Friday, May 31, 2013

Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 31 May 2013

Cleantech Making More Green
5/29/2013 - Making a green economy will take a confluence of moving parts and participation by a number of sectors all aimed at the same goal — greater efficiency, conservation of resources, and preservation of environment.

Electric car company Tesla Motors reported its first-ever quarterly profit earlier this month. Consumer Reports lauded the brand’s Model S — rating it a 99 out of 100. What’s more, the company has drawn comparisons by some to Apple , Inc. and is now being looked on to possibly bring the electric vehicle to a wider consumer base. read more>>>

EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions lowest to date
May 29, 2013 - The EU's environmental agency says the 27-nation bloc's greenhouse emissions in 2011 were the lowest since it began monitoring them in 1990.

The European Environment Agency says greenhouse gas emissions dropped 3.3 percent compared to 2010, and were 18.4 percent below 1990 levels. It cited a milder winter in 2011 as the main reason for the drop.

Agency director Jacqueline McGlade said Wednesday the European Union was 'making clear progress towards its emission targets.' read more>>>

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Makers of gas-guzzling cars cheat Emissions Tests the most
May 28, 2013 - Car manufacturers that sell the majority of gas-guzzlers in Europe manipulate fuel economy figures in tests much more than those makers that produce more fuel-efficient vehicles, a new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) reveals. The report adds new evidence to a series of recent studies that show the gap between official test results and the fuel consumption drivers experience on the road is rapidly increasing year-on-year.

The study compares, for the first time, the progress made by carmakers on official and real-world fuel consumption over the last ten years in Europe. read more>>>

First Set of Global Data on Energy Access, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Released
May 29, 2013 - About 80 percent of those without access to modern energy live in rural areas. Although 1.7 billion people gained access to electricity between 1990 and 2010, this is only slightly ahead of population growth of 1.6 billion over the same period.

Global Tracking Framework Report identifies countries with most potential to make 'high-impact' progress on sustainable energy and specifies policy measures to scale up action read more>>>

Utilization of Greenhouse Gase

Software Company Introduces a New Kind of Solar Tree Architecture
May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Anyone familiar with the Solar Industry are aware of solar panels are and how they work. Yet, the traditional panel 'architecture' has never been seriously challenged. The panel architecture is simple, yet highly inefficient, non-scalable and expensive to name a few. Someone purchasing a panel really pays top-dollar and for only what would be 8-16% efficiency.

Ifusionsoft, a software development company, is broadening the company's horizon by inventing new innovative solar energy components, such as the company's version of a Solar Tree, that will increase energy collection efficiency by almost twice that of traditional solar panels. read more>>>

Microgrids focus on security, creating needs for UPS storage
May 30, 2013 - Recently, at the Microgrid: Military and Commercial Conference in Arlington, VA, microgrid technology developers and system integrators re-examined the business case for the microgrid and the integration of energy storage. The presenters and attendees reached consensus on numerous topics, but it still remains uncertain how energy storage should be economically assessed.

First, the group repeatedly made the argument that the primary job and rationale for a microgrid is for increased security, rather than reduced electricity costs or fuel emissions. read more>>>

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Green groups react to UK opposition to new renewables target
28 May 2013 - Environmental groups and renewable energy sector representatives have severely criticised the government’s intention to block new EU renewable energy targets

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Davey, will oppose new EU goals on increasing the share of renewable energy in Europe but will instead push for tougher climate change goals focused on curbing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. read more>>>

REC Solar Completes 10,000 Residential Solar Installations
May. 30, 2013 - REC Solar, a national leader in solar electric system design and installation, today announced it has installed 10,000 residential solar systems nationwide. Since the company’s founding in 1997, REC Solar has installed more than 160 megawatts of residential, commercial, and utility-scale solar throughout the U.S. and its territories, with 50 megawatts coming online in the past year alone.

Additional REC Solar milestones include: read more>>>

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Geothermal gets a charge from Solar thermal
U.S.D.O.E. awards research grant to geothermal solar hybrid system.

May. 30, 2013 - Geothermal solar hybrid retrofit project receives Department of Energy Grant Approval

Marc Rappaport of Rappaport Energy Consulting LLC received notification the US Department of Energy (USDOE) approved a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant proposal for $ 149,900. The research will study the differential data from retrofitting a concentrated solar thermal array to the existing geothermal electrical generation system currently installed at the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) in Klamath Falls Oregon. read more>>>

Thanks to state law, solar panels are likely to be a more common sight
May 30, 2013 - Doug and Jane Popp have long believed in keeping their 40-cow dairy farm small and sustainable, from feeding leftover food scraps to their pig and goats to using a wind turbine to generate electricity.

Last year, the Popps decided to make a big investment by turning to a different energy source: the sun. They put up a 10-kilowatt solar array that powers a grain bin and helps reduce the electric bill for their farm west of Royalton.

