Tree Planting
The first official Canary Tag project was a tree planting project. Canary partnered with the Aspen School District and Plant Trees 4 Life to plant 44 trees at the Aspen Middle School. As they grow, these trees will store an estimated 130 tons of carbon dioxide. That's approximately the amount of carbon produced if you were to fly round trip between Aspen and Australia 44 times! These trees will not only store global-warming carbon dioxide, they will also provide our community with beauty, shade, and cleaner air.
Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power, the leading source worldwide of renewable energy, generates electricity from dammed or flowing water driving a turbine and a generator. The City of Aspen's Electric Utility already generates almost half of its power from so called micro-hydroelectric systems- without building large dams which can cause significant ecological and hydrological disturbance. Locally and regionally there is more potential to generate hydroelectricity while generating zero greenhouse gases. Our projects will tap unused water resources without big dams by diverting a portion of a stream, a creek or a river and then returning the water into the main flow. Canary Tags will only invest in small scale hydroelectric projects with positive environmental benefits. The Castle Creek Hydro Project start date is still TBD and will provide 1.05 kilowatts of carbon-free power. The flow at the site is 12 to 14 cubic feet per second (year round) and the total available head is 10 feet (4.33 psig).
Solar Photovoltaic
Similarly to power generated by hydroelectric systems, solar photovoltaic systems generate electricity without greenhouse gas emissions.
Another project planned for the 2009/2010 season involves the installation of a 25 kilowatt solar photovoltaic system at the City of Aspen’s Water Treatment Plant, the second installed at this location. The goal of the project is to produce an additional 25 percent of the facility’s electricity on an annual basis for a total of 40 years.
Solar Hot Water
Residences and businesses can produce domestic hot water or heat their buildings with solar power. A typical solar hot water system that is displacing coal-fired electricity can save 350 tons of greenhouse gases each year. Installing solar hot water on homes and businesses allows water to be pre-heated without electricity or natural gas thereby substituting a greenhouse gas producing method with a non polluting renewable one.
Energy Efficiency
Reducing greenhouse gases through the implementation of energy efficiency is based on doing more with less. In the portfolio we will include projects that use more energy efficient technologies and products in local buildings. The building sector uses 2/3 of the electricity and 1/3 of the natural gas consumed in the U.S, thus we see energy efficiency measures as a key part of our carbon reduction portfolio.
The City of Aspen is entering into an energy savings performance contract to make energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades in city buildings with little or no upfront capital. Improvements are then paid for over time through resulting energy savings. Energy savings are guaranteed and carefully monitored. While performance contracts are meant to reduce or eliminate the need for upfront capital, the more funds available, the more improvements that are possible. Canary Tags could help make these improvements a reality more quickly. While results vary, on average, high-performance buildings save the following:
- Energy savings: 20-35%
- Greenhouse gas emissions: 40%
- Water savings: 40%
- Solid waste: 70%
Ground and Water Source Heat Pumps
The Burlingame Phase II affordable housing project lies about two miles north of the City of Aspen, between Highway 82 and the Roaring Fork River. Phase I of the development is already built, and the next phase is currently in the planning stages and is anticipated to have 132 housing units and a total of 162,000 gross square feet of conditioned space. There is an opportunity to install a cost-effective water source heat pump system at two nearby ponds at the City’s wastewater treatment plant, each about 2/3 acre in surface area. These ponds receive effluent from the plant at a relatively warm 60° F. This is an excellent potential source for a heat pump system. The heat can be claimed by placing plate heat exchangers in the pond, or by routing the effluent directly through a shell/tube heat exchanger. Water-source heat pumps (GSHPs) use electric compressors to transfer heat from a water source providing a high-efficiency electric alternative to heating by burning fossil fuels (natural gas or LP gas). GSHPs can also run in reverse to provide cooling for buildings, although no cooling is expected at this development.