The Cape Fear Green Building Allianceholds its annual green building tour 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 25. The tour features a home at 3404 Talon Court, which received the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum certification and has appeared in this blog before. The rehab also has been the subject of stories in the StarNews, USA Today, EcoHome and Green Source. Six other sites are on the tour, which begins at Snipes Academy of the Arts and Design, 2510 Chestnut St. A recent StarNews story on the building mentions its “motion-sensor lighting controls, a full recycling program, permeable parking lot, rain collection system for irrigation and increased daylighting in the classrooms.” Participants may take their own cars to the other sites on the tour or ride a trolley from Snipes.
The tour also includes the offices of Monteith Construction Co. at 32 N. Front St., which has been on the annual tour in the past; Midori on 29th, townhouses under construction at 23 S. 29th St.; Sapona Green Building Center, a retail store offering green building materials, at 716 S. 17th St.; Buffalo Wild Wings, 206 Old Eastwood Road, the first restaurant in Wilmington to implement solar hot water; and 5707 Wrightsville Ave.
Tickets are $15; $12 for alliance members. You can buy them and get detailed information online at the alliance’s website, by Stacie Greene Hidek
There’s more to Cape Fear than the two versions of the movie Cape Fear that were made in this trendy and diverse North Carolina town of Wilmington. Cape Fear North Carolina is a headland located on the eastern shore of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Fear is the southern most part of North Carolina, and the Cape Fear River which drains to the coast near the headland is a habitat for all kinds of interesting Cape Fear wildlife, including squirrels, deer and more. Also located in the town of Wilmington, home to Cape Fear, is the Cape Fear North Carolina Museum. When combined with a trip to the beach at Cape Fear, the museum is a great way to spend an afternoon and learn all about this southern section of North Carolina.
Joanne Ellis’ new clifftop home on Bainbridge Islandshows green can also be gorgeous.”It’s pretty darn awesome,” Ellis says in describing her dream home with floor-to-ceiling windows that look east to Seattle. Yet its drama and Puget Sound location is only part of its allure. It’s also energy-efficient. Courtesy of Coates Design
“The whole house is designed to passively cool and heat itself,” Ellis says. It’s oriented to capture sun and shade, and its concrete floors and concrete interior wall hold the heat.
On a 100-degree day last year, she says the house was comfortable without air conditioning. Ellis” home — chosen as “This Week’s Green House” — earned the top or platinum rating in June from the private U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. Her architect Matthew Coates says it’s the first LEED-platinum house in Washington that’s not in Seattle. The 2,450 square-feet home, which has a separate 700 square-foot apartment, spared no expense on its green features, which include geothermal heating, two 1,500 gallon cisterns, a vegetated roof, a 4-kilowatt solar array and Loewen triple-pane wood windows. Read on
It’s not always about glitz and glamour with Justin Timberlake, this time it is about going green. Justin Timberlake has recently made a hit which does not revolve around recording studios at all. This time Timberlake has launched his golf course; the talented singer- performer has re-launched his Eco friendly golf coursein his hometown Memphis.
The club has been able to win the award for being the first green golf course in the whole of America. The award was given by the prestigious Gold Environment Organization to Mirimichi Performance Centre situated in the Worlds famous Singer’s hometown.
The Mirimichi was given the award for being the most eco-friendly golf club in U.S.A. The golf club has undergone renovations that have expanded its irrigation and drainage system. The system has maximized the use of rainwater and the wetlands have been expanded along with the wildflowers and the native grasses. Mirimichi is labelled as a club with a world class experience without the need of memberships, monthly dues or minimums. A total of $16million so far and there are plans to make the club more eco friendly in near future. According to sources, Justin Timberlake will soon be adding golf carts that are solar-powered. Furthermore, he will ensure that the operation for the food and beverage use materials which are bio degradable and recyclable. This Golf Club is the only club ever made that is able to calculate its own carbon footprints.
Justin Timberlake
Timberlake has managed to stand out from the crowd since he has always had strong opinions regarding environmental issues. He is now marked as an individual who walks his walk giving the‘sexy back’ singer a well deserved relaxed time which he can spend on the world’s greenest greens.
