Solar Powered Train Stations No Fantasy

Posted on June 6, 2011 by quest

A two-mile-long Belgian rail tunnel, built to shelter trains from falling trees, will from Monday provide a double environmental benefit by hosting a unique solar power project. The high-speed line running from Paris to Amsterdam passes Antwerp and a nearby ancient forest. To avoid the need to fell protected trees, a long tunnel was built over the line which has now been topped with 16,000 solar panels. The electricity produced is equivalent to that needed to power all the trains in Belgium for one day per year, and will also help power Antwerp station.

“For train operators, it is the perfect way to cut their carbon footprints because you can use spaces that have no other economic value and the projects can be delivered within a year because they don’t attract the protests that wind power does,” said Bart Van Renterghem, UK head of Belgian renewable energy company Enfinity, which installed the panels. “We had a couple of projects lined up around London with train operators and water utilities, but they have been put on hold.”

Van Renterghem said this was due to the UK government’s controversial review of subsidies for large-scale solar power projects, which will lower the returns available. The UK government argues that solar technology is too expensive, but Van Renterghem said he had seen the cost of cells halve in the last two to three years thanks to economies of scale in Germany, France and Belgium. The new Blackfriars station in London, which will span the River Thames, will host the largest single collection of solar panels in the UK when it opens in spring 2012. The roof of the new station will have 4,400 panels and a capacity of 1MW, enough to provide 50% of the station’s electricity. However, the development is not dependent on the level of government subsidy for solar power as the £7.3m bill was paid by the transport department’s environment fund. Source: Business Green

THE SOLAR TRAIN STATION

Seeing Green: The Value of Urban Farms

Urban Farming Seeing Green

Posted on June 4, 2011 by quest

Seeing Green: The Value of Urban Agriculture is a year-long research project that will measure the stormwater management potential of two urban farms; Brooklyn Grange (a rooftop farm) & Added Value (raised beds) in NYC. Our aim is to create a model for future research that can be replicated anywhere, to help validate and support urban farms. We think policies should be based on scientific study and we want our work to encourage the adoption of supportive incentives and non-restrictive regulations for urban farming.

This is important because farms give us a lot more than just produce- they increase food security, decrease food miles traveled, offer healthy and nutritious produce, create green jobs, improve air and water quality, combat Urban Heat Island effect, create habitat for critters, beautify neighborhoods and many more (feel free to message us we LOVE to talk about this). This is where you come in- we need your support to do this research- we need to raise $12,000 for the rest of our equipment.

The thing is, we know farms are good but we don’t know exactly how good. There are a lot of skeptics out there that need some convincing. And there is nothing better for combating a nay-sayer than hard data- all decisions in cities are based on numbers. But how can our research effect

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

Verizon’s Sustainability Initiatives Help Protect California’s Environment

Sustainable Africa Show Lights Up Health and Solar

Posted on May 29, 2011 by quest

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Cape Town, South Africa – Royal Philips Electronics, is once again traveling across Africa to raise awareness about how healthcare and lighting solutions can improve the quality of life across the continent. The Cape Town to Cairo road show 2011 (from 12th May to 11th July, 2011) is the second African road show undertaken by Philips. The road show will cover 12,000 kilometers in 62 days, visiting a total of twelve countries. “As many developed countries are struggling to stimulate economic growth, a strong middle class of 313 million, or 34% of the African population, is on the rise in what is still considered the world’s most impoverished continent,’’ said Dr. Gottfried Dutiné, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Markets and Innovation at Philips, in Cape Town today. “This group of mainly young, eager and mobile Africans is rapidly rivaling the middle classes of China and India. Philips sees this continent as a new growth market.”

“Even in the 21st century, we still allow eight million children and close to half a million mothers around the world to die each year from preventable complications related to pregnancy and child birth.”, said JJ van Dongen, General Manager, Philips Healthcare Africa & Country Manager Philips South Africa.“This makes the availability of and access to high quality, affordable care for all mothers and children an issue of high priority for policy makers and societies. Philips recognizes this need and through this road show wants to create dialogue and cooperation between governments, local healthcare workforces, non-governmental organizations, foundations, healthcare professional associations, and research institutions to help mothers, newborn babies and children obtain care.”

During the roadshow Philips will also introduce new solar powered lighting solutions aimed at providing a healthier and safer home environment. Today an estimated 560 million Africans live without electricity. Better lighting is likely to make home child birth safer and help reduce the very high infant mortality rate throughout the continent. This is part of Philips’ commitment to both develop sustainable solutions for Africa and to foster its partnership with the Dutch government on the ‘Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa’ (SESA) project, which aims to provide 10 million people with affordable, sustainable energy services across 10 sub-Saharan African countries by 2015.

VISIT THE SOLAR WALL

Sahara Desert Solar Power Vision Gets Reaction

Posted on May 24, 2011 by quest

A plan to turn the desert sunshine of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) into electricity, both for the region and for export to Europe, has been criticised for ignoring the needs of local people and the science community.

Critics say that the Desertec Industrial Initiative’s (Dii) centralised, top-down approach means that electrification may not benefit the desert people and may stifle capacity-building in the region’s science community.