The Popps say the project was affordable thanks in part to financial incentives from their utility, Minnesota Power, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. read more>>>


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 30 May 2013

Solar Press to optimise organic PV modules for indoor energy harvesting
28 May 2013 - TSB-supported project aims to provide ‘Fit-and-Forget’ sensors

Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) development company Solar Press is investigating the potential for flexible plastic-based OPV modules to be used as a power source for remote autonomous sensors within buildings. The ‘energy harvesting’ project brings together a range of partners possessing world-class capability in low power sensors, OPV and energy management and will offer the potential for low cost ‘Fit-and-Forget’ sensors for carbon dioxide, humidity and temperature monitoring integrated into a smart wireless sensor network. read more>>>

Scatec Solar to assist South Africa’s growing PV infrastructure
22 May 2013 - South Africa’s Department of Energy has agreed a contract with Scatec Solar which will build 115MW of solar PV in the country

Scatec Solar has signed an agreement with the South African government to supply another 115MW of solar PV to the country under the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme. The project will follow the 75MW Kalkbult facility the company is already involved in developing. The Kalkbult project is due for completion in October this year, almost two months ahead of schedule. read more>>>

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The great green job machine
May 29, 2013 - “What I find inspiring, if not miraculous, is that the green economy continues to blossom — despite everything that has been thrown against it.”

—Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy

Job-Destroying Climate Change.

Like it?

I came up with the bumper-sticker catchphrase after I saw a TV piece about how global warming is affecting the skiing industry: Slopes are closed, snow machines are doing a pathetic job of trying to replace nature’s white abundance, the ski season’s shortened and jobs are lost. read more>>>

Namibia: Green - the Colour of the Future
29 May 2013 - Windhoek — So you were wondering what this Green revolution is about? Well, wonder no more, for the New Era Newspaper and the Combretum Trust School has come to your aid, and makes it our mission to enlighten you about all that is Green.

The Combretum Trust School is hosting a Green Economy School Week which is open to visitors focusing on the importance of the love and care for the environment as well as to raise awareness of climate change and promote green technology alternatives in secondary schools in the country. The Green Economy School Week kicked off on Monday is running until Friday. During this event guest speakers from several organisations will give presentations, talks on green economy and put on display green technological gadgets and apparatus driven by alternative sources of energy. read more>>>

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Guilty of Pesticide Crimes, Wal-Mart Fined $81 Million
May 28, 2013 (ENS) – Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores today pleaded guilty to illegally handling and disposing of hazardous pesticides at its retail stores across the United States.

Hazardous wastes and pesticides returned to stores by customers were put into municipal trash bins or, if liquid, poured into local sewer systems, according to U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency officials.

Wal-Mart transported tons of these hazardous materials without proper safety documentation to one of six product return centers located throughout the United States. read more>>>

Harmonized Charging Key to Global Electric Mobility
May 28, 2013 (ENS) – Chancellor Angela Merkel restated her goal of putting one million electric vehicles on German roads by 2020 at a two-day conference on electric mobility staged by the federal government that opened Monday in Berlin.

“Electric mobility requires extensive cooperation, across both sectoral and national boundaries, if we are to reduce the climate change impact of mobility in as much of the world as possible,” said Merkel. read more>>>

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Organic Polymers Show Sunny Potential: Groundwork Laid for Block Copolymer Solar Cells
May 29, 2013 — A new version of solar cells created by laboratories at Rice and Pennsylvania State universities could open the door to research on a new class of solar energy devices.

The photovoltaic devices created in a project led by Rice chemical engineer Rafael Verduzco and Penn State chemical engineer Enrique Gomez are based on block copolymers, self-assembling organic materials that arrange themselves into distinct layers. They easily outperform other cells with polymer compounds as active elements. read more>>>

KYOCERA Solar Modules Power San Diego County’s First Net-Zero Energy Apartments
May 29th 2013 - Residents Will Enjoy Free Electricity Generated by the Sun at H.G. Fenton's Solterra EcoLuxury Apartments

Kyocera Solar Inc. announced today that its solar modules are providing 100 percent of the power needed by H.G. Fenton Company's recently opened Solterra EcoLuxury Apartments in the Scripps Ranch suburb of San Diego, Calif. The 338kW installation produces enough renewable electricity to power average residential and common area use in the 114-unit project. The project represents the bold vision of H.G. Fenton Company and its successful collaboration with CleanTech San Diego, Smart City San Diego and SDG&E. read more>>>

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Solar Industry Anxious Over Defective Panels
May 28, 2013 - The solar panels covering a vast warehouse roof in the sun-soaked Inland Empire region east of Los Angeles were only two years into their expected 25-year life span when they began to fail.

Coatings that protect the panels disintegrated while other defects caused two fires that took the system offline for two years, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenues.

It was not an isolated incident. Worldwide, testing labs, developers, financiers and insurers are reporting similar problems and say the $77 billion solar industry is facing a quality crisis just as solar panels are on the verge of widespread adoption. read more>>>

Protect renewable energy standards
May 28, 2013 - In 2007, North Carolina became a leader in renewable energy development by becoming the first state in the Southeast to adopt a Renewable Portfolio Standard. North Carolina set the goal of acquiring 12.5 percent of our energy through renewable resources and increased efficiency by 2026, saving us money while providing new jobs and a cleaner environment. Now, 30 states have adopted such goals, including Virginia.

