by Timothy B. Hurst

So, you've been thinking about taking the leap and putting some of your hard-earned money into solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Well, guess what? It's not nearly the leap it used to be. Several innovative financing structures have emerged in the last few years that allow more people to get into solar than ever before -- and for less money than ever before.

1. Solar Leasing

Do you want solar panels on your roof but you’re afraid about making the financial leap to full ownership? Leasing solar panels might be the best option for you, especially if you have an above average solar resource, lots of extra roof space and little to no money to put down.

Solar leasing, also known as a Solar Power Purchase Agreement, is a pretty simple (and cheap) option. Each month customers make a lease payment which covers the solar power system that produces some or all of the electricity you use in your home or business. If you consume more than you produce, the remainder of your electricity is purchased from the utility. Unlike other rooftop solar ownership models explored here, a third-party developer owns, operates, and maintains the solar PV system.

Like most other leasing programs (eg. cars, office equipment), servicing and repairing your solar system is done by the solar lease provider, usually at no cost to the customer. As such, you will not be eligible for the 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit. But--and here’s the kicker--solar leases usually require no upfront cost. Some companies will charge a $1,000 upfront fee for service. But the more money you put down upfront, the less your monthly lease payment will be.

Most solar leases have a 10 to 20 year contract period, normally transferable to a new owner of the home. If you stay in your home and your panels are still pumping out the watts by the end of the lease period, most companies will give you an option to buy.

Several companies have jumped into the solar leasing game including Sungevity, Solar City and groSolar, but do some research to learn which ones have had success operating in your area and whether solar is the right choice for you economically.

2. Group Purchasing

Investing your hard-earned income in anything can be a daunting task, let alone when that thing has the regional variations and technical complexity as solar panels and solar. Add the looming fear of getting screwed by fly-by-night solar installers and you have a recipe for solar investment paralysis.

If you’re at all familiar with the wildly popular hyperlocal group purchasing platform, Groupon, you already understanding the guiding principle behind San-Francisco-based start up, One Block Off the Grid (1BOG). By negotiating a large group discount with a network of reputable solar installers and passing some of the savings onto the customer, 1BOG’s solar financing programs save customers money, time, and perhaps most importantly, the headaches associated with getting all of the rebates and incentives sorted out and determining if solar is right for you

With active campaigns in San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver and San Antonio, among others, homeowners in communities across the U.S. are saving as much as 15 percent on a solar system for their home, an investment that can pay itself off in as little as 3 years in some cases.

But the bigger savings provided by 1BOG may actually come in the form of time saved by the customer researching the solar installation. By vetting the solar installers, coordinating applicable solar rebates and incentives, and walking customers through the process with objective analysis and project viability, group solar purchasing programs can eliminate many of the trust and knowledge issues that stand in the way of large-scale solar PV adoption in the U.S.

3. Community Solar Gardens

What if you want to buy solar panels but don’t own any roofspace or land to put them on? If you live in an apartment or condominium this is most likely your situation. But what if you have plenty of roof space and land but simply live in an area where the shade would make installing solar anywhere from impractical to totally unviable? You probably think you’re out of luck, right? Wrong.

Several states including Colorado, Washington, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts have all passed laws that allow groups of individuals to collectively own a solar array and cash-in on potential benefits from net-metering laws and tariffs. So taken by the idea in his home state, U.S. Senator from Colorado, Mark Udall, has even introduced the Community Solar Gardens idea to the Senate.

Much like the community wind model that sprung out of Denmark in the last decade or so, Community Solar Gardens, are usually structured to allow individuals to buy as few or as many “shares” in a given solar installation. Customers then receive dividends or credits based on the percentage of the array they own. Depending on the size of the solar garden, customers may be able to buy into the system for substantially less than virtually any other solar ownership model.

Although installation of community solar gardens will normally cost the same as it would if you just wanted to put a large solar array on your roof or in your backyard, the installation costs and other licensing or hook-up fees are borne by all of the solar garden owners, representing a substantial cost savings to the group.

4. PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing

First launched in Berkeley, California, so-called Property Assessed Clean Energy programs could be the safest and easiest way to purchase solar panels for your roof. Because PACE programs tie the cost of the solar installation (or energy efficiency projects and upgrades) to your property taxes, getting started requires virtually zero upfront investment. They normally don’t even require credit checks.

After a homeowner applies to their city or county and gains approval for the solar system, the price of the new array will be levied as part of their property tax assessment over 20 years, at a competitive rate of interest. But what if you want to sell your home? No worries, the solar system and the tax liability go to the new owner of the home.

Unfortunately, just as the popularity of PACE financing programs started to take off in cities and counties across the country, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates federal mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, effectively put a stop to any new PACE projects earlier this summer, determining that PACE programs “present significant safety and soundness concerns.”

Considering the effectiveness and political popularity of financing programs like these, however, once the dust has settled on the national housing and mortgage situation, our bet is that Property Assessed Clean Energy financing programs will make a return in some form or another. Read more about PACE financing programs at the DSIRE Solar Portal.

Reprinted with permission from Earth & Industry

Zachary Shahan

Cities are getting more and more innovative with their park and garden locations. San Francisco has a huge park planned for the top of its upcoming Transbay Transit Center, some New York schools are planning to have large gardens on their roofs which will be used as educational environments where students will grow food used in their own cafeterias, Seoul (in South Korea) has turned an old freeway into a river and public park with great success, and there is much more going on.

Even with all of these cool parks and gardens popping up, this new one in Sydney, Australia has to be one of the coolest. Sydney’s newest urban park, Paddington Reservoir Gardens, goes down below the level of the ground into a former reservoir.

The reservoir was originally completed in 1878 but only operated until 1899, at which point it became a workshop/garage. I imagine that was a fine enough use for the site until a roof collapsed in 1990 and it had to be closed.

At that point, the city decided to cap and deck it with parkland, but before they could do so, some architects stepped in with some more imaginative plans.

“[T]he architects decided to transform the historic, underground ruins into a publicly accessible viewing area,” Coleen Gentles of the City Parks Blog writes.

“The original 1930?s grassy area above the water chambers was redesigned and the park also now includes a ‘sunken garden’ in the western chamber. As a sustainable twist, all of the materials used to reconstruct the new park were retained from the historic structure.”

Reprinted with permission from Ecolocalizer

by Christopher DeMorro

Ever marvel at how many millions of miles of roads there are in America? After my recent cross country adventure, I can say I am honestly in awe at how much of our country has been paved over. There seems to be no place left in America where paved roads don’t lead, which is great for travelers, and not so great for nature.

Due to the economic crunch though, some counties in America are actually unpaving their roads, and turning them back to gravel. Is it a sign of harsh economic times, or is America overpaved to begin with?

Jack Shafer, writing for Slate, argues that America has been on a “paving binge” for the past few decades, and he makes a pretty good argument. He cites government statistics that say in 1960, America had about 1.23 million miles of paved road and 2.31 million miles of unpaved roads. By 2008, that ratio was reversed, with 2.73 million miles of paved road and 1.32 million miles of unpaved road (I didn’t even know there was that much). That doesn’t take into account all the parking lots and paved driveways either.

It takes a lot of money and resources to maintain that much road, and so many municipalities are letting unused roads fall into disrepair or even converting them into gravel. Easier to maintain, easier to fix. I’m not too concerned that all of the sudden major highways will go unpaved, and I actually think its a good way to save money. I see far too many roads that are hardly used, and it is hard to go anywhere in my home state of Connecticut without hearing a nearby highway. It would be nice to have “smarter” roads that delivered people and goods efficiently, rather than having to be diverted around existing infrastructure.

Schafer’s point for the article though, is that while many pundits are making a big deal about unpaving roads, the fact is very few places are actually doing it… right now. And the roads they are unpaving are barely used anyway. Maybe it is a fad that will catch on? I’d love to see a day where we actually start tearing up old roads and letting them go back to nature. Maybe we could tear down a few interstates while we are at it. Maybe someday we’ll all get flying cars and we’ll have no need for paving at all. I can dream, can’t I?

