KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, USA – Troy Helming has a vision of how the U.S. could feasibly convert to 100% renewable energy by 2025. He says the economic savings in one year would be one trillion dollars, and the return on investment for making the transition would be a mere two years.
This "Freedom Plan", spelled out in his book, The Clean Power Revolution, consists of three components: large-scale wind generation, producing hydrogen at night during off-peak hours, and distributed generation, including the production of biofuels.
To do his part toward implementing this vision, Helming founded a company, Krystal Planet, whose purpose is to market technologies that are commercially available. They represent an array of quality solar, wind, biodiesel, and energy conservation products that have an attractive return-on-investment turn-around.
The company presently has around 1200 sales associates (mostly part-time), and 25 sales managers, with representation in all 50 U.S. states and most provinces of Canada, as well as other international locations. They expect to do three to four million dollars in gross sales this year.
Initially commenced with a multi-level marketing approach, the company recently shifted to a direct selling approach, inasmuch as the products require significant understanding and attention in order to sell, install, and maintain. While the company addresses a number of energy approaches, it encourages its sales associates to focus in on one technology in particular to become a specialist in that area.
The company makes it easy for new associates to become involved at whatever level of commitment they are ready and able to handle.
Its financing options likewise make the purchase of these products achievable by those who might not otherwise be able to afford the up-front investment.
The company has recently been approved to go public, and will begin trading on the market (pink sheets) within 90 days.
Products
In the area of wind, Krystal Planet's bestseller is Skystream wind turbine by Southwest Wind Power, which has sold over 70,000 turbines in all. At 1.8 kilowatt AC power output, and priced at between $10,000 and $14,000, the turbine's ROI is about ten years, depending on the local utility electricity price point. It starts to make economic sense if the retail price of electricity is over 8 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Krystal Planet also has a green tag, or carbon offset, also called "renewable energy certificate" program in which a monthly payment of $30.00 goes toward the purchase of an educational wind turbine for a school. The first of these is nearly completed, with two others expected to be installed by the end of the third quarter of this year. "Sign up three and yours is free," is the marketing slogan for those who sign up to make such payments, with residual income flowing if more than three are signed up.
In Solar, Krystal Planet distributes a thin film solar technology implemented in shingles or 4' x 8' foot laminate structural panels that can replace the need for a separate solar panel infrastructure, cutting costs, and making the ROI much shorter.
The 4×8-foot laminate solar panels are targeted for commercial applications, replacing rubberized or metal roofing on flat roofs, with not more than a 10% grade.
The solar shingles, on the other hand, are geared toward residential applications with 7 to 12-pitch grade. They nail on like regular composite shingles, and are available in various colors. Each shingle produces 13 watts and is wired to the next one, then the final connection enters through the roof to the inverter/battery assembly.
Biodiesel fuel is Krystal Planet's fastest-growing product, inasmuch as there is far more demand than supply. The feedstock for their biodiesel is used cooking oil and animal tallow. Because these sources are fairly constant, the company can lock in a set production price, in contrast to fossil fuel prices which fluctuate daily.
Helming points out that biodiesel actually has better lubricity than #2 diesel supplied by oil refineries. On the down side, depending on how you view it, biodiesel is a strong solvent, so it unclogs the gunk in a fuel system, and it break down natural rubber components found in some fuel systems; so a mixture of 20% biodiesel with #2 diesel is recommended for such situations.
The company also sells a home-brew kit for around $3000, targeted to do-it-yourselfers. They are presently working toward closing contracts on twenty biodiesel plants capable of producing a million gallons per year, and which cost about $25,000 each to build.
In addition to Wind, Solar, and Biodiesel, the company has several energy conservation products.
The Krystal Portable Furnace can significantly cut heating costs. It produces a comfortable infrared heat that uses less energy and can provide localized heating where it is needed.
The Tankless Water Heater saves energy by heating the water on-demand, not requiring storage of the hot water.
For fuel economy, the Green Machine Fuel Catalyst typically improves mileage by between five and ten percent, and has a ROI of 9 – 12 months. It is EPA tested, and has been independently certified.
More information about the company and its products and sales opportunities can be found on the company website at Krystal-Planet.com
