Viability Sees Oportunities in Carbon Legislation
Not just a threat?
Cap and trade could lead to revenue opportunities for industry
By Joe Boomgaard
MiBiz, Sept. 28, 2008
MUSKEGON – Many manufacturers and other business groups have spoken out against the American Clean Energy and Security bill, but they’re missing the boat on some potentially lucrative business opportunities, according to presenters at a recent energy conference.
“Everyone views (cap and trade) as a threat, and we want to change that. Everyone has an opportunity,” said Kyle Denning, carbon sales manager at Viability LLC, a Holland-based carbon management services company. “You need to take the science and turn that into a business opportunity.”
The proposed carbon cap and trade program will affect only about 13,000 facilities nationwide, said Dan Kuipers, carbon specialist at Viability. Included in that list are the largest emitters of carbon dioxide, mainly power plants and other generation facilities. Under the current proposals, the cap and trade regulation would only affect facilities that emit more than 25,000 tons of CO2 per year —”a huge number,” according to Kuipers. One Viability client with a heating bill in the hundreds of thousands of dollars only emits 15,000 tons per year, he added. His “gut feeling” is that any proposed regulations will directly impact “close to zero” businesses in West Michigan.
Viability Profiled for Carbon Credits, Grants and Growth
Local business launches off green movement
Viability deals in carbon credits, federal grants
By Peter Daining
The Holland Sentinel, Sept. 22, 2009
Holland, MI —This may not seem like the best time to be in economic development, but Chris Byrnes is making it work.
Viability President Chris Byrnes in office. Source: Dennis R.J. Geppert/The Holland Sentinel
Byrnes’ carbon credit and green grant business, Viability, has grown from a one-man operation to 14 employees in just two years.
Viability connects businesses — mostly large greenhouses, so far — with credit and grant money for projects such as switching from natural gas heating systems to biomass.
“A lot of this stuff is brand new,” said Byrnes from his office overlooking Eight Street in downtown Holland. “People haven’t done this before — at least not around here.”
Byrnes doesn’t take a political stance but said people should understand the difference between carbon taxes and credits. Taxes go to the government, whereas credits come from private investment through carbon exchanges.
And whether you believe in global warming or not, carbon credits can have real results.
Viability Partner GMB Wins Regional ‘Green Award’
Business Review West Michigan
September 2, 2009
Green Awards – Hamstra a ‘Green Visionary’
Business Review West Michigan recognized GMB leader in inaugural awards
Steve Hamstra first became involved in the green building industry in 1975, when he constructed his first solar collector.
Influenced by his father, a residential heating and air-conditioning contractor whose company installed one of the first solar thermal collection systems in West Michigan, Hamstra focused his engineering studies on a similar track. He became a pioneer in the application of geothermal heat pump systems in the late 1970s.
Hamstra was the first engineer to achieve U.S. Green Building Council LEED AP accreditation. He also created the engineering design for Michigan’s first USGBC LEED Gold project. He has been recognized by the Association of Energy Engineers as Energy Engineer of the Year, and, in 2007, he received the organization’s Legend in Energy lifetime achievement award.
As executive vice president and director of sustainability at GMB Architecture + Engineering in Holland, Hamstra continues his dedication to sustainability.
Click here to read about other Green Award Winners
The awards ceremony is open to the public. Follow this link to RSVP
Viability Posts Record Amount of Green Energy Grants
Green Scene Staff Report
Holland Sentinel – August 16, 2009
Holland, MI – August 10, 2009 – Although the federal and state fiscal year is winding down, an 8th street company’s numbers are looking up. Viability, a Holland based environmental and economic consulting team, has set a new company record for clean energy grant applications.
As of July 31, Viability had applied for over $3.1 million in federal and state grant and incentives for alternative energy and energy efficiency projects for the first six months of 2009. This year’s total surpassed the $2 million from the same period in 2008. Viability’s clients include companies that are large energy users, including agribusiness, biomass wood fuel producers, and others throughout the U.S.
Federal and state energy grants range can in size and scope from $5,000 for a feasibility study to $1,000,000 for a state of the art complete renewable energy system.
“With energy prices soaring, businesses are searching for ways to lower costs without reducing production,” said Viability President Chris Byrnes. “These energy grants help businesses implement innovative equipment to curb carbon emissions that they otherwise would not undertake.”
Click here to Read Full Article (PDF file)
Viability client, Eagle Creek Wholesale, noted for sustainability
Viability helped Eagle Creek Wholesale win a grant for a 120 ft. tall wind turbine that produces 81,600 kWh a year.
Greenhouse Management & Production – August 6, 2009
John Bonner, general manager of Eagle Creek Wholesale Growers in Mantua, Ohio, is looking to remove risk from his business. One of the biggest risks he has removed is the fluctuating cost of fuel to heat the 5 acres of greenhouses operated by the company.
“We made the decision four years ago to eliminate the risk associated with the fluctuating cost of natural gas,” Bonner said. “We were paying $15 per million cubic feet. It was a big stress on us financially. We wanted to free ourselves from those fluctuating costs.”
Eagle Creek chose to install a 300-horsepower, 5-million Btu Hurst biomass boiler that burns a fuel consisting of dried horse manure, wood chips and sawdust. Bonner said the biggest issue for a grower looking to install a biomass boiler is what fuel source is available.
