US Postal Service Planting Green Roofs

Posted on July 2, 2012 by QuestPoint

The U.S. Postal Service recently celebrated another example of environmental leadership as local officials announced a green roof atop the Colvin-Elmwood Post Office. The 11,300 square foot green roof will be built at no cost to the Postal Service through an innovative sustainability partnership with Onondaga County, NY. “The Postal Service continues to lead the way when it comes to making a positive impact on the environment,” said Chief Sustainability Officer, Thomas G. Day. “We’re pleased to be collaborating with the good people of Onondaga County on our second green roof, which will help the Postal Service conserve water and energy in the Syracuse metropolitan area.”

Working cooperatively with Onondaga County’s Save the Rain initiative, the Colvin-Elmwood Post Office’s roof was deemed structurally sound to support the additional weight of the soil, vegetation and other requirements of a green roof. The green roof will consist of a new membrane, layers of drainage sheet, mat, separation fabric, indigenous vegetation and a wind blanket. The green roof plan fits perfectly into the Postal Service’s commitment to create sustainable spaces and facilities wherever possible. The green roof also addresses practical concerns. The roof’s expected lifespan is up to 50 years, twice as long as the roof it will replace. It also will reduce the amount of contaminants in storm water runoff flowing into Syracuse’s municipal water system.

“At more than 11,000 square feet, the Colvin-Elmwood green roof will be one of the largest in New York,” said Day. “The Colvin-Elmwood green roof will help us meet our goals to reduce energy usage 30 percent by 2015 and greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020.”The Colvin-Elmwood green roof is part of the Postal Service’s greener facilities strategy, which includes the use of environmentally friendly building components, renewable materials, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC, low volatile organic compound parts, low-water use fixtures and solar photovoltaic systems. In the last 12 months, the Postal Service also has expanded its recycling program in Central New York to include mixed paper and cardboard, resulting in nearly 1,055 tons of materials recycled in the past year. With more than 700 postal locations, including Post Office locations in Syracuse and Central New York, and with a recycling rate of 95 percent, District Manager, Edward F. Phelan, Jr., noted the Albany district is one of the Postal Service’s first Zero Waste districts.

Nissan LEAF Backs Into The Future

Intersolar Highlights Innovations In U.S. Solar

Posted on July 1, 2012 by QuestPoint

Intersolar North America, the premier solar industry exhibition and conference in North America for solar professionals to exchange information and develop business opportunities in the U.S. solar market, returns July 9-12, 2012, marking its fifth year in San Francisco. This year’s conference program offers attendees a fresh perspective on the companies and technologies that promise to reduce cost, increase yields and further drive the competitiveness of solar power.Co-located with SEMICON West, Intersolar North America 2012 is expected to draw about 850 exhibitors and more than 22,000 registered visitors from more than 80 countries to provide a true global perspective of the solar industry. This year’s event will highlight the technology innovations that are contributing to the growth of the industry through interactive exhibits on the show floor and technical sessions during the Intersolar North America Conference in the Intercontinental Hotel. A full list of speakers and presentations is available online.

As panel prices have fallen, balance of system (BOS) advancements have emerged as a key way to reduce the overall cost per watt of solar. Mounting systems have been a crucial point of innovation, as their complexity greatly impacts the amount of time spent installing PV arrays. More than 130 companies will have the latest in mounting and tracking systems and BOS innovation on display, including Schletter, SolarBridge, SolarEdge, Shoals Technology Group, SMA America LLC and Unirac. A full list of Intersolar North America exhibitors is available online. The Intersolar smart phone app is available for download here, and includes a full list of exhibitors and an exhibition floor map and route planner.

The Innovation Exchange stage and the Practical Point stage will be home to presentations that highlight the groundbreaking technologies on display throughout the exhibition hall. Intersolar AWARD nominees will discuss their innovations in presentations that offer visitors a compact and informative overview of their latest developments at the Innovation Exchange, where the winner of the first-ever Intersolar AWARD for landmark solar projects will be announced during the Award Ceremony on Tuesday, July 10 at 4 PM. Additionally, stages in the PV Production & Technology Hall and PV Energy World will feature free presentations and practical workshops, bringing the total number of exhibition stages to four.

Five Real-World Facts About Electric Cars

Solar Energy Innovations In San Francisco

Posted on June 29, 2012 by QuestPoint

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s new environmentally sustainable headquarters building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue, designed in joint venture by KMD Architects and Stevens Architects, provides a poster-child of sustainability innovation for urban office buildings, and reflects the mission of the PUC as a provider and manager of water and energy for San Francisco. All told, 525 Golden Gate in comparison to similarly-sized office buildings features 50% less of a carbon footprint, uses 32% less energy, and consumes 60% less water.The 13-level, 277,511 gross-square-foot, $190 million SFPUC headquarters building is one of the greenest urban office buildings of its kind, bringing together in a modern, contextually-designed office tower some of the most innovative new technologies at the forefront of building design.

“What better organization than a major municipal power and water agency to create one of the most advanced buildings in green design in the U.S.,” said David Hobstetter, Principal of KMD.“Our intent from the beginning was to create the most energy-efficient office building developed in an urban setting in the United States to date,” said Ryan Stevens, KMD’s Director of Design. “Many of these features are uncommon in buildings today, but will be commonplace in years to come.”