Reprinted with permission from Gas 2.0

by Mridul Chadha

US private equity firm Blackstone has decided to invest $300 million in one of the leading solar PV companies in India, Moser Baer (Private) Limited.

Moser Baer (NSE: MOSERBAER) has a diversified portfolio ranging from manufacturing of computer peripherals to fabrications of solar panels. While their computer hardware business is very well established, the company is looking to expand its solar panel fabrication capabilities.

The solar fabrication firm of the company was established in 2007 when crystalline silicon and thin film solar cell manufacturing assembly lines were set up. Both the assembly lines are part of Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Limited which holds the record of fabricating the world's largest thin film solar panel measuring 2.6 meters x 2.2 meters and having generation capacity of up to 390 watts.

The company has a thin film assembly line with an annual capacity of 40 MW. The company also has several manufacturing facilities around the country and exports solar panels to Germany, Italy in addition to setting up solar installations within the country.

Moser Baer has supplied solar panels to various rooftop and ground-mounted installations in Germany, Italy and Netherlands. A 7 MW capacity solar farm at Nordendorf, Germany is its largest project while a 1 MW capacity power plant in Maharashtra is its largest project in India.

The investment by the Blackstone group is a wise move given the impending solar energy revolution in the wake of the National Solar Mission which aims to install 20,000 MW of solar power capacity by 2022.

The government recently released a set of guidelines for the first phase (ending 2013) of the National Solar Mission which would see installation of 500 MW of solar PV capacity. According to the guidelines, the project developers will be eligible for premium tariff rates only if they use solar cells and other equipment fabricated by Indian companies.

India has been predicted to be one of the drivers of solar energy installations in the coming few years. With a perspective order book of tens of MW of solar panels, Moser Baer PV certainly looks an intelligent investment move for the Blackstone group.

Reprinted with permission from Earth & Industry

by Dawn Killough

Salem, Oregon is a-buzz with the news that its LEED Certified Courthouse Square building and transit mall have been declared structurally unsound. The ten year old home of Cherriots bus service and hub for local government is being evacuated as we speak. City departments are scrambling to lease office space in other buildings, and quickly move before catastrophic failure of the building threatens them.

Sounds like the introduction to some horror movie, but it is true. The Courthouse Square Building in Salem has been declared structurally unsound and tenants have been given 30 days to move out so the building can be closed. The LEED Certified building has been the crown jewel of the city, until recently when major structural problems were found.

No one knows, or is saying at least, what is causing all the structural issues. Cracked walls and ceilings are the hallmark of what appears to be a buckling post-tensioned concrete slab. The concrete was recently tested and found to not meet the specified strength. Garbage was found in the slab when samples were taken. Claims against the architect and the general contractor have already been settled, but the amounts do not come near the $30 million price tag for the building.

What bothers me most about this situation is that projects like this can give LEED a bad name. Energy efficiency, recycled materials, and green roofs don’t do anyone any good unless the building is sound. LEED projects get a lot of press these days, although they are becoming more commonplace, and projects like this can leave the public wondering what designers were thinking. Are they focusing too much attention on being green and not enough on good design?

I’ve heard it said that green design is good design. It takes an integrated team approach to design a high-efficiency building. Systems have to meld seamlessly together, working with each other, as opposed to jockeying for position and space in the complicated web that is a building. Extreme high-efficiency buildings, such as those attempting LEED Platinum, require a more symbiotic relationship between the building systems, even using each other to further their efficiency.

Unfortunately, this rarely happens in the world of municipal “lowest bid wins” design. Owners want, or require, a high-efficiency building, but are unwilling or unable to pay for the work that is required to design one. I am not saying it is not possible to design a green building in this realm, just that it can be more difficult. We have to learn to look beyond the immediate cost of a design or building, to the life cycle costs of the building system as a whole. Ten years is not a long life for a commercial building, certainly not one that claims to be environmentally friendly.

Reprinted with permission from Green Building Elements

I’ve just returned from co-chairing the “Electricity Innovation Smart Grid Conference” in Seoul, Korea. This conference gathered very diverse speakers and topics, representing deployments across a good percentage of the planet, including Korea, USA, The Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Italy, India, UAE, and the Philippines. Despite missing the African and Latin American continents, and a perspective from China, the conference afforded an opportunity to compare notes on the motivations, expectations, and status of smart grid developments around the world.

This thing we call the “smart grid” is happening everywhere, at least to some extent. While fundamental motivations may differ, the concept of applying modern computing and communications to the electrical grid is universal. In North America, we’re motivated to improve reliability and efficiency, especially as we ponder adding more renewable generation to the grid. Europe is similar, perhaps sharpened by clearer conservation and carbon reduction targets. Japan, with the 2nd most reliable grid (just behind Korea, and six times better than the US), was thinking they didn’t really need a smarter grid – until they considered the flood of PHEVs planned by the all-important auto industry.

In other areas, the motivations might appear more basic, but are perhaps more urgent. Both Middle Eastern countries and India are wrestling with matching tremendous demand growth with generation and transmission capacity. While India has made good progress in reducing non-technical commercial losses (i.e. delivered power that is never paid for, which was over 50 percent in some regions), smart metering promises to help reduce a still unacceptable gap. Similarly, smart metering will help Middle Eastern countries provide more accurate and timely billing. This will help avoiding the high cost, both financial and physical, of manual meter reading in the heat of the summer.

Despite these different motivations, there were striking similarities. Most are considering the very same technologies (smart metering, renewable generation, distribution and substation automation, etc.) to address their different goals. But perhaps most interestingly, many spoke about the importance of the everyday consumer within the smart grid equation. Goals will not be met unless the consumer is adequately served, informed, and motivated to use electrical energy wisely.

One final observation is that whatever the goals are within a specific region, they are extremely important to the broader society. Whether the “smart grid” project was the ambitious Beach Cities Microgrid at San Diego Gas and Electric presented by co-chair Steve Pullins from Horizon Energy, or a simple microgrid that delivers independent power generation and management for a currently unserved remote rural village, the results will be critically important.

And this is true motivation for those privileged enough to be building the smart grid!

Bob Gohn is an analyst with Pike Research who specializes in the smart grid.

Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), a developer of tidal, river and deep-water ocean current energy technology and projects, announced Wednesday that its Beta Power System has successfully generated grid-compatible power from tidal currents at its Cobscook Bay site in Eastport, Maine.

ORPC says the device is the largest ocean energy “power plant” ever installed in U.S. waters.

The system’s core component, the proprietary Turbine Generator Unit, or TGU, is deployed below ORPC’s research and testing vessel and has a maximum design capacity of 60 kilowatts. Performance test results show that the TGU’s electrical output meets or exceeds expectations for the full range of current velocities encountered.

ORPC will use the data obtained from the Beta Power System to fine tune the design of its commercial TidGen Power System, planned for installation in Eastport in late 2011. The TidGen Power System will be connected to the New England grid through the Bangor Hydro Electric Company system, and will generate enough electricity to power 50 to 75 homes.

“Proving the efficacy of the Beta Power System and its ability to generate grid-compatible power day in and day out is a huge milestone for America’s ocean energy industry,” said Chris Sauer, president and CEO of ORPC. “It reaffirms the limitless opportunities to advance the nation’s renewable energy agenda and ensure a more sustainable future.”

Tidal energy has the potential to be a billion dollar industry in Maine within the next seven to ten years, creating hundreds of jobs. The bodies of water around Eastport have some of the most robust tidal currents in the world.

ORPC’s Beta Power System incorporates several technological innovations. These include the TGU’s proprietary advanced design cross-flow turbines, engineered with 100 percent composite materials, its permanent magnet generator, a substantially composite support frame, and a power electronics system that converts the generator’s variable output to grid-compatible power.

Through its three-year partnership with the University of Maine, ORPC also is conducting monitoring of the marine environment around the Beta Power System. UMaine researchers, led by Gayle Zydlewski, Ph.D., are supervising the program, which incorporates state-of-the-art visual and acoustic monitoring technology. Data collected will allow UMaine and ORPC to better understand and help minimize any potential interaction between ORPC’s technology and marine life.

“Development of alternative energy sources must consider the natural environment. We take this very seriously, and we are working closely with ORPC to understand the dynamics of the marine life where tidal power will be generated,” said Dr. Zydlewski.

