Sony A Leading Green Power Player

Posted on February 5, 2011 by quest

Sony Electronics and Sony Pictures Entertainment in the U.S., under the umbrella of Sony Corporation of America, announced that they have come together to purchase more than 143 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually for 2011, which is enough green power to meet an estimated 49 percent of these entities’ electricity use. As a result of this purchase, Sony Corporation of America ranks No. 27 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Top 50 list of the largest green power purchasers.

Sony is purchasing Green-e verified renewable energy certificates (RECs) through Renewable Choice Energy and 3Degrees. Additionally, Sony is using its own on-site solar installations, which produce more than 600,000 kWh/year. These activities demonstrate a proactive choice to switch away from traditional sources of electricity generation and support cleaner renewable energy alternatives.
Earlier this week, EPA updated each of its National Top Partner lists, highlighting some of America’s largest green power purchasers. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners that have contracted the largest annual voluntary purchases as of January 5, 2011. EPA updates its Top Partner Lists quarterly at www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists. Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro.

According to EPA, Sony’s green power purchase of more than 143 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 20,000 passenger vehicles per year, or the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of nearly 13,000 average American homes annually. This purchase also qualifies the Company for EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club, a distinction given to organizations that have significantly exceeded EPA’s minimum purchase requirements. Green Power Leadership Club members must purchase ten times the partnership’s minimum requirement organization-wide. Sony’s recent green power purchase and on-site solar generation initiatives are part of its ongoing support of renewable energy and its commitment to reducing its environmental impact globally under its “Road to Zero” environmental plan, through which the Company aims to achieve a zero environmental footprint by 2050.

EXPLAINING CLIMATE CHANGE

New Zealand Renewable Energy Entrepreneurial Powerhouse

Posted on February 2, 2011 by quest

New Zealand has begun the 2011 year as one of the most entrepreneurial countries on the planet. It is “an entrepreneurial powerhouse,” according to The Economist. The World Bank ranked New Zealand #1 for starting a business in 2010 and Forbes pegged New Zealand at #3 on its new “Best Countries for Business” list in 2010, up two notches from the year before.

With a recent study by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation finding that net job growth in the U.S. is now driven primarily by start-ups, many are taking a closer look at why New Zealand has been so successful in fostering an entrepreneurial culture.

“Entrepreneurs are the life blood of New Zealand’s economy. We have more than 470,000 small businesses run by smart, inspired Kiwis with mindsets that operate without boundaries,” said Marta Mager, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Regional Director, Americas. “New Zealand is one of the most innovative, creative, technologically advanced and internationally competitive countries in the world.”

Mager said the following five factors encourage entrepreneurship in New Zealand:

1. Drive Ingenuity – The government nurtures entrepreneurs in New Zealand, providing 45% of all R&D funding. Much of the money is directed through the country’s universities and Crown Research Institutes, which are required to generate revenue through commercial successes. New Zealand incubator Icehouse was named one of the top 10 start-up incubators in the world by Forbes magazine.

2. Focus on Natural Niches and its Science Base – New Zealand has used its agrarian and maritime heritage as a springboard to become a leader in sustainable food and wine, aquaculture, biotechnology, agribusiness and more. One example of a global game changer is CLIMsystems, a company that has created software to help predict the impact of climate change. Another cutting-edge company is Baker No-Tillage, a finalist at the World Technology Awards, which offers a credible way of providing sustainable world food production. Just last month, New Zealand wine brand Mobius Marlborough became the first in the world to display a carbon footprint label adjusted for each export market.

New Zealand is also on the cutting edge in renewable energy and clean technology, with nearly two-thirds of all electricity in New Zealand coming from renewable sources. By 2025, that figure is projected to rise to 90%.

3. Remoteness Spurs Innovation – As a far-flung Pacific island nation, New Zealand spawned generations of entrepreneurs and natural-born engineers whose problem-solving “tinkering” has evolved into world-class innovation. Case in point: Auckland-based Rex Bionics who have developed the world’s first commercially available robotic exoskeleton, providing a groundbreaking new option for the physically disabled. Other examples include New Zealand companies Sealegs and B2P who were recently featured in Popular Science Magazine’s ‘Best of What’s New’. Sealegs makes an amphibious boat built for demanding all-terrain conditions and B2P offers a web-enabled, easy and fast bacteria detection system. Both innovations, applicable world-wide, were creative solutions to geographic challenges.

4. Break Down Barriers – There are few tariffs or trade barriers in New Zealand. The government’s philosophy is to connect international buyers and investors with New Zealand industries that have long-term, sustainable advantages and high-growth potential. The companies, however, must compete on an international playing field. It’s truly survival of the fittest.

5. Perform on a World Stage – The New Zealand creative industry burst into international consciousness following the phenomenal box-office and award-winning success of films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Visual effects for the world’s highest grossing film, Avatar, which received accolades at the 2010 Academy Awards®, BAFTAs® and Golden Globe® Awards, were the work of Weta Digital whose accomplishments over the past ten years have changed the way movies are made.

UNDERSTANDING ECOTOURISM

Solar Prosperity Project in Effect in New Mexico  

Posted on December 29, 2010 by quest

Federal and state governments and private companies have been budgeting millions of dollars to demonstrate cost-effective ways to store electricity generated by the solar or wind energy and dispatch it when needed. As a result PNM, a New Mexico utility, has planned to join with two educational partners and the Sandia National Laboratories in one of a growing number of renewable-energy storage and distribution projects getting under way across the country.   The PNM project has received about $2m from the federal Department of Energy as part of the overall cost of about $6m, and the project calls for the installation of a large lead-acid battery system to store and dispatch energy generated by a 500kW solar photovoltaic array.

