Solar To Power UC Davis Eco Friendly Energy Campus

Posted on June 2, 2011 by quest

The largest planned Zero Net Energy development in the U.S. is readying for its debut this fall. Under construction on the University of California, Davis campus, UC Davis West Village is combining advanced energy efficient design features with a 4-megawatt (MW), high efficiency SunPower solar power system to achieve the largest planned Zero Net Energy development in the nation. UC Davis West Village is the product of an innovative public-private partnership between UC Davis and West Village Community Partnership, LLC, a joint venture led by San Francisco-based Carmel Partners with their partner Urban Villages of Denver.

“I applaud UC Davis, SunPower Corporation, Carmel Partners, and the CEC for their collaboration, dedication, and leadership in developing the largest zero net energy project in the United States,” said Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. “This is a demonstration of California’s excellence in sustainability, and should set an example for the rest of the nation.””West Village is a paradigm shift in creating both a great place to live and a model Zero Net Energy community,” said Nolan Zail, senior vice president for Carmel Partners. “Our guiding principles include environmental sustainability and quality of place. West Village will include housing, recreation and retail options, providing a convenient and eco-friendly lifestyle for students, faculty and staff.

“Using aggressive energy efficiency measures and on-site renewable energy generation to meet community energy demand, this holistic approach offers new solutions in the design and construction of large-scale sustainable communities,” Zail added. The first phase of the 130-acre project, to be completed this year, will include apartment housing for 2,000 students, an education center for Los Rios Community College, recreation and study facilities, a village square surrounded by neighborhood-serving retail, and 343 single family homes for sale to faculty and staff. Two initial student housing components of the community, The Ramble Apartments and Viridian, will welcome residents September 2011.

UC Davis West Village integrates sustainable design to enable those living in the community to reduce their reliance on automobiles, limit energy consumption and enjoy the benefits of the local climate. Building designs optimize solar orientation, utilize energy efficient appliances and incorporate materials from renewable sources. A 4-MW solar power system that is manufactured, designed and installed by SunPower Corp. will generate the equivalent of 100 percent of the community’s electricity demand. The system is comprised of both rooftop solar power installations as well as solar canopies installed in parking areas.

GREEN WEBINARS

Solar is the Fastest Growing Industry in US Says SEIA

Posted on May 27, 2011 by quest

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) hosted a press teleconference today to discuss an emerging trend in the utility-scale solar market toward diversifying solar technologies in utility-scale power plants. But the call strayed from the diversification topic and addressed some of the major issues confronting the U.S. market in 2011. Rhone Resch, President of SEIA, said that the solar industry employs 100,000 Americans and that that number could double in the next two years. Within a few years, the U.S. will be the world’s largest solar market, according to SEIA.

Resch said that the 1603 tax grant program has filled the void in the collapse of the tax equity market and that the grant program has doubled the efficiency of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). He remarked that it is scheduled to expire despite the tax equity market not having fully recovered. (The 1603 program provides a 30 percent grant in lieu of the tax credit.) Resch said, “We have found it to be absolutely critical in the last two years.” Resch added that SEIA wants the 1603 program extended through 2016 “so we have business certainty. We’ve found that the 1603 program is an extremely efficient policy for job creation.” In the last two years, the solar industry has created 50,000 jobs, according to Resch, adding that the U.S. market will double from 1 gigawatt in 2010 to 2 gigawatts in 2011 and could possibly double again if the tax credit is extended.

Large-scale solar farms on public lands have pitted environmentalists against solar developers, with a bit of help from media amplification. And tortoises. Resch notes that the oil and gas industry has received 74,000 permits for drilling on public lands over the last century, while the solar industry has received nine permits to build on public lands. “There is no land grab,” said Resch, adding, “The EIR [environmental impact report] to study these areas has been comprehensive.” Resch also notes that 75 percent of the U.S. public support locating solar on public land instead of using it for grazing or other uses.

GROW YOUR OWN CLOTHES

Obama Starts Federal Electric Vehicle Fleet

Posted on May 26, 2011 by quest

Today, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, General Services Administrator Martha Johnson, and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley announced a major step in moving the Federal fleet further towards advanced vehicles and decreased petroleum consumption, while also cutting costs associated with fuel consumption. Implementation of these new requirements will move the government to purchasing 100 percent alternative fuel vehicles by 2015 and drive agencies to meet the required 30 percent decrease in petroleum consumption by 2020 under Executive Order 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance signed by President Obama in October 2009.

In conjunction with the Memorandum, the General Services Administration (GSA) today launched a pilot project to incorporate electric vehicles and technologies into the Federal fleet. GSA announced its initial purchase of more than 100 electric vehicles for a vehicle pilot. These vehicles will be leased to 20 agencies, including the Department of Energy, and will be located in Washington, DC; Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; and San Francisco, CA. As manager of Federal fleets and buildings, GSA will also coordinate with these agencies to establish necessary infrastructure for fueling and recharging at Federal building locations receiving the first round of vehicles.

“As the nation’s largest vehicle fleet operator, the President’s fleet management directives and GSA’s electric vehicle pilot will cut the Federal fleet’s petroleum use and support the development of domestic, clean energy technologies – supporting the President’s goal of cutting imports by a third by 2025 and continuing to build a 21st century clean energy economy, while also saving taxpayer dollars,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

EVA MENDES A GREEN CELEBRITY

Eco Friendly Sustainable Clothes You Grow

Posted on May 22, 2011 by quest

The concept for BioCouture originated during the research for Suzanne Leeʼs book ʻFashioning The Future: tomorrowʼs wardrobe.’ A serendipitous conversation in 2003 with Dr. David Hepworth, a biologist and materials scientist, presented a new vision of future fashion – one that emerges fully-formed from a vat of liquid.

Rather than exploit plants or petrochemicals to provide the raw material for fabric BioCouture is  investigating the use of microbes to grow a textile biomaterial. Certain bacteria will spin  microfibrils of pure cellulose during fermentation which form a dense layer that can be harvested and dried. It can then either be used wet or molded onto a 3D form, like a dress shape, or dry it flat and then cut and sewed into a garment. From there it can readily be dyed and printed on the material and since it requires far less dye than other fibres it has a huge environmental advantage.

With so many environmental concerns related to the production, consumption and disposal of fashion textiles BioCouture is pioneering a new eco-friendly and sustainable alternative. The future scale up of this material would also seek to use waste streams, for example from the food or drinks industry, to fuel the microbial-cellulose production.

What Suzanne started as a fashion project has now evolved into a bio materials project. They are only just  beginning to imagine what other uses there might be for this material. Right now these clothes  are experimental prototypes and not commercially available, and, as the material is still in development. See: Susanne Lee on growing clothes