I)– Table No). Page Energy From Biomass ...... 92 11. Daily Yields From Several Biogas Digester Designs ...... 98 A Case Study of the New Life Farm, Drury, 12. Technical and Economic Data for Three RGP Me...... 94 Digesters ...... 99 The Community Setting...... 94 13. Nutrient Content and Output of NLF Development...... 94 Phytomass Digester...... 100 The New Life Farm Systems of Technologies . . . . . 96 14. Capital Costs for Two Farm Digester Systems. . 101 NLF Methane Digester Design and Performance. . . 97 15. Energy Cost From Farm Digester...... 101 Biogas Applications and Economics...... 99 16. Socioeconomic and Agricultural Profile of Alternative Energy Technologies (II)– Nebraska, Cedar County, and the Small On farm Solar Applications ...... 101 Farm Energy Project ..., ...... 103 17. Types of Projects Adopted by Innovating Farmers A Case Study of the Small Farm Energy Under the Small Farm Energy Project, 1977-79.105 Project, Cedar County, Nebr...... 102 The Community Setting...... 102 Development ...... 103 The SFEP Innovation Strategy ...... 104 List of Figures SFEP Innovator Energy Projects ...... 105 Figure No. Page Critical Factors ...... 111 15. Potential Bioenergy Supplies . , ...... 93 Public Perception and Participation ...... 111 16. Types of Animal Manure...... , ...... , 93 NLF/RGP Biogas Plant #1 ...... 98 Essential Resources...... , . . . . . , ...... 112 17. NLF Phytomass Digester Operating Technical Information and Expertise...... 113 18. Performance ...... , ...... 100 Financing...... 114 Institutional Factors...... , , ...... 114 19. Portable Solar Collector ...... , ... , . . . . 106 20. Home-Built Compost Turners . . . . , ...... 107 Federal Policy ...... 116 21. Solar Grain Dryers . . . , ...... , , . 109 Background .., ...... , . 116 22. Solar Dairy Water Heater . , ...... , . . 110 Rural Development ...... 116 23. Solar-Heated Farrowing Barn ...... , ., . 110 Energy Self-Sufficiency ...... 117 24. Solar Window-Box Collector...... 111 Issues and Options . . . ., ...... , ...... 118 25. Solar Food Dryer ... , ...... 111 CHAPTER 5 Small Farm Systems

Introduction

The last chapter dealt with solar greenhouse culture (USDA), about 24 million acres of rural

technology as an alternative for family and com- land were converted to housing developments, munity food production. This chapter and the reservoirs, or highways between 1967 and 1975— next will deal with small-scale alternatives to large- an area about the size of the State of Indiana. 1 scale, energy-intensive agricultural technologies— About half of this land was either active cropland this chapter with systems by which the small farm- or high-quality rural land that could have been er can reduce his energy costs and increase the self- turned into productive cropland with a relatively sufficiency of his food-producing operations, and small investment. Recent figures suggest that rural chapter 6 with the local farmers’ market as a way land continues to be converted to these same uses for the small farmer to increase his profits by sell- at a rate of about 1 million acres per year.2 No ing directly to the consumer. figures are available on how much of this acreage Few trends since World War II have been more has come from small-scale farms, but the small thoroughly documented—or more generally la- farmer, who generally has been most vulnerable, mented—than the decline of the small family farm. has had the greatest economic incentive to give up A number of economic factors have contributed his land. to this trend. The rapidly increasing cost of farm- Two ways to improve the viability of the small land (amortization and interest) has been the most family farm would be to develop local markets important of these factors, because it makes farm- where the small farmer can get a higher return on ing more capital intensive and thereby encourages his produce (see ch. 6) and to develop local, low-

large-scale ownership. Rising energy costs and gen- cost sources of energy, fertilizer, and livestock eral inflation over the last decade have also made feed. This chapter discusses two such attempts to small-scale farming increasingly precarious. The reduce energy costs and increase the self-sufficien- three major costs (other than land) associated with cy of the small farm. The first is the New Life farming are feed for livestock, fertilizer for the soil, Farm, a research and educational center in the and energy to run farm machinery and heat build- Ozark Mountains near Drury, Me., which is de- ings. Rising petroleum prices affect the first factor veloping alternative energy sources and energy- indirectly and the last two directly; the combina- conserving farming techniques. The second is the tion has had a drastic impact on the economic via- Small Farm Energy Project in Cedar County, bility of the small farm. Some larger farmers, with Nebr., a 3-year research and demonstration pro- more assets to borrow against, have been in a bet- gram that is intended to show the impact of ter position to ride out the current cost-price proven alternative energy technologies and con- squeeze; corporate growers in some cases have servation techniques upon the energy consump- been able to balance increased costs with increased tion and production costs of small-scale, low- profits from other sectors of the food industry, income farmers. such as processing, packaging, and distribution. Small farmers have not had these options, and many of them, especially on the fringes of expand- IJefferey Zinn, “Farmland Protection Legislation,” Library of Con- ing urban centers, have felt compelled to sell their gress issue brief No. IB7801, May 29, 1980, p. 1. ‘Julian L. Simon, “Resources, Population, Environment: An Over- land to developers. According to the Soil Con- supply of Bad News,” Sctence, vol. 208, No. 4451, June 27, 1980, p. servation Service of the U.S. Department of Agri- 1435.

91 92 Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Alternative Energy Technologies (l)– Energy From Biomass

A recent OTA report on the energy potential of alcohol; and 3) anaerobic digestion to produce biomass concluded that: biogas. Energy from the conversion of wood and other Direct combustion of wood is the most wide- plant matter represents an important underex- spread application of bioenergy today, with be- ploited resource in the United States. As renew- tween 1.2 and 1.3 Quads/yr used for process ener- able, abundant, and domestic resources, these and gy in the forest products industry and another 0.2 other sources of biomass can help the United to 0.4 Quad/yr used in home heating and fire- States reduce its dependence on imported oil. The places. These uses are likely to expand consider- amount of energy supplied by biomass, now rela- ably in response to rising energy prices, even tively small, could expand rapidly in the next two decades–a period when the Nation’s energy prob- without new Government incentives. Gasification lems will be particularly acute.3 of wood and herbage (i.e., grass and crop residues) 4 could be more practical than direct combustion Biomass currently produces about 1.5 Quads for supplying process heat, particularly in industri- per year, or about 2 percent of the U.S. 1979 ener- al applications. The widespread adoption of this gy consumption of 79.7 Quads/yr, primarily from technology could depend on the development of the direct combustion of wood in the forest prod- reliable, mass-produced gasifiers that could be at- ucts industry and, to a lesser degree, in home tached to gas- or oil-fired boilers. Both gasification heating. and direct combustion could compete with other By the year 2000, between 6 and 17 Quads/yr uses of forest products, however, and would com- could be produced from biomass sources, depend- pete with coal in many industrial applications. ing on a number of factors including how much Alcohol fuels can be produced from a wide vari- cropland is used for food productions This rep- ety of biomass feedstocks, and they are the only re- resents between 8 and 22 percent of current do- newable source of liquid fuels for transportation mestic consumption, by comparison, imported oil that uses available technology.6 Ethanol (grain and natural gas supplied about 23 percent of U.S. alcohol) is already being produced from grains and energy consumption in 1979. Assuming that U.S. sugar crops as an octane-boosting additive to gas- consumption rises to 100 Quads/yr by 2000, ener- oline. About 50 million gal of fuel ethanol were gy from biomass could make a significant contri- distilled in 1979, and installed capacity may be as bution to the administration’s goal of 20 percent high as 200 million gal by the end of 1980; but solar and renewable sources for that year. with domestic gasoline consumption at 110 billion gal/yr, ethanol is a small addition to current U.S. Figure 15 shows the six major sources of biomass 7 energy and their relative contributions to the high fuel needs. Production could reach 10 billion and low estimates of potential bioenergy supplies. gal/yr (enough to blend 100 billion gal of gasohol) (Energy from municipal solid waste, another po- by 2000, but production of more than 1 billion or

tentiall y significant source, is discussed in ch. 7.) 2 billion gal/yr could put ethanol in competition The three major processes for converting these with other uses of grain and have serious inflationary impacts on the price of food and animal sources into usable forms of energy are: 1) direct 8 combustion and gasification; 2) distillation into feed. Methanol (wood alcohol) can be produced from grasses and crop residues as well as from JEnfla From 13~0/Oglca/ Processes (Washington, D. C.: Office of wood; no large-scale production facilities currently Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, July 1980), OTA-E-125, p. 3. 4A Quad equa]s 1 quadrillion (1015) Btu. This is approximately 61bid,, p. b; S& alw OTA’S technical memorandum, G~oho~ equal to the energy of 10 million bbl of crude oil, 50 million tons of (Washington, D.C.: Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Con- coal, or the typical annual output of eighteen 1,000-MW electrical gress, September 1979), OTA-TM-E-1. powerplants. TEner~ Frm Biological Processes, p. 87. ~EnerO From Bioiogica/ Processes, op. cit., PP. 13-14. ‘Ibid,:p. 100. Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 93

Figure 15.—Potential Bioenergy Supplies (not exist, however, and it is also estimated that meth- including speculative sources or municipal wastes) anol can be produced from coal at about half the cost of biomass conversion.9 Animal Anaerobic digestion of biomass produces biogas, a Ethanol from grains manure burnable mixture of about 60 percent methane and sugar crops Agricultural 2% and 40 percent carbon dioxide. Potential feed- processing stocks include municipal sewage and solid organic \ 1/ wastes wastes, certain grasses and aquatic plants, and animal manure. OTA estimates the energy potential of manure alone at 0.2 to 0.3 Quad/yr (see figure 16).10 Anaerobic digestion of manure is also

Figure 16.—Types of Animal Manure From Confined Animal Operation

High total = 17 Quads/yr

Agricultural Animal processing manure wastes 20/0 1%

Total energy potential = 0.2 -0.3 Quad/yr

SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment from K. Smith, et al., “Animal Wastes,” contractor report to OTA, March 1979.

an efficient waste treatment process whose byproducts can be used as a soil conditioner or dewatered for use as animal bedding, and may have potential as a high-protein feed supplement. In addition, the manure/biogas fuel cycle does not compete with the production of other commodities; instead, it makes use of an existing, underexploited resource without destroying its value for other uses. 11 Low total = 6 Quads/yr gIbld., p. 103, table 9. IOIbid., p. 123. SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. 1 IIbid., p. 12. 94 ● Assesmen of Technology for Local Development

This biomass fuel cycle is best suited to small- In short, anaerobic digestion of animal wastes is scale exploitation because of the dispersed nature a technology whose resource base makes it partic- of the resource base: ularly appropriate for small-scale onfarm applications. There is still a need to develop and demon- About 75 percent of the manure resource is on animal operations of 1,000 head of cattle or less (or strate a variety of digester designs in order to im- the equivalent for other animals such as swine, tur- prove their flexibility and reliability, reduce their keys, chickens, and dairy cows), and 50 percent is capital costs, determine the biogas yield and ef- on operations one-tenth this size or smaller. Only fluent characteristics of different feedstocks, and 15 percent of the manure resource occurs on large explore alternative applications for both biogas feedlots of the equivalent of more than 10,000 head and byproducts. The following case study exam- of cattle. Because manure cannot be economically ines the efforts of one group of Missouri farmers to transported for long distances, exploiting the ma- develop digesters suitable to their needs. nure resource will require digester designs suitable for relatively small animal operations. Important features of these digesters will be automatic operation and low installation cost.12 121bid., p. 127.

13 A Case Study of the New Life Farm, Drury, M0.

The Community Setting urban backgrounds and came to the Ozarks as part of the “back to the land” movement in the The Ozark region of southwestern Missouri is late 1960’s. Few of them joined communes, how- sparsely populated and affords a poor living for ever; for the most part, they came alone or with most of its residents. The hills have been heavily their families to set up farms. They were interested logged or cleared for fields and pastures, and much in self-reliance and living in harmony with nature, of the land is badly eroded, leaving few acres of but many had little experience with rural living or good farmland. A large portion of the land is used farming techniques. for hog- and cattle-raising, but even these operations are only marginally profitable. Overgrazing One of these young farmers was Ted Landers, has led to further erosion. who purchased a 240-acre farm near Drury in 1972. Landers has degrees in both engineering and The traditional small farmers in the area are business, as well as an interest in organic garden- conservative and tend to distrust outsiders. They ing and alternative sources of energy. Soon after feel cut off from their fellow Missourians to the buying his farm, Landers began building a meth- north, who tend to own larger and more produc- ane digester and solar air and water heaters. His tive dairy and hog farms, and often joke about work attracted the attention of other young farm- seceding from Missouri and joining Arkansas. ers with similar interests, who began working with They are particularly distrustful of State and him. Federal officials and feel that they are being short- changed by the various farm assistance programs Development in the area. After several years, as the young farmers be- The New Life Farmers, by contrast, are by and came more experienced, many of them wanted to large young and college-educated. Many are from share what they had learned with others who had

IJMuch of the material in this case study is based on a working similar interests. Some of them also wanted a paper, “New Life Farm, Drury, Missouri,” prepared by Michael chance to use their skills in research and com- Fischer and Michael Swack for the Harvard Workshop on Appropri- ate Technology for Community Development, Department of City munity organizing without having to take conven- and Regional Planning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979. tional, full-time jobs. They set about organizing Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 95

Photo credit: New Life Farm New Life Farm, Drury, Mo.

New Life Farm (NLF) as a community institution at the local university, and another has run for with a number of goals: public office at the State level. ● pursuing R&D techniques that could be used NLF has four major projects currently under- by local farmers to improve the productivity way, two of which involve the development of of their land while maintaining the natural methane or biogas digesters. 14 These devices con- balance of the ecosystem; sist of sealed tanks which are loaded with manure, ● acting as an educational center for training in grass, or other crop wastes; the organic material these technologies and assistance in imple- decomposes into a high-quality liquid fertilizer and menting them; a burnable gas that can be used in place of pro- ● providing periodic employment for laborers, pane or natural gas for heating and cooking. The researchers, and managers from the commu- “Rural Gasification Project,” funded bya$155,000 nity; and grant from the Community Services Administra- ● serving as a focal point for community serv- tion (CSA), will design and build 20 such digest- ices like day-care and for activities such as ers, 4 in each of five regions across the country, for theater groups and crafts collectives. low-income farmers who will pay 10 percent of the cost. NLF is also involved in a joint research effort NLF was incorporated in the spring of 1978 as a with University of Missouri faculty at Rolla to test tax-exempt, nonprofit educational and research and evaluate the performance of a large batch- organization. Its bylaws require members to con- loaded phytomass (or plant material) digester tribute 6 days of work on the farm each quarter, under a variety of circumstances. This project, and those who have done so for three of the last funded by a 3-year, $230,000 grant from the De- four quarters may run for the board of directors partment of Energy (DOE), will try to determine and vote on project decisions and changes in the what type of crops produce what types of gas and bylaws. There were 40 members in November 1979, and members have served on the county Soil and Water Board and local University Exten- 14 De~cript10ns of these projects are based on various New Life Farm sion Service advisory panel. One member teaches brochures and discussions with members. 96 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

fertilizer, as well as how the application of the fer- bines alternative farming methods, fertilizer pro- tilizer affects crop productivity over the long term. duction, waste disposal, and energy production in- Another project is the “Why Flush? Water to a unified system designed not only for the needs Quality Conservation Project,” which is funded of the small farmer but also for the ecology of the primarily by the Rockefeller Foundation.15 It is region. designed to educate the public on alternatives to The geology of the Ozarks, with a thin topsoil current methods of handling sewage, with par- over a porous limestone base makes surface waste ticular attention to onsite treatment systems such disposal difficult and possibly hazardous to health. as comporting toilets. NLF’s fourth project is Manure and sewage, which may still contain path- “Solar Heating Made Easy,” a joint effort with ogens (disease-causing micro-organisms), and Southwest Missouri State University, which is chemical fertilizers can pass quickly through the funded by the U.S. Office of Education’s Com- limestone without adequate elimination of pollut-

munity Service and Continuing Education pro- ants, making groundwater pollution a potentially gram. The project runs 2-day workshops through- serious problem. The thin topsoil produces poor out the State, during which a class of about 10 pasturage, and over the years the steady clearing trainees is shown by NLF members how to install and overgrazing of the hilly land has led to

a simple, low-cost solar space or water heater in massive erosion. Soil quality has been further im- the home. (See chs. 3 and 4 for discussions of the paired because many farmers do not fertilize their workshop approach.) fields due to the high cost of fertilizers. Finally, the region lacks indigenous fossil fuel resources, and

The New Life Farm Systems the cost of importing energy (mostly propane and of Technologies16 electricity) is very high, as a result, energy costs have become an increasingly significant percent- One of the unique features of the NLF approach age of the farmer’s budget. is the way in which the technologies will be integrated into larger systems. Each technology be- The biogas system addresses all of these prob- comes a component in a cyclic process whereby lems simultaneously. The system begins with tree the byproducts of one stage (energy and/or materi- cropping. NLF grows a variety of honey locust als) become the inputs for the next stage. Al- trees, whose pods are high in protein and carbohy- though some waste is inevitable, a well-designed drates and can be used as animal feed. The trees cycle needs very few inputs of energy or materials produce four times the nutrients per acre that from outside the system and produces very little would be produced by oats, and their roots help to waste that is not reclaimed. Conventional tech- anchor the topsoil and prevent erosion. The grass nologies, by contrast, can consume many external growing beneath the locusts is no longer over- inputs and discard large volumes of wastes as grazed and can be gathered in controlled harvests

solids, sewage, or air pollution. The NLF approach and fed into the digester, along with animal is intended to be less costly and gentler on the manure. environment. These organic materials are mixed with water in The NLF biogas project, which was selected for the digester to form a slurry that is about 10 per-

study in this report, illustrates how technologies cent wastes by weight. The slurry can be fed to the can be integrated into a cyclical system. It com- digester either continuously (adding a little fresh material each day) or in batches (reloading with a lsThe prOject has received a $3,750 grant from the Rockefeller fresh slurry every 30 to 60 days), depending on the Foundation and $500 from the National Demonstration Water Proj- type of materials and the convenience to the farm- ect. I’%forrnation on thew technologies was supplied by Ted Landers er. The slurry is pumped into a sealed tank where of New Life Farm, but performance projections are based on limited it decomposes through the action of anaerobic mi- data. For example, the qualit and quantity of gas and sludge pro- y crobes—bacteria and fungi that feed and repro- duced from different materials under different conditions is the subject of considerable debate. Landers claims that his estimates are con- duce rapidly in the absence of oxygen. One by- servative and is trying to confirm them through controlled experi- product of this anaerobic decomposition is biogas, ments, but a great deal of research remains to be done. which is composed of about 60 percent methane —

Cl-t. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 97

(the main component of conventional natural gas) usual measure of a digester’s capacity; NLF’s ma- and 40 percent carbon dioxide, with traces of nure digesters ranged from 300 to 500 cubic feet hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen. The (ft3). The slurry is heated to optimal temperature other byproduct is a sludge that is high in carbon by a hot water pipe or a coil gas heater like that in and nitrogen compounds and makes an excellent a hot water heater. As decomposition begins and substitute for conventional chemical fertilizers. biogas pressure increases in the active section, Using this sludge, the topsoil can be enriched and some of the slurry is forced into the upper or built up over time with less danger of ground “surge” section. Biogas collects at the top of the ac- water pollution than is posed by either manure or tive section and can be drawn off through a gas chemical fertilizers. line to the household appliances or other uses (see below). Sludge is removed periodically through a Some controversy exists as to whether or not discharge tube in the bottom of the active section anaerobically digested nutrients exist in com- and replaced with fresh slurry to maintain a fairly pounds that are more likely to remain in the top- stable level of decomposition and biogas output. soil than the compounds in chemical fertilizers. However, it does seem clear that anaerobic diges- Most biomass will produce 1 ft3 of biogas per tion (which takes place at temperatures of 950 F day for each cubic foot active volume of slurry, over a period of up to 60 days) succeeds in killing although some manure slurries will produce twice most of the pathogens present in manure. Thus, to this yield. NLF feels that the latter estimate is true the extent that sludge instead of raw manure is ap- for hog manure, and the yield from their RGP-3 plied to the soil, some improvement in ground digester compares favorably with yields reported water quality should result. by other experimenters, shown in table 11. A 300- ft3 digester like the RGP-3 would require input One of the main goals of NLF research on bio- manure of approximately 180 1b/day, the daily gas digesters is to gain a more precise understand- wastes of about 120 hogs. 17 Table 12 itemizes the ing of the nutrient content of sludge, how it varies costs and potential energy savings of three RGP with the mix of materials being digested, and how manure digesters. A digester of this size could easi- these nutrients are made available to plants. The ly supply all of the gas needed for cooking, water goal of NLF’s development efforts is to build and heating, and maintaining digester temperature on demonstrate digesters that can be built easily by a small farm. farmers, perhaps with some hired labor for specialized tasks, in a reasonably short time and at a low The NLF phytomass digester consists of four cost. These goals are combined in NLF’s two bio- batch-loading reactors of 4,000-gal capacity each, gas digester projects: the Rural Gasification Project which can be operated either in parallel or in (RGP), which is developing manure digesters; and series; this modular design gives the digester more the joint phytomass project, which is developing flexibility in operation. The four reactors have a digesters for crop residues and other plant wastes. total active volume of 2,000 ft3, which could yield 2,000 ft3 of biogas per day. These units have not NLF Methane Digester Design been operated extensively enough to provide reli- and Performance able data, however, and the proposal submitted to DOE indicated that the facility would operate at a NLF has built five small-scale, continuous- combined rate of only 1,210 ft3/day. 18 loading hog manure digesters for RGP and is designing a sixth. These digesters represent three Initial test results with orchard grass cuttings show that a 5-percent slurry has an average daily prototype configurations, with slight variations in 3 size and input mix, but are based on a common biogas output of 200 ft per reactor over the first 30 design (see figure 17). The digester is an insulated ( ITRichard Merrill, ‘Methane Generation,” in Energy Primer, ed. the tank divided into upper and lower sections con- PortoIa Institute (Palo Alto, Calif.: New Alchemy West, 1974), p. 143; nected by a surge tube. A submersible sump pump the figure for steers seems rather low. in the loading pit moves slurry into the bottom or 18James E. Gaddy, “Energy From Farm Crops,” research proposal submitted to DOE, 1977; the author is a professor at Missouri State “active” section. The amount of slurry in the University, Rolla, and principal investigator in the NLF phytomass lower section, called the “active volume,” is the digester project. 98 ● ASSeSSment of Technology for LOcal Development

Figure 17.—New Life Farm/RGP Biogas Plant #1

c 3“ Pvc + # ~ Sawdust Steel building flexmode pole barn for insulation \ inlet tube \ It 4“ concrete gas slab 2’0” with 6“ x 6“ x 10 wire mesh for reinforcement _ 3/16” x 1“ steel ,.-. - . —. - . —. —. —.— .—.u . . banister prestressed for reinforcement 4“ PVC surge tube 1 ‘~=2’ x 2’ :;:;;e cleaning fittings hI L’1“ black iron pipe for 1 man-hole II 5’0” heated water circulation 4“ steel Water line I II cover connected I A/ — 3“ Concrete wall to no-tank poured with hot water q slipform heater $ — 11— ~ /!-. . — . —. —. —. —. —. — N \ 4“ concrete slab Loading / \6“ x 6“ x 10 wire mesh pit for reinforcement

\ 2“ blue stryofoam 2“ sand for base tube for insulation

SOURCE: New Life Farm.

Table 11 .—Daily Yields From Several Biogas days. It is assumed that increasing the slurry to 10 Digester Designs (ft3 biogas per 3 percent phytomass would double the output to ft active volume per day) 400 ft3/day per reactor. This yield of 0.8 ft3/ft3/ Builder/designer Waste typea Daily yieldb day is about half the yield of manure digesters (see Chinese peasants ...... Unknown 0.67-0.83 table 11). The four reactors, loaded in sequence at Indian peasants...... Unknown 1.25 the optimal interval, should produce a reliable Dr. William Jewell of Cornell 3 University for DOE...... Cow manure 2.50 1,000 ft /day of biogas. Figure 18 shows three Ken Smith of the Ecotope measures of the phytomass digester’s performance. Group for DOE and State of Washington...... Cow manure 1.67-6.67 It is estimated that full-scale operation of the Energy Harvest, Inc...... Cow manure 4.17 NLF phytomass facility would require inputs of 44 New Life Farm: RGP #3 ...... Hog manure 0.60-2.40 tons of dried plant wastes annually. This would Phytomass...... Orchard 0.80 amount to 17 acres of cornstalks or pasture grass (estimate) grasses, or a little less19 than 33 acres of weeds or un- aAssumes 10-percent slurry by weight. cultivated grasses. The same initial tests with or- bAssumes biogas at 60 percent methane. chard grass shows that the sludge from the digester SOURCES: Ted Landers of New Life Farm and Lee Johnson, “Neighborhood Energy: Designing Democracy in the 1980’ s,” Stepping Stones: Ap- John b, propriate Technology and Beyond, Lane de Moll and Gig Coe (eds.), lglbldo; and L. “Practical Building of Methane Power (New York: Schocken, 1978), p. 183, table 5. Plants. ” Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 99

double that capacity; note that the process shows some economies of scale. Biogas Applications and Economics The energy uses to which biogas might be applied vary considerably from season to season, while biogas production would be relatively constant year-round. Consequently, biogas must either be used to meet those energy loads which are more or less stable or somehow be stored for use in times of excess demand. Otherwise, the surplus energy of the gas would be wasted instead of used to offset the cost of the system. This is an important consideration in determining the most economical scale for a given farm: digesters large enough to supply winter space-heating needs (about 380 ft3/day output) would produce a large amount of surplus gas in the summer, whereas the applications that are constant from day to day, such as hot water heating and cooking, demand relatively small amounts of gas (about 100 ft3/ day).20 As it turns out, however, this innovative tech- Photo credit: New Life Farm nology shows conventional economies of scale: Methane digester tanks large volumes of gas can be produced more cheaply than smaller volumes. Larger digesters would would return significant amounts of nutrients to thus provide greater energy savings, and a better the soil. Table 13 presents the nutrient content of return on investment, if they could be applied to the sludge and the annual production of each nu- larger loads or their output somehow stored for trient by the NLF phytomass digester. Tables 14 later use. and 15 present a cost/benefit analysis of the phy - tomass system, based on the present size and on ZoConsumption figures from Dawson, 1975.

Table 12.—Technical and Economic Data for Three RGP Digesters

Item Digester #1 Digester #4 Digester #5 Active volume...... 300 ft3 400 ft3 500 ft3 Tank construction ...... Slip form concrete Plastic Plastic Materials cost ...... $1,885 $2,000 $1,500 Labor cost...... $1,885 $1,000 $1,000 Levelized capital costsa ...... $480 $382 $318 Annual yield (50% utilization)...... 31.04 MMBtu 41.39 MMBtu 51.74 MMBtu Levelized energy savingsa ...... $604 $815 $1,015 Net savings...... $124 $433 $697 Cost/MMBtu ...... $15.46 $9.23 $6.15 Cost/MMBtu (100% utilization) ...... $7.73 $4.61 $3.08 1980 cost of LPG/MMBtu ...... $6.49 $6.49 $6.49 aUses Iifecycle costing methods presented in OTA’s Application Of solar Tech- Consumer discount rate =6% (current savings interest) nology to Today’s Energy Needs, vol. Il. Tax deductions, O&M expenditures, Life of system= 20 years biomass costs, and replacement costs have been omitted. The following as- Initial cost of LPG = 60¢/gal sumptions were applied: Inflation = 6% Capital charges on a 10-year loan= 15% Fuel escalation (above inflation) = 5%

SOURCE: New Life Farm. 100 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Figure 18.—NLF Phytomass Digester Reactor Operating Performance

Reactor 4 Batch size–3,600 (gallons) Agricultural residue—orchard grass Percent Residue 5.5(%) Startup date Nov. 21,1979 Culture/residue ratio 4:1

Daily average gas production rate (cubic feet per day) 500 375 250

125 0 Carbon destruction (%)

Methane/carbon dioxide ratio (o/o methane) 100 75

50 25 0

SOURCE: New Life Farm.

Table 13.—Nutrlent Content and Output The conventional method for storing gas is to of NLF Phytomass Digester compress it and keep large volumes in a small Nutrient Percent of sludge Annual yield (Ib)a space under high pressure. The NLF designers, Nitrogen...... 3.3 825 however, generally oppose this approach: it would Phosphorus...... 1.2 require a significant amount of gasoline or elec- Potassium ...... 0.7 175 tricity to run the compressors, and the pressurized Sulfur ...... 0.6 150 Sodium...... 0.3 75 gas itself is highly explosive. Instead of storing the Magnesium ...... 0.5 125 gas, they intend to use it to produce other forms of Calcium ...... 13.2 3,300 Manganese ...... 0.06 15 energy (such as electricity or alcohol) that can be Zinc...... 0.06 15 stored more easily or for which there is a stable Iron ...... 0.6 150 year-round demand. aTotal sludge = 25,000 lb/yr. Surplus gas from the 2,000-ft3 NLF phytomass SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. digester, for example, could be used as feed gas for Ch. S–Small Farm Systems ● 101

Table 14.—Capital Costs for Two Farm a 15-horsepower engine turning a 7.5-kW electri- Digester Systems” cal generator. At 20-percent thermal efficiency, NLF this system could produce 3,500 kWh/month, Phytomass Projected compared to average farmhouse loads of 900 (4 modules; (8modules; kWh/month.21 NLF might be able to sell its sur- 3 3 2,000 ft ) 4,000 ft ) plus electrical power to the rural electric coopera- Steel tanks, 4,000 gal minimum . $2,660 $4,080 6-kW generators with engine, tive or use it to supply another system in their 120 VAC, 60 herz...... 1,250 1,250 farm operation. In addition, about 10,000 Btu/hr Gas storage tank with in waste heat is available in the exhaust gas and concrete pit...... 700 900 Forage chopper with blower. . . . 1,000 1,000 radiation from the engine, which could be used to Building materials ...... 1,460 2,080 heat the building that houses the digester. Heater...... 300 400 Sludge pump, 10 gal/min...... 200 200 A second potential use for excess biogas is to Piping, agitators, valves, heat an alcohol still. Recent increases in the price miscellaneous ...... 1,000 1,300 Labor b ...... 500 700 of gasoline have helped make the production of Totals ...... $9,070 $11,910 alcohol fuels on the farm a more attractive option. Although operating an alcohol still consumes aEstimates are presented for two digester sizes in order to demonstrate economies of scale. Modular reactors are batch-loaded in sequence in order to more than 50 percent of the energy in biogas that maintain relatively constant total yield. Note that these figures include costs it produces in distilling alcohol, the alcohol can be for electric generators. Prices are in 1978 dollars. bDoes not include cost of farmers’ labor, only that of specialized help such as stored much more easily. This arrangement would welders. provide a constant, high-volume demand for bio- SOURCE: New Life Farm. gas and allow the farmer to produce fuel for his machinery at a lower unit cost. Either system— Table 15.—Energy Cost From Farm Digester biogas/electricity or biogas/alcohol–would increase the cost effectiveness of both technologies Size (ft3 active volume)...... 730 1,460 Yield (MMBtu/yr)...... 267 534 by reducing or removing the need for fuels or energy from off-farm sources. Capital cost...... $9,070 $11,910 Annual operating costs The NLF biogas system responds to the local Biomass...... $150 $300 Maintenance, 2% ...... 180 240 needs and condition of farmers in the Ozarks. In Capital charges, 8% ...... 720 the case study that follows, a group of low-income Total...... $1,050 $1,490 farmers in Cedar County, Nebr., has addressed a Energy cost somewhat different set of needs and conditions As methane (per MMBtu)...... $4.10 $2.80 As electricity (per kWh at through the application of solar technologies. 20% efficiency)...... $0.055 $0.038 Price of liquid propane (1978) ...... $4.60/MMBtu Marginal cost of electricity (1979)...... $0.060/kWh

SOURCES: New Life Farm and Rural Electrification Administration, USDA. ZIConsumption figure from Federal Power Commission.

Alternative Energy Technologies (II)– Onfarm Solar Applications

The energy needs of the small-scale farmer can they may involve the integration of alternative give rise to a wide variety of innovative solutions. farming techniques with small-scale applications of As in the case of the NLF system of technologies, alternative technologies. The techniques and tech- 102 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development nologies may be familiar; what is new is their inte- established, full-time farmers who are developing grated application to the particular needs of the their own applications of alternative technologies, small farmer, an application that responds to local most of them based on solar energy, to the re- needs and conditions by developing the means to sources and needs of small farming and livestock make better use of local resources. operations in northeastern Nebraska. The NLF system is based on anaerobic diges- The principles of passive and active solar power tion, a fuel cycle that produces energy from bio- have already been touched on in chapters 3 and 4, mass. It evolved in response to the needs of hog and the onfarm applications of these principles farmers in the Ozarks, but many of its developers will be examined in some detail in the case history. were from urban backgrounds and had engineer- For a more thorough examination of this subject, ing or management skills that might not be avail- the reader should consult an earlier OTA report, able in other communities. By contrast, the case Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy study that follows examines a project that is de- Needs. 23 signed to show how far a group of low-income farmers without special skills can progress toward energy self-sufficiency when provided with technical and cost-sharing support.22 Its participants are ZZRural Development, Inc.! “Evaluation of the Small Farm Energy Project at the Center for Rural Affairs,” contractor report to Com- zjAPp~ication of Solar Ener~ to TodAy’s Ener~ Needs (Washington, munity Services Administration, contract No. P-78-30, Dec. 1, 1979, D. C.: Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, June 1978), p. 1. vol. 1, OTA-E-66; and vol. II, OTA-E-77, April 1979.

A Case Study of the Small Farm Energy Project, Cedar County, Nebr.24

The Community Setting dicates a pattern of small-scale agriculture that is unusual in Nebraska (average farm size 683 acres) Cedar County is a small rural county in north- and in most of the Midwest. The topography par- eastern Nebraska which has experienced a slow tially explains the persistence of small-scale farm- but steady decline in population during the past ing. The area is characterized by rolling hills and several decades—a pattern not unusual for poor numerous creeks and marshy valleys that impede rural counties in the Midwest. 25 In 1970 over 45 the movement of large farm machinery across the percent of the work force was engaged directly in fields. The hilly terrain and frequent dry spells agriculture and much of the remainder in the sales pose a danger of wind and water erosion. Conse- and service occupations that support it. Many of quently, the local farmers often employ more the residents are decedents of German, Czech, traditional, labor-intensive methods of farming, and Swedish settlers, and the county has a well- including small fields, contour plowing, wind- integrated community life common to an earlier breaks, and terraced hillsides.27 period of U.S. history. This is illustrated by the extremely low crime rate in the county: 454 crimes Local farm operations are generally more diver- reported per 100,000 population, compared to a sified than in other areas of Nebraska, where farm- rate of 3,619 per year for Nebraska as a whole. ers often rely entirely on grain for their cash crop. Cedar County farmers grow a number of crops, in- In 1974 there were 1,258 farms in Cedar Coun- 26 cluding alfalfa and soybeans as well as corn and ty, with an average size of 354 acres. This in- oats. Local farmers use some chemical fertilizers, 2+Much of the following dlscuwion is drawn from Rural Develop- but they depend largely on crop rotation to main- ment, Inc., op. cit. 251bid., p. 19. Z6U.S. Census Bureau, f 974 census of A@dture. 27Rural Development, Inc., op. cit., PP. 19-21. Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 103 tain soil fertility. The farms are mechanized, often increases, which might in some cases make the with three or more tractors each, but they still re- smallest agricultural and livestock operations eco- quire the work of the entire family. nomically untenable. Hog breeding and dairy operations are more common in Cedar County than in the rest of the Development State, and they are well-suited to intensive use of The Small Farm Energy Project (SFEP) is an at- the available land. General livestock farms seem to tempt to address these local needs and conditions. be less vulnerable to energy price increases and The project is sponsored by the Center for Rural supply disruptions than specialized operations of Affairs (CRA), a nonprofit corporation in Walt- the same size. The major variable is electricity de- hill, Nebr., as part of an advocacy program for mand: dairy farms have a fairly substantial load small farmers and other low-income rural resi- for hot water and milkers year-round; and hog dents. CRA’s interests include a wide range of farms have a heavy load for space- and floor-heat- agricultural methods and appropriate technol- ing during winter farrowing; but general livestock ogies, but because the cost of electricity was rising farms, which farrow less often in winter and milk faster than other farm expenses, their particular fewer dairy cows, have a lower and more stable de- focus in this project was on technologies that mand for electricity y. would conserve or produce energy. Table 16 presents a social, economic, and agri- CRA submitted its proposal to CSA, which ap- cultural profile of Cedar County and the State of proved it on October 1, 1976, as a “national re- Nebraska. Both median family income and per search and demonstration project” and funded it capita income are lower than the averages for Ne- for an initial 15-month period. A second CSA braska and the Nation as a whole. In 1970 the grant approved a year later provided the funding county ranked 2,684 out of the 3,067 U.S. coun- necessary to complete the 39 months of work out- ties in median family income. Farm production lined in the CRA proposal. costs consume a greater percentage of gross farm —. . . . ,-. income than in the rest of the State, and energy The objectives of the project are: costs often represent 20 percent of the operating ● expenses for some of the smaller operations. Pro- to determine the energy price vulnerability of jections based on figures supplied by DOE indicate small farmers; that energy costs on these small farms will double ● to produce working models of technologies by 1984. Small farmers with low net incomes will that save or produce energy; be most vulnerable to energy shortages and price ● to calculate what impact these innovations

Table 16.—Socioeconomic and Agricultural Profile of Nebraska, Cedar County, and the Small Farm Energy Project

Small Farm Energy Project Measure Nebraska Cedar County All innovators Major participants Population change, 1960-70 ...... + 5.2% – 8.8% NA NA Per capita income, 1974 ...... $4,508 $2,660 NA NA Mean years of education, 1970 ...... 12.2 12.1 12.0 a 12.9a b b Average family size, 1970...... 3.5 3.5 5.8 6.2 Average farm size (acres), 1974 ...... 683 354 357C 381d Percentage of farms with more than 20 milk cows, 1974. 4.O% 16.6% 62.5%b 66.7% b Average gross farm income, 1974 ...... $55,224 $40,047 $34,735 d $40,633 d Average net farm income, 1974 ...... ~ . . . $13,057 $8,368 $2,919d $5,066d Profitability (net •/• gross), 1974 ...... 23.6% 20.90/o 8.40/o 12.5%

NA = not applicable. aAverage 1977 figures. b1975 figures. C1977 figures. ‘1976 figures. SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau, 1970 Census of Population and 1974 Census of Agriculture; and Small Farm Energy Project. 104 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

have on farm energy usage, in terms of both farm visits. The Hartington project office set up a Btu and dollars; resource library and started mailing out an in- ● to develop and implement an educational novator newsletter. program; and Self-Selection and Installation.–Next each ● to develop an energy and income recordkeep- farmer chose a technolog that he thought he ing system for small farmers. y could apply to his own farm. This self-selection by The stated research objective of the project is to de- the innovators was the cornerstone of SFEP’s ap-

termine the impact of proven alternative energy proach to technology transfer. The project staff

technolog y and conservation techniques on the helped in preparing designs and cost estimates so energy use, cost of production, and net incomes of the farmers could base their decisions on the prob- low-income farmers. For this reason the project in- able construction time, payback period, and cludes a control group of farmers keeping energy amount of cost sharing from project funds. The records. The stated demonstration objective of the farmers built and installed most of their innova- project is to show how far a group of 24 low- tions, with technical support from the SFEP staff income farm families can progress toward energy and sometimes with “barn raising” construction

self-sufficiency when provided with technical help from the staff and other farmers in the in- assistance and cost-sharing over a 3-year period. novating group. Fifty full-time, low-income farmers from Cedar Data Gathering.—The innovating farmers County were selected as SFEP participants (see have monitored the technical performance of most table 16 for a profile of this group). Twenty-five of their installations. The primary focus of SFEP were in the innovating group, which received recordkeeping, however, for both the innovators technical and cost-sharing assistance to help them and the control group, was on energy: what kinds construct alternative energy devices on their of energy were used, how much of each source, farms. The other 25 were in the control group, and how much they paid for it. Both groups of whose only involvement was to maintain detailed farmers submitted quarterly and annual records, energy and income records for 3 years. In addi- which have been analyzed in the projects’ annual tion, a board of directors composed of local resi- progress reports, The results28 are open to question dents—two farmers, a lawyer, and a banker—was because the sample is small and because the ener- established, not only to help establish the project’s gy-awareness caused by recordkeeping also influ- credibility with the local farmers but also to serve enced the energy use of the control group. Never- as a channel for disseminating information about theless, the figures give a rough indication of the

SFEP and gathering community opinion for man- conservation effect of the innovating group’s proj- agement decisions. The project works out of a ects: storefront office in Hartington, the county seat. innovators used an average of 37 million Btu less in 1978 than in 1977, while the control The SFEP Innovation Strategy group used an average of 29 million Btu more; The project is designed to be a controlled experi- because of price increases, innovators still had ment in innovation. The three major elements in an energy cost increase of 1.8 percent, but the its innovation strategy are: increase was 9.8 percent for the control Education.–First the farmers learned what group; and ● for the first 2 years of the project, increases in technologies were available and how to make use energy expenditures averaged 12.4 percent for of them. The project staff arranged a series of lec- the innovating farmers and 22.7 percent for tures and discussions by engineers, agricultural the control group. specialists, and farmers from other communities who had undertaken similar projects on their farms. They also held hands-on workshops with **center for Rural Affairs, “Preliminary Report, January 1977 through December 1978, for the Impacts of Various Energy Innova- the innovating group, and individual staffers held tions on Consumption and Net Incomes for 43 Small Farms,” pre- one-on-one sessions with the “innovators” during pared for Community Services Administration, July 1979. SFEP Innovator Energy Projects generator, and 20 applications of active or passive solar devices. Table 17 lists the types and numbers of energy projects undertaken by the farmers in the innovat- Most of the projects were fairly simple, home- ing group. Individual participants initiated as few built, low-cost devices constructed from locally as two projects or as many as nine, and most of available materials. Generally the farmer adapted them completed at least one project without tech- the technology in a design suited to the needs of nical or cost-sharing support. Almost 75 percent of his particular farm operations. The following dis- the projects begun in the first 2 years were carried cussions of six of these installations include a brief through and actually utilized, including most of description of the technology and an account of its the major ones. design, operation, and benefits. In keeping with the spirit of the SFEP approach to technology transfer, the first two accounts are in the words of

Table 17.—Types of Projects Adopted by the farmers themselves unless indicated by brack- Innovating Farmers Under the Small Farm ets. The third and fourth are taken from reports Energy Project, 1977-79 submitted by a study team composed of Cedar County residents, and the last two accounts are Conservation 29 Insulation, storm windows, and doors ...... based on SFEP’s second-year report. Flue dampers...... Energy-efficient waterers...... Portable Solar Collector (figure 19).–This is Small conservation projects. ., ...... an adaptation of an active solar hot-air system also Subtotal ...... 56 referred to as the vertical-wall or “North collec- Alternative sources of energy tor,” after the Colorado rancher who originally Solar space heating...... 6 Other solar projects...... 14 developed it. It can be built directly onto the south Wood heat ...... 9 wall of the structure to be heated, or it can be con- Wind electrical generator...... 1 structed in the workshop and mounted later or, as Subtotal ...... 30 in this design, moved from building to building. Agriculture The collector plate is painted black and covered Soil testing...... , ., 14 Comporting and limited tillage ...... 5 with a Filon fiberglass glazing, cool air from the Subtotal ...... 19 structure is drawn first behind the collector (for preheating) and then through the air gap in front Total number of projects...... 105 of the collector plate, where it picks up the solar aSome farmers insulated both their water heater and their walls, or both their heat and delivers it into the building. Like the farmhouse and their barn. bExcludes 23 “projects” that consisted of adopting pressurized gas caps to south roof of a solar greenhouse (see ch. 4), the prevent fuel loss by evaporation. slope of the collector should be perpendicular to SOURCE: Rural Development, Inc., for Community Services Administration. the Sun’s rays in winter. Innovator Gary Young’s account: About half of the SFEP projects involved con- A portable solar collector is moveable. I put it on servation measures, including improved insulation an old grain trailer that I was going to junk. I made for the farmhouse, barn, and other buildings; in- it portable so I could heat the house or dry grain. stalling energy-efficient watering and milking Construction on it is really a lot more simple than equipment; and doing tune-ups on farm machin- you would think. The most complicated part is fig- ery. A number of them involved changes or im- uring out the air gapping. The frame is made of provements in farming methods, such as soil test- lumber from an old hoghouse. When we heat the ing, increased comporting, limited cultivation house it takes cold air off the floor. The one-inch where possible, improving terraces to reduce fer- air gap has air baffles in it to turbulate the air so tilizer needs, and changing to a shorter season that it will take all the heat possible off this black aluminum. Then I just nailed the Filon on. You corn to reduce drying costs. Over a third of the don’t want any outside air getting into the collec- projects, however, involved applications of renewable energy sources, including conversion to wood Zpsee the working Paper, “Report From Community Study Team: stoves for the farmhouse or workshop, a wind Small Farm Energy Project.”

74-435 0 - 81 - 8 106 . Assessment of Technology forLocal Development

Figure 19.— Portable Solar Collector

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment

tor in the wintertime, so you use a lot of caulk to Another advantage of this design is that the tilt seal everything. Sun shines through the Filon and of the bed is adjustable so we can get maximum ab- heat gets absorbed by the aluminum; heat is trans- sorption of the sun. For the grain drying season, ferred to the air in the one-inch air gap, and this the sun was still quite a bit higher than it is in the air enters the house. wintertime, so we made it adjustable so that we can The SFEP people wanted me to build one a cou- get more sun in the early fall. We get full absorption of the sun, and in the wintertime we can tilt it ple of years ago, but Delores [his wife] didn’t want a collector sitting by the house or hanging on the up some more and get maximum heat from the sun in the dead of winter. house, because it would detract from the beauty of it. And then, when I [said] I wanted to make a por- The thing was pretty cheap, too. Not counting table collector, Delores said “yes” if it could be the time and my old lumber, I spent $1,300 to build moved from the house in the summertime so she it. That includes fan, motors, controls and every- could raise her flowers. So we had to develop a way thing. This one surely heats the house nicely. The to attach it to the house and grain bin, so it could furnace never runs except for an hour or two early be moved from one place to the other. in the morning. I’m sure our fuel bill will be far less than half what it was. Before, we filled the tank To hook up the collector, you use these inner- every 2 weeks—we have a 500-gallon tank—where tubes with these adapter plates. One hooks onto we now fill it about every 6 to 8 weeks. On our the back side of the collector, and the other one house-our house has 1,200 square feet–we might hooks onto a plate just like this on the barn [or on] recover the cost of this in 4 to 6 years. That’s just the house. I just bolt them together and seal them on the house alone. It doesn’t include grain drying. up. I think a portable one like this will have it over the permanent one, because farmers may have a Home-Built Compost Turners (figure 20).– bin at this place and another bin at another place a Comporting is based on the aerobic decomposi- few miles down the road. tion of animal and vegetable wastes, a process that Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 107

Figure 20.—Home-Built Compost Turners

Wuebben design Kleinschmit design

Tractor ~- w Counter — balanfe - - — / u, ~Power shaft with -U-joints, 540 rpm .“ U-joint Tool bar —-- Gear%* box \ Drive shaft / ~ Bearing Bearing Compost flow 8 ft. x 8“ dia. auge~ with small knives> (from Badger silage unloader) ground speed control Top View Side View

seat Counter A ~ Front angle iron support balancd on

t Tool bar 3-point hitch” \ / ~ShearPin ~earing~ Gear box, 1 to 1 ratio Bearing Adjustable chain 1

Rear View 16” drum, 24” total djameter, 400 rpm - Teeth 1 % circumference per drum half, lap 12” at center\ Front View is described in chapter 7. To aerate the wastes and (see ch. 7) to the tractor-pulled, $5,000 Easy-Over keep them from overheating (which would destroy composter that can turn 500 tons of compost in an their nitrogen content), the compost pile must be hour.30 Because 500 tons is about the annual turned periodically. Turning compost by hand, es- volume of a 25-cow dairy operation,31 it would pecially if large piles are involved, can be extreme- clearly be an advantage to the small farmer if he ly time-consuming. An alternative is to lay it out could rent the machine out or share its capital in windrows (long piles similar to the rows into costs with his neighbors. Two SFEP participants which grain or hay is raked for drying before it is built their own compost turners at a much lower stored or baled) and turn it with a machine designed for that purpose. Commercial compost ‘“Percy Knauth, “An Iowa Farmer Rediscovers Nature’s Way,” turners are available in sizes ranging from the self- Quest, May 1980, p. 74, Knauth’s source, farmer Richard Thompson, propelled, $52,000 Scarab used by the Bronx estimates that it would take five men 20 hours to turn this much compost. Frontier Development Corp. in their 365,000- j IVolume figures based on OTA, Energy From Bio/ogmd processes, ton/yr composting operation in the South Bronx op. cit., p. 130; and Richard Merrill, op. cit., p. 143. 108 l Assessment of Technology for Local Detvelopment cost with salvaged parts. Bill Kleinschmit devel- sults. The other area I don’t care to talk about— oped a machine for turning windrows of compost. that didn’t have anything.32 His account: Solar Grain Dryer (figure 21).–Traditionally, There are a few basic reasons why comporting is corn was picked in the ear and stored in slatted a good idea. The nitrogen in the manure will stabil- cribs, where air flow removed the moisture. The ize, and it isn’t going to be leached down by the advent of the combine (which picks and shells the rain. You save a lot of it, and it really nourishes the corn in the field) led to the circular steel storage plants. Another benefit is that with compost you bin, in which the corn is dried with heat produced get rid of the threat of disease from having the ma- from propane or electricity. The energy used for nure around. A man from Iowa spoke at a semi- this conventional method of drying corn often ex- nar. He had a terrible colon infection in his hogs ceeds the total amount required for plowing, [and cattle] prior to starting comporting. Since he planting, cultivating, and harvesting the crop.33 started comporting, he has had only minimal prob- Four SFEP farmers chose to address this energy lems with infection. It helped get rid of the bugs, provided fertilizer for the ground, and produced cost by installing solar grain dryers based on a sim- better, healthier grain. ple design developed by Dr. William Patterson of My project with the Small Farm Energy people South Dakota State University. In each case, a was building this compost turner. I started with a collector made of corrugated metal is attached to windrower that was no longer good for windrowi- the southern two-thirds of the storage bin, with an ng. It was completely shot. But the parts I wanted air space between the collector and the wall of the weren’t. The engine and the drive mechanisms, bin. Solar heat transferred to the air as it passes chains, and the big pulley came from a big John behind the collector raises its temperature by 50 to Deere 55 combine that we used to have. I had to 10° F and lowers its relative humidity. The warm, have something that was slow, so I took an oil dry air then flows through the grain to remove its pump, orbit motor, and a flow control valve and moisture. In the Wuebben dryer the air rises from with this I could achieve as little as maybe 6 inches the bottom of the collector, enters the storage bin a minute or less, and then I could still go up to 10 through vents at the top, and is drawn down feet a minute with no problem. And the drum was through the grain by an exhaust fan located at just a 16-inch drum and I had just taken some 4- inch scrap iron and made the angle for the teeth of ground level. In the Fish dryer the air is drawn the drum. That’s pretty well what it’s been made through vertical openings on the north side of the of—what one person might call a lot of junk. bin to a fan on the south side, which then forces The windrow that my comporting machine is set the warm air up through the grain. Unlike Gary up for is about 8 feet wide and 4 feet high. You can Young’s portable collector, these permanent in- make the windrow whatever length you want it. I stallations can only be used during the fall harvest,

think the one I have now is well over 100 feet long. but they can still reduce the small farmer’s energy The thing was cheap to build. I paid $150 for the needs. None of the four SFEP solar grain dryers is windrower, and the guy was happy to get rid of it exactly alike, but all are home-built with materials because it had been sitting there for 5 or 6 years. I that can be salvaged or obtained from the local don’t have over $1,000 in it right now. The engine lumber yard. The community study team’s report: may need an overhaul and I may stick a different engine on it that would take less fuel, but other Solar drying is a form of low temperature drying. than that, I don’t feel there’s too much that I Along with saving propane and electricity, the would have to put into it. method is believed by some farmers to result in a superior quality of dried grain. To construct a solar As far as the benefits, well, the first year I did grain dryer a sheet of corrugated metal is painted this with just a manure spreader and a manure black and wrapped around the south facing curve loader. I put about 10 loads of raw manure on one of the bin. The metal is open at one end and con- area, 10 loads of compost on another, and then the nects with an airtight shed at the other end. The rest of the field had nothing on it. I had fairly good oats where I had put raw manure. Where I put the JZMany small farmers in Cedar County apparently do not fertilize compost, I used half as much manure by volume, some of their fields, or do so only with raw manure. and I would say I had about half again more re- JJRural Development, Inc., op. cit., P. 5. Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 109

Figure 21.—Top View of Fish Solar Grain Dryer and Wuebben Solar Dryer, West View

SOURCE: Small Farm Energy Project.

average solar grain dryer costs about $600, and it will achieve an annual savings of about $319.34 Solar Dairy Water Heater (figure 22).–Mod- ern dairy farmers use automatic milking machines powered by electricity, which makes them highly dependent on this form of energy. However, they also use a significant amount of electricity to heat water for cleaning the machines and washing the cows for milking. Two of the SFEP innovators chose to apply an active solar energy system to their water heating needs: solar energy is transferred to water circulating through copper tubing attached to a 64-ft2 collector plate on the south roof. The major problem with such a system in a

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment cold climate is that it may freeze up. One solution is to use a mixture of water and antifreeze in the Solar grain dryer collector system and then use it to heat potable water. The- SFEP design, in which the potable shed contains a big fan that sucks outside air past water itself circulates through the collector, is the blackened metal, which heats it, and forces it into the bin. The Trubys have incorporated a fiberglass cover over the corrugated black metal col- J4SIX thousand bushels represents the corn harvest of 555 acres at average 1979 yields. The cost savings would be over a 10-year period, lector plate in their bin. The bin holds 6,000 assuming 10-percent inflation and annual price increases of 2 percent bushels and requires a 7-to 9-horsepower fan. The for electricity and 5.7 percent for propane. 110 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Figure 22.—Dairy Water Heat Exchanger required 50 to 80 gallons of water per day. Without the solar collector, heating the water required Heat exchanger Warm about 20 kWh per day; with the collector, the electricity used is reduced to 5 kWh per day. The Coolant 1 Wuebbens expect to recover the cost of the system lines I in about 6 years. However, [the SFEP] staff esti- ~-ld IT9 I mate the average cost of this type of heater at I It about $1,597 and the annual savings at about $175. This would mean a 9-year payback period instead of 6 years.37 ~HOt j-~,~Hottmkd Solar-Heated Farrowing Barn (figure 23).– Compressor Warm tank . Hogs are one of the major sources of income for farmers in Cedar County, and heated farrowing

SOURCE: Small Farm Energy Project. barns have become a popular means of increasing production by allowing sows to farrow year-round. more efficient but more complicated, since it must These barns are usually heated with propane, ker- be drained when there is a danger of freezing. The osene, or electricity. With technical assistance two SFEP installations incorporate a drain-down from Professor Peterson of South Dakota State system designed by the Domestic Technology In- University (who also developed the basic solar stitute at Lakewood, Colo., involving solenoid grain dryer design, above), Rick Pinkleman con- valves, a pump, differential thermostats, a freestat, verted an old dairy barn into a solar-heated far- and some rather complicated wiring. This com- rowing barn. plexity prevents the farmer from building the whole system himself and substantially increases Figure 23.—Solar-Heated Farrowing Barn the cost; it may be desirable to develop or select a simpler design such as the thermosiphon.35 Edgar Wuebben, a dairy farmer who also built a compost turner (see above), has installed a drain-down, potable-water solar heater. The community study team’s report: One of the energy-saving devices on the Wueb- ben farm is a solar water heater for the grade-A dairy barn. Water is pumped through the rooftop collector and then drains down into a hot water heater, where it can be warmed further with conventional power. In the winter, when there is danger that freezing might burst the pipes, solenoid valves open and drain the water out of the collector when a temperature drop tells [the switching mechanism] the sun has gone down. Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment The Wuebbens use a 120-gallon storage tank. They could have used some type of antifreeze in The first step was to weatherize and insulate the the system, but the lower danger of contamination and the efficiency of the drain-down system barn. The south roof, which measured 17 by 50 ft seemed more appropriate.36 The dairy operation and had a slopeof700 from the horizontal, proved to be an excellent location for the collector. He J5Rura] Development, Inc., op. cit., P. 8. J61f antifreeze were pumped through the collector, heat would havepainted the corrugated metal roof black and cov- to be transferred to the potable water in some way. Some designs call ered it with clear corrugated fiberglass to trap the for the antifreeze to be piped through a heat-exchanger coil immersed in the hot water tank. Many local building codes forbid this practice, 37 Again, cost savings are over a 10-year period, assuming 10-Per- however, because any leaks that develop in the heat-exchanger coil cent inflation and annual price increases of 2 percent for electricity will contaminate the potable water with antifreeze. and 5.7 percent for propane. Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 111 solar heat. A fan pulls air from the attic through Figure 24. —Solar Window Box Collector the collector and into a heat storage area con- (cross-section view) taining 850 plastic, l-gal milk jugs filled with a mixture of water and methanol. A second fan pulls the preheated air through a ventilator duct into the barn itself. At night the heat stored in the water jugs is transferred to the air, thus helping to keep the barn warm. This system has too little heat storage to work without backup heat, but it should make a significant difference is space- heating costs for the farrowing barn. Other SFEP Innovations.–Home space- heating costs can be reduced more effectively through conservation measures than through passive solar additions,38 and most of the farmers in the innovating group added insulation to their farmhouse walls and ceilings, installed storm windows and doors, insulated their water heaters, and purchased pressurized gas caps to reduce the loss of SOURCE: Small Farm Energy Project fuel through evaporation. Nevertheless, one family built a solar greenhouse on an old porch (see chs. 3 and 4), another farmer built a small solar Figure 25.—Solar Food Dryer (cross-section view) “window box” collector (figure 24), and several others installed fixed vertical-wall collectors simi- Hinge for opening cover lar to Gary Young’s portable design (see figure 19). \ Sunlight Clear plastic or Another family’s solar hot-air application was the fiberglass cover Moist // , solar food dryer (figure 25). In a slightly different exit air // / kind of project, the Kaiser family bought a com- ~ / / Cover frame mercial wind generator and set it up on their farm. It produced electricity in winds over 8 miles per hour and had an average output of 200 kWh/ Air month; this saved the family about 20 percent on Incoming its electric bill. dry air

Food tray of heavy netting or f iberglass screen supported by dowels

38 See ~es[den[ia/ EnerN Consewation (Washington, D. C.: Office SOURCE: Small Farm Energy Project. of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, July 1979), OTA-E-92, vol. I.

