The Chewonki Foundation's 8th Annual Conference on Sustainable Energy highlighted an exciting new solar module which produces both electricity and heat. The bright sun and mild temperatures were ideal for showcasing the new panels, which were built by Ascendant Energy in Rockland Maine. Chewonki was able to install and test the panels on their dining hall as a beta site, but Ascendant is on track to begin manufacturing them for the public soon, said Peter Arnold.

The 135 conference participants enjoyed workshops highlighting sustainable building, solar heating and cooling, tips on financing solar projects and geo thermal heating. Keynote speaker Paul Kando, addressed current trends in global warming and what various nations were doing to solve the problem. Kando has a long list of accomplishments within the solar energy field, and was involved with the very first US solar panel installations, including equipping the White House with solar panels during the Carter administration.