While much of the U.S. real estate market has been floundering, one area has not seen a dip. Green building now accounts for nearly one-third of new construction in the U.S. That’s up from 2 percent in 2005, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, which tracks the industry. The numbers suggest a revolution is taking place within an industry that is historically slow to change. There are many factors — and many players — in this move toward green building. But one company and its rating system have been undeniably influential in changing construction practice and policy around the country, despite some people’s reservations about whether it’s really helping the environment. University Of Michigan Banks On LEED. The new Ross School of business building at the University of Michigan is full of environmentally friendly technology.
Andy Hoffman, a professor of sustainable enterprise, who teaches a course in green construction, and facilities manager John Bresette gave a tour of the facilities. Oddly enough, among the highlights is a men’s room equipped with dual-flush toilets. Read on
New York City, skyscrapers and everything….When New York greens up it’s big. Just announced a new multi media show in the Empire State Building that showcases a $20 million energy retrofit project. Nothing like New York City and the Empire State Building…just ask Kong.
The Empire State Building today unveiled a $2 million interactive, multi-media sustainability exhibit at the second floor visitor’s center, which showcases a $20 million energy retrofit project that was announced in April 2009 with President Bill Clinton and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. By communicating the compelling story of the building’s award-winning retrofit program under way, the installation aims to educate the millions of people who visit the building every year on the positive global impact of both energy efficient building and sustainable living practices. Upon completion of the program, the Empire State Building will reduce total energy usage by more than 38 percent, energy costs by $4.4 million annually, and carbon emissions by 105,000 metric tons over the next 15 years.
To bring the Empire State Building energy retrofit program to life, Seattle-based design firm Hornall Anderson was selected to create a tangible and engaging sustainability exhibit. This thought-provoking installation translates the technical retrofit story into an easy-to-understand, compelling consumer experience that introduces the topic of energy efficiency in the context of the Empire State Building, New York City, and the planet. The vibrant exhibit combines physical artifacts with impressive technology and seamlessly integrates digital and sculptural elements to create interactive museum-quality displays that educate and entertain visitors on their way to the renowned Observatories.
As visitors enter the exhibit, a transformational cube introduces the topic of sustainability. The cube illustrates and explains the harmful environmental impact of energy inefficient commercial buildings as well as the scope, vision and benefits of the sustainable global template in place at the Empire State Building. As visitors move through the exhibit they are educated on each of the eight major retrofit initiatives being implemented at the Empire State Building and exposed to statistics highlighting the positive dramatic environmental effects of the process. For example, one display demonstrates how energy consumption can be reduced by improving the massive systems that heat, cool and ventilate buildings. By communicating how many people making small changes in their everyday lives cause an impactful global change, visitors are educated on how to be energy efficient through opportunities in their life.
The Empire State Building sustainability exhibit is open seven days a week at the second floor visitor’s center during visiting hours from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. For more information on the Empire State Building’s sustainability initiative and the building retrofit, visit www.esbsustainability.com.
About the Empire State Building
Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions and is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.esbnyc.com.
Make note of Kenyan energy entrepreneur Murefu Basara on the market opportunity for small scale solar systems. Benjamin Roman reporting for Recharge News reports that Barasa has a vision to bring solar-powered electricity to a broad area of Nairobi that’s right next to the grid where 500,000 people live but have no electricity.
A citizen of Kenya, Murefu Barasa holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from Kenyatta University, Nairobi. Prior to his arrival at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Murefu worked with a consultancy company offering services in the promotion of renewable energy access in east and southern Africa. During his four years at the organization he had the privilege of working in Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Kenya on different projects. Some of these involved working with the ministry of energy to isolate practical renewable energy policy options through participatory methods (Kenya and Uganda), reducing deforestation through the promotion of sustainable charcoal production and marketing models (Tanzania), researching on the drivers of productive uses and uptake of solar Photo Voltaic systems (Kenya) and identifying linkages in the development of renewable energy technologies and poverty alleviation (Southern Africa).
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JEFF OLSHESKY – BEYOND SOLAR
Listen to the work Beyond Solar has done in India below.
Largest Rooftop Solar Project in Northwest Now Online for Portland General Electric Customers
Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) has completed installation of the largest rooftop solar project in the Pacific Northwest — a 673,000-square-foot, 2.4-megawatt project atop the roofs of seven ProLogis distribution warehouses in Portland, Gresham, and Clackamas.