Critical Factors

Public Perception and Participation pecially conducive to public interest or involve- The two small farm projects examined in this ment:small “ - farm communities tend to be conserv- chapter illustrate the manner in which public ative and to distrust outsiders. SFEP and NLF participation can affect public perceptions of local used different techniques for gaining public ap- development projects. The settings were not es- proval and participation. 112 ● Assessment o/ Technology for Local Development

SFEP made citizen involvement a feature of its participation, because local farmers who want to project design from the very outset. The staff of learn about new farming techniques at NLF may CRA are all midwesterners, but they realized they feel that an active commitment to the organization still might be viewed as outsiders in Cedar Coun- would be required. ty. Early in the planning phase, therefore, a board While it is difficult to determine from available of directors was established to oversee the project data how well NLF has been accepted by the and represent it in the community. The four direc- Ozark farmers, data on the SFEP outreach pro- tors were all native Nebraskans and influential, grams indicates widespread support in Cedar active community members whose participation County. Over half of the local residents surveyed helped to establish the project’s credibility with by the community study team knew about SFEP local farmers. The CRA staff also surveyed county and its activities, and a number of nonparticipants residents and institutions while the proposal was had planned or begun building their own energy being developed to determine what activities projects. So had 25 percent of the control group, would be most appropriate for the county’s needs. which was subject to the same outside influences— Planning and decisionmaking at the New Life i.e., SFEP’s educational component as well as the Farm in Missouri, on the other hand, was limited general increase in energy consciousness through- to the group of original New Life Farmers, all of out the Nation. whom were outsiders. These people seem to have The lack of a true control group is one of several accurately identified the needs of small farmers in flaws in the project’s quasi-scientific design; anoth- the region and are very open to public participa- er is small size of the sample, but perhaps the most tion, but few natives of the community were in- serious flaw is the lack of randomness in selecting volved in the organization’s early stages or in its the participants. Most of the SFEP innovators ongoing operations. NLF members have tried to were self-motivated to participate, and they were establish personal relationships with local farmers, apparently hand-picked by the staff and local ad- and several jobs at the farm have been filled by visory board. In addition, 9 of the 24 innovators local residents, but the broader community still undertook a disproportionate share of the proj- knows little about the project or its aims. NLF has ects, including the largest installations, and the recently stepped up their outreach efforts, in part data presented in table 16 suggest that these major to attract more private donations, but unlike the participants were better educated and had more Cedar County project it has not come to be seen profitable farms. as a creation of the local community. Essential Resources SFEP’s greater success as a demonstration project results in large part from its stress on self- Most of the projects at NLF and SFEP can be selection, which makes use of existing patterns of built by the farmers themselves at low cost and technology transfer. Traditionally, information with locally available materials. NLF’s small ma- and new farming techniques have been passed on nure digesters, which could supply the cooking from neighbor to neighbor and generation to gen- and water heating needs of an average farm, can eration. Recognizing this, SFEP’s technical as- be built for between $2,500 and $3,500, although sistance focuses on one-to-one relationships and the designers think the price could be reduced in individual innovation, allowing local people to time (see table 12). Most of the SFEP projects have demonstrate technologies that can be useful in the even lower costs, and many of them make use of kind of farm operations actually found in the area. salvaged materials. Most small farmers possess the This makes the farmers themselves active agents in carpentry and plumbing skills necessary for their technology transfer, and it also allows them to be- construction, although they may need to hire local come active participants in the project without labor for some of the construction work on the joining a formal organization. By contrast, NLF’s larger installations. The most complicated ma- organizational style seems to be more akin to an terials, and the only ones not locally available, urban cooperative model than to traditional rural were the drain-down switches for the solar dairy practice. This may actually work against public hot water systems. Ch. 5--Small Farm Systems ● 113

The costs of raw materials depends on the type been done on the nutrient value of biomass of system and the type of crop used. Solar energy, sludge, the availability of the nutrients to plants, of course, is free; but the amount of solar energy or on the long-term impacts of applying sludge as a available will vary with location and season. Ma- fertilizer and soil conditioner. NLF’s research ef- nure for comporting or for digesters is readily forts address these questions, although the results available and frequently underutilized by current are not yet widely available. farming methods. Plant wastes for the phytomass SFEP, despite its project design, is less a rigorous digester are also available at low cost: wild grasses research program than a well-designed and highly and weeds can be collected for about $0.25 bale, or successful education and demonstration program. $264/yr; cornstalks can be gathered for $4.73 per 39 Its workshop approach was particularly useful in 1,600-lb bale, or $150/yr. Since the sludge from disseminating information: agronomists and farm- the digesters can still be used for compost or feed, ers came to speak to the Cedar County group, and this technology makes more efficient use of an consultants were hired to work with both partici- available resource without destroying its value for pants and staff. The results clearly demonstrated other uses. the potential of farmer-built, self-selected technol- One traditional rural resource has not been ex- ogies on these Nebraska farms, but there was very ploited, however: the communal or shared labor little new technological innovation in any of these 41 of local farmers. The rural “barn raising” tradition applications. Furthermore, because of the in- may still exist in these communities, but it was not evitable roughness of the onfarm data gathering reported to have emerged among the innovating and because of the number of uncontrolled vari- farmers in Cedar County,40 not all of whom were ables and outside influences in the Cedar County close neighbors, or between NLF and the native “experiment ,“ it would be difficult to establish farmers in the Ozarks. conclusively that the economic viability and energy vulnerability of these farms have been signifi- Technical Information and Expertise cantly affected, let alone that the results can be applied to small farms in other regions of the United The literature on solar and biomass technol- 42 States. ogies is growing rapidly, but much of the early research was done under less than optimal condi- If the NLF and SFEP installations are to be rep- tions, and many promising areas have barely been licated on a widespread basis, more detailed in- touched. Part of the problem has been that very formation will be needed on the design, costs, and little money has been available for conducting for- performance of these and other small-farm energy mal scientific experiments, and even in areas systems. A preliminary evaluation of the SFEP where preliminary research has been done, there is project suggested several methodological changes considerable debate about whether these tech- that might improve the usefulness of information nologies are appropriate to real-life, onfarm ap- generated by this program and similar efforts else- plications. Both NLF and SFEP have tried to fill where: these information gaps. ● collect better baseline data on the farmers’ at- NLF’s experiments with biogas digesters are titudes toward change, in order to evaluate adding to the sometimes sketchy information gen- the project’s impact in this area; erated by a handful of experimenters around the ● include a larger number of farmers, in order world over the last 20 years. There is a fairly good to offset random effects and make valid con- understanding of which parameters (feedstock, clusions; carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, temperature, etc.) affect ● adopt a case study approach, in order to col- gas yield, but as yet there is no precise understand- lect and analyze data on a technology-by-

ing of what impact these factors have individually technology and farm-by-farm basis, rather or in combination. Similarly, little research has than in the aggregate;

JgEiScher and Swack, op. cit., p. 69. 411bid., pp. 71-72. - 40 Rura] Development, Inc., op. cit., pp. 5354. 4ZIbid., pp. 40-41, 59, 71. 114 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

concentrate on the technologies that have the SFEP has avoided some of the restrictions im- greatest potential energy-saving impacts; posed by the grants economy. Its project design develop a model farm, with the active partici- stressed the installation of devices based on pation of the farmer, by installing a number proven technologies and design concepts, which of technologies to demonstrate the potential serves to reduce risks; but it also stressed self-selec- benefits of an integrated small-farm energy tion by the innovating farmers, which led to a system; and greater variety of applications. Cost-sharing, utilize comprehensive cost-benefit analysis at which has been used in a number of agriculture all stages of the project .43 programs, appears to have been useful both be- The NLF system of technologies is an example cause it is accepted by the farmers and because it of the sort of model farm that might be developed, reinforces the innovator’s sense of ownership. although the model should include solar as well as However, while the cost share was found to be im- biomass applications. SFEP has indicated that it portant in initiating innovations in the early will undertake case studies of individual installa- stages of the project, it was not always needed to tions, but no studies are available as yet. sustain the innovation process. Many of the SFEP farmers undertook projects without cost-sharing, Financing and only 52 percent of the money allocated for this purpose was actually spent. The average cost Both of these small projects have been financed share was 43 percent of the project cost; the staff primarily by grants. The NLF case study, like sev- and advisory board felt that a 100-percent share eral others in other chapters, demonstrates that would be seen as a giveaway program and that trying to survive exclusively by grants can cause more than a 50-percent share would be useful only an organization a number of problems. for “high risk” or “first time” innovations.45 The NLF generally develops a prototype before it proposed model farm, however, may require a seeks finding for a project, which both reduces the larger share because of the number of installations risks involved and encourages grantors to take the involved. project seriously; but dependence on Government and foundation grants has led to restrictions on its Institutional Factors use of funds. The large DOE “Energy From Farm The full development and widespread dissemi- Crops” grant, for instance, is earmarked for spe- nation of these small-farm technologies would re- cific research on the phytomass digester, and thus quire the active cooperation and backing of the works against the type of integration that NLF land-grant colleges and the Agricultural Extension would like to achieve. In addition, Government Service (AES). NLF has thus far enjoyed a cordial grants may not be forthcoming unless a project is relationship with the local state university in line with the current objectives and priorities of through joint research on the phytomass digester, the granting agency. NLF has a friendly relation- and there seems to be a great deal of interest in the ship with the local bank and can borrow against project from government officials at the Federal, its savings account, but a conventional loan is State, and local levels. Similarly, SFEP has tried to highly unlikely at the present time. An alternative establish friendly relations with the University of would be to pursue a broader mix of finding Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service, which sources, like the “consortium funding” of the has moved one of its energy specialists to nearby Bronx Frontier project (see ch. 7), but for this ap- Concord. Institutional change has been slow, proach NLF might need the help of an experi- however, and a number of barriers remain. enced grants manager. Another alternative, since there seems to be commercial potential for the AES operates with relative success throughout the United States, partly because its over 100 years manufacture and sale of digesters, would be for of activity has given it legitimacy and credibility. NLF to investigate the possibility of selling its serv- 44 However, its responsiveness to the problems of the ices as a design consultant. small farmer varies greatly from one region to 4J]bid., pp. 17, 29, 39,64,66. 44 FiKher and Swack, op. cit., p. 79. 4JRural Development, Inc., op. Cit., PP. 43-44. Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 115 another, according to a SFEP consultant. Exten- though the project staff, advisory board and coop- sion programs are jointly funded by Federal, State, erators prefer that it would.47 and county governments, but they are managed at NLF, too, has experienced opposition to its efforts the State level. This should allow them to respond to involve local high school students in its work- to local agricultural needs, but some State-con- shops. trolled programs tend to focus on the problems of large-scale farming groups, whom they perceive to The Missouri and Nebraska projects may, to be their primary clientele. According to informa- some extent, find themselves working in competition gathered by Rural Development, Inc., for tion with AES and local extension services. By ad- CSA, nothing similar to SFEP had been under- dressing a new clientele (the farmers at the lower taken by AES anywhere in the Nation.46 This cre- end of the income and acreage ranges in their ated an opportunity for SFEP, which employs a areas) and by encouraging alternative agricultural number of the educational and outreach tech- techniques, they might unintentionally challenge niques developed and used by AES, to supplement the conventional methods advocated by the estab- the activities of the existing extension programs. lished institutions and threaten to usurp their There is evidence, however, that the State AES local role. Joint grants and joint research, such as agency opposed the establishment of SFEP. NLF has undertaken with the State University of Missouri at Rolla, may help to overcome these To be eligible to receive its CSA grant, the barriers, but institutional change is likely to re- SFEP proposal had to be approved by the Gover- main a slow and incremental process. nor of Nebraska and the State Tax Commissioner (in his capacity as head of the State’s Energy Of- Two regulatory issues have arisen from these fice). During the review period, the Governor projects: proprietary rights and patents, and received a letter from the University of Nebraska digester safety. The SFEP participants view their opposing the project: the University, with the small-farm technologies as examples of local in- backing of Nebraskans for Progressive Agriculture novation and adaptation which, as such, should (a group of large farmers with ties to the Universi- be available for use by all farmers at the lowest ty), claimed that the SFEP staff was unqualified to possible cost. As a result, the staff has made no at- undertake the project and that it would duplicate tempt to secure patents or copyrights, and some of efforts already underway at the University the innovating farmers even suggested that a law through AES. SFEP was able to refute these argu- should be passed so that some of the devices could ments, but the incident apparently served to polit- not be patented. Biogas technology, on the other icize the project. Three years later, in the spring of hand, raises a safety issue. The designers have 1979, Rural Development, Inc., reports that: sought to reduce the risks of oxygen contamination and explosion wherever possible, and the . . . during a conversation the evaluators had with batch-loaded digesters are relatively safe because, the Director of the [University ofl Nebraska once loaded, they remain sealed until digestion is Cooperative Extension Service, it was clear that he was not open to cooperation with persons working completed. Nevertheless, NLF has installed a “gas on agriculturally-related problems who were not sniffer” alarm in its digester building, and wide- associated with land-grant or traditionally agricul- spread adoption of biogas digesters may necessitate tural-mandated institutions . . . . The SFEP project formal safety regulations, such as local building codes forbidding a digester from being attached to had not significantly affected the University of Nebraska [Cooperative] Extension Service, al- a livestock shelter.

+6 Rural Development, Inc., Op.cit., p. s. 471bid., pp. 55-56. 116 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Federal Policy

Background munity development in rural areas, and most of the rural development activities of the legislative Unlike the cases studied in other chapters of and executive branches have focused on the im- this assessment, the two case studies in this chap- plementation of this legislation. The Act’s stated ter entail the development and adoption of a purpose is “to provide for improving the economic whole range of technologies, from new comporting and living conditions in rural America. ” Of par- techniques to solar and biomass energy systems. ticular relevance is title V, “Rural Development Consequently, they are related to and affected by and Small Farm Research and Education.” Two of a large number of Federal programs and policies. The development and diffusion of the small-scale this title’s goals are: 1) “to expand research on innovative approaches to small farm management farm technologies examined in these case studies, and technology” and 2) “extend training and tech- however, are most relevant to three broad, interrelated national issues: nical assistance to small farmers so that they may fully utilize the best available knowledge on sound ● developing rural America; economic approaches to small farm operations. ” ● progressing toward greater energy self-suffi- To this end the Act establishes the Small Farm Ex- ciency at all levels—national, regional, local, tension, Research, and Development Programs, and individual; and which were to consist of: . retaining agricultural lands and preserving the structure of the farming sector. . . . extension and research programs with respect to new approaches for small farms in management, The third issue, agricultural land retention, is agricultural production techniques, farm machin- discussed in chapter 6; the other two issues are ery technology, new products, cooperative agricul- discussed below. tural marketing, and distribution suitable to the economic development of family size farm opera- Rural Development48 tions. (sec. 502) A 1970 congressional policy declaration stated The Act designates USDA as the lead agency in that “the highest priority must be given to the re- Federal rural development efforts. USDA placed vitalization and development of rural areas. ” De- most of the operating programs under the Farmers fining the exact Federal role in these activities has Home Administration, while the responsibilities been the focus of considerable debate ever since. for lead-agency coordination were assigned to the Rural development has become a broad mission, Rural Development Service. A number of institu- involving initiatives by Federal, State, and local tional changes have taken place since 1972, how- governments as well as the activities of the private ever, in part because of congressional criticism of sector. The coordination of these diverse efforts so the way in which the present and previous admin- that their results are mutually supportive has been istrations have implemented the policymaking and a particular and continuing concern in the rural coordinating mandate of the Act. These changes development initiatives of both Congress and the also reflect the findings of executive branch studies executive branch, several of which affect the de- and reviews of rural development, the findings velopment of alternative technologies for the small and changes which affect small farm technology farmer. are outlined below. The Rural Development Act of 1972. The earliest review was carried out in 1977 by a –This Act (Public Law 92-419) is the primary joint task force of officials from USDA and the Of- source of programs to promote economic and com- fice of Management and Budget, under the direc- tion of the Administrator of the Rural Develop- +eSome of th materia] in this section is drawn from Sandra S. e ment Service. The task force identified the follow- Osburn, “Rural Development: the Federal Role,” Library of Con- gress, Congressional Research Service issue brief No. IB771 13, June ing as one of the weaknesses in the current rural 23, 1980. development efforts: Ch. 5–Small Farm Systems ● 117

Federal programs have concentrated heavily on 96th Congress.—Continuing congressional public facilities investments which have improved concern about the implementation of rural devel- the public infrastructure in many rural areas, but opment policy was demonstrated by several pieces have not stimulated substantial private sector of legislation enacted or considered by the 96th employment. Federal programs have also under- Congress: invested in human resource development and in technological innovation in rural areas .49 Rural Development Policy Act of 1980 (Public Their report also stressed the need to develop a na- Law 96-355).–This Act directs the Secretary tional growth and development policy and to en- of Agriculture to prepare a comprehensive Rural Development Strategy, based in part sure that rural needs and interests would be in- on the goals and recommendations of local cluded in any such policy. communities and on the need to strengthen A second review of Federal rural development the family farm system, and to update this policy took place as part of the White House Con- strategy annually in a report to the appropri- ference on Balanced National Growth and Eco- ate House and Senate committees. The Act nomic Development, authorized under the Public also creates the position of Under Secretary of Works and Economic Development Act of 1976, Agriculture for Small Community and Rural which took place from January 29 to February 2, Development, to be appointed by the Presi- 1978. On December 1, 1978, President Carter an- dent with the advice and consent of the nounced the findings of the conference’s water Senate. Significantly, the Act also extends for and sewer task force; these proposals later led to 2 years the authorization for title V of the an interagency Coordination and Service Delivery Rural Development Act of 1972 (see above) Agreement50 that included a proposal to place and specifically authorizes the Secretary of more emphasis on alternative and innovative Agriculture to promote R&D efforts related technologies for waste-management in rural areas. to appropriate technologies for small- and medium-sized farms. The Secretary of Agriculture issued a memorandum on March 21, 1979, that set forth USDA’s Other legislation.—To ensure that rural inter- rural development policy and specified the follow- ests are considered in the design and imple- ing goals: mentation of national programs in other areas, bills were introduced that would estab- ● improve rural income levels and increase lish an Office of Rural Health within the De- rural employment opportunities; partment of Health and Human Services ● improve the access of rural residents to ade- (H.R. 2886 and H.R. 3882) and a Rural Area quate housing and essential community facil- Transportation Office within the Department ities and services; of Transportation (S. 839). All three of these ● provide a more equitable distribution of op- bills, however, died in subcommittee. portunities through targeting efforts on dis- tressed areas, communities, and people; Energy Self-Sufficiency ● create and implement a process for involving the private sector and Federal, State, and Since the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, policies to local agencies in establishing policies and pro- promote energy self-sufficiency at all levels have grams that affect rural areas; and become an integral part of other domestic pol- ● strengthen the planning, management, and icies, including agricultural and rural development decisionmaking capacity of public and private policies. Major initiatives have been put forth institutions concerned with economic oppor- since 1977, and many of the more recent initia- tunity and quality of life in rural areas. tives contained provisions encouraging energy conservation or production. The most important of these are presented below. 491bid., p. 6. soother agencies involved in the agreement are the Departments of The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (Public Housing and Urban Development, and Labor; Environmental Pro- tection Agency; Economic Development Administration; Council on Law 95-1 13) contains in its title XIV (the National Environmental Quality; and Community Services Administration. Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 118 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Policy Act of 1977) findings that bear directly on ● that the Secretary establish not less than four small farms and appropriate technologies, and call and not more than eight Agricultural Biomass for new Federal initiatives in several areas, among Energy Centers, in different geographic regions which are: of the United States to undertake research, development, and demonstration projects on ● more intensive agricultural research and ex- promising new farm energy technologies; to de- tension programs oriented to the needs of velop a data base and perform energy need anal- small farmers; yses for rural residents and communities; to dis- ● development and implementation of energy- seminate information on new energy systems efficient and environmentally sound methods and provide technical assistance to farmers; and of utilizing nonfood agricultural products to support energy-efficient model farms; and ● that the Secretar establish an extension pro- and waste products; and y gram to disseminate the results of farm energ ● investigation of the effect of organic waste y - research, to encourage the adoption of energy materials on soil tilth and fertility. conservation and production technologies, to To that end, the Act amends section 502 of the conduct workshops for interested farmers, and Rural Development Act of 1972 to emphasize pro- to provide technical and cost-sharing assistance for the installation of farm energy systems. grams that will develop new approaches to small farm products, marketing techniques, and finance, In addition, there are several provisions in title it also adds to section 502 a new subsection (d) VII (the Omnibus Solar Commercialization Act of specifying that small farm extension programs 1979) which direct the Secretary to support the “shall [use], to the maximum extent practicable, dissemination of information on renewable re- paraprofessional personnel to work with small source research and to establish a National Solar farmers on an intensive basis. ” Energy Information Center as part of a coordinated information and outreach program. Subtitle H of the Act encourages R&Don “uses of solar energy with respect to farm buildings, farm Other legislation relating to small farm energy homes, and farm machinery,” and promotes the policy included the bill to amend the Consoli- establishment and operation of model solar energy dated Farm and Rural Development Act (Public demonstration farms in each State to determine Law 96-438), which authorizes the Farmers Home “energy usage, income, costs, operating difficul- Administration to make or insure loans for the ties, and farmer interest with respect to these development, construction, or modification of model farms. ” solar and other renewable energy systems on family farms. The Energy Security Act of 1979 (Public Law 96-294) also contains numerous provisions relating Issues and Options to small farms, but the majority of them are contained in its title II, the Agricultural, Forestry, and Existing and proposed legislation provides a Rural Energy Act of 1979. These provisions in- broad range of technical and financial assistance clude the following: for the diffusion of small-scale agricultural technologies. No major institutional changes appear to be ● that the Secretary of Agriculture implement an needed at this time. The specific issues that emerge Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Energy Pro- from the cases examined in this chapter fall into duction, Use, and Conservation Program to en- two interrelated areas: 1) R&D, and 2) education able the United States to achieve net energy in- and outreach. dependence in agricultural and forestry production by 2000; ● that the Secretary implement an applied re- ISSUE 1: search program to develop economical and en- Research and Development. ergy-efficient fuels from biomass; techniques for using energy so derived in the production, These case studies include technologies at vary- processing, and marketing of agricultural coming stages of development. For instance, knowl-

modities and forest products; and energy con- edge of solar thermal phenomena is far more com- servation systems and techniques for farmers; plete than knowledge of anaerobic decomposition. As a result, solar thermal technologies like the cies to broaden and intensify their research efforts vertical-wall collector and solar hot water system in the areas described above, as authorized by ex- can already be demonstrated in onfarm applica- isting legislation. These efforts would generate tions. In fact, it is likely that further improvements more detailed and reliable information if in- in these systems might be discovered primarily dividual projects were directed to give a high through onfarm adaptation and everyday use. priority to information gathering; cost-benefit analysis would be especially desirable, and might However, some biomass systems like the biogas be included in the technical assistance offered by digester seem to be in two stages of development at the funding agency if local expertise is lacking. once. Significant design improvements and cost reductions have been achieved through the experience gained in demonstrations, but much remains ISSUE 2: to be learned about both the basic biological proc- Education and Outreach. esses involved in anaerobic digestion and about its The New Life Farm and the Small Farm Energy operating parameters—the energy content of dif- Project both had two functions: research and ferent feedstocks or feedstock mixes, their various demonstration. NLF was perhaps more successful biogas yields, and the nutrient value of the result- in its research component, but SFEP was partic- ing sludge. Nutrient content and nutrient avail- ularly successful in its demonstration component. ability in digester sludge is the subject of particular Self-selection by the innovating farmers simulates debate. the manner in which such technologies might ac- In addition, little information has been gener- tually be disseminated on a local level, and the ated thus far on the full potential of these solar spread of conservation strategies among the non- and biomass installations as components in a larg- participants in Cedar County illustrates how rap- er, integrated system of farm technologies. The de- idly these technologies might be transferred in vices installed in the Small Farm Energy Project small farming communities. were not always those with the greatest energy- Option 2: Support improved Demonstra- saving potential, and self-selection b the innovat- y tion and Extension Programs.—Legislation ing farmers usually led to isolated, piece-by-piece already passed by Congress (see above) calls for installations. It would also be useful to gather more intensive research and extension programs more reliable data on the feasibility, costs, and aimed at the energy needs of small farmers and benefits of an integrated farm energy system that authorizes the establishment of model farms in combines a number of complementary energy each State as well as a number of regional agricul- technologies with a number of other conservation tural energy centers. Congress might wish to pro- strategies, such as changing fuels in farm machinery, using low-tillage techniques, and incorporat- mote these initiatives by appropriating or earing some organic farming methods. Another focus marking additional funds to implement them. for integrated R&D might be the investigation of These model farms and regional centers might be alternative crop/livestock systems that make more located at AES or State extension research sta- efficient use of available resources and conditions tions. An alternative would be to investigate ways as part of an integrated, sustainable, self-sufficient, to encourage regional “networking” among existing projects and community groups, particularly and environmentally benign farming operation. New Life Farm, for example, modified the Ozark those with installations on working farms. It grass/hogs system by cropping a tree that had not should be noted that NLF is incorporated as a re- previously been grown in the region, producing search and educational organization, and that energy from hog manure, and returning sludge to SFEP is funded by CSA as a “national research the land to improve its fertility. and demonstration project. ” These and similar projects might serve as the nuclei for such regional Option 1: Support increased R&D.–Con- networks. Finally, Congress might wish to progress may wish to accelerate the development and mote the consideration and adoption of small- diffusion of alternative small-scale farm technol- scale alternative agricultural technologies by ogies by directing USDA and other Federal agen- directing Federal funding agencies to encourage 120 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development project designs with a strong outreach component, to disseminate the results of these projects to State and/or by directing the Secretary of Agriculture agencies and county agents through AES. Chapter 6 Farmers' Markets Contents

Pagc Page Introduction ...... 123 Essential Resources...... 137 Technical Information and Expertise...... 138 Alternatives for Direct Marketing of Local Financing...... 139 Farm Products ...... 124 Institutional Factors ...... 139 Farmers’ Markets: Six Case Studies ...... 125 Federal Policy ...... 140 Rutland,Vt...... 125 Background ...... 140 Morehouse Parish, La...... 127 Agricultural Land Retention ...... 140 Ravinia, I1l...... 128 Direct Marketing ...... 141 Boston, Mass...... 129 Issues and Options ...... 142 Baltimore,Md...... 132 Seattle,Wash...... 133 Impact on Small-Scale Local Agriculture ...135 Table Critical Factors ...... 136 Table No. Page Public Perception and Participation ...... 136 18. Boston Farmers’ Markets Summary, 1978.....131 CHAPTER 6 Farmers’ Markets

Introduction

The last chapter examined a number of tech- for this long-distance system has, over the last nologies that can reduce the small-scale farmer’s decade, led to increases in the prices of fresh fruit vulnerability to energy price increases and supply and vegetables that have far outstripped the in- disruptions. These technologies can also improve creases in both other agricultural prices and the the economics of small-scale agriculture by reduc- general cost of living.3 In addition, this system has ing production costs, particularly those related to not only made the farmer dependent on distant nonrenewable sources of energy. Just as essential markets, it has also made cities, metropolitan to the viability of the small farm, however, is ac- areas, and even entire States dependent on food cess to dependable and profitable markets. With that may be grown thousands of miles away. the advent of large-volume supermarket chains, For example, New England now imports be- which tend to rely on large-volume growers, the 4 tween 85 and 90 percent of the food it consumes. markets available to small-scale farmers has be- The New Hampshire Food Policy Study Commit- come increasingly limited. This chapter examines tee recently concluded that their State “would find the farmers’ market and other alternatives to this itself hard-pressed for adequate food for its citizens energy-intensive, mass-distribution marketing sys- within 7 to 10 days of a serious oil embargo against tem. 5 the United States." According to the U.S. De- The current U.S. marketing system for farm partment of Agriculture (USDA), between May products, like current large-scale farming methods, and October 1978 (the local growing season) New has arisen since World War II in an era of cheap York City imported almost 8,000 truckloads of let- and readily available energy. Most of the domestic tuce and other vegetables from California, pro- fruit and vegetables that Americans consume are duce that could have been grown locally. These grown in specialized growing areas like California transcontinental shipments consumed 6 million where large highly mechanized farms have gal of diesel fuel and added 15 cents to the price of achieved a remarkably high productivity through each head of lettuce; if the quantity of lettuce im- the application of energy- and capital-intensive ported from California had been grown within 200 farming technologies. The produce is sold, trans- miles of New York City, the Nation would have ported, processed, and packaged, then transported conserved almost 130,000 bbl of oil, and the con- again, resold, and retransported, until eventually sumer would have saved 14 cents per head of let- it reaches the supermarket shelves. Four times as tuce.6 much energy is consumed in processing and dis- At the same time that prices to the consumer tributing farm products as in the actual planting, l are rising, the relative return to the farmer is fall- cultivating, and harvesting of the crops. ing. Small-scale farmers, who are unable to take

Just as most of the energy consumption and advantage of economies of scale, are particularly other costs of this mass-distribution system lie be- hard-hit by the current cost-price squeeze and are yond the farmer’s gates, so do most of the profits: finding it increasingly difficult to break even. As a of every dollar that consumers pay for fruit and vegetables, only 30 cents gets back to the original ~Ibid. grower.2 Furthermore, the increasing cost of fuel 4NeaI R. Peirce and Gorge M, !datch, “Preservationists Seek Government Help as Farmland Gives Way to Developers,” Nutlonui .louma/, vol. 12, No. 33, Aug. 16, 1980, p. 1,359. IColin Norman, So~t Technologies, l-lard Choices (Washington, 5Neal R. Peirce, “Gardens in the City,” Washington Post, Aug. 28, D. C.: Worldwatch Institute, June 1978), p. 25. 1979, p. A13. 2A. Schumacher, et al., “Technologies for Direct Marketing,” bDonald S. Leeper, “Lettuce: Food, Money, Energy,” Neu York

OTA working paper, pt. I, p. 14. Times, May 14, 1980, p. A27.

123 124 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development result, the United States loses an average of 36,000 developers. Almost 1 million acres are “paved farms each year,7 many of which are abandoned or over” each year, and often these are precisely the (if–– thev, are near expanding urban centers) sold to farmlands closest to the consumer. (See the discussion of farmland retention in the “Federal Policy” T&nard TaPr, “The Bittersweet Harvest,” science 80, vol. 1, No. 7, Nov. 1980, p. 79. section at the end of this chapter.)

Alternatives for Direct Marketing of Local Farm Products

Many of the vegetables imported from Califor- venience and transportation costs for the nia and other distant growing regions have been farmer; and and can again be grown much closer to the major ● @die farmers’ markets, at which a number of metropolitan areas in the Midwest and East. The farmers offer their products at a convenient primary barrier to small-scale local agriculture is centralized location; this method will be the limited access to markets: the mass-distribution focus of the balance of this chapter. system is geared to large-scale production, and dis- The USDA study found that only 15 percent of tributors are unwilling or unable to deal with the farmers in the six States surveyed sell their small lots from local producers. An alternative to products directly to consumers, and that only 6 the current distribution system is direct marketing percent of these farmers do so through farmers’ of local produce to local consumers by the farmers markets. However, USDA also found that farm- themselves. ers’ markets were “most advantageous to small In a recent survey, 8 USDA has identified five farmers and those who do not have access to heav- major methods of direct farmer-to-consumer ily traveled public highways or are located 10 miles marketing: or more from cities. ”9 As a tool for local development, as well as an alternative marketing sys- ● pick-your own, in which consumers go to the tem, farmers’ markets and other direct-marketing farm, harvest the crops they want, and trans- strategies offer the following advantages over the port the product to their own homes; this current mass-distribution system: method usually means the lowest prices, but is least convenient to the consumer; ● they can provide consumers with fresh pro- ● roadside stands and farm stores, which are es- duce, of equal or higher quality and at equal sentially retail outlets similar to the green- or lower prices than the produce at the local grocers of the past, involve some additional supermarket, without requiring transporta- operating costs for the farmer but, since they tion to and from the farm; are located on or near major highways, are ● they can provide area farmers with a strong, more convenient to the consumer; reliable local market where they can get a ● famhouse sales, the most common method, is higher return on their land and labor by elim- similar to the last method but uses the farm- inating the many processors and middlemen house or another available farm building in- who normally stand between food producers stead of a specially built and maintained and food consumers; and structure; ● they can improve the economic health of lo- ● door-to-door, which offers the best service to cal agriculture by allowing farmers to di- the consumer but involves the greatest incon- versify their crops and keep their land in production, by encouraging them to adjust their ‘Peter L. Henderson and Harold R. Linstrom, Farmer-to-Consumer production to local demands, and by giving Direct Murketmgirs SIX States (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture; Economics, Statistics, and Cooperative Service information bulletin No. 436, July 1980). ‘Ibid., pp. 1 and 4. Ch. 6–Farmers’ Markets 125

them an incentive to adopt new and more ef- The diverse origins of the six farmers’ markets ficient farming strategies and technologies show the range of local needs and interests such that will both decrease their costs and in- markets can address, the variety of groups and crease their productivity. agencies whose initiative or cooperation can help get them started, and the number of avenues by This chapter draws on information gathered which they can develop. Despite this diversity in from six different farmers’ markets around the motive and development, however, the results country: Rutland, Vt., Morehouse Parish, La., have been much the same in each case: a valuable Ravinia, Ill., Boston, Mass., Baltimore, Md., and service to the residents of the local community, Seattle, Wash. The diversity and success of these and a stimulus to small-scale farming in the sur- markets is evidence of the vitality and adaptability rounding countryside. The six markets are there- of the farmers’ market as a technology for food dis- fore considered collectively in addressing the fol- tribution and local development. To make this lowing questions about the performance and im- survey as useful as possible, both for immediate pact of the farmers’ market: analysis and for the benefit of communities that ● might wish to establish their own farmers’ mar- What have been the economic results and kets, the experiences and problems of these six benefits? ● markets are presented as case studies, with em- What changes have farmers made in land use phasis on the following points: or techniques? ● Have consumers’ tastes and concerns ● How did the need for the market emerge? changed farmers’ production or methods? ● Who took the initiative in establishing the ● What additional changes in farming tech- market, and what were the first steps taken? nique or technology could further improve ● What organization and purposes were de- small-farm productivity and profitability? cided on? How is the market run, and by ● What critical factors seem to have the most whom? effect on the success or failure of a farmers’ ● What site was chosen, and how? What fa- market? cilities are available? ● What recommendations for other communi- ● How were local farmers recruited? ties or for Federal policy emerge from the ex- ● How were customers attracted and retained? periences of these farmers’ markets?

Farmers’ Markets: Six Case Studies10

Rutland, Vt. ensure the market’s commercial success; and 3) the design and operation of the market responds to By the close of its sixth season in 1979, the Rut- the social and economic needs of a diverse cross- land County Farmers’ Market had grown from a section of both the urban and rural communities, hesitant enterprise located in a church parking lot thereby ensuring its integration into the social to one of the largest and most successful markets fabric of the region. in northern New England, a community activity that promotes the welfare of the region’s farmers The original impetus for the market came from and townspeople alike. Three factors seem to be the Rutland Opportunity Council, a local Com- most responsible for the market’s success: 1) at the munity Assistance Agency, which saw it as a use- outset, producers and vendors organized them- ful extension of its food and nutrition program. selves into a formal association with a defined set (See ch. 4 for a discussion of other activities of the of purposes; 2) the association found and held Community Food and Nutrition Program of the onto an appropriate central location that would Community Services Administration.) The coun- IOMarerla] in the following case studies is based on Schumacher, et cil recruited local farmers and community gar- al., op. cit., and particularly the annex, “Five Case Studies. ” deners, who then incorporated themselves with 126 . Assessment ofTechnologyfor Local Development

the State of Vermont as a nonprofit agricultural and arranging for publicity. The market also pro- cooperative—the Rutland County Farmers’ Mar- vides a paid coordinator to arrange activities for ket—with bylaws, a board of governors, and a set children while their parents shop. of clearly defined purposes: For its first 3 years, the market was located in a to provide a marketplace for local growers to church parking lot outside the central business dis- sell their crops and for area craftspeople to sell trict, and business was so poor that on some days their wares; farmers went home having sold nothing at all. In to provide the consumer with quality local 1977, after having sold a number of merchants on produce and handmade goods; the idea of a Saturday market on the street in to eliminate the need for a middleman, there- front of their stores, the market convinced the by providing a higher retail dollar for the Board of Alderman to let them use downtown farmer/draftsperson and a lower purchasing Center Street. Traffic was blocked off and vendors price for the consumer; set up their tables in front of the stores, and to provide consumers with the assurance of market business improved dramatically. Because quality they have come to expect in Vermont of continued resistance from the mayor and a few produce and crafts; businessmen, they were forced to move the next to provide a festive marketplace that will add year to their present location in Peoples Park, color and diversity to the city, benefiting local about 200 yards from the Center Street site, but merchants and townspeople alike; and the results were the same. The downtown loca- to Provide a vehicle in which the rural and tions were centrally located, highly visible, and urban qualities of Rutland County can blend provided more room for both vendors and cus- in harmony. tomers. Local merchants now realize that they benefit from the market’s overflow, and the out- Membership in the market is open to anyone come has been not only a more successful farmers’ from the community; those selling in the market market, but a stronger and more mutually sup- are automatically members, and other supporters portive relationship between the farmers and must pay a membership fee. The 10-member board craftspeople, the local business community, and of governors is elected by the general membership the consuming public. at an annual meeting, usually in April. All final decisions are taken by the board, but it takes its di- For farmers in Vermont, where 95 percent of rection from standing committees for such things agricultural output consists of dairy products, the as entertainment, children’s activities, and adver- farmers’ market provides a market where none ex- tising. isted before. Many were new to fruit and vegetable farming, having switched to them because of these Seasonal or daily fees are collected from the new markets, or had previously relied on produce farmers and vendors and applied to operating for only a marginal portion of their farm income. costs. The fees range from $30 to $100 seasonally, When they saw the high return they could get or from $3 to $10 daily, depending on the size of from selling produce at or near retail prices, the the table or space used. In 1979, the operating latter group began allotting more of their time, en- costs for the market ran to about $6,000, including ergy, and land to this part of their farming opera- insurance, rent, and office expenses. The two big- tion, which they now view as a major factor in gest items were advertising costs and the salary of a their financial solvency. Some of these farmers paid coordinator. The Rutland experience shows, now gross as much as $1,000 per week from their however, that a good coordinator is perhaps the direct-marketed produce, having almost doubled best investment a farmers’ market can make. their income from it in each succeeding year. Theirs began working for the market 2 years ago as a CETA worker, but is now paid out of market In addition to fruit and vegetables, the Rutland funds. His job includes allocating market spaces, County Farmers’ Market also offers local maple collecting fees, coordinating various market activ- products, honey, flowers, and herbs, as well as ities, keeping records of gross sales in order to eval- baked goods, pickles, jellies, and jams. Local ar- uate the market’s growth and economic impact, tisans—many of them retired senior citizens—sell Ch. 6–Farmer's Markets ● 127 handmade crafts such as needlework, jewelry, did most local farmers lack experience in vegetable wooden toys, and pottery. To attract customers, farming, but more importantly the local marketing the market distributes a small advertising booklet system at the time consisted of only a few roadside through local hotels and restaurants and uses stands and door-to-door peddling. Morehouse Par- weekly newspaper ads and hourly radio spots on ish farmers were also reluctant to change from market day. The market also sponsors live enter- their traditional cotton crop to commercial vege- tainment by dancers, theater groups, musicians, tables. and mimes, who are allowed to pass a hat among Recognizing these problems, the county exten- the crowd of tourists and townspeople. sion agent began a reeducation program. He used The result is an enterprise that responds to a community and neighborhood meetings to discuss cross-section of needs within the community and vegetable production, set up demonstration plots brings significant benefits to local farmers and in principal communities of the parish, and made consumers alike. The broad nature of the market’s numerous farm visits to discuss vegetable produc- appeal may explain why it has succeeded where tion with individual farmers. A number of the other community development projects—a food farmers began growing vegetables and entered into co-op, a women’s health clinic, and a community contract marketing agreements for cucumbers, to- cannery—have failed, its benefits as well as its ap- matoes, and okra; but their return per acre was peal seem to cross political, occupational, age, and still low, and participation began to fall off. sex lines. Faced with this situation, the county agent and an extension service specialist conducted a mar- Morehouse Parish, La. keting survey that showed that sufficient local de- Morehouse Parish is a cotton-raising county in mand for local produce existed. What was needed northeastern Louisiana. Of its 33,000 people, was to bring potential consumers and producers 18,000 live in the principal city of Bastrop, where a together in some kind of a permanent farmers’ garment factory, two papermills, and a chemical market. Accordingly, the agent met with the small plant are the primary employers. farmers and together they formed the Morehouse Parish Vegetable Producers Association. To gain The Bastrop Farmers’ Market was set up by the community support, they met with Chamber of Morehouse Parish Vegetable Producers Associa- Commerce members, police jurors, school board tion as an outgrowth of a comprehensive small members, and other business and civic leaders. farms program initiated 20 years ago by the county The response was enthusiastic. The local Cham- extension agent. At that time, a study done by a ber of Commerce bought a tent, which served as consulting group, Doanne Agriculture, showed the first market in 1972. Sales that year totaled that 1,005 of the 1,426 farms in the parish con- about $175,000. The next year the producers tained fewer than 100 acres, and that cotton was leased a vacant building and employed a manager the main source of income for these farms. Often with the help of a $1,600 grant from the State eco- the land was not even in one location, and over nomic development district, and produce sales in- the years farmers had found it increasingly dif- creased to $400,000. ficult to extract a decent income. Some were leaving for employment in local industries; others were The success of the first 2 years proved the need forced to rely on welfare or social security. for a permanent market location. With the sup- Overall, the economic outlook for the county was port of the Chamber of Commerce and a State Leg- bleak unless the small farms could somehow be islator, the Morehouse Parish Vegetable Producers made more profitable. Association received a grant from the Louisiana Department of Public Works to build a permanent One of the recommendations of the Doanne market facility on a site in downtown Bastrop do- study was that small farmers should consider veg- nated by the Parish Police Jury. Measuring 40 ft etable crops as an alternative to cotton, since veg- wide and 75 ft long, the building includes an of- etables offered a higher return per acre. However, fice, a large board displaying the day’s prices, a a number of problems had to be solved. Not only walk-in cooler for storing surplus produce over- 128 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

night, and pea and bean shellers with which cus- years down the road—perhaps even into the next tomers can process their purchases on the spot. generation. Today, the market continues to operate In recognition of the fact that the future of local smoothly and with increasing benefits to area small-scale agriculture rests with the young, the farmers, who exhibit an uncommon degree of co- comprehensive small farms program includes a operation. To prevent flare-ups over prices or un- number of projects aimed at Morehouse Parish reasonable dumping, a pricing committee sets youth. Through the School Board, the county scale-weight and bulk prices for the produce, based agent helped to establish a school vegetable farm, on the prevailing wholesale and retail prices; dur- a greenhouse complex, a cannery, and a slaughter- ing peak season the prices sometimes change daily. house as extensions of the parish’s vocational Moreover, a farmer will commonly drop his pro- training program. Moreover, all of these projects duce at the market and arrange for another are linked with the other parts of the system, so farmer, who has more time to spend at the market that consumers who purchase vegetables from the that day, to sell his goods while he returns to his farmers’ market can have them shelled at the site farm tasks. Finally, the members of the Morehouse and then use the modern processing equipment at Parish Vegetable Producers Association have the community cannery run by the students. realized significant savings by informally sharing Students also sell their vegetables at the market, farm equipment and by formally participating in and plow the revenue back into the school proj- cooperative purchases of seeds, herbicides, and ects. The Morehouse Parish small farm program pesticides. Savings from these bulk purchases has thus been a catalyst in developing the com- range between 30 and 60 percent. munity’s resources, creating new jobs, and pro- The association has over 100 formal members, viding vocational training and consumer services. from teenagers to senior citizens. Annual membership costs $5; there is a daily market fee of $2 for Ravinia, Ill. nonmembers and $1 for members, with exemp- The “Market on the Green” in Ravinia, a tions granted to senior citizens. More than 400 northern suburb of Chicago, is one of the most families, however, use the farmers’ market to sell successful farmers’ markets in Illinois. Its two prin- their produce at one time or another during the cipal organizers were local businessmen with of- year, and sales continue to expand. One 80-year- fices adjacent to the market, who started the ven- old part-time gardener made over $1,000 from a ture in 1978 as a means of drawing more customers half-acre plot of tomatoes; another family earns a to the main business street on Wednesdays. Co- return of about $1,000 per acre from the peas, operating with 15 other neighborhood merchants, corn, and collards they truck into Bastrop. they made it clear to the farmers that their desire Introducing such a small farm program has ne- to promote the market derived from what they cessitated a long-term agenda for teaching adults a perceived as a commonality of business interests. As they wrote to the local farmers, “Our com- new set of skills. The county agent continues to provide technical assistance to help farmers in ex- mittee is formed of local merchants. We all know panding their operations and responding to con- and understand that you are not coming to sumer tastes. As a way to further their education, Ravinia to please us or sit under our shade trees, farmers have gradually been given more and more but to make a profit.” A hardworking farmer could responsibility for seeing that the market system hardly ignore their invitation to sell, which in- functions smoothly. They have learned to plan cluded a description of the market’s location, fa- and cooperate by serving on the market’s pricing cilities, and advertising program, and added that: committee, and have developed leadership skills Selling will be done under nearly ideal condi- by having to rotate in the paid job of market tions . . . . Ravinia is in the center of 100,000 af- manager. Despite these efforts, however, the full fluent families in Highland Park, Glencoe, Deer- transition to a stable, self-reliant community with field, and Northbrook . . . . We learned last year a healthy, small-scale agricultural base is still some that the buyers expect two things: top quality mer- Ch. 6–Farmers’ Market~ ● 129

chandise and a festive atmosphere. It is up to you ● Make sure that the location of the market to provide merchandise of the highest quality. It is is in a traffic area and not in some God- our job to provide the festive atmosphere. forsaken spot outside of town. The organizers were keen to ensure the quality ● Be sure that you are not used to upgrade or image of their market. They urged that farmers update or revitalize a downtown district that bring in only their best tasting, top-quality pro- is obviously on its way down and out. duce, for which they are rewarded with above- ● Be sure that the farmers’ market is amply sup- supermarket prices. At the farmers’ market in ported by promotion and advertising. neighboring Skokie, a less affluent community ● Be very sure that you are not competing with than Ravinia, there is a demand for larger volumes wholesalers or fly-by-night middlemen or of more ordinary produce, so the farmers have an summer students who buy their produce on alternate market for seconds. There are also the wholesale market and come to the farmers’ markets in Elgin, Northfield, and Evan- farmers’ market for a quick profit. ston—all within 25 miles of Ravinia—but the Ravinia market does not directly compete with ● Emphasize quality and freshness, and sell them, primarily because of its emphasis on and your produce just as high as the nearest reputation for superior quality. supermarket. Customers come for quality, not price. This demand for quality has had an interesting effect on local agriculture. Ravinia’s consumers, who are concerned with freshness and whole- Boston, Mass. someness, tend to question the farmers about their Like the Bastrop Market in Louisiana, the use of fertilizers and pesticides and are willing to farmers’ market in Boston–actually a network of pay a premium price for organically grown fruits six markets in different neighborhoods—came into and vegetables. As a result, some local farmers are being through the cooperation of producers’ adopting organic principles and methods to please groups and government agencies. The original their customers, and most of the farmers are idea seems to have come from the Boston Urban changing their choice of seed varieties to meet the Gardeners (BUG), a nonprofit group organized in retail demand for quality and taste, rather than 1976 to promote community gardening and other the wholesale demand for shelf-life and appear- forms of urban food production. BUG, which co- ance. They now earn about 50 percent more than ordinates the activities of existing gardening they would by wholesaling and enjoy a far more groups and programs, sought to better meet the secure livelihood. needs of urban gardeners in Boston, one of which Some 2,500 persons shop at the Ravinia Market was for a market at which to sell their produce. each Wednesday in season, some coming from as At about the same time, the Division of Agri- far as Chicago and Wilmette, 20 miles away. Sales cultural Land Use (DALU) of the Massachusetts average about $6 per customer; for the 17 partic- Department of Food and Agriculture (Mass Ag) ipating farmers, this works out to nearly $1,000 had identified a number of rural groups who were gross sales per week, a sufficiently high return to mobilizing to revitalize Massachusetts agriculture bring two farmers from Wisconsin and one all the and to preserve the State’s existing (but rapidly way from Michigan. vanishing) farms by making their operations more The self-interest of the local merchants and profitable. In 1976, a Farmers’ Market Task Force their ability to organize themselves played a major was formed by representatives of Mass Ag, role in the success of the Ravinia Market, and they DALU, the State Department of Community Af- too have increased their business on Wednesdays, fairs, and the State Legislature, with the function some by 20 percent. They realize, however, that of exploring the government regulations relevant without the farmers none of this would be possi- to marketing the produce of local farmers, as well ble, and they offer a number of tips to farmers who as strategies for lowering the cost and improving are thinking of selling their produce in a farmers’ the quality of the food distributed to urban resi- market: dents. 130 l Assessment ofTechnology for Local Development

