GE to order tens of thousands of Electric Vehicles

Posted on October 29, 2010 by quest

In a move that will put some confidence into the future and sustainability of the reborn electric vehicle industry; Word out of London is that General Electric will order tens of thousands of electric vehicles. GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt was speaking from London and said it will be the largest order in history. GE is a global powerhouse and diversified technology, media and financial services company. They are already in power generation including solar and wind energy. Rachel Layne and Alan Ohnsman reporting for

SunPower on Colorado Solar Ranch

Bay Area based SunPower just announced an agreement with Iberdrola Renewables to design and build a 30-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant on 216 acres of private land in Colorado’s Alamosa County. Expected to be fully operational by the end of 2011, construction will begin this year and create approximately 100 jobs. Iberdrola Renewables is developing the solar ranch, and will own and operate it. The company will sell the electricity under a long term contract to Xcel Energy, for distribution on the region’s utility grid. The project will create employment opportunities and provide revenue for schools, health, fire, and other critical services in Alamosa County.

The plant will use SunPower E19 solar panels, mounted on SunPower(R) Tracker systems. SunPower Trackers tilt the solar panels toward the sun as it moves across the sky, increasing energy capture and providing more power on hot summer days when utilities need it most.

VISIT THE SOLAR WALL

Yo New York City greens up and so does Yo Valley

Posted on October 28, 2010 by quest

Let’s give it up for green city New York, New York. Just a few days ago Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials broke ground on a new municipal recycling facility in Sunset Park that will process all of the city’s metal, glass and plastic recyclables. The opening represents another step for New York in going green. The Sims Municipal Recycling Facility on the Brooklyn waterfront will minimize the distance that collection trucks travel between pick-up sites and receiving centers and allow Sims to expand its barge and rail-based transport systems which will eliminate over 260,000 vehicle miles traveled annually from New York City roadways. The project will create 100 new jobs when the facility is opened, which is expected in December 2011; with 11,000 more to follow over the next 10 years.

“This state-of-the-art facility is another great example of repurposing our Brooklyn waterfront. And we’re not just talking trash here – this facility will promote recycling, take garbage-hauling trucks off our already overburdened streets and highways, and create jobs as well,” said Borough President Markowitz. “It’s a win-win for everybody, and proves yet again why, when it comes to recycling, Brooklyn and New York City make everyone else ‘green’ with envy.”

Selldorf Architects of the project designer created the facility to be sustainable. It includes green roofs, renewable solar and wind energy production, on-site stormwater treatment, and landscaping that serves to offset heat and provide a pleasing visual aesthetic for the surrounding community. The project will revitalize Brooklyn’s waterfront industrial space, improve pedestrian access to the waterfront by adding 22 acres of new open space, and reduce truck traffic throughout the region by 70,000 truck trips annually. An onsite Visitor Education Center will welcome school groups and visitors who can learn about recycling. It will operate 24 hours a day, six days a week.

YO VALLEY

Like the green movement we know that rap music has spread around the world. French, Chinese and rappers from India all have some swag and lay it down for real. But Yo Valley (Yeo Valley)…who knew, organic farmers rapping from England? I guess it was time for the song “Ole MacDonald had a Farm” to get a makeover…E i… E i… O !

Write a story: A Green Renaissance

Mayor Reed sets new sustainable vision for Atlanta

Posted on October 26, 2010 by quest

With the start of Atlanta’s Sustainability Week, now through October 29, 2010 Mayor Kasim Reed set out a new goal for Atlanta to be a top 10 US Sustainable City. The release of Mayor Reed and the City of Atlanta’s Sustainability Plan is the first event of the city’s first Sustainability Week, which runs Oct. 25-29. Each day of the week includes daily activities and programs highlighting different focus areas of the plan, such as water quality and conservation, energy efficiency, jobs growth, local foods, and electric vehicles.

By implementing the plan the City of Atlanta will reduce toxic emissions by 25 percent and reduce energy use for existing municipal operations 15 percent both by 2020. Renewable energy will represent five percent of total municipal use by 2015.
Additionally the plan will bring local food within 10 minutes of 75 percent of all residents by 2020. “Being a more sustainable city not only protects and preserves the environment, it makes economic sense for the city,” said Mandy Mahoney, Atlanta’s first Director of Sustainability. “It helps drive financial savings and efficiency and creates jobs.” The City of Atlanta’s Office of Sustainability already has established a strong track record of success. One of Atlanta’s first wins in sustainability was to become the first city in Georgia to determine its municipal carbon footprint, which occurred in 2008. By 2010, Atlanta reduced its footprint by 12.5 percent.

“I believe the City of Atlanta should be a leading example of how a major urban municipality can take greater responsibility for efficient energy and water use, the conservation of green space, and the promotion of a healthier, cleaner and greener environment,” Mayor Reed said. “It is vital we take concrete, measurable actions around sustainability now to protect the future of our city.”

