Some of the state’s leading building, energy and sustainability experts will speak at a Green Business Forum at Rhode Island College on April 25 to discuss the best ways to incorporate green and sustainable initiatives in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The forum will be held at 7 p.m. in the Forman Center at Rhode Island College. This is the first event in a speaker series that will continue this fall.
“Smart businesses have been ‘greening’ their operations for years and enjoy competitive market advantages as a result of these efforts,” said Jim Murphy, sustainability coordinator at Rhode Island College. The forum will highlight the benefits of these initiatives, while showcasing some of the “best practices” now being used by the state’s leading construction companies. read more>>>
April 23, 2013 - Advanced energy is a $1 trillion global market, growing revenue by 19 percent in 2012. But in order to take advantage of this economic opportunity, the U.S. will need to work to align federal policy, according to Advanced Energy Economy (AEE).
As part of its ongoing research, AEE's educational and charitable affiliate Advanced Energy Economy Institute commissioned PA Consulting Group to interview CEOs of advanced energy companies across a range of technologies and services, about how federal policies affect them and their businesses. The researchers interviewed companies big and small, established and start-up, technology-focused and service-oriented. read more>>>
April 11 2013 - A group of solar rooftop industry executives had a wide-ranging discussion at the PV America convention in Philadelphia in February about the basic business models in use in the US market, customer default rates, investor returns, barriers to entry, emerging new financing strategies and other issues. The panelists are Ben Cook, vice president of structured finance at SolarCity, Kristian Hanelt, senior vice president of renewable capital markets at Clean Power Finance, Laura Stern, president of Nautilus Solar Energy, Sandy Roskes, vice president for sales at Astrum Solar, and Song Yi, chief financial officer of Standard Solar. The moderator is Keith Martin with Chadbourne in Washington. read more>>>
April 23, 2013 - If the U.S. ceases to burn coal, shuts down a quarter of existing nuclear reactors, and trims its use of natural gas by 2050, the resulting increased reliance on renewable would pose no additional reliability issues, according to research prepared by Synapse Energy Economics for the Civil Society Institute (CSI).
The research finds that by 2050, with a heavy reliance on renewables, regional electricity generation supply could meet or exceed demand in 99.4 percent of hours, with load being met without imports from other regions and without turning to reserve storage. In addition, surplus power would be available to export in 8.6 percent of all hours, providing an ample safety net from one region of the U.S. to the next. read more>>>
22 April 2013 - SOUTH Africa had a limited window of opportunity to make itself a world leader in the creation of a green economy, which could generate more than 460,000 jobs, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) senior economist Nico Kelder says.
Presenting before Parliament’s economic development committee last week, Mr Kelder said South Africa had developed good policies and laws to kick-start its green economic initiatives, but it had now become a matter of implementation and enforcement. read more>>>
April 22, 2013 - The global clean energy sector is undergoing geographic and technological shifts as new markets emerge and renewable capacity grows, according to research released by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The sector registered a record 88 GW of additional generating capacity in 2012, even though investment levels declined 11 percent -- to $269 billion -- from 2011.
The 11 percent decline was due in part to curtailed incentive programs in a number of countries, among them Spain, Italy, and Germany. Policy uncertainty in the U.S. has caused investment patterns to fluctuate sharply in recent years. read more>>>
April 19, 2013 - Opponents of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline packed a State Department public hearing on its latest environmental analysis of the pipeline to warn that it is all risk for the United States, with no reward.
More than 1,000 pipeline opponents – far outnumbering supporters – packed a hearing room in Grand Island Wednesday to deliver that message to the State Department officials.
Chair of the new anti-pipeline group “All Risk, No Reward” Coalition, Nebraska landowner Randy Thompson, spoke against allowing a foreign company to transfer Canadian tar sands oil through this country so it can be shipped overseas. read more>>>
Apr 22, 2013 - Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) has released its most recent sustainability report, which lists a goal of increasing the company’s renewable portfolio and reaching 6,000 MW of wind, solar and biomass power capacity by 2020 among its other goals.
Duke added nearly 650 MW of wind and solar capacity in the U.S. in 2012 and now owns more than 1,700 MW of wind and solar generation capacity, according to the report. Duke Energy Renewables has invested more than $2.5 billion in renewable energy since it began operation in 2007. read more>>>
It will work hand-in-hand with Bayer to take sustainability to a higher level in the local building industry
18 April 2013 - An ambitious plan to provide clean energy to 43 of its historic properties was launched today by the National Trust in conjunction with green electricity supplier Good Energy.
17 April 2013 - The key to broader penetration of solar energy depends on access to capital markets and innovative financial structures that can reduce the cost of capital for project finance as well as increase the investor base beyond the traditional tax-equity driven investors.
15 April 2013 - The new guidelines address the principal offshore activities and hazards over the life cycle of a development
Apr. 19, 2013 — New research, just published, details how University of Cincinnati researchers have developed and tested a solar-powered nano filter that is able to remove harmful carcinogens and antibiotics from water sources -- lakes and rivers -- at a significantly higher rate than the currently used filtering technology made of activated carbon.
April 19, 2013 - Martifer Solar USA has completed a 1.142 MW solar PV system, a combination of a parking lot carport and a hillside ground-mount at Occidental College. This represents one of Martifer Solar USA's most unique installations as it incorporates elements of art into the design of the system. Kara Bartelt of Lettuce, a Los Angeles architecture firm, conceptualized the unique elliptical pattern of the hillside portion of the installation.
Apr. 18, 2013 — A power source for your mobile phone can now be as close as the nearest tap, stream, or even a puddle, with the world's first water-activated charging device.
An array of 575 solar panels covers the roof of the Bullitt Center, a role model for a new generation of sustainable, energy-efficient buildings.
April 17, 2013 - Harvard Professor Rebecca Henderson wants to change the conversation.
April 18, 2013 - It’s no secret that technology changes behavior, and that’s likely to be just as true with buildings as it is with, say, mobile devices. But while we often think of the latest technology as a way to improve building functions, we usually fail to fully consider how technology might alter the way people use those buildings. In other words, we tend to overvalue the role of the technology and undervalue the resulting re-engineering of the operational processes. And those process changes, rather than the technology itself, actually can have the biggest impact on costs, effectiveness and efficiency.
04/22/13 - Of all the cities in Germany, the port city of Hamburg is most closely associated with water. So it makes sense that one of the most exciting new residential developments in Hamburg is located in the middle of a small body of water. For the IBA International Building Exhibition, Schenk + Waiblinger Architects designed the WaterHouses, a complex of homes that are built on pillars sunk into a water basin on the Elbe islands.
04/21/13 - We have holidays dedicated to everything from flags to consumption (ahem Black Friday), so it only seems right that Planet Earth should get one too. On Earth Day, cities, businesses, and individuals all roll out the green carpet. No doubt you've seen lots of famous brands touting Earth Day initiatives or heard about eco-friendly events being planned in your own community. Unfortunately, most of these events have changed from "do something nice for the Earth" events to "buy this thing that is maybe a little greener than the alternative but mostly just something you need to BUY" events. But that doesn't mean you should hide indoors feeling guilty on April 22nd. On the contrary, there are lots of easy and fun ways to celebrate Earth Day that can actually make a difference all year long. We've listed a few below, and we'd love to hear your ideas in the comments! 
April 18, 2013 - In 1964, twelve young men in New York publicly burned their draft cards in protest. The many forceful displays against the Vietnam War are well remembered, but what is less remembered is how these commanding displays and the spirit of the era created the energy that led to the first Earth Day witnessed in the US.