Over the next two months, ORPC will also be demonstrating how tidal energy can be delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard for use at its Eastport station through a battery electrical supply system that is charged aboard the Energy Tide 2. This is the first application of tidal energy by a federal agency.

ORPC holds FERC preliminary permits and is in the process of obtaining FERC pilot project licenses for tidal energy sites in Maine and Alaska, which have been designated world-class tidal resources by the World Energy Congress. ORPC’s work is funded in part by Maine Technology Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Photo by ORPC

Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Business

Telecommunications networks require reliable backup power solutions that can operate for hours or even days when the utility grid fails due to severe weather conditions, natural disasters, or poor grid quality. Typically diesel generators and lead acid batteries are used for providing backup. However, fuel cell systems are increasingly being considered as a superior backup solution. Fuel cells are cleaner and quieter than diesel generators, and they can reduce the number of batteries required at telecom sites. Fuel cells also have the advantage of being less prone to theft and more resilient to extreme outdoor temperatures.

In 2008, The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a funding opportunity announcement, targeting commercialization of stationary fuel cells for communications backup. In 2009, a consortium led by Sprint Nextel, along with proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell makers ReliOn and Altergy, as well as hydrogen and fuel storage supplier Air Products and Chemicals Inc., and others, was awarded $7.3 million from the U.S. DOE.

The program calls for the deployment of 260 new hydrogen fuel cells (HFC). Also, 70 hydrogen fuel cells shall be retrofitted from a low pressure bottle swap solution to a new medium pressure solution that employs onsite refueling. The chart below shows the breakdown by state, led by the two most fuel cell friendly states, California and Connecticut.

The program provides a one-time cost offset to accelerate commercial deployment of a large number of fuel cell backup systems, which provides incentive for Sprint to make the near-term investment. The program requires long run time, defined as 72 hours backup, which is intended to establish a critical mass of HFC units, and storage modules and delivery infrastructure. With Air Products’ involvement, the program has the dedication and focus of a major gas supplier with the capabilities to bring both storage and delivery to the stationary backup market. The program also requires deployment over a short period of time, less than two years to ensure critical mass happens sooner.

The early feedback from Sprint is that the program is poised for success and that it will serve as a blueprint for the telecom industry to utilize PEM fuel cells for backup power. This makes 2010 the year when the fuel cell industry appears poised to prove out a well established technology in a legitimate wide-scale commercialization opportunity.

Photo by Neeta Lind/flickr/Creative Commons

David Link is a senior analyst at Pike Research with a focus on energy storage, distributed energy generation, advanced battery technologies, and fuel cells.

Perhaps as you’ve done your research into going solar, you’ve heard mention of the so-called “Smart Grid” and the challenges and opportunities it presents. Such a broad term can be confusing, however (and perhaps even bring to mind visions of a Terminator-esque future). So we’ll give you the low down on the Smart Grid, and how an investment in a solar powered home will make you a part of the next generation of electricity users.

For being such a crucial part of our national infrastructure, our current electrical grid is shockingly antiquated. It’s been around for over a century (you’d probably laugh at the prospect of owning a computer that’s more than a few years old), and requires literally round-the-clock surveillance by teams of engineering experts to make sure its centralized, generator-controlled network provides the necessary gigawatts of electricity used by American households and businesses.

So far, we haven’t seen much in the way of improvement, either. For while hundreds of thousands of high-voltage transmission lines crisscross the US, less than a thousand miles of new interstate transmission have been built since 2000. This lack of investment leads to blackouts and power quality issues that cost American businesses an estimated $100 billion per year. Simultaneously, the current grid does almost nothing to focus on efficiency improvements, environmental impact, and customer control… not to mention the security threat of such a fragile system.

The next step will be the dramatic, resource-intensive (i.e. around 1.5 trillion dollars!) revamping of our electrical grid to build a system that is more reliable, nimble, and responsive to our evolving energy needs. It will require the combination of new, superconducting power cables, energy storage devices, and advanced sensors that can communicate in real time between generators, transmitters, and end users. With these components in place, the Smart Grid will be able to sense impending system overloads and reroute power as needed, accept energy from any source ranging from dirty coal to clean solar power, and provide stability against natural disasters or any sort of threat to national security. Of course, given the costs and the current political climate, the wide-scale implementation of the Smart Grid isn’t likely to happen in the near future.

If you make the choice to go solar, however, you will be pushing us in the right direction. Once your panels have been installed, your house will be equipped with a smart meter that provides real-time feedback regarding both the electricity you use and the electricity you generate. And as Andrew Kin, a home owner in LA, described how having a smart meter affected his energy use: "The other, kind of unexpected thing that happen[ed] is we began to monitor how much electricity we were using through these real-time updates in a way we didn’t when we were just getting monthly bills. And as a result we’ve been using a lot less electricity, driving our bills down even further."

It’s important to realize that universal smart metering is only a small part of what the future Smart Grid will have to offer (to get broader perspective, check out the Department of Energy’s Smart Grid microsite, from which most of this article’s data are taken). But the fact that current solar technology allows utilities to pinpoint customer use in real time to avoid blackouts, while simultaneously leading to organic reduction in home electricity use on the consumer’s end, seems like a pretty, well, smart idea to us.

Reprinted with permission from Residential Solar 101

Minneapolis-based utility Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) on Friday announced a $1.3 billion plan to repower several Colorado power plants with cleaner burning options to respond the the state's new Clean Air Clean Jobs Act.

The company’s plan has three key components. It plans to retire 900 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power at its Valmont (186 MW) and Cherokee (717 MW) power plants by the end of 2017 and the end of 2022, respectively.

Also it will repower its Cherokee coal-fired power plant with natural gas generation of 883 MW. The company also will switch to natural gas generation at its 111 MW Arapahoe unit four.

And finally, it will retrofit about 950 MW of coal-fired generation at the Pawnee (505 MW) and Hayden (446 MW) power plants with modern emission control technology.

The Clean Air Clean Jobs Act passed last spring requires the company to propose reductions in oxides of nitrogen by 70-80 percent by 2017, to meet anticipated federal clean air regulations. The plan would reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen from the targeted plants by 75 percent at the end 2017, and by 89 percent at the end of 2022.

The plan also allows Xcel Energy to meet Colorado’s statewide carbon dioxide reduction goal of 20 percent before the 2020 target.

Xcel publicly supported passage of the legislation.

The total cost of the plan, if approved by the CPUC, would result in new construction investment of approximately $1.3 billion over the next 12 years. The company expects that its proposal will result in savings of approximately $225 million when compared to the traditional approach of retrofitting all of these plants with emissions controls. The savings compared to an all-controls approach would be more than $950 million if there is federal regulation that places a price on carbon dioxide emissions.

“Over the next several years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require the state of Colorado to comply with a series of regulatory mandates unprecedented in the history of the Clean Air Act,” said Dick Kelly, Xcel Energy chairman and CEO. “We believe our proposal is the best way to meet new environmental requirements in a manner that preserves reliability and minimizes customer costs.”

by KissMyCountry

“Most everyone has green materials that are made from recycled this or that. That is fine of course. But the public doesn’t really care. In fact the impact to our planet, or the savings to the impact to our planet is quite minimal if we recycle something. But if we drive CO2 down – that’s the high order bit – drive energy down, drive CO2 down. Those are the high order bits today.” – Kevin Surace, CEO Serious Materials

KissMyCountry had the chance to talk with Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials – a company redefining green building for the future. Enjoy the conversation with this dynamic leader as we continue our CEOs Saving the Planet series!

KissMyCountry: Kevin, you’re at the center of Green Building, and you’re really making a contribution. How did it all begin? What motivated you to focus on Green Building?