A third group was the Massachusetts Fed- ● Roxbury lies in the heart of the city, and has a eration of Farmers’ and Gardeners’ Markets population of 63,000, almost all of whom are (MFFGM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to black. Its population has dropped by 26 per- revitalizing local agriculture through direct mar- cent in the last 10 years, in part as a result of keting strategies. MFFGM, which issues a regular the physical deterioration of the area. Median newsletter called The Mass Marketeer, was in- family “income is $6,588, with 45 percent of terested in the idea of a farmers’ market in Boston the families under $5,000. It has the reputa- because they felt that its potential high volume tion of being a “high-crime area.” and high prices would attract farmers to the direct- ● The South End contains Boston’s Chinatown marketing movement. and is the home of a number of ethnic groups, with about 36 percent of its 25,000 population These diverse groups and agencies were brought being of foreign stock. Median family income together through the efforts of the Center on is $6,532, compared to a median of $9,133 for Technology and Society (CTS), a nonprofit or- all of Boston. ganization that had worked out a method of solv- ● Dorchester has a population of about 180,000, ing problems by linking up different networks of with a slightly higher than average median human activity to achieve a particular goal. CTS’s family income of $9,300. Fewer than 20 per- executive director describes “networking” in the cent of families have an income under $5,000. following way: The actual market sites were as diverse as the In this strategy, one or two individuals act as fa- communities that hosted them. Dorchester Gar- cilitators identifying individuals and groups with similar concerns and complementary resources and denlands Preserve, Inc., the community de- linking them together in collaborative efforts as velopment corporation that sponsored the Dor- well as in sharing information and moral support. chester market, arranged to have a portion of their main street blocked off each Saturday morning. In late 1977 CTS began to develop a networking The farmers then parked along the street and sold strategy to implement an alternative food distribu- directly from their trucks. This was the most elab- tion system for Boston’s diverse neighborhoods, orate operation, requiring one traffic patrolman to and in 1978 DALU hired the firm on a 12-week, direct traffic. In the South End, the sponsor was a part-time consulting contract to set up a farmers’ tenants’ group, the Methunion Tenants Council, market in Boston that same summer. By bringing which owned a parking lot next to a local together independent groups with interlocking restaurant. This parking lot served as the South needs and interests, CTS played midwife to a End Farmer’s Market. The Roxbury Farmers’ model system of big-city farmers’ markets. Market was located on a 4-acre abandoned lot CTS and DALU held a strategy meeting with owned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, representatives of an antipoverty agency, two which leased it to the Roxbury organizers free of county extension services, a local community de- charge. However, the lot contained numerous pot- velopment corporation and—very significantly— holes, frost heaves, and piles of rubble; its de- two local growers. Although these diverse organi- pressing appearance, and’ the area’s bad reputa- zations and institutions all shared the overall goal tion, discouraged a number of farmers from par- of establishing a farmers’ market in the Boston ticipating. metropolitan area, they disagreed on exactly To recruit growers to sell their produce at the where it should be located. Since no centrally lo- markets, DALU’s assistance proved invaluable. cated, accessible compromise site could be found, They put Boston organizers in touch with pro- it was decided, reluctantly at first, to establish spective growers through the Greenbook, an an- three different markets during the first year. nual directory of Massachusetts growers that lists Following are profiles of the three communities the farms and what they produce. With little that served as sites for the Boston farmers’ markets money for mass mailings, CTS and a group of vol- in the summer of 1978: unteers sent out a copy of a typewritten letter to Ch. 6–Farmers’ Markets ● 131 more than 200 local farmers in May. They also For their part, produce growers were attracted spread information through local newspapers, ag- to the Boston farmers’ markets because they pro- ricultural bulletins, and selected newsletters, in- vided a workable alternative to selling wholesale. cluding MFFGM’s Muss Marketeer. One 63-year-old farmer from Tully, Mass., drove 140 miles round trip each week to sell at all three The Dorchester Farmers’ Market opened on Boston markets. In an interview in the Boston Saturday, July 8. It was followed by Roxbury on Herald-American, he called them a “Godsend” and July 14 and the South End on July 21. Table 18 said they probably made the difference in his de- gives a summary of the economic performance of cision not to give up farming. In all, 26 growers the three markets during their first season. participated in at least one of the 36 total market Opening day in Dorchester saw only one farmer days held in Boston during the summer of 1978. selling during the first hour, and consumers im- During the following winter, informal question- mediately bought him out. The farmer was inter- naires were sent out to more than 200 Massachu- viewed by a local television station, and com- setts growers to find out how responsive farmers’ mented enthusiastically about how fast he was sell- markets were to their needs. Of the farmers who ing his produce. By the third week of operation, replied, almost all were impressed by the amount seven growers were selling their produce at the of produce they could sell in a short period of time Dorchester Farmers’ Market, most of whom said and the overall volume of sales they had ex- they came to Dorchester after seeing the television perienced. Many growers were reluctant to discuss interview. In Roxbury, the market had to struggle exact figures, but average gross sales on any given from the very beginning and was eventually forced market day appear to have ranged from $200 to to close prematurely because of poor consumer $500, with occasional sales as high as $800. Sales and grower participation. Part of its problem was a were good enough, in fact, that a number of Friday morning schedule, which turned out to be growers said they wanted more urban markets on inconvenient for both shoppers and sellers. other days of the week. The South End Market, on the other hand, was That winter, four new communities in the scheduled on Friday afternoons from 3 to 7 p.m., greater Boston area began planning to open their which accommodated the working population own markets in 1979, and new communities were that had been excluded by the Roxbury market’s advised to schedule their markets on each day of early morning schedule. The schedule also ap- the week except Sunday. One of them was located pealed to growers, because it allowed them enough in the affluent suburb of Brookline, in order to at- time to travel to Boston without getting tangled in tract those growers who had been put off by loca- the rush hours. tions in poor neighborhoods. CTS felt that once

Table 18.—Boston Farmers’ Markets Summary, 1978

Estimate of total Estimated Market sales Seller’s fee Best selling items customers/market Dorchester Saturdays (9a.m.-1p.m.) July 8-Oct. 7(14 weeks) ...... $20,000 $2,$5,$10 Fruit, corn, salad greens 200-300 Roxbury Fridays (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) July 14-Sept. 8 (9 weeks) ...... $3,500 None Corn, beans, tomatoes 100-200 South End Fridays (3 p.m.-7 p.m.) July 21-Oct. 13(13 weeks) ...... $10,400 None Corn, beans, fruit 150-250

Total number of market days (all three markets): 36 Average sales per market: Dorchester ($1,500); Roxbury ($390); South End ($800) Average sales per week at all three Boston markets: $942.00 Total estimated customers buying at the three Boston farmers’ markets, 1978: 7,450

SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. 132 l Assessment ofTechnology for Local Development

those growers ventured into Boston, their fears and feature articles about the market, including would be overcome and they would visit some of tips to consumers on what to look for and how to the other markets in the city. In 1979 all but one prepare fresh produce when they get it home. of the six markets had successful seasons, and They also arranged to provide both entertainment many of the 40 or 50 participating growers said it and ready-to-eat food each week, but after the first was the best year they ever had. Five of the six year’s success the entertainment was canceled— markets were scheduled to return in 1980. customers came in such numbers that the space that had been used by the entertainers was needed Baltimore, Md. to accommodate the heavy flow of people through the market area. The idea for Baltimore’s market came from a single consumer. In 1976, at one of the mayor’s Unlike other cities, Baltimore has not done an sounding-board meetings, a local citizen raised the evaluation of their market, and no official data has question of what to do about skyrocketing food been collected on the gross sales or the volume of prices at the grocery store. This came at a time produce being moved. However, the rising num- when food prices had been rising steeply for 3 ber of farmers who drive their trucks to the market years, far outstripping inflation in other sectors of (which increased from 12 in 1977, to 70 in 1978, to the economy. “What we need,” the citizen sug- approximately 100 in 1979) is some indication that gested, “is a good old-fashioned farmers’ market, they find the market profitable. Most of these where people could buy direct from the farmer and farmers have holdings of between 50 and 300 eliminate the middlemen. ” Intrigued by the idea, acres, and many have long-established relations the mayor directed the city’s Office of Promotion with wholesalers or a roadside stand of their own. and Tourism to see what could be done about es- For these farmers to take on the additional burden tablishing a market. of planning trips to the Baltimore market on Sun- Baltimore is fortunate in having a strong-mayor days, the profit margin of this method of direct system and a history of active, effective mayors. In marketing must be considerably more attractive this case, the mayor’s stamp of approval was the then their other options. Compared to running a key to securing the cooperation and coordination roadside stand, the city market offers farmers the of the various city agencies and their respective chance to move a larger volume of produce in a bureaucracies, a requirement for establishing any shorter time and with lower overhead costs. successful farmers’ market. Rough estimates, based on the number of empty bulk containers at the market, place the average The site chosen for the market, near the old fish Sunday gross sales in the range of $700 to $1,000 market, turned out to be a natural. Parking space per farmer, with several farmers grossing $2,000 to would be available for hundreds of cars, and a city $3,000 per market day in peak season. college next to the site would provide water and restroom facilities for the farmers. To get farmers For the farmers, there is no question that the interested in the project, staffers from the Office of market works. On the consumer side, subjective Promotion and Tourism got advice and names evidence and a casual survey of prices indicates a from Maryland’s county extension agents and similar positive benefit. A 1979 price comparison then went from farm to farm making personal con- found that farmers’ market prices were, on aver- tacts. Letters were then sent out to the farmers age, about 30 percent below those in nearby super- telling them about the facilities of the market and markets. A large number of consumers spread the the details of its operation. In the first year no fee benefits over the entire year by buying in bulk and would be charged, and participants would not putting food up for the winter by canning and need to prove they were really producers rather freezing. It was not uncommon to see produce car- than wholesalers in disguise. ried away in large plastic trash bags. To draw customers to the site, organizers sent The success of Baltimore’s city-organized farm- out press releases to radio stations and news- ers’ market shows that, given the right conditions, papers, which run public service announcements mayors and city agencies are capable of responding Ch. 6–Farmers’ Markets l 133

quickly and effectively to the needs expressed by The number of farmer-vendors participating in their constituencies. Its example might encourage the market gradually declined, and by the 1950’s other groups and cities to develop this alternative its operation was no longer bringing any revenue and supplement to the present mass-distribution to the city. Its buildings began to fall into disre- system of food marketing. pair; health, fire, and building code violations cropped up; and the blight spread to property sur- In contrast to Baltimore’s informal system, the rounding the market. history of city-run markets housed in permanent facilities indicates that (over time) large-scale, insti- The Pike Place Market was saved from extinc- tutionalized farmers’ markets are subject to a num- tion by an initiative passed by Seattle voters in ber of economic and political pressures which can 1971, which called for the creation of a 7-acre change their character and the function they serve Market Historical District to preserve the market in the community. An example can be found in and its surroundings. Although the sale of pro- the next case study, the Pike Place Market in Seat- duce by local growers was given the number-one tle, Wash. priority by the historical commission, however, no farmers were represented on the commission itself Seattle, Wash. or on the Pike Place Preservation and Develop- ment Authority (PDA), which carried out the ac- The conditions that led to the establishment of tual rebuilding of the Market. the Baltimore Farmers’ Market in 1976 are similar to those that led to the creation of Seattle’s Pike PDA’s general approach has been to purchase Place Market 69 years earlier. Food prices had buildings from the city and then obtain develop- jumped 30 percent and the Seattle Times placed ment financing through government loans and the blame on the city’s food trusts, commission grants as well as through the sale of tax-exempt houses, and wholesalers. A city councilman, bonds. By the end of 1977, private investment in claiming that “the average man was the victim of Market redevelopment had reached $13.5 million, organized greed,” called for the creation of a public and total public funding is projected to reach $40 market where farmers could sell directly to con- million before redevelopment is completed. Close sumers. The Seattle City Council eventually to $15 million in debt financing will have to be re- passed an ordinance establishing a market at Pike paid out of rental income over the next 10 to 25 Place, which was a newly constructed roadway at years, and this will mean greatly increased over- that time. The market was to represent the “little heads for participating small farmers. guy”—the city resident, on one hand, and the local farmer, on the other, both of whom felt that Low-income local residents have also been hurt they would benefit by eliminating the middlemen. by redevelopment: there had been 780 units of low-income housing in the area before redevelop- The Pike Place Market was an instant success, ment, but by 1978 the number had fallen to 128. but over the years its profitability attracted devel- Although there are plans to bring the number opers, entrepreneurs, and wholesalers, who grad- back up to between 325 and 405, low-income res- ually encroached on the control and success of the idents felt threatened by the wave of condomin- small farmers. The market was plagued by cor- ium development and the overall “gentrification” ruption in the 1920’s and by farm foreclosures dur- of the area, particularly as it affects the market ing the Depression. A more serious reversal came itself. during World War 11 with the internment of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast, many of One of the most visible changes in the market whom were farmers; the number of farmers in the since redevelopment has been a sharp increase in Seattle region plummeted by 65 percent. During the number of tourists (see figure 25). Producers the postwar period, housing developments and in- and consumers alike complain about the tourists: dustrialization–much of it due to the growth of local residents because of the crowds, which make

Boeing-began “paving over” agricultural land. shopping difficult, and local farmers because, as Between 1945 and 1975, farmland in King County one of them put it, “All they want are T-shirts, shrank from 165,000 to 55,000 acres. jewelry, and one peach.” In addition, merchants 134 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development who must appeal to these single-purchase cus- velopment rights from the farmers for $35 million tomers are now choosing only the largest, best was defeated in 1978 by 180 votes. looking fruit from the wholesalers, gone are the Local farmers, interviewed about the future of lower cost, irregular size apples and pears that used small-scale agriculture in the region, were pessimis- to be available for bulk buyers, large families, and tic. Their own children and grandchildren have those on low or fixed incomes. no interest in farming, they said, and the young al- As a result, Pike Place Market today has more ternative-lifestyle farmers simply don’t stick with craftspeople than farmers, more tourists than local farming long enough to gain experience. At the residents. It is no longer strictly a farmers’ market same time, however, these farmers also indicated at all—it has become a general retail market and that they were not interested in new farm techno- tourist attraction. Nevertheless, surveys indicate logies that would allow them to extend their pro- that the market is still perceived primarily as a duction (and income) into the winter months– food market, and that it is the produce that at- they already work too hard in the spring, summer, tracts customers. And despite the declining partic- and fall, ran the usual response. ipation of farmer-vendors, the market can still pro- The Bulk Commodity Exchange.–The de- vide consumers with significant savings: a com- cline of local agriculture has led to concern that parison with six local supermarkets showed that the redeveloped Pike Place Market might become a farmers’ market produce was consistently more memorial rather than a market outlet for local varied and less expensive. The produce vendors at farmers. One hopeful development has been the the market still draw a large percentage of their Bulk Commodities Exchange (BCE), a wholesale customers from the immediate area, and the mar- direct-marketing cooperative designed to link ket’s regular customers, who shop there on a week- small farmers and local consumers by providing an ly basis, are its real mainstay. Significantly, 85 per- accessible outlet for bulk sales of fresh produce. cent of these consumers said that they would buy Incorporated in the summer of 1977 as a nonprofit locally grown produce in preference to trucked-in producer/consumer cooperative, it includes local varieties, if both were available. farmers as well as buying clubs, restaurants, and Nevertheless, local agriculture in the Seattle other institutions. Located in the Market, it was area continues to decline. King County’s 1,200 cosponsored by PDA, the King County Office of farms range from 1 to 100 acres, with an average of Agriculture, and the Hunger Action Center. BCE 20.3 acres for vegetable farms and 11.4 acres for sells its members produce in the same quantities berry farms. About 80 percent of this acreage is that farmers generally deliver to wholesale houses: farmed by owners or part-owners, but although 60 a flat of strawberries, for instance, or 50 lb of percent of the county’s commercial farmers earn onions, or 100 lb of potatoes. By the end of 1978, their primary income from the sale of farm prod- the gross sales had grown from $4,000 to $40,000, ucts, approximately 70 percent of them also work the number of participating farmers from 17 to 21, , at second jobs away from their farms. The current and the number of consumers’ groups from 40 to trend among both vegetable and dairy farmers is 70. toward steadily lower production and sales, and a The BCE offers a marketing option that has at- survey conducted by the city in 1974 indicated tracted two additional groups of farmers: those that many were selling off their land, or were be- who produce too much to sell at farmers’ markets, ing forced to give up farming on leased lands be- but too little for wholesaler houses, and those who cause of high rents. grow mainly for wholesale, but need alternate out- To help these farmers, King County has im- lets for surplus cosmetically inferior produce. plemented agricultural zoning policies, current-use Small- and medium-scale farmers sell to BCE be- tax laws, deferred utility assessments, and mar- cause it pays them very well, but the arrangement keting support for local farm products. None of also has advantages for consumers. In September these measures, however, has stemmed the tide of 1979, for instance, the local Safeway supermarket conversion from agricultural to residential and in- was paying farmers $4.50 case (five dozen ears) of dustrial uses. A ballot initiative to purchase de- local corn; BCE paid $5.50 per case, marking it up to $6.60 case to consumers; Safeway’s advertised network of BCE-type outlets. “We need to encour- sale price for the same corn was $7.50. age our local farming right now,” he said. “Trans- portation and energy costs can be beaten by tak- The fact that BCE sells food in bulk is of critical ing advantage of our local produce. ” BCE fi- importance, since at least 50 percent of its mem- nancing now depends on Community Devel- bers purchase significant quantities of fruits and opment Block Grants, but when the grants run vegetables to put up for the winter. One member, out BCE will need to find stable, long-term fund- an agricultural extension agent, sees BCE as an ing. important link between small farmers and urban consumers; he would favor Federal support for a

Impact on Local Small-Scale Agriculture

In some cases, farmers’ markets have created lo- is given an acre to work for themselves, from cal markets for fruits and vegetables where no which they receive about $1,000 per year. market had existed before; in others, they have provided an alternative to the direct-marketing Farmers’ markets have also changed the planting schedules of participating farmers. They now systems that already existed, such as produce stands and door-to-door vending. In both cases, plant two crops per year, spring and fall, instead of the markets provided higher prices to the farmers just one as they would under corn or cotton than had been available through wholesalers or monoculture. They have also learned the im- contract marketing arrangements, in some cases portance of staggered planting, in order to assure by as much as 50 percent. Average gross sales of themselves of a continuous flow of produce and to $500 or more were common, and in Baltimore and avoid flooding the market, which would erode Ravinia some farmers were able to sell over $1,000 their returns. Picking the crops by a certain date worth of fruits and vegetables each market day. can also improve their return—in Morehouse Because of low overhead, high prices, and the Parish, for instance, the extension agent advises large volumes that can be sold in a short period of farmers to pick southern peas before September 1, time, this form of direct marketing offers the small- because by that time most consumers have frozen scale farmer a considerable financial opportunity. and canned all they will need for that winter. In response to the opportunity provided by Local direct marketing has also made a dif- these markets, local farmers have begun to change ference in the varieties of crops the farmers plant. their land-use patterns, planting schedules, and Large mechanized operations call for varieties of farming methods. Farmers who had already pro- peas or tomatoes that are easily picked by ma- duced vegetables and fruits, but relied on them for chine, for instance; processors demand certain only a small, marginal portion of their farm in- other varieties that are particularly suited to can- come, have begun to allocate more of their time, ning or processing into catsup or soups; and the energy, and land to these crops. One family in mass-distribution system puts a premium on Vermont now rents out half of their 200 acres to varieties that ship well, have long shelf-life, and neighboring dairy farmers, plants 3.5 acres in pro- look appealing to the supermarket shopper. For duce, and uses the rest to extract syrup from maple the farmers’ market, on the other hand, the pre- trees, which previously provided two-thirds of mium is on quality and taste; appearance and their income. A farmer in Louisiana has made a shelf-life are secondary. As a result, farmers in similar reorganization in his farming operation, Morehouse Parish plant the pole variety of lima renting all but 25 of his 115 acres to a neighbor bean, which is in greater demand than bush va- with a large cotton operation and concentrating rieties. Because the markets also demand a wider all of his energies on growing fresh market veg- range of vegetables, farmers are able to diversify etables on the remaining land; each of his children their plantings and thereby decrease their vul- 136 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

nerability to the failure of any one species or varie- early, high-value crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, ty. In addition, careful selection of early or late sweet corn, and squash; in northern climates, it varieties can allow the farmer to spread out his makes possible the cultivation of desirable crops harvest, just as he does by staggered plantings– such as cantaloupes and other melons. A second thus, one farmer in Rutland purchases seed for a planting of tomatoes in July, staked and heavily special early pea variety from a firm in Prince Ed- mulched, can be protected with a 6-ft, plastic- ward Island, Canada, in order to bring his peas to covered teepee; this solar-heated and frost-proof market in early June, a week or two ahead of other technique can give an additional month of growth growers. Finally, the careful selection of seed va- and yield late tomatoes that are very popular with rieties allows the farmer to grow what will sell best, consumers. A raised bed under a glass sash can and to adjust his production to local demand and also extend the growing season, and a larger green- taste. house can produce fresh lettuce and salad greens from November through February (see ch. 4). In All of these measures allow the farmers to in- colder climates, well-insulated root cellars can also crease the efficiency of their operations and make provide a simple, low-cost storage system based on the best use of available labor, but the case studies historical techniques; in them, farmers can store also reveal that farmers are further improving the squash, cabbage, carrots, onions, and parsnips for productivity of their operations by changing their year-round sale to consumers. farming methods and adopting technologies that are more appropriate to vegetable farming and di- These techniques are, for the most part, more rect marketing. This is most pronounced in More- familiar to organic gardeners and alternative-life- house Parish, where farmers have begun an in- style farmers than to commercial farmers. And for formal program of sharing farm equipment, there- the most part, these conventional farmers show by sharing capital costs as well, and have realized little interest in technologies for extending their further savings through cooperative bulk pur- growing season or achieving year-round produc- chases of seed, fertilizer, and pesticides. In re- tion. The usual reason given, particularly by farm- sponse to consumers’ concerns and premium ers in the Seattle area, was that they already felt prices at the Ravinia market, local farmers have overworked after 8 months of planting, culti- begun shifting to organic farming methods, vating, harvesting, and selling produce. What may through which they can also realize savings by re- be needed, however, is a better understanding of ducing or eliminating the use of fertilizers and available technologies for decreasing costs, in- pesticides, and replacing them with such methods creasing productivity, and extending the growing as comporting and biological controls. season. The steps taken by the county agent in A number of additional technologies offer the Morehouse Parish–workshops, demonstration farmer potential methods for extending his grow- plots, and farm visits—proved to be an effective ing season, and thus his income, and perhaps even means of achieving this goal. These same tech- achieving a year-round operation. Black sheet niques, however, could also be applied to the pro- plastic is widely used as a mulch, but it is also an duction of vegetables in solar greenhouses (see ch. excellent means of warming the soil and achieving 4) and in urban community gardens.

Critical Factors

Public Perception and Participation operation of the market. The deficiencies of Pike If any one conclusion can be drawn from the six Place as a farmers’ market shows that more atten- case studies in this chapter, it is that the single tion must be given to the farmers’ interests and most important factor in the successful develop- problems, and that they must be consulted and ment of a farmers’ market is the participation of given more responsibility. Of all the various actors

the local farmers in the planning, design, and in the redevelopment‘ of Pike Place,, the producers, Ch. 6–Farmers’ Markets l 137 were the most vital but the least organized, and Baltimore markets; their continued participation, thus the least heard from. however, depended on attracting and retaining customers. Rutland’s brochure on the market is In Morehouse Parish, by contrast, the market is one way of doing this, and most of the markets operated by the farmers themselves, with the help make use of paid advertisements in local news- of the local extension agent. Similarly, the suc- papers or public service announcements on local cessful market in Rutland, Vt., was organized by radio stations, informing the general public of the the local farmers, who also participate in its gover- market’s existence telling them what to look for on nance; spokesmen there attribute the market’s suc- a given market day, and in some cases quoting cur- cess in large part to the fact that the farmers or- rent prices. Media coverage of a market’s opening ganized themselves into a formal cooperative with can help to attract both producers and consumers, a clearly defined set of goals. In Boston, finally, the as happened in Boston. Feature articles in the food idea for a network of farmers’ markets originally section, which Baltimore encouraged through came from a local producers’ group, and it was by press releases, can serve an additional function by putting this group in contact with a network of educating the consumer on how to prepare an un- similar organizations that the State government familiar vegetable or how to make new dishes with and its consultants contributed to the project. fresh produce—a useful tool in a community nutri- The Ravinia and Baltimore case studies show tion program as well as a means for diversifying that local merchant groups and municipal govern- and strengthening the market for locally grown ments can be effective in initiating a farmers’ mar- produce. ket, but in other cases these same groups have been barriers to implementing such projects, as Essential Resources will be seen below. The organizers of a farmers’ The natural resource base on which a society re- market would do well to make early and close con- lies—land, water, etc. —can be utilized to meet its tacts with these groups, however, since their co- production needs in different ways, along a con- operation greatly facilitates the establishment and tinuum representing various degrees of centraliza- operation of the markets. tion. Some regions might specialize in agriculture, The farmers’ markets have been well received while others are used primarily for industrial uses; and actively supported by the general public. They but such an approach imposes extremely high appeal to and serve the needs of a broader cross- costs for processing and transportation. Because of section of the community than do some other lo- rapidly rising energy costs, recent development ef- cal development projects, and the Boston and forts have concentrated increasingly on creating Rutland markets successfully enlisted community and developing viable local economies. Implicit in groups and individual citizens in the organization this approach is the need for a system of mixed and governance of the markets. The evidence sug- land use within any given region. gests that it is the identity of the market as a food If local agriculture is to be part of this mix, its market that is responsible for much of this appeal survival may depend on the existence of local pro- and support, and organizers should be certain that duce outlets like the farmers’ market or bulk com- nonfood activities remain subordinated to this pri- modity exchange. By decreasing costs and increas- mary function, which should also be the focus of ing both productivity and profitability, these local their promotional efforts. markets can help the small farmer to stay in Consumer participation is also important, and business and keep his land in productive use. in most cases a carefully planned and vigorously Small farmers outside Rutland, Boston, and Balti- pursued program of promotion and advertising more all testified to the high profitability of the can contribute significantly to the market’s initial markets and the difference they had made in the success and eventual self-sufficiency. Informa- solvency of their operations. The farmers’ market tional letters sent to local farmers, followed by has had its largest impact, however, in Morehouse farm visits to establish personal contacts, were use- Parish, where marginal farmers saw no alternative ful in recruiting producers for the Ravinia and to the cotton crop. Many of these farmers were

74-435 0 - 81 - 10 138 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

saved by switching to more profitable vegetable pearance rather than on the real functions of the crops and more efficient methods, and by estab- market. Within the Market, the design of sales lishing direct access to local consumers who want and storage space seems to have proceeded with- to buy what they produce. out sufficient input from the local producers themselves. Moreover, according to some consumer in- Farmers will further improve their return if they terviews, not enough attention was given to the adjust their production to the varieties or grades of needs of local shoppers, who complained of produce that are in demand in a particular com- crowding, lack of parking, loss of housing and munity. A market survey or careful recordkeeping services, and an actual decline in the availability of can be a great help in making this adjustment. The low-priced produce. variety of available produce and the reliability of the producer seem to be important factors in all of Technical Information and Expertise the case studies; but in some of the markets quality

is the primary consideration, while in others price Local farmers and gardeners are the main source is more important, and in yet others the con- of expertise, but in several case studies they were sumers are interested in the wholesomeness of or- unfamiliar with direct-marketing techniques and ganically grown vegetables. Very early and very with the tastes of local consumers, as well as with late produce (May peas and October tomatoes, for the methods of fruit and vegetable farming. The instance) are also in great demand and therefore local agricultural extension service could provide more profitable for the farmer who is willing to ad- invaluable assistance in these areas, as it did in just his schedule or adopt new methods. Morehouse Parish, and the networking strategies used by CTS in Boston are also an effective way to The physical design of the marketplace itself spread information and experience. should give primary consideration to the func- tional use of space. Selling produce off the tailgates A market survey can determine not only of trucks parked on a blocked-off street is the whether sufficient demand exists, but also what simplest and perhaps the most efficient arrange- crops or varieties will be in particular demand by ment. A more permanent facility needs lighting local consumers. The same information can also and drainage capacity, as well as a practical layout be gathered through careful recordkeeping by the that facilitates the movement of shoppers and participating farmers or, as in the case of the Rut- tourists; it also needs outside access in the form of land market, by a paid coordinator. In Ravinia, parking and loading areas. Some consideration one of the local merchants who organized the should also be given to the type of neighborhood market also serves as an unpaid market master; in in which the market is to be located and the sched- Baltimore and Seattle this role is played by munic- ule of its operation. Roxbury’s reputation as a ipal employees. In all of these cases the arrange- “high-crime area” discouraged a number of farm- ment removes the burden of actually running the ers from going there, but the site itself was unin- market from the farmers, but the Morehouse viting and the schedule—Friday morning and Parish study shows that the farmers themselves are early afternoon—was inconvenient for both the capable of assuming the management chores. By farmers and the working people of the community. rotating the post of market master and member- The Boston network has scheduled its six markets ship on the pricing committee, this arrangement on six different days of the week, so that farmers also contributes to the development of manage- have a different market available every day except ment skills in the community. Sunday. Location, layout, and scheduling are all The Morehouse Parish example also shows the areas where organizers need input from local importance of a comprehensive program of educa- farmers and consumers. tion, information, and training in the techniques The Pike Place Market shows some of the pitfalls of vegetable farming as well as the management of to be avoided in the redevelopment of existing ur- the farmers’ market itself. The local county exten- ban markets. Preservation rather than demolition sion agent not only got the local farmers interested was the rule in its redevelopment, but the planners in vegetable farming and direct marketing, but has appear to have concentrated on exterior ap- also initiated a training program in the local Ch. 6–Farmers’Markets 139 school system and is trying to interest the com- Ravinia. The State grants that paid for the initial munity in running a cannery. Some of the Seattle operating expenses in Morehouse Parish and the area farmers suggested the development of similar consultant’s fee in Boston are appropriate ways to agricultural apprenticeship programs to train new finance startup costs, but the Bulk Commodity farmers and reverse the decline in their numbers. Exchange in Seattle shows signs of becoming dependent on the Community Development Such training programs might also include ex- Block Grants that support its operation, and when posure to innovative farm technologies that will these grants run out it will need to find stable, increase productivity and extend the local supply long-term funding if it too is to become a viable, of produce to a more nearly year-round basis. The self-sustaining enterprise. lack of interest in these methods on the part of the Pike Place farmers might be overcome by a better Institutional Factors understanding of the methods themselves and their potential economic rewards. Networking, as The farmers’ market represents only a minor practiced in Boston, might accomplish the same economic threat to local wholesalers and mass- end by bringing farmers together with those who distribution retail outlets, and these interests have are already familiar with these techniques. not been particularly vocal or active in their opposition to the farmers’ markets studied in this Financing chapter. In fact, the markets often provide an outlet for farmers whose output is are too small to be According to available information, total in- of interest to traditional marketing systems. vestment in the Pike Place Market project has al- Wholesalers may represent a threat to local pro- ready exceeded $50 million. While it may be too ducers, however, when they compete unfairly with early to determine whether the full impact of the locally grown products or when they, rather than redevelopment will justify expenditures on this the small farmers, have a controlling voice in the scale, it would be reasonable to ask whether this operation of the market. use of funds reflects the needs of local farmers or the desires of local residents, and what its effect Opposition has come, instead, from local mer- will be on the future character of the surrounding chants and from municipal officials. As was the community. The functions of Pike Place as a case in Rutland, store owners often fear that the farmers’ market might well have been promoted farmers’ market will detract from their business, with a smaller infusion of funds, and the re- and for this reason oppose having them on the development financed without placing financial street in front of their shops. Prior consultation burdens on the farmers in the form of higher rents with the Chamber of Commerce and other groups to subsidize the capital costs of the project. can often do much to allay their fears, avoid their opposition, and even enlist their support. In most Judging by the experience of the five other mar- cases, the markets had positive impacts on local kets, the initial financing needed to set up a business, and this information may help to con- farmers’ market appears to be quite minimal, de- vert the uncertain. In Ravinia, in fact, it was the pending on whether it is quartered in a permanent merchants themselves who organized the market facility or whether the produce is simply sold off as a way of increasing their business, and in both the back of the farmers’ trucks. The real need, at Rutland and Seattle the markets significantly least in the beginning, is for operational expenses stimulated the tourist trade. The Baltimore case to pay the salary of whatever staff is required to study shows that the municipal government can coordinate market activities, run the advertising itself take the initiative in establishing a market. It program, and carry out other duties. In the smaller also shows that the support of the mayor can be markets, the fees paid by the farmers may be insuf- invaluable in obtaining the necessary cooperation ficient to cover these costs, but considering the an- of various city agencies that might oppose or im- cillary benefits the markets produce in city pede the development of the market—the most neighborhoods, the expenses could reasonably be likely candidates being Health and Sanitation, borne by the municipality, as they are in Balti- Public Works, Zoning, Weights and Measures, more or by the local merchants, as they are in Tourism, and Police. 140 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Federal Policy

Background ban and transportation use. The rest of the 2.2 million acres of rural land which goes out of use yearly Like a number of the technologies examined in is abandoned because it has “low soil fertility and a other chapters of this report, the farmers’ market terrain unsuited to efficient use of modern ma- and other means of direct marketing have poten- chinery.” A million acres yearly goes into addi- tial benefits that cut across several national issues; tional wilderness recreation areas and wildlife ref- their success or failure can therefore be affected b uges, and another 300,000 acres goes for reservoirs y 13 a number of Federal policies. Energy conservation, and flood control. for instance, is an important byproduct of the es- In other words, for every acre of farmland cre- tablishment of these markets. Farmers’ markets, in ated (at great cost) from swamps or deserts, an acre turn, are affected by rural development and small of previously useful land is “paved over” or farm policies, which are discussed in chapters 4 “drowned” and lost to agriculture forever. Often and 5, respectively. However, Federal policies this is precisely the farmland closest to the con- most directly relevant to the development of sumer. farmers’ markets are those which concern agricultural land retention and the encouragement of This issue was concealed during the 1950’s and direct marketing. A third related topic, that of the 1960’s by repeated crop surpluses; by Government role of the Agricultural Extension Service, will payments to farmers to keep land out of produc- also be discussed at the end of this section. tion; and by low prices for petroleum-based fuels and fertilizers. In the early 1970’s, increasing world Agricultural Land Retention11 demand for U.S. agricultural products and a temporary suspension of Federal set-aside programs By improving the economic viability of small led farmers to bring much of the available land farms near urban areas, the widespread adoption back into production. At the same time, rising oil of alternative technologies for the production and prices have sharply increased the costs of conven- marketing of farm products may help to slow the tional, energy-intensive agricultural techniques. conversion of the Nation’s cropland to nonagri- Concurrently, yields have been adversely affected cultural uses, a trend that has become a topic of in- by an increased variability in the weather: 1979 creasing debate at all levels of government. Be- produced a bumper crop, but the 1980 crop was tween 1967 and 1975, according to USDA’s Soil significantly reduced in many regions by heat and Conservation Service, about 24 million acres of drought. rural land—an area about the size of Indiana—was converted to housing subdivisions, highways, res- Concern about farmland conversion continues ervoirs, parks, and other nonagricultural uses; by to mount. Some people feel that continued con- 1972, American farmers were planting 50 million version to nonagricultural uses, combined with fewer acres than they had in 1950.12 the deterioration of some of the remaining cropland, may hinder the achievement of the Nation’s Recent years have seen a continued net loss of long-term agricultural production goals. Others cropland: point out that although 1.25 million acres are con- Each year 1.25 million acres are converted to ef- verted to cropland each year, this is usually done by draining swamps or irrigating deserts, which re- ficient cropland by draining swamps and irrigating deserts, while 0.9 million acres are converted to ur- quires a high initial investment and an increased demand on the Nation’s energy and water supplies. These views are discounted by those who feel I Isome of the material in this section is drawn from Jefferey Zinn, “Farmland Protection Legislation,” Library of Congress, Congres. that advances in conventional agricultural tech- sional Research Service issue brief No. IB78013, May 29, 1980; and w’. Wendell Fletcher, “Agricultural Land Retention,” Library of

Congress, Congressional Research Service report No. 78-177 ENR, 1’Julian L. Simon, “Resources, population, Environment: A n Aug. 31, 1978. Oversupply of Bad News,” Science, vol. 208, No. 4451, June 27, 1980, 12zinn, Op. cit., pp. 1, 2. p. 1435. nology will offset any production losses or cost inland retention. Its title IV would have authorized creases that arise from cropland conversion and low-cost small farm ownership and operating abandonment. Still others think that the situation loans, to be made and insured by the Secretary of should be studied further before changes are made Agriculture, that would enable small, family, and in Federal policy to deal with the problem on a low-income farmers and ranchers to acquire small- nationwide basis. Finally, some think that farm- scale alternative farm technologies. Furthermore, land retention is an essentially local or regional its title V (“Farm Marketing Programs”) would problem. have authorized funds to support the development of alternative systems for the distribution and Many State and local governments are current- marketing of agricultural products. H.R. 10716 ly considering legislation to protect farmland from was not enacted by the 95th Congress. indiscriminate development, and others have already adopted such measures and implemented a 96th Congress.—Members of the 96th Con- wide range of programs to carry them out. *4 The gress proposed legislation that was essentially the Federal Government is also assessing the impact of same as that proposed during the 95th Congress. its own policies on agricultural land retention. The Agricultural Land Protection Act (H.R. 2551) The National Agricultural Lands Study, which is would have authorized funds for conducting being carried out jointly by USDA and the Coun- studies on the issues surrounding the retention of cil on Environmental Quality (CEQ), is scheduled agricultural lands as well as for demonstrating dif- to present its final report in January 1981. USDA, ferent methods of cropland protection, but it also CEQ, and the Environmental Protection Agency contains provisions which might encourage the have either adopted or are now formulating policy adoption of appropriate technologies by small statements in support of the concept of cropland farmers. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to retention. Despite these efforts, however, there conduct a comprehensive study of methods for currently exists no Federal program to assist State protecting and improving agricultural lands in and and local governments in developing farmland around urban areas, which would set a precedent protection legislation and programs.l5 Members of for including urban food production in the for- both the 95th and 96th Congresses proposed leg- mulation of land retention policies. This Bill also islation to establish such a program. declares that it is the policy of Congress to foster intergovernmental cooperation in making deci- 95th Congress.—In the 95th Congress, the sions likely to affect the conversion of agricultural Agricultural Land Retention Act (H.R. 11122) land to other uses. After considerable floor debate, called for a commission to undertake a com- the House rejected H.R. 2551 on February 7, 1980 prehensive study of agricultural land, and to by a vote of 177-210. recommend to the President and Congress methods for instituting a national policy for pro- Direct Marketing tecting farmland. In addition, its title III proposed a demonstration program to provide Federal funds The central piece of Federal legislation affecting and technical assistance to States and localities for the development of farmers’ markets and other testing and demonstrating farmland protection forms of direct marketing is the Farmer-to-Con- methods during the life of the proposed commis- sumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976 (Public Law sion. The National Agricultural Land Policy Act 94-463). The purpose of this Act is to promote (S. 2757) was generally similar to H.R. 11122. “the marketing of agricultural commodities Neither of these pieces of legislation was enacted . . . directly to individual consumers, or organiza- by the 95th Congress. tions representing consumers, in a manner calculated to lower the cost and increase the quality of The Farm Tax Equity and Family Farm De- food to such consumers while providing increased velopment Act (H.R. 107 16) was more directly rel- financial returns to the farmer” (sec. 3). The Act evant to appropriate technology and agricultural authorizes USDA to promote direct marketing in 14c5ee ~etcher, op. cit., and Untuxing Open Spuce (Washington, three ways: D. C.: Council on Environmental Quality, April 1978). I JFletcher, op. cit., p. 43. . continuous surveys in each State to deter- 142 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

mine the extent of direct marketing and its ty extension offices, many of which have already impact on financial returns to farmers and been equipped with computer terminals.17 food quality and cost to consumers; Finally, USDA has also undertaken direct-mar- financial and technical assistance to State keting programs under the authority of the Agri- departments of agriculture and extension cultural Marketing Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 1087), services for programs to encourage direct mar- which provides matching funds for State market- keting; and ing improvement projects, and the Smith-Lever annual progress reports to the appropriate Act of 1914 (38 Stat. 372), which established the House and Senate committees. Agricultural Extension Service. Of the 35 projects USDA’s Economics, Statistics, and Cooperative funded under the former Act in fiscal year 1978,4 Service (ESCS), which was to conduct the surveys, were specifically related to direct marketing; under has pointed out that the funding–$500,000 in a the latter, USDA reported in 1975 that “the co- supplemental appropriation in September 1978— operative extension service agencies in 18 States was insufficient for continuous nationwide sur- have established active, continuing direct market- veys. ESCS had previously proposed an alterna- ing programs and have published over 100 related tive approach consisting of statewide surveys of be- informational bulletins.”18 A recent evaluation of tween 6 and 10 States annually, periodic surveys these extension service projects found that: of cooperative marketing associations, and sup- In general, the direct marketing activities pur- plemental case studies of representative direct- sued by the cooperative extension service agencies marketing methods to be prepared through re- appear similar to those authorized by section 5 of search agreements with State experimental sta- the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of tions. The first survey of 6 States was released in 1976-for example, 12 of the projects funded under July 1980,16 and ESCS has executed research the act involve planning farmers’ markets and 11 agreements with 10 State experimental stations for involve roadside markets. The major difference ap- case histories. pears to be that extension service activities are

more limited in scope, due to funding con- Two other USDA agencies have undertaken a straints. 19 joint effort to inform producers and consumers of the potential benefits of direct marketing. The Issues and Options Agricultural Marketing Service, which works with State departments of agriculture on technical as- ISSUE 1: sistance programs, and the Science and Education Research and Information Gathering. Administration, which works with State extension services on educational assistance, have in- The Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act vited each State to submit proposals for projects to authorized $3 million for a 3-year program to en- promote direct-marketing methods. Through the courage direct marketing. ESCS subsequently re- end of fiscal year 1978, this program had disbursed ceived a supplemental appropriation of $0.5 mil- $1,948,000 for 22 projects in 23 States. lion in fiscal year 1978 to conduct its surveys (see In conjunction with Cornell University, USDA above), and equal amounts were budgeted in fiscal years 1979 and 1980. In a recent evaluation of the is also developing a computer planning model to assist farmers in making their marketing decisions. Act, the General Accounting Office (GAO) found When fed information on a farmer’s available la- that USDA’s programs have been effective in bor, land, crops, and other variables, this model will produce a recommendation for the allocation ITIntervlew with Peter L. Henderson and Harold R. Linstrom, pro]- ect directors, Impacts of Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing on of resources among different marketing methods— the Structure and Performance of the Food Deliver y System, U.S. the marketing mix—that will maximize the farm- Department of Agriculture, Economics, Statistics, and Cooperative er’s return on his investment. Farmers are to have Service, Aug. 29, 1980. lsDlrect Famer.to.Consumer Marketin Program Shotdd Be Continued access to this computer model through their coun- g and improved (Washington, D. C.: General Accounting Office, july 9, 1980), report No. CED-80-65, app. IV, p. 36. lbHenderson and Linstrom, op. Cit. *91bid. Ch. 6–Farmers’ Markets l 143 aiding the expansion of direct marketing and in have not as yet reached all regions of the United gathering a considerable amount of information States. on the extent and impact of different marketing Option 2: Expand* the Role of the Agricul- methods. The report also found, however, that a tural Extension Service in Promoting Di- number of the current projects cannot be com- rect Marketing.—Should Congress decide to ex- pleted before the end of the program, and that the tend the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing full impact of some of these projects will not be Act of 1976, it may wish to earmark certain funds measurable for a number of years. GAO con- for use by local extension agents for information cluded that extension of the Act “would help the and planning projects similar to those in More- States continue such projects until (1) the original house Parish and elsewhere. Congress may also objectives are reached, (2) the projects become self- wish to direct that the Agricultural Extension sufficient, and/or (3) other sources of fundings can 20 Service be given a larger role in disseminating the be obtained.” results of the pilot projects and marketing surveys Option 1: Reenact the Farmer-to-Consum- initiated under the Act or in making the joint er Direct Marketing Act of 1976.—Author- USDA-Cornell University computer model avail- ization for current USDA direct marketing pro- able to the largest possible number of farmers. grams ended on September 31, 1980. GAO recom- Congress might also direct that the local extension mends that the Congress continue its support for agents and regional extension specialists through- the Direct Marketing Program for an additional 2- out the Nation be encouraged to supply more in- or 3-year period by authorizing such funds as it formation and suggestions for the design of direct thinks necessary for existing projects, new proj- marketing projects, and/or that they coordinate ects, and improved program coordination and their activities with the related local programs of evaluation. GAO also recommends that a single other Federal agencies, such as the food and nutri- office within USDA be designated to coordinate tion program of the local CSA community action direct marketing programs and to serve as an in- agency (see ch. 4 and the case study of Rutland, formation clearinghouse. Reenactment would Vt.). allow USDA to initiate new pilot programs, con- solidate existing programs, and gather additional ISSUE 3: data on the impact of direct marketing on local Agricultural Land Retention. food production, regional food security, energy conservation, income stability for farmers, and The development of local direct marketing sys- agricultural land retention (see below). USDA tems may contribute significantly to the survival concurs with most of these recommendations. 21 of the Nation’s decreasing number of small-scale and family farms. The data being gathered by the ISSUE 2: ESCS should eventually shed light on the impact Outreach and Information of direct marketing on retention of local agri- Dissemination. cultural lands. This issue has national as well as local importance, however, and the results of these The effectiveness of the innovative programs surveys, in combination with the results of the begun by the county extension agent in More- joint USDA-CEQ National Agricultural Lands house Parish suggests that similar extension pro- Study, will be of vital interest in the formulation grams may be beneficial in other communities if of future Federal policy and programs. they are equally well designed and imaginativel y Option 3: Investigate the Impact of Direct implemented. The Cooperative Extension Serv- Marketing on Agricultural Land Retention. ice’s direct marketing programs have been —Should Congress decide to extend the programs hampered b inadequate funding, however, and y initiated under the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976, it would allow ESCS to ‘“lbid., p. 15. complete direct marketing surveys in every State, ‘i Ibid., pp. 15-17. instead of the 18 to 26 currently proposed, and to 144 l Assessment ofTechnology for Local Development complete the supplementary case studies being car- to consider the implications of both studies in the ried out by selected State experimental stations. formulation of future legislation, so that Federal Congress may want to review the results of the policy and programs will be designed in such a way completed reviews and the results of the forth- as to achieve maximum benefits in these inter- coming “National Agricultural Lands Study,” and related areas. Chapter 7 Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste Contents

Page Page introduction ...... 147 Federal Policy ...... 164 Background...... 164 Alternative Resource Recovery The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Technologies ...... 147 of 1976 ...... , . . , 165 Centralized Resource Recovery—A Case Other Laws Having an Impact on Resource Study of the Recycle Energy System, Recovery...... 166 Akron, Ohio...... 149 Issues and Options ...... 167 The Community Setting...... , ...... 149 Development ...... 150 The Recycle Energy System Technology...... 150 List of Tables The Akron RES Facility ...... 153 Table No. Page Source Separation and Resource Recovery 19. Projected Profit and Loss Statement, Akron —A Case Study of the Bronx Frontier RES Project, 1980--2004 ...... 154 Development Corp. Composting Project, 20, Projected Costs of Two Aerobic Composting New York City...... 155 Processes...... 160 The Community Setting. , ...... ,...., . . . . . 155 21. Projected Cost/Revenue Balance, Bronx Development ...... 156 FrontierProject. , ...... , ...... 161 The BFDC CompostingTechnology ...... 157 The BFDC Composting Facility ...... 160 List of Figures Critical Factors ...... 161 Public Perception and Participation ...... 161 Figure No. Page Essential Resources...... 162 26. Operational Flow Chart, Recycle Energy Financing...... 163 system ...... 152 institutional Factors...... 164 27. BFDC Open-Windrow Composting Process . . . 158 CHAPTER 7 Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste

Introduction

Public and private organizations throughout the sources. By using materials more than once, virgin United States are investigating and investing in resources can be conserved for ourselves and for fu- 2 technologies that will recover resources from ture generations. l municipal solid waste (MSW). Two increasingly Major environmental legislation enacted during serious problems—those of waste disposal and re- the 1970’s ruled out several previously acceptable source supply—are compelling them to do so: methods of solid waste disposal, and this put pres- The United States annually generates more than sure on State and local governments to find inno- 135 million tons of MSW. Its disposal is a rapidly vative ways of disposing of MSW. At the same growing problem for many areas of the country, time, supply disruptions and price increases, such where such traditional methods as open dumping, as the 1973 oil embargo and the recent OPEC landfill, uncontrolled incineration, and ocean price hikes, have caused uncertainty about the fu- burial are too expensive or environmentally unac- ture availability and cost of energy and other raw ceptable. At the same time, MSW contains over materials. This uncertainty has in turn led to two-thirds of the national consumption of paper greater efforts to conserve these resources and, and glass, over one-fifth of the aluminum, and nearly one-eighth of the iron and steel. If burned, where possible, to recycle them for further use. the combustible portion of this waste would be Consequently, to the extent that alternative tech- equivalent to about 1.9 percent of the Nation’s an- nologies for solid waste disposal can also recover nual energy use. energy and materials from MSW, they can reduce Resource recovery . . . recycling, and reuse can the cost of community services and promote local contribute to the wise and efficient use of mate- development, as well as serving the interests of rials, to conserving energy, to preserving the envi- health, environmental protection, economic well- ronment, and to improving the balance of trade by being, and national security. reducing our dependence on imported natural re-

1 As defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 2Materiuh and Encrg> From jMunwipu/ Waste (two VOIS., Washing- 1~76 (PublIc Law 94-580), sec. 1004, these “resources” include both ton, D. C.: Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, July energy and materials. 1979), vol. 1, OTA.M-93, p< 3.

Alternative Resource Recovery Technologies

An earlier OTA assessment has identified two rials at the waste source and then collect them major methods for recovering energy and materi- through such -methods as curbside collection, com- als for recycling from MSW: source separation and munity recycling centers, industry-sponsored re- centralized resource recovery. Source separation cycling programs, and commercial and industrial consists of programs to separate recyclable mate- methods of source separation. These programs are the only available method by which wastepaper C ~Ibld., ~speclally app. ; (or a more extensive sur~”ey of research in can be recovered for recycling into new paper this area, see U.S. Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Mines Research on Re- products, and they also recover significant source Recowr>, Reclamutton, Utd[tatlon, Dsposal, and Stabd[zanon, Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8750, (Washington, D. C.: De- amounts of glass and ferrous and nonferrous partment of the Intermr, 1977). metals. Industry-sponsored programs, for instance,

147 148 l Assessment ofTechnology for Local Development collected 25 percent of all the aluminum beverage mate full-scale performance, but technical and cans produced in 1977. In addition, separated yard economic uncertainty is greater than with com- wastes and other organic matter can be composted mercially operational systems. to produce soil-enhancing materials. Experimental technologies, which are still being Centralized resource recovery, in which mixed tested in laboratories and pilot plants, include wastes are processed at a central facility, also can processes for the recovery of nonferrous metals recover energy from MSW either by producing and wastepaper from MSW, as well as two further steam or by converting the organic components of energy recovery processes: anaerobic digestion, in the waste into some form of fuel. The upper limit which a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide is on energy recovery from MS W would equal about generated through bacterial action in a process 1.9 percent of current annual energy consumption similar to the activated sludge system of waste- in the United States, and the recovery of all of the water treatment (see ch. 8); and a waste-fired gas recyclable materials would save an additional 0.4 turbine. In addition, considerable research has percent—the energy it would require to produce been done on several hydrolysis processes, in these materials from virgin sources—for a total which ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is produced from the energy savings of 2.3 percent of current consump- organic portion of MSW through either acid treat- tion. Technical and economic factors will keep ment or enzyme action. There is as yet insufficient energy recovery to a fraction of this potential for information to predict the technical or economic the foreseeable future; nevertheless, centralized feasibility of any of these technologies. resource recovery can play a small but significant This chapter consists of case studies of two proj- role in conserving energy. ects that are applications of commercially opera- A number of alternative technologies for recov- tional technologies: the Recycle Energy System in ering materials and for burning the combustible Akron, Ohio, an example of centralized resource portion of MSW or converting it into fuel are at recovery through the waterwall combustion of raw various stages of development. Commercially oper- MSW for steam generation as well as materials ational technologies include the comporting of recovery; and the Bronx Frontier Development organic wastes and the magnetic recovery of fer- Corp. project in New York City, an example of rous metals, as well as two types of energy recovery source separation and the recovery of organic systems: the mass incineration of raw MSW in wa- materials through comporting. Although these terwall furnaces or small-scale modular incinera- projects differ in scale and complexity as well as tors; and several processes that recover solid ref- process and product, both are approaches to local use-derived fuel (RDF) from separated and treated development based on the assumption that solid wastes. waste is not a useless end-product to be disposed of, but rather is a resource that can be recovered Developmental technologies, which have been and used in ways beneficial to the community. demonstrated in pilot operations but not in full- scale plants, include several processes for recover- In the case of Akron, the approach involves ing aluminum and glass from the waste flow, as using solid waste as a fuel to generate energy well as two methods of energy recovery: pyrolysis needed for space heating and manufacturing in systems, in which the wastes are distilled at high that city’s business district. In the case of the temperatures to produce medium- and low-Btu Bronx, it involves transforming organic refuse gases and liquid RDFs; and landfill methane re- from a produce market into compost, which is covery, in which the gases produced by biological then used to reclaim otherwise infertile land for processes are removed through wells and treated parks and urban farming. Both present alter- to produce pipeline-quality methane. There is suf- natives to the conventional techniques and in- ficient pilot experience with these systems to esti- stitutional arrangements for dealing with MSW. .

