Maui Brewing Hops Solar Powered

Posted on March 27, 2012 by quest

Conegra Solar the renewable energy company backed by Khosla Ventures recently partnered with Maui Brewing Co. to install Hawaii’s first PV and solar thermal system to power brewing process. “We were searching for a way to maximize the space on our roof. Cogenra’s solar cogeneration technology was the perfect match, producing both electricity and hot water in one compact design,” said MBC founder Garrett Marrero. “Cogenra’s solution helped us maximize our ROI and minimize our environmental impact.”Cogenra’s solar cogeneration array will provide MBC with solar hot water and electricity, enhancing the brewery’s sustainability leadership while reducing energy costs.

The 24-module, 60-kilowatt (kW) rooftop system will occupy less than 2,400 square feet and support the brewery’s existing 100kW solar photovoltaic (PV) installation, supplying renewable electricity for pumps, packaging and cooling. The solar hot water generated will feed directly to the facility’s Clean-in-Place (CIP) and brewing processes.The first of Cogenra’s installations in the State of Hawaii, constructed together with Green Global Communities, the installation will be commissioned in the second half of 2012. The dual energy benefits of Cogenra’s solar cogeneration solution provides a cost-effective solution for Hawaii businesses looking to combat the region’s high operating, labor and energy costs.

“Any business that uses a lot of hot water can profit greatly from solar cogeneration, whose hybrid technology provides two benefits: solar hot water and solar electricity. Customers in Hawaii, with ample sun exposure and high energy costs, are at a special advantage,” said Gilad Almogy, CEO of Cogenra Solar. “Maui Brewing has recognized the unique benefits and cost advantages of our hybrid technology and we are thrilled to provide our solution as part of their sustainability plans.” Conegra also supplies electricity for The Sonoma Wine Company.

The Heroes of Solar

Solar Press Presenting At Clean Equity Monaco 2012

Posted on March 26, 2012 by quest

Solar Press will present at CleanEquity Monaco 2012; the conference is on March 29th & 30th at the Sporting d’Hiver, Monaco. Solar Press was included, by expert selection, as one of the world’s most inspiring cleantech companies, to present to industry-specific, senior financial and strategic investors, policy makers,legislators, end users and media.Solar Press (www.solar-press.com) is an early stage company whose vision is to be the world’s leading provider of Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) process technology to enable the low cost reliable manufacture of solar panels in high volume in all regions of the world. Solar Press works in partnership with coating equipment manufacturers and materials suppliers to deliver a unique turn-key manufacturing solution for OPV solar cell production. Solar Press’ customers are companies in all regions of the world wishing to manufacture OPV solar panels to address local market needs.

The Company’s development laboratory and corporate headquarters are in London, UK. Solar Press has received seed funding from Carbon Trust Enterprises Limited.Innovator Capital, the London specialist investment bank, hosts the annual invitation-only event with, this year, the Nobel Sustainability Trust. The Nobel Sustainability Trust is a Nobel family initiative taken by visionaries and global socially responsible Nobel family members, to encourage the research, development, commercialisation and implementation of products and procedures within the field of renewable and sustainable energy.

Other local partners and sponsors include Prince Albert II of Monaco’s Foundation, the Monte-Carlo SBM and the Monaco Chamber of Economic Development.Collaborators on the 2012 event include the Hinduja Foundation, Qualcomm Halo, PR Newswire, Covington & Burling, Ministry of Science and Innovation New Zealand, Auckland UniServices, Clark Langdon Partners, Carbon Trust an the United Nations UNEP Fi.

$120 Million Settlement to Fund Electric Car Charging Stations Across California

Flat Earth Society In The Dark On Solar Energy

Posted on March 22, 2012 by quest

President Obama continued his west coast tour yesterday with a stop in Boulder City, Nevada which is home to one of the largest solar power plants in the United States. Obama praised the accomplishments of local workers, federal and state officials who helped bring the plant into reality. The speech comes on the heels of new tariffs the Department of Commerce has imposed on Chinese solar manufacturers who’ve been accused of dumping low priced solar panels in the United States in order to undercut American solar makers and gain dominate market share.

