Geos - First Fossil-Fuel-Free Community
When it comes to eliminating the use of fossil fuels, why just keep setting percentages and meeting partial goals; why not create social environments that are totally fossil-fuel-free? A community in Colorado intends to achieve exactly that – it’s going to be the world’s first fossil fuel free community. Most of its energy demands will be met from the earth and the sun. The community, called Geos, will be spread over an area of 25 acres, bordered on the West by the Croke Canal, and on the South by Ralston Creek.
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Although the community will have 250 homes ranging from 850 square feet to more than 3500 square feet spread over four neighborhoods, 40% of the area will be kept as green space. Just because it is an environment friendly community it doesn’t mean it is going to be all drab and dull: the community intends to cater to people from all tastes and lifestyles. The fossil fuel free community intends to have a network of plazas, parks and trails.
Geos plans to employ both active and passive energy generation methods to meet heating and electric energy needs day and night. The homes will be constricted to maximize the capturing of sun rays. The doors and windows will be strategically placed to conserve as much energy as possible and rooftops will be outfitted with photovoltaic solar panels that will send their excess power to the grid for storage.
Is it a futuristic plan? Not at all. The first home will be available during the spring of 2009.
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September 1st, 2008
Colorado is unique to most other parts of the USA. It has 300 days of bright sun and a dry climate. A regular house facing either east or south with windows will generate so much heat in the winter that you open windows and doors to cool it down. Heat only needed at night for a few hours.
So in constructing one of these homes and many have been done, not a community yet. The cost runs an extra 40-60% from what I see. Not many see that cost justified for they do not see the urgency of getting rid of fossil fuel. As we sit on enough oil out here to last another 200 yrs.
Of course one has to also remember that most of our electricity out West comes from water, dams. Which is the best alternative for cheap electricity and preserving water for summer irrigation or city water.
Of course environmentalists are putting the halts on further creation of those.