Mars Opens Solar Garden At Chocolate Factory

Posted on February 24, 2012 by quest

Mars Chocolate North America, makers of Las Vegas’ own Ethel M Chocolates, announced today the grand opening of a new solar garden at its Henderson chocolate factory. The state-of-the-art solar installation provides 100 percent of the electrical energy to the Ethel Ms plant during peak operating hours.The project’s completion was commemorated with a ribbon-cutting event attended by state and local government officials, executives from NV Energy, juwi solar Inc. (JSI), and Mars Chocolate North America leaders. “At Mars Chocolate North America, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the world,” said Mike Wittman, vice president of supply. “We are proud of the investments we are making to ensure we are using the earth’s resources responsibly. This newest solar garden moves us closer to our goals of eliminating our carbon footprint at our sites by 2040 and using 100 percent renewable energy.”

Mack Phillips site director of the Henderson plant said, “Turning one of the desert’s greatest assets into energy is in complete alignment with Mars’ Principles in Action, our core business values.Two years ago we unveiled a similar solar project at our North American headquarters in Hackettstown, NJ, and its impact on our operations has been substantial.””This is the second solar PV project built by juwi solar on Mars-owned property,” said Michael Martin, CEO of JSI. “We are proud to play a role in advancing environmental and sustainability goals by replacing the grid’s brown power with green power generated onsite.” The solar garden is adjacent to the chocolate factory and Ethel M’s Botanical Cactus Garden. A vista point located within the Botanical Cactus Garden will allow the more than 700,000 annual visitors to view the new solar facility.”We are fortunate to have been a part of the Henderson and Las Vegas community for more than 30 years,” said Phillips. “We hope the completion of our solar garden demonstrates our continuing commitment to be an environmentally friendly citizen. Our goal is that every business decision we make will have a positive effect on people and the planet through our performance. This project achieves all three.”

The new Ethel M factory solar garden features 2,112 ground-mounted solar panels on 4.4 acres, and is the largest solar installation by a food manufacturer in Nevada. The installation generates 1,258 megawatt hours of zero-emission electricity each year, offsetting 867 metric tons of greenhouse gas – the equivalent of removing approximately 170 vehicles from the road. The project will generate as much energy as 115 Nevada households use annually. Mars will purchase all of the energy generated by the solar garden and JSI will own the project and its associated energy credits. Mars worked closely with NV Energy to ensure that the new installation met net metering requirements, enabling Mars to receive energy offsets from the utility based on the amount of energy their solar panels will produce.

Los Angeles Growing Green & Cleantech Businesses

Posted on February 22, 2012 by quest

Not only is LA becoming a hub for electric vehicle companies, in October 2011 Los Angeles launched its new cleantech business incubator (LACI) to accelerate development of cleantech start-ups by offering flexible office space, CEO coaching and mentoring, and access to a growing network of experts and capital. LACI is the business equivalent of baseball’s farm system: it identifies local talent, nurtures it, and helps it get to market, resulting in more jobs and a bigger green economy in Los Angeles.The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) announced the acceptance of California Lithium Battery (CALiB) into its Portfolio Company Program making it the sixth start-up in LACI’s portfolio. CALiB has licensed new technology from the Argonne National Labs that improves the performance of lithium batteries by 3X. CALiB’s goal is to be the leading United States-based developer and manufacturer of high performance Very Large Format lithium batteries for utility energy storage, EVs and specialized industrial applications.

Fred Walti, Executive Director of LACI said,“Developing game changing technology in energy storage is a key requirement for wider adoption of sustainable energy. We’re impressed with California Lithium’s technology, which has been developed and validated by the Argonne National Labs, and its business strategy to enter the utility scale energy storage market. While it’s too early to declare victory, CALiB’s batteries could effectively lower the Li-ion battery cost by 70%,”

“LA is emerging as the new global test center for advanced energy technologies and we thank Mayor Villaraigosa and the LADWP for their stewardship of the LACI” said Phil Roberts, CEO of CalBattery. He continued, “as a great example of public private partnership that is helping small businesses do big things for their community. The help and connections of the LACI it will enable CalBattery to create good manufacturing jobs stemming from our new energy storage and EV lithium silicon-graphene battery made in LA for export to the entire global community.” It was just this past October Mayor Villaraigosa welcomed solar and electric vehicle maker, BYD to its North American headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, and In November 2011 Electric maker Coda also set LA as its global headquarters.

New Energy Solutions At Las Vegas CES

Posted on January 9, 2012 by quest

A cleaner and smarter energy future – available today – is on display at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.“Consumers have the power to move clean energy forward,” said Jason Few, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of NRG. “We are making solar power and electric vehicle charging easy and affordable. We’re empowering consumers with information, tools and plans to help them manage the electricity that runs all the incredible innovations at CES. With our investment in large-scale solar generation and repowering our generation fleet with cleaner technologies, we are forging a more sustainable energy future.” NRG is at the Consumer Electronics Show for the second time to highlight how innovations from NRG and two of its consumer businesses – electricity retailer Reliant and electric vehicle charging network eVgo – are pioneering cleaner, smarter energy choices for consumers.

NRG’s interactive exhibit features the largest gadget ever seen on the CES floor, The Reliant Smarter Home on Wheels. In addition, the prototype of DeLorean’s DMCev, the all-electric version of one of the most iconic cars in automotive history, will be on display at the NRG booth. In the ‘Human NRG’ backyard at the NRG CES booth visitors and people linked in through social media will be able to use their energy to help raise funds for two national charities, Rebuilding Together and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In addition, those who visit the booth in person or via Facebook will have the chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Houston to drive the prototype DeLorean DMCev, the only automobile of its kind in the world.