Kevin: The truth is the company started sort of on a whim. In a fluke, a friend of mine (Marc Porat) had a polymer company and said wouldn’t you like to do something in materials instead of electronics and software? I said sure. At that time it was car coatings and other things like this. But that changed when he came back from the Aspen Institute in 2005 and said the world is about climate change, it’s very serious and we have to do something about it Kevin, and I said you’re right. That’s really where we started the track record of this company directly to clean tech and realized that buildings by far are the biggest contributor to CO2. About 52 percent of CO2 is tied to the built environment, 40 percent to operate our buildings and 12 percent to make our building materials every year. In comparison, only 9 percent worldwide is cars. So 9 percent of CO2 is cars and 52 percent is buildings so I’m thinking we want to go after buildings, so that’s what we have been doing. That’s really the genesis of the company (thanks to Marc Porat) and today it’s six plants and 400 team members strong…and we keep growing.

KissMyCountry: To what do you attribute your success and the success of Serious Materials?

Kevin: That’s complicated because there are so many facets of Green companies – the people that you have are absolutely critical and we have the best team on the planet, many from high-tech in their past. The vision that we have, the materials we have, the customers we have. We love our customers. In the end I boil it down to one thing which is inspiration. We want to inspire our customers to not only do what’s right, but to buy, use and love our products and get a great return on that investment. And our employees to be inspired to reach new personal heights, including with the products we develop, make and deliver and our customer satisfaction (which is a key theme with all of our team members). Apple does that well, it’s an inspiring brand. Our team has created an inspiring brand in a few short years, and inspiring and disruptive products.

KissMyCountry: In addition to Green materials and products that conserve energy, you also emphasize soundproofing and the reduction of ‘noise pollution’. Why are you so committed to that and why should all of us share your concern?

Kevin: Noise pollution is certainly an interesting issue. I’ll tell you how it ties in in a minute. The company started in that area with products like QuietRock. You can address a fair amount of carbon footprint by reducing noise. If you don’t have noise issues, more people move to urban environments. And that is half the carbon footprint (per capita) or less if you live in an urban environment – yet the number one reason people don’t is because of noise. We’ve solved that. The other thing is that our products use six or more times less the material than the old way of doing it. So it’s also a way to save tremendous CO2 by cutting the amount of raw materials by say 80 percent or more.

On another note we’re one of the few green building materials companies that talks specifically about saving energy and CO2. Most everyone has green materials that are made from recycled this or that. That is fine of course. But the public doesn’t really care. In fact the impact to our planet, or the savings to the impact to our planet is quite minimal if we recycle something. But if we drive CO2 down – that’s the high order bit – drive energy down, drive CO2 down. Those are the high order bits today. Arguably recycling (without a substantial CO2 savings) is a leftover from the 60s. And we need to do far more than just that today.

KissMyCountry: You’ve got a lot of great products at Serious Materials, but I’d like to ask about your own home. What was the most recent thing you did in your own home to make it Greener? Why?

Kevin: We’ve got our own garden. We grow our own vegetables. We have solar thermal for pool heat. And I drive a full EV. I have for several years. It’s a Toyota RAV4 EV that goes 100 miles on a charge, and our other car is a Prius. I’m sure we can do better. We haven’t done as much in the house yet as we would like. Our high R value windows are surely next.

KissMyCountry: What’s next for Serious Materials? What can we expect from you and the company in the next 4-5 years?

Kevin: We are much more than just materials. We’re not just about windows and drywall. We’ve become experts on modeling buildings and understanding how buildings work, understanding how to save energy in those buildings and how to leverage that expertise. We’ve been installed in some 70,000 projects. The Empire State Building is not the only project we’ve done. We love the Empire State Building, it’s a spectacular project. But it’s one of 70,000 including homes in neighborhoods like yours.

KissMyCountry: At KissMyCountry we like to ask about places that people love. What are your favorite places to live or travel?

Kevin: There are some motu’s off of Bora Bora. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, this is in the French Polynesian Islands and it’s absolutely stunning. If someone said here’s a week, go wherever you want I’d go to Bora Bora. Which is my wife’s favorite place (always good to choose her favorite).

KissMyCountry: Any place you’d love to see that you haven’t had a chance to visit yet?

Kevin: There must be a thousand. I don’t know if any one particular comes to mind but there are so many islands on the other side of the world, there’s so many parts of Europe I have not been in. I was just talking to someone today about Malta, I haven’t been there. I love Italy. There are many, many, many places. I think the world is a big place and I think you can’t get to everywhere in a lifetime. But it’s great to go to historical places, such as castles in England, and yet it’s great to be on a beach in Aruba as well. And while it sounds cliche, I love being in Sunnyvale with our team. We love the work, love the customers, and love working together.

KissMyCountry: Serious Materials is based in Sunnyvale, California. What are some of your favorite spots in the area?

Kevin: Home. Clearly home would be a good choice – I travel too much. There are certainly a lot of restaurants around here, Birk’s for steaks, I like the atmosphere, I like the steaks, it’s very close. I love taking the kids to Great America which is right around the corner. Murphy Ave. in Sunnyvale, that’s really remade itself into a true outdoor venue with seating outdoors in front of the restaurants and that’s just a really fun place to be with family, friends, or coworkers.

KissMyCountry: Kevin, it’s been a pleasure. You’re very easy to talk to and we look forward to staying in touch. Kevin: Thank you very much.

This story originally appeared on KissMyCountry.com

Reprinted with permission from Cleantechies

A spike in ocean temperatures has devastated coral reef populations off the Indonesian coast this summer, bleaching more than 60 percent of the coral off Aceh province, scientists say. Coral bleaching, which occurs when heat drives out algae living within coral tissues, is an indicator of stress that could eventually kill coral populations. The team of international scientists found that warmer waters have killed 80 percent of some species and predicted that more colonies could die within months. They blamed rising sea surface temperatures in the Andaman Sea. Temperatures have soared this summer, reaching a peak in May of 34 degrees Celsius (93 F), about 4 degrees C higher than long-term averages, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “This is a tragedy not only for some of the world’s most biodiverse coral reefs, but also for people in the region, many of whom are extremely impoverished and depend on these reefs for their food and livelihoods,” said Caleb McClennen, marine program director for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Meanwhile, a new study says rising ocean temperatures in the waters along the U.S. East Coast have

reduced the range where blue mussels are able to survive.

Reprinted with permission from Yale Environment 360

by Nino Marchetti

One category of devices known for being energy hogs and containing non-environmentally friendly materials are external hard drives. Though they offer great options for backing up one’s precious computer files, they generally fail when it comes to being a greener computer product.

Hitachi, a maker of many such external hard drives, has tried to address this issue with its lineup of SimpleTech [re]drives. These drives, which range in size from 500 GB to 2 TB, are made from eco-friendly ingredients, come in eco-friendly packaging and, most importantly, are said to be quite energy efficient.

How does the [re]drive work as one’s eco-friendly alternative to traditional external hard drives? Read on to find out.

The SimpleTech [re]drive from Hitachi belongs to the category of products known as external hard drives, which are normally connected to one’s PC or Mac via a USB cable for the purposes of offering extra storage beyond the computer’s integrated hard drive. Common applications of external hard drives usually include overflow data storage and back up of one’s more prized media file types, such as videos and images.

Hitachi provided us with a 500 GB version of the [re]drive for this review. That is, for the most part, more than enough space for most average computer users to store their media or other files on. The drive comes in a rather standard cardboard looking box which, while perhaps eco-friendly for recycling, could be smaller given what’s packed inside – the [re]drive, power cable and USB cable. On the positive side, the “quick install guide” is printed on the inside of the box itself, saving at least on one enclosure commonly found with newly purchased computer products.

From the point of aesthetics, the [re]drive does have a nice modern and refreshing look to it, especially when you compare it to the drab gray or tan colors found on many comparable devices. The uses of sustainable bamboo and recycled aluminum on the external casing help to give the [re]drive a natural feel, especially when you touch the wood’s grain.

Setting up the [re]drive is quite simple – you connect the USB cable to the drive’s back and host computer, plug it in and wait a bit for your computer to recognize it. Now it should be said that with external hard drives a growing number of them can be powered by the attached computer’s USB port alone. If this drive were truly to be energy efficient, it would offer this as an option instead of making use of a separate power adapter. The adapter is Energy Star rated though, which at least mitigates some of the energy hog issue (a power test shows the drive draws about 2 watts of power when not in use).

