New Taxies Turn NYC Yellow Cabs Green

Posted on October 23, 2011 by quest

The Vehicle Production Group LLC today announced the approval of VPG’s MV-1 motor vehicle by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission for use as a New York City taxicab. The MV-1 is the first and only factory-built and assembled vehicle that meets or exceeds the vehicle guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Community advocates, taxi owners and VPG representatives made a joint presentation yesterday to the TLC prior to its unanimous approval of the MV-1 to operate in the city as a taxicab. This is the first time since the fabled “Checker Cab” that a purpose-built vehicle has been approved for operation. The approval allows the owners of the more than 13,000 taxis currently operating in the city to begin replacing their vehicles with the fully accessible MV-1, allowing them to not only provide a better quality of comfort and safety to customers but make it possible for New York residents and visitors with disabilities to more easily get around the city.

Joanna D. Underwood, president of New York City-based Energy Vision, a national environmental organization that promotes sustainable transportation said, “A fleet of MV-1′s will reduce the city’s dependence on foreign oil by five million gallons a year and will reap fuel cost savings of $5 million. “This is a great day for accessible transportation for the disabled,” said VPG Chairman Fred Drasner. “We have spent five years developing what we believe will be the best vehicle ever put into taxi service for all New Yorkers – especially those with disabilities. I am confident that the MV-1 will soon be regarded with the fondness reserved for the iconic Checker Cab of the bygone era in New York City.”

The MV-1 is built from the ground up to address the needs of over 14 million Americans who must use wheelchairs, crutches, canes, walkers or other mobility devices. Routine activities such as traveling in a vehicle present a significant obstacle in their daily lives. Proudly assembled in the USA, the MV-1 is not a converted van or other aftermarket product. The MV-1 is also the only ADA compliant vehicle with an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) engineered and assembled Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel system option. Since the system is factory installed, the MV-1 with the CNG option meets all government safety and crash test requirements and maintains the same durability, reliability and quality as the gasoline-powered vehicle. Fleet operators and consumers can reduce expenses by utilizing the less expensive CNG fuel.

Elon Musk Donates Solar Power Project In Japan

Solar Business Going To The Dogs

Posted on October 9, 2011 by quest

Nestle Purina PetCare unveiled the region’s largest private solar array at its Flagstaff, Arizona pet food manufacturing facility. The solar array, designed and installed by REC Solar, represents the latest step in Nestle Purina’s commitment to being a leader in environmental performance and sustainability. U.S. Representative Paul Gosar, a native of Flagstaff, led a dedication ceremony at the plant, where nearly 1,900 glistening solar panels span over 70,000 square feet on the rooftop. The solar array will take advantage of Arizona’s average of 300 days of sunshine annually to produce emission-free solar electricity.”This Nestle Purina solar project is good for the environment, good for the community, and good for business,” Rep. Gosar said. “It’s an excellent example of collaboration between private industry and federal and state entities, with long-term benefits for all stakeholders. It’s encouraging to see major companies like Nestle Purina working hard to produce their products in an increasingly environmentally responsible manner.”

“The 427-killowatt solar PV system will produce nearly 12 million kilowatt hours of clean, emission free solar electricity over its lifetime,” said Cary Hayes, Director of Business Development for REC Solar. “This production volume offsets over 16 million pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to planting more than 40,000 trees.” REC Solar is one of the oldest and largest national solar integrators in the country, operating in six states. In addition to installing the Flagstaff solar array, REC partnered with Purina for the 2008 installation of a solar array at the Nestle Purina Denver pet food facility, the nation’s first major pet food plant to pilot a solar energy array. Nestle Purina Flagstaff, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2010, produces many of the world’s most popular and trusted pet food brands, including Purina ONE beyOnd, Purina Cat Chow and Purina Beneful brand. In 2008, Nestle Purina Flagstaff joined the Northern Arizona Renewable Energy group. Through the Arizona Public Service (APS) Green Choice program, the Flagstaff facility and other participants purchase a portion of their electric usage generated from a variety of renewable resources like wind and solar.

After Rep. Gosar spoke at today’s event, he participated in a “Purina-style” ribbon-cutting, conducted with the help of a 9-pound Papillon named Primo. The small dog, who took first place in last week’s national agility competition at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, traveled from Phoenix with his owner, Roger Coors, to take part in the celebration.

Why Americans Like Solar

ParkVida Tree Houses Welcomes Ecotourism Adventurers

Posted on September 25, 2011 by quest

ParkVida Group, Inc. is pleased to announce the purchase of JBP SRL from Park Capital Management, Inc., in addition to a new name and symbol. JBP is a Dominican based limited liability company intent on developing a first class resort devoted to mountain bike riding and eco-tourism. The development is known as ParkVida. ParkVida is located at the top of the Cordillera Central mountain range in the Dominican Republic on a 700 acre former coffee plantation that is adjacent to the Armando Bermudez National Park. The development will offer 199 hotel rooms, cottages and “tree houses” in harmony with the environment as a welcome alternative for travelers seeking a deluxe outdoor experience over traditional packaged tours.

Adventure activities will focus on downhill and cross-country mountain biking with a dedicated chairlift for the uphill return. ParkVida’s destination riding vacation will be designed for mountain biking enthusiasts who want to focus on the trail, the ride, and the thrill of riding with the promise of great accommodation, service and relaxation. Personal skills will be matched with equipment and guidance to provide that “local trail” experience on a host of trails engineered and hand built by bikers for bikers. Other ParkVida activities will include zip lining, adventure rope courses, water slides, hiking, fishing, spa, mule riding, quad biking, cultural classes, eco tours and coffee related experiences such as growing, roasting and brewing.

