WriConsult
10-24-2011, 04:10 PM
Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle calls the business at the busy corner of Southwest Murray and Allen boulevards "the most sustainable station in America." (http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2011/10/beavertons_highland_chevron_ga.html)
Eric Apalategui - Special to The Oregonian (http://www.oregonlive.com/) - October 24, 2011
http://media.oregonlive.com/beaverton_news/photo/10178953-large.jpg
BEAVERTON -- If it weren't for the temporary signs that Bob Barman posted all around, most drivers stopping for a fill-up wouldn't know there's something revolutionary going on at his new Highland Chevron gas station and Extra Mile convenience store.
Besides selling gas and snacks, Barman's store is a small power plant that produces as much electricity as it consumes, a goal that energy efficiency advocates call "net zero."
Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle calls the business at the busy corner of Southwest Murray and Allen boulevards "the most sustainable station in America."
"Can you imagine how much energy our country would save if every business went to net zero?" said Barman, 54, who wants his station to serve as a model for gas stations and other businesses.
Thanks to features largely out of sight, nature quietly keeps the lights bright and the coolers full of frigid soda and energy drinks.
More than 180 solar panels top the pump station canopy and store roof, tapping sunlight to meet about a third of a typical gas station's electricity needs.
In addition, the station uses only a third of the wattage of others that also have 24-hour stores, thanks to two more features seldom found at a neighborhood gas station.
A geothermal well plunges 426 feet below ground, exchanging heat through groundwater. Naturally cool water helps run the Extra Mile's bank of refrigerators. Water pipes gather heat that cooling units extract and store it far underground as hot water.
"All summer, we stuff heat in the ground. All winter, we take it back out," said John Lower, whose Vancouver-based Total Energy Concepts installed the geothermal system.
[Read More... (http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2011/10/beavertons_highland_chevron_ga.html)]
Eric Apalategui - Special to The Oregonian (http://www.oregonlive.com/) - October 24, 2011
http://media.oregonlive.com/beaverton_news/photo/10178953-large.jpg
BEAVERTON -- If it weren't for the temporary signs that Bob Barman posted all around, most drivers stopping for a fill-up wouldn't know there's something revolutionary going on at his new Highland Chevron gas station and Extra Mile convenience store.
Besides selling gas and snacks, Barman's store is a small power plant that produces as much electricity as it consumes, a goal that energy efficiency advocates call "net zero."
Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle calls the business at the busy corner of Southwest Murray and Allen boulevards "the most sustainable station in America."
"Can you imagine how much energy our country would save if every business went to net zero?" said Barman, 54, who wants his station to serve as a model for gas stations and other businesses.
Thanks to features largely out of sight, nature quietly keeps the lights bright and the coolers full of frigid soda and energy drinks.
More than 180 solar panels top the pump station canopy and store roof, tapping sunlight to meet about a third of a typical gas station's electricity needs.
In addition, the station uses only a third of the wattage of others that also have 24-hour stores, thanks to two more features seldom found at a neighborhood gas station.
A geothermal well plunges 426 feet below ground, exchanging heat through groundwater. Naturally cool water helps run the Extra Mile's bank of refrigerators. Water pipes gather heat that cooling units extract and store it far underground as hot water.
"All summer, we stuff heat in the ground. All winter, we take it back out," said John Lower, whose Vancouver-based Total Energy Concepts installed the geothermal system.
[Read More... (http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2011/10/beavertons_highland_chevron_ga.html)]