Included on the [re]drive are software options you can install which allow for local and online backups. This is always a nice to have, especially when you consider many drives don’t offer this, forcing you to hunt down your own backup software options. For test purposes, we ran a full one time backup of media files, around 3.6 GB worth, to the [re]drive. It took around four minutes to complete this backup, which is certainly a respectable amount of time. Incremental backups are also available. As for the online option, which was not tested, you can assume it will take longer to backup to, depending upon your available Internet connection speeds. Also, only 2 GB is available for free backups – beyond that you have to pay.

Another nice touch as a feature of the [re]drive is auto-sensing when the connected computer is on or off. The drive matches that power state itself, helping you to save on energy when you leave your office or desk to go do something else.

The Final Green Word:

The SimpleTech [re]drive from Hitachi is a wonderful example of an external hard drive which has been put through the green filter. The creative uses of sustainable and recycled materials in the body design, the energy efficiency of the drive itself and the ease of use of installation and data backups make it a device definitely worth considering for all of those green desk jockeys out there.

The only real two minor issues with the [re]drive are the packaging and use of an AC adapter when USB power is an available option. Attention to these two items by Hitachi in future releases of this product could truly turn the [re]drive into one of, if not the most, earth-friendly external hard drives on the market today.

Reprinted with permission from EarthTechling

by Tate Dwinnell

American Superconductor (AMSC) announced Tuesday that it acquired a 25 percent stake in UK based Blade Dynamics, a designer and manufacturer of advanced wind turbine blades for $8 million in cash and will gain one seat on the Board. Blade Dynamics designs increase efficiency and performance of high power wind turbine blades. Dow Chemical (DOW) also purchased a minority stake in the company.

AMSC CEO Greg Yurek commented on the technology:

“The design and manufacturing processes for wind turbine blades have remained fundamentally unchanged for 20 years. Today, however, the market is migrating to higher wind turbine power ratings. Onshore wind turbines now exceed 2 MW in many locations, and offshore wind farm developers are increasingly seeking wind turbines with power ratings exceeding 5 MW. Blade Dynamics presents us — and the entire wind industry — with a game-changing wind turbine blade technology that enhances performance and reduces weight and cost for high power wind turbines. We view this as a compelling investment and expect many wind turbine manufacturers, including our own AMSC Windtec licensees, to quickly migrate to the Blade Dynamics solution to avail themselves of these competitive advantages. In fact, AMSC Windtec and Blade Dynamics engineers have already been working in close collaboration to optimize blades for AMSC Windtec turbine designs.”

On an unrelated note, it was also announced that Louisiana Economic Development will provide incentives for up to $30 million to help Blade Dynamics open a manufacturing facility in New Orleans that could potentially add 600 jobs to the local economy.

“This is a huge win for New Orleans and our whole state,” said Governor Jindal. “By recruiting Blade Dynamics and its revolutionary wind power technologies to Louisiana, we are creating hundreds of high-paying new jobs in New Orleans while diversifying the economy of this region.”

Reprinted with permission from Green Stocks Central

China is likely to become the largest market for plug-in electric vehicles thanks to a larger relative government investment, but will trail the U.S. in hybrid sales.

The Chinese government announced it will spend $14.7 billion through 2020 on alternative drivetrain vehicles, with the bulk of the money going towards all-electric vehicles, according to news reports quoted by Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor.

That's a greater outlay in consumer subsidies, industry incentives and spending on charging infrastructure than in the U.S. which (for now) boasts a much larger economy. The Chinese government would like 5 million alternative-fuel vehicles to be on the roads by 2020.

The U.S. government has committed more than $2.5 billion in incentives for battery makers, consumer purchases, and for charging infrastructure, but won't come close to the Chinese commitment in future years. Not all of that money is bearing fruit. The DOE gave A123 Systems a $249 million grant last year to manufacture lithium ion batteries in Michigan, ostensibly for electric vehicles under contract to Chrysler. Last week A123 Systems ended its work with Chrysler and is now focusing more on batteries that provide energy storage for the grid.

Pike Research projects that between 2010 and 2015 China will have 1.85 million hybrids and EVs sold , with slightly more EVs (1 million) on the road. In the U.S. more than 2.3 million hybrids will be sold during that time, and 840,000 plug-in and all- electric vehicles.

China has a great ability to direct its domestic market than the more open U.,S. market, and with greater incentives and many first time car buyers coming into the market, it's understandable that China will pass the U.S. in EV sales. The governments have similar motivations – a desire to reduce carbon emissions, increase domestic production, and enhancing energy security by reducing oil imports. While we've heard those arguments here for many years, China imported 52 percent of its oil in 2008, and if the country didn't push EVs during the rapid expansion of the auto industry, that dependency would only increase. China also has the advantage of building out the grid with EVs in mind as they are adding generation and transmission capacity while the U.S. will seek to accommodate EV demand through gains in efficiency and stressing off-peak charging.

Pike Research doesn't expect the EV market to substantially cannibalize hybrid sales. The U.S. hybrid market has been strong for years and will remain so, while hybrid sales in China are starting from a small base.

John Gartner is Matter's automotive specialist and an auto industry analyst at Pike Research.

by David A. Gabel

The new generation of electric cars that are set to hit the market promise to help end the world's dependence on fossil fuels and clean the air. However, they are not without flaws. One particular flaw in their charging system may even make them less environmentally friendly than the most fuel efficient conventional cars.

First of all, charging an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle requires remembering to charge it when you go home. Beginning the day with a dead cell phone battery, or leaving the house without charging your laptop can cause frustration. Now imagine having to leave for work and forgetting to charge your car.

A new technology by the company Evatran, uses induction charging to automatically keep the car's batteries at full charge. Drivers would just have to park over the base unit that is fitted to the floor and an intelligent control system in the vehicle will request charging.

The induction charging would use a coil in the base unit that creates an electromagnetic field. The coil in the vehicle would pick up the field and convert it back into electronic current which the vehicle could store and later use. However, this does not have the same level of efficiency as plugging the car directly to the power source.

Representatives of this new technology believe the wasted energy is minimal enough, and is worth it in exchange for greater peace of mind in knowing that your car will always be charged. "We believe that our system will eliminate a barrier to electric vehicle adoption and increase the adoption of electrified transport," says Rebecca Hough, Evatran's marketing director.

Others believe that the wasted energy of induction charging negates the most positive aspect of electric vehicles, that they are environmentally friendly. This is especially true if the power source produces high pollution like a coal-fired power plant. Compared to efficient diesel-engine cars on the road today, plug-in vehicles may be only slightly better. However, with a ten percent loss in efficiency from induction charging, the scales could tip towards the efficient diesel engine.

On the other hand, this new technology may be a blessing in disguise. For prospective buyers, having an automatic induction charging system may be a major selling point which could boost electric vehicle sales. With more electric vehicle owners, the attention would turn to how these vehicles get their power. Then perhaps there would be a greater public demand for renewable energy such as wind or solar. With renewable sources, the ten percent drop in efficiency would then be much less of a concern.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental News Network

It has taken humanity less than nine months to exhaust its ecological budget for the year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, a California-based environmental research organization.

Global Footprint Network calculates nature's supply in the form of biocapacity, the amount of resources the planet regenerates each year, and compares that to human demand: the amount it takes to produce all the living resources we consume and absorb our carbon dioxide emissions. Its data reveal that, as of August 21, humanity will have demanded all the ecological services--from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food--that nature can provide this year. From now until the end of the year, we will meet our ecological demand by depleting resource stocks and accumulating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

"If you spent your entire annual income in nine months, you would probably be extremely concerned," said Global Footprint Network President Mathis Wackernagel. "The situation is no less dire when it comes to our ecological budget. Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water and food shortages--these are all clear signs that we can no longer finance our consumption on credit. Nature is foreclosing."

What is Overshoot?

For most of human history, humanity has been able to live off of nature's interest--consuming resources and producing carbon dioxide at a rate lower than what the planet was able to regenerate and reabsorb each year.

But approximately three decades ago, we crossed a critical threshold, and the rate of human demand for ecological services began to outpace the rate at which nature could provide them. This gap between demand and supply--known as ecological overshoot--has grown steadily each year. It now takes one year and six months to regenerate the resources that humanity requires in one year.