Working with local contractors, PGE and ProLogis began construction of the $14 million solar project in March 2010 and brought the project online in early July 2010. This is the second rooftop solar project with ProLogis, a distribution facilities company, bringing PGE’s total solar build-out with ProLogis to 3.5 megawatts of solar energy.
“Solar is clearly growing in Oregon and our customers are helping drive that,” said Carol Dillin, PGE’s vice president of customers and economic development. “We have seen unprecedented growth of residential and business solar projects in our area over the past two years which, coupled with the growth in solar manufacturing, helps develop more clean, renewable resources for the region and stimulate Oregon’s green economy.”
With the new 2.4-megawatt project, PGE will have more than 14.3 megawatts of solar capacity in its resource mix, including the 104-kilowatt solar highway demonstration project with the Oregon Department of Transportation and more than 10.7 megawatts of customer-owned solar energy projects PGE supports through its net metering program. PGE also expects another 17.5 megawatts of customer-owned solar energy projects to come online through the state’s recently adopted five-year solar energy incentive pilot program, the Solar Payment Option program.
In 2009, PGE ranked among the top 10 utilities in the western regionfor solar installations, according to the national Solar Energy Power Association.
PGE partnered with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, ProLogis, and several Oregon companies on the project. Northwest Solar Solutions, a division of locally-owned Snyder Roofing and the installer for this project, estimates 60,000 hours of family-wage electrical and roofing work in Oregon were created by this project.
The renewable energy generated from the solar project is now included in PGE’s energy resource mix and helps the utility meet the state’s renewable energy standard of providing 25 percent renewable energy by the year 2025. PGE expects it will be at nearly 9 percent renewable energy in 2010.
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Dems press Reid to put renewable power standard in energy bill
By Ben Geman – 07/26/10 02:50 PM ET
Nearly half the Senate’s Democrats are pressuring Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to include a national renewable electricity mandate in the slimmed-down energy bill expected on the floor this week.
But they face an uphill battle — Reid argued over the weekend that a renewables mandate won’t fly in the Senate.
In aletter Friday, 27 Democrats make the case for a renewable electricity standard (RES), which would require many utilities to supply escalating amounts of power from sources like wind and solar energy in coming years.
“A strong RES will give certainty to clean energy companies that are looking to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. to manufacture wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable energy components,” argues the letter spearheaded by Sens. Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Mark Udall (Colo.) and Tom Udall (N.M.).
The other signatures come from a mix of liberal and centrist renewable energy backers, such as Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Tim Johnson (S.D.) and John Kerry (Mass.) The letter argues that an RES would create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Environmental groups and renewable power companies are scrambling to keep an RES in the mix following last week’s decision by Senate leaders to abandon a sweeping climate change and energy bill. Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle is among the advocates, andtold reporters on a conference call Monday that an RES has political legs.
But Reid said Saturday that he doesn’t see a filibuster-proof vote for an RES, which has long been a pillar of Democratic energy plans. “I don’t think I have 60 votes to get that done,” Reid said at the progressive Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas. Renewable power mandates face resistance from many Republicans — and southeastern lawmakers from both parties — who fear their states lack enough renewable resources and would be forced to make payments for credits or noncompliance penalties.
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Summertime and the living is easy and happening at Nightlife in the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park on Thursday evenings from 6 PM to 10 PM. If the idea was to make hanging out at the museum fun and interesting. Mission accomplished. I have to admit I hadn’t been to the Academy since it’s renovation in 2008. What an amazing piece of work. It is a terrific example of a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green certified building with unbelievable form and function. It is an environmental gem that makes great use of open space. Located at 55 Champion Drive in the Golden Gate the Academy of Science is easily reached by public transportation.
Nightlife draws in a variety of ever changing weekly events where visitors ages 21 and older can enjoy music, science, entertainment and cocktails, while experiencing the Academy’s world-class exhibits and having fun with friends.
