Ogallala Commons, a resource development network for the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer region (http://www.ogallalacommons.org), hosted a renewable energy Field Tours Day at the American Wind Power Center on Friday, February 4th. More than 80 participants received a short walking tour of windmill development, causing most to marvel at the ingenuity and practical innovation exhibited by our predecessors. Turning to 21st century possibilities, tour groups fanned out to visit a wind and solar project in nearby Hale Center, a geothermal heating and cooling application at Lubbock Christian University, as well as renewable nature tourism resources along the Canyon Lakes Drive in Lubbock. Afternoon tours included a biomass digester plant in the outpost of Grasslands, a tour of alternative energy-efficient construction around Lubbock, as well as two adobe homes.

Most tour participants doubled their learning efforts by attending the 16th Annual Southern Plains Conference on Saturday, Feb. 5th. The event drew 100 attendees to the Science Spectrum in south Lubbock, with its theme "Wind, Water, & Sun…Overcoming Obstacles to Renewable Energy in a Transitional Economy." Dr. Ken Starcher from the Alternative Energy Institute at West Texas A&M University in Canyon offered a general overview of renewable energy projects and some resources to help make large and small applications feasible. In addition to table exhibits, four workshops gave participants reliable information: Small-Scale Solar & Wind Applications, Transitioning to Home-Produced Energies, Creating a 2-Year Certificate in Renewable Energy, and Using Art to Renew Human Energy.