Who WE Are

The PowerHouse is a project of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. The Powerhouse was designed by Stream Collaborative (with the support of student volunteers), and built by Mark Pierce and Ernie Bayles with the support of many other partners and volunteers (more on our partners page). 

The idea for the PowerHouse came out of a series of meetings with a group of environmental activists and educators in Tompkins County, who began to meet in the fall of 2016 to discuss ways to increase the rate of adoption of clean energy programs and technologies by residents.

They were concerned about two things: the pace of adoption of clean energy was way too slow to meet the county and state’s goals for carbon emissions, and the benefits of clean energy were not reaching those who needed it the most—households with limited income, as well as historically oppressed groups such as people of color. Over the course of a year, the group fleshed out an idea for an event that would serve to attract large crowds and encourage attendees to consider clean energy actions. The idea of an “Energy Expo” with engaging hands-on exhibits picked up steam, and counted on the support of energy contractors, municipal and county leaders, as well as the core group of environmental activists and educators. However, when it came down to choosing a venue, the group stumbled: There was no place or date they could come up with that would meet the needs of all the diverse populations they were trying to reach. If held in downtown Ithaca, many rural residents wouldn’t come. If held in a rural location, other groups might not feel welcome. What if we had a mobile Energy Expo that could go out to different locations and engage people where they were on their own terms? While the Energy Expo never made it past this point, the seed for the PowerHouse was sown.

The PowerHouse was built in the spring of 2020, interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, on a farm in Brooktondale, NY (more info below). It is being used at community festivals, and in schools, and other venues, and hopes to reach hundreds of thousands of residents over the coming years. 

The PowerHouse is managed by Jack Wright (ww497@cornell.edu), Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County, with the support of Smart Energy Choices staff and Energy Navigator volunteers.