Ch.7 Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste 149

Centralized Resource Recovery-A Case Study of the Recycle Energy System, Akron, Ohio4

The Community Setting steam is supplied by the local utility company, Ohio Edison, but since 1948 the company has Akron, population 269,000, is located in north- wanted to abandon its outmoded steam operations eastern Ohio. The city’s economy centers on and concentrate on providing electrical energy. trucking and manufacturing industries, primarily The cost of providing steam energy from anti- those involved in rubber production. Manufactur- quated central plants had become more expensive ing sector employment declined by 20 percent be- than onsite production, and Ohio Edison’s down- tween 1960 and 1970, while service sector employ- town plant was in violation of Federal environment increased by almost 40 percent. Employment mental standards. Two of the major energy users patterns in the rubber industry, the major em- in Akron’s central business district, B. F. Good- ployer, reflect these local trends: older plants have rich and the University of Akron, operated their been phased out and hourly jobs eliminated, while own powerplants and did not purchase power Goodyear and B. F. Goodrich have invested mil- from the utility. However, both institutions en- lions of dollars in administrative and research fa- countered problems with their plants; Goodrich, cilities. Nevertheless, the manufacturing sector in particular, was also in violation of Federal still employed 38 percent of the city’s work force in emissions standards, and compliance would have 1970, compared to a national average of 26 per- required major capital expenditures. In addition, cent. both institutions were faced with rising demand at Like many other northern industrial cities, a time when the cost of fossil fuels was rising Akron has experienced a decline in the economic rapidly. activity of its central business district over the last 20 years. While most of the retail stores have At the same time that problems were developing moved to the suburbs, however, there has been in the energy supply for the central business dis- some development of educational, office, and trict, Akron and surrounding Summit County government facilities. The University of Akron also began encountering problems with the dis- has grown considerably and has made capital in- posal of their solid waste. As early as 1969, the vestments of $65 million in the city since 1965. adverse environmental effects of landfill disposal The old Quaker Oats mill has been converted into were becoming increasingly apparent: raw garbage a successful shopping mall, hotel, and office was an unstable fill, generated noxious odors, and building, and Ohio Edison has built a new head- spoiled the landscape. In addition, the Hardy quarters in the Cascade Plaza complex. City and Road landfill, the city’s major facility, was projected to be filled within 15 years. New sites were county agencies also employ a significant number of people in the central business district. difficult to locate because of the high population density and stricter environmental standards; in Most of these offices, as well as the surrounding 1976, the Environmental Protection Agency churches, hospitals, shops, and other businesses, (EPA) indicated that it would not approve further use steam for space heating and hot water. The landfill sites in the Akron area. If the sites were — located farther from the city, however, the cost of 4Materlal in this case study IS based on the working paper, “Solid Waste Fired Steam Plant,” prepared by Randall Constantine and transporting garbage to them would increase sig- Jonathan Feld for the Harvard Workshop on Appropriate Tech- nificantly. nology for Communlt}~ Development, Department of City and Re- glona] Plannlng, Harvard Un~versity, May 15, 1979; background information on Akron was made available by the city’s Department of It was in this context that, in 1968, planners in Plannlng and Urban Development, Akron began searching for an alternative solid .

150 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development waste management system. Any new system derwriters had difficulty raising the necessary cap- would have to meet five major objectives: ital, in part because of problems encountered by similar plants elsewhere and in part because of the 1. processing the widest range of solid waste firm’s lack of familiarity with this type of project. without special handling or sorting; 2. reducing the volume of waste to a minimum In mid-1976 another banking firm, Dillon, Read residue for subsequent landfill; & Co., agreed to help float the bonds for the proj- 3. reducing air pollution; ect, and with their assistance additional steam 4. making any new disposal system compatible users were found and contracts between them and with an urban setting; and the city were negotiated and signed. By December 5. keeping solid waste disposal costs at their cur- 1978 financing was completed and construction rent levels. began. Once the details of the project took form, the Mayor and other members of the city govern- After considering pyrolysis, site compacting, rail- ment became more active in their support. road hauling, incineration, and continued landfill, the city turned its attention to the Recycle Energy System (RES), which would incinerate solid waste to generate steam energy.

Development

When Akron began searching for a solution to its waste disposal problem in 1969, B. F. Goodrich donated $15,000 for a feasibility study of an energy recovery system. The study concluded that, although the system was technologically feasible, it would not be economical for the city to generate steam from garbage unless there was an increase in total demand for steam, particularly in the summer months when most users employed electric air Photo credit: Teledyne National conditioning. For this reason, and because of the The Akron Recycle Energy System large capital investment involved, the city did lit- became operational in 1979 tle to pursue the project at that time. By November 1979 the plant was operating at The 1973 oil embargo rekindled interest in ener- 60 percent of capacity and was due to reach 100 gy recovery systems, and the project regained mo- percent by the end of the year. The city owns the mentum. The greatest support for the project came site and the plant, but Teledyne Industries is from the City Council, particularly its President; responsible for actually running the plant, and a the Mayor, on the other hand, was reluctant to user committee performs in an advisory and infor- commit the city to the large capital investment re- mational role. quired for the development of a new technology. Unable to solicit Federal support, the city’s Plan- The Recycle Energy System ning Department borrowed $1 million from Ak- Technology ron’s revenue-sharing funds to finance a preliminary engineering study. The RES process is an example of a technology for centralized resource recovery—that is, it can This time the study, conducted by the engineer- recover energy and recyclable materials from col- ing firm of Glaus, Pyle, Schemer, Burns, and lected, mixed MSW. It combines a waterwall com- DeHaven, was more favorable, and the city re- bustion systems with an air classifier for density tained an investment banking firm, Prescott, Ball, 5waterwall ~ombu5tion system5 have hcen used Commercially in and Turbin, to float bonds to finance the project. Europe since World War II; other communities in North America The design work proceeded smoothly, but the un- using these systems include Saugus, Mass., and Hamilton, Ontario, Ch. 7–Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste 151l

separation and a magnetic separator to recover fer- and are then evacuated through the smokestacks. rous materials. According to previous studies, Both the bottom ash from the boiler and the fly these technologies are estimated to achieve a waste ash from the electrostatic precipitators are loaded reduction efficiency of 70 to 80 percent by weight into trucks for removal. Should shredded waste be and 85 to 95 percent by volume; a ferrous materi- unavailable to fire in the boiler, because of either als recovery efficiency of 90 to 97 percent; and an mechanical failure or inadequate waste supply, the energy recovery efficiency of 59 percent. c plant can fire up three auxiliary oil burners fed by a 200,000-gal reserve tank. Figure 26 is an operational flow chart of the Akron RES plant. The sequence of events at the Solid waste has an average heating value of facility is as follows.7 4,500 to 5,500 Btu/lb, compared to 10,000 Btu/lb for coal. The major problem in using raw waste as Solid waste is delivered to the RES by garbage a fuel is the fluctuation in its consistency and, trucks, tipped into a pit, and carried up to the therefore, its heating value; it tends to create shredders by means of inclined conveyor belts. surges of energy when incinerated. The RES in Closed circuit cameras monitor the pits and con- Akron will minimize this effect by shredding the veyor belts to watch for unsuitable kinds of waste, putting it through a density separator, and waste—although the RES is designed to accept a then storing it to ensure a mixture with a more wide variety of refuse, it cannot process liquids, uniform heating value. The air jets and pneumatic large objects, or tanks of compressed gas. Un- feed system in the boiler are also designed to pro- suitable refuse is removed from the conveyors by vide the burner with a uniform feed. With this an overhead crane. system, the shredded waste ultimately has a rela- Two pulverizer shredders force the waste tively uniform value of 6,500 Btu/lb. through a shredding grate, and the shredded Critics of the technology employed in the RES material is fed through a stream of rising air—an have raised a number of doubts about its success. air classifier—that separates refuse according to The waste may “bridge” or jam in the pits or in the density. Heavy material is then passed through an storage bin; the dead weight of the waste may electromagnetic device that separates ferrous damage the rams or the conveyor belts; soot and metals (for recycling) from nonferrous metals (for bottom ash may collect in the boiler, causing fre- landfill). Low-density material, which will be quent shutdowns for cleaning; and increased cor- burned, is conveyed to a storage bin and then, rosion of the inside boiler walls caused b burning when fuel is needed, fed into the boiler. y 100 percent garbage may decrease boiler life. The Fuel and air are fed into the boiler through jets system’s proponents feel that, despite these possi- in the boiler walls in order to ensure uniform com- ble technical problems, the project’s risks are ac- bustion. About half of the fuel burns while falling ceptable. through the boiler; the rest burns as it rests on the The RES borrows selectively from technologies bottom grate. Flue gases pass through electrostatic already in use b other industries, interjecting in- precipitators, which remove particulate matter, y novations and new designs where necessary, to

6Materds ad Erter~ From ,Munwpd Ware, op. cit., pp. 99-100, produce a system that can deal effectively with the tables 32, 33, and 34. “There is currently no standard accepted way to problems of burning solid waste. The boiler was evaluate the energy recover efficiency of resource recover s s- y y y designed especially for the RES: higher thermal ef- tems . . . . System energy efficiencies can be calculated in terms of the energy content of the fuel produced, and in terms of output energy ficiency allows the system to work at lower tem- available as steam. ” The 59-pmcent efficiency of the RES is in terms peratures; suspension burning and the constant of the latter. mixing of air and fuel inhibits corrosion caused b TG]aus, Pyle, Schemer, Burns, and DeHaven, “Feasibility Study of y Sol[d Wasre Reduction Energy Recovery,” September 1977, and “Re- oxidation of the boiler walls; and steam jets have cycle Energy for Central Heating and Process Steam, ” June 1977. In- been installed to clean soot from inside the boiler formation on the operational characteristics of the plant is as pro- before corrosion can recur. Where other problems jected by the designers; since the plant has been fully operational for such a short time, it is difficult to evaluate how accurate these claims may arise, backup and alternate systems have been are. Other resource recovery plants have not operated with the re- built into the plant, and contingency funds have Ilablllty their designers expected. been set aside to finance necessary modifications. 152 l Assessment of Technology for Local Developrnent

Figure 26.—Operational Flow Chart, Recycle Energy System

SOURCE: Teledyne National. Ch. 7–Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste 153

The Akron RES Facility currently plans to landfill nonferrous byproducts of the RES, but potential uses also exist for these Akron’s RES plant has been fully operational materials, and their sale could provide additional for less than a year, and the data have been insuffi- revenue. F1y ash and soot, for instance, can be cient to assess the system’s impact on the envi- used as construction fill or as a cement additive. ronment. However, it typifies the current state of An earlier OTA study projected potential markets knowledge with regard to both pollution abate- for recovered aluminum, paper, and glass as well ment and occupational safety and health. Air for as iron and steel, that should exceed anticipated the boilers will be pulled in from the plant, levels of recovery through 1995.9 Akron has not creating a negative air pressure that should pre- depended on this source of revenue to make its vent dust and 1itter from spreading to the sur- RES project profitable, but it has provided incen- rounding area. The plant grounds will be pleasant- tives to Teledyne Industries, the plant operators, ly landscaped and well maintained, both as further by giving them a portion of any revenues they can protection against litter and to be esthetically generate from the sale of reclaimed materials. pleasing. Little water will be discharged from the plant, and the combustion of shredded waste Total capital costs for development and con- should produce fewer toxic gases than the combus- struction are estimated at $56 million. Net oper- tion of coal. EPA is now monitoring pollution ating revenues (total revenues less operating expenses) are projected to be $5.4 million in 1980, from resource recovery facilities as they come on line and is developing a data base which, if it $5.7 million in 1981, and about $6 million per year from 1982 through 2004 (see table 19). Net profits proves necessary, should facilitate the development of further control technologies. after debt service, interest, and equipment replacement are expected to be over $1 million per year About 76 percent of RES revenue comes from for the entire 25-year period.l0 While the RES is the sale of steam, which is sold at prices com- designed to generate income, however, the use of petitive with Ohio Edison’s rates. Steam users this income is restricted to the RES itself and can- were required to sign 25-year contracts with the not be mixed with general municipal funds. Any city in order to assure investors of the economic profits must be used to retire bonds early or to viability of the project; users who would not sign replace capital equipment. long-term contracts are required to pay a 20-percent surcharge. Construction of the RES has assured downtown businesses of a reliable source of reasonably priced Another important source of revenue is the tip- steam energy. As a result, some of them have ping fee of $3.50/ton charged to haulers who begun long-needed renovation, and economic ac- dump their waste at the RES, which accounts for tivity in the downtown area has been infused with 16 percent of its revenues. The fee is lower than a sense of optimism and confidence. The RES has that charged at other dump sites in the area, and also produced environmental benefits: the com- because the RES is centrally located haulers’ bustion of MSW produces fewer toxic gases than transportation costs are also less than to more the coal-fired Ohio Edison plant; by reducing the remote sites. However, in order to further assure volume of its wastes by 80 percent, the city has itself of a steady and sufficient flow of wastes, the also reduced the pressure on its landfill and ex- city has taken a controversial approach: it passed tended its useful lifetime; and RES residues pro- an ordinance requiring all haulers to deliver to the vide inert fill that produces no odors, attracts no RES. Private haulers currently have a suit pending rats, and therefore does not need to be covered against the city challenging the legality of this or- daily with dirt. dinance. 8 9,Materials and Energv From ~Munictpu/ W’USCC, op. cit. p. 63. How- Another 8 percent of RES revenue comes from e~’er, the prices users would be willing to pay and the quality they’ the sale of recovered ferrous materials. The city might demand could present barriers to the profitable sale of large —. amounts of recovered materials If resource recovery were w’ldelv 8Gkmu IIIOU Lundf[//, Inc., et d. v. CI[> of Akron, et J. Case C78- adopted. 65A of the N(>rthern Dlstrlct, Eastern Division of the Federal District IQhlo water De\,elopment Authcmtv, O~~ICtUl Stuttmwnt on the R~- Court of Ohio. cycle Energv Retenue Bonds, 1976.

74-435 0 - 81 - 11 —

154v, l Assessment of Technology for Local Development 40. 67 66 401 "'004 1,946 1,278 4,158 the 6,237 9,328 year oper (these 61 190 401 """'> 1,831 2,178 4,164 during second bonds. a) average 58 402 306 the .,IV\" 1,278 1,235 1,269 1,304 4,179 2,090 2,082 2,079 6,269 6,246 5,867 5,845 5,836 8,394 8,844 payments of • redeem 54 416 404 month's end to following: $100,000. "IV\ 1,202 1,278 1,628 1.726 1 2,098 7,966 4,196 6,294 5,890 at the the 51 used additional at 518 .,nnn 1,278 4,211 6,317 7,559 5,912 b) be with and expense, balance 49 and shall oil lQQQ 1,139 1,170 1,278 1,452 1,537 2,113 2,106 5,931 4,225 6,338 7,174 Ohio fuel 45 407 407 405 706 612 bonds); million payments 1,366 1,109 lQCll1 6,351 5,944 6,811 accorcance $5 the 44 of average of loan 409 789 unencumbered Akron, 1,079 1,292 2,125 2,117 5,965 6,374 6,465 lQQ7 an mace," term 41 IS 410 869 excess month's 1,218 1,050 1,278 1,278 1,278 4,256 4,249 4,234 2,128 5,974 the 6,139 lQQf; month's in $9,78510,07310,36810,68811,02311,37611,74812,14212,582 1 Tuna 1 to establish over 411 Project, 948 fund 1,002 1,147 to 1,278 4,266 2,133 5,988 6,399 6,384 5,821 lIN"> and year equal reserve 36 38 995 412 ,021 per 1,084 1,278 2,141 4,281 6,Q10 5,533 surplus 1!N4 $9,270$9,509 payment % System 6 the 35 expense, capital 413 968 at in payments 1,278 1,085 4,289 1,025 2,145 6,434 6,422 6,021 5,253 llflf:1 $9,028 project, 32 964 worKing 1,151 1,278 4,293 6,026 6,440 the llflf" Energy $8,793 escalated

U-)FJ of me operation,

Ino 30 maintenance 455 303 910 917 942 *C) 10 of are 1,278 2,152 2,147 1,212 6,041 4,735 4,987 w--t- llflfl $8,581 and 29 year (1976). 415 414 414 860 893 operation 1,266 2,155 4,499 Recycle ,990 ~,J16 amounts ating first of -r-i:IYllltnn eAmounts accumulated eAmounts 27 Bonds 810 869 1,320 4,313 4,310 1,278 1,278 5 6,055 6,050 ,lfOlf ~,161 price first 767 846 ,366 totaling 4,320 1,278 6,065 4,059 4,273 Revenue ,988 ~,UUU the .",;JIWIU::;ti wholesale commence (projected), VI 724 415 415 415 823 the 1,406 1,278 4,311 6,467 6,480 6,470 6,465 3,854 ,98, wholesale ~f,ISUO in during operation J.I'"\.oC' 25 26 27 683 801 of steel following 1,439 2,147 2,156 2,160 2,157 4,294 1,278 6,441 6,026 6,052 't'C'l 3,659 I~OO ;pf,tiUtl $40,000 /0, and Recycle Energy 39 414 415 780 644 increases of 07U 1,456 3 years Statement 6,003 I:lO;;} 3,476 iron months VI 18 first the 420 759 398 (10) render ICUV 1984 in 4.266 4.278 6,001 3,301 Loss Authority, for payment ,,(,"'00,,(,4"1 the to 1 g'7 19 ... 777 739 360 ,'''' ,98., 1,278 1,278 1,278 ""u 3,134 6,0 and notes ", annual during ..... increase 28 adjusted an ,,~, 773 719 317

,V,'': Hi 107U' 1,315 1,329 1,723 1,278 2,116 2,125 2,133 2,139 4,232 4.249 2,978 a) 6,348 6,374 6,399 6,417 6,031 w-*- county Development ", V.I of: average '0 payment VI 127 410 225 700 591 \ and ,98, b) 1,346 1,278 2,108 5,733 the 2,863 ...... 'PO,O thereafter Water , of •• city 19.-Profit 48 and "' 450 984 641 885 681 ,980 year 1,278 2,123 4,200 4,216 6,323 6,324 5,438 2,741 Ohio comprised ...... 'PO,":":V (50% u , , , . . . . . is ...... per million . ... for . . . . . the Table "' C a ... of ... fund 2.75% $10 .... reserve service b d ", ...... of notes on commodities; metal service e ...... VI ...... reserve n.''' project. $380,000 fund. fund debt fund " rate ...... the fund debt for 4.5% and _I"" county of ...... Statement agreement ferrous at following service replacement industrial VitI $3.5OIton reserve after ______expenses and It agreement revenues at the surplus for requirement escalation debt are available to replacement income city operation Official payable an into fees operation the capital ...... recovered on her of 1968-73). index slvailable of cooperative of olf equipment and funds ot re.",",u",,, operating service opetrating fundsi fund!l coop4!rative payment and 50% price years index ment ton, SOURCE: Debt Payment Funds Interest Clnterest brhe Net Equipment gHevenues DispoSell Workin~1 Total Sales Total Total Total Source Separation and Resource Recovery-A Case Study of the Bronx Frontier Development Corp. Comporting Project, New York City11

The Community Setting specific neighborhoods. 13 Although urban blight appears to be spreading to certain areas that had The South Bronx is a large collection of poor formerly remained stable, other neighborhoods– neighborhoods whose unofficial boundaries have those that had been the most visibly devastated expanded tremendously in the last few years. Its and had the highest crime and arson rates and the acres of rubble-strewn lots and vacant buildings most school crowding—are now showing some im- have made it a symbol of urban decay, and recent provement. There is a feeling in some of these data illustrate the area’s serious problems. During areas that opportunities for progress really do the first half of the 1970’s, it experienced a severe exist. population decline and a high rate of building abandonment, with some neighborhoods losing There are obstacles, however, to realizing these opportunities. One of these is a long tradition of noncooperation among various elements within the South Bronx community and within its competing political organizations. Not only is there distrust among groups, but also among individual residents. As one community worker observed, “People in this neighborhood are scared; they won’t even talk to people in the next-door apart- ment. It took us three months to form a tenants’ association in one building. Nobody would talk to anybody else. ” Most residents see housing and jobs as the most important local concerns; they attach less importance to human services and open-space issues. Photo credit: Bronx Frontier Development Corp. However, some community organizations believe Abandoned buildings and rubble-strewn lots became a there is a great need to develop programs that help symbol of urban decay during the 1970’s residents help themselves. One such way to orga-

2 nize people and give them a sense of self-worth, as more than 50 percent of their population. * Family well as skills and supplemental income, is urban income levels in the area are extremely low, with gardening. more than 25 percent listed below the poverty line in 1975. Unemployment rates are high, especially The Bronx Frontier Development Corp. among the young, and less than 25 percent of the (BFDC) is a nonprofit organization that was area students entering the city’s academic high formed to aid in the redevelopment of the South schools end up graduating. Bronx. Through its principal activity, comporting, it hopes to contribute to efforts undertaken by As one city planner pointed out, however, these several neighborhood groups to revitalize the com- aggregate facts mask different trends within munity by reclaiming barren land with parks and

I IMaterla] in the following case study is based on the working pa- urban gardens. Comporting is a process that re- per, “Bronx Frontier Comporting Operation,” prepared by Beth claims organic solid waste by converting it into Siegel and Ann Verrilli for the Harvard Workshop on Appropriate humus, an effective soil conditioner. Comporting Technology for Community Development, Department of City and Regional Planning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979. IZData drawn from New York City’s Housing and Vacancy survey I ~Peter Canti]lo, New York City Department of Planning, Bronx of 1975. Borough Office, t

$ 156 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Photo credit: Bronx Frontier Development Corp

Urban gardens help revitalize communities also provides an opportunity to recycle the organic component of MSW productively, while simultaneously relieving the pressure on dwindling urban landfill sites.

Development 14

The initial idea of “greening the South Bronx” was inspired by a 1974 editorial in the New York Times written by the vice-chairman of the City Planning Commission, Martin Gallent. The editorial proposed that the city undertake a program of at least temporarily greening some of the vast tracts of rubble with parks and gardens until Photo credit. Bronx Frontier Development Corp. longer range plans could be developed. He sug- A big grin of pride gested that opportunities for job-creating and income-producing ventures such as tree farms, nurs- groups, city planners, and local officials, Fleck eries, and cash crops be explored. quickly established that community interest ex- The editorial attracted attention throughout isted. She also found a major obstacle: the lack of the city, and one local activist, Irma Fleck, decided good topsoil. The soil under the rubble was infer- to see how such a project could be brought about. tile, depleted of nutrients, and contaminated with Talking with local residents, urban gardening lead and other toxic substances. Importing topsoil

would be prohibitively expensive for community groups or even the city. l+ InfC)rmatlon ~)n the history of Bronx Frontier Development Corp. IS drawn from interviews with staff; from its publication, “BFDC’S Lc]ng Term G(]als, History and Background;” and from “Taming the Comporting seemed to be the best way to pro- South Bronx Frontiers,” Quest, December 1978/January 1979. duce the necessary topsoil at lower costs. Humus, Ch. 7–Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste l 157 produced by the natural decomposition of organic vegetable refuse and with the suburban city of wastes, would provide nutrients and improve min- New Rochelle for leaves, and then leased a 3.7- eral and water retention; combined with clay and acre city-owned site. Equipment was purchased, sand (which could be obtained by crushing rub- staff was hired, the site was prepared, and in June ble), it would produce good topsoil. The nearby 1978, the first batch of compost was produced. produce terminal, Hunt’s Point Market, could provide plenty of compostable vegetable wastes. The The BFDC Comporting Technology project also offered a way to provide employment and training for local residents, as well as a sense The two major comporting processes are anaero- of purpose through community involvement, bic comporting, in which microbes (bacteria and something Fleck considered essential to the long- fungi) that do not require oxygen break down term redevelopment of the South Bronx. wastes in a sealed container; and aerobic comporting, in which microbial action takes place in Discussions with New York City urban garden- the presence of oxygen. Anaerobic comporting re- ing groups and with the Institute for Local Self- quires less frequent attention, but it is a much Reliance indicated that a comporting program slower process and gives off highly objectionable might work. The Institute, a Washington-based odors. Aerobic comporting, on the other hand, is technical assistance group, studied its economic relatively odorless, faster, and, because it gives off feasibility and reported in July 1976 that, with a more heat, more effective in killing disease-carry- capital investment of $250,000 for equipment and ing organisms. Most comporting systems, in- first-year operating costs, a comporting operation cluding BFDC, are aerobic. l6 could be developed. Furthermore, if half of this compost were sold commercially, the operation Aerobic decomposition involves a succession of could become self-supporting in another year. microbe populations, each species reaching a peak Armed with this information, Fleck and Jack Flan- population under different nutrient and tempera- agan, a police community affairs officer in the ture conditions. The temperature range within South Bronx, were able to obtain seed money which the microbes can survive and function most from the Community Services Administration efficiently is limited, so temperature control is a (CSA) and additional funding from several private major concern. They also require a supply of nu- foundations. trients (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium being the most impor- The comporting operation was envisioned as a tant) to thrive and reproduce; when these ele- two-phase process. Phase I would involve setting ments are plentiful and properly balanced, decom- up the comporting facility and distributing the position is more rapid. The most important compost free of charge to community gardens and measure of nutrient balance is the carbon-to-nitro- parks. Phase 11 would consist of generating revenue gen (C/N) ratio, which should remain between by marketing the compost in bulk to the private 20:1 and 30:1. An excessively high C/N ratio sector (e.g., nurseries and farmers) and perhaps to slows decomposition and inhibits plant growth city parks departments. when the humus is applied to the soil; and ex- BFDC found that it had to file a long report cessively low C/N ratio can be toxic to the with the New York State Department of Environ- microbes and later to plant roots. Since waste mental Conservation, which had ruled that the materials vary in their C/N ratios, the proper comporting operation was a Solid Waste Manage- balance is often achieved by combining two kinds ment Facility and would have to comply with all of wastes in the system—for example, MSW and the relevant regulations.15 During 1977, BFDC sludge from wastewater treatment. Moisture and signed contracts with the private waste haulers ———..—. serving Hunt’s Point Market for the delivery of 160ther ~ommunltles Using Compostlng processes include: Durham, N. H.; Burlington, Vt.; Tom River, N.J.; Bangor, Me.; Upper Occo- quan, Va.; Windsor, Ontario; Camden, N.J.; Philadelphia, Pa.; 15See “Technical Report on the Bronx Frontier Development Cor- Washington, D. C.; and Los Angeles, Calif. (Source: Jerome Golcl- poration Comporting Project,” submitted by BFDC to the New York stein, editor of In Business and Compost Science, The JG Press, Em- State Department of Environmental Conservation, 1976. maus, Pa. ) —

158 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

oxygen content are also important, and can be 4. The wastes are shredded and mixed by run- controlled by a number of methods. ning a compost-turning machine through the windrow several times. Volume is reduced by When BFDC first began operation, it used a about 60 percent during this step, and shred- version of the aerobic process known as “open ding also reduces the size of the particles so windrow” comporting, which consists of six basic that a greater surface is exposed to microbial stages (see figure 27): action, thereby accelerating decomposition. 1. Compacted wastes, such as leaves and vegetable matter, arrive daily by truck. The leaves 5. Comporting begins. Over the next few weeks, are stacked at the edge of the site, and the decomposition is rapid as bacteria begin organic wastes are piled in a receiving area. breaking down the material and heat is gen- 2. Laborers hand-sort the waste to separate out erated. During this period, workers monitor noncompostable materials, which are set the windrows daily to check temperature, aside for later pickup by the carting service. moisture level, oxygen content, and C/N 3. The waste is laid out in windrows (long rec- ratio. The compost-turner is run through the tangular piles about 10 ft wide and 4 ft high) windrow approximately three to five times with a base of 3 ft of leaves topped by 1 ft of per week to aerate the pile and redistribute organic wastes, equaling three volumes of heat and moisture. After about 2 weeks, the leaves to one volume of vegetable waste. microbial activity begins to slow down and Since the organic wastes can be very wet, the less frequent turning is required. The next 4 leaves serve as a bulking agent and help ab- to 6 weeks allow the compost to mature and sorb some of the moisture. dry out. When temperature, C/N ratio, and

Figure 27.—BFDC Open-Windrow Composting Process

Hunt’s Point carting Market service Packaging distribution non. comciostables covered Vegetable Dumped and hand sorted refuse waste containers v 25 yd3*d”1 5 yd3*d-1 Final organic processing compostables blending

New Rochelle Completed Components Leaves compost mixed- dessicated windrowed 1-4 weeks 75 ydl*d-l 95 yd3*d-1 B57 yd3*d-1

SOURCE: Bronx Frontier Development Corp. other measures indicate that the humus is forated pipes placed through the piles. BFDC has stable, it is ready for shipment. installed a 40-kW wind turbine to run the blowers.

6. After it is mechanically screened to remove Since receiving a grant in 1979 from the Nation- pieces of plastic and glass, the compost is deal Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) to livered to community gardens, where it is make this change, BFDC has expanded its capabil- mixed with sand and clay and applied to the ities in several ways. Its compost piles are now soil. more than twice as large as those permitted by the open-windrow technique, comporting can be carried out in the winter. The increased temperatures The principal drawback to the open-windrow generated inside the compost piles also allow for was it technique, however, that could produce the safe inclusion of manure and/or sewage a on only relatively small volume of compost sludge. This combination of inputs, called “codis- BFDC’s 3.7-acre site. In order to transform the posal” because it combines wastes from two major to operation from the level of demonstration that waste streams (MSW and sewage), is a technology of a self-sustaining business enterprise, BFDC has 17 that one expert views as “the wave of the future. ” turned to a second version of the aerobic process: “aerated pile” comporting. In this technique the 17Dr lames F. Parr, Iaboratc>ry chief, Biological Waste Manage- ment and Organic Resources Laboratory, Agriculture and Environ- compost piles are not turned; instead, electric mental Quality Research Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture, blowers force air through them by means of per- personal communlcatlon, July 25, 1980.

Photo credit: Bronx Frontier Development Corp.

A compost turner aerating vegetable waste at BFDC 160 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

The BFDC Composting Facility overhead and administrative costs that cannot be allocated specifically to the comporting operation. BFDC estimates that at full capacity their opera- Finally, since the project is still in the first phase of tion could be run by one skilled person, but be- its development, it is also difficult to forecast what cause of their commitment to creating jobs they operating expenses will be when it is fully opera- will have eight people on the staff. Except for the tional. Nevertheless, based on past expenditures technical supervisor, the staff consists of local res- and fiscal estimates prepared by BFDC,19 it is pos- idents. Most of the skills involved are relatively sible to approximate some of the costs for the proj- simple and easily acquired: hand-sorting, oper- ect’s open-windrow process. These costs are pre- ating the compost-turner and a front-end loader sented in table 20, as are the projected costs of the used to arrange the windrows, maintaining and aerated-pile process. These projections suggest the repairing the equipment, and performing tests to economies of scale that might be achieved by full monitor conditions in the piles. implementation of the aerated-pile process. Note 3 The process appears safe, although a few precau- that unit costs decline from over $30/yd for a process rate of 50 tons per day (tpd) to only tions are required. BFDC provides gloves, ear- 3 plugs, and safety goggles to the staff; it carries in- $10/yd for a process rate of 200 tpd. surance against accidents; and it complies with a Revenue comes from tipping fees charged to variety of Federal, State, and city health regula- waste haulers and from the sale of compost, either tions. To ensure product safety, BFDC (with the in bulk or in bags. BFDC intends to undertake a assistance of EPA and the Cornell University Ex- market study to evaluate the potential market for tension Service) tests the compost for heavy metals its compost, but while preliminary research points such as lead, cadmium, and zinc. The major to a strong demand for the product, potential rev- source of these contaminants is automobile pol- enue from sale of the compost is limited because of lution, which enters the waste stream through the prior commitments the group has made for its use. leaves of roadside trees. Tests are also performed at BFDC has promised 2,640 yd3/yr over the next 2 the garden sites on a regular basis. To date, all of years as its matching contribution for a $1. 1-mil- these tests have indicated that the BFDC compost is safe. unit costs are calculated (based on total costs excluding donations Economics.–It is difficult to calculate what and subsidies) and compared to those for commercially available products, project proponents can often deceive themselves (and the com- the total costs of the project are or how to separate munity) into believing they are producing a less expensive product. them into development costs, capital costs, and The fact is, from a societal point of view, that these subsidized items operating expenses. In part this is because so much have a real value and (if unit costs with the subsidy were the same whether commercially produced or produced by the nonprofit of the equipment, labor, and services have been organization) this value is the price society pays to purchase the “un- donated or subsidized. ’8 There are also indirect quantifiable” benefits of the project. 19’’The Bronx Frontier Comporting Operation: Current Status,

lslt Seems charaCterktiC of many of the projects OTA studied (par- Spring 1979,” prepared by BFDC for the New York State Depart- ticularly those v’here nonprofit organizations are involved) that tra- ment of Environmental Conservation, New York State Environmen- ditional cost-accounting procedures are inadequate. This is especially tal Facilities Corp., and New York City Department of Sanitation, true for cost items that are donated or subsidized. As a result, when Apr. 20, 1979.

Table 20.—Projected Costs of Two Aerobic Comporting Processes

Open-windrow process Aerated-pile process 50 tpd 100 tpd 50 tpd 100 tpd 200 tpd Capital investment...... $360,040 $360,040 $518,800 $530,400 $543,400 Operating expenses/year. . . . . 170,079 170,079 122,500 146,200 186,800 Total annual expensesb ...... 228,156 228,156 206,960 232,960 272,480 Unit cost of compost/yd3C . . . . 33.81 16.90 30.67 17.26 10.09 alncludes site preparation. bIncludes Operating expenses, amortization of capital investment, and depreciation of capital equipment. CBased on process output of 6,750 yd’3yr at 50 tpd, etc.

SOURCE: Bronx Frontier Development Corp. lion grant from the Department of Interior, the in Queens. The Frontier dumping site in the New York State Department of Parks and Recrea- Bronx not only saves them fuel, but also charges tion, and the New York City Department of them substantially less than the city landfill.

Parks. The grant was given to South Bronx Open Dumping fees at the BFDC site are only $l/yd3 for Space Task Force, a coalition of two other com- uncontaminated vegetable wastes and $1.50/yd3 munity groups trying to build miniparks on 15 va- for waste in nondegradable packages, compared to cant lots in the borough. In addition, the Frontier $3.50/yd 3 at the city landfill. This disparity in has provided more than 2,000 yd3 of free compost rates suggests that the dumping rates charged by to urban gardening groups in the South Bronx. BFDC are lower than they need be. Raising them, it has been suggested, would generate additional The remainder of the compost will be available revenue and thereby improve the project’s ability for sale. Table 21 illustrates the projected cost/ to sustain itself without further Government sub- revenue balance and shows the extent to which sidies or grants. operating costs and total annualized costs can be met with various combinations of bulk and bag Although BFDC’s compost project cannot by it- sales. self alleviate the monumental waste disposal problems of New York City, it could, if adopted by other neighborhoods and boroughs, help extend Table 21 .—Projected Cost/Revenue Balance, the life of local landfills. A Government waste Bronx Frontier Development Corp. management expert has said that communities 100 yd/day 200 yd/day 400 yd/day throughout the Nation should be able to replicate Bulk sales . Doesn’t cover Covers Covers total BFDC’s comporting operation and its plans for co- operations operations annual costs disposal of sewage sludge, thereby multiplying its Bag sales. . Covers Covers total Covers total 20 operations annual costs annual costs environmental benefits. In addition, if the project becomes a commercial success and offers local SOURCE: Bronx Frontier Development Corp. residents the opportunity to learn marketable skills by participating in a business enterprise, it The project also offers distinct benefits to the could also play a role, albeit very small, in address- private haulers who dispose of vegetable wastes ing the social and economic problems of the South from the Hunt’s Point Market. Because the local Bronx. landfill site in the Bronx is overloaded, these haulers have had to transport wastes to a landfill ‘“Parr, op. cit.

Critical Factors

Public Perception and Participation tors has final approval on all BFDC programs. However, it is not clear how active a role the The degree of public participation in the deci- board of directors played in formulating policy for sionmaking process varied considerably in these the BFDC, nor whether all sectors of the com- two resource recovery projects, primarily because munity felt adequately represented by the board. of the different institutional settings. The RES was a municipal project, planned and executed in con- BFDC, through its active role in coalitions like ventional ways by the Akron city government. the Open Space Task Force, is becoming an im- The BFDC project, on the other hand, was setup portant organizing force in the South Bronx, but as a community development corporation; as its experience demonstrates the difficulty of bring- such, it tried to involve the community through a ing community interests together. It has had dif- board of directors roughly representative of the ficulties in reaching the grassroots level of com- South Bronx. Day-to-day management decisions munity organization. In addition, like other urban are made by project staff, but the board of direc- gardening groups, BFDC has reportedly en- 1620 Assessment of Technology for Local Development

countered opposition from traditional political to involve the public in the evaluation process leaders of New York City’s minority community. through such devices as neighborhood study These leaders tend to identify themselves with groups or public hearings. This approach typifies multimillion-dollar housing projects and job train- the way in which many municipalities go about

ing programs; they feel that low-cost, self-help ap- making decisions on large, capital-intensive proj- proaches to redevelopment could be used as an ex- ects: they have been considered to be technical cuse by Federal, State, and local officials to with- and economic decisions, rather than matters for draw support from projects that involve more public opinion or review (see chs. 7 and 8). In the money. BFDC’s answer to these criticisms has case of Akron, not even the project’s financing re- been that self-help projects create the necessary quired public approval, because the revenue bonds political and psychological foundation for re- which helped finance the project were issued by a development that previous efforts often lacked. special authority. Neither will the county’s and BFDC’s success in overcoming this opposition will city’s general obligation bonds require public ap- depend on its ability to form coalitions with other proval, since they will not increase the total mu- self-help groups and to create a broad base of sup- nicipal debt service above the existing spending port from community residents. limits. BFDC also provides an interesting example of The Akron steam users, a group with obvious how local residents temper what might have been, interests in the project, played a very small role in in view of the limited expertise and resources avail- the initial design and development of the RES. able within the community, unrealistic objectives During contract negotiations over steam prices, on the part of the project staff. The staff generally users expressed resentment at not having been

took a broad view of the problems of the South consulted; it was they who proposed forming an Bronx, but they were often overly ambitious in Users Advisory Committee. At first the city re- their attempts to address a wide range of issues sisted, but it later agreed to the idea in order to with limited resources. The staff has spent much of allay user fears and accelerate contract bargaining. their time fundraising, publicizing, and developing The committee will help spread information about

new programs; as a result, they have sometimes RES to other users and will provide a forum at neglected the progress of the comporting opera- which to discuss common problems and dif- tion, the core of the project. Day-to-day opera- ficulties. Although it has no official authority, the tions were often left to the onsite crew, who had committee is perceived by the users as an effective too little expertise to deal with some of the prob- way to exert their influence collectively. lems that arose. Although many of the delays in the comporting project were beyond local control, Essential Resources part of its inefficiency was caused simply by the lack of management at the site. In many instances, One of the most important technical issues con-

the board of directors played an important role by fronting any attempt at resource recovery is the “keeping the staff’s nose to a specific grindstone.” volume and quality of the waste stream: what goes The board recognized the dangers of trying to ac- into the process greatly affects what comes out, complish too much and urged the staff to concen- whether the waste is composted or burned. Both trate on the existing comporting operation rather projects offer low tipping fees and other incentives than initiating new programs. to haulers, but problems remain. By contrast, the RES project in Akron was Although Hunt’s Point Market in the Bronx is a strictly a municipal undertaking, using traditional good source of compostable organic waste, a great modes of urban planning and decisionmaking. deal of nondegradable material such as plastic When the city’s Planning Department began in- wrappings and containers was included in the vestigating waste disposal strategies in 1968, the matter dumped at the project site. To correct this, criteria used to evaluate the alternatives were BFDC developed a formal system for sorting and largely technical, economic, and environmental. separating the waste at Hunt’s Point Market, but There is no evidence that any attempts were made thus far the private carters have resisted any col- Ch. 7–Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste ● 163

lection plan that would force them to pick up and Optimally, BFDC might have spent several dump organic wastes separately. In addition, the years at the 50-tpd process rate, operating at a def- union opposes having drivers and helpers separate icit, in order to gain needed technical and man- waste unless new contracts are negotiated with the agerial experience, but this schedule would have carters. The Hunt’s Point merchants, for their required either medium-term debt or subsidies to part, view any source separation plan as some- cover operating deficits. This option remained thing that would benefit the carters; as an incen- closed so long as BFDC’s only source of operating tive, they want collection fees lowered. Because of capital was short-term grants limited to a specific the complexities involved, BFDC thinks the only use. This type of financing created two problems: general solution would be to have source separa- first, staff time was diverted from project manage- tion mandated by a legislative act. In the mean- ment to the search for new grants, leaving little time, it is attempting to establish a wider range of time to correct problems or to prepare market organic waste sources: BFDC accepts Christmas surveys for its compost; second, new grants were trees gathered by the City Parks Department and often given only for new projects, and still more is also negotiating with local race tracks to obtain funding was required to cover the additional costs stable wastes. these projects entailed.21 In this connection, BFDC came up with the concept of “consortium The technical and economic viability of the funding:” to avoid becoming restricted by depend- RES in Akron is affected by the quantity as well as ence on money from a particular foundation, it in- quality of its input waste. Its most critical need is stead sought small contributions from a number of for a large, constant supply of combustible refuse foundations. so that it can meet its steam contract obligations. Any shortfalls must be met by using auxiliary oil- Financing for the RES in Akron has been sup- fired boilers, at substantially increased cost, and plied through both revenue bonds and general ob- frequent use of the auxiliary boilers could cause ligation bonds, which seems to be the most the project to be economically untenable. For this creative use of municipal debt instruments utilized reason, the outcome of the lawsuit brought by pri- in any of the cases examined in this study. The vate carters against Akron will materially affect city retained the underwriting firm of Dillon, Read this technology’s ability to compete economically & Co., Inc., which had extensive experience with with alternatives. It should also give other cities an municipal bonds in general and with revenue indication of whether the legislative method of bonds in particular. The firm also had extensive controlling the waste stream will work. experience in financing other resource recovery and solid waste disposal facilities, including those Financing in Toledo, Ohio, Hempstead, N. Y., and Dade County, Fla. BFDC has relied primarily on foundation grants for the purchase of capital equipment and on CSA Dillon, Read’s first decision in structuring the fi- subsidies for operating and administrative funds. nancing was to provide more money for the proj- BFDC’s goal is to achieve self-sufficiency through ect: in addition to raising funds for construction the retail sale of compost, but like many new small costs and overruns, they established contingency enterprises BFDC has had short-term cash flow funds for cost overruns and any necessary modi- problems. This has made it difficult to cover op- fications after the plant became operational. They erating costs while the project is being expanded to also recommended the local hauling legislation an economically viable scale of production. Project zlo~e examp]e of these problems is the windmill that BFDC revenues from the open-windrow process were in- erected in the fall of 1979 to provide electricity for the planned aera- adequate to cover operating costs, but full imple- tion technology before the latter was even in place. The staff saw the potential for using wind power at the site; the group’s fundraisers saw mentation of the more efficient aerated-pile proc- the opportunity to obtain a grant specifically for using wind power; ess could cover total annual cost (see table 21). and their proposal was accepted. However, this project diverted staff The profits could then be used to fund the new time and resources from the prlnclpal operation—comporting. While wind power represents an exciting addition to the project, at present programs BFDC would like to undertake in the it may be more important to develop a secure market for BFDC’S future. compost. 164 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

and long-term steam contracts to ensure adequate s problems arising from fragmented and over- sales revenues to cover the bonds. As a result, debt lapping State and local jurisdictions. service coverage was reduced from 175 percent to Source separation programs like BFDC are par- 150 percent, which in turn provided an additional ticularly prone to problems of noncooperation by $16 million without increasing Akron’s debt serv- waste generators and haulers. Centralized resource ice payments. recovery projects like the Akron RES are more

The city and county participated in the perma- likely to be hampered by problems of overlapping nent financing as well, each selling $5 million in jurisdictions. Both types may experience problems general obligation notes. These notes were adver- arising from the application of health and en- tised and sold publicly without the assistance of an vironmental standards, plus those of competition intermediary. Proceeds of the notes were used to from existing disposal systems. The suit against the build steam lines to B. F. Goodrich, the University Akron hauling legislation was brought by a land- of Akron, and City Hospital; a portion was also fill operator as well as local haulers, and if the suit used as a construction contingency fund, to be succeeds it may reduce the project’s supply of com- spent if revenue bonds proceeds were insufficient. bustible wastes. Any proceeds remaining after completion of con- BFDC, on the other hand, has had problems struction were to be used to retire outstanding not only with the waste sources at Hunt’s Point debts. Market and the local haulers, but also with over- Institutional Factors lapping jurisdictions and insensitive application of environmental regulations. The New York Institutional problems in the development and State Department of Environmental Conservation implementation of source separation and central- (DEC) ruled that the comporting operation was a ized resource recovery programs include the “solid waste disposal facility, ” which meant that it following: was subject to all of the rules and requirements for conventional landfills, incinerators, and dumps. ● uncertainty about cooperation by household- BFDC had to submit permit applications not only ers, businesses, and others who generate to DEC but to the State Environmental Facilities waste; Corp. and the New York City Department of San- ● uncertainty about cooperation by local waste itation, and the time spent developing the sup- collectors and haulers; porting documentation caused significant delays and increased costs. BFDC also found that it ● opposition from competing landfills; could not include stable wastes in its comporting ● arbitrary or inflexible application of health operation because of an city regulation that pro- and environmental standards; and hibits transporting manure except a sealed truck.