They were speaking on the sidelines of the Solar Energy for Science Symposium in Germany this week (19–20 May), held to push the project forward and explore the potential for scientific collaborations between Europe and MENA.

The symposium was organised by the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), with Egypt’s Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), in Jordan.

Desertec aims to harness the huge solar and wind resources across the deserts of MENA, delivering up to 15 per cent of Europe’s electricity needs by 2050 via high-voltage transmission lines. Feasibility studies are on the way after which funding of up to US$400 billion will be sought. Hamed El-Mously, chairman of the Egyptian Society for Endogenous Development of Local Communities, said the project was ignoring the wishes of local people. Desert people have not

One Block Off the Grid Launches Solar Lease in Los Angeles

Building the World’s Greenest Skycraper

Posted on May 24, 2011 by quest

The new Pittsburgh headquarters of PNC Financial building expected to set standard for green construction. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. announced today that it plans to construct the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper. The Tower at PNC Plaza will be located on the Southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, the same Pittsburgh intersection where PNC has been headquartered for more than 150 years. Once complete in 2015, the approximately 40 story building will serve as PNC’s executive offices. At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Tower at PNC Plaza would be PNC’s largest building in Pittsburgh. Tentative plans call for approximately 300 underground parking spaces, street level retail and green rooftops. Erecting the planned $400 million Tower should create 2,500 construction jobs, with 500 workers at a time on the site during peak periods.

PNC opened its first green building in 2000. At that time, the 650,000 square foot PNC Firstside Center, on Pittsburgh’s First Avenue, was the largest LEED-certified building in the world. In 2010, PNC opened Three PNC Plaza, on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, one of the largest LEED-certified mixed use buildings in the United States. PNC, which has more newly constructed buildings LEED-certified by the USGBC than any company on Earth, recently completed its latest green office building in Washington, D.C. LEED Platinum certified PNC Place at 800 17th Street sits just blocks from the White House and serves as PNC’s regional headquarters in the capital.The Tower at PNC Plaza will feature a double glass facade to enhance energy efficiency by reducing cooling costs and allowing natural airflow to the building. Using advanced sensors and metering, a state-of-the-art, high efficiency heating and cooling system will deliver conditioned air to specific zones of the building, as needed. The building will be oriented to take advantage of sunlight in workspaces, reducing the need for artificial light during the day.

The design team is also currently exploring fuel cells, solar panels, geothermal systems and other alternative power generation sources that will significantly reduce carbon emissions. The building’s green rooftops will collect rainwater and channel it for use in other parts of the structure, as well as reduce the heat gain associated with traditional rooftops.

PNC will own the building and occupy all of the office space, with tenants in the retail spaces at street level. The project is being designed by the Pittsburgh office of Gensler, the world’s largest architectural and design firm and the design architects for both Three PNC Plaza and PNC Place. Pittsburgh-based PJ Dick will serve as construction manager and U.K.-based Buro Happold will be the engineering firm. Paladino & Company of Seattle serves as the green building consultant.

DISCOVER SOLAR STOCKS

Solar Energy Rooftop Project The Biggest in Canada

Posted on May 21, 2011 by quest

In a move hailed as the biggest rooftop solar energy project in Canada, the Toronto District School Board has approved a $445 million deal to add solar panels to almost every school roof over the next 20 years at no cost to taxpayers. Moreover, the company that will install the suncatchers will spend up to $121 million to repair millions of square feet of rooftop and give the board a share of the profits expected from selling the solar energy.

“This is groundbreaking; this reduces greenhouse gases and provides a learning opportunity for our students and leaves a legacy for more than 20 years — this is extraordinary,” said Trustee Howard Goodman. AMP Solar Ltd. Partnerships has offered to install panels on up to 450 of the board’s 524 roofs, replacing the worst roofs in the first three years. While Trustee Stephnie Payne warned the deal seemed too good to be true, Board Chair Chris Bolton called it “amazing” and said educators from around the world are calling for details. The solar panels are expected to generate 66 megawatts of green energy a year when all are installed, enough to meet the needs of some 6,000 average Toronto homes. Under the terms of the deal, AMP Solar Ltd. will be responsible for construction, technology, power generation, financing, roofing, operations and maintenance. It will pay the board rent for the rooftop space it uses for the panels.

Moreover, students will be able to learn about energy conservation by tracking the energy generated on the roof, noted Goodman. “Our students will not only be able to track the relationship between sunlight and electricity production, they will be going to school every day in a working power plant,” he said. “This will make abstract concepts tangible and inspire many of them to build their own small-scale model power plants, look into the work of Einstein, ponder the mysteries of quantum physics, investigate the economics of power production and consider the relative environmental and health impacts of different energy sources.” The board will unveil further details of the plan Thursday morning at Hillcrest Junior Public School near St. Clair Ave. W. and Bathurst St. Hillcrest already has solar panels on its roof that have inspired an after-school club called the Solar Inventors, which meets once a week to discuss solar energy and find ways to harness its power. The amount of power generated by the new project will vary from school to school, depending on the amount of sunlight each gets on its roof, said staff. AMP will invest a total of $450 million in the project, for which it hopes to raise about $106 million from the private sector and borrow the rest.