Inside the the open space are some of the amazing exhibits. Up on the Roof is a two and a half acre a roof garden. The rooftop’s seven undulating green hillocks pay homage to the iconic topography of San Francisco and blurs the boundary between building and parkland. Living Roof´s 1.7 million native plants were specially chosen to flourish in Golden Gate Park´s climate. After experimenting with thirty native species, the finalists were all able to self-propagate. They will thrive with little water, resist the salt spray from ocean air, and tolerate wind. Surrounding the Living Roof is a large glass canopy with a decorative band of 60,000 photovoltaic cells. These solar panels will generate approximately 213,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year and provide up to 10% of the Academy’s electricity need. The use of solar power will prevent the release of 405,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emission into the air.
If that wasn’t enough there’s a Rainforest. Step inside a living 4-story rainforest, where dripping water sets the beat for a symphony of croaking frogs and chirping birds. Peer into one of Borneo’s bat caves, meet chameleons from Madagascar, and climb into the tree-tops of Costa Rica to find free-flying birds and butterflies. Finally, descend in a glass elevator into the Amazonian flooded forest, where an acrylic tunnel allows you to walk beneath the catfish and arapaima that swim overhead.The rainforest is contained within a spectacular 90-foot diameter glass dome. It’s the largest spherical rainforest exhibit in the world. Follow a spiraling path up through the exhibit, experience what it’s like to actually walk in a real rainforest.
Still there’s Madagascar, Extreme Mammals, and the Planetarium plus more. If you ever had some idea of museums being boring this is absolutely not the case with Academy of Science. It’s well worth visiting again and again.
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Renault to launch electric vehicles in 2011
All the pieces of the puzzle are in place for making a mass-production vehicle in the near future: battery range, optimized energy consumption, and performance and driving pleasure.
Carlos Ghosn, 2008 Paris Motor Show,
For Renault, the electric vehicle is the real long-term solution to today’s environmental and noise pollution issues. Technological innovations now make it possible to mass market an electric vehicle at reasonable cost. In addition, changes in vehicle use make electric cars ideal for the majority of trips, with 80% of Europeans currently driving less than 60 km a day.
Renault will bring its customers a complete range of electric vehicles by as early as 2011. Their design will be largely inspired by the concept cars revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show:
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The Streets of San Francisco Now
What is Sunday Streets?
Sunday Streets originated in Bogota, Columbia as a day to promote free, health and community oriented events. 30 years after the first program, the concept has spread around the world from Tokyo, Japan to Kiev, Ukraine. Now, it is back in San Francisco!
Taking place from July 13-15 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center West Hall, promotes the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 550 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and 20,000 trade visitors are expected.
Facing Tough PV Manufacturing Challenges: Intersolar North America 2010 to Host Inaugural PV Group North American Fab Managers Forum
Leading Solar Cell-Makers Will Convene at July Event in San Francisco
SEMI PV Group today announced that the first annual North American Fab Managers Forum will be held at Intersolar North America 2010 in San Francisco, California on July 12, 2010. Hosted by SEMI PV Group, the Fab Managers Forum is focused on addressing shared supply chain challenges and improving customer-supplier relations across the photovoltaic supply chain.
NEW YORK — Applied Materials Inc. spent $320,000 lobbying the federal government in the first quarter of the year on energy legislation and other issues.
That’s more than double the $130,000 the company spent in the same quarter a year ago, according to congressional disclosure forms, but down from $470,000 spent in the quarter before.
Applied Materials provides technology used by solar panel and semiconductor manufacturers. It lobbied the U.S. House, Senate and various federal agencies on the American Clean Energy & Security Act, which would establish a cap-and-trade system to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
The company also listed a House bill that would direct the Energy Department to establish a solar energy research program.
The Cape Fear Green Building Alliance holds its annual green building tour 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 25. The tour features a home at 3404 Talon Court, which received the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum certification and has appeared in this blog before. The rehab also has been the subject of stories in the StarNews, USA Today, EcoHome and Green Source. Six other sites are on the tour, which begins at Snipes Academy of the Arts and Design, 2510 Chestnut St. A recent StarNews story on the building mentions its “motion-sensor lighting controls, a full recycling program, permeable parking lot, rain collection system for irrigation and increased daylighting in the classrooms.” Participants may take their own cars to the other sites on the tour or ride a trolley from Snipes.
Eastwood Road, the first restaurant in Wilmington to implement solar hot water; and 5707 Wrightsville Ave.