Federal Policy

Background systems appropriate for smaller communities may have problems not shared by large-scale systems, Several Acts have established national policies an analysis of current and upcoming legislation and programs for technologies which reclaim ma- can help to identify those areas which may need to terials and energy from MSW. Taken together, be addressed if these alternatives are promoted in they demonstrate Congress’ growing commitment the future. to resource recovery, primarily as a supplemental source of materials and secondarily as an alterna- The Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, a part of tive source of energy. However, these Acts also the Clean Air Act Amendments (Public Law demonstrate a continuing commitment to large- 89-272, as amended), was the first major law pre- scale rather than to small-scale projects. Because scribing the Federal role in resource recovery and reclamation from MSW. The Act recognized the The Resource Conservation and contribution of solid waste disposal to air pol- Recovery Act of 1976 lution abatement, and it encouraged the design and testing of solid waste management and re- Between 1970 and 1976, when the Resource source recovery systems that would protect public Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (Public health and the quality of the environment. To this Law 94-580) was passed, the issues of alternative end, it provided technical and financial assistance energy sources, of materials recovery, and of tech- to State governments and interstate agencies in nological size and complexity had become more planning and developing programs for solid waste important to Congress. RCRA reaffirmed that disposal and resource recovery. The Act also em- “the collection and disposal of solid waste should phasized the need to improve management tech- continue to be primarily a function of State, niques and organizational arrangements for col- regional, and local agencies, ” but it also found lecting, separating, recovering, and recycling solid that “the problems of waste disposal have become wastes and for disposing of unrecoverable residues. national in scope . . . and necessitate Federal action.” While protecting public health and en- The stated purpose of the Resource Recovery hancing the quality of the environment remained Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-512), the second of the a major function of the Act, it also sought to en- three major laws, was to amend the Solid Waste courage the recovery of energy and materials from Disposal Act of 1965 “in order to provide financial MSW. assistance for the construction of solid waste dis- RCRA’s stated purpose was to “provide tech- The Act not only stressed new posal facilities. ” nical and financial assistance for the development methods of solid waste disposal, but also empha- of management plans and facilities for the re- sized the importance of recycling and reuse of covery of energy and other resources from dis- waste materials. In addition to monies allotted to carded materials. ” It established an Office of Solid conduct studies in several related areas, the Act Waste in EPA, through which all of the designated made grants available for demonstration-scale responsibilities except those pertaining to R&D resource recovery systems “of all types, and under were to be carried out (sec. 2007). Thus far, EPA representative geographical and environmental has provided financial assistance to approximately conditions.” Further, its title II, the Materials 66 communities for feasibility analysis, develop- Policy Act of 1970, established the National Com- ment of a procurement strategy, and the solicita- mission on Materials Policy and required annual tion and selection of contractors to design and reports to the Congress on studies of various waste construct facilities. generation, materials recovery, and waste disposal options, practices, and policies. Under this Act The Act also encouraged States and munic- the Administrator of EPA could fund resource re- ipalities to take a more active role in the de- covery demonstration projects; award grants for velopment of resource recovery projects. It called State, interstate, and local planning; and recom- for the creation of “Resource Conservation and mend guidelines for solid waste recovery, collec- Recovery Panels,” which were to “provide State tion, separation, and disposal systems. and local governments upon request and without charge teams of technical, financial, marketing, The overall intent of these two laws, as ex- and institutional specialists to render assistance on pressed in the legislative findings of the 1970 Act, resource recovery and conservation” (sec. 2003). was to enhance the quality of the environment EPA, through its Technical Assistance Panels Pro- and conserve materials through the development gram, provided staff and consultant expertise in of a national materials policy. Both emphasized these areas to over 160 communities during 1978 that the primary responsibility for MSW collec- and 1979. EPA also provides States with funds to tion and disposal rests at the local level. develop comprehensive plans for dealing with all 166 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development areas of MSW management, and it has established There is, however, one provision in the Act planning requirements that require the removal of which may mitigate against small-scale tech- State laws that impede contracting for these proj- nologies: section 8006 authorizes Federal grants ects. As a further aid, EPA has drafted a guide ex- for the demonstration of resource recovery sys- plaining how States can provide technical as- tems; but subsection 8006(c)(B)(2) requires that the sistance, financial assistance, information dis- share paid by a Federal grant for the construction semination, and other services to local com- of a project which serves only one municipality munities. cannot exceed 50 percent, while if a project serves more than one municipality the grant can pay for Furthermore, in a notable expansion upon 75 percent of construction costs. This provision earlier legislation, RCRA required the Depart- may allow several municipalities to build larger ment of Commerce to promote the dissemination facilities and to realize economies of scale, but it and commercialization of resource recovery may also cause individual communities to lose technologies by providing: “l) accurate speci- control over the design, financing, and operation fications for recovered materials; 2) stimulation of of their own resource recovery systems. development of markets for recovered materials; 3) promotion of proven technologies; and 4) a forum Other Laws Having an Impact on for the exchange of technical and economic data Resource Recovery relating to resource recovery facilities” (sec. 5001). The Energy Security Act of 1980 (Public The Department of Energy (DOE), like EPA, Law 96-29+).–Title II of this Act contains several also provides funds for feasibility studies by com- provisions dealing with “municipal waste biomass munities that are considering resource recovery energy.” It reconfirms the Federal Government’s projects. DOE also conducts and funds research commitment to research, development, and dem- into the basic science and technology underlying onstration of energy-from-waste technologies, but various processes for resource recovery. it also strengthens the existing mechanisms for promoting the adoption of these technologies. The Finally, beyond the provisions which promote Act broadens DOE’s power to encourage the con- recovery of energy and materials from solid wastes struction of municipal recovery projects by in- generally, RCRA contained several specific provi- creasing the Federal share of construction loans to sions which bear upon the technologies’ appro- 80 percent and by allowing risk guarantees of up to priateness for local development. The first pro- 90 percent of principal and interest (sec. 233). The vided for information exchange among the several Act also allows DOE to make price support loans levels of government, and between government for existing projects and price guarantees for new and private firms, regarding “technical and eco- projects (sec. 234). Finally, the Act established nomic levels of performance that can be attained within DOE an Office of Energy from Municipal by various available resource recovery systems” Waste to administer these programs. (sec. 1008); this information on the range of available alternatives should aid local governments in The Energy Tax Act of 1978 (Public Law 95- choosing systems appropriate to their needs. Sec- 618).–This Act contains provisions that should ond, the Act required the EPA Administrator to influence resource recycling and recovery. The “undertake a comprehensive study and analysis of first provides an additional 10-percent investment systems of small-scale and low-technology waste tax credit (for a total of 20 percent) for the pur- management. ” (sec. 8002) Although the subse- chase of equipment used to recycle ferrous and quent report has not received wide distribution, nonferrous metals, textiles, paper, rubber, and

EPA’s Office of Solid Waste has launched a Small- other materials for energy conservation (sec. Scale and Low Technology Program designed ex- 301(c)(i)). The additional credit is available for a plicitly to respond to the waste disposal needs of wide range of equipment placed in service after small communities. This program is likely to en- October 1, 1978. The second provision sets recy- courage the diffusion of small-scale technologies cling targets for major energy-consuming in- that are appropriate for local development. dustries, including the metals, paper, textile, and Ch. 7–Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste ● 167 rubber industries. Specific targets will be set for those stages of a project that provide a social good the. increased use of recycled commodities over the but involve risks or potential returns on invest- next 10 years. ment that are unacceptable to the private sector. In the case of the Bronx comporting project, the Amendments to internal Revenue Code of funds provided by CSA for feasibility studies, 1954--Exempt Organizations (Public Law 94- market surveys, organizational startup, and the 568).–Section 4 of this Act requires that “the Sec- purchase of capital equipment all served legitimate retary of the Treasury, in cooperation with the and appropriate purposes. However, BFDC also Administrator of EPA, make a complete study and needs funds for long-range planning and ad- investigation of all provisions of the Internal Rev- ministration. When money is made available for enue Code of 1954 which discourage the recycling use only on a specific new program, it may en- of solid waste material, and that he should report courage projects like BFDC to spread themselves his findings to Congress, along with specific too thin simply in order to obtain additional fund- legislative proposals and detailed estimates of their ing. Capital equipment and startup funds ob- costs.” In compliance with this requirement, the tained in this manner may mistakenly be con- Department of the Treasury published Federal Tax sidered “free” by the staff, but these new programs Policies: Recycling of Solid Waste Materials (Feb- carry with them present management duties and ruary 1, 1979). future capital obligations that can become a The Federal Ocean Dumping Act of 1974 tremendous drain on limited manpower and (Public Law 92-532, as amended by Public Law 93- resources. 254).—While the general intent of the Act is the international protection of the oceans, one of its Much of the problem may lie in the attitude of major effects has been virtually to eliminate the Federal programs and officials toward projects of disposal of domestic solid wastes in the ocean. To this type. Local development projects like the com- the extent that it precludes the use of a former op- porting operation might be thought of exclusively tion for solid waste disposal, this Act increases the as a human service—as “welfare’ )-rather than as a amount of solid wastes that communities must potential new business enterprise. In such a situa- deal with. tion the grantor may not fully take into account the financial aspects of the project or hold the Issues and Options grantee accountable for his financial decisions. By The case studies presented in this chapter help allowing the project to become over extended, or to illuminate a number of issues which apply not by encouraging new programs rather than the consolidation of existing ones, Federal support can only to incineration and comporting technologies become counterproductive from the point of view but to alternative resource recovery technologies of local development. These projects are not in- in general. In so doing, they point out some of the tended primarily to be commercial operations, nor problems faced by the producers and consumers of is it easy to separate social and economic objec- these technologies, as well as suggesting a range of tives in a depressed area like the South Bronx. options available to the Federal Government for Nevertheless, those projects that prove to be suc- addressing those problems. cessful economic enterprises are far more likely to provide a basis for community organization and ISSUE 1: local development—and therefore serve the pur- Federal Financing. poses of the grant programs themselves—than The BFDC case study provides evidence that, those that are restricted exclusively to providing even when Government funds are available, there human services. may still be problems with the type of financing provided by the Federal sources, the use of this fi- Congress may wish to address this issue by re- nancing by the project staff, and the approach to fi- viewing the procedures and standards by which nancing appropriate technology projects. Govern- existing Federal programs evaluate the financial ment grants and subsidies are most desirable for performance of local development projects. 168 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

ISSUE 2: difficult to implement similar projects in the Large-Scale Centralized Recovery future. Systems v. Modular Systems and Option 2-A: Federal Intervention to Re- Source Separation Programs. duce or Absorb Risks.–Congress might wish to investigate methods of risk reduction, either by Large-scale centralized energy recovery facilities, making centralized resource recovery projects eligi- both mass incineration systems like Akron’s RES ble for tax-free bonding or by providing incentives and systems that produce RDF for sale to electric or loan guarantees for manufacturers and/or utilities, have experienced significant economic municipalities. and technical problems.22 The economic problems arise from the capital-intensive nature of these Option 2-B: Investigate Other Alternative projects, recent high rates of inflation for all Technologies.–Congress may wish, in view of capital projects, additional capital requirements the continuing economic ad technical problems with capital-intensive, large-scale centralized sys- for plant modifications, unexpectedl y high operating and maintenance costs, and the reluc- tems, to investigate methods for encouraging the tance of both energy purchasers and financing adoption of other proven technologies for resource sources to absorb the financial risks of the proj- recovery. Small-scale modular incinerators, for in- ects. Furthermore, the very size of projects like the stance, have been used successfully to produce steam, hot water, and hot air in institutional and RES can result in a built-in inflexibility making them dependent on a large and secure waste industrial applications. Individual furnace units are small but higher capacity can be achieved b stream (see below). y adding several identical modules. This design The technical problems arise from uncertainties should allow greater flexibility, and its two-stage about the reliability of the technologies, unfore- combustion process may also reduce particulate seen design problems that have caused excessive emission problems.23 downtime and required extensive process and safety modifications, difficulties with boiler perform- Another possibility would be to investigate ance and corrosion, poor RDF quality, and re- methods of encouraging the establishment or ex- duced system energy efficiencies. In addition, there pansion of source-separation programs. Familiar approaches include curbside collection, communi- is uncertainty about the impact of future changes in emission-control regulations and monitoring ty dropoff centers, and commercial recycling op- techniques, and a widespread perception that (in erations. Such programs are labor intensive and view of these financial and cost/reliabilit prob- produce relatively uncontaminated materials for y recycling. The require greater cooperation b lems) these technologies may become obsolete dur- y y ing their 25-year lifetimes as a result of future waste generators and may put a greater burden on breakthroughs in resource recovery. collection, so such programs will require careful attention to design and implementation strategies.24 These problems and concerns are typical of new Dissemination of information on program design, capital-intensive energy technologies, and they combined with some form of incentive to com- constitute a serious barrier to the implementation munities or local recycling entrepreneurs, might of mass incineration and RDF projects. The al- be effective in promoting such programs. location of risk becomes harder to negotiate, and system vendors in particular have reacted to their ISSUE 3: negative experience with new installations b y Control Over the Waste Stream. either withdrawing from the market or becoming far more cautious about the risk they will absorb. Because centralized energy recovery systems are This trend, if continued, could make it even more subject to economies of scale, their viability depends on assured long-term access to a large supply

ZZThe following discussion is drawn from a report prepared b Sandy Hale of Gordian Associates, Inc., for the Electrical Power ZJMaterlalS and Enerm From Municipal Waste, op. cit., pp. 254-255. Research Institute, 1979, pp. 39-47. 241bid., p, 69. Ch. 7–Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste ● 169 of MSW.25 Long-term waste flow control is dif- islation in general is not offensive on interstate ficult to achieve, however: other disposal options commerce grounds .26 may have lower costs now or in the future; coop- Option 3-A: Amend Federal Law to Al- eration between several municipalities may be re- low Municipal Waste Control.–Congress quired, and flow control may be resisted by private may wish to investigate ways in which antitrust haulers and competing landfills. The two basic and interstate commerce statutes might be methods to guarantee such a supply are: 1) offering amended to exempt MSW and/or municipal waste lower tipping fees than competing disposal al- control from their provisions. ternatives, which may endanger the economic viability of the project; and 2) legislating public Option 3-B: Encourage State Waste Con- control of the waste stream, which is now being trol Legislation.–If municipal waste control challenged in the courts. The Akron waste control legislation is found to be in violation of antitrust ordinance, which is now before the Federal Dis- statutes but not in violation of interstate com- trict Court of Ohio, is therefore of national im- merce, Congress may wish to encourage the adop- portance. The legal issues raised by the case, as tion of State waste control laws. In some cases, for summarized by a recent study, are as follows: instance, municipalities and counties are constrained under their State charters from entering ● Interstate Commerce.—The recycling of ma- into the long-term contracts (20 to 30 years) that terials from MSW is considered to be a form would be necessary to ensure adequate MSW sup- of interstate commerce as is some hauling and ply for facilities like the RES; this problem is fur- disposal of MSW by private haulers. Such activities are thus regulated by a large body of ther complicated when MSW from several juris- Federal statutes which cannot be preempted dictions must be combined for a single facility. by local or State legislation. Two approaches have been taken: the State of ● Anti-Trust Violation.–The enactment of Florida has enacted legislation requiring that waste control legislation creates a monopoly MSW set out by community residents must be which violates Federal law. delivered to the resource recovery facility by The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that munic- private haulers; the State of Wisconsin has gone a ipalities do not have the same exemption from step further, declaring that the municipality is the Federal anti-trust provisions that States are al- actual owner of the waste stream. Congress might lowed by terms of the Clayton Act. This sets legal investigate the advantages and disadvantages of precedent to the effect that cities cannot create these and other State approaches, and formulate a monopolies, which indicates that any future waste model waste control law to be recommended to control legislation may have to be enacted on a the States. statewide basis. This, of course, is contingent upon a ruling in the Akron case that waste control leg-

25The fo]lo~lng discussion IS drawn from Hale, op. cit., Pp. 47-49. 2bIbid., p. 49.

74-435 0 - 81 - 12 Chapter 8

Community, Wastewater Treatment Contents

Page Introduction ...... 173 List of Tables

Conventional Wastewater Treatment Table No. Page Systems ...... 174 22. Cost and Performance Comparisons Of the Hercules AquaCell ... , ...... 179 Alternative Wastewater Treatment 2 3. Summary of Federal Legislation and Systems ...... 175 Regulations Relating to Innovative and Land Treatment Systems ...... 175 Alternative Technologies. ., . . . . , ...... 190 Onsite Treatment Systems ...... 176 24. Alternative Technologies for Wastewater Aquiculture Treatment Systems ...... 176 Treatment ...... 191 A Case Study of the Hercules AquaCell Project ...... 177 Community Setting ..., ...... 177 Development...... 178 List of Figures The Solar AquaCell Technology ...... 179 The Hercules AquaCell Treatment Facility ...... 183 Figurc No. Page

28. Solarr AquaCell System Process Flow, Diagram . 180 Critical Factors ...... 185 29. Section View--Solar AquaCell System. .“. . . . . 181 Public Perception and Participation ...... 185 30. Treatment Performance in Relation to Essential Resources. . , ...... , , , . . 185 Technical Information and Expertise . . , ...... , . 186 Retention Time for the Solar AquaCell Process. 182 31. Proposed 2.0-mgd Solar AquaCell Facility for Financing...... 186 the City of Hercules...... 183 Institutional Factor-s ...... , ...... 188 32. Electrical Energy Consumption for Federal Policy ...... 188 Conventional and Solar Aqua Cell Background ...... 188 Wastewater Treatment Systems ...... 184 Innovative and Alternative Technology Program . . 189 33. Generalized Classification of Innovative and Issues and Options ...... 192 Alternative Technology...... 189 CHAPTER 8 Community Wastewater Treatment

Introduction

A decade ago, the small neighborhood sewage The range of wastewater treatment systems treatment plant was generally regarded as a root available to communities must be judged accord- cause of the American water pollution problem— ing to the unique needs of each community. For poorly designed, cheaply constructed, improperly example, the conventional, centralized facilities maintained, run by the mayor’s brother-in-law and rely on large trunk sewers to convey wastewater a couple of high school dropouts. So there was a from outlying communities. Suburban expansion strong trend away from small systems into large often follows these sewer “mains, ” a situation centralized facilities .. ..1 which might be either favorable or undesirable Today, however, with a number of new depending on the community’s growth plans. A community-based wastewater treatment systems community must consider a number of other fac- available, centralized conventional treatment tors in choosing the most appropriate wastewater methods are only one choice among many. The treatment system: environmental elements, such purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to as climate, geology, soil, and type of wastewater; the alternatives that exist for community waste- socioeconomic factors, like treatment cost and ef- water treatment and also to provide a more de- fects on population growth; and the technical tailed insight into one community’s efforts to characteristics of the treatment system itself. develop one of these innovative technologies. Three levels or stages of wastewater treatment are The Nation’s stake in developing cheaper and generally recognized: more effective treatment methods is potentially ● Primary treatment removes large particles from enormous: more Federal dollars are being spent for raw wastewater through screening and sedi- this purpose than for any other nondefense public mentation. Approximately 60 percent of the works program except the Interstate Highway suspended solids, and about 35 percent of the System. 2 Many communities have yet to install 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5),5 treatment facilities that meet the Environmental are removed during primary treatment. Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) effluent standards, ● Secondary treatment reduces the concentration and EPA estimates that it will cost as much as $25 of suspended solids and BOD5 still further. billion to complete the construction or upgrading EPA defines secondary treatment as “a treat- 3 of the needed treatment plants. The General Ac- ment level meeting effluent limitations for counting Office (GAO) has found that the funds BOD5 and suspended solids of 30 mg/l [each] required for this investment are not now available on a monthly average basis or 85 percent and may never be; GAO recommends strongly removal of these parameters, whichever is 4 that lower cost approaches must be pursued. more stringent. ”6

IClem L. Rastatler, et al., iMunlci/xd Wmtewater Treatment: A Cui?en Guude to Factllty Pkmnmg (Washington, D. C.: Environmental Protection Agency, January 1979). SBOD5 is a conventional measure of wastewater quality, based on ‘Claudia Copeland, “Municipal Pollution Control: The EPA Con- the amount of oxygen required by bacteria to decompose suspended struction Grants Program, ” issue brief No. IB80049 (Washington, organic waste over a 5-day period. Discharging wastewaters with high D. C.: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, Oct. 27, BOD5 into surface waters (rivers, lakes) can reduce their oxygen con- 1980). centration to levels that are harmfully low for aquatic organisms. ~Large Con$tmction p~oject~ to Correct Combined Sewer ~’erflou’s Are 6Environmenta1 protection Agency, “Intent to Issue Revised Guid- Too Costly (CED-80-40) (Washington, D. C.: General Accounting Of- ance Concerning Review of Advanced Treatment Projects for Con- fice, Dec. 28, 1979), vol. 1, p. iii. struction Grants Program, Request for Comments, ” Federal Register, 41bid. vol. 45, No. 121, June 20, 1980, pp. 41,891.

173 174 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

● Tertiary or advanced treatment provides the works achieve secondary treatment standards. highest quality of wastewater effluent. It re- However, there are still a large number of com- moves nutrients, such as nitrogen and phos- munities which must build or replace secondary phorus, and further reduces BOD5 and sus- treatment systems. 8 Many communities, especially pended solids. EPA defines advanced waste- in arid areas, are also attempting to recover water treatment as a treatment level “pro- wastewater as a resource, rather than treating it as viding for maximum monthly average BOD5 a burden to be disposed of. Still other com- and suspended solids of less than 10 mg/l munities are concerned with high-quality treat- [each] and/or total nitrogen removal of ment of wastewaters, in order to avoid such greater than 50 percent.”7 problems as lake eutrophication and ground water contamination. In light of these varying needs, the In addition to the standard processes described following discussion identifies a wide range of for primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment, secondary and advanced treatment alternatives chlorine (or in some instances ozone) is sometimes for community wastewater treatment. added to treated wastewater to destroy pathogens before discharge. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 mandated that all publicly owned treatment Scouncil on Environmental Quality, Encironmentai @cz/ity: The Tenth Annual Report of the Council on Enuronmentai Quality (Wash- 71b1d. ington, D. C.: Executive Office of the President, 1979).

Conventional Wastewater Treatment Systems

The major conventional technologies for sec- The second conventional biological process, the ondary treatment use biological processes to treat trickling filter, has been in widespread use since wastewater. The three most widely used conven- 1936.11 After primary treatment, wastewater is tional biological treatments are oxidation ponds, trickled through a bed of rocks or a synthetic activated sludge and trickling filters. medium such as plastic beads; micro-organisms living on the filter medium digest organic wastes. The oxidation pond is used in about a third of The treated wastewater is then collected by an the existing U.S. secondary treatment facilities. underdrain and any solids are allowed to settle. About 90 percent of these ponds service com- This is a simple process that can accommodate a munities of less than 10,000 people.9 In oxidation wide variety of wastewaters without difficulty. The ponds, wastes are decomposed by bacteria. Ponds system’s simplicity is its main advantage: neither can be aerobic (containing oxygen in water), operation nor maintenance is difficult. However, if anaerobic (containing no oxygen), or facultative the system is upset, it requires a long time to re- (aerobic at the top, but anaerobic at the bottom). cover. Other disadvantages of the system include: The type of pond depends in part on the type of low tolerance for high concentrations of organic wastewater being treated; most ponds now in use wastes, vulnerability to below-freezing tempera- are facultative. Oxidation ponds have lower con- tures, odor problems, and limited flexibility and struction costs, require less energy, and are easier control. to operate and maintain than the other conventional technologies. However, they remove sus- The most commonly used and versatile conven- pended solids poorly, require large land areas, and tional biological secondary treatment process is 12 do not work well in cold weather.l0 the activated sludge system. Like oxidation ponds, 9Environmentul Poliution Control Ahernatit’es: Municipal Wastewater the activated sludge process relies on bacterial de- (Washington, D. C.: Environmental Protection Agency, November composition. However, unlike the pond system, 1979) (hereafter “EPA 1979”). the bacterial culture is aerated and agitated to en- IOIbid.; and ~nnovatlt,e and Ahernative Assessment Manual (Wash- ington, D. C.: Environmental Protection Agency, 1980) (hereafter I IEPA 1980. “EPA 1980”). ‘21bid. Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment ● 175 sure that the wastewater and sludge are “acti- ganic wastes. In this respect, the biodisc process is vated’’—oxygenated and mixed. After aeration, similar to the trickling filter concept, but the discs the activated sludge is allowed to settle and a por- also aerate and agitate the wastewater as they tion is recycled to maintain the culture. *3 Ac- rotate, like the activated sludge system. tivated sludge systems produce a high-quality ef- The other hybrid system, the activated biofilter, fluent from varied wastewaters and do not require is similar to the trickling filter in that wastewater is a great deal of land. Operation of the systems, trickled over redwood slats covered with micro- however, requires more attention than either of organisms. Like the activated sludge system, how- the other conventional technologies, due to their ever, the biofilter system also recycles part of tendency to be upset by variations in amount and the sludge to maintain a high-density bacterial composition of wastewater. They also cost more to culture. build and consume more energy than either oxidation ponds or trickling filters. 14 Unlike the above secondary treatment systems, which are based primarily on biological processes, Two new technologies for conventional, cen- conventional advanced waste treatment systems tralized wastewater treatment also deserve men- are mostly physical-chemical processes. Advanced tion. These processes are hybrids that combine ele- processes include the addition of chemicals to ments of the activated sludge and trickling filter remove phosphorus; filtering processes to remove systems. The first, rotating biological contractors or suspended and colloidal solids; filtering through “biodiscs,” consist of a series of plastic discs which carbon, which absorbs biologically resistant provide a large surface area for the growth of organics; and a variety of biological and physical- micro-organisms. These discs rotate through chemical processes to remove the different forms wastewater, exposing the micro-organisms to or- 15 of nitrogen. I ~Ibld.; and Wastewater Englneermg: Treatment, Disposal, Reuse, Metcalf and Eddy, Inc., 1979. 14EpA 1979. 151bid.

Alternative Wastewater Treatment Systems

Three types of alternative waste treatment sys- munities in the United States are using some form tems are currently in limited use in the United of wastewater irrigation. 17 States: the first type, land treatment, processes Wastewater is applied to the land through ir- wastewater by applying it to the land; the second rigation ditches, by inundating the land with 2 or type, onsite treatment, includes systems appro- 3 inches of wastewater at a time, or by spray or priate for the individual home; and the last type, 18 sprinkler irrigation. Pollutants in the wastewater aquiculture, treats wastewater through the con- l6 are removed primarily through a combination of trolled cultivation of aquatic plants and animals. biological and chemical processes: some are taken Land Treatment Systems up by growing plants; other are decomposed by soil micro-organisms or through chemical proc- The most widely used and most reliable land esses in the soil. Wastewater irrigation produces a treatment method is irrigation. Treated wastewater high-quality effluent, which can either be collected has been used to irrigate agricultural lands and for reuse or discharged to ground and surface pastures for over 100 years, but it is also being used waters. In some cases, crop production has been to irrigate forest lands and recreational lands, such higher using wastewater irrigation than using as golf courses. At present, about 400 to 500 com- 17EpA 1980. leA/tmatlc,e W@te Management Techniques /or Best %mticable lbofflce of Technology Assessment, “Energy From Aquacuhre, ” Waste Treatment (Washington, D. C.: Environmental Protection draft report, 1979. Agency, Municipal Construction Division, October 1975). 176 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development conventional irrigation, and increased revenues The engineered mound provides the same treat- from crops have helped to offset the costs of the ment functions as absorption beds. systems. Irrigation systems, however, require more In areas of low soil permeabilit and high net land than either conventional treatment systems y evaporation, another technique has evolved to or the second major type of land treatment, in- dispose of wastewater—evapotranspiration (ET). An filtration-percolation systems. ET system works by evaporating wastewater from In contrast to wastewater irrigation, infiltra- a bed of sand. Plants growing on the surface of the tion-percolation relies on rapid flow of wastewater sand bed help increase the rate of water loss. ET through sandy soils. The soil filters the wastewater systems are fairly widely used, especially in the and soil organisms decompose organic wastes. Up- arid Southwest, and approximately 4,000 to 5,000 take of nutrients by vegetation, however, does not are in operation in the United States today. Al- play the major role in this system that it does in though ET systems require a great amount of land, irrigation treatment. The infiltration-percolation they are an effective method of disposal and re- system is particularly useful in situations where it quire a minimum of maintenance. is useful to replenish ground waters—for example, Two other types of onsite systems are often to avoid saltwater intrusion—but the potential ex- used at sites where a high-quality effluent is nec- ists for ground water contamination, especially by essary for discharge to surface waters. Aerobic treat- nitrates. Infiltration-percolation systems require ment systems, like activated sludge systems, main- less land and (in most cases) less energy than ir- tain a highly concentrated bacterial culture that rigation systems. However, they have a limited decomposes organics. These systems provide very capability for removing nutrients, such as nitrogen advanced treatment, but they are also expensive and phosphorus compounds; and consequently and require a great deal of operational and main- they require careful management to avoid ground 20 tenance attention. A more practical and cost- water contamination, which tends to limit both 19 effective method of producing a high-quality ef- their flexibility and Iifespans. fluent for surface water discharge is the septic tank Onsite Treatment Systems sand filter system. This system is similar to the soil absorption systems, except that the wastewater is Onsite systems are wastewater treatment sys- filtered through subsurface beds of sand and then tems that serve individual households or clusters collected and drained by underdrains. of homes. The most prevalent onsite system, the septic tank soil absorption system, serves about a Aquiculture Treatment Systems third of the population of the United States. Like Although still in the development stage, two the land treatment system, septic tank absorption aquiculture systems have recently emerged as al- relies on complex physical, chemical, and bio- ternative methods of wastewater treatment. Both logical processes in the soil to remove and de- systems use vascular aquatic plants to increase the compose wastewater pollutants. While septic tank surface area on which bacterial decomposition can absorption systems are used widely, their effec- take place; the plants also absorb some of the tiveness and safety in any given location will de- nutrients, suspended solids, and heav metals in pend on soil permeability; the depth of the ground y the wastewater. The two systems differ in the types water table and bedrock; rainfall and seasonal of plants the employ. flooding; and the distance to the nearest surface y water or well. Natural wetlands have unintentionally served as waste treatment systems for centuries. Recently, In situations where septic tanks are infeasible, however, artificial wetlands have been experimen- several other onsite systems are available. For ex- tally constructed to provide both primary and sec- ample, the septic tank mound system disposes of ondary treatment. Marsh plants, anchored in wastewater in sand-filled, aboveground mounds. shallow oxidation ponds, provide increased sur-

19EpA 1979; EPA 19gO; and Metcalf and Eddy, Inc., op. cit( ZOEPA 1980. Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment ● 177

face area for bacteria and also help remove nutrients from wastewaters. 21 Aquatic systems combine the large, shallow lagoons of facultative oxidation pond systems with the controlled growth of floating plants, such as water hyacinths or duckweed. Most of the treatment occurs through bacterial action, but the aquatic plants also reduce nutrients, heavy metals, and suspended solids.22 The Solar AquaCell treatment system, which is discussed in the following case study, combines elements of the aquatic systems with components of other conventional wastewater treatment systems. The AquaCell technology will be described in greater detail in a later section, but the focus of the case study is on the community’s attempt to develop and adopt a wastewater treatment technology that is appropriate to its unique local needs and goals.

Photo credit: So/ar AquaSystems Plants such as water hyacinths, shown here, absorb some of the nutrients, suspended solids, and heavy metals that ZIIbld,; and OTA, op. cit. are found in wastewater 22 EPA 1980,

A Case Study of the Hercules AquaCell Project23

The Community Setting the population is white, and of the balance 23 percent are Filipino, 11 percent black, 9 percent Chi- The city of Hercules, founded in 1900 as a com- nese, 5 percent Hispanic, and 2 percent Japanese. pany town by the old Hercules Powder Co., is lo- The newer part of town, located inland, consists of cated in the northeastern San Francisco Bay area. small-lot, single-family housing tracts that are Its rolling green hills and proximity to the ocean rapidly consuming the rolling landscape. are attractive to newcomers, and since 1974 the town has experienced feverish growth, moving In 1977, the city government, led by a City from a village of barely 121 people to a community Manager and Council, began looking for addi- of 7,000 in just 6 years. tional sewage treatment capacity to meet the needs of its growing population. They wanted a system Hercules is basically a middle-class community that could be expanded incrementally as the city and has virtually no unemployment. Modal family grew, and they looked at several options. One was income in March 1979 was between $23,000 and to increase the capacity of the conventional plant $29,000, and 90 percent of households had in- where its wastewater was then being treated, in comes between $18,000 and $60,000. About half the nearby city of Pinole. Another option, which

ZIMaterlal in ths case study is based on the working paper, “solar was being recommended at that time by EPA, was AquaCell Wastewater Treatment, Hercules, California,” prepared by the construction of a consolidated regional sew- Lee Bourgoin and Alice Levine for the Harvard Workshop on Ap- age treatment facility for four localities—Pinole, propriate Technology for Community Development, Department of City and Regional Planning, Harvard University, May 15, 1979, pp. Crockett, Rodeo, and Hercules—in line with reg- 147-242. ulations promulgated under the Federal Water 178 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Pollution Control Act of 1972. (Before the Clean quired by secondary treatment standards. He con- Water Act Amendments of 1977, Federal water tacted the firm’s president, Steve Serfling, for pollution policy promoted the establishment of re- more information. gional districts to monitor water quality, imple- Sex-fling and his associates had developed the ment treatment standards, and build regional sew- AquaCell Wastewater Treatment Process as a age treatment plants.) A third option was for Her- more marketable version of their earlier experi- cules to build and operate its own municipal ments with the cultivation of freshwater shrim sewage treatment plant. p and fish in a closed system. After obtaining a The first two options, however, would have put patent for the AquaCell in 1976,24 Serfling and limits on the city’s growth. The Pinole plant his partner, Dominick Mendola, pooled about expansion could serve a maximum Hercules $15,000 to set Up a backyard prototype for re- population of only 15,000, and a regional plan set search and evaluation. During the fall and winter forth by the Association of Bay Area Govern- of 1976-77, Solar AquaSystems built and tested ments (ABAG) had likewise limited the city to a a larger wastewater prototype to treat human maximum population of 15,000. The city’s own sewage. master plan, on the other hand, specified a 1990 In early 1977, the Hercules city government population of 23,000, to be reached in steps by signed a contract with Solar AquaSystems to con- controlled growth. ABAG’s ability to enforce its duct a feasibility study for an AquaCell plant. A regional master plan came from its role as a State contract was also awarded to Metcalf and Eddy, and Federal grant-approving entity: Hercules Engineers, for a feasibility study of the proposed could build its own treatment facility, but unless it expansion of the existing Pinole plant. Both accepted ABAG’s growth ceiling it could expect studies were submitted in May 1977, and reviewed little outside financial support. by the City Council and staff members, including Fortunately for the city, outside financing was Bill Chapman, the city engineer. not necessary. A few years earlier, the Pacific Re- In comparing the two options (see table 22), the finery, a subsidiary of a Houston-based corpora- city took several cost factors into account, the tion, had shifted the point of payment for its sales most important of which was that the annual op- taxes from Houston to Hercules. This resulted in a erating and maintenance costs for the AquaCell tax windfall for the city amounting to $2 million system would be much lower than at the Pinole per year, which meant that the city would be able plant. Assuming a population of 23,000 in 1990, to finance the construction of a sewage treatment these costs for the AquaCell system could be as plant out of its own revenues. much as $300,000 per year less than the conven- In addition to having a tax base that allowed it tional option: to exercise autonomy in building a treatment fa- AquaCell at 2.2 million gal/day cility, the Hercules City Council was also in- (mgd) capacity (Solar terested in trying innovative, environmentally AquaSystems’ estimate, expressed $150,000 to sound methods to deliver municipal services. They in 1979 dollars) $200,000 per year were interested in attracting further development, Pinole expansion for 5,000 homes and they recognized the opportunity to make Her- at $84/yr/connection and 2.2 mgd capacity at 1.5 cents/gal cules a showplace community with a reputation $453,000 per year for farsightedness and leadership. Besides the financial considerations, there was also the question of which option would best han- Development dle the projected increase in the city’s population. As mentioned above, the Pinole expansion would During 1976, City Manager Ralph Snyder had serve a maximum Hercules population of 15,000, read in the trade journals and in a San Diego newspaper about a treatment process designed by Z4So]ar AquaSystems holds the patent on the system’s greenhouse Solar AquaSystems, Inc. The process was inno- covers, ponds, bioweb substrates, floating plants, aeration system, vative, and it produced water cleaner than was re- and the “solar sprayers” that mist water into the air. Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment . 179

Table 22.—Projected Cost and Performance Comparisons of the Hercules AquaCell Facility Versus the Pinole Plant Expansion

Hercules Municipal Sewage Treatment Pinole Plant expansion of Plant using the Solar AquaCell System Conventional Activated Sludge System 1977 estimated capital costs per gallon of plant capacity. .. .$2.57 $2.67 Effluent quality...... Choice of secondary or tertiary. Secondary only. Expansion-contraction flexibility . Simple—change pond size. Can build in- Difficult—requires new infrastructure. Must crementally as needed. build for total future planned capacity. Energy requirements ...... 250 kWh/million gal treated. 625 kWh/million gal treated. Disposal requirements...... Sludge and hyacinths—225 ft3/million gal if SIudge—360 ft3/million gal. hyacinths are chopped, 165 ft3/million gal if composted. Land area required ...... 1.3 acre/1 mgd capacity. 1 acre/1 mgd capacity. Labor required...... 1 person, part-time, 1 backup person. None additional required. 6 people, full-time Biological/mechanical tasks. already employed. Mechanical tasks. Other requirements ...... Aquatic plant harvester. Composter on site. Truck access. Operations...... Flexible—keeps working if component Inflexible—loses efficiency if component fails. 24 hours to repair before overflow. fails. 4 hours to repair before overflow. Byproducts of potential value to Hercules ...... Aquatic plants: compost, animal feed, No current use of wastewater or sludge, methane. Treated wastewater: industrial although greenbelt irrigation and methane water, greenbelt irrigation, freshwater production are possible. marsh enhancement, food production.

SOURCE: Solar AquaSystems; based on laboratory data and contractor estimates and this additional capacity would have to be built There comes a time when it is necessary to con- (and paid for) all at once. Estimated cost to Her- sider other values than what may appear to be cules as of December 1977 was $4 million, against “safe.” The merits of energy conservation, water an estimated cost of $3.5 million for the AquaCell. recycling, fish life production and agricultural byproducts use are, to me, very significant and The flexibility of scale in AquaCell construction achievable objectives not only in terms of the com- thus became an important cost consideration: be- munity but also for the nation and even parts of cause of the modular design, economies of scale the world. are slight, so the city could build to current capacity requirements and then expand the facility as de- The Solar AquaCell Technology mand increased, spreading capital costs over time as the city grew. In the Solar AquaCell Wastewater Treatment Process, waste-consuming plants and marine or- After considering all of these factors, the City ganisms occupy a lagoon enclosed under a green- Council selected the AquaCell system by unani- house cover. The technology consists of three mous vote. It could grow with the city, and as ‘one components: Council member pointed out, “we are buying the flexibility to grow to the [population] limit we 1. An inflated polyethylene greenhouse cover is want.” The appeal of local control over local de- built over three treatment lagoons in order to velopment was echoed more forcefully by Coun- stabilize water and air temperatures and to cilman Joel Zieper: prevent excessive evaporation. 2. Anchored, buoyant plastic-mesh ribbons and If you want to do something right, do it yourself. tubes, called “bio-web substrates,” are placed I couldn’t care less whether we get any money from in the lagoons (like marsh plants in an ar- the State, They would probably do it wrong any- tificial wetland) to expand a hundredfold the way. We’ll do it right and then we’ll take all the credit. surface area where the waste-digesting organisms live and graze. As a result, the or- City Manager Snyder added that the city wanted ganisms multiply more rapidly and hence take to make a “contribution to the state of the art, ” less time to digest the waste. As in the con- and summed up the benefits in the following way: ventional activated sludge process, most of 180 ● Assessment of Technology/or Local Development

pond, where grit and a large portion of the solid wastes settle out. The wastewater then enters a second anaerobic pond, also sealed beneath a floating black rubber cover, where abundant bacteria on the bio-web substrates begin to digest wastes, producing a small amount of methane in the process. Retention time for this stage is 18 hours.

After primary treatment, the treated wastewater flows into an 8-ft-deep facultative lagoon, where secondary treatment begins. This lagoon contains more bioweb substrates, which facilitate the growth of micro-organisms and encourage the set- Photo credit: Hercules AquaCell tling of solids suspended in the wastewater. Bac- 8-ft-deep lagoon, enclosed by greenhouse cover, where teria and grazing micro-organisms continue to di- secondary treatment begins gest the wastes. Retention time for the facultative stage is an additional 18 hours. the digestion of waste in the AquaCell occurs by bacterial action. Secondary treatment continues in the main por- 3. Aquatic plants, in this case water hyacinths tion of the greenhouse lagoon (see figure 29), and duckweed, are grown on the pond’s sur- where other waste-eating animals have been face. The plants subsist on nutrients from the added: protozoa, amphipods, grass shrimp, hydra, wastewater, and also serve to screen the pond snails, worms, and additional micro-organisms. from sunlight, thereby preventing the growth Water hyacinths and duckweed now cover the of undesirable algae. water’s surface, taking up nutrients and heavy Figure 28 depicts the AquaCell process. Sewage metals from the wastewater and keeping down passes through a grinder into a covered anaerobic algae growth by screening out the sun. Anaerobic

Figure 28.—Solar AquaCell System Process Flow Diagram

Anaerobic contact cell - 1st stage Anaerobic contact aquacell - 2nd stage Aerobic solar aquacell – Solids digestion & acid generation – Methane generation stage — 2 d ays retention - secondary effluent — 8 hrs liquid retention — 18 hrs liquid retention — 4-6 days retention - advanced tertiary — 4-6 mo. solids retention — 1-2 yrs solids retention

-., -A-.

sludge digestion from top bacteria, and reducing COD, BOD, SUS. solids, and nitrogen. Solar energy Aerobic solar aauacell

nutrients, and increasing sedimen- tation of suspended solids.

SOURCE: Solar AquaSystems. Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment c 181

Figure 29.—Section View, Solar AquaCell System

Solar pond cover Solar energy (double layer \\\ air-inflated roof)

Floating aquatic plants provide shade & treatment

Water hyacinths I Duckweeds

SOURCE: Solar AquaSystems. waste digestion occurs on the bottom of the which encourage algae growth, are only partially lagoon, where sludge slowly builds up at a rate of removed from the water within 5 days (50 percent between ¼ and 1/2 inch per year. of the nitrates; 10 to 20 percent of the phosphorus). If desired, the remaining phosphorus can Trials of the AquaCell process in the 2,000- and be removed by adding lime to the water, and the 4,000-gpd prototype facilities showed that second- remaining nitrogen by increasing the retention ary treatment quality can be achieved with 2 days time. retention time for a l-acre pond handling 1 mgd of wastewater, a capacity that would serve a pop- Most of the pathogenic organisms (disease-caus- 25 ulation of 10,000. Advanced treatment quality ing bacteria and viruses) contained in the wastes was achieved after 4 or 5 days. However, as illus- die off during the long retention periods. Other trated in figure 30, nitrates and phosphorus, pathogens get trapped in the sand filtration sys- ZJData recorded and analyzed by the Environmental Studies tem, where they eventually die or are consumed Laboratory, Umversity of San Diego. b y other organisms. Remaining pathogens are 182 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Figure 30.—Treatment Performance in Relation to Retention Time for the Solar AquaCell Process~

Photo credit: Hercules AquaCell Ozone contact disinfection chamber under construction at the Hercules AquaCell Treatment Facility

will help to contain odors, although few are produced in normal operation.

Typical 1 hr 24 hrs- 48 hrs 72 hrs = hrs 120 hrs Maintenance requirements include: monitoring day 5 raw typical day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4 environmental conditions, such as temperature, to 7 primary sewage effluent Retention time assure the most efficient metabolic rate; sand filter (conventional back washing; removing sludge every 3 to 6 or anaerobic pond) months; and harvesting the aquatic plants. aBased on data collected from the 2,000-gpd pilot-scaie SoIar AquaCell Laboratory in Solana Beach, Calif., from October 1976 to March 1977; and cur- Studies have shown that the aquatic plants used in rent data being collected from the new 4,000-gpd pilot facility located at the the AquaCell process are generally hardy and able Cardiff Wastewater Treatment Facility. Data from Cardiff facility is recorded and analyzed by the Environmental Studies Laboratory, University of San to withstand some fluctuations in nutrient con- Diego. tent, and air and water temperatures, changes in water chemistry, and even the presence of toxic killed with ozone in a contact disinfection cham- compounds.26 The system’s large holding capacity ber as the water flows out of the main lagoon and and relatively long retention time are designed to into a clear well to be pumped away. dilute “slugs” (sudden but transient concentra- A crucial component of the system is the green- tions) of toxic wastes in incoming wastewater, house cover. It traps solar energy during the day helping to protect the plants and bacteria from and reduces heat loss at night, thereby helping to damage. In addition, the large holding capacity maintain the effectiveness of the AquaCell during will give operators a longer period to correct mal- colder winter months and reducing its energy con- functions before the system begins to over- sumption year-round. A water-mist spraying sys- flow-24 hours instead of the 4 hours of conven- tem helps reduce air temperatures during summer tional systems. months. In dry climates, the greenhouse cover also According to Serfling, the final volume of solids reduces evaporation from ponds. This is especially requiring disposal will be less than half the volume valuable for systems whose object is to reclaim the produced by conventional activated sludge sys- wastewater for other uses. Also, since the green- tems. The harvested plants may be composted house cover prevents evaporation, and because alone or with the sludge to produce fertilizer and the aquatic plants and invertebrates consume minerals, the AquaCell system can decrease the zbwi]liam S, Hi]lrnan and Dudley D. Culley, Jr., “The Uses of concentration of dissolved solids, rather than in- Duckweed,” American Scientist, vol. 66, July-August 1978, pp. 442-456; B. C, Wolverton (cd.), Compiled Data on the Vascular Aquatic creasing them as happens in conventional oxida- Plant Program: 1975-1977, prepared for NASA National Space Tech- tion pond systems. Finally, the greenhouse cover nology Laboratories. .

Ch. 8—Community Wastewater Treatment ● 183 soil-enhancing materials (see ch. 7 for a discussion Figure 31 shows the AquaCell treatment facility of comporting). Because water hyacinths grown in designed to provide 2-mgd capacity, advanced sewage average 20 percent protein, and duckweed wastewater treatment for the city of Hercules. The as much as 40 percent, they may also have value as initial phase of construction was designed to han- animal feed so long as concentrations of toxic compounds are not excessive. The sale of these byproducts, as well as reclaimed water, could further reduce operating costs. The Hercules AquaCeIl Treatment Facility

The opening ceremonies for the Hercules Aqua- Cell plant were held on Earth Day, April 22, 1980. However, about 6 months will be needed before Photo credit: Hercules AquaCell the plant can be considered fully operational. The Hercules AquaCell Treatment Facility

Figure 31 .—Proposed 2. O-MGD Solar AquaCell Facility, City of Hercules

D ,

Plan view of the proposed 2.0-MGD Solar AquaCell Lagoon Treatment Facility for the City of Hercules, Calif. Each AquaCell will be 2.0 acres (6 acres total). The 0.35-MGD treatment phase currently under construction consists of a 1.5-acre AquaCell system with anaerobic, facultative, and aerobic stages, approximately one-half of AquaCell A. 184 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development dle 350,000 gpd. A 1.15-acre earthen pond, about Figure 32.—Electrical Energy Requirements for 220 by 230 ft has been built; this pond will be en- Conventional v. Ecological Wastewater Treatment Systems larged to 2 acres, and two additional 2-acre ponds will be built, when the plant expands. The initial phase does not include a separate anaerobic pond; instead, the single lagoon contains three cells— anaerobic, facultative, and aerobic—separated by walls of heavy rubber. For the first few months of operation in Her- cules, treated water will flow back to the conven- Electricity tional treatment plant at Pinole to be tested and (WKHR) required per treated again. If the AquaCell system works re- million gals. liably, treated water will be pumped into San treated Francisco Bay through an outfall in neighboring Rodeo. In the future, however, Hercules is considering using the treated water for greenbelt irrigation. Nitrogen and phosphorous removal will not be required for this use, since these compounds will act as fertilizers. The city is also investigating the possibility of selling its reclaimed water to Pacific Refinery for industrial use. 123456789 Total capital costs of phase I construction for Facility size in MGD 350,000-gpd capacity were about $2 million, considerably higher than Solar AquaSystems’ original aDeveloped from E. B. Roberts and R. M. Hagan, Energy Requirements of Alter- natives in Water Supply Use and Conservation: A Preliminary Report, Califor- estimate. The major reasons for this cost increase nia Water Resources Center University of California Davis, Contribution #155, December 1975; and from A. Cywin, Director of Effluent Guidelines Division were the 50-percent increase in the size of the ini- EPA, “Energy Impacts of Water Pollution Control”, Energy, Agriculture and tial lagoon and the city’s decision, anticipating fu- Waste Management, William Jewell, cd., 1975. ture expansion, to build the initial AquaCell plant bBased on biomass optimization for biofuels and electrical generation (no with adequate basic elements (tanks, pumps, and ozone electricity included). pipes) for capacities of up to 4.4 mgd. Another fac- SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency. Draft Innovative and Alternative tor in the cost increase is that, because the Solar Technology Assessment Manual. EPA 430/9-7S-0001, 1978. AquaCell is a new process unproven on a municipal scale, design and construction costs have es- future), methane produced in the anaerobic stage calated as engineers and contractors added rel- may be used to generate electricity and further atively high contingency fees to cover risk; this reduce costs.27 added 10 percent to the cost of basic elements alone. Total capital costs for expansion to full 2.2-mgd capacity are currently estimated at an additional $2 million to $3 million. Although the capital cost ZTMethane utilization is also a common practice in conventional of the Solar AquaCell is comparable to Hercules’ wastewater treatment technologies. Anaerobic digestion yields a gas that is 65 percent methane and 35 percent carbon dioxide. One ftJ of share of the Pinole expansion, it appears that op- gas (enough to light a 60-watt bulb for 6 hours) is generated each day erating and maintenance costs for the AquaCell for every 100 gal of wastewater treated. The gas is typically used to will be relatively low. Experiments have shown provide one-third to one-half of the heating requirements of the treatment plant. (Wastewater Pollution Control Federation, Wastewater that the AquaCell also uses less electricity than Treatment Pkmr Design IWashington, D. C., 1977], p. 531). See ch. 5 conventional systems (see figure 32), and (in the for further discussion of methane digesters. Ch 8–Community Wastewater Treatment ● 185

Critical Factors

Treatment of wastewater by the Solar AquaCell Administration (EDA), but by the time the firm is too new a technology to warrant a definitive could explain the technology to EDA (who initial- evaluation as yet; there are as yet no reliable per- ly turned the proposal down in February 1978, but formance data. However, as an example of the subsequently approved it), the controversy over problems of developing a new technology, the the proposal and the prospect of further delays Hercules experience should be of interest to com- had created so much suspicion in the Chemehuevi munities thinking of adopting innovative waste- community that they decided not to get involved water treatment systems of their own. in the technology at all.

Public Perception and Participation In San Diego, on the other hand, Solar Aqua- System’s proposal helped to engender local en- The issue of what to do with Hercules waste- thusiasm for using an innovative method of sew- water elicited little general debate among res- age treatment. The city subsequently submitted a idents. Most of them knew that a new facility was grant application to EPA to fund some type of under consideration, but few of them knew any aquiculture-related wastewater treatment plant. details of the controversy. Apparently they were EPA approved the application in January 1980, willing to leave the decision to the City Council, and San Diego is currently considering various feeling that it would make the right choice and systems, including the AquaCell.28 that their sewage would be adequately treated. Whatever the problems in getting them The recent growth and constant state of change in adopted, however, once new ideas become realities Hercules seemed to have deterred community in- they begin to have a ripple effect in the communi- volvement: attendance at council meetings was ty. This has been the case in Hercules, where usually low, and there were only a few informal many people have taken a cue from the city’s ap- neighborhood groups. Since the decision to go proval of an AquaCell to install low-flush toilets ahead with the AquaCell plant, the project has and restricted-flow shower heads in their own received a fairly high level of local publicity and homes. According to some estimates, these actions support, although public involvement remains will reduce local water consumption by as much as low. City officials are organizing neighborhood meetings and publishing a newsletter in an effort 40 percent. This also results in a more concentrated wastewater flow, which would be a problem to increase citizen participation in this and other in conventional systems. city decisions.

The response to the AquaCelI technology was Essential Resources different in two other communities where the firm submitted proposals at about the same time. In The performance of the AquaCell process is af- early 1977, Solar AquaSystems submitted pro- fected by climatic conditions and the amount of posals to build AquaCell plants in San Diego, land available for its treatment ponds. Colder tem- where the proposal is still pending, and on the peratures limit the efficiency of all biological Chemehuevi Indian Reservation at Lake Havasu, wastewater treatment processes; communities with Calif., where it was rejected. In the latter case, the a less temperate climate than California’s would find that retention times in either a conventional debate caused by the introduction of so unconventional a technology appears to have been responsible for its rejection. The Chemehuevi submitted a zsother examples of aquiculture w’asteurater treatment prcqects exist in Lakeland and Dlsneyworld, Fla.; Mountain View’, Calif.; and grant application using the system to the De- Vermontville, Mich. (Source: Jerome Golds[eln, edltw of/n BuJ(rzcJ.~ partment of Commerce’s Economic Development and Compost Scwnce, The JG Press, Emmaus, Pa.).

74-4 3s o - 81 - 13 186 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

system or a Solar AquaCell would have to be in- source of information for other communities, and creased in order to obtain the advanced treatment EPA has expressed interest in studying the Her- quality achieved in Hercules. Since the AquaCell cules AquaCell during its first 2 years of opera- has not yet been tested in colder climates, no pre- tion. In addition, conducting surveys to gather in- cise adjustment tables are available, but this does formation about potential markets for reclaimed

pose a potential limit on the transferability of the water and other system byproducts would be technology. helpful in determining the feasibility of the technology and in planning local development Theoretically, scale is not a limiting factor, since programs. the AquaCell system could be built small enough

to handle sewage from 5 to 10 houses, or large Communities that decide to use a technology of enough to handle in excess of 100 mgd, the capaci- this type would need the services of a design firm, ty required for a population of 1 million. Land engineers to adapt the design to a specific site, availability, however, could be a limiting factor. project development managers, construction The AquaCell requires about the same amount of workers, system operators, and maintenance per- land as an oxidation pond system, but more space sonnel. Only the design phases, however, require

than an activated sludge facility. In some densely special expertise. Under competent management, developed urban areas, where land is expensive, the actual construction should not be difficult, this may weigh against the AquaCell; but its other since it is based on typical greenhouse and lagoon benefits and cost advantages may still make it designs. Operation and maintenance does differ competitive. AquaCell’s greatest competitive ad- somewhat from that of conventional plants, but vantage may be in smaller communities, where the skills involved (such as harvesting aquatic land is less expensive and where there are dis- plants) appear simple enough to develop through economies of scale in building conventional short training programs. facilities. For both Hercules and Solar AquaSystems, the Another factor limiting the transferability of first year of the AquaCell plant’s operation is the AquaCell to other communities is that water crucial to its technological success and economic hyacinths are considered a weed problem in some viability. Once the system is established, it is regions, particularly in the Southeastern States designed to need only minor adjustments to en- where overgrowth clogs freshwater canals; the re- sure that it is working at maximum efficiency. The lease of hyacinths from the AquaCell could ag- city has given the firm a $54,000 contract to gravate this problem.29 In California and many manage the facility during the startup year. As other areas, however, water hyacinths will not sur- part of this contract, Solar AquaSystems has also vive outside the greenhouse environment. agreed to train operators, prepare operation and maintenance manuals, and supervise testing of Technical Information and Expertise water chemistry and biological components. Communities faced with the need to construct, Financing expand, or upgrade their wastewater treatment facilities would profit from a broader knowledge of The capital costs of the AquaCell are equivalent the technological alternatives available to them. to those of expanding an existing conventional For instance, there is a need for further study of plant, according to current estimates. However, which treatment systems are most appropriate for AquaCell costs may well be lower than those of a different kinds of communities—older cities, new completely new conventional facility, especially in towns, rural areas, and suburbs—as well as which communities where smaller capacity requirements are most appropriate to different climates and soil give conventional plants a higher per capita cost. types. The Hercules facility, as the pioneer in- AquaCell’s lifecycle cost advantages are related stallation of one new technology, can be a valu- primarily to the technology’s flexibility. First, its able demonstration on a municipal scale and a modular design makes it simpler and cheaper to upgrade a facility for advanced treatment, and also l~homas Bull, Er-tergy Program, ORlce of Technology Assessment. allows enlargement of the facility to meet the Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment ● 187

demands of a growing community without requir- limit its growth and participate in either the Pinole ing the community to spend large initial sums for expansion or the proposed regional treatment oversized facilities.30 Second, the system’s bio- plant. This would have been a barrier to the trans-

logical components are relatively hardy, which fer of this technology to communities that lack allows them to adapt to changes in waste concen- Hercules’ tax base; Hercules was fortunate, and trations and reduces the possibility of system perhaps unique, in being able to find the multi- malfunction. Third, its operating and mainte- million-dollar AquaCell project out of its own nance costs appear to be substantially lower than revenues. those of conventional systems, partly because the The Solar AquaCell case also illustrates many greenhouse cover reduces energy consumption of the financial problems faced by innovators and and partly because the system produces less sludge. entrepreneurs in appropriate technology. Lack of Despite these economic advantages, however, funds has prevented Solar AquaSystems, Inc., the greatest single barrier to developing and im- from hiring a sanitary engineer to help with design plementing the technology has been the lack of a and to enhance the firm’s credibility, and low sufficient, steady source of financing. Conven- salaries have been a strain on staff morale. The tional technologies and proven alternatives are company’s ability to plan has been restricted, and more familiar to private and public sources of the size and diversity of its development hardware funding, and their costs are usually more clear-cut. have been limited. Demonstration (and the capital In adopting new or unproven technologies, on the it requires) is the key step to commercialization, other hand, potential time delays and added costs but the firm’s marketing operations have been should be calculated, or at least formally recog- hampered by the inability to visit prospective users nized, in order to arrive at a realistic determina- or follow up on contacts. For example, the city of tion of final costs. In the case of the Hercules pro- Santa Fe, N. Mex., has expressed an interest in the ject, part of the discrepancy between estimated AquaCell system, but as yet the staff has lacked and actual costs was due to time delays and the ad- the time and money to make a presentation to

dition of contractors’ fees and contingencies to that city. Similarly, the company was unable to cover risk.31 The element of risk exists at nearly send representatives to Hercules as often as it every stage, from the initial feasibility study, wished to facilitate construction there. Solar through the design and engineering phases, all the AquaSystems expects to break even on the Her- way to eventual construction, operation, and cules project; only if other communities decide to maintenance. As uncertainty increases at any use the system will they make a profit from their stage, so do the potential costs of the project and technology. the hesitation of the sources of financing. The failure of the firm to attract outside invest- The city of Hercules tried to obtain development capital has not been for lack of trying. They mental funding from EPA’s Office of Research and found, however, that venture capital sources Development, but that office did not have the wanted substantial control over the firm before available resources to support a large ‘{experimen- they would invest, usually amounting to 80 or 90 tal” project. (This situation has improved some- percent of the company. This was in part because what with the change of Federal policy reflected by of the high-risk nature of the investment, and in the creation of EPA’s Innovative and Alternative part because the venture capital market was ex-

Technolog y Program, discussed later in this tremely tight in 1976, when they were seeking chapter.) EPA construction grant funds would funds. As one source explained: have been available only if Hercules agreed to Venture capitalists require such a high owner- IOcouncll on Environmental Quality, Environmental Wlity—1 975, ship level because of the difficulty of selling their the Sixth Annual Report OJ the Councd on Environmental Qualit y interest once the enterprise has become successful. (Washington, D. C.: Executive Office of the President, 1975). JIFor example, the contractor hired by the city to build the Whereas it used to be possible to sell a company for AquaCell greenhouse cover increased contract fees for structural 30 times its annual earning, 10 times earnings engineering aspects in expectation of added costs due to possible would be a more realistic figure today. Thus, to unknowns regarding the unconventional technology. make a return on investment acceptable to the 188 l Assessment of Technology for Local Development

venture capitalist, he or she must receive a larger conventional systems with which they were more share of the ownership in exchange for providing familiar. The California State Water Resources 32 the same amount of capital. Control Board, for instance, tends to judge waste- This issue, as it relates to the AquaCell case in par- water projects by a set of criteria based on com- ticular and to innovative technology enterprises in pact, mechanized conventional systems—activated general, is discussed at greater length in the sec- sludge in particular. This board is made up of civil tion on financing in chapter 11. and sanitary engineers whose experience is rooted in these mechanical systems. Institutional Factors These engineers, as well as public health officials, have also been resistant to systems that The Hercules AquaCell project experienced rel- reclaim wastewater for other uses and recycle atively little opposition from local commercial in- wastes and other system byproducts. The majority terests. Some local builders opposed the proposal, of regulatory board members “believe in deep fearing that the introduction of a new technology ocean dumping, ” according to one former mem- might cause delays in sewer hookups for new hous- 33 ber; and the State, regional, and county health ing units. They urged the City Council to go the officials have made it clear that the facility will not conventional route by paying for the Pinole plant be given final certification until procedures for expansion. Most such groups, however, saw the handling solid wastes are demonstrated to their same advantages for the community that moti- 34 satisfaction. The comporting system at the Her- vated the City Council. cules facility was therefore vital, since for purposes A far more serious barrier to the implementa- of disposal the local health department defined the tion of this technology has been the resistance of system’s harvested water hyacinths as “contami- Federal, State, and regional regulatory agencies. nated, ” undigested solid wastes.35 State and regional agencies for water quality control and public health have tended to prefer the IJRC,Y Dodson, special consultant to the California Department of Health Services and former member of the California Safe Water Re- 12Jc)~n M. Smith, ]Cremiah J. McCarthy, and Henry L. L~ngest> sources Control Board, personal communication, Mar. 23, 1978. “Impact of Innovative and Alternative Technology in the United Jqstephen &rfllng, president of Solar AquaSystems, Inc., in a letter States In the 1980’s,” presented at the Seventh United States Japan to the Hercules City Engineer, May 19, 1978. 5 Conference on Sewage Treatment Technology, Tokyo, May 1980. ‘ 1 bici,

Policy

Background date has been used for the construction of conventional wastewater treatment facilities. With the The Federal Government has provided grants passage of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (Public for the planning, design, and construction of Law 95-217), Congress directed EPA to offer in- wastewater treatment facilities since the enact- centives for the use of alternative technologies for ment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act municipal wastewater and other waste treatment of 1956 (Public Law 84-660). In 1972, the Federal needs. In addition to the goals for clean water, Water Pollution Control Act Amendments (Pub- Congress placed special emphasis on the use of lic Law 92-500) were passed, setting a uniform na- technologies that: tional minimum effluent standard of secondary treatment and authorizing an increase in the Fed- ● reclaim or reuse water; eral share to 75 percent of eligible construction ● use recycling techniques, for example, recy- costs. cling nutrients back to the land; ● Although the Act encouraged alternative tech- eliminate discharges into surface waters; nologies for waste treatment, no incentives were ● conserve or recover energy; and provided. Most of the over $30 billion obligated to ● lower treatment costs. Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment ● 189

Congress also required all applicants for municipal savings to the community, a considerable in- waste treatment funds to fully study innovative centive even when initial capital costs for the and alternative wastewater treatment options two options are the same. which meet these goals. ● Set-aside funds.-- special fund is set aside from each State’s allocation that can only be Innovative and Alternative used to pay for the 10-percent grant increase Technology Program for innovative and alternative technologies. This set-aside fund was 2 percent for fiscal In October 1978, EPA established the innova- years 1979 and 1980, and 3 percent for fiscal tive and Alternative Technology Program (1/A year 1981; at least 1/3 percent of each State’s Program). This modification of the normal Federal allocation must be set aside for innovative Construction Grants Program enabled EPA to of- technologies. These set-asides in effect make fer several incentives to communities: more money available for innovative or alter- ● Increased Federal portion.—Federal grants for native technologies and give a community new treatment works using innovative or wishing to use them an extra advantage in the alternative technologies are increased to 85 State priority-setting process. percent of design and construction costs, as ● Cost preference. —Innovative and alternative compared to 75 percent for traditional tech- technologies can qualify for construction nologies. This means as much as a 40-percent grants even if they cost up to 15 percent more

Figure 33.—Generalized Classification of Innovative and Alternative Technology

Alternative technology Specifically identified forms of treatment and unit processes

Effluent Treatment Energy Recovery

— land treatment — co-disposal of — aquifier recharge sludge and refuse — aquiculture — anaerobic digestion — silviculture with >90% methane — direct reuse recovery (non potable) — self-sustaining — horticulture incineration — revegetation of disturbed land — containment ponds Individual and on-site — treatment and storage systems prior to land application — on-site treatment — preapplication — septage treatment treatment — alternative collection systems for small Sludge communities — land application — comporting prior to land application T — drying prior to — 150/. LCC reduction ‘, land application 1 ‘ kil — 200/0 net primary ,. ,, 1 energy reduction .< . - ‘. ,

Conventional concepts of centralized treatment Generally defined biological or physical chemical processes with direct point source discharges to surface waters.

