In February our organization had the pleasure of welcoming a group of South Koreans participating in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Each of the five serves as a Chief of Staff to a member of the South Korean parliament. Their U.S. Department of State project centered on the global partnership between the two countries with appointments in Pensacola focusing on clean energy efforts and initiatives.
This distinguished group began their local program with a demographic and historical orientation. They then went to the Perdido Landfill to meet Jim Howes, Manager of Recycling Operations, to learn about the recycling and solid waste management systems in Escambia County, including the landfill gas extraction system which captures gas generated by the decomposition of waste, gas which then serves as an alternative boiler fuel. Next, they met with Taylor “Chips” Kirschenfeld, Manager of the Water Quality Division and Senior Environmental Programs Manager with Escambia County, who discussed the local environment and then accompanied the group to a local habitat restoration effort, Project Greenshores. The day concluded with an official welcome and presentation of honorary citizenship at the Pensacola City Hall where the visitors met Mayor Ashton Hayward who emphasized the importance of trade opportunities between companies in South Korea and Pensacola.
The second day of appointments began with the chance for the visitors to learn about local energy sources and pollution control through a visit to the Gulf Power James Crist Generating Plant. Visitors toured the facility to learn about its energy generating capacity and met with Rusty Meharg to gain insight into its operations, home to Gulf Power’s most significant environmental project, a new ‘scrubber’ system designed to reduce emissions that result from the burning of coal. In addition, the group heard about the company’s Mercury Research Center which works to discover new ways to reduce mercury emissions.
The delegates next stopped at the University of West Florida (UWF) where they met Dr. Dick Snyder of the Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation (CEDB). The CEDB engages in basic and applied research pertinent to the assessment and improvement of environmental health, provides research and training opportunities, and contributes to public service, including activities to enrich science education in schools. Dr. Snyder provided information on area water pollution and described the effects of the Deepwater Horizen Incident on the local environment.
Their final Pensacola appointment was at the General Electric Energy Plant with Mr. Jeff DeWeese, a business consultant with wind renewal industries and an American Wind Energy Association board member. Mr. DeWeese discussed the policy, politics, and business of wind energy in our region. At the GE wind energy plant, one of the world’s leading suppliers of 1.5 megawatt generators, the visitors toured the huge assembly facility and learned about the role of Pensacola in the fast-growing global business of wind energy generation.
