Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 12 November 2013

Green economy creates jobs, GreenItaly report shows

Rome, November 4 2013 - With three million hires and the potential to create another 3.7 million jobs, the so-called green economy last year generated added-value of 100.8 billion euros, or 10.6% of the total, according to the fourth annual GreenItaly report released Monday by Italian chambers of commerce association Unioncamere. In the Bel Paese at the 2008 onset of the global economic crisis, 328,000 companies, or 22% of the total, bet on the green economy. This is defined as an economic model based on sustainable development, social equity, and the reduction of environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In 2013, such companies will make up 38% of all projected hires in the industrial and service sectors, employing 216,500 people out of a total of 563,400, the report said. read more>>>

Our Opinion: Springfield's green transition a beautiful thing

Nov 05, 2013 - Springfield’s budding reputation as a sustainable city continues to take off, and chef Michael Higgins from Maldaner’s is doing his part.

Not only does Higgins have a garden on the rooftop of Maldaner’s, 222 S. Sixth St., he also keeps beehives on the roof. Together, the two features supply vegetables, herbs and honey for Springfield’s oldest restaurant.

Now, Higgins has installed 56 solar panels on the roof as part of his plan to go green.

“It’s something I’ve really wanted to do,” Higgins, a longtime supporter of recycling and green initiatives in the city, told The State Journal-Register last week. “I’d like to see these improvements throughout the city.” read more>>>

University of California Named Green Building Super Hero

November 4, 2013 - The University of California has a hidden super power: It makes buildings turn green.

Just how green? Well, UC has more LEED certified buildings than any other university in the country. So green, in fact, that the U.S. Green Building Council's Northern California chapter just named UC a green building super hero.

Nathan Brostrom, UC's executive vice president for business operations, accepted the Sustainable Neighborhood/Campus Super Hero Award on the university's behalf at a San Francisco gala Tuesday night (Oct. 29). The award recognizes UC as a pioneer and leader in sustainable design construction. read more>>>

Canadian Green Building Award winner constructed with SOLARBAN 60 glass

November 4th, 2013 - PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) announced that the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence in Ottawa, Ontario, a 2013 Canadian Green Building Award winner, was constructed with SOLARBAN(R) 60 glass.

Triple-glazed IGUs with PPG glass integrated into high-performance building envelope

The 199,000-square-foot school was designed as an instructional laboratory and educational center for training students in construction trades and sustainable design practices. Its environmental and building systems, including cutaways of several wall and floor assemblies, are exposed and equipped with built-in sensors so students can see how they work together to control temperature, humidity, air quality and structural load, and thereby promote sustainable design. read more>>>

Obama Creates Interagency Council and Task Force on Climate

November 1, 2013 - To prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change already being felt across the country, President Barack Obama today established an interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, chaired by the White House and composed of more than 25 federal agencies.

In his Executive Order establishing the council, the President also created the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience to advise the administration and the new interagency council on how the federal government can respond to the needs of communities coping with the impacts of climate change. read more>>>

Climate Change Puts Red Sox’ Fenway Park at Risk

October 30, 2013 - Boston’s 101-year-old Fenway Park – where the World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox tonight for the first time since 1918 – is at increased risk of flooding due to climate change, warns the National Wildlife Federation.

Calling the baseball diamond “a diamond in the marsh,” the environmental group points out that low-lying Fenway Park took its name from The Fens, the saltwater marshland around the Muddy River on which it was built.

Parts of the neighborhood, like much of downtown Boston, were built on filled-in marshy areas, blogs the NWF’s Miles Grant. read more>>>

Michigan economic developers eye Blue Economy

Nov 6 2013 - When people think of Michigan’s economy, they typically point to the State’s automobile industry or its agricultural sector. Often overlooked is one of Michigan’s greatest natural assets: water. A new report commissioned by the governor’s office focuses on accelerating Michigan’s water based or ‘Blue economy.’ The paper’s author, John Austin, is the Director of the Michigan Economic Center at Prima Civitas Foundation. Austin says that a ‘Blue Economy’ is similar to a ‘Green Economy.’ read more>>>

Mekong Delta looks towards green economy

November 6, 2013 - The Mekong Delta will hold an economic cooperation forum from November 25-28, which will focus on green economy.

The information was released during a November 5 meeting between leaders of the steering committee and the organisation board of the event.

The Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation Forum (MDEC-Vinh Long 2013), the seventh of its kind, is a joint effort between the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, ministries, localities and sectors.

A series of activities will be organised during the event, including a trade fair and an investment promotion conference chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh. Investment licences will be granted to a number of investors on the occasion of the forum. read more>>>

Transmission and distribution driving China's smart grid

November 6, 2013 - The growth of the smart grid market in China is being driven by the installation of smart transmission and distribution equipment, according to London-based independent research firm TechNavio. In fact, smart T&D equipment will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 31.6 percent during from 2012-2016, the firm predicts.

Out of six major segments based on technology, smart T&D will grow the fastest followed by software and hardware, sensors, communication and wireless infrastructure, smart meters, and others mainly due to smart transmission and distribution equipment not only increasing the efficiency of T&D, but also reducing electricity loss through continuous monitoring of the T&D process. read more>>>

US Navy’s ‘all-electric’ destroyer is a sea-going microgrid

6 November 2013 - We were just taking note of the US Navy’s focus on stationary, portable, and even wearable microgrids when along comes a doozy of an example in the form of the USS Zumwalt DDG 1000. The newly launched high-tech destroyer has been dubbed the Navy’s first “all-electric” ship, but not because you can plug it into a wall socket. The Zumwalt’s distinctive feature is a fully integrated power system that both generates and distributes electrical energy everywhere in the ship, including the propulsion system as well as weaponry and support services.

A Floating Microgrid For The US Navy

The actual power source of the Zumwalt is a 78 megawatt array of four gas-turbine generators, but that’s the extent of the role of internal combustion engines on the ship. Here’s a rundown provided by our friends at the technology association IEEE: read more>>>