Financing Energy Efficiency Projects in Small Towns and Rural Communities

Energy Efficiency Projects face several financial impediments, including:

Information financial institutions often lack a full understanding of energy efficiency technologies which are almost always investments with long repayment terms;

Commercial Lenders are risk averse to this type of credit exposure while investment funds have a greater appetite for risk but focus on large volume transactions, hence

Energy Efficiency projects that would benefit small towns and rural communities require specific and unique knowledge, expertise and funding sources.

Solutions

Energy Audits provide the necessary information on current consumption patterns and establish baselines for future demand and consumption with IT-based monitoring and controlling systems whose software gathers and elaborates data coming from smart meters.

ESCos are energy and water service/savings companies that provide design, implementation and financing of energy/water saving projects via retrofits, conservation, infrastructure outsourcing, power generation and supply, as well as risk management as they share in the risk borne by the project beneficiary as the funding source buys energy savings receivables resulting from the project.

Project Tasks include: identification and evaluation of energy-saving opportunities; developing engineering designs and specifications; project management from design to installation to monitoring; energy supply at the best costs; funding; staff training and ongoing maintenance services; guarantees that savings cover project costs; understanding and applying of energy standards, laws and incentives.

Energy Performance Contracts contain risk allocation, cash flow segregation, financial instruments and controls with the appropriate management information systems.

Economies of Scale and larger volume finance transactions are achieved by linking with similar size and type projects in other small towns and rural communities. 

Culture and Travel

Cultural Tourism is Best Experienced in the Company of Local Friends and Experts

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world economy; right up there with real estate, automobiles and financial services. It is also highly segmented: business travel, conventions and meetings, cruises, family vacations, food and wine travel, responsible, sustainable, ethical, and more.

Cultural Tourism assumes uniquely local dimensions wherever you go; the activities that you, the local or global visitor, select and, irrespective of the length of your stay, are unique of the community you are visiting and rooted into the local economy, culture and traditions.

How to Travel Culturally! is a very much function of the destination you choose. Your visit to a country, region or town is personalized as a function of your interests and preferences:

When in Rome…. To engage in cultural tourism means doing and going where the locals go. Many destinations are known for the negative effects travel has on the local culture and environment, especially during certain periods of the year.

Best Planned and Managed by Those with Knowledge of the Locations You Visit

Avoid Places and activities that cater only to tourists and outdoor markets that sell souvenirs that you can find anywhere as opposed to local traditional crafts;

Experience Typical Local cuisine, wine and brews;

Go to Local Museums and other attractions that are more likely to tell you the unique history and traditions of the places you are visiting.

Cultural Districts are geographic areas that focus on the arts, individual artists and arts-based businesses. They are mixed-use developments with other facilities such as office complexes, restaurants, retail spaces, and occasionally residential areas. They are a most representative of a community’s vision, planning, and commitment and to the preservation of its heritage and social values.

Reno Nevada

Gold Silver Gambling Divorce Ski Resorts and Water Sports

History pioneers settled in the Truckee Meadows where the Truckee River flows from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. These mid-19^th century farmers also provided services for travelers on the California Trail. Mining became the foremost local activity with the discovery of gold in nearby Virginia City and especially silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 when Virginia City and the California Trail were connected by a a log toll bridge across the Truckee River. Lake Crossing, a small community that serviced travelers near the bridge, became the site of a depot on the First Transcontinental Railroad where the town of Reno came into being in May, 1868.

 

Nevada is the World’s Third Largest Gold Producer

Reno named for Civil War Major General Jesse Lee Reno, continued to grow as a business and agricultural center and became the principal settlement on the transcontinental railroad between Sacramento and Salt Lake City. The Reno Arch was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927. 

Legalized Gambling Reno took a leap when the state of Nevada legalized open-gambling and liberal divorce laws in 1931. The war years of the 1940s cemented Reno as the place to play for two decades.

Also, the presence of a main east-west rail line, the interstate highway system, favorable state tax climate, and relatively inexpensive land created good conditions for warehousing and distribution of goods. Reno also is an outdoor recreation destination, due to its close proximity to the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe and 18 ski resorts. Winter activities include snowshoeing, ice skating, and snowmobiling; international bike competitions are held in Lake Tahoe during the summer.