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The Northern California Solar Energy Association (NorCal Solar) will be launching its latest Solar Energy Resource Guide (SERG) on the eve of the 2012 Intersolar North American conference in San Francisco next month. The SERG serves as a requisite tool for northern Californians interested in utilizing solar energy at home and in their businesses.The 9th edition SERG features articles covering a breadth of solar applications from photovoltaics and solar hot water to solar cooking, Passive House, zero net energy design, and more. It will also contain an extensive Solar Resources section. NorCal Solar plans to distribute over 7,500 copies of the SERG through 2014.”We are extremely excited about the 9th edition of the SERG,” said NorCal Solar President Elaine Hebert. “The expanded content will be useful to people who are new to solar and to seasoned professionals on the broad range of what solar can be. People have used past editions as something like a bible of solar, and it has helped them immensely on their career path.”

The launch party takes place Monday, July 9, from 7-9:00 pm, at the Intercontinental Hotel, next door to the Moscone Center on Howard Street, San Francisco. Invited guest speakers include Jeff Spies of QuickMount PV and Amy Reardon of the California Public Utilities Commission. The party is free to NorCal Solar members and supporters and $15 for others.  RSVPs are requested at www.norcalsolar.org.

Intersolar NA is an annual conference that provides in-depth alternative energy industry insight by bringing together companies from all over the globe to exchange knowledge and ideas and display new products. This year’s conference and exhibition will take place July 9-12 at the Moscone Center and Intercontinental Hotel. More than 22,000 people are expected. NorCal Solar will be at booth L224.”There are many people looking to break into the green job market, and our networking events are a great way to meet those already working in solar,” said Hebert. In step with its goal to enhance solar energy awareness, NorCal Solar is conducting three bus tours of local solar facilities during Intersolar NA.

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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.

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“First and foremost, making the Empire State Building energy efficient was a sound business decision that saved us millions of dollars in the first year,” said Anthony Malkin of the Empire State Building Company. “We have a proven model that shows building owners and operators how to cut costs and improve the value of their buildings by integrating energy efficiency into building upgrades.” One year after an innovative building retrofit project, the Empire State Building is ahead of plan and has exceeded its year one energy-efficiency guarantee by five percent, saving $2.4 million and establishing a commercial real estate model for reducing costs, maximizing return on investment, increasing real estate value, and protecting the environment.

Mr. Malkin and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) Cities program, an aligned partner of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, assembled a coalition of leading organizations focused on energy efficiency and sustainability.  The team was comprised of the Empire State Building Company, LLC; Johnson Controls, Inc.; Jones Lang LaSalle; and Rocky Mountain Institute.”Mr. Malkin had a vision of bringing innovation to his historical landmark. The results are just beginning to pay off while at the same time creating a new model for the world to follow,” said Dave Myers, president of Johnson Controls, Building Efficiency. “It is critical that we tackle the billions of square feet of inefficient office buildings around the world to meet our growing energy needs, save money, create jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The core energy efficiency retrofit at the Empire State Building is complete, with the balance of the project to be finished as new tenants build out high-performance workspaces.  Not only is the Empire State Building more energy efficient, but it is also estimated to have saved 4,000 metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of that offset by 750 acres of pine forests. Once all tenant spaces are upgraded, the building will save $4.4 million a year, a 38 percent reduction of energy use that will cut carbon emissions by 105,000 metric tons over the next 15 years. In the United States, 40 percent of energy is consumed by buildings, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. In dense urban settings like New York City, commercial buildings account for up to 75 percent of energy used. If every commercial building in New York City followed this blueprint, carbon emissions would be reduced by 4 million tons – the equivalent to that generated by a typical coal-fired power plant.

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If you thought solar energy was just a passing fad and not really a serious contender for supplying power for an energy starved world, think again. The revelation that Saudi Arabia has announced a $109 billion plan to create a solar industry that will generate a third of the nation’s electricity within two decades, could silence many skeptics. When the world’s largest source of oil goes solar that should wake everybody up!  The Saudi Arabian Market would provide significant opportunities for the Solar Industry. “We are not only looking for building solar plants,” Maher al-Odan, a consultant at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, said in a recent interview. “We want to run a sustainable solar energy sector that will become a driver for domestic energy for years to come.” Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, hopes to have 41,000 megawatts of solar capacity by 2032 said al-Odan. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance the nation trails Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates with only 3 megawatts of solar installations.

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Less than two weeks after its official groundbreaking ceremony, MidAmerican Solar and First Solar, Inc. marked another milestone at Topaz Solar Farms, located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. On Wednesday, the first solar panel was installed on what is the largest solar project under construction in the world. When complete, the 550-megawatt AC project will include nearly 9 million photovoltaic panels.

To mark this significant event, the first solar panel was installed by Greg Abel, chairman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, and Walter Scott, Jr., who serves on the boards of directors for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and MidAmerican.

“The installation of this first solar panel is more than symbolic,” said Paul Caudill, president of MidAmerican Solar. “It represents nearly five months of hard construction work put in by a dedicated crew of craftspersons and on-site supervision, a large majority of whom live in the local area. They are helping us achieve our goal of safely and reliably delivering energy to our customer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, all while adhering to our core value of respect for the environment.”The Topaz project will create approximately 400 construction jobs during its three-year construction period; will generate nearly $417 million in local economic impact, the majority of which will be generated during construction; and will provide California with renewable electricity. The Topaz project will provide enough energy to power approximately 160,000 average California homes.

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Chabot Community College in Hayward, Calif., recently achieved LEED Platinum certification for their sustainably-designed student center building with the help of SageGlass dynamic glazing. The Community and Student Services Center (CSSC) is the centerpiece of the college’s “green intelligent building initiative,” serving more than 15,000 students, staff and faculty. Architects at tBP/Architecture wanted to incorporate as much glass as possible into the CSSC to flood the interior with daylight and keep a connection to the outdoors for the well-being of the students. The architects needed to find a way to maintain outside views and keep people comfortable inside, while simultaneously minimizing energy consumption to achieve the project’s LEED goals. Although conventional low-e glazing, automated interior blinds and automated exterior louvers would have managed the sun and solar heat gain, this approach would also have obstructed outside views and compromised building aesthetics.

The CSSC uses SageGlass as a strategic element of an integrated daylighting control system to manage sunlight and heat gain. The dynamic glazing tints or clears within minutes, significantly reducing energy consumed for air conditioning, heating and lighting. SageGlass glazing keeps glare and temperature under control throughout the day, making effective use of the natural ventilation system. In addition to SageGlass, the facility features a variety of other advanced sustainability technologies designed to achieve LEED Platinum accreditation through aggressive energy-efficiency levels and maximum occupant comfort.

SageGlass was instrumental in helping Chabot meet its ambitious sustainability initiative, which includes attaining LEED Silver rating as a minimum for all new construction,” said Doug Horner, Project Manager with Chabot Community College. “This one-of-a-kind facility exceeds this standard by using advanced design elements, which provide natural daylight in all occupied spaces and access to outdoor views. The CSSC also controls the amount of light to reduce heat gain as a means of increasing the comfort level of occupants.”

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