Tailwinds Help Bauer Power Strive to Save the Planet
June 19, 2008
Source: Lynn Stevens
Department: Business Review Western Michigan
A small Wayland company is finalizing its dealer/installer rights for residential applications in Michigan of Cascade Engineering's
Swift wind turbine. Bauer Power Inc. is the first in what Cascade Engineering sees as two to five distributorship's per state or
province.
Unlike most turbines that use wind energy to make electricity, the Swift version mounts on a building, not a free-standing pole or
tower. It's small -- the building-sized turbine is only seven feet in diameter, Cascade spokeswoman Jessica Lehti said.
Both factors makes it easier and less expensive to install than free-standing units and even eliminate the need for a building
permit in most cases, according to Mark Bauer, president and founder of Bauer Power. The company designs and installs
renewable energy systems for residential and commercial use, including wind and solar power.
"We're integrators, we're designers, we spec the product, design the system and guarantee it," he said. "All our products are
made by world-renowned manufacturers. We look at the site objectively and fit our portfolio of choices into it."
The company had more experience in solar and wind power than the other 50 or so seeking to distribute the new turbine, Lehti
said.
Bauer Power formed in 2002 after Mark Bauer dropped out of the home building business.
"I hated the amount of waste in that industry," he said.
Individual esthetic choices, not functionality, dictated construction decisions, he said. Changing to a career installing renewable
energy products allowed him to benefit everyone, he explained.
"I always use the analogy of, 'Let's just take the money out of the room and look at two ways of making energy,'" Bauer said. "If you
had a choice of making energy from something that's extracted or removed from the earth, moved somewhere else, that creates a
by-product versus something that leaves no by-product, no detriment to the environment life lives in, which would you choose?"
Solar and wind-power generators can produce between 10 to 100 percent of a customer's power demands when waste is
reduced, Bauer said.
The biggest application of Bauer Power to date is at Elzinga's Greenhouse near Kalamazoo. Its 26-mile continuous-loop geothermal
system combined with solar panels heats and lights four acres of greenhouses, Bauer said. It is the largest combined geothermal
and solar installation in the Midwest, he said.
"Americans have a choice. (Renewable power generation) is more expensive than fossil fuels, but it leaves a legacy of no detriment
to the environment, and it's sustainable for years and years. Renewable is about the big picture."
June 19, 2008
Source: Lynn Stevens
Department: Business Review Western Michigan
A small Wayland company is finalizing its dealer/installer rights for residential applications in Michigan of Cascade Engineering's
Swift wind turbine. Bauer Power Inc. is the first in what Cascade Engineering sees as two to five distributorship's per state or
province.
Unlike most turbines that use wind energy to make electricity, the Swift version mounts on a building, not a free-standing pole or
tower. It's small -- the building-sized turbine is only seven feet in diameter, Cascade spokeswoman Jessica Lehti said.
Both factors makes it easier and less expensive to install than free-standing units and even eliminate the need for a building
permit in most cases, according to Mark Bauer, president and founder of Bauer Power. The company designs and installs
renewable energy systems for residential and commercial use, including wind and solar power.
"We're integrators, we're designers, we spec the product, design the system and guarantee it," he said. "All our products are
made by world-renowned manufacturers. We look at the site objectively and fit our portfolio of choices into it."
The company had more experience in solar and wind power than the other 50 or so seeking to distribute the new turbine, Lehti
said.
Bauer Power formed in 2002 after Mark Bauer dropped out of the home building business.
"I hated the amount of waste in that industry," he said.
Individual esthetic choices, not functionality, dictated construction decisions, he said. Changing to a career installing renewable
energy products allowed him to benefit everyone, he explained.
"I always use the analogy of, 'Let's just take the money out of the room and look at two ways of making energy,'" Bauer said. "If you
had a choice of making energy from something that's extracted or removed from the earth, moved somewhere else, that creates a
by-product versus something that leaves no by-product, no detriment to the environment life lives in, which would you choose?"
Solar and wind-power generators can produce between 10 to 100 percent of a customer's power demands when waste is
reduced, Bauer said.
The biggest application of Bauer Power to date is at Elzinga's Greenhouse near Kalamazoo. Its 26-mile continuous-loop geothermal
system combined with solar panels heats and lights four acres of greenhouses, Bauer said. It is the largest combined geothermal
and solar installation in the Midwest, he said.
"Americans have a choice. (Renewable power generation) is more expensive than fossil fuels, but it leaves a legacy of no detriment
to the environment, and it's sustainable for years and years. Renewable is about the big picture."
© Bauer Power, Inc. 2009 |
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