Click here to Read Full Article
Risk and reward for manufacturers: Viability’s Byrnes talks energy policy
Joe Boomgaard
MiBiz – August 3, 2009
One Holland-based company is helping clients pay for reducing their carbon footprints or for switching to renewable energy.
Chris Byrnes, president of Viability LLC, said much of Lansing’s focus on climate change has been getting manufacturers to make widgets for alternative energy machines – like wind turbines and solar panels – but he advocates for the state to take a look at companies that have installed the wind turbines and solar panels and “are really going green.”
“We need to be incentivizing them as well,” Byrnes told MiBiz.
Viability works with clients all over the country to help manage alternative and renewable energy projects from financing to construction and through implementation.
“Part of what we do is help clients through…what’s their best project,” he said. “Everyone is trying to hedge their energy costs and switching from fossil fuels to renewables is a great thing to do.”
Viability’s “Power From The People V-Bike” A Huge Success At Rothbury
At this year’s Rothbury Music Festival, Viability, LLC offered all festival attendees the chance to produce the power for “carbon neutral music” and musicians to record it. Individuals were able to climb on the custom “V” Bike to generate electricity for an on site recording studio and also earn a free download of the compilation, “Power From the People.”
Chris Byrnes, President of Viability, expressed his excitement over the “V” Bike. “This was a great way to continue the spirit of the environmentally conscious fun at Rothbury!” shared Byrnes. “We believe that this was the first people powered recording studio of its kind.” The eight-person capacity “V” Bike allowed participants to make their mark on the festival without leaving a carbon footprint. Additionally, tweeters, texters and talkers could recharge their cell phones off the “V” Bike in exchange for pedal power.
Professional artists, like Jason Haan of “The String Cheese Incident”, and amateur artists alike were able to record their song, poem, or spoken words expressing the Rothbury spirit.
Recordings from the V-Bike are available on the open source audio site www.archive.org. You can listen to the tracks on their player or download the songs for free on the left side of the screen.
Check out MTV’s interview with Viability’s Greg Lam about the V-Bike below (or this link) and our photos from the festival on Photobucket.
Rothbury Photobucket Slideshow
To read more about the V-Bike click the links below:
http://matadornights.com/us-summer-music-festivals-gone-green/
http://spinearth.tv/report/bike-powered-carbon-neutral-music-at-rothbury
http://www.mlive.com/rothbury/index.ssf/2009/06/vbike_will_power_carbon_neutra.html
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=110989
http://www.planetwize.com/2009/06/bike-powered-%E2%80%98carbon-neutral%E2%80%99-music-at-rothbury/
http://www.revuewm.com/?p=673
http://www.mlive.com/rothbury/index.ssf/2009/06/rothbury_offers_more_than_musi.html
Tulip Time Festival’s environmental impact on Holland under study as leaders look for ways to go green
Project Manager Kyle Denning and Carbon Specialist Dan Kuipers survey Holland's Downtown
Greg Chandler
The Grand Rapids Press – May 04, 2009
HOLLAND — Kyle Denning is walking downtown streets during the Tulip Time Festival this week — talking to vendors, checking out the Tulipalooza concerts’ Sixth Street Stage and even looking at the trash bins.
Denning, a project manager for Holland-based Viability LLC, wants to make the festival more environmentally friendly.
He and others from the company, which advises firms on sustainable business practices, are collecting information on the environmental impact of the Tulip Time Festival, which runs through Saturday.
It’s the first time such a study has been conducted, festival representatives said.
Trying to get a snapshot of how a festival affects environmental quality isn’t the same as trying to measure an industry’s impact, Denning said.
“It’s a new challenge,” he said. “Usually (with a festival), you don’t have these confined boundaries that you’re used to dealing with, (such as) with a manufacturing facility.”
Click here to Read Full Article
Going For Grants: An Interview With Viability’s Chris Byrnes
By Delilah Onofrey, Editor
Greenhouse Grower Magazine – May 2009
For five years, Chris Byrnes, president of Viability in Holland, Mich., has been behind the scenes helping growers land serious grant money for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Many of these grower case studies have been featured in Greenhouse Grower, including Walters Gardens in Michigan, Buckley Growers in Illinois and Pleasant View Gardens in New Hampshire.
The deadline for the next USDA Rural Energy For America Program (REAP) grant cycle is looming, but it’s never too late to start preparing for the next one. This source has been the sweet spot for most of the funding growers have received, but there are many options to explore at the federal, state and local levels. Byrnes specializes in helping growers and other agribusinesses navigate through this process and maximize the success of their projects being funded.
Click here to Read Full Article
Viability to evaluate waste, energy use of Tulip Time Festival
Andrea Goodell
The Holland Sentinel – April 19, 2009
Holland, MI — Hundreds of thousands of people over eight days adds up to a lot of half-eaten elephant ears, gasoline to get here and electricity to power up the stage lights.
A Tulip Time sponsor and Holland-based sustainable business services company, Viability LLC, will evaluate the festival’s waste and its energy use.
“The mindset of the public is starting to change. It’s no longer acceptable to not think of those other costs,” said Dan Kuipers of Viability. Those “other costs” are things like the impact on the environment and society.
“The yardstick we’re using to measure the impact is carbon dioxide,” he said.
Click here to Read Full Article