SOURCE. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Draft Innovative and A/ternatwe Techology Assessment Manua/, EPA 430/9-7 S~OOl, 1978. 190 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

than conventional technologies. Thus, even Table 23.-Summary of Federal Legislation though the alternative treatment facility may and Regulations Relating to Innovative and Alternative Technology be more expensive, the increased Federal share still allows the community to pay less Legislation-Public Law 95-217, Dec. 27,1977 than it would for its larger share of the con- Sec. 201(d) Encourages the design and construction of ventional facility. revenue-producing facilities ● Risk guarantee. —Communities that choose in- 201(9)(5) Requires all applicants to study innovative and novative and alternative technologies are eli- alternative technologies - 201(i) Encourages energy consevation in the design gible for 100-percent construction grants for of all publicly owned treatment works correcting or replacing the systems in the 201(e) Encourages the reduction of total energy event they fail. This provision removes all requirements in the design of publicly owned treatment facilities financial risks to the community at least for 201(j) Provides for 15% cost preference in the the duration of the I/A Program. cost-effectiveness analysis for ail innovative and alternative technologies See table 23 for a summary of innovative and 202(a)(2) Increases Federal grant from 75 to 85% alternative technology legislation and regulations. 202(a)(4) Limits grant eligibility to publicly owned treatment works (excludes sewers and sewer The set-aside funds available under the I/A Pro- rehabilitation) 304(d)(3) Requires EPA to develop guidelines for gram for fiscal years 1979 and 1980 totaled $84 innovative and alternative technologies million, which means that a maximum of $714 205(i) Authorizes innovative and alternative funding million in Federal construction grants were avail- set-asides for fiscal years 1979, 1980, and 1981 able for innovative and alternative technologies. Regulation--40 CFR35, Sept. 27,1978 Regulations Waste treatment methods that qualify for the pro- 35.908 Describes innovative and alternative policy, gram range from individual and onsite systems to funding, priority scheduling and replacement innovative improvements in the traditional tech- provisions of the Act 35.9i5 nologies used in large municipal treatment sys- (a)(l) Describes State priority system tems. However, the majority of technologies that 35.915(e) Provides for EPA review of State priority system have been specifically encouraged by the program 35.917- l(d)(8)(9) Requires innovative and alternative technology thus far are appropriate for the needs of small and energy review communities. 35.915(b) Provides for establishment of State reserve set-asides to increase Federal share of cost “Alternative” technologies under the I/A Pro- from 75 to 8570 gram include proven methods of wastewater treat- 35.930 (5)(b) Provides for 75 to 85% grant increase for new ment that are not yet in extensive use. These tech- and replacement innovative and alternative nologies fall into four major categories (see table 24 projects for a complete list):36 35.935-20 Provides for EPA postconstruction evaluation and inspection for 5 years effluent treatment, including land treatment 35.936-13 Provides exclusion to nonrestrictive specifications for certain innovative and and aquiculture; alternative technologies and “buy American” sludge, including land application and com- provisions porting; SOURCE: John M. Smith, Jeremiah J. McCarthy. and Henry L. Longest. “lmpact energy recovery, including codisposal of sludge of Innovative and Alternative Technology in the” United-States in’ the and refuse; and 1980’ s,” presented at the Seventh United States/Japan Conference on Sewage Treatment Technology, Tokyoj Japan, May 1980. individual and onsite systems, including onsite treatment and alternative collection systems circumstances of their intended use.”37 These tech- for small communities. nologies (in which category the AquaCell falls) are eligible for funding if they show potential for “Innovative” technologies, on the other hand, meeting one or more of the following criteria: are defined by EPA as “developed methods of wastewater treatment not fully proven under the . improved operational reliability; ~T]nn@atlt,e and Ahernatit,e Technolo~, A Neul Approach to an old Problem, brochure MCD-64, (Washington, D. C.: Environmental Pro- tection Agency, March 1980). Ch. 8–Community Wastewater Treatment ● 191

Table 24.—Alternative Technologies for tiating projects after the program started in Oc- Wastewater Treatment tober 1978 are just beginning to apply for design Effluent treatment systems funds. The alternative technologies have been —land treatment - primarily for small communities; most projects in- —aquifer recharge —aquiculture volve some form of land application of wastewater —silviculture or sludge, but almost 40 onsite treatment systems —direct reuse (nonpotable) have been approved, and more than 10 projects —horticulture incorporate some form of energy recovery. Very —revegetation of disturbed land —containment ponds few projects have been approved as innovative (or —treatment and storage prior to land application higher risk) technologies. Several systems in- —preapplication treatment corporating land treatment have been classified in- Sludge systems novative due to increased environmental benefit, —land application —comporting prior to land application but most of the innovative projects that have been —drying prior to land application approved has been energy- saving or cost-cutting Energy recovery systems modifications of conventional systems. Few sys- —codisposal of sludge and refuse tems as unconventional as the Hercules AquaCell —anaerobic digestion with > 90% methane recovery —self-sustaining incineration has yet been funded. Individual and onsite systems Common to all alternative technology programs —onsite treatment —septage treatment is the problem of disseminating information about —alternative collection systems for small communities the technologies and the program itself. To ad- 40 SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency. dress this problem, the I/A Program has thus far: established a clearinghouse and technical sup- ● improved toxics management; port group in the EPA lab in Cincinnati; a . increased environmental benefit; Small-Flows Technologies Clearinghouse has also been established; ● 15-percent reduction in lifecycle costs; or published an innovative and alternative tech- ● 20-percent reduction in energy use. nology assessment manual and distributed it Modifications of convention, centralized treat- to over 6,500 engineers; ment methods that are not yet fully proven are sponsored over 30 innovative and alternative eligible for innovative technology funds only if technology seminars and workshops across they meet the last two criteria, reductions in life- the country; and cycle costs or energy consumption. prepared brochures and movies to give greater public exposure to the program. The Status of the I/A Program.–The I/A Program is a 3-year program, terminating at the The EPA Administrator has recently estab- end of fiscal year 1981 unless extended by Con- lished an “active” I/A Program, providing extra gress. At the end of the first half of the program, manpower for technical assistance and promotion 212 innovative and alternative projects had been of the program. EPA is also considering a funded.38 This amounted to only about 20 percent mechanism for expediting specific, prequalified in- of the $84 million fiscal year 1979 set-aside funds novative and alternative technologies. A quicker, available. Over 200 additional projects were simplified review procedure is being developed for undergoing review .39 communities wishing to use these technologies. Most of the innovative and alternative projects The midway point may be too early to evaluate funded to date were already in the planning stage the I/A Program’s effectiveness, but it appears at the beginning of the program. Communities ini- highly unlikely that the total funds appropriated for the program will be spent before it ends. The ‘8Quality Report–1/A Program Through March 31, 1980 (Washing- ton, D. C.: Environmental Protection Agency, April 1980). 39 Robert Bastian, Innovative and Alternative Technology Pro- +ORobert Bastian, Jeremiah McCarthy, Terry Yolse of EpA, per- gram, EPA, personal communication, 1980. sonal communications, 1980. 192 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development primary reason for this is that 3 years—the length Issues and Options of the program—is a very short time in which to successfully introduce and implement these new Two major questions are raised by the foregoing systems, for the following reasons: discussions of the range of available wastewater treatment technologies, the Hercules AquaCell ● Time is needed to hire staff and develop case study, and EPA’s I/A Program: guidelines for the program, and to inform States and communities about the program. ● What should be the goals for Federal involve- ● Conventional design procedures and stand- ment with alternative wastewater treatment ards, established in 1947 by the “Ten State technologies? Standards” of the Great Lakes-Upper Missis- ● What types of programs (if any) should be es- sippi River Board of State Sanitary En- tablished to accomplish these goals? gineers,41 have been slow to change. Before alternative systems can effectively compete ISSUE 1: with traditional approaches, consultants and The Goals of the Wastewater state engineers must acquire new design and Treatment Program in Relation to review skills, just as professional schools and Other Federal Programs and Goals. State review boards must be convinced to give innovative and alternative systems a fair Grants for the construction of wastewater treat- hearing. ment facilities represent the largest nonmilitary ● Performance data for alternative systems are public works program since the Interstate High- 44 skimpy and often difficult to obtain. Land ap- way System. One goal of the program (according plication systems are better researched than to the amendments of 1972) is to achieve water most of the other alternative technologies,42 quality that is clean enough for swimming and and only a few aquiculture systems are well fishing. The Clean Water Act of 1977 (Public Law documented. EPA sponsors both R&D and 95-217) amended the earlier law to provide ad- technology transfer programs at its Robert S. ditional money for municipalities which use tech- Kerr Envionmental Research Laboratory and nologies that: eliminate surface discharge, reclaim Municipal Environmental Research Labora- water or water pollutants, conserve energy, or tory, but these programs take time, money, otherwise achieve cleaner water at a lower cost. and manpower to become effective. Com- Some of these criteria are not traditionally petition from other pressing, research efforts associated with wastewater treatment. is severe. A number of often conflicting national goals are ● Because the I/A Program is funded for only 3 related to wastewater treatment. Energy conserva- years some communities and consultants are tion and resource recovery, for example, are im- hesitant to pursue the program.43 From plan- portant goals, but they may divert funds from ning to construction of a wastewater treat- technologies which more directly improve water ment facility commonly takes 6 years under quality. the Construction Grants procedures (of which the I/A Program is a part), and poten- Some goals might be accomplished regardless of tial developers are concerned that the I/A Federal incentives; others may require active in- Program incentives may be discontinued volvement. For example, cost reductions for con- before their facilities are completed. ventional technologies can occur through the workings of the marketplace. Elimination of surface discharge may not have the same economic incentives, yet it may be an equally important na- qlsmlth et al., op. cit. tional goal. Traditional engineering firms, when 4zJohn R. Benneman, “Energy From Aquiculture Biomass Sys- given the option, are more likely to design lower tems,” report prepared for Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, 1979. 43John Hickerson, Director, El Paso Water Facilities, personal communication, 1980. 4qCopeland, op. cit. Ch. 8–Community Wastwater Treatment ● 193 cost conventional technologies than to hire or Option 2: Clearinghouse and Technical develop expertise in entirely new approaches to Support.–Reauthorization of the EPA’s I/A wastewater treatment design. Clearinghouse, technical support group, and other information programs might be considered inde- Wastewater treatment can also have unin- pendently of the rest of the I/A Program. The intended effects on other programs. For instance, its formation transfer accomplishments of the I/A impacts often act as de facto zoning regulations: Program (see above) have been quite impressive, conventional, centralized wastewater treatment fa- given the short time the program has been in cilities may encourage housing development along existence. sewer mains, but may limit development to sewered areas alone. Community or onsite systems, on the other hand, allow more local control ISSUE 3: over population growth but make regional plan- R&D—How Can New Wastewater ning more difficult. For example, one of the Treatment Technologies reasons the City of Hercules chose to build the Be Developed? AquaCell facility was to avoid regionally imposed population growth restrictions. R&D activities are taking place primarily in the Option 1: Determine the Extent of Fed- private sector. Some direct Federal support for this eral Involvement.—Several degrees of Federal research is coming from EPA, the National involvement in alternative wastewater technology Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the are possible. These range from no involvement National Science Foundation, but this support is other than nonincentive funding under the not extensive. pre-1977 Construction Grants Program, to providing community incentives such as the I/A Pro- Alternative wastewater treatment research is gram. If Congress decides that the goals that can funded by EPA’s Office of Research and Develop- be achieved by alternative wastewater treatment ment under its Water Quality Public Sector Ac- deserve Federal involvement, the options for leg- tivities Program. Less than $15 million was avail- islative action involve three major issues: informa- able in fiscal year 1980 for the entire program. tion transfer, R&D, and community incentives Federal funds devoted to innovative and alter- programs. native construction grants also indirectly promote research. However, consulting firms do not receive ISSUE 2: direct compensation for research activities, and must rely on the new markets encouraged by the information Transfer—How Can program for marketing their products. Communities and the Engineering Profession Learn About Available An important factor for the successful introduc- Alternative Wastewater Treatment tion of new technologies is the mix of laboratory Technologies? research, pilot-scale projects, and full-scale demonstration. Full-scale demonstration projects are This issue is generic to all types of alternative the most costly, but they are necessary for profes- technologies. For wastewater treatment, two types sional acceptance. Engineers are often hesitant to of information are necessary: accept the results of small-scale research, precisely ● technical information to local, State, and con- because laboratory-scale results do not always ac- sulting engineers for design and review of al- curately predict full-scale performance.

ternative technolgoies4 and ● nontechnical information to educate communi- Option 3-A: Direct Federal Research ty leaders and citizens about the advantages Funds.–Alternative wastewater treatment tech- and disadvantages of the wide range of treat- nologies may be given separate authorization in ment alternatives. EPA’s R&D budget. 194 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Option 3-B: Demonstration Programs.—A fund a predetermined number of alternative and full-scale demonstration program might be es- innovative projects in specific areas of the country tablished. One option is to establish a design com- and of specific types. petition, similar to architectural design competi- tions: communities could be chosen to represent a Option 4-B: Risk Guarantees.–The Clean range of population and geographical conditions, Water Act provides for 100-percent construction and projects could be chosen to represent a range grants for correcting or replacing innovative and of alternative technologies. Engineers and com- alternative systems that fail. However, the guarantee is authorized only for the duration of munity groups would then have the opportunity to inspect a variety of operational facilities. the program. Communities are uncertain of funds being available for replacement after the end of Option 3-C: Evaluation Programs.–Eval- the program, and are hesitant to assume the finan- uation of existing alternative wastewater treat- cial risk of failure. The guarantee provision could ment facilities could be separately authorized. Pro- be authorized for a specified number of years of grams to evaluate the entire treatment process, facility operation. rather than just monitoring the final effluent can provide valuable information on new designs. In- Option 4-C: Different Financial Incen- novative and alternative technology construction tives for Innovative v. Alternative Technol- grants can then fulfill more effectively the dual ogies.—From the viewpoint of the communities, purpose of meeting community wastewater treat- the financial incentives under the I/A Program are ment needs and furthering research efforts. identical for alternative and innovative technologies. Furthermore, consulting firms receive ISSUE 4: few benefits for the additional work involved in Community Incentives. designing innovative technologies and are therefore more likely to suggest proven alternative The financial incentives available to a com- systems. Providing different incentives for in- munity for using innovative and alternative tech- novative v. alternative technologies may en- nologies under the I/A Program were discussed courage the consideration of unconventional earlier. Several problems were also discussed, in- wastewater treatment systems. cluding the length of the program and the relative- Option 4-D: Fast-Tracking Innovative and ly small number of innovative technologies ap- Alternative Technologies.–Innovative and al- proved to date. ternative technologies are currently subject to the Option 4-A: Length of Authorization.– same administrative procedures as conventional Authorization for the incentives for innovative construction grants. EPA is considering stream- and alternative technologies ends in fiscal year lining some of these procedures, and congressional 1981. Because of the short length of the program action can further streamline the process by (3 years, as compared with 5 to 6 years from plan- removing some of the requirements stipulated by ning to construction), the program may not be the Clean Water Act. This can be done either by able to achieve its full potential. Authorization providing exemptions for innovative and al- could be continued for a specified number of ternative technologies or by removing the I/A years, or based on “sunset” provisions that would Program from the Construction Grants Program. Chapter 9 Community Energy Generation Contents

Page Page Introduction ...... 197 Critical Factors ...... 207 Public Perception and Participation . . , ...... , .207 Small-Scale Hydroelectric Technology. .. ..199 Essential Resources. . . . . , ...... , . .207 Technology ...... 199 Technical Information and Expertise...... 209 Economics. ., ...... , , ., ..., . . . 199 Financing...... , ...... 209 A Case Study of the Tremont Dam Project, Institutional Factors . . . . ., ...... , ...... 211 Wareham, Mass...... 201 Federal Policy...... 211 Community Setting ...... 201 Background. , ...... 211 Development...... 202 Small-Scale Hydropower Programs ...... , ..211 Equipment. ..., ...... 203 Issues and Options ...... , . . . 213 Economics...... 203

A Case Study of the Woonsocket Falls Dam List of Figures Project, Woonsocket, R.I...... 204 Community Setting ...... 204 Figure No, Page Development...... 205 34. Low-Head Hydroelectric installation ., . , ....200 Equipment...... 205 35. Hydroturbine Efficiency Curves. , . . , ...... 203 Economics...... , ...... , .206 36. Vertical- and Horizontal-Axis Hydroturbines, .208 CHAPTER 9 Community Energy Generation

Introduction

Water power has been a major domestic energy times existing capacity. The Corps suggests that source since the colonial era and was first used to installed capacity at the 1,251 existing facilities generate electricity commercially in Appleton, might be supplemented—perhaps by early in the

Wis., in 1882. Today, hydropower is the most next century—by almost 95,000 MW at 5,424 ex- widely used renewable source of energy to generate isting dam sites (either by adding more capacity or electricity in the United States, with a total by installing generators at dams that do not cur- generating capacity of about 64,000 megawatts rently produce electricity) and an additional (MW), or between 13 and 15 percent of the Na- 354,000 MW generated at 4,532 sites that do not tion’s total supply of electrical energy.1 Hydro- yet have dam developments. power is also a cheap source of electricity: existing The Corps cautions that these figures are theo- hydropower facilities produce electricity for as lit- retical and perhaps overly optimistic: they do not tle as 3.5 mills (0.35 cents) per kilowatt-hour balance the potential for power generation against (kWh) and newly installed hydropower will cost the competing uses for dams, such as recreation, between 1.5 and 8 cents/kWh, compared with 4 to flood control, irrigation, and drinking water; nor 5 cents/kWh for nuclear power, 6 to 8 cents/kWh do they take fully into account the engineering, for power from coal, and 10 cents/kWh or more 2 economic, and environmental factors that would for electricity generated by combustion turbines. constrain the full development of this potential. By contrast, electricity from wind-power genera- For instance, about 75 percent of this additional tors costs an estimated 6 to 15 cents/kWh, and capacity (over 338,000 MW) would come from un- electricity from photovoltaic cells an estimated 55 developed large-scale sites (25 MW or more) that to 90 cents/kWh; however, these two renewable 3 the Corps itself estimates would operate less than sources are still in the development stage. 30 percent of the time. Construction costs at these Shortages and price increases for fossil fuels, as undeveloped sites would be high, particularly com- well as environmental considerations, have made pared to the expected returns for this low peak-

hydroelectricit y increasingly attractive over the load utilization, and it is doubtful that public util- last 10 years and have led to a new interest in de- ities would be willing to invest in these large-scale veloping the Nation’s hydropower potential. A re- developments even if they could find the capital to 5 cent survey by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do so. Furthermore, an extensive study of the en- indicates that the Nation’s total hydroelectric vironmental impacts of alternative sources of elec- power potential is almost 513,000 MW, over eight tricity generation indicates that new large-scale hydroelectric facilities are probably the worst

‘Paul A. Welnberger, “The Potential for Small-Scale Hydropower choice, in terms of ecological damage, due for ex- Development In the U.S.,” Energy (Booz.Allen & Hamilton, Inc.), ample to the flooding and loss of productive agri- spring-summer 1980, p. 7. cultural lands they will cause. c ZDonald B. Chubb, president, Safe Harbor (Pennsylvania) water Power Corp., quoted by William J. Lanouette, “Rising Oil and Gas The outlook for developing the Nation’s small- Prices Are Making Hydropower Look Better Every Day,” Nat/ -1., Apr. 26, 1980, p. 685; Ronald A. Corso, director, Division of Li- scale hydropower potential is somewhat brighter. censed Projects, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, quoted The 842 existing small-scale sites (under 15 MW) ibid., p. 686. ‘Private commu mcatlon from Lou Devine, Department of Energy, ‘George Grimes, engineering development program manager, Divi- and the Solar Electric Corp., Rockville, Md. These cost calculations sion of Small-Hydro Projects, Department of Energy, quoted by assume a capital recover factor of 0.15, with varying estimates of cap- Lanouette, op. cit., p. 687. y 6Energy in Transition: ital costs and capacity factors. 1985-2010, final report of the National +u. s. Army Corps of Engineers, hiimina~’ hwnto~ O/ ~@o~owe~ Academy of Sciences/Nuclear Regulatory Commission Committee Resources, 6 VOIS., July 1979; the report is based in part on an earlier on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems (San Francisco: W. H. surve y conducted by the Corps in 1977. Freeman, 1980), p. 476.

197 198 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development represent two-thirds of all U.S. hydropower sites tion’s energy mix that is supplied by hydropower. but only 5 percent of the Nation’s generating ca- The capital-intensive nature of hydroelectric proj- pacity, or about 3,200 MW. Estimates of the po- ects (both large and small) means that financing tential capacity of all small-scale sites range from costs have a major impact on the price of the 13,000 to 58,000 MW, although recent studies power they produce, sometimes as much as 90 per- 10 tend to favor the lower figure. About half of this cent of energy costs, but the energy they Produce potential is at existing dams. This includes dams is relatively immune to both inflation and rising where there are no generating facilities, where ex- fuel prices. For communities located near existing isting facilities can be upgraded, or where gener- but undeveloped damsites, small-scale hydropower ating facilities have been abandoned due to the may represent an economically viable alternative proliferation of large-scale power grids since World that can address a number of local problems, in- War 11.7 cluding rising municipal energy costs. A small but significant boom in small-scale hy- This chapter examines small-scale municipal dropower development is currently taking place. electricity generation by focusing on two com- As a rule, investor-owned utilities have not been munities in New England—Wareham, Mass., and interested in small-scale hydropower projects, Woonsocket, R.I.–that are planning to build both because their capacities are too small to meet small hydroelectric powerplants at existing dam- generating needs and because the high financing sites. Wareham is developing a 250-kW electric rates paid by utilities makes small-scale projects generating capacity at the Tremont Dam to pro- economically unattractive. A number of private duce power for sale to the local utility. Woon- entrepreneurs and industrial developers have ap- socket plans a 1. 1-MW facility at the Woonsocket plied for licenses to construct small-scale facilities, Falls Dam, which would generate enough electrici- either as a business prospect or as an alternative to ty to supply 90 percent of the needs of the regional rising fuel and utility prices. But by far the largest sewage and water treatment plants. These two category of small-scale hydropower developers, projects present some interesting contrasts and both now and in the foreseeable future, consists of similarities in planning and financing, as well as in municipalities, cooperatives, and irrigation dis- technologies. tricts. These developers are favored by Federal li- Wareham and Woonsocket are characteristic of censing requirements and have access to low-cost 8 the New England region in many ways. They have or tax-free capital for small-scale projects. Over 40 a pervasive sense of history and visible reminders municipalities have license applications pending at of industries that once flourished. The abandoned present, including such communities as Madison, factories are tangible symbols of the high unem- Maine, Springfield, Vt., Saugerties, N. Y., Pater- ployment, low incomes, and physical obsolescence son, N.J., Martinsville, Va., Columbus, Ohio, in each town. Both communities also face rising Vanceburg, Ky., Muscatine, Iowa, New Roads, 9 energy costs because of their dependence on fossil La., and Gonzalez, Tex. fuels. The development of locally based solutions Small-scale hydropower cannot, by itself, sig- to these problems is important to the people of nificantly reduce the Nation’s energy problems. It Wareham and Woonsocket because, like other can, however, contribute to the share of the Na- New Englanders, they pride themselves on their “Yankee ingenuity” and a tradition of self- reliance.

7wein&rger, Op. cit., P. 7“ ‘Ibid., pp. 8-9. 689 ~Lanouette, Op. Cit., P. ” Ioweinberger, Op. Cit., P. 9S Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation ● 199

Small-Scale Hydroelectric Technology

Technology Most large hydroelectric projects dam up a river and store water in a reservoir behind the dam. Hydroelectric plants (see figure 34) transform This allows the dam operator to buildup a supply the potential energy of the water into electrical of water when the river flow is at its peak and then energy in three basic steps: 1) water from a reser- release it when power is needed. Small-scale dams, voir or diversion structure is carried through the on the other hand, are often operated “run of penstock to a turbine; 2) the falling water turns river.” This means that all of the water flowing the turbine, which is connected to a generator; downstream at any given time will flow through and 3) the high-speed rotation of the generator the dam or over the spillway; virtually no pond or coil generates electricity, which is then trans- reservoir is created. Because a run-of-river dam mitted from the plant. does not store up a large amount of water, its The water above a dam possesses potential ener- power capacity varies with the changing flow rate gy because its level is higher than that of the water of the river. downstream. The amount of energy in the falling A user whose need for power fluctuates in the water is directly related to how many feet or me- same manner is often difficult to find. In southern 11 ters it falls, a quantity called “hydraulic head. ” New England, for example, most electrical users The amount of power (energy per unit time) that have peak consumption during summer months, can be extracted from the water is proportional to when they run their air conditioning, and low the head and the flow rate of the water. usage in the winter, when they heat their buildings with oil. Unfortunately, river flows tend to peak in Small-scale dams–those with a rated capacity of 13 less than 25 MW12–are often referred to as “low the spring and are very low in the summer. There are, however, several kinds of municipal head” dams, although they could be located on small but precipitous mountain streams that had loads that meet the constraints of run-of-river high head but a low flow rate. New England hydropower. One example is public schools, streams, however, are large (high flow rate) but which have high usage from September to June with a gradual drop, or low head (usually less than when school is in session and virtually no usage in 66 ft). the summer. Another example is municipal street lighting, for which demand is high on long winter I I Actually, head consists of components due to the velocity and the nights and low on shorter summer nights. static pressure of the water as well as its height, and is given by the Bernoulli Equation: Economics H=& + & +y Zg g where: Water power played a major role in the early in- H = hydrauhc head dustrial development of New England, which is v = water veloc[ty dotted with hundreds of old dams–nearly two- g = gravitatmnal acceleration (32.2 ft/secz) P = wattc pressure thirds of the existing but abandoned dams in the Y = height water falls IZElectric pouter is the amount of energy used or produced wr unit United States. The capital costs of installing a of time and is measured In watts, kilowatts (kW or 1,000 watts), mega- hydropower plant at one of these old river dams is watts (MW or 1,000 kW). Electric energy is the amount of power used over time, and is measured in watt-hours, kilowatt-hours, and mega- watt-hours (Wh, kWh, MWh). For example, if you ran a 100-W light ljThe situation is more favorable in northern New England, where bulb for 10 hours, you would have used 1,000 Wh or 1 kWh of river flows are more uniform throughout the year and where there is energy. less of an air conditioning load in the summer. Figure 34.—Low Head Hydroelectric installation

Dam intake source Spillway Powerhouse \ .“’ \. 6---+--—<

Ger

SOURCE: Adapted from: Independent Power Developers’ brochure “Hydroelectric Power”. Adapted by: National Center for Appropriate Technology in Micro-Hydro Power (U.S. DOE). Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation 201 high, however, since they involve feasibility energy expenditures, but they also have important studies, planning and design, and upgrading the indirect benefits. Hydropower from existing small civil works, as well as purchasing and installing the dams is an environmentally safe substitute for en- generating equipment. Low-head hydroturbines ergy from more polluting sources, such as nuclear tend to have higher equipment costs per installed power, coal, and oil. Restoration of a small dam’s kilowatt of capacity than do high-head units.14 civil works could also be a labor-intensive activity Operating costs are lower, however, because the carried out by a public works job corps. The devel- water is free and the dam requires little attention opment of a local manufacturing industry for the or maintenance. retrofitting of low-head generating equipment could also stimulate the regional economy. Final- By far the largest direct benefit of municipal ly, the power produced by small-scale dams, if it low-head hydroelectric projects is the reduction of can be sold at rates lower than those of local util- 14Th~ ~Xp~nS~ has to dO with the relationships between head, tur- ities, could be offered as an incentive for new in- bine diameter, and turbine speed. Given a constant flow rate, the turbine diameter required to extract a given amount of power from the dustry to locate in the area, creating more new water WII1 Increase quite rapidly as the head decreases. jobs and tax revenues.

A Case Study of the Tremont Dam Project, Wareham, Mass.

Community Setting much of the generating equipment was dismantled

and moved with the shoe factory to South Caro- Wareham is a town of about’ 16,000 people lo- lina. In 1962, the Town of Wareham acquired the cated in southeastern Massachusetts. Its economy damsite, including water rights, pond, and 12 is based on the shipbuilding, fishing, and tourist acres of land below the pond. industries, and on the cranberry bogs which dot the landscape and provide seasonal employment In the early 1970’s, the Massachusetts Depart- at harvest time. The town, however, has been seri- ment of Public Works (DPW) issued several plans ously affected by the industrial decline of the New for the deteriorating Tremont Dam, which had be- Bedford-Fall River metropolitan area, of which it come an eyesore. The last DPW plan, issued in is part. The present unemployment rate is 15 per- 1974, called for demolishing the powerhouse and cent or above—much higher than the rest of the using the debris to permanently fill in the gates State. To alleviate its problems, Wareham has ini- which controlled flow to the turbines. It was un- tiated a program of economic development, in- clear whether any DPW money was forthcoming, cluding the creation of an industrial park to pro- however, and the Wareham Board of Selectmen vide sites for new industry that will bolster its tax asked the town’s grants manager to investigate base.15 other possible sources of funding for restoration of the dam. The Tremont Dam was orginally built by the Tremont Nail Works in 1845 as a source of power Interestingly, the early restoration plans were for its plant on the Weweantic River. It was oper- not focused on the dam’s value as an energy proj- ated from 1920 to 1938 by a shoe manufacturer, ect, but as an opportunity to provide temporary which sold electricity to the local utility company jobs for seasonally unemployed local construction (a forerunner of the present New Bedford Gas & workers. In 1975, Wareham secured a $400,000 Edison Light (NBG&EL)) after its manufacturing Title X Public Works Job Opportunity matching operation moved south in the late 1920’s. In 1938 grant form the U.S. Economic Development Ad- ministration to restore the dam, with the town putting up $100,000. The dam restoration oc- I sData and information on the history of the project come primarily from conversations with Bob Packard (grants manager) and John curred between February 1976 and July 1977, and Healy (director of community development). a 1978 CETA Parks and Rivers grant paid for the

74-435 0 - 81 - 14 clearing of the banks and riverbed below the dam volvement in the project would start its relation- and the building of a small recreation area. ship with the town off on the right foot; in addition, the company had been criticized by local Development antinuclear groups, and participation in the hydropower project would demonstrate its commit- In 1978, the United Technologies Research ment to environmentally benign power sources. lb Center of East Hartford, Corm., approached In August of 1979, Wareham received a $25,000 Wareham about applying for a study grant for the grant from the Massachusetts Office of Energy Tremont Dam under a Department of Energy Resources for the purchase of turbines, but the (DOE) program to fund 54 feasibility studies of town still needs an estimated $160,000 to complete small-dam electricity production. A grant was the project. It rejected a grant from DOE that awarded in mid-1978, and in February 1979 the would have paid 15 percent of remaining costs and study concluded that the site was feasible for currently has an application before the Depart- power production. United Technologies also ap- ment of Labor for a 100-percent grant with which proached NBG&EL about the possibility of pur- to purchase and install power generating equip- chasing of power produced by the dam, and ment. (See Critical Factors. ) NBG&EL proved to be very interested in the proj- IqqBG~L is aim Particlpatlng in a solid-waste-burning wwer- ect’s potential public relations value: the company plant (see ch. 7) and a windmill project, both within 10 miles of its was moving its main office to Wareham, and in- new office in Wareham. Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation ● 203

10 Equipment Figure 35.—Hydroturbine Efficiency Curves

Very little additional work is needed to com- 100 plete the whole project and begin producing electricity. The dam produces a hydraulic head of 90 about 22 ft and could be developed economically to a capacity of 250 kW. The powerhouse is 80 equipped with two elbow draft tubes which previously housed two Francis turbines. Although 70 the draft tubes need to be replaced, the configura- tion will be retained and two vertical-axis turbines 60 installed. Present plans are to install a modern 110-kW crossflow unit and a reconditioned 140- 50 kW Francis turbine. 17 40 The efficiency curves for the four turbine types that were considered for the Tremont Dam are 30 presented in figure 35. The tube turbine has excellent partial-load efficiency and maximum effi- 20 ciency, but for reasons that will be discussed later it would be infeasible at Tremont Dam. The pro- 10 peller turbine has very poor partial-load efficiencies and it would, therefore, have been a poor 0 choice for a dam that would experience seasonal 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 drops in flow rate. The Francis turbine has mod- Flow rate (percentage of full load) estly good partial-load efficiency and a maximum efficiency of over 80 percent. It will perform ade- SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. quately in this site, but the major reason for choosing it was that the original units in the powerhouse were Francis turbines. It was felt that the project would have greater demonstration value if an older reconditioned unit could be run Economics side-by-side with a newer unit. Capital costs include $500,000 for restoring the The crossflow design was chosen for the modern dam and penstocks and $185,000 for purchasing unit because of its excellent partial-load efficiency, and installing the turbines. The restoration costs which is almost as good as the tube turbine’s. This are unusually high for a dam this size because the means that the efficiency of the equipment title X grant required a very high budget for labor; changes very little regardless of the flow rate, a much of the work which could have been auto- highly desirable characteristic if the streamflow mated was not, in order to create jobs. Costs for fluctuates greatly, as is the case in run-of-river feasibility studies, which should also be included, hydropower projects. Some sacrifice in efficiency is are in the neighborhood of $50,000. The total experienced as the crossflow turbine approaches capital cost comes to $735,000, or $2,940 per in- full load, but operation in conjunction with the stalled kilowatt. An additional but probably in- Francis turbine will partially offset this deficiency. significant cost is that of filing a licensing application. (Recent regulatory changes make available a simple and inexpensive—less than $500-procedure for obtaining an exemption from Federal

ITA complete discussion of the equipment proposed for the Tre- licensing.) mont Dam can be found in E. S. Wright and J. J. Mankauskas, Fea- sibility Study oj the Tremont Dam Power Project, United Technologies First-year operating costs (excluding debt serv- Research Center, February 1979. ice) are projected to be $6,883. These costs include 204 ● Assessment oj Technology for Local Development

turbine and site maintenance ($0.004/kWh gen- Cash flow summaries prepared by United Tech- erated in the first year), depreciation, insurance nologies, assuming debt service at 7 percent for 30 (1.5 percent of turbine value), and any energy pur- years on the remaining $185,000 for turbine purchased to operate the automated gates. Debt serv- chase and installation, indicate that first-year net ice would also be an operating cost if Wareham revenue after debt service and all expenses would had financed the project through a bond issue; de- be $7,203. The cash flow assumes that operating pendence on grants, however, has created its own costs will increase at a rate of 7 percent annually set of problems (see Critical Factors, below). and fuel costs at 8 percent; however, both of these figures seem low, as does the spread between them, Revenue will accrue to the project from the sale which suggests that revenues could be substantial- of electricity to NBG&EL. Because the utility ly higher. But using these assumptions, the project company refused to let Wareham lease its trans- has an internal rate of return of 15 percent and a mission lines, the town was prevented from using 10-year payback period. It must be pointed out its hydropower directly for schools, street lighting, again that this figure includes only about 25 per- or other municipal purposes. Wareham will simply cent of the real capital costs of the project; it ex- sell its power to the utility, which in turn will sell it cludes the $500,000 cost of dam restoration and back to the town at a higher price. While no rates another $50,000 for feasibility studies, both of have been agreed on, negotiations on first-year which were financed with Federal grants (see rates indicate a range of 2.6 to 3.0 cents/kWh. above). If all costs are included, it would be dif- Strict comparison of these rates with present prices ficult to say whether the project would be profit- that NBG&EL charges the town would be inap- able at all; but by the same token, it would be dif- propriate, since the NBG&EL charges also in- ficult to put a dollar value on the benefits derived clude a demand fee, fuel surcharges, and taxes, from increased employment or a new recreation which may not be calculated on a per-kWh basis. area. Assuming that such a figure could be arrived at, it

would probably be somewhat higher than the 2.6 The project has already provided 70 full- and to 3.0 cents/kWh rate offered by NBG&EL to the part-time jobs for dam restoration and the crea- town, reflecting the utility’s reluctance to give the tion of the recreation area. It has no adverse en- town full credit for its power. Nevertheless, with vironmental impacts, and the town hopes it will an annual output of just over 1,000 MWh, this become an example of innovative technology that would yield revenues of $26,700 to $30,800, which will attract local officials and visitors from all over would significantly reduce the town’s electricity the country. bill. 18 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (see Federal Polig). For IaWareham may receive substantially higher rates from NBG~L instance, under this Act the New Hampshire commission requires when the State public utility commission implements the provisions utilities to pay between 7.7 and 8.2 cents/kWh.

A Case Study of the Woonsocket Falls Dam Project, Woonsocket, R.I.

Community Setting some of the mills are still in marginal use, the peak of activity has long since passed. Those who work Woonsocket, R. I., is a city of 46,000 with press- in the mills consider $3.75 a high hourly wage, ing economic problems and low incomes. The city unemployment is severe, and one-third of the pop- is dominated by the large brick and stone mills ulation has incomes below the poverty line. that were built along the edge of the Blackstone River in the 19th century to tap the available The original dam at Woonsocket Falls stood un- water power. These buildings are reminders of til 1955, when it was destroyed by a flood. The New England’s industrial heritage, but although present dam was begun in the same year by the —

Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation ● 205

Photo credit: Office of Technology Assessment

Woonsocket Dam, Woonsocket, R.I.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a local feasibility of producing electricity at the dam, The flood protection plan. The city now owns the dam $66,000 grant was awarded to a study group from and operates it according to Corps specifications. 19 the University of Rhode Island that also included State energy and environmental officials, city to a Proposals build municipal hydroelectric planning officials, and utility company represent- at the to plant Falls date back the 1960’s. At the atives. The study was completed in January 1979, time, oil was cheap, there were no environmental and after considerable debate the City Council ap- regulations, and the citizens of Woonsocket did proved the plan. In November 1979 the voters ap- not take public power production seriously. The proved the bond issue for it by an overwhelming soaring price of energy since 1973 has changed 95 percent majority. An update of the feasibility their minds. study has been completed, and the city has applied

20 to DOE for a grant to cover 15 percent of the con- Development struction costs. In 1978, the Governor’s Energy Office urged the city to apply to DOE for a grant to study the Equipment I y]nter\,lcW.s ~,lth Joseph Anaxv and Leo M[llette of the U.S. Army The Woonsocket Falls Dam has a hydraulic Corps of Eng[neers. head of only 18 ft, but because the dam is rela- ‘~he hlstor~’ of current hydropower inltlatlves comes primarily from Interviews with Joel hfathew,s and Marvel Valols of the city tively new and well maintained it presents an ex- plannlng department. cellent opportunity for hydropower development. 206 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

The city has chosen a vacant lot 300 ft down- negotiating an arrangement with Blackstone Val- stream of the dam as the powerhouse site, and it ley Electric (BVE) to “wheel” power to these facil- presently plans to develop the project to a capacity ities over existing utility lines. (Wheeling is an ar- of 1.1 MW. rangement whereby the city can transmit its power over the utility’s lines through a rental agree- Two turbine configurations are under consid- ment—an agreement that the power compan in eration, both manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers y Co. The first is a standard 1.1-MW Kaplan tube Wareham, Mass., refused to make.) The wheeling rate will be determined on the basis of the utility’s turbine. Its efficiency curve (see figure 35) shows that to get any power at all from the unit, the tur- equipment amortization: that is, a percentage of bine must operate above 30 percent of full load. the capital costs of constructing the line. However, above this lower limit the partial-load efficiency never drops below 75 percent, and max- Economics imum efficiency is above 90 percent; overall, this is Capital costs for restoring the dam, building a highly efficient unit. the penstock and powerhouse, and purchasing The city is also considering a second configura- and installing turbine equipment are projected at tion with two 550-kW turbine units. The advan- $2,682,950, or $2,439 per installed kW. The cost of tage of having two units would be that, during the feasibility study, which was not included in periods when demand for power is low, one unit any of the cash flow projections, was $66,000, or can be turned off and the other operated at full about $60 per kW. First-year operating costs are load for better efficiency. This is generally more estimated at $40,885, including wheeling charges economical than running both generators at par- but excluding depreciation. Debt service is as- tial load, because efficiency decreases under partial sumed to be $238,681 annually for a bond issue at load conditions. For instance, a 25-percent total 6-1/4 percent over 20 years. load would not run a 1. 1.1-MW unit, but would pro- Average annual energy production at the duce close to 90-percent efficiency in a single 550- 21 Woonsocket Falls Dam is estimated at about kW unit. 6,570,000 kWh, of which about 87 percent will be After considering several options, Woonsocket consumed by the sewage treatment plant and has decided to use the project to provide power for water works. The surplus power would be sold a regional sewage treatment plant and the city back to BVE at day rates of 3.06 cents/kWh and water works. The sewage treatment plant is less night rates of 2.43 cents/kWh, for an annual city than 25 percent completed at present; when com- revenue of about $289,000. pleted, it will have a peak demand of 4 MW and Net revenue in the first year is projected at will obviously need power from another source as 22 $9,556, reflecting all costs except the feasibility well. However, at present it could absorb about study. In following years, the city projects that 2,950,000 kWh from the hydroplane. The water costs will increase 9 percent annually, while works will consume about 2,760,000 kWh, or 79 revenues will increase with the price of energy at percent of its energy needs. The city is currently 13 percent annually .23 No rate of return was given for the cash flow, but to give some idea of the prof- ZIDescriptions Of the darn and proposed equipment can be found in itability of the system, the projected net revenue John S. Krickorian, Jr., Power Potential, Woonsocket “Hydroelectric for the twentieth year of the project is almost $2.5 Falls Dam,” University of Rhode Island Center for Energy Studies, January 1979; and John C. Halliwell, P. E., “Demonstration Project million. Proposal for Woonsocket Falls Dam,” Halliwell Associates, Inc., Aug. 23, 1979. The Halliwell report also includes a cash-flow study. Zzone reviewer su=ested that this sewage plant, too, should be ZjHalliwell, op. cit., p. 14; rates of inflation are based on recent data

assessed for its appropriateness: “Why should sewage plants use so from the Library of Congress, the Massachusetts Electric Co., and much electricity?” See ch. 8 for a discussion of alternatives for com- the Narragansett Electric Co. and are considered “moderately con- munity wastewater treatment, servative. ” Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation ● 207

Critical Factors

Public Perception and Participation mounted shafts and those with horizontally mounted shafts (see figure 36). Vertical turbines A survey showed that most local citizens were were used frequently in New England in the early aware of the two hydropower projects and sup- part of this century, and the two units most often ported them, at least in principle. Most of those utilized today are the Francis turbine and the pro- surveyed, however, had little detailed knowledge peller turbine. The horizontal or “tube” design, about the projects and were uncertain about their which was developed later, improves the efficiency purposes. Many thought that the power should be of the system by permitting simpler draft tubes used to deal with pressing local needs, and there and smaller powerhouses. The resulting capital was almost universal agreement that hydroelec- cost savings make the horizontal-axis turbine a tricity and/or the revenue it provides should be logical choice when building a new powerplant or used to reduce people’s energy bills in some way. extensively modifying existing works. One common misconception was that the energy generated at the dams could be applied directly to Many existing dams, however, particularly the space heating needs, despite the fact that heating older ones in New England that have produced requirements in that region are met largely by oil power in the past, have vertical-axis draft tubes and some natural gas, not by electricity. In addi- that require little or no renovation. In these older tion, many people overestimated the power-pro- dams, vertical-axis turbines may be more cost ef- ducing capacity of the projects; they spoke of gen- fective, despite their lower efficiencies and higher erating enough electricity to meet the needs of all cost, because new draft tubes need not be built. local residents or of all municipal services. This was the case in Wareham, where installation of a horizontal-axis tube would have required un- Local citizens in both Wareham and Woon- justifiably expensive modifications to the dam and socket also expressed frustration with their local works. governments. They thought that they had not been provided with enough information to allow Unfortunately, there are few small-scale hydro- them to reach decisions intelligently, and often ex- electric equipment manufacturers worldwide, and pressed irritation at the failure to hold town even fewer in the United States. When engineers meetings where they could ask questions about the in Woonsocket were looking at tube turbines, only projects and discuss what they really meant for the one American manufacturer (Allis-Chalmers) pro- communities. In addition, some residents said that duced a standard unit that met their specifica- a few influential people controlled the local deci- tions. (A second U.S. manufacturer—Tampella- sionmaking process and that, as a result, these Leffel-has recently entered the market.) The city decisions did not always coincide with basic de- also investigated the possibility of purchasing a re- velopment needs. Despite these criticisms, how- conditioned unit, but decided not to because of ever, the majority of those interviewed firmly the limited experience of the firm. Several Jap- agreed that hydropower is a valuable local re- anese and West German firms produce a variety of source, one that could provide significant benefits tube turbines, but the city’s construction grant and deserves serious exploration. from DOE indicated a preference for American- made equipment. Essential Resources The situation in Wareham was somewhat differ- A potential constraint identified in these case ent. The original equipment in the dam was two studies concerns the availability of low-head tur- Francis turbines manufactured by an American bine equipment. Hydroturbines can be broadly firm. Fortunately, there are a large number of classified into two categories: those with vertically these units in abandoned small-scale hydroelectric 208 ● Assessment o/Technology for Local Development

Figure 36.- Vertical and Horizontal Axis Turbines

Vertical axis turbine

—.— -.. - - - —.

-—- — -— —.. - —. — 9/A !i=vl

—. ——. .—. -— -- — -- —- —-— —. -- — -— % ——

Horizontal axis turbine ri (slightly sloped) - —b-l 4-–I --~=-–L — . — -- h—. — —. — - — —. —4’— —— - —— . — —-— -— /. .-— ——. —/ —- — —- —J&—— - – — - — u—- — — —- — .— —— —- — - — -— — — /-— - —~ -— .—. - — /

SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation ● 209 plants all over the United States, and engineers estimate of the feasibility of the proposed hydro- located one that is compatible with the Tremont power project. Dam site. Reconditioning these abandoned units could be a profitable business opportunity for Another technical problem is evaluating the re- some American firm. source base; in the case of a hydropower project, this means compiling an accurate streamflow rec- The second turbine unit at Wareham will be ord. Because streamflow can vary substantially a modern crossflow unit. Again, there are few from day to day, month to month, and year to American manufacturers of crossflow turbines, year, this record should consist of frequent read- with the Bell Co. being the leader; worldwide, the ings over many years. The U.S. Geological Survey largest manufacturer of crossflow equipment is the (USGS), which maintains gauging stations Ossberger Co. of West Germany. Wherever this throughout the country, is often the best source of turbine is purchased, however, it will have to be these records. For many damsites, however, his- engineered to specification and will thus cost torical streamflow data is unavailable, and the lack more. United Technologies favored customized of this data at the outset can add substantial cost turbines, arguing that flow and head conditions and uncertainty to the project. At the Tremont vary so widely from site to site that standard units Dam, for instance, two estimates of streamflow usually result in less than optimal equipment. were available, but neither was based on records obtained at the damsite: one estimate extrapolated Technical Information and Expertise data from a nearby river; the other used rainfall records and assumed runoff to estimate stream- serious constraints on the de- One of the most flow. When United Technologies took several velopment of a municipally owned small-scale hy- months of streamflow measurements in 1978, dropower project is the depth of engineering ex- neither estimate was found to correspond to the pertise required to implement the project. Because actual data. Instead, United Technologies exam- the small-scale hydropower industry went into ined all USGS records from gauging stations decline earlier in this century, few engineering within 25 miles and a station whose hydrological firms have experience in this field. Those that do conditions seem to approximate those at the Tre- have hydropower experience tend to be familiar mont Dam. Even after all of this effort, however, only with large-scale systems and are either there is still uncertainty as to the accuracy of the uninterested in the small returns from a small data. system or are unfamiliar with modern small-scale technologies. Financing One solution is to hire a consultant. Wareham has contracted with the research branch of United Energy generation projects require a variety of Technologies, a high-technology firm with little capital throughout their development. The first hydropower experience, feeling that the firm’s lack capital requirement involves funding a feasibility of direct experience would make it less biased in study and other preliminary planning. Feasibility the selection of equipment or manufacturer. studies for small-scale hydropower projects can be (There are, however, several reputable consulting quite expensive because of the depth of engineer- firms in New England that have both hydropower ing expertise they require: costs are typically be- expertise and a reputation for providing reliable tween $30,000 and $75,000, and they seem to be advice.) The original feasibility study for the unrelated to. the size of the project. This expend- Woonsocket Falls Dam was the effort of a team of iture also entails a high level of risk, since there is faculty and students from the University of Rhode no guarantee that the project will prove feasible or Island, working with a task force of State and local that the money will earn any return. Private enter- officials and representatives of the utility com- prises routinely undertake this kind of risk, but pany. Dr. Krickorian, the study team leader, has municipalities do so only if the project is absolute- developed a computer model which might be use- ly necessary, like new schools, or if it has the ful to other municipal officials in getting a rough potential for considerable local benefits. 210 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

For this reason, some innovative projects will hopes the communities will use the 15-percent find it difficult to obtain municipal financing for grants as seed money to attract private capital. feasibility studies, and another approach must be (For rural communities, funds may be available sought. DOE’s hydropower study grant program, through the Rural Electrification Administration.) which funded 54 feasibility studies (including both Woonsocket has approached construction fi- Woonsocket and Wareham), is no longer avail- nancing differently and has been able to proceed able, but DOE has established a low-interest loan much more rapidly. Total project costs are esti- program in order to fund additional feasibility mated at $2.68 million, but cash flow projections studies. The loans cover 90 percent of study costs are very favorable and for this reason the city has and bear interest at 71/B percent over a 10-year received permission from both the State of Rhode term; however, no payments are due during the Island and its own residents to raise the construc- first 3 years of the loan, and if the project proves tion capital through the sale of general obligation infeasible the loan will be forgiven. DOE and bonds. (Unlike Wareham, Woonsocket also ap- other agencies also perform “reconnaissance anal- plied for the 15-percent construction grant from ysis,” a quick and inexpensive evaluation of a DOE.) Because the project shows a profit, after damsite’s potential, and the Corps of Engineers debt service, every year over the life of the loan, it has issued a manual, Feasibility Studies for Small- looks like a good candidate for revenue bonding. Scale Hydropower Additions, which reportedly can But the profit margin in the project’s early years be used even by those with little or no experience may be too tight to count on, and the cash flow with hydropower. projections include assumptions about capital By far the largest capital needs for a municipal costs and energy price increases which might not 24 energy project, however, come during the con- prove accurate. In view of these problems, gener- struction phase. At that point, since the project al obligation bonds appear to be a safer approach. will presumably provide revenue after completion, Although Woonsocket city officials appear con- debt financing becomes a reasonable option for fident in their ability to sell their bonds, they must the municipality. However, some communities first obtain a firm commitment from BVEC on (such as Wareham) still look for grant financing. wheeling charges and buyback rates, and this This has several drawbacks. First, grants are often agreement must specify conditions for future price restricted in use and, as a result, several grants increases. DOE has encouraged projects that do (from different agencies and for slightly different not show a profit after debt service in early years purposes) will have to be assembled in order to to offer their power to local utilities at a flat rate complete the project. This creates delays and fi- that does not increase over time. A utility may be nancial insecurity, since projects can be left half- willing to pay a price that is higher than present finished if one grant doesn’t come through. Re- replacement costs if it is assured that the price will stricted-use grants, like the title X funds for the not rise in the future, this would give the munici- Tremont Dam, can also cause the project to be pality sufficient revenue in early years to cover much more labor intensive than necessary and thereby drive the total cost of the project up. Z4An examp]e of this problem faces Woonsocket at present. It Was initially believed that power from a recently completed facility in Another characteristic of grant financing is that Quebec would be available to BVE at rates lower than the cost of pro- few grant programs will cover the total cost of the ducing that power at oil-fired powerplants. Recent projections indi- project. Wareham’s title X grant provided 80 per- cate that although the Quebec project could provide a more stable source of energy than foreign oil supplies, its cost will not differ great- cent of the cost of restoring the dam, with the city ly. However, instability in world oil markets has affected projected putting up $100,000. For the purchase of turbines, revenues to the project so dramatically that the project may ultimate- Wareham received a $25,000 grant from the Mas- ly be restructured entirely. Increasing oil prices have increased the buyback rates the utility company is willing to pay for power pur- sachusetts Office of Energy Resources and planned chased from the dam so greatly that the city now wishes to wheel to apply to DOE for the remaining $160,000. The smaller amounts of power to its two electrically heated schools (both city found, however, that DOE would only cover of which have more favorable demand profiles given the load profile for the dam) and sell more power to BVE. Updated cash flow sum- 15 percent ($27,500) of these costs. DOE feels that maries for this option were not available for inclusion in this assess- debt capital is available for these projects and ment. Ch. 9—Community Energy Generation ● 211 debt service on a revenue bond issue. Unfortu- (like Wareham and Woonsocket) will probably nately, this approach denies the municipality the either seek wheeling arrangements with local full value of its power, and local utility companies public utilities or sell their power to the utilities. justly fear that if fuel prices continue to rise as The utility companies, however, are reluctant to rapidly as they have in the past, a flat-rate deal wheel power, first because they lose revenue when would be a politically untenable arrangement. In customers drop electric service, and second be- general, the municipality will derive the greatest cause it is difficult to determine a fair wheeling value from the power it generates if it uses it to sat- rate, since there is no precedent for this service isfy its own energy needs, rather than selling it to a and it is not regulated by public utility commis- utility. This problem may be resolved by the im- sions. In the future, with increasing numbers of plementation of the Public Utilities Regulatory small power producers, wheeling may become a Policies Act in early 1981 (see Federal Policy). more common and standardized process; but whether the majority of utility companies would Institutional Factors be receptive to such a situation is questionable. The State of New Hampshire is considering legisla- Unless energy generated at a hydroelectric plant tion that would set wheeling rates and force utility is to be used onsite, it must be transmitted to its companies to comply, and Congress has recently point of use. Because transmission lines represent enacted legislation that deals with this issue (see a large additional investment, most municipalities below).

