Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 6 November 2013

Fayetteville Offers Monetary Incentives for Implementing Green Systems

October 30, 2013 - Fayetteville is the first city in Arkansas to offer property owners monetary incentives to implement energy-efficient systems on their land to stimulate the economy while, at the same time, making Arkansas more environmentally friendly.

The Fayetteville City Council unanimously passed an ordinance in April to create an Energy Improvement District in Fayetteville, according to a Fayetteville City Council press release.

The Energy Improvement District will create several bond-funded financing programs for property owners that are aimed at improving renewable energy, energy efficiency and water conservation on residential, commercial and industrial properties. read more>>>

Green Chamber calls for more renewable energy

10/30/2013 - John Ryan, branch manager and director of sales for Positive Energy Solar in Las Cruces, has a message.

"Climate change is indeed real," he said. "It's been pretty obvious in the last calendar year here around Las Cruces that changes in climate have greatly affected our business community in many, many ways."

Ryan was at the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce's 3rd Annual Renewable Energy & Clean Technology Conference at the Ramada Palms. read more>>>

Major pension funds ask for climate change study

Oct. 24, 2013 - Some of the largest pension funds in the U.S. and the world are worried that major fossil fuel companies may not be as profitable in the future because of efforts to limit climate change, and they want details on how the firms will manage a long-term shift to cleaner energy sources.

In a statement released Thursday, leaders of 70 funds said they're asking 45 of the world's top oil, gas, coal and electric power companies to do detailed assessments of how efforts to control climate change could impact their businesses. read more>>>

Companies push White House to follow through on Climate Action Plan

Oct. 29, 2013 - One year after Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast, major U. S. companies including Starbucks, Unilever and Mars, Inc. have called on President Obama and the White House to follow through on climate change preparedness efforts outlined in the Climate Action Plan announced by the President on June 25th.

The corporate signatories of the letter, which rely on the stability of global supply chains for growth and profitability, cited the economic impacts of severe weather events on company operations and called for ongoing and significant investments to be made in strengthening climate change resiliency both in the United States and the world’s most vulnerable countries. read more>>>

Abengoa will develop a new 100 MW solar plant in South Africa

Oct. 29, 2013 - Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) of South Africa to develop Xina Solar One, a 100 MW parabolic trough plant with a five-hour thermal energy storage system using molten salts. This project will form the largest solar complex in Africa together with Abengoa’s plant KaXu Solar One that is currently under construction in the country.

Abengoa’s new project will be constructed close to Pofadder, a city in the north of the Northern Cape Province, next to KaXu Solar One. read more>>>

Occupants happy with their hemp and lime cottage

30 Oct 2013 - When a Hampshire couple decided to downsize from their family home, a 16thC listed thatched cottage - they wanted their new house to impact on the environment as little as possible. Green construction and minimal running costs were priorities.

Bill and Anne Smith instructed AECB members, Inspiration Architects of Newbury, to design a smaller house using one of the most environmentally friendly materials available – Tradical® Hemcrete®. This bio-composite building material made from hemp shiv (the woody core of industrial hemp) and a lime-based binder delivers a negative carbon footprint. Supplied by Oxford-based Hemcrete Projects – part of the Lime Technology Group – it also offers a unique combination of insulation and thermal inertia, properties that combine to create buildings with very stable internal environments that require very little heating or cooling. read more>>>

Solar Rises Abroad

October 31, 2013 - Worldwide demand for solar has risen; a focus on India showed that in that country, there has been an increased demand for something called solar energy credits. These solar energy credits (more generally called Renewable Energy Credits, or RECs) prove that the electricity generated was from a renewable resource. This month alone the country’s demand for these SRECs doubled in conjunction with the government’s “clean-energy targets” on utilities. This pointed use of renewable energy equates to about 10% of India’s total power usage. Not too shabby.

Currently, India is looking to utilize the sun-drenched deserts that span over 2,000 square miles of the country’s geography. read more>>>

Team Austria Wins The US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Optimized By SolarEdge

October 31, 2013 – The Vienna University of Technology Solar Decathlon 2013 Team (team Austria) has won the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. The winning entry by team Austria included a smart, sustainable home that produces more power than it consumes over the course of a year. This home can adapt to a wide variety of climates and lifestyles. The key success factors in making the house energy efficient are the Optimized by SolarEdge™ Holleis Lotus G2 solar smart modules and the SE5000A-US SolarEdge inverter. The modules proved best in class for energy performance getting a top score of 100 in the Energy Balance Contest.

The system includes 22 Holleis Lotus G2 smart modules. The modules are optimized by SolarEdge power optimizers that are embedded into the module replacing the traditional junction boxes. These smart modules are made by the Austrian company Alternative Energiesysteme Holleis. read more>>>

Post Sandy, U.S. pushes microgrids for backup power

October 31, 2013 - What do you do when a storm hits and the lights go out? Use candles or flashlights? The U.S. military, states and companies are pushing a higher-tech option: microgrids.

From the military to main street, the United States is trying to avoid Superstorm Sandy-like blackouts by developing more backup power in the form of microgrids read more>>>

Good news for the green economy

There is a long way to go, but a new report showing a global slowdown in carbon emissions suggests the green economy is gathering momentum

31 Oct 2013 - It is time, I think we can all agree, for some good news. So thanks to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and its report today suggesting the global growth in carbon emissions faced a dramatic slowdown last year. Total emissions grew by 1.1 per cent, or 1.4 per cent when you account for the fact it was a leap year, less than half the 2.9 per cent average seen over the past decade. Maybe, just maybe, a peak in global emissions is still within our reach.

Obviously, these figures need to come with a whole bucket load of salt. It is just one report, emissions are notoriously difficult to track accurately, we've had slowdowns before that have not lasted, emissions are still rising and new records are being set each year, plus global atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions are at their highest level in five million years. read more>>>