• The GEP was awarded $7,600 from Resourceful Communities “Creating New Economies Fund” (CNEF), to expand the operations of its outdoor ceramics kiln yard. A portion of the funding will be used to construct a “salt” kiln, which creates ceramics with a very unique texture and color. The kiln will then be fired using waste vegetable oil as a clean, renewable fuel. Few potters have access to a salt kiln, so this addition to GEP’s public-access kiln facilities will offer opportunities for students from SCC and WCU, along with other regional potters, to create new lines of work. The kilns at the GEP are available for rent to any ceramic artist. The CNEF program was made possible by the generous support of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Oak Foundation, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. 

• With the remaining CNEF funds, the Green Energy Park will partner with local nonprofit HIGHTS to install a small, sustainable sawmill operation, similar to the program that HIGHTS operates in Haywood County. Trees left over from County, DOT, or utility clearing operations will be milled into lumber, using clients from HIGHTS. HIGHTS works primarily with at-risk youth, and provides them with apprenticeship opportunities in order to learn job skills and earn a livable wage. These individuals will not only be provided with meaningful work, but will also receive hands-on job training that could lead to future employment at one of the local sawmills. HIGHTS will sell the milled lumber to support their operations. Scrap wood from the milling will be used as fuel to fire the large ceramics kiln at GEP. Residual sawdust will be collected and used in the HIGHTS plant nursery. And the sawmill itself will be powered by a small engine running on biodiesel, a clean renewable fuel made from vegetable oil. 

• The GEP also received a $150 grant from the Scholarship Committee of Dogwood Crafters Cooperative in Dillsboro. These funds will be used to offset material costs accrued by the local artists who work with children at the ever-popular Youth Arts Festival in September. The artists who participate in the festival are all volunteers who generously donate their time to provide engaging art activities for the kids. The funds from the Dogwood Crafters Cooperative will make it less costly for local artists to participate. 

The GEP is an award-winning renewable energy project, that uses landfill gas and other alternative fuels to provide process heat for a various art-related activities. 

For more information, contact the GEP at 828.631.0271 or visit www.jcgep.org.