Solar scooters, cob cottages on exhibit at energy fair

Reid Nelson gets around Lawrence on a sunbeam.

The attorney powers his mo-ped with batteries charged by solar panels. The result, he says, is no-cost and pollution-free transportation.

Attorney Reid Nelson scoots down 26th Street atop his solar-powered mo-ped. Nelson, pictured Thursday near his Lawrence home, is a proponent of solar energy and a presenter at Sunday's Home Energy Conservation Fair and Sustainable Homes Tour at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

“Normal cars look very outdated to me now,” Nelson said. “You start to get intolerant of cars when you drive a no-emission vehicle around.”

With gasoline nearing $2 a gallon and home heating costs on the rise, Nelson isn’t the only one thinking about energy conservation, so the city’s fourth-annual Home Energy Conservation Fair and Sustainable Homes Tour is especially timely this year.

“There’s a lot of concern and attention being paid to rising natural gas prices, crude oil increases, so there’s a lot of people who will be expecting higher utility bills this year,” said Michelle Crank, a recycling specialist at City Hall, which is sponsoring the event.

The fair will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, Building 21. Buses will leave the fairgrounds on a tour of sustainable homes at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

On the tour: an earth-berm home, a playhouse constructed of “cob,” which is a mixture of sand, straw and clay soil joined with straw-bale construction, and a straw-bale art studio.

Workshops will include sessions on alternative heating and a discussion of home energy tips with Jane Koger, whose “off-grid” Flint Hills straw-bale ranch home uses solar power.

Reed Nelson climbs a ladder to the roof of his house where he's installed solar panels to help generate energy for his home appliances, mower and mo-peds. Nelson, pictured on Thursday at his Lawrence home, touts solar energy as free and abundant.

“The people on that tour have done really innovative things,” Crank said. “True, you can’t get off-grid in Lawrence for your home, but there are easy fixes you can do in your own home.”

Using a solar-powered mo-ped is also easy, said Nelson, who will be a presenter at the fair. The scooter travels 20 miles on a kilowatt of power. And though it has a top speed of 20 mph, Nelson said that was not a problem for traveling around town.

“I get downtown as fast as the bus does,” he said. “I’m probably only a few minutes behind a car.”

Nelson keeps his Toyota Camry around for out-of-town trips, but he’s most devoted to the clean-energy moped.

“I probably do almost all my in-town driving with it, except when the weather’s too cold,” he said. “Other than that — all my shopping, going downtown, groceries, you name it — it just works great.”

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The League of American Bicyclists has given Lawrence its Bicycle Friendly Community designation.More than 50 miles of on-road bicycle lanes have been designated in the city, plus another 20 miles of pathways within the city. There are nearly 30 miles of bicycle paths at Clinton Lake and along the Kansas River east of North Lawrence.The award will be presented by Eric Struckhoff, the city’s Bicycling Advisory Committee chairman, at the Lawrence City Commission meeting, 6:35 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

The city’s Home Energy Conservation Fair and Sustainable Homes Tour will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, Building 21, 21st and Harper streets.Workshops start at 10:15 a.m.:¢ John Craft, remodeler and home energy rater: “Introduction to Energy.”¢ Reid Nelson and friends: “Setting up Home Solar Power Stations for Vehicles and Appliances.”¢ Jane Koger: “Sustainable Building Ideas — Lessons Learned Living Off-Grid.”¢ Michael Morley: “Building with Structural Insulated Panels.”Speaker forums begin at noon:¢ Russ Rudy, the “Home Energy Doctor.”¢ Kansas legislative update with Jim Ploger of the Kansas Corporation Commission.¢ Marge Padgitt, the “Chimney Lady” on alternative heating methods.Buses for homes tours leave at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from the fairgrounds.