Addressing Carbon Key to Balancing the Budget

Climate change is perhaps the most prominent sign of our ecological overspending. Our carbon Footprint (as calculated by Global Footprint Network, the amount of land and sea area it would take to absorb all the CO2 we emit) is the biggest part of humanity's Ecological Footprint, and is by far the fastest-growing. Our carbon Footprint has more than doubled since 1970. During that time, it has increased at a rate more than three-times faster than the next-fastest growing portion of humanity's Footprint, built-up land. Carbon dioxide emissions now account for over half of human demand on nature. We are now emitting much more carbon dioxide than the natural ecosystems of the planet can absorb; thus it is building up in the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

How Earth Overshoot Day is Calculated

Every year, Global Footprint Network calculates humanity's Ecological Footprint--the amount of productive land and sea area required to produce the resources we consume and absorb our waste, including CO2 emissions--and compares that with biocapacity, the ability of ecosystems to regenerate resources. Earth Overshoot Day, a concept devised by U.K.-based new economics foundation, is calculated from 2007 data (the most recent year for which data are available) and projections based on historical rates of growth in population and consumption, as well as the historical link between world GDP and resource demand.

Last year, Earth Overshoot Day was observed on September 25, 2009. This year, overshoot day is estimated to come more than a month earlier in the year. This is not due to a sudden change in human demand, but rather to improvements in the calculation methodology that enable us to more adequately capture the extent of overshoot. (For example, our latest data show the world has less biocapacity available, primarily in the area of grazing land, than previously estimated.)

"We would expect our estimates of overshoot to be, if anything, conservative." Wackernagel said. "We know we are far from living within the means of one planet. The good news is, much of the technology we have to begin to address this problem is available and it is open source: things like compact urban design, energy-efficient housing, ecological tax reform, removal of resource subsidies, safe and affordable family planning, bicycles, low-meat diets, and life-cycle costing."

Photo by SqueakyMarmot/flickr/Creative Commons

Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Business

by Brad Berman

Hardcore gearheads use the term “appliance” to put down electric cars. But those EV haters don’t realize that gas-powered racers have nothing on electric cars—loaded with low-end torque—when it comes to pure driving pleasure. Like it or not, in a world where computerized devices dominate our lives, it’s inevitable that cars will morph into high-tech mobility appliances.

That change is evident from how some electric cars will be sold and serviced. Migros, the Swiss retailer known mostly as a supermarket chain, last week announced a deal to sell Think City electric cars in more than 600 stores across the country. The battery-powered cars are part of the store’s new division called M-Way.

Best Buy, the electronics store, is talking with a number of manufacturing partners about selling electric cars. “We are very serious about the business," said Leo Raudys, the Best Buy senior director of environmental affairs. In April, he told MarketWatch, "Electric cars are basically computers on wheels. We expect to play a big part in it."

Best Buy is already testing the use of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car for use by its Geek Squad repair and installation staff. The Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle is among the electric-transport offerings at Best Buy. Also expect to see free electric car charging at Best Buy parking lots.

Costco has about 100 electric car charging stations at approximately 65 locations. Most of them were installed in California during the previous wave of electric cars. Costco had plans to sell a couple of less-than-fully-capable Chinese EV makers—but you could see how the Costco Auto Program could add more bona fide electric cars from new start-ups.

In June, Coda Automotive announced that it will contract with Firestone to have technicians trained to do warranty work at 75 Firestone retail locations. Kevin Czinger, Coda CEO, used the analogy of the "Genius Bar" at Apple retail stores.

Of course, Nissan, Chevy and Ford dealerships will be the main outlets for mass-market plug-ins. But let’s not forget that consumers consistently rank the interaction with car dealerships as the least desirable part of the car buying experience. In that light, ditching the car salesman in favor of an EV specialist at big box appliance outlet might become one of the best things about the EV revolution.

Reprinted with permission from PluginCars

by Dave Dempsey

Anyone who has seen the previous works of Minnesota photographer Ed Wargin knows he has an exquisite eye for beauty. Ed’s numerous books include Lake Michigan: A Photographic Portfolio. This time, he has surpassed himself with an ambitious new endeavor, The Fresh Coast Project. Ed explains that the goal is to assemble a body of artistic and historical photographs on film of the natural and human-made Great Lakes land and waterscapes. The Lakes contain almost 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water.

An interesting part of the project’s rationale is that Ed believes, along with other professional photographers, that the end of the era of film is at hand. Before that day comes, he wants to record the Lakes on film to preserve an archival record that can be compared against in 100 years or more. Here is an interview:

Don’t we have plenty of photos of the Great Lakes? How is this project going to be different?

Many photographers have photographed segments of the Great Lakes or the individual lakes, but to the best of my knowledge, there hasn’t been a photographic project that encompasses the entire Great Lakes basin as one region, one whole. The aim of The Fresh Coast Project is to do just that, to capture the visual Great Lakes as one complete story. Film images, in contrast to digital images, are archival and unquestionable. Film allows us a permanent, undisputed piece of evidence of time and place. With that, I am attempting where possible, to set each film image with GPS coordinates.

Who is your intended audience? And why?

Ultimately, [the purpose] is to show the world the unrivaled beauty of the Great Lakes and to provide context to the challenges and opportunities we may see in the years ahead. But equally important, this is for the citizens of the Great Lakes basin, which is home to over 25 million people. To us in this region, the Great Lakes is our Yosemite, it is our Grand Canyon, our Redwood Forest, our Everglades. I think it’s important for all of us to understand what we have to gain by appreciating and protecting these waters for generations to come. They are a gift of nature, and we need to pass on a legacy of concern, gratitude, pride and stewardship to younger generations. Quite honestly, there are a policy folks who make critical decisions – and they do so from offices in urban areas. How many of our policy makers really know the Great Lakes in the same way the people who live among them do? In that way, we need all the supporting documentation we can build.

How challenging is this going to be technically?

The two biggest challenges facing this project are funding and time. In less than four years, film will start to become a distant memory and there is the potential in the coming months for film to be eliminated even sooner than scheduled. I am moving against time. Funding is particularly challenging, and our economy is the reason. I probably don’t need to say anything more than that.

Do you think there will be a market for photography like yours (and specifically from this project) in a coffee table book format or do you think that audience is fading away?

There will always be an audience for imagery, and an audience of people who love the Great Lakes. But the way an audience connects with the subject matter, regardless of what that might be, is where the changes are occurring. In our studio, we understand this evolution, and are doing all we can to learn and to change with the way information is shared and absorbed. I’ve done several coffee table books in the past; Voelker’s Pond, A Robert Traver Legacy, Michigan The Spirit of the Land, Legends of Light, etc., and those books connected with their audiences very well. However, we know that book publishing is changing radically, and this creates concern and optimism both.

Books will always be around, but our social definition of a book might change years from now. Twenty-somethings view information exchange much differently than my generation, and it’s necessary to provide information in ways that work for various needs. We are working hard to provide the information in diverse ways so we connect with the various creative ways people want to connect with us. I can’t say for sure what the final outcomes will be for this project, but as it stands right now – the final work will be part of a major coffee table book and a fine art exhibition, which is set to travel around the country when available. For immediate needs, we have a blog, a Facebook page, a website, and are constantly evaluating new ways to create publications.

How have the Lakes changed during your lifetime and what are your hopes for them?

In the past ten years, I’ve seen the lakes and shores change a great deal. Many locations of expanse that I once photographed with ease are now private to cottage dwellers and second homeowners. There are locations that are now so heavily littered, I am not sure anyone would want to set foot on them with bare feet. This is a sad reflection upon our own consumer behaviors, and I don’t think people realize how one simple bad habit can when combined with those of others can create a ripple effect that hurts what they love most – the shores.

But this is a project of optimism, of excitement, and joy for our Great Lakes. This is an exciting time to be a photographer – straddling the historic chasm of one craft (film) becoming obsolete as another (digital) becomes mainstream. It is a time of adventure and exploration – through film – and when I reflect upon the fact that some of these images may be the last taken on film, it motivates me to work on behalf of the Great Lakes every day. My hope is to set a benchmark.

How can people support the project?