Unfortunately, some in the North Carolina General Assembly are moving to make our state one of the first states to reverse this progress. read more>>>


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 29 May 2013

Some area schools seeing savings from solar panels
Mar 11, 2013 - A few area schools are taking advantage of the Texas sun and seeing significant savings from the use of solar panels.

Hallsburg Independent School District had almost $400,000 of solar panels installed just before school started last fall, and the district is experiencing a savings of a couple hundred dollars a month on its energy bills.

“This time of year is actually the best time of year because we’re using the least energy,” 
Superintendent Kent Reynolds said.

In fact, at times the district generates more energy than it uses, and that excess can be counted as a credit on Hallsburg’s bill. read more>>>

Eighty KC buildings will go solar in ambitious city effort
May 27 2013 - Kansas City, turning toward the sun, has signed a deal to install solar panels and equipment on 80 city buildings to meet part of their demand for electricity.

Brightergy, a Kansas City solar installer, and Kansas City Power & Light will team up on the project, expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Police and fire department facilities and most of the city’s community centers are among the buildings that will get solar power.

“Kansas City will very likely be one of the leading cities in the country in the number of buildings with solar electricity,” said Dennis Murphey, chief environmental officer for the city. read more>>>

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Microgrids open up options for Australian electricity consumers
May 27, 2013 - Embedded microgrids empower consumers by giving them greater control over the cost, carbon intensity and reliability of their electricity supply and, ultimately, the option of complete independence from the main grid.

With more than 1 in 10 households installing solar PV systems, Australian consumers are no longer relying on the main grid for all their electricity needs. As the cost of installing solar continues to fall and the price of mains electricity continues to rise, more households will be generating more local power. This shift from centralised to ‘embedded’ electricity generation is challenging the power industry’s status quo. read more>>>

Happy birthday to the Green Energy and Green Economy Act
A whole new industry exists in Ontario that wasn’t here four years ago.

May 29, 2013 - Ontario’s Green Energy and Green Economy Act turns four this month. And there’s a lot to celebrate.

Just 10 years ago, the province got one-quarter of its electricity from coal, the dirtiest of energy sources. Today that number is approaching zero, and by 2014, Ontario will be the first jurisdiction in the world to have completely eliminated coal-fired electricity.

An impressive 4,500 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar, hydro and bioenergy has come online or is being built, thanks to the act. read more>>>

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Paving the way for tech transfer
May 2, 2013 - A new UN body to advise nations on climate tech may break the deadlock in the long-running debate on transferring technology finds Joanna Carpenter.

Rich nations have the technological know-how needed for poor nations to develop — but how do you deliver it without compromising the intellectual property and the business edge that such technologies gives economies that have it?

This is one of the big development questions that has been debated in the UN arena for decades, with little real progress made in finding a sustainable way of transferring technology and finding a way to pay for such transfer. read more>>>

Adaptation in Europe - Addressing risks and opportunities from Climate Change in the context of socio-economic developments
This report provides policymakers across Europe, at different levels of governance and stages of policy formulation, with information that can be used to support adaptation planning and implementation. Specific parts of the report are therefore targeted at different audiences.

Published by

EEA (European Environment Agency)
Published: May 02, 2013

Content read more>>>

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Golden opportunities in the golden state
Apr. 1, 2013 - California can be a tough place to do business, but a number of new policies are in place to make it easier to develop bioenergy projects. In 2012, the state adopted a new Bioenergy Action Plan and passed several laws to promote electricity and biogas production from organic waste. With pending legislation on organics diversion and new incentives for bioenergy, California is poised for explosive growth in the industry. The Bioenergy Association of California (BAC) was recently launched to help shape and promote these policies to grow the industry and maximize bioenergy’s many benefits. read more>>>

5 Achievements from Germany’s “Energiewende”
May 13, 2013 - Germany is in the midst of an unprecedented clean energy revolution. Thanks to the “Energiewende,” a strategy to revamp the national energy system, Germany aims to reduce its overall energy consumption and move to 80 percent renewable energy by 2050. The country has already made considerable progress toward achieving this ambitious goal.

In fact, other countries like the United States can learn a lot from the German clean energy experience. read more>>>

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Global Scientists, California Governor Call for Climate Action
May 23, 2013 (ENS) – Warning that Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point at which human impacts are causing alarming levels of harm to our planet, California Governor Jerry Brown today joined more than 500 scientists to release a call to action on climate change and other global threats to all humanity.

“This is not just about science, this is about activism,” said Governor Brown. “This is an important challenge, cause and undertaking. We can do it, but we have to do a lot more than we’re doing now.” read more>>>

HGA Architects' West Valley Campus at College of the Desert Will Produce More Energy than it Consumes
05/28/13 - HGA Architects and Engineers recently completed phase one of design work for the new West Valley Campus at College of the Desert in Palm Springs, California, which will be one of the most energy-efficient college campuses in the country. The plan includes a 60-acre solar farm that will be leased to a third-party operator to produce power for the school. In addition to energy production, the comprehensive plan calls for a number of energy conservation techniques that will help the school become a model for sustainability research. read more>>>