The NRG booth at CES features The Reliant Smarter Home on Wheels, Electric Vehicle Charging at Home and On the Road, The Human NRG Backyard and Solar for Consumers – the nation’s largest developer of solar energy – on top of the Smarter Home on Wheels show how solar is working – today. NRG and its retail businesses provide consumers with options that make solar easy, affordable and convenient without a large upfront investment as well as options that allow consumers with solar installations to sell electricity back to the grid.

Maui Welcomes The Power Of Solar

Patrick Dempsey Trina Solar Light Me Up Supporter

Posted on December 20, 2011 by quest

Trina Solar Limited a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) products from the production of ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules was joined by actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey to announce the launch of “Plug me in, Light me up” video. The video discusses solar power and the difference solar panels can make to communities off the traditional energy grid and the human significance of the solar industry’s technological advances.

The actor discusses the real power of solar energy to help people and the solar industry’s ability to provide products to meet their needs. While Dempsey is not a company spokesman his participation was motivated by a personal interest in solar power as an energy solution; an interest which he plans to action by installing solar panels at his home in Southern California.

Solar photovoltaics present an affordable, reliable and clean way to generate much-needed electricity for communities off the traditional energy grid and to supplement existing, more expensive electricity generation for those on the grid. As the industry continues to make great progress in improving product efficiencies and lowering the cost of solar energy, we hope that the solar industry will play a leading role in bringing energy independence to empower individuals and their communities. The video introduces viewers to Trina Solar’s philanthropic efforts in bringing energy independence to a Mexican home for orphaned children, an African hospital, and an American camp for children with special medical needs.

New York City Eco Friendly Yachts and Everything

Anjali Appadurai – “Get It Done”: Urging Climate Justice

SunPower Shines On Solar Impulse

Posted on December 7, 2011 by quest

One has to wonder how the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart would feel to see solar power aviation begin to take flight. Today San Francisco Bay Area solar manufacturer SunPower announced it is providing solar cells to the Solar Impulse project. Solar Impulse HB-SIA is the first aircraft that can fly day and night without fuel or polluting emissions. In July 2010 Solar Impulse was launched by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg. The flight demonstrated the enormous potential of new technologies for saving energy and renewable forms of energy. The lessons learned from this first prototype are now being incorporated into the development of a second airplane, HB-SIB, which will attempt to fly round the world starting in 2014.The Solar Impulse team has produced a prototype (HB-SIA) solar airplane that, for the first time in aviation history, succeeded in flying for 26 consecutive hours powered only by solar energy. A second solar airplane (HB-SIB) is currently under construction with plans to circumnavigate the globe in 2014. Both planes are powered by SunPower’s high-efficiency solar cells. “We are pleased to partner with SunPower, a leader in designing and delivering high-efficiency solar technologies. SunPower’s solar cells are optimum for this project, as they offer the performance and low-weight that is needed for our revolutionary solar airplanes,” said Andre Borschberg, Solar Impulse co-founder and CEO.

PLANET SOLAR

SunPower is also a sponsor of Planet Solar to power the world’s largest solar catamaran that is currently on an around-the-world tour, arriving at most destinations ahead of schedule, weather permitting. Since 2005, SunPower has supported university students with high-efficiency SunPower solar systems for their solar home entries in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. And in 2009, the company also supported students with their entries in the first Solar Decathlon Europe.

Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO said, “SunPower is pleased to be involved with such an ambitious project as the Solar Impulse airplane as it prepares for its record-setting, around-the-world flight.” As a vertically integrated company, SunPower not only powers distinctive projects such as Solar Impulse, but our high-efficiency, high-reliability solar panels are chosen by residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers worldwide. We are confident that our experience in developing our industry-leading technology with guaranteed performance will help the Solar Impulse airplane to successfully achieve its goal to circumnavigate the globe.”

It’s time to meet 21st century rail

First Zero Net Solar Energy Classrooms Now In LA

Posted on December 5, 2011 by quest

Constructed entirely from recycled materials and powered by roof-mounted solar panels, Brentwood School‘s newest classrooms will generate enough energy every year to cover 100% of their electricity usage, making them Los Angeles’ first Zero Net Energy classrooms on a school campus. Because the solar panels are shipped in place, the classrooms will begin generating energy the same day they’re installed. Gen7′s proprietary energy management system will monitor each classroom to ensure performance over time. Four Gen7 green modular classrooms are, making renewable energy a reality for the sustainability-conscious K-12 independent school. Designed to pursue LEED Gold certification, the state-of-the-art classrooms will provide a new wing of permanent, high-performance learning space expected to deliver 70% in energy savings for the school.

Brentwood School‘s Head of School Dr. Mike Riera said, “True to our mission of embracing high standards of character, commitment, and achievement, with Gen7 we set a new standard for ourselves in terms of environmental responsibility and the use of learning space as teaching tool,” Brentwood School’s Parents Association hosted a pancake breakfast for Middle and Upper Division students, allowing them to watch and learn as their new classrooms are installed. Gen7 classrooms are designed for both health and comfort, making them the ideal learning environment. Each Zero Net Energy classroom is also a hands-on teaching tool, equipped with its own interactive SMART board. An Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard is being developed that displays the building’s performance data and demonstrates sustainable initiatives, such as energy production and consumption, LEED scorecard, green features and student tutorials.

Gen7′s energy efficiency combines renewable energy with features that reduce the need for electricity. Each Gen7 Zero Net Energy classroom includes an ultra-tight, high R-value building envelope, high-efficiency mechanical system, smart lighting system with the latest LED technology, large low-E view windows and skylights, light and occupancy sensors along with a dedicated outdoor ventilation system.