I’m actively seeking support of this project as I move forward. Anyone interested is welcome to contact me through project website at http://www.thefreshcoastproject.com and I welcome inquiries for institutional and corporate sponsorships.

Reprinted with permission from Ecolocalizer

by Susan DeFreitas

Move over, Segway, here comes the Electric Personal Transporter. Offering “effortless, smooth 12-14 mph transport” over the pavement of your choice, this four-wheeled “vehicle” appears to offer the benefits of an electric bike (at a similar price point) for those more inclined to stand than sit.

The Personal Transporter is powered by two 500-watt electric motors housed within the hub of each 16" drive wheel. These motors provide forward and reverse motion, while balance and steering are handled by two trailing 3 1/2" wheels. Adjust your speed at the handlebars; a hand-brake enables “confident stops.” The steel-reinforced deck of the Personal Transporter is covered by a rubber pad that ensures reliable footing, and it comes with a removable handled basket for easy toting. It includes a headlight and horn.

The Personal Transporter folds up to less than 18" high for convenience in storage, and will power a rider weighing up to 350 pounds for up to 20 miles on a single, one-hour charge. Available in Red, Blue, or Silver for $1,895.00.

Reprinted with permission from EarthTechling

Given the intermittent nature of wind and solar, it is becoming increasingly clear that these technologies need a side-kick known as energy storage in order to get the full value of these renewable sources. Energy storage allows electricity produced by wind and solar, during off peak demand times, to be better matched when the electricity is needed. A major driver of growth of both the wind and solar industries has been favorable tax credit treatment. Acknowledging this fact, Congress has been working on game changing legislation aimed at the energy storage industry. On July 20, U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced The Storage Technology of Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010 Act (STORAGE Act 2010 – S. 3617) revision to the Storage Act introduced in 2009.

There are three broad categories of storage covered by the proposed law are:

1) Utility-scale bulk storage.

2) Commercial business on-site storage.

3) Residential on-site storage.

The proposed law allocates $1.5 billion of tax credits for energy storage technologies deployed on the electricity grid.

For utility-scale, the Storage Act contemplates a 20 percent investment tax credit up to $30 million for any one project. The size of the storage system must be at least 1 MW of capacity with a rated output of at least one hour. For commercial business on-site storage, the Storage Act provides a 30 percent tax credit, up to $1 million for deployment of energy storage on premises to better manage electricity requirements, or provide a temporary resting spot for excess electricity produced on the grid. Systems must have a capacity of at least five kilowatts that can be discharged over four hours, or the energy equivalent 20 kilowatt hours. For residential on-site storage, the proposed law contemplates a 30 percent tax credit for systems that can store on-site the energy equivalent of at least of 500 watts of electricity for four hours, or two kilowatt hours of energy.

While it is very difficult to predict how the legislative processes will turn out, it appears that the Storage Act is close to becoming reality, most likely in 2011. If so, it should serve to transform the energy storage industry that Pike Research forecasts could reach 30 gigawatts by 2020.

Photo by ">the_matt's photostream/flickr/Creative Commons

David Link is a senior analyst at Pike Research with a focus on energy storage, distributed energy generation, advanced battery technologies, and fuel cells.

Social media expert Mitch Joel recently spoke to a business lunch audience here in Burlington, and one big point he made may have burst a little bubble for many a company considering a jump onto Facebook or Twitter because “everyone’s doing it.” In fact, I’d argue strongly that the point Joel made in the form of a one-word question should also, and always, be applied to any discussion of sustainability as well. That magic word is “why.” And, what a telling starting point for any company’s sustainability commitment asking that question would be!

Back to the social media example for a minute: It’s pretty common for a brand to enter into it by sitting down with their marketing team and asking “What’s our Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn strategy?” Think about it. Especially when it should be about building strong, authentic relationships with consumers, shouldn’t the first discussion really answer this question instead: “Why be on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn?” From there, Joel argues, and I agree, you can back up into your strategy and tactics.

In the same way, sustainability has a “why” problem. Any marketing tactic that comes off as greenwash, for example, is likely something that started with, for very generalized example, the question: “what’s our sustainability strategy,” and not “why are we pursuing sustainability?” Instead, think about some of the answers that might have come up if “why?” was asked first:

- Our particular customers expect it.

- Our facilities and fleet will function more efficiently and save us money.

- Our mission from the start has been to serve our local community responsibly.

Going backward from there, you might get to “how”/”what”answers like these:

- Let’s audit our processes and products, and start to communicate where we are on our sustainability path- and where we plan to go.

- Let’s audit our processes and reward stakeholders, employees included, for making suggestions we can use.

- Let’s form an advisory board of community members, even the ones who may not be our direct customers, and see what their concerns are and how our company can do a better job addressing them.

In the above examples, starting with “why” has helped keep sustainability front and center – as it should be.

So, here’s the thing: sustainability is an investment, not a quick-fix or sexy sound byte. Asking “what’s our strategy?” before “why?” may well deliver that short-term, looks-good-on-paper ROI. However, in order to deliver a return that endures, whether we’re talking about social media connections or sustainability interconnections, the “what” must be founded on “why.”

Andrea Learned is an author (Don't Think Pink), blogger, and expert on gender-based consumer behavior, with a focus on sustainability influence and communication. In addition to her blog (http://learnedon.com), Andrea contributes to the Huffington Post and provides commentary for Vermont Public Radio.

Customer push back on smart meters in regions of the country such as California, Colorado and Texas will likely be a short-term phenomenon...unless utilities don’t learn from their mistakes. They ought to start thinking about how to serve their customers and not just themselves.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, several communities – the most recent being Fairfax in Marin County – have successfully stopped Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) from installing smart meters pending further evaluations about accuracy, security and public health.

Some market participants estimated that roll-outs of “virtual power plants” based on demand response (DR) programs could likely be delayed by one year until these consumer resistance issues are worked out. Without smart meters, one cannot build a VPP, whether tapping generation or DR resources.

The majority of consumer opposition to smart meters is based on complaints of higher electricity prices. A social concern is “Big Brother” monitoring individual customer’s energy use patterns and habits – and even controlling devices in one’s own home. A “wild card” issue stems from emerging science. Just as cell phone technology and other wireless devices are coming under attack from public health advocates worried about links to cancer from exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and radio frequencies (RF), these potential health risks may also pop up with any business model dependent upon wireless communications, including smart grids.

DC-based electric systems are less susceptible to these issues, so DC-based microgrids may have an advantage over VPPs in this regard. Any VPP or microgrid dependent upon wireless signals may fall prey to this criticism. Inverters used to convert solar and wind from DC to AC may also suspect.

There are filters to address these concerns about this kind of “dirty electricity,” and the military has been relying upon these filters for years. Forward-looking component manufacturers selling into the smart grid market could incorporate these filters at a price premium. Another approach, which is being deployed in Japan and much of Europe, is relying on fiber optic networks instead of wireless signals. Google has reportedly purchased large swaths of “dark fiber” – unused fiber optic networks – and could ultimately become a purveyor of ultra-premium smart grid technology, infrastructure for VPPs that would then be immune from the perceived health threats possible with the current explosion of EMF and RF permeating society.

Yet another advantage of fiber optics is this: the potential security threats associated with a large-scale reliance upon wireless networks, an issue currently being examined by state regulators in Colorado and California.

In the long run, the push to empower consumers with more real-time information so they can reduce electricity consumption when prices are high is inevitable, and a logical evolution of technology trends.

Still unanswered is consumer acceptance of the idea of taking more responsibility for on-site energy management. A few VPP advocates offer a contrary view. The current consumer push back is good for this market since utilities will not be able to get away with saying they installed the smart meters, and they are now done. “We need to hold the feet of the utilities to the fire, to really open up the market and create a level playing field and leverage the current CDE base to provide a variety of grid services,” said one representative from one leading developer of VPPs.

Photo by the prodigal untitled 13/flickr/Creative Commons

Peter Asmus is an analyst at Pike Research specializing in renewable energy.

