July 28, 2014 - Not so long ago, the consensus in Europe — and across the Atlantic, too — was that hard-boiled energy security didn’t have time for extravagant clean-energy agendas. Every time Russia shut off Eastern Europe’s gas, some spooked nations questioned the logic of trying to meet EU climate goals while simultaneously wrangling energy independence from Putin’s petro-state. Even earlier this year — with Moscow’s springtime annexation of Crimea — some politicians panicked: Suddenly fracking was back on the agenda and Europe was once again grasping for new, short-term fossil-fuel sources and routes.But Europe’s energy security and climate protection strategies aren’t mutually exclusive. read more>>>
27 July 2014 - A Texas Empowerment report released by Choose Energy shows that about one in three Texans choose renewably sourced energy options.
That’s 100 percent more than any other state, Levente McCrary, spokeswoman for Choose Energy, said in an email.
“While Texans may have bigger grids and bills when it comes to energy, they also have a lot of choice in green energy plans — which may be partly why they gravitate to green energy plans more often than any other state,” she said.
This month, Choose Energy, an online energy marketplace that helps customers in deregulated areas, such as Tyler, choose the best energy option, released the Texas Empowerment report, found at read more>>>
21st July 2014 - So you are thinking green! Whether it is an existing building or a new construction, there are several ways of going on the green path. But the best green buildings will always include the following:
The best ‘site’ forward
Good site selection is the foundation for a green building. Do not build on sensitive habitats like wetlands, flood zones or endangered wildlife habitats. Consider a reclaimed brownfield, in-fill and greyfield sites (previously developed site with all utilities in place) instead of clearing greenfields or undeveloped lands. Proximity to mass transit and community resources will go a long way in not only minimising automobile dependence but also in creating strong self-sustainable green communities and neighbourhoods. read more>>>
July 21, 2014 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making a $262 million investment into the nation's waterways to rehabilitate dams that provide critical infrastructure and protect public health and safety.
"This investment will protect people and property from floods, help keep our water clean, and ensure that critical structures continue to provide benefits for future generations," Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Jason Weller said. "Families, businesses and our agriculture economy depend on responsible management of dams and watersheds."
A number of the projects to be funded are in Oklahoma where the first full watershed plan and structure completed by USDA on private lands happened in the 1940s. read more>>>
July 19, 2014 - The periodic blackouts in Cassina Tarsia's Oceanside, Calif., neighborhood meant the 71-year-old couldn't charge her cellphone or electric wheelchair.
But outages aren't a problem anymore.
Since February, Tarsia's garage has housed a suitcase-sized battery that stores power from her rooftop solar panels and the main electrical grid. In a blackout, the battery can power her home for days or even weeks.
“I think about what will happen in a big earthquake and what happened in Japan with the tsunami,” said Tarsia, who paid $5,000 to get the battery installed. “I wanted to be prepared.” read more>>>
July 17, 2014 - One of the major road blocks to the design and development of new, more efficient solar cells may have been cleared. Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed the first ab initio method -- meaning a theoretical model free of adjustable or empirical parameters -- for characterizing the properties of "hot carriers" in semiconductors. Hot carriers are electrical charge carriers -- electrons and holes -- with significantly higher energy than charge carriers at thermal equilibrium.
"Hot carrier thermalization is a major source of efficiency loss in solar cells, but because of the sub-picosecond time scale and complex physics involved, characterization of hot carriers has long been a challenge even for the simplest materials," says Steven Louie, a theoretical physicist and senior faculty scientist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division (MSD). read more>>>
22.07.2014 - The Indian finance minister has proposed measures to boost the Indian photovoltaics business. In addition to financial support (see the article), tax reductions will also be implemented.
Finance minister Mr Arun Jaitley stated that certain components for manufacturing PV systems will be exempt from basic customs duty. Among them are EVA sheets, solar back sheets and specified inputs used in their manufacture, solar tempered glass used in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells and modules, and flat copper wire for the manufacture of PV ribbons. All of these are exempt from excise duty. read more>>>
22.07.2014 - The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has published its report 'Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2014-2018'. Data for the year 2013 clearly shows that the market is shifting from Europe to Asia.
According to the EPIA report, 2013 was a good year for the global photovoltaics industry. The global increase in capacity in 2011 and 2012 was approximately 30 GW per year, but newly installed capacity climbed to 34.8 GW last year. This brings the total installed capacity worldwide to 138.9 GW. read more>>>
18 July 2014 - Private companies must play a leading role to support public institutions in their efforts to break the "business as usual" model. They will have to move gradually towards cleaner, energy and resource-saving, as well as eco-innovation based production methods, which constitute the only way to transform environmental constraints into opportunities for economic and social performance.
The study that has just been launched by the ECA Sub regional Office for North Africa aims to assess the commitment of businesses to consider environmental concerns and principles of sustainable development.. This study entitled "industry and green economy in North Africa: read more>>>
Jul. 11, 2014 - The solar panels that Idaho inventor Scott Brusaw has built aren't meant for rooftops. They are meant for roads, driveways, parking lots, bike trails and, eventually, highways.
Brusaw, an electrical engineer, says the hexagon-shaped panels can withstand the wear and tear that comes from inclement weather and vehicles, big and small, to generate electricity.
'We need to rebuild our infrastructure,' said Brusaw, the head of Solar Roadways, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, about 90 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington. His idea contains 'something for everyone to like.'
'Environmentalists like it,' he said. 'Climate change deniers like it because it creates jobs.' read more>>>
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