READ THE YALE REPORT

Americans’ Knowledge of Climate Change

Caltech activates and researches solar energy

Posted on October 22, 2010 by quest

National power financier Perpetual Energy Systems and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) today announced the activation of a 1.1 mega watt (MW) solar energy system. The system is part of Caltech’s goal of 1.3MW of solar power installed by 2010. The project is expected to generate an estimated 1,646,668 kilowatt hours of clean energy in its first full year of operation. The new solar power system will eliminate approximately 1,150 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in its first year of operations, which is equivalent to removing 222 cars from the nation’s roads or planting 252 acres of trees.

John Onderdonk, Caltech’s Sustainability Manager said,“This recent installation, which brings Caltech’s total installed solar capacity to 1,300 kW represents two percent of the Institute’s energy consumption and contributes significantly to our plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020; Our agreement with Perpetual allows the Institute all the advantages of solar, but without the financial outlay for the installation and maintenance. This is a win-win situation for us and we look forward to working with them again on future solar installations.” Caltech entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Perpetual to host the solar installations, enabling Caltech to host solar with no capital outlay. Under the agreement Caltech will purchase clean solar energy produced by each installation at a predetermined, fixed rate. The system is owned and operated by Perpetual.

More than 4,500 solar panels comprise the system, which will generate electricity from the rooftops of seven structures on the Caltech Campus.The Cahill Center is one of the selected buildings and is Caltech’s first building to achieve USGBC LEED gold-level certification. Back in July U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman awarded Caltech $122 million to research solar energy over five years with a multidisciplinary team of top scientists to establish an Energy Innovation Hub; aimed at developing revolutionary methods to generate fuels directly from sunlight. The hub will include Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and will be directed by Nathan S. Lewis, George L. Argyros Professor and professor of chemistry at Caltech.

ROBERT F KENNEDY JR ON RENEWABLE ENERGY

GREEN: WEBINARS

LA charging up

Posted on October 18, 2010 by quest

In a city like Los Angeles where everything is dependent on the automobile this is a move in the right direction. LA Metro, EV Connect and the California Energy Commission will be conducting a pilot program to assess the integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) into the transportation network and consumer behavior and ridership patterns.

EV Connect has 15 years of experience in the electric vehicle industry and is now a leading provider of EV Infrastructure solutions dedicated to widespread electric vehicle adoption of electrified transportation. EV Connect also services the entire spectrum of businesses and municipalities that are well-placed to benefit from the EV revolution as charging station hosts, including universities, hotels and resorts, and big box retailers and shopping centers.

“This project will bring the city of Los Angeles closer to achieving its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 35 percent below 1990 levels by 2030,” said Energy Commissioner Anthony Eggert. “The Energy Commission is proud to be a part of this first-of-its-kind PEV infrastructure rollout with EV Connect and Metro.” The transportation emissions accounts for 40 percent of greenhouse gas in the State of California. So this project could have a great impact. “We are looking forward to the success of this pilot effort, which will encourage drivers of plug-in electric vehicles to use Metro while charging their vehicles at our transit stations,” said Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. “At Metro we demonstrate best practices in sustainability with over 2,500 clean air buses along with a commitment in building all new transit facilities to LEED standards. This project is another example of how Metro is protecting the environment.” Several sites around LA have been selected for the project.

“This is the first study of its kind to analyze the integration of EV solutions into a transit network,” said Jordan Ramer, CEO of EV Connect. “The data procured from this study will establish industry benchmarks on charge and ride commuters which will help shape the future of multi modal transportation.”

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

First Solar to build two new manufacturing plants

Posted on October 15, 2010 by quest

Tempe, Arizona based industry leader First Solar, Inc. has announced plans to build two new manufacturing plants. This will boost the company’s annual manufacturing capacity by nearly 500 MW to help meet strong demand for its advanced thin-film photovoltaic modules. First Solar manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor technology and provides comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) system solutions. The benefits of thin film photovoltaic technology over silicon is that they are generally less expensive to produce, can be produced much faster than silicon, they are thinner and more easier incorporated into building materials, paints, and fabrics.

The new plants announced today, combined with these previously announced expansions, will nearly double production capacity from 1.4 GW in 2010 to more than 2.7 GW in 2012. The plants are expected to be built in the United States and Vietnam and completed in 2012. Each new plant will create approximately 600 green jobs and will be designed to accommodate additional production capacity. Negotiations and site assessments are ongoing in both countries and will be finalized and announced at a later date.

“These expansions provide proximity to growing U.S. demand while supporting our roadmap to drive down the cost of clean, sustainable solar electricity,” said First Solar CEO Rob Gillette.”Effective government policies provide long-term visibility and enable sustainable markets.” In addition to the increase in manufacturing employment, First Solar expects to generate over 1,000 construction jobs through the installation of solar power plants from the company’s 2.2 GW North American project pipeline.