JBP is in the process of finalizing design plans and seeking out regulatory permits that would enable the first phase of construction at ParkVida. Management hopes to begin construction of the resort early next year subject to receiving approvals from local authorities, the completion of an environmental study and the realization of financing efforts.

Maldives set to harnesses the Sun in a big way

Solar Powered Robotics Survey The Worlds’ Seas

Enchanting New Mexico Develops Mega Solar Energy

Posted on September 23, 2011 by quest

Wells Fargo announced project financing for the deployment of a 53.5 megawatt multi-site solar project for Sun Edison LLC, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials. A site ceremony was held yesterday in Carlsbad, New Mexico with the city’s mayor and officials from SunEdison, Xcel Energy, and Wells Fargo to announce the activation of the first three of five solar power plants that make up the 53.5 MW project. “Wells Fargo is committed to helping cleantech businesses and will continue to expand our support of projects and companies, such as SunEdison, that are leaders in building a clean energy economy,” said Puon Penn, head of Wells Fargo’s National Cleantech group. With the remaining two plants expected to begin operation before the end of 2011, the total 53.5MW solar project is expected to be among the largest photovoltaic solar power projects in the U.S. As the construction lender, Wells Fargo provided more than $200 million to finance the installation phase of the projects.

New Mexico

Building upon its ongoing support of the renewable energy industry, Wells Fargo began providing construction financing for the project earlier this year, and the new SunEdison projects collectively mark Wells Fargo’s largest renewable energy construction loan to date. Wells Fargo has also committed to provide permanent equity financing for all five projects upon completion. The company has already invested approximately $2.2 billion in renewable energy projects since 2006, including funding for 35 wind projects and over 220 solar projects in 26 states.

Electricity from the solar farms is sold to Southwestern Public Service Co., a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, Inc., supporting the utility’s compliance with New Mexico’s renewable portfolio standard. Once all sites are active, the solar farms are expected to produce more than 1.9 million megawatt-hours of electricity over the next 20 years, generating enough to power over 8,000 average U.S. homes per year while the environmental attributes associated with the solar farms are expected to offset more than 2.9 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over 20 years. “We are proud to make investments in our energy future through these groundbreaking solar projects,” said Barry Neal, head of Wells Fargo’s Environmental Finance Group.

SunPower Donates Solar Training To Greenpeace Africa

Play To See How Much Money Solar Panels Can Save

Posted on August 9, 2011 by quest

SANYO North America Corporation has launched a first-of-its kind promotion to help make homeowners and business owners become aware of the savings they can realize by installing solar panels. The promotion will run with SANYO HIT Solar Social media site Twitter @HIT_Solar. Fans go to: http://bit.ly/nq9OHB to follow @HIT_Solar on Twitter and receive instructions on how to win. The promotion offers fans the chance to win prizes by going to the SANYO Website ‘Energy Savings Calculator’ and inputting the information to calculate an average savings on their electric bill by installing solar panels. We then ask them to shout out their savings with a tweet that must include the words @HIT_Solar and #solar in the tweet. HIT stands for Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer. HIT solar cells employ a proprietary technology developed by SANYO whereby hybrid solar cells composed of single crystalline silicon wafers are surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers. The unique structure minimizes defects within the p/n junction of the cell, producing highly efficient cells capable of achieving up to 17.4% module efficiency while producing more power even at higher temperatures.

The Grand Prize is an eneloop Mobile Booster. The Mobile Booster provides portable power to any gadget with USB. This includes cell phones, iPods, iPads, MP3 players and more. The Second Prize is an eneloop Starter Pack. The starter pack includes different size eneloop rechargeable batteries and spacers that convert the batteries into larger sizes. Ten runner-ups will receive a 4-pack of AA-size batteries and a charger. “It’s difficult for people to realize how much they can save by installing solar panels unless they do the calculation, which is why we want people to use our Solar Calculator,” noted Charles Hanasaki, President of the Solar & Smart Energy Division. “This graphic representation includes monthly and yearly savings as well as environmental benefits,” he added.

From now to August 17, followers who tweet their energy savings will be entered for the chance to win the prizes. For complete details, visit http://bit.ly/nq9OHB for the promotion, which includes a sample qualifying tweet. There is no purchase necessary to enter.

Solar Energy Myths

City By The Bay Named Greenest North American City

Posted on June 30, 2011 by quest

San Francisco grabbed the mantle of “greenest” major city in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, with New York, Seattle, Denver and Boston rounding out the top five U.S. cities. The unique study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and commissioned by Siemens, assesses and compares 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies across nine categories – CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance.

“The Green Cities Index demonstrates that America’s cities are the driving force behind the nation’s sustainability efforts,” said Eric Spiegel, president and CEO, Siemens Corp. “Despite the fact that we do not have a federal climate policy in the United States—and no federal carbon standard—21 of the 27 cities in the index have already set their own carbon reduction targets. Cities are creating comprehensive sustainability plans, utilizing current technology and proving everyday that we don’t have to wait to create a more sustainable future.”

The study of U.S. and Canadian cities provided some important key findings. Notably, cities that performed best in the rankings are the ones that have comprehensive sustainability plans that encompass every aspect of creating a greener future including transportation, land use, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and water. And while there is a correlation between wealth and environmental performance, it is weaker in the U.S. and Canada than in