Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 1 February 2014

Solar endeavor starts to heat up

01/26/2014 - A plan being advanced by Hawaiian Electric Co. to cover roughly 1,200 acres of open space on Oahu -- more than double the size of Waikiki -- with solar photovoltaic panels is taking shape, with several of the participating renewable energy developers beginning to share their proposals with community leaders and politicians.

The 240 megawatts being proposed would provide enough power to serve the energy needs of about 60,000 households. It also would more than double the 221 megawatts of solar power capacity that has been installed on Oahu since the first photovoltaic panels began appearing on rooftops a decade ago.

HECO views the initiative as a critical piece of its legal mandate to generate 40 percent of the electricity it sells from renewable sources by 2030. read more>>>

Cape Wind celebrates legal victory over persistent project opponents

23 January 2014 - Cape Wind has announced that it has defeated separate legal efforts by opponents to block its proposed 468MW offshore wind project off the coast of Nantucket Island

The announcement was made on the same day that the project was hit by yet another lawsuit. According to the developer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) approval of the Cape Wind project. Cape Wind says the decision is significant in that it rejects every argument made by the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and the Town of Barnstable. read more>>>

Global governance key for sustainable development, says Doha Bank Group CEO

29, January 2014 - Dr. Seetharaman, Doha Bank Group CEO, was delivering a lecture titled “Sustainable Development for Economies and Corporations” as part of a Monthly Public Dialogue Series held at Georgetown University’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) in their Education City campus in Doha, Qatar.

“Building green economies are the solution for climate change and for sustainable global growth. The practice will rebalance global growth and promote sustainability,” says Dr. R. Seetharaman, Group CEO, Doha Bank, the leading private commercial bank in Qatar. read more>>>

BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2014

Welcome to the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2014 - the UK's most prestigious and coveted green business awards

29 Jan 2014 - The BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2014 will take place on the evening of July 2nd at the Brewery in the City of London.

Now in their fourth year, the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards celebrate the leading businesses, executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and campaigners from across the green economy, highlighting how these pioneers are driving the emergence of innovative and sustainable new business models.

The theme of this year's awards is inspiring innovation. read more>>>

Electric power's five biggest challenges: Part Three -- Multi-customer microgrids

Jan 29, 2014 - A decade ago, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) primed the smart grid pump with a Grid Vision workshop in Washington, DC. Many of today's smart grid concepts and policies can be traced back to that seminal meeting.

Now DOE has partnered with the GridWise Alliance (GWA) to hold four regional workshops followed by an Executive Summit in Washington, DC to once again develop a stakeholder-driven vision of the future grid. As a participant, I received background materials in advance.

Those materials included thoughtful discussions of five future scenarios. Or, if you prefer, five future challenges. They did such a good job of framing the issues that I asked permission to share them with you in a series of articles. read more>>>

Check Out These Great School Greening Projects

January 29, 2014 - Last year, Solar One’s Education department applied for and received a grant from the Toshiba America Foundation to fund four School Greening Projects at three Green Design Lab Schools: John Ericsson MS 126 in Brooklyn, the Urban Assembly Institute of Math & Science for Young Women (UAI), also in Brooklyn, and the Bronx Design & Construction Academy BxDCA).

Students at MS 126 proposed to build a campus garden to highlight the school’s focus on environmental engineering, while students at UAI proposed to build a rainwater catchment system with a pump that would distribute water in their school garden. read more>>>

OneRoof Energy Launches API Library, Opening Doors for Innovation in Solar Software

January 29, 2014 - OneRoof Energy, Inc., a complete home energy services provider, announced today the launch of the first comprehensive residential solar API (application programing interface) library, enabling partners to easily and quickly collaborate on innovative solar, home energy management (HEM) and home automation solutions. Besides CRM-related APIs, which have been the main focus for the solar industry to date, OneRoof Energy’s library is the first to offer a wide range of APIs that allow service providers to integrate residential solar into their business models. read more>>>

Proinso and OXIS Energy to Collaborate on a Revolutionary New Solar Energy Storage System

28th January, 2014 - Energy resourcing is probably the biggest challenge facing the world in the 21st Century. The problem is acute in underdeveloped countries where the energy infrastructure is poor but it also exists in the developed nations particularly in the heavy manufacturing and defence industries. Prices are rocketing as countries switch from generating electricity using the traditional fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas to renewable energy sources using the sun, wind and water.

The problem has been exacerbated by the question marks still hanging over the nuclear option – once seen as the answer to all our problems but still beset by safety issues. read more>>>

World Economic Forum Session on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Draws International Leaders

Jan. 24, 2014 - Leaders from business, government, civil society and the United Nations gathered today (Jan. 24 2014) in a session in Davos at the World Economic Forum to discuss short-lived climate pollutants and how to gather force to reduce their emissions.

The investment groups encouraging industry collaboration with the CCAC and its Methane Partnership - the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) and the Investors Group on Climate Change (IGCC) - represent more than 200 institutional investors and see climate change as having 'major negative impacts on the global economy and the long-term financial performance of our investments.' read more>>>

10 US cities vow to slash emissions from buildings

Jan. 29, 2014 - Mayors from 10 U.S. cities took aim at their skylines Wednesday, pledging to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from their buildings.

Businesses and homes are a major source of carbon-dioxide pollution in cities, with most of it coming from the burning of fossil fuels for heating, cooling and lighting.

Many of the participating cities - Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., Philadelphia and Salt Lake City - already are working toward making their building stock more energy efficient. read more>>>