Federal Policy

Background and the sale of hydropower. These laws included amendments to the Federal Power Act, the Boul- Water power became the primary source of en- der Canyon Act of 1928, the Tennessee Valley ergy for American industry in the early 19th cen- Authority Act of 1933, the Public Utility Act of tury, and, because there were few restrictions, the 1935, the Bonneville Act of 1937, and the Flood development of this energy source was relatively Control Acts of 1936, 1938, and 1944. Today, a simple for the growing manufacturing economy. It complex set of rules, regulations, and institutions presented problems, however, for future use of govern the development of hydroelectric power. water resources by other sectors, particularly agriculture. Public policy regarding hydropower The rise of the environmental movement and evolved, therefore, from a desire to ensure that the demand for more efficient Government oper- such development on navigable streams was in the ations led to attempts during the 1960’s and 1970’s public interest of a growing Nation with diverse to integrate water resource activities into a com- and growing needs. prehensive package of resource development and conservation. This effort was guided by the A fear of private monopoly and the loss of pub- passage of such legislation as the Wilderness Act of lic control of a vital natural resource prompted 1964, the Water Resources Planning Act of 1965, congressional action to slow private development the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, and the in the early 1900’s. The policy of Government National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. control through licensing was embodied in the Federal Power Act of 1920, which established the Small-Scale Hydropower Programs Federal Power Commission to issue licenses for the construction, operation, and maintenance of Until the 1970’s, most people thought of hydro- dams, reservoirs, powerhouses, and transmission power as big dams and large-scale generating facil- lines. A series of laws enacted between 1920 and ities. Shortages of fuel and other resources, rapid 1950 increased Federal involvement in the devel- increases in oil and gas prices, the 1973 Arab oil opment and operation of hydropower facilities embargo, and mounting pressure from environ- 212 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

mentalists have led to increased interest in alter- regardless of the order in which the applica- native forms of hydropower, including the restora- tions are submitted and regardless of the tion of existing small-scale dams and hydroelectric capital already invested in the site by the equipment. private developer. For example, a private developer who had developed and operated a By itself, small-scale hydropower cannot signifi- site under Federal license for a period of years cantly relieve the Nation’s energy problems. The might still lose license at the time of renewal, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) if a public body chooses to apply for a license estimates that the undeveloped hydroelectric to operate the same site. potential at existing dams with a capacity of less Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 than 5 MW would total no more than 26,600 (Publi Law 95-617).–This law streamlines MW. Nevertheless, this represents a savings of 139 c 25 the licensing process for small-scale hydro- million bbl of oil, or about 3 weeks’ imports at power projects; provides cost-sharing funds current rates. Because energy generated at small- for feasibility studies, for license application scale hydropower sites is immune to rising fuel costs, and for architectural, engineering and costs, it will also be increasingly competitive with construction costs; declares them not to be other sources of electricity. For communities utilities and therefore exempt from local utili- located near existing but unused hydropower sites, ty commissions; and requires local utilities to therefore, small-scale hydropower may represent allow them to use their power grids and to an economically viable alternative that can help in purchase power from them at rates to be set addressing a wide range of local problems, in- by State utility commissions by February 1981. cluding rising municipal energy costs. Energy Security Act of 1980 (Public Law 96- President Carter publicly recognized the poten- 294) V-This law further streamlines the licens- tial for small-scale hydropower projects in 1977, ing process for small-scale hydropower by ex- and Congress took an active role in the promotion empting projects under 5 MW from FERC of these projects by appropriating an initial $10 licensing. This exemption does not extend to million to establish a small-scale hydropower pro- review and processing by other Federal agen- gram in DOE. Since then, the DOE demonstra- cies, however, and some procedural problems tion grants program has funded $50 million in remain. (See the discussion of this issue studies and construction, and funding is also below.) available through other programs in the Depart- Major legislation introduced in the 96th Con- ments of Energy, Agriculture, Labor, and Com- gress includes amendments to the Internal Rev- merce, as well as the Community Services Ad- enue Code to provide tax credits for equipment ministration (CSA). used at small dams to produce hydroelectric pow- Major legislation that affects small-scale hydro- er, to extend tax-free financing, and to make power projects includes the following: small-scale hydroelectric property eligible for residential energy credits. Other proposed bills ● Federal Power Act of 1920 (41 Stat. 1063), as cover items such as a trust fund for R&D in alter- Amended in 1935.—This law contains a provi- native energy resources, increases in funds for sion (sec. 7A) which, according to some crit- feasibility studies, provisions for surveying and ics, may discourage private development of other technical assistance, provisions for construc- small-scale hydropower. Section 7A concerns tion of small hydroelectric projects not specifically competing applications: under its provisions, authorized by Congress, permission for Federal a public body such as a municipality will be agencies to enter into agreements with States to granted preference over a private developer in avoid duplication of and delay in licensing pro- securing the licenses for a hydropower site, cedures, and changes in the definition of small- scale hydropower.26 Z5Mary M. Allen, “A Report on the Potential Use of Small Dams to Produce Power for Low-Income Communities,” prepared for the Commumty Services Administration, contract report No. B8B-5584, Zbwarren VieSSman, Jr., and Christine DeMoncada, “water Re- Aug. 4, 1978, p. 1-15. sources: Small-Scale Hydroelectric Power, ” Library of Congress, — —

Ch. 9–Community Energy Generation Q 213

Issues and Options its costs. For instance, the grant for the Tremont Dam project in Wareham specified how much of ISSUE 1: the money should be used for jobs and how much Coordination of, and Community for materials. As a result, the project was far more Access to, Federal Assistance labor intensive than necessary, and it probably Programs. cost both Wareham and the Federal Government more than it should have. Despite the number and variety of Federal pro- A similar complaint concerns the burden placed grams for small-scale hydropower projects, there on the limited resources of small communities by are complaints about the adequacy and coordina- the complicated and time-consuming procedures tion of Federal assistance. These problems have to for obtaining permits and licenses for hydropower do with the definitions and objectives of the pro- projects. Statutes that affect the licensing process grams themselves, the application procedures for include the National Environmental Policy Act, licensing and financing, the regulatory structure Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Endangered for public utility rates and wheeling arrangements. Species Act, Historic Preservation Act, Water One difficulty arises from confusion over what Pollution Control Act, Water Quality Improve- exactly constitutes a “small scale” hydropower ment Act, Wilderness Act, Wild and Scenic Rivers project. DOE, for instance, defines a small-scale Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, and Federal project as a site with a head of less than 66 ft and a Land Policy and Management Act. FERC licenses power potential of between 50 and 15,000 kW. all non-Federal development on Federal lands or The Corps of Engineers, on the other hand, de- navigable rivers that affect interstate commerce, fines small dams as structures less than 40 ft in but the Commission’s jurisdiction has been de- height with a potential capacity of less than 5,000 fined so broadly by the courts that it covers virtu- 27 kW. As a result, a project may be eligible for ally all hydropower projects.28 FERC introduced funding under one program’s small-scale criteria, new application and licensing procedures in 1978 but not another’s. Because the funding from a to reduce paperwork and accelerate approval for single program rarely covers the total cost of any projects under 1.5 MW,29 and these procedures given project, multiple sources will usually be re- were further streamlined by the Energy Security quired, as was the case in both of the projects Act of 1980, which authorized FERC to exempt studied in this chapter. Consequently, these differ- hydropower projects under 5 MW from licensing. ing sets of criteria complicate the application proc- This exemption will not necessarily ease the reg- ess, increase the time and expense involved, and ulatory burden, however, because small-scale proj- may in some cases bring the project to an impasse. ects still remain subject to review by agencies other A related problem has to do with the differing than FERC. According to one official, it does little objectives of the various Federal small-scale hydro- good to require one of the agencies—i.e., FERC— power programs. Often these programs dictate the to streamline its review and licensing procedures objectives of the grant and the uses to which the unless the remaining agencies are also required to funds can be put, but these requirements differ do so.30 For example, the Corps of Engineers has from act to act, from agency to agency, and from jurisdiction over all navigable rivers, including program to program. These requirements can changes to the streambanks, streambeds, or sometimes conflict with one another or with the streamflows. As with FERC, legal rulings give the objectives of the local community, and these con- Corps control over even the smallest streams; but flicts can distort the results of a project or increase many interpretations and rulings are left to the Corps’ regional offices, and some differences re-

8 Congressional Research Serwce, Issue brief No. IB 78035, May 12, ‘ 1 bid., p. V-5. 1980, pp. 4-7; Wendy H. Schacht, “Appropriate Technology: Alter- ZgVleSSman and DeMoncada, OP. Cit., p. q. native Domestic Technologies, ” Library of Congress, Congressional ~ORona]d A. CorSO, Dlvkion of Hydropourer Licensing, Federal En- Research Service, issue brief No. [B 77090, Jan. 13, 1980, pp. 8-10. ergy Regulatory Commission, personal communication, July 30, - ZIA]len, op. cit., p. 11 2. 1980. 214 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

portedly exist among these offices.31 Special re- neers, were to devise a standard definition of ports and consultations are also required by dif- small-scale hydropower; this would simplify data ferent bureaus within the Department of the In- collection and aid in the licensing process. While terior, the Advisory Council on Historic Preserva- some effort already has been expended to stream- tion and State historic preservation offices, and line these procedures, it appears to be taking place the Department of Agriculture. on an agency-by-agency basis. It may be helpful for Congress to review the total licensing process When conflicts arise in the above procedures, with an eye toward bringing about a more coordi- hearings are sometimes necessary, which entail nated and thorough streamlining of the process. more expense and time and may lead to long delays. Even without conflicts, however, the sub- ISSUE 2: stantial amount of manpower and legwork involved in obtaining financing, licenses, and reg- Technical Assistance. ulatory permits is a burden on small communities As discussed above, municipal hydropower and a serious barrier to the implementation of projects require a considerable range and depth of their projects. technical expertise, particularly in the evaluation Option 1-A: Designate a Central Clearing- and planning stages. This expertise is often house for Information on Low-Head Hydro- beyond the resources of a small community. present there is no central location to power.—At Option Z : Make Technical Assistance which communities can go for information on the More Accessible to Local Governments.– various Federal programs, their objectives and The Corps of Engineers has conducted a com- their eligibility criteria. Communities seeking aid prehensive survey of potential hydroelectric sites would be helped immensely by having a compen- and has also issued a guidebook for simplified dium of these programs, regulations, and require- feasibility studies at small-scale sites. USGS could ments readily available. The National Center for assist municipalities in evaluating their resource Appropriate Technology, the Library of Congress, base by preparing estimates of average monthly or the agricultural and energy extension services streamflow at existing damsites. FERC has might be logical clearinghouses for such informa- prepared manuals for local officials on how to tion. Technical data, which is also needed by in- plan, develop, and manage a small-scale hydro- terested communities, might also be distributed power project; similar efforts have also been through the same outlet. undertaken by the Corps, DOE, and CSA. Wide- Option l-B: Establish Agreed-On Defini- spread dissemination of these planning aids to tion of Smal1-Scale Hydropower and Fur- State and local governments might encourage ad- ther Streamline Licensing Process.—In view ditional projects by making the first steps in a of the confusion created by the different defini- community hydropower development simpler and tions of “small scale” hydropower employed by less risky. A seminar program for engineering pro- various Federal agencies, it would be useful if some fessionals from both the public and private sectors organization, such as DOE or the Corps of Engi- would be useful in disseminating information, in focusing on new developments in the field, in encouraging conventional engineering and consult- 31 Ron Alward, Sherry Eisenbart, and John VOllman, “MiCrO- ing firms to enter the field, and in establishing a Hydro Power: Reviewing an Old Concept,” prepared by National Center for Appropriate Technology for Department of Energy, report network of contacts between communities and be- No. ET-78-S-07- 1752, Jan. 1, 1980, p. 47. tween sectors. Chapter 10 Health Care Systems Contents

Page Page Introduction ...... + ...... 217 Public Perception and Participation ...... 223 Essential Resources...... 225 A Case Study of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Technical Information and Expertise...... 225 Community Health Center...... 219 Financing...... 225 Community Setting ...... 219 Institutional Factors ...... 226 Development ...... 219 Medical Services...... 220 Federal Policy ...... 227 Costs and Modes of Payment ...... 221 Background ...... 227 Organization ...... 222 Legislation...... 228 Critical Factors ...... 223 Issues and Options ...... 229 CHAPTER 10 Health Care Systems

Introduction

The cost of health care has increased sharply in are diverting resources from large numbers of the last decade, and many of the Nation’s 7,000 other patients who might be helped more by the existing hospitals are in serious financial trouble. same amounts of money, DHHS has directed As many as 1,400 hospitals–20 percent of the to- HCFA to develop a new definition of “reasonable tal number—showed deficits in 1977-78 and may and necessary” services that considers a wider be forced to close within the next 5 years; of these, range of “medical, social, economic, and ethical perhaps 100 are in communities that have no consequences. "5 other medical facilities, including about 30 large 1 Another approach to the containment of health public hospitals in major metropolitan areas. In care costs is the health maintenance organization response to these conditions, some hospitals have (HMO), which has occupied a prominent place in resorted to promotional campaigns to attract addi- Federal health policy during the last decades As tional doctors and patients; critics point out, how- defined by the Health Maintenance Organizations ever, that such tactics may further inflate hospital Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-222), an HMO is both costs by creating artificial demand and overuse of 2 an insurer and a provider of health care: it pro- facilities. Other hospitals are using market re- vides a comprehensive package of ambulatory and search as a means of avoiding the duplication of hospital services to a defined, voluntarily enrolled services and unnecessary competition for the de- population that pays a fixed annual per capita pre- clining numbers of patients. Some medical centers mium independent of the actual use of those serv- have begun to investigate the cost effectiveness of ices. Because the HMO exists in a primarily fee- expensive procedures that may have only marginal for-service environment, it must compete for both benefits for patients or society at large.3 enrollees and physicians; this means that the Similarly, the Department of Health and Hu- HMO must try to provide benefits and services man Services (DHHS) has begun to investigate the comparable to those offered by its competitors. costs and benefits of a number of new medical pro- But because the HMO assumes at least part of the cedures. Its Health Care Financing Administra- financial risk (or gain) of delivering services within tion (HCFA), which administers the medicare and a fixed or constrained budget, it has a direct finan- medicaid programs, is required by law to pay for cial incentive to provide those services more effi- all “reasonable and necessary” medical services, ciently and to provide fewer unnecessary services; but in the past this has been interpreted to mean this will result in higher profits for the HMO, or all procedures that were medically safe and ef- lower premiums for its enrollees, or both. fective. Alarmed by the rising costs of these pro- 4 Proponents of HMOS feel that they represent a grams, however, and by the possibility that they “cost-effective” way to provide health care and a I Spencer Rich, “U.S. Begins Program to Bail Out Hospitals Serving promising strategy for both controlling health care Poor Areas,” Washington Post, June 25, 1980, p. A18; Cristine Russell, costs and encouraging a more rational allocation “Hospital Assistance Plan Starts With $15.4 Million Project in of resources to the Nation’s health care needs. As N. Y.C.,” Washington Scu~, June 25, 1980, p. A9. ‘Joann S. Lublin, “Hospitals Turning to Bold Marketing to Lure such, claim their advocates, HMOS offer a “com- Patients and Stay in Business,” Wall Street .loumcd, Sept. 11, 1979, p. petitive market alternative” that is more desirable 33. 3Victor Cohn, “Can the U.S. Afford the New Medical Miracles?” Svlctor Cohn, “U.S. indicates Some Medicine May Be TOO Cosch, Washington Post, May 9, 1980, p. A lO. Washington Post, June 13, 1980, p. A2. 4For example, Congress directed medicare to begin paying for bThe following discussion is based on a recent OTA report, The Zrn- dialysis treatments and kidney transplants in 1972. At that time, it Plications oj Cost-Ejjectiueness Analysis oj Medical Technology (Wash- was estimated that the cost would be $250 million per year; but by ington, D. C.: Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, fiscal year 1981 the cost had risen to $1.5 billion, and it is expected to August 1980), OTA-H-126, especially ch. 10, “Health Maintenance reach $2,7 billion per year by 1984. Organizations,” pp. 123-140.

74-435 0 - 81 - 15 217 218. Assessment of Technology for Local Development than increased Federal regulation for achieving The first major mandate for public participation these goals.7 Evidence does indeed show that in health care was contained in the Economic Op- HMO enrollees pay between 10 and 40 percent portunity Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-452), which less in total health costs than comparable con- authorized the establishment of Neighborhood ventionally insured groups;8 almost all of these Health Centers in which community residents cost savings are due to lower hospitalization rates, were to participate in formulating and implement- which are 25 to 35 percent below those of coming policy. The HMO Act also contains provisions parison groups. 9 A cost-benefit analysis of Federal calling for increased community participation the assistance to new HMOS, conducted for the Office planning and operation of HMOs, and in recent of Health Maintenance Organizations in 1979, years Congress has mandated programs to encour- found that Federal assistance costs are recovered age public participation in emergency medical (in the form of community health care savings) services, health planning agencies, and communi- after 8 years of HMO operation; and the study ty mental health centers. Consumer participation projected even more substantial future savings.l0 has also been encouraged at the State and local levels and by the private sector. The Federal HMO program has been responsible for a great deal of the expansion in prepaid In some of these programs, participation is open plans over the last decade, but the growing mo- to actual consumers of medical services, or to mentum of HMO development has also involved a those whose enrollment in prepaid plans entitles “substantial private initiative.”11 This in turn re- them to those services; in others, participation is flects a growing concern with the quality as well as open to community residents at large, whether or the costs of health care. As the delivery of health not they are clients of the health center. Par- services became increasingly bureaucratized in the ticipants may have purely advisory roles, or they 1960’s, it came under criticism from a number of may be given some formal decisionmaking powers. client and consumer groups. Middle-class popula- These efforts have had varying degrees of success tions were displeased by the increasing deper- in encouraging public participation in health care sonalization of medical care; minority and poverty delivery; it is not clear, however, whether they groups complained of being discriminated against have resulted in actual community control or by practitioners and health care organizations; whether such control has had any specific impact and health care in general was criticized as over- on the quality, effectiveness, or costs of local specialized, fragmented, and inaccessible, as well health care services. (For a further examination of as too expensive. As a result, a broad social move- this issue, see the discussion of public participation ment has developed with the aim of increasing and institutional factors that follows the case consumer and community involvement in the de- study.) livery of health care. The following case study focuses on one community’s experience in developing a community- based HMO–the Hyde Park-Kenwood Com- TKenneth E. Warner, “Health Maintenance Insurance: Toward an munity Health Center in Chicago, a not-for- Optimal HMO,”Policy Sciences, vol. 10, 1978-79, p. 121; The Zmp/ications of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Medical Technology, op. cit., p. profit, consumer-governed group health care 124. center. The case study deals primarily with three a~e implications of Analysis of Me~ical TeChnOkn, cOSt-Effectiveness central aspects of this local development project: op. cit., pp. 123. ‘Ibid pp. 124, 127. 1) the impact of three payment systems (fee-for- lwc& ~ne~t Analysis of Federal Assistance for HMO Develo~ service, prepaid health plan, and Government ment,” prepared for Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, assistance) on health care costs and methods; 2) Washington, D.C., Apr. 5, 1979; cited in The Implications of C%st- Effectiventzss Analysis of Medical Technology, op. cit., p. 124, note 2. the degree to which the organizers have succeeded I l~blic Health ~rvice, Ofhce of Health Maintenance Organiza- in involving community representatives in the tions, National HMO Development Strategy Through 1988 (Wash- management of the health care center; and 3) the ington, D.C.: Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, September 1979); cited in The Implications of Cost-Effectiveness implications of the Hyde Park-Kenwood ex- Analysis of Medictd Technology, op. cit., p. 125. perience for similar community projects elsewhere. Ch. 10–Health Care Systems 219

A Case Study of the Hyde Park- Kenwood Community Health Center

Community Setting eager to participate in a project that offered an alternative. Hyde Park-Kenwood is a diverse community of 46,000 on Chicago’s South Side. The area is pri- Development marily middle-class, although it also has a large number of low-income households and more than The original initiative for a community-based 20 percent of its inhabitants receive some form of health care system came from a Hyde Park mother Government aid. It is also a racially mixed whose visits to her pediatrician had left her in- area—58 percent white residents, 38 percent black, creasingly concerned about the unequal relations and the remainder oriental—but it exists in eco- between doctors and patients. She and two other nomic and social separation from the black ghet- academics from the University of Chicago came tos that surround it on three sides. together to work under the auspices of the Health Committee of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Com- The community is dependent on a few large lo- munity Conference, a community organization cal institutions, the most influential of which is with a membership of 2,000 local residents. the University of Chicago, which has spent millions of dollars over the past two decades on de- The Conference had become involved in health velopment projects in the area. The university also care when the Mid-South Health planning Or- employs many local residents, provides a cultural ganization, an agency of the former Department of base, and attracts people with technical expertise Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), ap- into the community. proached it in the early 1970’s with the idea of developing a network of health care facilities Hyde Park-Kenwood has a long-standing tradi- throughout the South Side of Chicago. The Con- tion of political independence, social involvement, ference formed its Health Committee to keep and organized citizen activism. Unlike neighbor- abreast of the activities of the Mid-South Or- ing communities, it has resisted urban renewal, ganization and to develop proposals for an alter- and local citizens once chained themselves to trees native health care delivery facility for the Hyde to prevent the construction of an expressway. It Park-Kenwood community. Said one member of also supports a number of successful consumer-run the Health Committee: institutions, the most venerable of which is the 30- year-old Hyde Park Co-op, a large cooperative We wanted an alternative to fragmented and in- supermarket. adequate health services, to individual physicians in private practice, to hospital emergency rooms In spite of its relative affluence and influence, for primary care. We envisioned a community-con- however, the Hyde Park-Kenwood area had suf- trolled health center, but we had no idea what fered from a shortage of primary health care for at form it might take. least two decades. Many of the neighborhood’s In 1971, committee members met with several doctors had retired or moved their practices, so local physicians who were interested in setting up that only a small number of physicians remained. a group medical practice, and found that they Local residents obtained primary care from down- shared similar views on the problems of health town physicians or from the emergency rooms and care delivery: outpatient medical services were in- clinics of the nearby Michael Reese and University sufficient, and the traditional, hierarchical doc- of Chicago Hospitals. Residents on State aid, in tor/patient relationship meant that the patient’s particular, were almost entirely dependent on hos- real needs did not always receive proper considera- pital emergency rooms and clinics for primary tion. The Health Committee also held additional care. Some local physicians were disillusioned with discussions with other neighborhood physicians to traditional health care delivery, and they were elicit their suggestions and possible participation. 220 . Assessment of Technology for Local Development

The Health Committee became convinced that port for that goal outside the Committee. The the problems of health care delivery could be physicians, for instance, were interested in group solved only by replacing the fee-for-service system practice or preventive medicine, only one of them with some kind of prepaid plan. Accordingly, it advocated prepayment. The decision against pre- applied for and received a $40,000 grant from the payment also appears to have been consistent with Illinois Regional Medical Program, another health prevailing community sentiments. Whether the planning agency of HEW, to study the feasibility community should support prepayment is not the of setting up a prepaid group practice in Hyde issue here—the evidence suggests that it did not, Park. The full Conference then formed a Health and the Committee’s decision to use a mix of pay- Task Force and hired a fill-time health planner. ment modes was therefore consonant with local values as well as the advice of outside experts. In 1972, the Health Task Force met with the Mid-South Planning Organization and considered Medical Services joining a local center, funded by the Office of Equal Opportunity, that would serve several The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Health surrounding black communities in addition to the Center opened in June 1975 on the second floor of Hyde Park-Kenwood area. Given the disparate na- an older rehabilitated building in the central part ture of the communities, however, this plan did of the community, and it now provides primary not come to fruition. The Hyde Park-Kenwood or- health care to 9,500 people. It is run by a Com- ganizers wanted to design a center more appro- munity Board of Directors, elected by the people priate to the specific needs and desires of their par- who use the Center. The Board is responsible for ticular community. setting policy and for administering the Health Consultations were then held with the Illinois Center through an appointed executive director. It contracts with a separate Medical Group to pro- Regional Medical Program of HEW, community groups from adjacent neighborhoods, the Univer- vide health care services. sity of Chicago, insurance companies, the Health The 34-person Health Center staff, most of Maintenance Organization Program of HEW, and whom are local residents, consists of 8 physicians, the Group Health Association of America. In the 1 nurse practitioner, 1 nurse, 2 lab technicians, course of these consultations, the Task Force was 5 medical assistants, 1 nutritionist, 1 health advised that its goal of a self-contained prepaid educator, and 15 administrative and clerical plan for the Hyde Park-Kenwood area was not fea- employees. sible: the community was too small, and it had too Medical services include general family practice, few employers to establish the needed enrollment internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gyn- base. In addition, some local doctors who were ecology, and dermatology. The Health Center also willing to join a health center refused to do so un- contracts with outside specialists to provide cer- less they could also continue to serve their private tain medical services not available through its own patients on a fee-for-service basis. staff. Physicians on the staff are affiliated with a In view of these problems, it was decided that number of Chicago hospitals, to which each may the Health Center would not establish its own pre- send his patients when necessary. In addition, the payment system. When it opened in June 1975, Center has a working relationship with nearby Il- therefore, the Center offered health services to fee- linois Central Hospital for secondary care and cer- for-service patients and those covered by Govern- tain outpatient services for prepaid subscribers. ment aid. Later, when the Center was financially The Health Center currently contracts with two stable, it also contracted with existing prepaid plans in Chicago. prepaid plans to provide all primary care, pediatrics, and ob/gyn; most secondary or spe- The Health Committee organizers had con- cialized services; and certain hospital outpatient cluded, in the course of their investigations, that services for their subscribers. In return, the two prepayment was a desirable financial mode, but plans handle the marketing of the benefits package there seems to have been little interest in or sup- to employers, collect the premiums, and reimburse Ch. 10–Health Care Systems ● 221 the Health Center monthly on a “cavitation” tinuity of care, and increased physician-com- basis–a fixed amount for each enrollee, multiplied munity partnership in decisionmaking. by the total number of enrollees. If services to enrollees cost the Center more than the cavitation Costs and Modes of Payment received, the Center is at financial risk; if services The Health Center became operational with less cost less, the Center may use the surplus revenues than $100,000 in startup grants, $40,000 of which as it wishes. This method of reimbursement (like came from the Federal Government. Another that of all HMOs) is intended to give the Center $110,000 was raised by selling debentures, in an incentive for avoiding unnecessary services and amounts of $100 or more, to members of the com- practicing preventive care, thereby avoiding munity. By fiscal year 1979, the Center was in overutilization and incurring fewer health center the black, with an operating budget of $643,365. visits by enrollees, while at the same time keeping them healthy. Consumers pay for their health care in one of Hospitalization costs for enrollees are paid di- three ways: fee-for-service, Government assist- rectly by their plans, although the Health Center ance, or prepayment. On a fee-for-service basis, gets a rebate from the plans when the total num- they are billed directly each time they use the Cen- ber of hospital days used by enrollees falls below a ter, according to preestablished fees for each serv- preset figure based on average hospitalization rates ice provided; these fees are usually equal to or less for the State of Illinois. than those charged by other health centers and private physicians in the area. Government as- Thus, in its prepaid aspect, the Health Center sistance is provided through medicare (title XIX) serves as the delivery outlet of an HMO system, for those eligible under social security, medicaid and it currently serves more prepaid subscribers (title XVIII) for the medically indigent, or both for than any other delivery outlet on Chicago’s South the elderly who are also medically indigent. Side.12 Because of the scarcity of similar outlets in other neighborhoods, prepaid users come from a Service to prepaid users under the Federal wide geographic area to use the Center. Only 25 HMO program did not begin until 1976, by which percent of the prepaid users of the Center live in time the Center was in a better financial position the community, compared to 70 percent of those and was able to hire an obstetrician-gynecologist, who pay on a fee-for-service basis and 30 percent thereby meeting one of the requirements of the of those who pay through medicare and medicaid. HMO legislation. By paying a fixed premium, individuals and their dependents who voluntarily From its inception, the Center has put strong enroll in a health plan through their employers, emphasis on comprehensive health maintenance unions, or associations are entitled to health care and preventive care. It offers a number of health benefits at no extra charge. education classes stressing “well care, ” such as La Maze, care of newborns, nutrition, and cardio- Enrollment in HMOs expanded throughout the pulmonary resuscitation. Consumers are encour- Nation in 1975, when the Federal Government re- aged to participate in these health education pro- quired that all employers of 25 or more workers grams, which reflect a philosophy made explicit in who offered health plans must offer a “dual the Health Center’s statement of operating prin- choice” between traditional health insurance and ciples: the HMO option, in locations where HMO plans existed. Because the HMO program was new and The Health Center will foster innovation in untried, the Center’s financial expectations from such areas as health education, fuller use of health prepaid care were uncertain. Few of the organizers personnel, greater role of the consumer in con- thought that prepaid care would be profitable for l~some HMOs are self-contained, with prepayment plan and de- the Health Center, let alone more profitable than livery functions in a single administrative structure. In other cases, fee-for-service. However, early returns showed the plan handles the marketin and the assumption of financial risk, g that income from prepaid users, after subtracting but contracts with an independent medical group to dellver the health benefits package. The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community outside services and administrative costs, was Health Center is an example of the latter. $18,882, or 300 percent above projections; had the

74-435 0 - 81 - 16 222 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development same patients used the Center on a fee-for-service better. As a result, it has recently decided to limit basis, the net income would have been only the number of its prepaid consumers in order to $15,000. provide better service to members of its own community. In view of this, the Board decided to gradually increase the number of prepaid users. In 1977 the Organization Center was certified as a delivery outlet by HEW and the Illinois Department of Health, enabling it The Health Center was established as two dif- to contract with other federally certified plans. ferent corporations: the Community Health Cen- The number of prepaid users increased by 1,900 ter, governed by a Community Board of Directors from 1978 to 1979, or from 14 percent to 33 per- that appoints an executive director to handle the cent of all users. During the same time, the num- administration of the Center, and the Medical ber of fee-for-service users rose by only 24 persons, Group, headed by a medical director. This dual and as a percentage of all users declined from 68 to organization was adopted in order to conform 53 percent. with the Illinois medical practice law, which for- bids the employment of physicians by “laymen.” Recent financial statements show that the Cen- ter continues to be more profitable in its prepaid The Board has 27 directors, 24 of whom are sector than in its fee-for-service sector. This is con- elected by the dues-paying membership of the

sistent with the experience of other HMOs which Health Center; the 3 other positions are filled by have demonstrated lower total health costs for representatives of community organizations des- prepaid users than for conventional health in- ignated by the Board. All Board members must be 13 surance plans. One reason for this financial suc- dues-paying members of the Center, and a majori- cess appears to be the lower number of clinic visits ty of the Board must also be users of the Center. and hospital days per prepaid enrollee: for 3 Thus far, all Board members have been com- straight years the hospitalization rate for the munity residents. All prepaid and fee-for-service Center’s prepaid subscribers has been below the users are eligible for membership in the Health assumptions of their respective plans. As a result, Center, as are all residents of the Hyde Park- the Center has received substantial rebates from Kenwood community. Annual membership dues the plans; for the year ending June 30, 1979, these are $5 for an individual and $8 for a family. How- rebates totaled $93,367. ever, although the Center’s principles include consumer participation in policymaking, only 150 of A second reason, which is related to the first its users are dues-paying members; and only mem- and may in fact explain it, is the financial struc- bers are entitled to vote for (or serve on) the Board ture of cavitation and prepayment, which gives the physicians an economic incentive to avoid ex- and participate in Health Center Committees. A staff member is now working full time to increase cessive hospitalization by practicing preventive medicine and by encouraging self-care. Other membership, which also entitles the user to receive the Center newsletter and to enroll in health possible explanations include the superior health status of prepaid enrollees, broader ambulatory education courses at reduced rates. care coverage, and the collective norms of group The Board hires and fires and sets salaries for practice; opponents of prepayment also point to the staff. It also sets fees for health care, establishes organizational arrangements that discourage pre- programs in health education, chooses needed paid enrollees from using services when they want specialties, and determines the scale of services to. and facilities. When the decisions of the Board pertain to medical personnel, it must obtain the Nevertheless, while it would appear that the agreement of the medical director. Health Center is prospering from its prepaid clientele, it is also dedicated to serving local residents In 1978, three issues required cooperation be- I ~George B. Strumpf, Frank H. Seuhold, and Mildred B. Arrill tween the Board and the Medical Group: the eval- “Health Maintenance Organizations, 1971-1977: Issues and An- uation of each physician, the creation of a phy- swers,” J. oj ~ommumty &a/rh, vol. 4, fall 1978, pp. 33-54. sicians compensation policy, and the hiring of a Ch. 10–Health Care Systems ● 223 new executive director. One of the physician eval- was experienced and highly regarded in the health uations was negative: the doctor was criticized for field; the Medical Group’s choice had limited ex- a lack of productivity and the type of health treat- perience, but he was perceived by the physicians ment he proposed. The two directors agreed that (some of whom were friends) to be charismatic and the physician would be offered a contract for 1 potentially excellent at grantsmanship and com- year rather than the usual 3, and that during that munity outreach. In the end, the Medical Group year he would seek another position. However, chose not to veto the Board’s choice, but the the medical director subsequently modified the disagreement left a residue of resentment that evaluation process so that future evaluations emerged in the next confrontation between the would take place within the Medical Group itself, two groups. with the medical director reporting its conclusions to the Board for its final action. When the time for contract review came in 1979, the medical director presented salary re- In February 1978, a formal physicians’ compen- quests that violated both the guidelines of the ph - sation policy was worked out jointly by the Board, y sicians’ compensation policy and the agreement the executive director, and the medical director. It on evaluations of individual physicians. The med- established the range for salaries and additional ical director proposed that the Health Center benefits for physicians, as well as the criteria to be should allocate salaries in a lump sum to the Med- used by the executive and medical directors in ical Group, which would, through internal peer evaluating each of the physicians. These two eval- review, evaluate one another’s merits and de- uations were to be used together in establishing termine individual salar increases. The doctors any increase in salary, and the range of salaries y were prepared not to come to work if their de- was to be reviewed in the first quarter of each mands were not met. calendar year in the context of prevailing market values. This policy was a mutual undertaking of representatives from both corporations, apparent- The Board took an equally strong position, ly without disagreement. maintaining that all prior agreements must be honored and that it would not be fulfilling its re- When the executive director indicated her wish sponsibility to the consumers if it were to relin- to resign, it was necessary for both groups to agree quish its power to evaluate and reward individual on the choice of a replacement. This process physicians. The two groups eventually compro- elicited heated disagreement: of the three final mised, agreeing on temporary salaries while ne- candidates, the Board preferred one and the gotiating teams reviewed the physicians’ compen- Medical Group another. Both candidates were sation policy. More will be said about this conflict members of the community; the Board’s choice in the discussion of institutional factors, below.

Critical Factors

Public Perception and Participation tigate alternative health care systems, and similar efforts were being undertaken by the Woodlawn The organizers of the Hyde Park-Kenwood and Kenwood-Oakland Community Organiza- Community Health Center had relatively little tions, citizens’ groups in adjacent neighborhoods. difficulty in gaining access to public forums and The Health Committee had been formed in re- decisionmaking bodies. They were, in fact, greatly sponse to an initiative from HEW’s Mid-South aided in their efforts by the existence, approval, Health Planning Organization, and the efforts of and active support of both local community the Health Center Task Force were also greatly as- groups and Federal health planning agencies. The sisted by the cooperation and encouragement of Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference had two other HEW agencies, the Illinois Regional already formed its Health Committee to inves- Medical Program and the Office of Health Main- 224 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development tenance Organizations. To a lesser degree, their ef- If the purpose of community control was to forts were also supported by the tradition of ac- bring about specific local goals—such as communi- tivism in the community and the example of its ty cohesion, creating a training ground for local well-established cooperative supermarket. leaders, building confidence among the disadvan- taged, or responding to the unique health needs of Although the project was initiated by local res- 14 the area —then it might be argued that such goals idents, however, and although all of the subse- are potentially threatened by the large number of quent members of the Board of Directors and most prepaid users who are not local residents. The pur- of the Center’s staff have likewise been residents of pose of community control at this Center, the community, underrepresentation of the local however, was to provide accessible ambulatory community has led to concern about whether the care to those members of the community who consumer’s interest is being adequately rep- wish it, and in so doing to reduce the customary resented. While the community generally accepts social distance between doctor and patient, to en- and supports the Center, only about 10 percent of courage self-help and prevention, and to eliminate the population of Hyde Park-Kenwood uses the the profit motive as the exclusive basis for the Health Center, and less than half of its total users physician’s interaction with patients. None of are local residents. these more limited goals seems impaired by the Only 150 of the Center’s 9,500 users are dues- present arrangement. paying members. Prepaid users account for more It is also possible that consumers and communi- than a third of the Center’s patient visits and in- ty representatives could work together effectively come, but 75 percent of these users live outside the in Center governance. One study of hospital Hyde Park-Kenwood community and they, too, boards has shown that mixed boards of consumers have been consistently underrepresented in and community representatives have greater in- Health Center governance. Furthermore, medi- fluence on hospital operations than do boards care and medicaid patients—whether local res- made up of only consumers or only community idents or not—are ineligible for membership in the 15 representatives. Community representatives Center and are therefore completely excluded bring an external perspective: they know who lives from governance. Use by fee-for-service patients in the area and what their needs are; they also (most of whom are local residents) has also been serve as a channel for local opinion; and they help declining. Many local residents who would like to to give the Center legitimacy in the community. belong to the Center on a prepaid basis are ineligi- Consumer representatives, on the other hand, ble for such coverage, precisely because the Health bring an internal perspective: they know par- Committee decided not to establish its own pre- ticularly well how the Center actually works, and payment plan. how it might work better. These different interests It should be noted, however, that very few com- and abilities could mesh on the Board in such a plaints about the Center have been registered with way as to improve both the Center’s health care the HMO headquarters for Illinois. A survey of delivery and its service to the community. prepaid users indicated that they are satisfied with Membership patterns and their influence on the Center, despite the fact that they are a “cap- public participation are a legitimate concern for tive audience” due to the scarcity of other prepaid the Center, its users, and the community at large. outlets in Chicago. Nevertheless, there is a grow- Similar election patterns may exist in other situa- ing feeling at the Center that the rising number of tions, such as local school boards or State leg- prepaid users is in conflict with the practice of islatures, and the principle of community govern- community control, and the Board has recently decided to limit their numbers. It is not im- 14Melvin Mogu]of, “Advmates for Themselves: Citizen Participa- mediately clear, however, why service to nonresi- tion in Federally Supported Community Organizations,” Community dent prepaid enrollees necessarily conflicts with Mental Heahh.1., vol. 10, 1974, pp. 66-76. 15Jonathan M. Metsch and James E. Vew, the goals of the Center. Its facilities are not over- “A Model of the Adaptive Behavior of Hospital Administrators to the Mandate to crowded, nor are community residents who want Implement Consumer Participation,” Medical Care, vol. 12, April service being turned away. 1974, pp. 338-350. Ch. 10–Health Cure Systems ● 225

ance remains valid regardless of how many citizens technical information and management know- chose to participate in the process. Nevertheless, how were also readily available, in large part be- when less than 2 percent of the Center’s clients ac- cause of the presence of the University of Chicago. tually participate in governing the organization This was fortunate for Hyde Park-Kenwood, but it that serves them, it leaves what should be a raises serious questions about the transferability of democratic institution open to charges of elitism. their experience and methods to other, less To correct this situation, the Center has hired a favored communities. Theirs was not a unique full-time staff member to encourage both con- case, but neither was it typical of the low-income sumers and local residents to become members of rural and inner-city communities where the need the Center. A further step that might be taken is for primary care facilities is greatest. to open membership to those receiving Govern- ment assistance, who represent 20 percent of the Financing community and 30 percent of the Center’s con- Funds for the Center were first allocated by the sumers, by offering reduced membership fees for Illinois Regional Medical Program, a now-defunct medicaid patients and free membership for senior agency of HEW, in the form of a $40,000 planning citizens. grant. When those funds were nearly exhausted, volunteer fundraisers were able to raise a total of Essential Resources $110,000 by selling debentures (in denominations The Health Center had little difficulty in ac- of $100 or more) to local residents and employees quiring the needed material resources, and it was at the nearby University of Chicago. Additional particularly fortunate to be located in a communi- funds were secured in 1977 from the Robert Wood ty rich in the needed human resources. The Cen- Johnson Foundation. ter is located in a rehabilitated building rather One of the innovative features of this project than in a newly constructed facility. Medical was the manner in which the local community equipment was provided by the physicians in the participated directly in its funding through the Medical Group, many of whom had existing prac- purchase of debentures. The Health Committee tices in the area. Assistance in planning and or- had the creativity and the courage to try this ganizing the Center was provided by community unique approach; and the community had the volunteers who conducted a market survey, funds with which to respond, as well as enough drafted legal documents, wrote grant proposals, confidence in the venture to do so. Perhaps the prepared budget projections, and designed sales community’s prior experience with cooperatives brochures. Health professionals, bankers, lawyers, gave legitimacy to this funding approach, by the architects, and physicians—all of them local res- same token, it is possible that bank financing idents—also contributed their professional skills. would also have been available because of the Two internists practicing in the community credit-worthiness and management capabilities of helped during the organizational stages and later the organizers. joined the staff, bringing along their patients, most of whom were also members of the community. The applicability of this technique may be Similar resources would be available in few low- limited to middle-class areas, and this once again income communities. raises questions about the transferability of the Hyde Park-Kenwood experience. Where the tech- Technical Information and Expertise nique is appropriate, however, it provides an opportunity for community residents to finance as As noted above, the Hyde Park-Kenwood com- well as develop their own institutions. One ques- munity is very rich in both citizen action and pro- tion not addressed in the study team’s report is the fessional skills. Physicians and other health care terms under which these loans are to be repaid professionals living in the area participated in the and how those terms might affect the finances and development and operation of the Health Center, operations of the Health Center. 226 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

Institutional Factors Other critics supported the concept of community control but differed over exactly what the Opposition to community control of health care concept should mean. Some pointed out that com- delivery has come primarily from inside rather munity control does not need to be formalized: it than outside the Health Center. It was not op- can be exercised through many established chan- posed by health insurance companies, in fact, it nels, including civic organizations, church groups, was the initiative of Blue Cross of Chicago in and newspapers. Others suggested that health care devising HMO plans that could be serviced in a facilities can interact with the community in terms variety of health facilities that enabled the Health of both input and outreach, and that they serve Center to develop an HMO outlet for South Side the community best through health education residents. Its development has decreased the programs or teen counseling in the schools. A few number of patients seeking primary care in local admitted that community involvement is impor- hospitals, to which the Center still sends patients tant during the formative stages but insisted that, for secondary and specialized care. once the facility is operational, all decisions should However, some observers from outside the Cen- be left to health professionals; a community board ter—private physicians and representatives of con- is desirable, but should serve only in an advisory ventional health facilities—have criticized the con- capacity. cept of community control on the following Within the Hyde Park-Kenwood Health Center grounds: itself, the executive director felt that the Board ● The profit motive produces better health care should be involved in financial planning, pol- by allowing the marketplace to work: con- icymaking, soliciting community input, and in- sumers are the best judges of the health care itiating and evaluating programs, but should not they receive, and they can exercise influence concern itself with implementation of these plans, by giving or withholding patronage of a phy- policies, and programs. A number of Board mem- sician or health facility. bers, on the other hand, felt that they should be ● Community control puts politics before less complacent and passive, and more active in health, it is cumbersome, slow, and results in initiating programs and fighting for the interests of less efficient health care. the community. The prevailing feeling among ● The essential relationship in health care is be- these Board members was that the physicians have tween doctor and patient; any attempt to in- not grasped the meaning of community govern- terject a community board or other interme- ance, nor do they understand that in exchange for diary into this relationship destroys mutual giving up certain privileges (including unlimited concern and respect. income and the ability to set their own hours) they ● Community control diffuses medical respon- gain certain rewards (including regular hours and sibility; if physicians are to be ultimately re- freedom from insurance paperwork, financial sponsible for the health care they deliver, recordkeeping, and personnel problems). they should also have full control over the The manner in which medical professionals and policies for delivering that care. consumers share power, however, is an ongoing ● It is unfair to make doctors, who have in- problem, and in this regard the struggle at the vested so much time and money in their ed- Health Center is not unique. In studies of other ucation and experience, submit to the au- health care centers, researchers have found that thority of a community board. physicians usually seek to control the conditions ● A community board may give the impression of their work. l6 The efforts of the Hyde Park-Ken- of community control, but it is often controlled by an elite few, worse yet, such a lbE]lot Friedson, The Profession oj Medicine (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1970); and Marcia Steinberg, board can be coopted by the very people it is “Multiple Leadership in Prepaid Group Practice: Interaction Among Administrators, Physicians, Con- set up to control, leaving the consumer with sumers, and Community Members,” presented at the annual con- less representation than before. ference of the Group Health Institute, New York, June 1978. Ch. 10–Health Cure Systems ● 227

wood physicians to do so by setting salaries, con- distribution of authority develops, and the distinc- trolling the evaluation of their colleagues, and de- tion between physician and nonphysician reap- ciding which physicians to hire is typical of phy- pears. In the end, physicians usually obtain effec- sician behavior in traditional organizational set- tive control over salaries and medical staff, with tings. These settings—e.g., conventional hos- some limited form of review by the community pitals—provide a system of professional authority boards. The board exercises advisory or decision- in which physicians control both the content and making roles over matters pertaining to organiza- the conditions of their work. The entry of con- tional policy, particularly the selection of services sumers into decisionmaking roles thus destabilizes to be offered, but seldom penetrates areas of arrangements already in existence between physi- organizational decisionmaking that have tradi- cians, administrators, and other groups. tionally been controlled by physicians. 17 It is still too soon to say what a new division of If experience is a guide, therefore, eventual res- authority would look like, since the widespread in- olution of the disagreements between the Board of volvement of community groups only dates from Directors and the Medical Group at the Hyde the first legislation authorizing Neighborhood Park-Kenwood Health Center will probably be Health Centers in 1964. However, it is possible to one which grants the Medical Group the authority see the probable shape of the new patterns by it seeks. looking at sites where consumers have policymaking or advisory authority, such as the Neigh- ITLawrence Kowki and John M. Hayakawa, “Consumer Participa- borhood Health Centers, some group practices, tion and Community Organization Practice: Implications of National and some hospitals. As the consumer or com- Health Insurance,” Medical Care, vol. 17, March 1979, pp. 244-254; munity board carries out its role, disagreements Milvoy S. Seacat, “Neighborhood Health Centers: A Decade of Ex- perience,” J. oj Community Heakh, vol. 3, 1977, pp. 156-168; Stein- tend to occur with administrators, physicians, and berg, op. cit.; Marcia Steinberg, “The Relative Emphasis Upon Phy- other parties with decisionmaking powers, such as sician Practice and Organizational Affairs of a Consumer Council in a Prepaid Group Practice Health Plan,” J. of Community Health, vol. 4, Government agencies. Issues of concern include summer 1979, pp. 3 12-320; Ann Stokes, David Banta, and Samuel the hiring and firing of the medical staff and the Putnam, “The Columbia Point Health Association: Evolution of a executive director, decisions about what new serv- Community Health Board,” Am. -). ojPub. Health, vol. 62, September 1972, pp. 1229-1234; and Daniel I. Zwick, “Some Accomplishments ices are to be offered, and budget allocations. As and Findings of Neighborhood Health Centers,” Ml/bank Memorial the parties try to resolve their differences, a new Fund Quarterly, vol. 50, pt. 1, October 1972, pp. 387-420.