The US EPA continues to take on what Congress has failed to do. One of the barriers for energy companies is the patchwork quilt of regulations spanning 48 adjacent states, each with their own set of rules. EPA, which has been mandated by the Supreme Court to control Green House Gases under the US Clean Air Act, is creating some order as they set guidelines that states must include in their permitting process. Their process is not only adding a blanket of regulatory certainty, but putting in place a process for the states and federal regulators to work more effectively together.

How they are doing this, is by proposing two rules to ensure that businesses planning to build new, large facilities or make major expansions to existing ones will be able to obtain Clean Air Act permits that address their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the spring of 2010, EPA finalized the GHG Tailoring Rule, which specifies that beginning in 2011, projects that will increase GHG emissions substantially will require an air permit. Today’s rules will help ensure that these sources will be able to get those permits regardless of where they are located.

The Tailoring Rule covers large industrial facilities like power plants and oil refineries that are responsible for 70 percent of the GHGs from stationary sources. The proposals announced today are a critical component for implementing the Tailoring Rule and would ensure that GHG emissions from these large facilities are minimized in all 50 states and that local economies can continue to grow.

The Clean Air Act requires states to develop EPA-approved implementation plans that include requirements for issuing air permits. When federal permitting requirements change, as they did after EPA finalized the GHG Tailoring Rule, states may need to modify these plans.

In the first rule, EPA is proposing to require permitting programs in 13 states to make changes to their implementation plans to ensure that GHG emissions will be covered. All other states that implement an EPA-approved air permitting program must review their existing permitting authority and inform EPA if their programs do not address GHG emissions.

Because some states may not be able to develop and submit revisions to their plans before the Tailoring Rule becomes effective in 2011, in the second rule, EPA is proposing a federal implementation plan, which would allow EPA to issue permits for large GHG emitters located in these states. This would be a temporary measure that is in place until the state can revise its own plan and resume responsibility for GHG permitting.

States are best-suited to issue permits to sources of GHG emissions and have long-standing experience working together with industrial facilities. EPA will work closely and promptly with states to help them develop, submit, and approve necessary revisions to enable the affected states to issue air permits to GHG-emitting sources. Additionally, EPA will continue to provide guidance and act as a resource for the states as they make the various required permitting decisions for GHG emissions.

EPA will accept comment on the first proposal for updated state implementation plans for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. EPA has scheduled a hearing on the second proposal for the federal implementation plan on August 25, 2010, and will accept comment for 30 days after that hearing. The agency is working to finalize these rules prior to January 2, 2011, the earliest GHG permitting requirements will be effective.

Reprinted with permission from The Green Economy

A few weeks ago I was talking with Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials—a green construction products company based in California—about windows and R-Value. Windows are notoriously inefficient, allowing expensively heated and cooled air inside a building to escape with impunity. But specially designed windows with a high R-Value can help. The higher a window’s R-Value, the better it keeps in heat on cold days and cool air on hot days, saving the building’s owner a small fortune in heating and cooling costs.

But when it comes to single-family homes, Surace said, most homeowner are clueless, opting for low-end, relatively inefficient double pane windows, even though paying a little more for better insulated windows saves a lot of money in the long run. When I asked why homeowners aren’t hipper to the value of R-Value, his answer surprised me. “Because they haven’t heard our story,” he said. “There are hundreds of companies selling energy efficient windows, each with its own sales pitch, and it can be hard to break through the clutter.”

Now, I don’t know much about the technical ins and outs of R-Value or energy efficient building materials. But I do understand the value of a well-told story. Surace’s comment resonated with me because telling stories about renewable energy—what it is, why it matters, and why people should care—is what I’ve been doing every day for the past year while working on my book. And whenever I get bogged down or lost in a whirl of notes and details, wondering how I’ll ever manage to pull it all together, I try to remind myself of the larger purpose—namely, to cut through the clutter and give readers a clear, cogent look at the renewable energy landscape, past, present, and future.

In short, I remind myself, storytelling is important. Too often, I think, the energy story is dominated by facts and figures, by megawatts and cost projections and other technical details that, while clearly relevant, can leave the non-industry insider cold. What we need more of, to my mind, are stories about energy on a human scale, stories that give the average person a sense of what’s at stake and why he or she should care. (A great example is a short promotional video produced by AFC Energy. Watch it here.)

In other words, we need more stories about the big energy picture. Which is where you, readers and contributors to Matter Network, come in. I’d like this blog to be a virtual space where readers share stories and idea about our energy past, present, and future. Why do the latest innovations in solar, wind, and electric vehicles matter? Why should the average person care? Why do you care? What’s your take on our exciting, every-changing energy landscape? Tell us your stories...

Photo by Honou/flickr/Creative Commons

Jeremy Shere is a science writer who is preparing the book "ReNEWable: Exploring the Past, Present and Future of Alternative Energy", for St. Martin's Press. See the book in progress at http://renewablebook.wordpress.com/.

The global market for sustainable packaging is forecast to reach $142.42 billion by the year 2015, according to a new report.

Increased awareness about environmental hazards related to disposal and recycling of packaging wastes, government initiatives to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and stringent regulations are driving the growth of sustainable packaging, according to Global Industry Analysts (GIA).

Sustainable packaging involves the use of sustainable raw materials such as recycled materials and renewable resources. Companies are offering novel packaging designs, with improvements in several key performance areas, such as environment-friendliness, simplicity, material saving, and cost reduction without compromising on ease of use and convenience.

Unlike other segments of the packaging industry, sustainable packaging registered impressive growth during the period 2008-2009, and has been immune to the economic downturn. Sustainability helped companies as a medium to cut costs and reduce packaging waste using recycled and reusable materials.

Europe and the US represent the largest regions for sustainable packaging, together accounting for more than 70 percent of the global market. With sustainable packaging progressively becoming a mainstream global trend, several companies are adopting green packaging as a marketing tool. In addition, manufacturers are presently under pressure to use environment-friendly materials, and adopt methods that require low-energy consumption and reduce adverse environmental impact of packaging.

Asia-Pacific is poised to witness the fastest growth in terms of use of green packaging, increasing at a CAGR of more than 10 percent during 2007 through 2015.

In terms of market segmentation, the recycled material constitutes for the largest packaging category, contributing for close to 90 percent of the total demand in the US. However, biodegradable are witnessing growing demand from the packaging industry, and represent the fastest growing segment. Biodegradable materials are easily decomposed by microorganisms, and reduce packaging waste. Among biodegradables, bioplastics are registering increased demand in the green packaging market.

Key markets using sustainable packaging include cosmetics and personal care, food and beverage, food service and shipping markets, healthcare, and others. The increased demand for sustainable packaging in these end-use sectors is evident by the recent product launches with sustainability features. Sustainable packaging is witnessing increased demand from cosmetic and personal care industries, mainly due to growing consumer preference for eco-friendly plastic packaging materials. More than 600 new beauty products with green label were introduced in Europe alone during the past two years.

Several food companies are announcing plans to switch to compostable biopolymer packaging. Meanwhile unlike the food and beverage, and cosmetic industries, the medical sector still lags behind for sustainable packaging materials. Cost and regulatory concerns, poor recycling infrastructure, and limited consumer demand are few factors responsible for restricting the medical device and pharmaceutical industries to switch to sustainable packaging.

Key players in the global sustainable packaging market include Associated Packaging Technologies Inc., Amcor Ltd., Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), Bemis Company Inc. (NYSE: BMS), Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc. (UZZB.F), Constar International Inc. (QCN.F), Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCK), Earthcycle Packaging Ltd., EnviroPAK Corp., E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE: DD), Georgia-Pacific LLC, Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE: GPK), Huhtamaki Oyj, Innovia Films Ltd., MeadWestvaco Corp. (NYSE: MWV), NatureWorks LLC, Owens-Illinois Inc. (NYSE: OI), Pactiv Corp. (NYSE: PTV), Plantic Technologies Ltd. (PLNT.L), Plastipak Packaging Inc., Printpack Inc., Rexam Plc., Saint-Gobain SA, Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE), Silgan Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLGN).

In Related News...

A packaging material made of mushroom roots and agricultural waste is lowering its energy footprint further with new sterilizing technology.

Read Reuters coverage at the link below.

Website: planetark.org/wen/59148

Photo by Tktktk/Wikimedia/Creative Commons

Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Business