A wind turbine tower on the north facade, solar panels on sunny exteriors, sun-shading and other techniques combine to make the building one of the most power-efficient anywhere, using 32% less energy than similarly-sized office buildings. The integrated, hybrid solar array and wind turbine installation can generate up to 227,000 kilowatt hours per year or 7% of the building’s energy needs. A state-of-the-art raised flooring system incorporates the building’s data and ventilation infrastructure and reduces heating, cooling and ventilation energy costs by 51%. Daylight harvesting that bounces sunlight at appropriate amounts into workspaces saves electricity and minimizes artificial lighting, and enhances worker productivity. Other techniques include automatic shut-off sensors after hours for lighting and work station equipment.

Alternative Energy For Puerto Rico ?

American Clean Energy Agenda

Posted on June 28, 2012 by QuestPoint

Fed up with the undue influence of the energy companies, utilities, lobbyists and other interests that are making it impossible for Washington to move forward decisively in achieving America’s clean energy future, 36 citizen organizations with more than 1.1 million combined members are joining forces to advance a nine-point “American Clean Energy Agenda” and to push for a serious renewable energy agenda no matter who is the next President or which party controls Congress.

As crafted by the groups, the new American Clean Energy Agenda calls for a number of bold steps, including: phasing out nuclear power, natural gas, coal and industrial biomass in favor of efficient use of renewable, non-polluting resources; opposition to a “clean energy standard” that includes coal, nuclear, oil, gas and unsustainable biomass; retooling federal “loan guarantees” to make smarter investments in renewable energy; greater emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency programs; and avoiding a future in which Americans suffer the consequences of mountaintop mining for coal and fracking of shale gas that is then exported for use in other nations.

Organized by the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the emergence of the new network of citizen-run organizations reflects a deep dissatisfaction among Americans about the iron grip maintained by the energy industry and its lobbyists in promoting the non-solution of an “all of the above” approach to energy that would preserve the worst options and dilute the focus on real solutions.

L.A. metal recyclers charged

Luminalt Solar A San Francisco Workforce Partner

Posted on June 27, 2012 by QuestPoint

Luminalt Energy Corporation‘s CEO Jeanine Cotter is featured in the July issue of Money magazine. The article describes Cotter’s transition from corporate lawyer at Silicon Valley-based Intuit to starting her own solar installation company in 2004. Cotter says, “Just looking at the rising cost of energy and the concern over global warming, I saw an opportunity.” Money photographed Cotter at the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center for the article. Non-profit Tel-Hi has been providing services to youth, seniors and families in San Francisco since 1890. Tel-Hi received a free SunPower solar system in 2011 through Luminalt’s collaboration with non-profit One Atmosphere, Ecomedia, SunPower Corporation, and musical band CAKE.

Cotter has made community involvement central to Luminalt’s business model. Luminalt is San Francisco’s only certified woman-owned solar company and hires from local workforce development programs. Luminalt was the first San Francisco solar company to become workforce development certified through GoSolarSF. The innovative solar incentive program has supported over 1,700 solar installations and created targeted full-time jobs for underserved individuals through its local hiring mandate.

CNN Money interviewed Cotter as a tie-in to the article in Money. The web video shows Cotter in the warehouse and views of Luminalt, an Elite SunPower Dealer, installing SunPower solar panels on a home rebuilt after the 2010 PG&E gas line explosion in San Bruno. Luminalt has installed more solar systems in San Francisco than any other company, with 414 systems since the program’s inception per California Solar Initiative data. In a highly fragmented market, Luminalt has installed at least 34% more systems than any competitors within San Francisco. Cotter is glad she made the career transition and started her own business. “I never envisioned myself as someone willing to take huge risks, but I’ve thrown myself into this and completely love it.”

Green News Wall

Panama And California Laying A Path For Sustainability

Posted on June 26, 2012 by QuestPoint

The 9th Annual Global California Panama Conference was held this past Friday in San Jose California. The all day information packed conference was presented by TradePort, United States Panama Business Council – West, GlobalCalifornia.com, Monterey Bay International Trade Association and the City of San Jose. Robert Krieger, President of Krieger Worldwide and a featured panelist described Panama as the next Hong Kong. The new Free Trade Agreement and the fact that the Panama Canal is set to double its capacity means a boast for Panama, California and the Americas. Panama is now the largest free trade zone in the Western hemisphere.

Keynote speaker Juan Sosa the Former Ambassador to Panama and current President of United States – Panama Business Council said “the Panama Canal is now operating at 95% capacity. Panama is experiencing double digit growth with only 1% of the population in Latin America. Now as a logistic hub we believe that ports on the west coast, the Gulf and the Atlantic will benefit by our new capacity if they too can upgrade their capacity.” Port of Oakland’s Ron Brown who also spoke welcomed Panama’s expansion as a sign of growth for California.

The heightened economic activity in Panama is not just about the canal. Panama City the nation’s capital dubbed “Panhatten” is a dynamic city. Real estate, banking, ecotourism and renewable energy are all poised for growth throughout the nation. Alvaro Cabal Lachman also a panelist and head of USPAW and CEO of Nearshore Development provided key insights on real estate in the country today and in the future. Participating panelists and sponsors shared valuable insight on doing business in the country. In attendance were representatives of Morgan Stanley, Citibank, FedEx, Panama Pacifo, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Jose Branca, NICE Inc. and US Commercial Service. Daniel Robin a Senior Partner with In3 Finance Group who has worked on agricultural and renewable energy projects and ventures in Latin America suggested that PPA’s (Power Purchase Agreements) could provide an affordable solution to bringing solar energy to Panama. A trade mission to Panama will be held on July 25-27, 2012. By Richard Andrews