The Obama Administration continues to promote what it calls an “All of the above” national energy policy which includes further oil exploration and innovation in renewable energy sources such as hydro power, wind, biomass and solar. The President said, “You know the promise that lies ahead because this city has always been about the future. Eight decades ago, in the midst of the Great Depression, the people of Boulder City were busy working on another energy project you may have heard of. Like today, it was a little bit ahead of its time; it was a little bit bigger than this solar plant — it was a little louder, too. It was called the Hoover Dam. And at the time, it was the largest dam in the world. Even today, it stands as a testimony to American ingenuity, American imagination, the power of the American spirit — a testimony to the notion we can do anything.”

Responding to some of his critics in Congress and elsewhere Obama said, “Some of these folks want to dismiss the promise of solar power and wind power and fuel-efficient cars. In fact, they make jokes about it. One member of Congress who shall remain unnamed called these jobs “phony” — called them phony jobs. I mean, think about that mindset, that attitude that says because something is new, it must not be real. If these guys were around when Columbus set sail, they’d be charter members of the Flat Earth Society. We were just talking about this — that a lack of imagination, a belief that you can’t do something in a new way — that’s not how we operate here in America. That’s not who we are. That’s not what we’re about.”Remarks by the President on Energy

Matt Damon: World Water Day

U. S. Issues Findings On Solar Trade With China

Posted on March 21, 2012 by quest

The U.S. Department of Commerce has just issued a preliminary finding that Chinese state sponsorship of its solar industry is anti-competitive under U.S. and international trade law and ordered preliminary duties on the industry’s U.S. exports of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels to offset the effects of China’s illegal subsidies. Commerce will require importers of record to post deposits or bonds toward anti-subsidy margins of 2.9 percent for cells and panels made by Suntech, 4.73 percent Trina Solar and 3.59 percent for all other Chinese manufacturers.“We commend the Department of Commerce for its preliminary decision today, which is the first step in a process that will roll out over the next several months,” said Gordon Brinser, president of SolarWorld Industries America Inc., member of the seven-manufacturer Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) and petitioner in anti-subsidy and anti-dumping cases against the Chinese industry. “We need both the domestic manufacturing and installation businesses to participate in fair competition to advance our solar industry’s reach for greater national energy, economic and environmental security.”

“If fair international trade can be re-established, the solar-pioneering U.S. industry will once again compete on legitimate market factors such as product performance, production efficiency and unsubsidized pricing,” Brinser said. “We need both the domestic manufacturing and installation businesses to participate in fair competition to advance our solar industry’s reach for greater national energy, economic and environmental security.”CASM contends that China’s broad portfolio of subsidies spurred its producers to build huge excesses of manufacturing capacity, export more than 95 percent of production and sell product at artificially low prices to unfairly seize U.S. market share at the expense of domestic producers. At least 12 U.S. manufacturers of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels have closed plants, gone bankrupt or staged significant layoffs since 2010.

On Dec. 2, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made a unanimous preliminary determination that China’s trade practices were harming the domestic industry. On Jan. 30, Commerce found that Chinese importers had mounted a massive, evasive surge ahead of the preliminary determination. As a result, today’s ruling on duties applies to Chinese solar imports not just hereafter but also retroactively 90 days. Commerce is expected to issue a preliminary ruling on anti-dumping duties on May 16 (announced May 17). Final determinations on the duties would take place in the summer. To close the case in the fall, the ITC would need to make a second, final ruling on whether Chinese trade practices have harmed the domestic industry.