Federal Policy

Background 171 percent, physician costs rose 304 percent and hospital costs jumped 997 percent. 18 Over the last 10 to 20 years the primary focus of Federal health care policy has shifted from the The rapid increases in health care costs has led availability of health care to its costs. About 26 to a concurrent rise in Federal expenditures percent of the Nation’s health care costs were paid through the medical assistance programs of med- through medicare or medicaid assistance in 1977, icare and medicaid. In addition, the many low- when the total expenditures added up to $142 bil- income families who remain ineligible for such aid lion. By 1979, expenditures had risen to about have become more vulnerable to catastrophic $206 billion–a little more than 9 percent of the medical expenses: 7 million families have unin- gross national product. At the present rate of insured health care expenses in excess of 15 percent crease, health care costs will double in less than 5 of their incomes; between 10 million and 20 mil- years, a rate of increase far in excess of general in- IsSen, Edward M. Kennedy, “A National Health Insurance: A plan flation. This pattern has held for 30 years: be- to Control Medical Costs and Improve Care,” Pht Kappa Phi -1., vol. tween 1950 and 1978, while overall inflation was 60, No. 2, spring 1980, p. 30. 228 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development lion Americans have no health insurance at all; which initially authorized $75 million for grants- and as many as 65 million have insurance that is in-aid to the States for the construction of hospital inadequate to cover office visits or routine tests. 19 facilities. Since its beginnings in the 1940’s, this Families with incomes below $10,000 are twice as program has disbursed over $4 billion in Federal likely to be without health insurance as families funds for more than 12,000 projects, involving with larger incomes, and one-third of those not 7,000 medical facilities in over 4,000 communities. covered by insurance are fully employed heads of The program is administered by the Bureau of households—10 percent of the U.S. work force.20 Health Facilities of DHHS, which is also re- Collectively, low-income people seem to be in sponsible for the programs of direct loans and loan poorer health than middle- and high-income guarantees authorized by the Public Health Serv- groups, and continued ill health can lead to low ice Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 682, as amended), as well productivity, high absenteeism, unemployability, as the hospital mortgage insurance program au- and chronic dependence on public assistance pro- thorized by the National Housing Act (48 Stat. grams. 21 1246, as amended), formerly administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cost is not the only barrier to adequate health Increasingly, however, due to subsequent amend- care. Availability of physicians, facilities and ments and funding changes, the Bureau of Health specialized diagnostic and treatment equipment re- Facilities has ceased to fund large amounts of new mains a problem in many communities.22 The hospital construction. It has instead become re- combination of these factors can, in some cases, sponsible for monitoring the economic viability of bring about a situation in which medical services existing hospitals and enforcing compliance with a are in effect “rationed.”23 And while the primary section of the Public Health Service Act that re- focus of many Federal programs remains on the di- quires health care facilities (in exchange for Fed- rect containment of costs, many people now feel eral financial assistance) to provide community that the current voluntary cost ceilings, while services and certain categories of uncompensated needed, are not the only way to address the rising 24 care for their low-income patients. costs and declining availability of health care. Among the alternatives that have been included As was mentioned in the introduction to this in recent Federal legislation and assistance pro- chapter, the central piece of legislation dealing grams are preventive medicine, including im- with public participation in health care was the proved nutrition; self-care and well-care, as op- Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (Public Law posed to crisis care; and community participation 88-452). This Act authorized the establishment of in the planning and operation of local health care Neighborhood Health Centers and required the delivery. participation of local residents in the formulation and implementation of policies in these centers. Legislation Another section of the Act established the Com- munity Food and Nutrition Program of the Com- Previous Federal involvement in health care de- munity Services Administration; this preventive- livery is typified by the Hospital Survey and Con- care program is discussed at length in the Federal struction Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 1040, as amended), polic y section of ch. 4. ‘gIbid. Zosen. Robert Dole, “catastrophic Health insurance: A Practical Other legislation mandating consumer and Alternative,” Pkl Kappa Phi -1., vol. 60, No. 2, spring 1980, p. 29. community participation in health care delivery zlcharles E. ~wis, Rashi Fecir, and David Mechanic, A Right to are the Health Maintenance Organizations Act of I-lea/tIt: The Problem of Access to Primary Medical Care (New York: John Wiley, 1976), p. 165. 1973 (Public Law 93-222), which authorized the zzFor a more thorough discussion of these factors, see the previous creation of community-based HMOs; the Na- OTA reports, The Zmp/ications oj Cost-Effectiveness Analysis o~ Medical tional Health Planning and Research Develop- Technolon (OTA-H-126, August 1980); Forecasts of Physician Supply and Requirements (OTA-H-1 13, April 1980); Assessing the Ej/icacy and Sajety OJ Medical Technologies (OTA-H-75, September 1978); and De- z4See Florence B. Fiori, director, Bureau Of Health Facilities, velopment of Medical Technology: Opportunity for Assessment (OTA- “Bureau of Health Facilities’ increasing Responsibilities in Assuring H-34, August 1976). Medical Care for the Needy and Services Without Discrimination,” z3Lewis, Fecir, and Mechanic, op. cit., P. 15. Pub. Heakh Reports, vol. 95, No. 2, March-April 1980, pp. 164-173. Ch. 10–Health Care Systems ● 229 ment Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-641), which appear to be barriers to some specific programs established local health system agencies and State and contradictory to Federal intentions generally. health coordinating councils like those that contributed to the creation of the Hyde Park-Ken- State medical practice laws can, in some in- wood Health Center (see above); and title 111 of the stances, be impediments to effective community participation in health center governance and Community Mental Health Center Amendments of 1975 (Public Law 94-63). Congressional concern health care delivery. In the Hyde Park-Kenwood with the costs and benefits of medical care, par- case study, for instance, Illinois law prohibited the hiring of physicians by laymen. The resulting dual ticularly new techniques and equipment, is also organization of the Center has led to internal con- reflected in the passage of the Health Services flicts that may jeopardize the goal of community Research, Health Statistics, and Health Care participation that is embodied in the Economic Technology Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-623). This Opportunity and HMO Acts. Virginia law also Act provides for the establishment of a National makes it illegal for nonphysicians to engage in “the Center for Health Care Technology, under the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human auspices of DHHS, charged with undertaking and physical or mental ailments, conditions, diseases, supporting a variety of programs aimed at identify- pain or infirmities by any means or methods.”25 ing potential issues and consequences of the This and similar State medical practice laws may development and application of new health care restrict the use of well-care and other preventive technologies. medicine techniques administered by nurse prac- Issues and Options titioners or health care paraprofessionals. Option 1: Review of State and Federal User and community participation in health Health Care Laws and Programs.—Congress care delivery seems to be widely accepted as a mat- may wish to identify these potential conflicts by ter of Federal policy, but the implementation of this policy—through the establishment of local, directing DHHS to expand its annual review of consumer-run deliver systems like the Hyde Park- State and Federal health care legislation to include y a more detailed examination of the following Kenwood Communit Health Center–will be af- y points: fected by two larger issues: ● the goals of the various laws and programs, ● the relationship of Federal and State health the priorities (explicit or implicit) among care efforts; and these goals, and the areas in which State law ● the effectiveness of preventive medicine and is in potential conflict with Federal policy; other innovative, low-cost health care tech- and niques. s the degree and adequacy of communication and coordination between Federal programs ISSUE 1: and State health care efforts. Conflicts Between Federal and State Health Care Efforts. ISSUE 2: Federal legislation has established a number of Community Health Centers and programs for achieving U.S. health care goals, but Innovative Health Care Techniques. interviews in Hyde Park-Kenwood and other com- The innovativeness of the Hyde Park-Kenwood munities as well as in Washington, D. C., suggest Community Health Center was medical as well as that in some cases these Federal programs may not organizational. Their well-care programs include be adequately coordinated with related State pro- encouraging the patient to participate in his own grams. In addition, there seems to have been no treatment and encouraging community members specific attempt to coordinate the local efforts of to participate in health education classes on such Federal programs in health care with related programs such as nutrition or food production (see ZsLori B. AndreWs and Lowell S. Levin, “Self-Care and the Law,” chs. 4 and 6). In other cases, however, State laws Social Polic-v, vol. 9, No. 4, January-February 1979, p. 44. subjects as nutrition, child care, and personal for the individual, the local community, and the health maintenance. Nation. As noted above, however, some State medical practice laws may effectively bar the adop- Other health care centers have also begun to in- tion of these techniques by forbidding community clude self-care instruction in their regular services. members from participating in the delivery of The Midpeninsula Health Service in Palo Alto, clinic services or the teaching of health care in the Calif., offers a daily telephone call-in hour to school system. eliminate unnecessary clinic visits and to minimize the use of lab tests, equipment, and drugs. At Option 2: Investigate the Potential Bene- Helping Hand, a community clinic in St. Paul, fits of Preventive Care Techniques and the Minn., patients are given a pamphlet describing Barriers to Their Adoption in Community their condition and its treatment or are referred to Health Centers.–Congress may wish to in- an appropriate health education class. Other vestigate the potential benefits—both medical and clinics offer rebates to their patients for taking economic—of self-care and other preventive tech- courses in self-monitoring skills, such as taking niques as part of a comprehensive, community- their own blood pressure or preparing throat and based health maintenance program. In parallel stool samples. with such an investigation, the legislative and program review proposed above might also attempt to The principal goal of these and other well-care identify potential barriers to the adoption of these and self-care techniques is to help the members of techniques by local health care centers. It has also the community to improve their general health. been suggested that broadening the HMO prepay- There is as yet no conclusive proof of the value of ment package to include both life and morbidi- these techniques or their impact on future medical ty/disability insurance, as well as medical insur- needs and costs. Secondary effects of preventive ance, would provide insurers with a financial in- medicine, however, might include a reduction in centive to learn the value and effects of health the number of subsequent clinic visits; a resultant education and preventive care. 26 increase in the efficiency with which existing health care services are utilized; and–ultimately– a potential reduction in health care expenditures Zbwarner, op. cit., p. 127. Chapter 11 Overview Contents

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Introduction ...... b. 233 CriticalFactors ...... 240 Public Perception and Participation ...... 241 Profiles of the Case Studies...... 233 Technical Information and Expertise...... 241 Resource-Efficient Residential Architecture . . ...~~233 Essential Resources. ..., ...... , , ..., .241 Food-Producing Solar Greenhouse ...... 234 Financing. ..,...... ,. .,. .., ,.241 Small Farm Systems ...... ,...235 Institutional Factors . . . . . , , ...... , ., ..., ..242 Farmers’ Markets ...... 235 Resource Recovery From Municipal Solid Waste. ..236 Community Wastewater Treatment...... 237 Community Energy Generation ...... 237 Health Care Systems...... 238 Federal Policy ...... 243 Data Gathering ...... ,., ,..243 The Technologies From a Local Perspective 238 Information Dissemination ...... , 244 The Technologies From a National Technical Assistance ...... 245 Perspective...... 239 Financial Assistance. , ...... 246 Chapter 11 Overview

Introduction The treatment of the case studies in the preced- ward without direct Federal involvement; in other ing chapters derives less from an interest in any cases, existing Federal programs have been quite one specific technology than from an interest in effective and appear to need no major alteration. the process by which the technologies were iden- Federal policy has been a focus for analysis, rather, tified and adopted by particular communities, because this report is designed for Congress, one their impact on the communities, and the factors of whose responsibilities is the evaluation and im- that might have an influence on their wider adop- provement of Federal programs that encourage tion and diffusion. The case studies focus on three and assist community development. substantive areas: Because of this Federal interest, it has been . energy conservation, particularl methods for y necessary to consider not only the local impact of increasing the energy efficiency of private these projects but also the likely effects of wide- housing; spread replication by communities throughout the ● agriculture, particularly the survival of the Nation. The projects are of interest precisely small family farm; and because they tailor technology to local needs and ● the delivery of community services, including resources, and most of them have been relatively health care and social services as well as waste successful in achieving local goals. In some cases, management. however, the local resources are sufficiently It should be noted that the cases do not include unique that it is uncertain whether the projects examples in the industrial or manufacturing sec- could be replicated elsewhere. Nevertheless, tor. Nonetheless, these three areas include some of enough similarity exists across the cases to draw the most important and intractable problems fac- several general lessons about the factors that aid or ing the Nation. impede the process of community adoption. Each chapter also includes an analysis of rele- This overview chapter will present thumbnail vant Federal policy and programs, but this should profiles of the case studies and then comment on not be taken to mean that expanded Federal in- their significance, first from the local perspective volvement is necessary or even desirable for the and then from the national. This will be followed local development of these technologies. In several by a summary of the critical factors affecting the cases, notably energy-efficient housing and farm- success of these projects, and steps that might be ers’ markets, local adoption seems to be going for- taken to promote similar projects elsewhere.

Profiles of the Case Studies

Resource= Efficient Residential heat-retentive houses that hold great promise for Architecture (ch. 3) the future. These projects, developed in communities as Local and National Significance.–The

diverse as an Eskimo village in Alaska and the striking diversity of the applications—in cost and middle-class exurbs of Connecticut, involve the complexity, as well as performance—is both a application of a wide spectrum of technologies that strength and a problem. On the one hand, they make considerable energy savings possible for in- represent solutions to the problem of energy con- dividual families. The technologies range from servation that can be adapted to every region of well-known solar designs to new, highly efficient the United States. On the other hand, because

233 234 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

such a large variety of approaches have been de- Food= Producing Solar Greenhouse veloped in so many locations, no “preferred” solu- (ch. 4) tions have yet gained nationwide acceptance from financial institutions, homebuilders, and the gen- The Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse eral public. Low-cost retrofits, notably the at- appears to be an effective mechanism for deliver- tached solar heating greenhouse, are being built ing social services, such as productive activities for by individual homeowners, and local initiatives the elderly and youth offenders. It also seems to have been effective in encouraging these individ- have contributed to a local program to encourage ual efforts, the community workshop appears to be residential energy conservation. It has not, how- a particularly effective mechanism for promoting ever, been cost effective in its role as a food-pro- more widespread adoption of this technology. The ducing greenhouse, and since it cannot be oper- higher initial costs of the passive solar and double- ated as a research facility, it has been unable to envelope houses, however, are such that they are collect sufficient performance data to establish its being built primarily by middle- and high-income economic feasibility. families. From a national perspective, this may Local and National Significance.–The mean that lower cost options, like the Bethel and project is notable for the extent of public participa- Conserver Homes, will be more appropriate for tion in the construction, operation, and manage- energy-saving tract houses and low-income hous- ment of the greenhouse. It offers activities for the ing. elderly and the handicapped, job training and Critical Factors.—In several of the case work experience for the unskilled, alternative serv- studies, large numbers of people have turned out ice for youth offenders, and educational activities to inspect the houses, but thus far there has been for children. In addition, this highly visible dem- less acceptance from financial institutions than onstration may have contributed to the wide- from the general public. One housing developer spread adoption of smaller attached solar heating commented that his first solar development greenhouses in Wyoming, which now has more “would never have happened if we had not been such retrofits relative to its population than any able to do the design, the financing, the land other State. However, the capital and operating development, and the construction ourselves. ” costs of the greenhouse are rather high, and as From these case studies it would appear that one of presently used it may not be the most cost-effective the most significant barriers to the widespread mechanism for delivering social services. Neither is it an effective means of demonstratin the feasi- transfer of these technologies from the custom g housing market to the mass housing market is the bility of large-scale solar greenhouse horticulture, Crop yields have been low b commercial stand- lack of reliable data on the cost and performance y of the various energy-efficient designs. The Bethel ards, but the project has neither the staff nor the house, which was developed in part to influence resources to carry out scientific research on plant the design of low-income housing in rural Alaska, varieties and production techniques for solar has had some local success in this regard. greenhouses. Critical Factors.—The technical problems en- Federal Policy. –Federal programs could as- countered in Cheyenne point out the need for ex- sist the diffusion of these technologies by making pert advice on solar greenhouse design and con- data gathering a required part of sponsored proj- struction. More reliable information on costs, en- ects and by making detailed local microclimate ergy savings, production methods, and crop yields data available to prospective developers and own- will also be required if the technolog is to be er-builders. Increased Federal encouragement of y adopted by communities, cooperatives, or com- “networking,” community workshops, and other mercial growers on a widespread basis. locally based dissemination mechanisms could also be useful; these approaches have proven to be suc- Federal Policy.—Existing Federal programs cessful in several of the projects described in this include construction grants for community food and other chapters. production projects and a few monitoring projects Ch. 11–Overview ● 235 that should produce needed information on green- pants and nonparticipants alike) undertook proj- house performance. Additional Federal efforts to ects on their own. NLF has also held workshops, promote the technology might include programs but its primary efforts have been in developing the to disseminate this new information, as well as biogas digester; its inability to involve large selective tax credits to individuals or subsidies to numbers of local residents may pose a problem for community groups. the local dissemination of this technology in the future. Small Farm Systems (ch. 5) Federal Policy.–Widespread dissemination of The New Life Farm (NLF) in Missouri and the the results of these and similar projects through Small Farm Energy Project (SFEP) in Nebraska are the Agricultural Extension Service would promote community-based attempts to improve the eco- the spread of these technologies, as would the en- nomic viability of small-scale farming in their couragement of networking among local and re- regions. NLF is a local initiative by young farmers gional groups with related interests and activities. to develop a promising new renewable energy Further research is needed on the effectiveness of technology—manure and phytomass digesters that integrated farm systems, the performance charac- produce methane from farm wastes. SFEP has es- teristics of biogas digesters, and the nutrient value tablished a particularly successful program of tech- of digester sludge. Federal funds for establishing nical assistance and cost sharing that has encour- model farms at State agricultural centers might aged local farmers to apply proven technologies to contribute to this type of research, as well as pro- the energy needs of their own farms. viding local demonstrations that could increase interest in these systems among the Nation’s small- Local and National Significance.–Of the scale farmers. two projects, SFEP seems to have had a broader impact on local farmers, largely because the Farmers’ Markets (ch. 6) farmers were allowed to select and build their own projects. But although self-selection has led to a Farmers’ markets and other direct marketing variety of innovative solar applications, it has not strategies represent the revitalization of a food always led to maximum energy savings, since the distribution system that, having fallen into disuse farmers often failed to pick the most promising after World War 11, has become attractive again combination of technologies or installations. due to rising energy costs. They can benefit farm- NLF’s concept of an integrated “system” of farmers and consumers alike, and by encouraging local ing techniques shows more potential in this re- agriculture they can contribute to the conserva- gard, but the technologies themselves are still in tion of energy and the security of local food sup- the development stage. Both projects, however, plies. demonstrate that farmers and other local groups Local and National Significance.–The case are capable of developing and installing low-cost, studies include farmers’ markets established energy-saving technologies that are appropriate to through the initiatives of a variety of local the needs and resources of their particular farming groups—farmers, consumers, businessmen, and operations. Widespread replication of these proj- municipal governments. By creating a local mar- ects might make a significant contribution to the ket where none had existed before, these markets related national goals of conserving energy, mak- improve the economic viability of small-scale ing more efficient use of available resources, and agriculture and encourage local farmers to diver- aiding the survival of the small family farm, sify their crops and keep their land in production. Critical Factors.–The local success of SFEP All of the farmers’ markets appear to have pro- results from its project design, which encourages moted local development, although the redevelop- public participation through self-selection and a ment of the Pike Place Market in Seattle seems to comprehensive program of workshops, seminars, have had a negative impact on the availability of and individual technical assistance. Cost sharing low-income housing and low-cost produce. Wide- also appears to be an effective form of financial spread development of farmers’ markets through- assistance, but a number of local farmers (partici- out the United States could result in considerable 236 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

energy savings and should contribute significantly town Akron, Ohio. Replicated on a nationwide to the survival of the small family farm and the basis, this technology could produce almost 2 per- retention of agricultural land near urban areas. cent of annual U.S. energy consumption, in addition to recovering significant amounts of glass, Critical Factors.–All of the markets depend aluminum, iron, and steel. The Bronx Frontier vitally on the participation of the local producers Development Corp. (BFDC) converts vegetable and consumers. In Morehouse Parish, La., the wastes from a large produce market into compost market was established and managed by the farm- for parks and community gardens in the South ers themselves, but a network of interest groups in Bronx, and this technology may also have poten- Boston proved to be an equally effective way of tial for comporting sludge from sewage treatment organizing markets. Where the markets were part plants. Both technologies could, if widely adopted, of a larger educational and technical assistance contribute to the national effort to recycle program, like the one initiated by the county ex- materials, conserve energy and other resources, tension agent in Morehouse Parish, the benefits to and reduce the environmental problems caused by the local farmer have been further increased. The waste disposal. financing required for the markets is minimal and most of them are self-supporting. Large-scale ur- Critical Factors.–The Akron RES was al- ban redevelopment projects like the Pike Place most totally an undertaking of the municipal Market may not be the most cost-effective means government and its consultants; greater public of encouraging local agriculture or making low- participation might have made a difference in the cost produce available to local consumers. size and/or development of the project. BFDC, on Federal Policy.–The success of the com- the other hand, has experienced some opposition prehensive program in Morehouse Parish suggests from the traditional political leaders of the com- that similar efforts elsewhere by the Agricultural munity, and it is not clear that local residents have Extension Service could be useful in promoting had an effective voice in the project. The “con- the widespread development of farmers’ markets. sortium financing” developed by BFDC freed it Reenactment of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct from some of the constraints imposed by the Marketing Act of 1976, which expired in 1980, grants economy, but the project could improve its would also allow the U.S. Department of Agricul- finances considerably by charging competitive tip- ture to complete its State-by-State surveys of cur- ping fees to haulers or by increasing its income rent farm marketing programs and to expand its from the commercial sale of compost. The prin- existing programs of technical and financial cipal constraint on the feasibility of both these assistance to farmers’ markets and marketing co- projects is the quantity and quality of the waste operatives throughout the Nation. stream. To assure itself of an adequate supply of combustible waste, and thereby reduce financial Resource Recovery From Municipal risks, Akron was forced to pass an ordinance Solid Waste (ch. 7) (since challenged in court) requiring private haulers to dump at the RES facility. The BFDC These two case studies of alternative technol- operation, on the other hand, requires a relatively ogies for waste management and resource recovery uncontaminated supply of organic wastes, and its illustrate not only the contribution they can make organizers too feel that it may be necessary to re- to the redevelopment of deteriorating urban areas, quire source separation by means of legislation. but also the crucial problems and constraints The institutional problem of overlapping jurisdic- posed by the size and quality of the “waste tions further complicates the issue of control over stream. ” the waste stream. Local and National Significance.–The Re- Federal Policy.—Existing Federal programs cycle Energy System (RES), which uses combusti- provide funds for research, development, and ble wastes as fuel to produce steam for space technical and financial assistance for waste man- heating and industrial uses, has made an impor- agement and resource recovery. Federal policy has tant contribution to the revitalization of down- not yet addressed the overarching issue of control — —

Ch. 11–Overview ● 237 over the waste stream. If the Supreme Court de- technologies since the establishment of the Envi- cides against the city of Akron in their pending ronmental Protection Agency’s Innovative and case, Congress may wish to investigate the desir- Alternative Technology (1/A) Program in 1978. ability of permitting municipal control over the Congress may wish to extend this program, which waste stream, including passage of enabling legisla- is due to expire at the end of fiscal year 1981, or to tion if necessary. expand the financial incentives it has made available to municipalities and regional sewage agen- Community Wastewater Treatment cies. In particular, only $15 million has been (ch. 8) earmarked for R&D under the I/A Program; increased research, full-scale demonstrations, and The General Accounting Office has recently information dissemination would be desirable concluded that, due to the scope and enormous features of an expanded I/A Program. costs of upgrading the Nation’s sewage treatment system, it is imperative that lower cost approaches Community Energy Generation (ch. 9) be found for providing this municipal service. The Solar AquaCell system is one of a number of alter- Small-scale hydroelectric projects can make a natives that have the potential for reducing the potentially significant contribution to the Nation’s operating costs of secondary treatment, as well as energy supply. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for reducing both the capital and the operating estimates that U.S. hydroelectric capacity could be costs for more advanced wastewater treatment. increased almost threefold simply by installing ad- Local and National Significance.–From ditional capacity at existing sites and installing the local perspective, an important benefit of this new generating equipment at dams that currently wastewater treatment facility is that local control produce no electricity. of the technology has also given the town control Local and National Significance.–Locally over its future growth by freeing it from the con- developed energy sources, like the recommissioned straints of regional sewage planning. From the na- damsites in Wareham and Woonsocket, represent tional perspective, such local treatment plants may the revitalization of local resources that have serve to remove one of the few effective means of fallen into disuse. The electricity generated by regional planning. At the same time, however, these projects can be applied to local energy needs, this and other new treatment technologies offer a either for cutting the costs of municipal services badly needed, lower cost approach to expanding (such as streetlights, schools, and sewage treat- and upgrading of the Nation’s sewage treatment ment), for attracting industry to the area, or for facilities. sale to local utility companies. In Woonsocket, the Critical Factors.–The Hercules AquaCell fa- nearby Tupperware plant has also begun plans to cility was a municipal undertaking, and like some renovate their own dam for industrial purposes. of the other projects examined in this report it has Critical Factors.—Public participation does involved relatively little participation by local not seem to have been a critical factor in either of residents. General acceptance of this technology the case studies, although the Woonsocket project by the engineering profession will require reliable required local voters to approve a bond issue. Both data from a full-scale facility like the one at Her- projects have general support from local residents, cules, and widespread adoption by other commu- but misconceptions about the size and potential nities will be contingent on its proven reliability uses of the projects have been widespread in both and competitive costs. At present, the AquaCell communities. Both towns had existing damsites, system involves sufficient risks that it might not which gave the projects a sizeable capital cost ad- have been adopted even in Hercules were it not for vantage. Woonsocket also made effective use of the town’s large revenue base and its desire for Federal grants as seed money for attracting con- greater control over its future population growth. ventional financing. Wareham, on the other Federal Policy.–Federal policy has promoted hand, has held out for almost total grant financ- the adoption of alternative wastewater treatment ing, and this has held up the completion of the

74-435 0 - 81 - 17 238 ● Assessment of Technology/or Local Development

project. The economics of local hydroelectric proj- velop a community-controlled health care center ects, in these communities and elsewhere, will also as an alternative to the fragmented and inade- be affected by the rates paid by local utility com- quate health services on Chicago’s South Side. panies for the power they produce. Recent Federal Although the issue of community control is still legislation will help to assure equitable rates. unresolved, they have achieved some of their objectives—notably those of increasing the availabil- Federal Policy .–Existing Federal programs of ity of primary health care and reducing its costs. In technical and financial assistance for feasibility addition, their programs of preventive medicine studies, planning, and construction seem to be and health education could help to improve the working effectively, particularly when the grants general health of the community. Widespread cre- are used as seed money to reduce risks and attract ation of health maintenance organizations in conventional financing. The Corps of Engineers other communities could have a significant impact has conducted an extensive survey to identify on the enormous cost of health care in the United damsites that might be converted or recommis- States. The resources available in Hyde Park-Ken- sioned; it has also issued a manual to assist com- wood would not be available in most inner-city munities in performing preliminary feasibility areas, however, and entirely different approaches studies. The Public Utilities Regulatory Policies will probably be required in rural areas. Act of 1978 requires public utilities to buy or wheel power from these projects, but the economic Critical Factors.—Public participation was viability of the projects will be vitally affected by important to the development of the center, par- the wheeling and purchase rates that are to be ticularly in its financing: the organizers were able established by State utility commissions by Feb- to raise $110,000 through the sale of debentures to ruary 1981. In addition, current Federal policy community residents. The center is now operating favors the development of hydroelectric sites by in the black, largely due to the cost-cutting incen- municipalities and cooperatives. This may con- tives offered by prepaid health care plans. There stitute a disincentive to the development of some remains some conflict over community versus sites by industry and investor-owned utilities, medical governance of the center, and there are although they too are eligible for Federal grants problems in this and some other locations due to and considerable private development has been State medical practice laws that discourage com- taking place. munity control of health care organizations. Federal Policy.—Existing Federal programs Health Care Systems (ch. 10) have effectively encouraged the establishment of Local health centers, prepaid health plans, and health maintenance organizations in a large num- well-care programs may be able to reduce the costs ber of communities. However, there has as yet and increase the effectiveness of health care been no review of the impact of the public partici- delivery in communities throughout the Nation. pation requirements of the Health Maintenance Organizations Act of 1973, Congress may also Local and National Significance.–The wish to investigate means of addressing the barrier organizers in Hyde Park-Kenwood wanted to de- posed by State medical practice laws.

The Technologies From a Local Perspective

The preceding profiles show that the projects Viewed broadly, local development is not had widely varying objectives and suggest that always simply a question of economic growth as their significance can be quite different when conventionally measured. Efficient and cost-effec- viewed from the national perspective instead of tive municipal services—the goal of several of the the local. Thus, no simple judgment of “success” projects—are a necessary underpinning to local de- or “failure” can be applied: each case must be en- velopment, as is the availability of health care and amined from both points of view. a healthful, pleasant environment. Similarly, it is not sufficient to ask whether the projects created ● reduce the volume of sludge and other res- new employment. In one case study, jobs have idues that must be disposed of; and been saved that otherwise would have been lost– . reduce the air, water, and land pollution certainly as important as the creation of new jobs. associated with waste management. Other projects have aided the continued operation of existing enterprises—the small family farm. 2. Energy.– ● reduce the energy consumption of waste- Creating employment and new industry was not water treatment facilities; the principal objective of the projects examined. ● develop new sources of energy for munici- Nevertheless, some of the projects provided help pal services and local industrial use; and in severely depressed areas by creating jobs and by . recommission abandoned or underutilized providing training or retraining for the unem- energy-generating facilities for local use. ployed. Often, however, these jobs and training programs were limited to the construction phase of 3. Health care and social services.— the projects and did not represent permanent ● increase the availability of primary health employment opportunities. Some of the projects care; did improve the viability of existing enterprises ● reduce the cost of medical services; and (small farms). Others could create significant op- ● provide community activities for the elder- portunities for small business—the home-improve- ly and the handicapped. ment and construction sector is notable in this connection. The technologies for residential housing address One real significance of these projects from a the energy efficiency of the local housing stock, local perspective is their potential for reducing—or thereby reducing the costs of owning or renting a at least stabilizing—the real costs of communit y home. The technologies for small-scale agriculture services. The following are some examples taken address the variable costs—energy for machinery from the case studies: and farm buildings—that farmers have the most 1. Waste management and resource recovery.— control over. By stabilizing or reducing the farm- ● reduce the operating costs of secondary er’s production costs, these technologies might wastewater treatment; make the difference in helping to keep him in busi- . use municipal solid waste as a fuel to gen- ness. The farmers’ market and other direct-mar- erate steam for use in the downtown area; keting strategies, by creating or expanding local ● recover materials from municipal wastes} markets, likewise improve the farmer’s return on including compost and water as well as alu- investment and thereby improve the economic minum, glass, iron, and steel; viability of the small family farm.

The Technologies From a National Perspective

Perhaps the most important aspect of these tech- be important to the success or failure of similar nologies from a national perspective is their trans- projects elsewhere. These critical factors will be ad- ferability–the degree to which a technology that dressed in the next section. was successfully developed in one community can be replicated in other communities throughout the If the development projects examined in the Nation. This preliminary study includes only a case studies were replicated by a large number of few case studies, and for this reason it is difficult to communities throughout the Nation, their com- draw any firm conclusions on this subject. Several bined effects could make a significant contribution of the case studies suggest that the success of some to achieving national goals in the following three development projects was due to unique local re- sectors: sources; but even in those cases it is possible to ● Community services. —The correction, up- learn valuable lessons about the factors that might grading, and expansion of the Nation’s waste- 240 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development

water treatment facilities through conven- through energy-saving retrofits such as at- tional approaches may be beyond the re- tached solar heating greenhouses. By reduc- sources currently available to the Federal, ing the demand for energy in this important State, and local governments. Alternatives sector, technologies like those examined in such as the Solar AquaCell may provide this study could, on a national level, not only more cost-effective solutions. Similarly, the help to stem the rise in the total costs of hous- contribution of hydroelectric power to the ing but also reduce the need to develop costly Nation’s energy supplies could be substantial- new sources of energy. ly increased by installing additional capacity at existing small-scale damsites like Woon- Small-scale agriculture. –By reducing energy socket’s that are currently unused or under- and other production costs, and by increasing utilized. The staggering costs of health care, the prices that farmers receive for their pro- which may soon consume 15 percent of the duce, these production technologies and mar- gross national product, might also be cut by keting approaches can improve the economic prepaid health care plans and the diffusion of viability of the small family farm. They can community health care centers such as Hyde also help to promote agricultural land retention and hel to ensure local food supplies in Park-Kenwood. p ● Residential energy conservation.—The residen- the event of an oil embargo, natural disaster, tial sector accounts for over 20 percent of an- or war. nual U.S. energy consumption. Americans have already responded to the changing ener- From a national perspective, the potential bill gy situation by reducing the direct consump- for some of the services examined, such as tion of energy in their homes, but dramatic wastewater treatment, is so high that any reduc- further savings are possible: conservation tion in their cost might free up significant measures that are cost effective against cur- resources for other national needs. In several other rent energy prices could save the energy cases, the technologies represent an updating of equivalent of the total production rate of approaches that were in use before the era of Alaska’s North Slope. This potential energy cheap and plentiful energy supplies. While they savings is particularly important in view of are unlikely to become more than a partial alter- the number of new houses that must be built native to centralized or large-scale technology, in the next 20 years, but considerable savings they can help to broaden and diversify the Na- are also possible for existing housing stock tion’s “technology mix. ”

Critical Factors

The relative uniqueness of some of the projects, and the local tradition of cooperative action; in which might limit their transferability, is largely a the case of the New Life Farm, the success of the result of special conditions or community re- project depended in large part on the special con- sources. In some instances the resources were tributions made by a charismatic leader. In still financial: passive solar houses, for instance, are be- other communities, the special resources were ma- ing built primarily in the custom housing market terial: Wareham and Woonsocket both had ex- for middle- and high-income families; similarly, isting damsites at which to install hydroelectric the Solar AquaCell wastewater technology in- generators, and Akron had an existing distribu- volves substantial risks, and might not have been tion system for the steam created by burning built had it not been for the city’s revenue base. In refuse. other cases the special resources were human: the Hyde Park-Kenwood organizers, for instance, Despite the unique elements found in some of could draw on the considerable resources available the projects, however, a number of common fac- through the University of Chicago community tors seems to be important in the success or failure Ch. 1l–Overview ● 241

I of each case, as well as in their likely transferability in the case studies of solar heating greenhouses in to other communities. New Mexico and farm energy systems in Nebras- ka. Comprehensive programs of instruction, prac- Public Perception and Participation tical experience, and individual technical assistance—used in Morehouse Parish, La., as well as In municipal undertakings, such as the Akron Cedar County, Nebr.–appear to be the most ef- RES, the low-head hydroelectric projects in Ware- fective mechanism for transferring technical in- ham and Woonsocket, and the Hercules AquaCell formation about the simpler technologies. facility, public participation was not a major factor. Greater participation by local residents in the Essential Resources planning of the projects, however, might have encouraged consideration of alternative approaches; The availability of essential resources—material for example, Akron might have decided on a turn- and human, tools and labor—was found to be the key development rather than assuming the risk most unique factor in these projects. For this itself. Public participation seemed to be important reason, it is also likely to affect their transferability to the success of such community undertakings as to other communities. The apparent lack of re- the health care center in Hyde Park-Kenwood and sources in a community, however, is less of a bar- the various farmers’ markets. In the case of in- rier to the development of these projects than it dividual undertakings, such as the solar applica- might at first seem. The unpromising resources in tions in the Small Farm Energy Project, the pas- Morehouse Parish (almost total reliance on cotton) sive solar houses, and the attached solar green- and Rutland (very little local vegetable produc- house retrofits, a high degree of public interest and tion) were eventually overcome through the efforts participation was—almost by definition—essential of determined and imaginative organizers. This is to the success of the projects. not quite a case of pulling a rabbit out of a hat, however; only an outsider would conclude that Technical Information and Expertise necessary resources are not available. The lesson Availability of technical information and exper- seems to be that a great deal can be done if re- tise was found to be crucial to the successful plan- sources are developed and managed from within ning, construction, and operation of all the proj- the community, and in some cases—the manure ects. The Cheyenne Community Solar Green- digester, for example–a promising technology can house offered an example of the difficulties that be based on what might seem the least promising can arise when this information and expertise is resource base (hog manure and depleted farm- lacking. land). In the larger projects, city planners and con- Financing sulting engineers demanded reliable data on the capital costs and technical performance of the The forms of financing used in the projects were technologies. Where such detailed information is as varied as the financial needs involved. Grant- not yet available, as was the case with the Aqua- financed projects appear to work best where initial Cell, high contingency fees and difficulties in seed money is required, either to attract more con- securing financing must be expected. For less com- ventional financing (as in the case of Woonsocket) plicated community projects, on the other hand, or to allow the project to become self-supporting the needs for information are simpler and can (as in the case of the farmers’ markets). The proj- often be met through “networking,” as was the ects were less successful, or encountered a new set case in the organization of the farmers’ markets in of problems, when they became dependent on the Boston area, In the case of individual under- total or continued grant financing. For one thing, takings, the greatest need is for personal, hands-on they have a continuing need to attract new grants, experience in the design and construction skills which may require the staff to invest its time in needed to build the installation. This experience fundraising instead of project management; for was provided effectively by community workshops another, grant funding is frequently tied to specific 242 ● Assessment of Technology for Local Development projects rather than being available for general port themselves in time, although in the case of and administrative expenses. The latter may cause the Bronx this probably will require raising tip- the project staff to become involved with a ping fees to competitive levels. Some projects, on number of disparate efforts, instead of concen- the other hand, are not profit-oriented and are trating its time and attention on the success of a unable to become self-supporting. Community central program. The Bronx comporting project service projects like the Cheyenne solar green- encountered both of these problems, but the or- house are the best example of the latter, and their ganizers were able to overcome them (to some cost effectiveness must be evaluated in comparison degree) through “consortium funding’’-by seek- with alternative mechanisms for delivering the ing smaller grants from a large number of donors, same social services. they avoided becoming too dependent on a single source. In Wareham, on the other hand, the or- Institutional Factors ganizers’ insistence on financing their whole proj- Some of the projects were opposed, at least ini- ect through grants has led to delays in the comple- tially, by professional and commercial interests; tion of the hydroelectric project. others encountered difficulties due to institutional In the smaller scale projects, the success of the resistance or outright opposition. Professional re- Small Farm Energy Project shows that cost-shar- sistance seemed to derive from a demand for better ing funds can be very effective in encouraging the and more reliable performance data; the re- adoption of some technologies. This and other luctance of the engineering profession to accept projects also demonstrate that grant funding for the AquaCell technology is a good example, as is community workshops can be highly cost effec- the building industry’s reluctance to accept new tive, because of the high leverage they achieve in housing designs. In other cases, local commerical disseminating information and practical skills and interests opposed a project that they thought in encouraging independent efforts within the might become a competitor (as in the case of a community. Many of the residential projects were greenhouse operator in Cheyenne) or might be financed out-of-pocket by individuals, and tax detrimental to local business (as in the case of the credits and low-cost loans (including loans from Rutland farmers’ market); these fears usually utility companies) can effectively encourage these proved unfounded, however, and in other cases investments. (notably Ravinia) the business community was an important promoter of a project. Financial institu- The development of larger scale technologies, tions were hesitant about financing some of the like the Solar AquaCell, can be impeded consid- projects, particularly resource-efficient housing. erably by the current state of the venture capital Some of the projects also experienced opposition market. In large municipal projects, such as cen- (or at any rate insensitivity) from regulatory and tralized resource recovery or small-scale hydro- other government agencies; building codes and power or wastewater treatment, intervention may waste-management guidelines are a particular also be required to reduce financial risk in order to source of difficulty for some technologies. attract conventional financing. These, too, are cases where Federal and other grants can be pro- One institutional arrangement that can productively used as seed money. mote the adoption and diffusion of these technologies is networking—establishing links between Some of the projects became self-supporting in a existing delivery systems and public interest fairly short time; the farmers’ markets are the best groups—which was used successfully by city and example of this, but they also have much smaller State agencies in Boston and Baltimore. In most capital requirements than most of the other proj- cases, the assistance of the Federal Government ects. Other projects—notably the Bronx Frontier was effective, although in some cases it could have Development Corp.–have the potential to sup- been improved, as will be discussed below. Ch. 11–Ovreview ● 243

Federal Policy

A wide variety of Federal policies and programs applications. Finally, some of the projects involve have contributed, directly or indirectly, to the de- variations on technologies that have been in use velopment and adoption of these technologies; the for some time, and which could productively be individual chapters contain extended discussions subjected to a comprehensive comparison with of these programs. Criticisms of these Federal pro- one another and with more conventional ap- grams concern the extent, coordination, and proaches; the future dissemination of this category management of these programs, rather than their of technologies, which includes several varieties of formal objectives. These criticisms, and proposals passive solar houses, farmers’ markets, and health for addressing them, are also discussed in the in- maintenance organizations, could be assisted by dividual chapters. this kind of evaluation and comparison. The pattern that emerges from the case studies It should be noted, however, that most of the lo- suggests that there are four principal areas in cal development projects that were examined in which Federal programs for local development this study were not designed with the specific pur- might be modified and improved: pose of providing technical demonstrations of the technologies involved or gathering technical and ● data gathering and analysis; . information dissemination; other data on those technologies. In addition, there are special difficulties involved in the gather- ● technical assistance; and ing of reliable data at facilities that are currently in ● financial assistance. use by the community or, in the case of projects Data Gathering undertaken by individuals, currently occupied. The behavior of the occupants has a considerable The technologies examined in the case studies influence on the performance of energy-efficient were found to be at varying stages or development, houses, for instance; similarly, the staff of the but they all seemed likely to profit from a more Cheyenne greenhouse, like the busy farmers in concentrated effort to gather reliable data on the Cedar County, Nebr., have had neither the time design, cost, performance, and/or reliability of the nor the equipment to conduct detailed monitoring technology itself, as well as on the particular com- of their solar installations. munity’s experience in applying it. In the case of technologies that are still in the experimental Options.–There are a number of steps that stage, this information is vital to their further de- can be taken by Federal agencies and local project velopment; the gathering of such data was seen to organizers to ensure that adequate data gathering be the central objective of several of the projects, and analysis is in fact carried out. These steps in- including the Solsearch Conserver Home and the clude, but are not limited to, the following: New Life Farm biogas digesters. Other case studies ● Modify project design. -Federal agencies can involved technologies that had been successful in encourage grant applicants to include a laboratory- or pilot-scale demonstrations, but were strong data-gathering component in the de- being applied for the first time in a full commer- sign of their projects, where possible. In some cial- or municipal-scale facility; in these cases— cases this may require additional funding or which included the food-producing solar green- the earmarking of a portion of the project’s house, Recycle Energy System, large-scale com- funds specifically for data-gathering. posting, and Solar AquaCell wastewater treat- ● Redirect existing research.–In some cases what ment—the acceptance of the technology by other is needed is not more data but a different kind communities will depend on the demonstrated re- of data, particularly social science data. Hu- liability and cost-effectiveness of the pioneer man behavior is a significant but uncon- installations. In still other cases, the local develop- trolled variable in some projects. Occupants ment project involved the innovative application of solar-heated houses, for instance, may have of a proven technology, as in the onfarm solar to open and close vents or tolerate wide tem- 244 ● Assessment o/Technology for Local Development

perature swings. Similarly, Federal research Administration that have extensive local rep- has traditionally been oriented toward the resentation, are in a good position to en- science and engineering underlying resource courage the establishment of similar networks recovery; future efforts might productively in- to spread information and share experience vestigate the human aspect, such as incen- among local groups, State agencies, and Fed- tives that would promote source separation eral programs throughout the Nation. by individual households. ● Establish regional demonstration Projects.—The ● Support and expand Federal monitoring proj- case studies have shown that local demonstra- ects.—The National Center for Appropriate tion projects are particularly effective in Technology has begun two projects to moni- stimulating a community’s interest in in- tor the performance of different solar green- novative technologies and, more significant- house designs. Similar projects might be ly, in promoting the adoption of those tech- undertaken by other Federal agencies to pro- nologies by other local residents. This was vide assistance for monitoring the perform- particularly true in the case of the Small Farm ance of other projects, including direct-mar- Energy Project in Nebraska, but could also be keting strategies and energy technologies for seen in the interest stimulated by several of small-scale farmers. the resource-efficient houses. The creation of regional research and demonstration centers, Information Dissemination such as model energy-efficient farms at State Even when a technology is fairly well developed experimental stations, could also help to and data have been gathered by one developer, its generate information on the effectiveness of diffusion can be impeded if other potential de- integrated systems of farming techniques and velopers are unaware of the project or unable to farm energy technologies. obtain detailed information on design, costs, and ● Encourage information exchange.-The Federal performance. In some cases this will cause com- Home Loan Bank Board has conducted four munities to overlook a promising alternative or to workshops on energy-efficient housing as part waste time and money in an unnecessary duplica- of its efforts to encourage local savings and tion of efforts that have already been carried out loan associations to include conservation re- elsewhere. In other cases it will result in resistance quirements in their home loan programs; this from engineers and financial sources who, in the program, however, had no legislative man- absence of reliable technical and economic in- date. The Resource Recovery and Conser- formation, consider the project too risky. In a few vation Act of 1976 called on the Environ- cases this might cause the failure of a project be- mental Protection Agency to organize a cause its organizers were unaware of the problems, similar program of information exchange be- and solutions, that have been discovered in similar tween different levels of government, and be- projects elsewhere. tween government and private industry, on the performance of available resource re- Options.–The problem of information dis- covery systems; however, sufficient funds semination can be addressed through a number of were not appropriated to implement this pro- measures—local, regional, and national—includ- gram. The Federal Government could con- ing but not limited to the following: tribute to the diffusion of a number of these ● Encourage networking. –The establishment of technologies by creating and funding a more networks, through which local and regional extensive program of regional panels and groups with related interests are able to share seminars at which local bankers, home- information and expertise, has been effective builders, engineers, urban planners, and in organizing farmers’ markets in the Boston other interested parties could be exposed to area and for disseminating information on recent developments in their fields. By dis- small farm systems in Nebraska. Federal agen- seminating the necessary information on de- cies, particularly those like the Agricultural sign, reliability, and costs, this approach Extension Service and Community Services could be useful in overcoming institutional and financial barriers to the adoption of the the Cheyenne greenhouse allowed local technologies by other communities. residents to plan and build their own facility; it also provided marketable skills and work Technical Assistance experience for local high school students. A similar program in Bethel, Alaska, was part of Even when reliable design and performance the curriculum of Kuskokwim Community data are available, the development of a particular College. project will not be possible unless and adequate ● One-on-one technical assistance.—Personalized, skill base exists, or can be developed, in the local individual attention from organizers and out- community. This can be a problem even with the side experts was useful in providing specific simplest of projects, although the skills needed for help to farmers both in building solar installa- planning and building an attached solar green- tions in Nebraska and in organizing a farmhouse, for instance, can be taught rather easily. ers’ market and ancillary projects in More- Often, however, these skills are relatively com- house Parish, La. The existing extension pro- plex, and difficulty of acquiring them can be a bar- gram of the Departments of Energy and Ag- rier to the success of the project. In the case of the riculture could be used as a mechanism for larger municipal projects, even the expertise this form of assistance. needed for planning the project or determining its ● feasibility are beyond the means of a given com- Computer models and other planning aids.– munity. Some communities lack the expertise for planning large municipal projects, and for Options.—There are two basic approaches to other communities the expense of detailed this problem: technical assistance and skill trans- feasibility studies may be prohibitive. Tech- fer. The former usually involves greater Federal in- nical assistance in these cases might include volvement and greater expense; the latter usually manpower for conducting site evaluation and costs less and benefits the community more, since other preliminary studies of the local resource the skill base will remain in the community after base. However, the same assistance can be the completion of the project. The following repre- provided in the form of handbooks showing sent a range of options for technical assistance: how local groups and municipal governments ● Workshops.—For the simplest of the projects, can conduct a low-cost, “quick and dirty” particularly those that are to be built by in- feasibility study. In some cases, notably that dividual homeowners or farmers, the com- of small-scale hydropower projects, computer munity workshop approach is highly effec- models have been developed for this purpose; tive. This was the case with the attached solar Federal agencies have also prepared feasibility greenhouse in both New Mexico and Wyo- and planning manuals for farmers’ markets ming, where small groups of neighbors can and community health care centers. Local together to learn by doing: they planned and groups could be assisted greatly by the de- built a greenhouse on the home of one of the velopment of similar technical and or- group members, thereby learning the skills ganizational guides for energy-efficient hous- that they would need to plan and build their ing and farm systems, resource-recovery sys- own greenhouses later. This approach was tems, and wastewater treatment facilities. also successful in demonstrating the tech- These aids would allow local communities to nology in the local community, and it was conduct their own evaluations and planning, often the stimulus for additional installations. without the need for extensive Federal ● Training programs and seminars.--The Small involvement or funding. Farm Energy Project in Nebraska demon- ● Expert assistance panels.—The Resource Re- strated the effectiveness of programs of lec- covery and Conservation Act of 1976 di- tures, seminars, and discussion groups in ex- rected the Environmental Protection Agency posing local residents to a wide variety of po- (EPA) to provide State and local governments tential applications for their farms. The train- with teams of technical, financial, marketing, ing programs conducted by the organizers of and institutional specialists to assist them in 246 Ž Assessment of Technology for Local Development

developing comprehensive plans for waste on the technologies (see above) can also management and resource recovery. EPA’s reduce the financial risks of the projects Technical Assistance Panels Program pro- and prevent costly planning errors. Data- vided staff and consultant expertise in these gathering efforts might include programs to areas to over 160 communities in 1978 and determine the capital and operating costs of 1979. A similar program has been planned for existing installations; this information could DOE’s Energy Extension Service. The es- then be disseminated to financial institutions tablishment of similar assistance programs by through regional workshops like those con- other agencies might be useful in promoting ducted by the Federal Home Loan Bank the consideration, adoption, and construc- Board. Particular attention—and where nec- tion of local projects for wastewater treat- essary, expert assistance—should be given to ment, energy generation, and health care. the collection of cost-benefit and lifecycle cost information. Financial Assistance Financial risk reduction.–Current Federal pro- Some of the technologies had the virtue of low grams for innovative and alternative waste- cost, which allowed them to be developed by local water systems include risk guarantees for the communities without major Federal assistance. In correction or modification of facilities that do several of the case studies the costs of the project not work properly, at no cost to the local gov- were minimal and the project rapidly became self- ernment. Similar guarantees might encourage supporting. This was particularly true of the the consideration of other alternative tech- farmers’ markets and some of the energy-saving re- nologies. Tax-free bonding would also im- trofits for residential and farm buildings. Other prove the financial profiles of some municipal projects, although they promise to cut total costs undertakings. over the life of the installation, required initial Earmarked and set-aside funds.-Federal appro- investments that might be beyond the resources of priations for research, development, dem- some communities or involved technical and eco- onstration, and construction of municipal fa- nomic risks that could make conventional fi- cilities might set aside a certain portion of the nancing difficult or impossible to obtain. This was funds specifically for the adoption of in- found to be true in the case of the larger municipal novative and alternative technologies. projects, such as resource recovery, wastewater, Subsidzed loans.—The Solar and Conserva- and hydroelectric installations. Given the poten- tion Bank, recently established within the tial expense of these municipal services on a na- Department of Housing and Urban Develop- tional level, and the potential benefits of de- ment, provides low-cost loans for conserva- veloping innovative methods of delivering them, it tion retrofits and solar features in new hous- might be appropriate that the Federal Govern- ing. The Farmers’ Home Administration pro- ment intervene to reduce the financial risks and vides similar loans for rural housing, and the burdens they might impose on local communities. Federal Home Loan Bank Board encourages At issue is the form that this intervention should local savings and loan associations to include take. energy-efficiency requirements in their home loan programs. These efforts might be ex- Options.–Several of the local development panded and/or extended to include other projects examined in the case studies could be re- technologies. plicated by other communities without Federal fi- Tax credits and other incentives. –Eligibility for nancial assistance. But even in cases where Federal Federal tax credits, such as the Residential assistance is necessary, there are several ways in Energy Credit, might encourage the adoption which the degree or amount of this assistance can of several of the smaller technologies. Current be held down. These measures include, but are not Internal Revenue Service guidelines do not limited to, the following: allow credits for attached solar greenhouses, c Technical risk reduction.—Federal efforts to for instance, and extension of the credits to gather and disseminate reliable information include farm installations might also promote Ch. 11–Overview ● 247

the more rapid adoption of biogas digesters guidelines, such as those promulgated for re-

and onfarm solar installations like those de- cycled steel, might ensure a market for locally veloped in the Small Farm Energy Project. grown produce or for materials recovered ● Stimulate markets.-Federal procurement from municipal waste. Appendix— Members of the Appropriate Technology Workshop, Study Teams, and Task Force

The Workshop on Appropriate Technology Department of City and Regional Planning Harvard University

Beldon Daniels, Faculty Advisor Lee Bourgoin Richard DeSanti Teresa Canfield Jonathan Feld Randall Constatine Michael Fischer Katherine Day James Greenwood The Community Study Teams Small Farm Energy Project New Mexico Solar Greenhouse Study (Cedar County, Nebr.) (Statewide)

Marie Arnot, Coordinator Claire Reiniger/ Scott Morris, Coordinators Gary Arndt Gerald Miller Bruce Allen Susan Nichols Richard Frey Leonard Miller Vince Burns Scott Noll Clarence Johnsen Vince Rossiter Scott Clark Buck Rodgers Joe Keiter LaVern Truby Michael Coca Greg Shenstone Martin Kleinschmit Merle Wohlman Able Davis Bristol Stickney Melvin Lammmers Mike Wortmann Lesley Lazar Ed Tyson Chris Miller Kevin Lear\ Frances Tyson Joan Loitz Paul Wickerson Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Health Beverly McGinnis Alex Wilson Center (Chicago, Ill.) David Miller Ann Wonders Katie Frankle, Coordinator Pike Place Market (Seattle, Wash.) Simon Gross Barbara Snoke Pamela Haley Ruth Surgal Care] Ludden, Coordinator Jody Howard Parsons Judith Yacker Susan Appel Mary Herrman Mary Sims George Bartholick Lorabeth Lawson Ralph Bolson Gerald Schreuder Health Care Institute (Detroit, Mich.) Collene Clark Anne Tood Sharar Stephan Crane Frankie Whitman Patrick Heron, Coordinator Michelle Hafncr Ramona J. Clark Brunhilde Merk John E. Collins Violet E. Ponders M. Joan Fields Roger Towne George Gaines James Warden Grant G. Gillespie Gerald Wehmer Leona Glover Task Force on Appropriate Technology

Lola Redford, Chairperson President, Consumer Action Now

Tom Bender Thomas Sheridan Freelance Writer, Energy & Technology Professor of Engineering and Applied Psychology Massachusetts Institute of Technology Robert S. Browne Director; President of the Board Henryk Skolimowski Black Economic Research Center Professor of Philosophy Department of Humanities Wilson Clark College of Engineering Energy Advisor University of Michigan The Governor’s Office State Of California Barry Stein President Kye Cochran Goodmeasure, Inc. Coordinator Alternative Energy Resources Organization Charles B. Tisdale Federal Coordinator John Cole Cities in Schools Program Author & Contributing Editor Nancy Jack Todd Cecil E. Cook, Jr. Codirector Senior Associate The New Alchemy Institute Inter-Culture Associates Ex Officio: Nicholas Georgescu--Roegen Distinguished Professor- Emeritus Hazel Henderson Vanderbilt University Member, Technology Assessment Advisory Council of OTA Jerome Goldstein Editor and Publisher Byron Kennard The J. G. Press, Inc. Community Organizer

Karl Hess Merle Lefkoff Author, Comunity Technology Senior Partner Eplan, Roark, Lefkoff and Allen Joyce A. Hughes Professor of Law Arthur S. Obermayer Northwestern University School of Law President; Chairman of the Board MOLECULON Research Corp. Elizabeth Kingman Consultant in Energy & Communication