The Prosperity Energy Storage Project it is to be built near the master-planned community Mesa del Sol off Interstate 25, about 1.5m south of the Albuquerque International Sunport, the city’s primary public airport.   The utility-scale battery system, which will have a storage capacity of 2MWh to 4MWh of electricity, is to be used for power conditioning, voltage smoothing and peak shifting, according to a Department of Energy document.   The project calls for the utility to test the system’s ability to mitigate voltage fluctuations from solar or wind-generated energy.

POWER FROM WIND & WAVES

Solar Maps Out Power in Salt Lake City

Posted on December 28, 2010 by quest

Salt Lake City joins the ranks of other cities such as San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles County, Anaheim and Portland which have solar maps. The Solar Salt Lake Project, an innovative partnership among Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah Clean Energy and other partners; as well as through work with CH2M HILL and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities program. The solar map gives the citizens of Salt Lake City the ability to visit the site, enter in a property address and see a visual snapshot of the property rooftop and its suitability for solar panels.

Designed by Critigen a global leader in information technology consulting and IT outsourcing. The solar map demonstrates Critigen’s ability to deliver leading-edge visualization technologies. The Salt Lake City map utilizes a multicolored solar layer, where blue indicates lower solar radiation and red indicates an area of higher solar radiation. “As part of broader livability initiatives, Salt Lake City has set a goal to facilitate at least 10 megawatts of solar installations by 2015,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. “With tools like the solar map, we take the next steps to encourage adoption and further livability in our city,” he added.

These approaches make it simple for property owners to create highly accurate user-defined areas for solar panels in the rooftop areas with the highest solar radiation. The solar map then calculates the system size that will fit into the user-defined area, calculates the amount of electricity that will be generated, and provides information about the cost of the proposed system. If the system is not what the user expected, the property owner can redraw the area to get a different set of results. This tool offers a great deal of flexibility and convenience to those “do-it-yourself” citizens who are interested in solar. “Every step we take to make it easier for the general public to understand the value and potential of renewable resources on their own homes brings us closer to energy security in this country,” stated Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

VISIT THE SOLAR WALL

California Approves Innovative Solar Program

Posted on December 17, 2010 by quest

Today the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted unanimously to approve a new program designed to drive small to mid-sized renewable energy development. Called a “Renewable Auction Mechanism” (RAM), this next-generation feed-in tariff program will require investor-owned California utilities to purchase electricity from solar and other renewable energy systems up to 20 MW in size. Solar advocates and industry representatives applauded the CPUC for its innovative approach to helping California meet its renewable goals and build a strong new energy economy.

“This program is a thoughtful design that helps keep the state on track with its renewable energy obligations and goals but in a cost-effective and pragmatic way. We are very excited about the significant opportunity it provides solar developers”
“This is an elegant program that will drive significant new development in small to mid-sized renewables in California. The approach builds on best-practices to deliver cost-effective solar on-line quickly, in a way that delivers sustained value to ratepayers. In combination with California’s 80,000 behind-the-meter solar systems and the Renewable Portfolio Standard that is driving large-scale projects, this program pioneers a new approach to wholesale distributed generation. At scale, solar is more cost effective than the fossil fuel alternatives. All it takes is the right market mechanism to turn the opportunity into reality, and we thank the Commission and Commission staff for their vision,” said Adam Browning, Executive Director of Vote Solar, a non-profit organization working to make solar a mainstream American energy resource.

BIOMASS TAKING OFF

More Solar for Furnisher IKEA

Posted on December 16, 2010 by quest

Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. president has announced plans to install solar energy panels on two East Coast stores: Paramus, New Jersey and Stoughton, Massachusetts. Pending governmental permits, rooftop installation will begin in the new year, with completion expected in Spring 2011.“We are excited about this investment by IKEA in using renewable energy on the East Coast to complement our recently announced plans in California.This approach is consistent with our commitment to sustainable building practices and reducing our carbon footprint. We always are open to environmental technologies and are thrilled our evaluation deemed these projects feasible for IKEA.”

IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer. The plans bring the number of U.S. IKEA locations that will have a solar energy system to a total of 13. These two systems will represent the largest store-top solar installations for IKEA in the U.S. The announced plans to install solar energy panels on two East Coast stores: Paramus, New Jersey and Stoughton, Massachusetts. Pending governmental permits, rooftop installation will begin in the new year, with completion expected in Spring 2011. These two systems will represent the largest store-top solar installations for IKEA in the U.S. In terms of U.S. sustainable building practices, IKEA already has: solar energy systems operational in Brooklyn, NY, Pittsburgh, PA and Tempe, AZ – with installation underway on programs at eight locations in California. Additionally, solar water heating systems exist in Charlotte, NC; Draper, UT; Orlando, FL; and Tampa, FL; and a geothermal system is incorporated into the store being built and opening Fall 2011 in Centennial, CO.

The Paramus, NJ and Stoughton, MA stores will be outfitted with solar energy systems. IKEA, drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect for nature, strives to be a good business while doing good business and reflects an operating model designed to minimize impacts on the environment. Other sustainable efforts include: integrating innovative materials into the production process; working with Global Forest Watch to maintain sustainable resources; flat-packing our goods for an efficient distribution system; recycling approximately 75 percent of waste (paper, wood, plastic, etc.); and incorporating environmental measures into the construction of our buildings in terms of energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, low volatile organic compound emitting paint, skylights in the warehouse, and water-conserving restrooms.