Van Jones Takes Economic Justice To Hawaii

Solar Powered Gran Turismo Drives The Globe

Posted on March 16, 2012 by quest

A solar-powered car sponsored by SolarWorld will visit the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Cocoa, Fla., on March 19.The visit is the final U.S. stop on the vehicle’s 21,000-mile quest to circle the globe, propelled only by the sun’s rays. The SolarWorld Gran Turismo (GT), a collaboration between SolarWorld and Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany, is a two-seat sports car powered by roof-integrated solar panels. The GT’s circumnavigation of the planet, a first for an automobile directly powered by renewable energy, is expected to set a “Guinness Book of World Records” record for the longest distance covered by a solar car. The Gran Turiso joins another first, Planet Solar which when completed will be is the world’s solar powered boat to circumnavigate the world by sea.

At 2 p.m. March 19, SolarWorld and the vehicle’s drivers and crew – the college students who developed and designed the SolarWorld GT – will host a reception showcasing the vehicle and awarding one audience member the chance to ride in the SolarWorld GT. The one-hour event is open to the public and will take place at the FSEC office at 1679 Clearlake Road in Cocoa.“The SolarWorld GT is an ambassador for sustainable personal transportation, reminding us that the power to shift our driving habits away from dirty fossil fuels is within our grasp,” said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas, the company’s commercial unit based in Camarillo, Calif. “The vehicle’s visit to FSEC, an esteemed research institute that has been promoting America’s energy independence for more than 35 years, is especially fitting. Our organizations have a history of collaboration on solar projects across the Sunshine State.”

The event at FSEC marks the sixth stop on the SolarWorld GT’s 3,774-mile cross-country road trip that originated in California and will culminate in South Carolina. Previous stops have included University of California Santa Barbara, SolarWorld’s commercial hub in Camarillo, Arizona State University in Tempe, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and the joint Florida A & M University-Florida State University College of Engineering in Tallahassee.The SolarWorld GT began its trans-world journey in Australia and New Zealand in October 2011, covering more than 3,100 miles before shipping to the United States in December. Following the U.S. leg, the vehicle and its crew will travel through Europe, Africa and Asia before finishing in Australia in late 2012. SolarWorld also showcased the Electra One a solar powered airplane in July of 2011.

AAA offers digital tools for electric vehicle drivers

Solar Energy Powering Viking River Cruises Longships

Posted on March 14, 2012 by quest

Viking River Cruises a leading world river cruise line, announced today that it has commissioned six more Viking Longships for delivery in 2013. The six vessels will be joining Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Njord, Viking Odin, which will be christened on March 21, 2012, and Viking Embla and Viking Aegir, which will be delivered later in 2012.”The new orders reflect the great interest in Viking River Cruises and its revolutionary Longships,” said Viking’s Chairman Torstein Hagen.Viking Longships integrate patent-pending* design and cutting-edge technology with comfortable amenities that reflect guest preferences and current travel trends, to include; Sustainability upgrades, such as solar panels, an onboard organic herb garden and energy-efficient hybrid engines that reduce vibrations for a remarkably smooth ride.

Viking River Cruises, is a leading river cruise company, offers scenic cruising along the rivers of Europe, Russia, China, Southeast Asia and Egypt. The company has been honored multiple times as the top river cruise line on Conde Nast Traveler’s “Gold List” and Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best” Awards as well as recognized as the World’s Leading River Cruise Operator at the World Travel Awards and by the editors of Cruise Critic as “Best River Cruise Line” in the website’s 4th Annual Editors’ Picks Awards.

The Viking Longship series has been designed by celebrated maritime architects Yran & Storbraaten and Los Angeles based Rottet Studios. They are all being built at the Neptun Yard in Germany, part of the Meyer Neptun group.”At Viking, we are proud of our Norse heritage. The ancient Vikings were the ultimate explorers, and that tradition lives at Viking River Cruises today. For that reason, we have honored our new Viking Longships — and our beautifully refurbished Russian fleet — with names of celebrated Viking gods and heroes,” said Hagen. With the six additional vessels, Viking will have invested over $400 million in its fleet development program over three years.