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1. Energy Data Aggregator AMEE's Investor List Grows
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2. California Passes Landmark Climate Plan, Adopts Cap-and-Trade
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3. Cut back your consumption & RENT-A-TOY this holiday season!
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4. EU Funds Cleantech Projects, Approves Masdar Grant
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5. Lightwave Power Gets $13M from Quercus Trust, 21 Ventures
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6. IS IT GREEN?: Portland, Oregon
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7. SunPower Goes Small-Scale with Latest Deals
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8. Apple Debuts the Greenest Macbooks Ever
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9. BlackLight Says It's Signed County Coop As First Customer
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10. Meraki Rolls Out Solar-Powered Wifi Repeaters
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11. Daily Sprout
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12. Report: Obama Should Spend $100B on Green Stimulus
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13. GREEN GIFT GUIDE: Green Gadgets
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14. San Francisco Green Team Spared the Ax — for Now
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15. GREEN GIFT IDEAS: Let's All Go Out to an Eco-Friendly Restaurant! Here are the Top 10 in the U.S.
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16. Korean Subway to Put Regenerative Braking to the Test
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17. Energy-Generating Floors to Power Tokyo Subways
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18. Tenaska & Soltage Invest in New PV Development
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19. Suniva Opens Solar Cell Factory
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20. OG&E Issues RFP for 300 MW of Wind Power
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21. EnerWorks's Collector Earns Highest ecoENERGY Program Rating
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22. Westfield Energizes Solar Array On Ice Rink Rooftop
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23. Revised NanoMarkets Numbers Show Thin Film and Organic Photovoltaic Materials Markets at $2.4 billion by 2011
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24. New EIA report demonstrates hydropower's critical - and unique - role in climate management
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25. Solectria Renewables and NexAmp, Inc. Deliver PV System for Renowned Construction Supplier, Boston Sand & Gravel
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26. Westfield Energizes Solar Array on Ice Rink Rooftop
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27. Focus Solar launches Spanish website
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28. Have A Recycled Holiday Season
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29. VIDEO: A tour of the Eco-Friendly Translucent M-Cube Home
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30. Old Coal Mines Adapted to Generate Geothermal Energy
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31. Breaking News - help save handmade toys in the USA - sign the online petition!
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32. Nissan Altima Hybrid: The Fuel Economy Test Drive
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33. Better Place Makes Electric Vehicle Grids a Reality
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34. GREEN GIFT GUIDE: For Tots
Energy Data Aggregator AMEE's Investor List Grows
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
Determining energy consumption and carbon emissions is all about data, data, data — how to organize it and what to do with it. And companies using software and web tools to deal with such energy-related data are increasingly gaining the support of investors. Among them is AMEE, which stands for Avoiding Mass Extinctions Engine, a British startup that’s aggregating the world’s energy and carbon data in order to determine the carbon footprint of just about anything. It was previously disclosed in a regulatory filing that AMEE had raised $1 million from O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures in a Series A round (seed funding arm of the media company), but the startup announced today the participation of two additional investors: Union Square Ventures and The Accelerator Group.
AMEE was launched by Gavin Starks in 2007 and has managed to work with customers like the UK government, Morgan Stanley, Google, Radiohead, and Sun. AMEE provides the data engine for web-based carbon services and footprints — see Google’s UK Carbon Footprint Project. We’re not sure of the total amount raised from all three investors in the Series A, but Starks tells us it’s in the seven-figure (GBP) range. The financing will be used to grow AMEE’s data sets and customers.
Software, web services and IT tools will be crucial to ushering in an era in which energy consumption and carbon emission data is calculated for everything from a company’s supply chain to your the small daily actions of individuals. AMEE’s goal is to add accuracy and transparency to that process. AMEE founder Starks will also be giving a talk at our Green:Net conference on March 24th in San Francisco. Come check out his thoughts on how everyone and everything will have a carbon ID!
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California Passes Landmark Climate Plan, Adopts Cap-and-Trade
Josie Garthwaite - Carbon Markets
The California Air Resources Board has unanimously approved a sweeping plan for reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels — an average cut of four tons of annual emissions per person — by 2020. Outlining rules for nearly every sector of California’s economy, the plan represents the country’s most comprehensive strategy for curbing climate change and fostering a low-carbon (read: cleantech) economy.
ARB chairman Mary Nichols, who looks like she’ll be passed over for a spot in President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming administration, called the plan “California’s prospectus for a more secure and sustainable economy.” She added that the scheme would encourage investment in energy efficiency and renewables while creating hundreds of thousands of green jobs in California.
Today’s vote came about as a result of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or AB 32, which set the 2020 emissions target and required the air resources board to develop a plan for meeting it. Since a draft of the plan first appeared on the board’s web site in October, it has been downloaded more than 250,000 times and staffers have received more than 43,000 comments. Here’s how the board explained the key elements in today’s release:
An important component of the plan is a cap-and-trade program covering 85 percent of the state’s emissions. This program will be developed in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative, comprised of seven states and four Canadian provinces that have committed to cap their emissions and create a regional carbon market. Additional key recommendations of the plan include strategies to enhance and expand proven cost-saving energy efficiency programs; implementation of California’s clean cars standards; increases in the amount of clean and renewable energy used to power the state; and, implementation of a low-carbon fuel standard that will make the fuels used in the state cleaner.
Other steps outlined in the plan include tightening regulation of emissions from trucks and ships docked in California ports — a move estimated to cost the trucking industry $5.5 billion. Not surprisingly, that doesn’t sit well with Driving Toward a Cleaner California, an advocacy group of truckers, farmers, and contractors. As the Los Angeles Business Journal reports, the group has denounced the plan as “the nation's most stringent new emissions regulations that could also be the most costly and far-reaching rule that business has yet to face."
Businesses from a variety of sectors — not just electric car startups hoping to fill those showrooms, but also wine and finance — and environmental watchdogs have largely registered support for the board’s plan.
How about Joe the Californian — what does it mean for him? The Associated Press explains:
Air regulators said the average Californian could see more fuel-efficient cars and plug-in hybrids on showroom floors; better public transportation; housing nearer to schools and businesses; and utility rebates to make their homes more energy-efficient.
Sounds pretty great, huh? Oh wait, there’s more (again from AP):
But there will also be costs: Cars could become more expensive, and Californians can expect higher electric rates as utilities increase their use of renewable energy. Homes built with energy-efficient materials could also prove more costly, as could gasoline reformulated to release less carbon dioxide.
…all of which means big opportunities for entrepreneurs and companies developing green cars and building materials, energy management systems, renewable energy, and on and on.
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Cut back your consumption & RENT-A-TOY this holiday season!
Jill Fehrenbacher - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide
Lots of people are feeling the pinch of the souring economy and cutting back their holiday spending. It may smart a little, but now is a prefect time to rethink your consumption habits and find more economical and eco-friendly ways to celebrate holiday giving this year. Cutting back on buying things is great way to go a bit more green. One great idea that we’ve spotted recently is renting toys for your kids instead of buying them with a clever company called RentAToy.
READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >
EU Funds Cleantech Projects, Approves Masdar Grant
David Ehrlich - Big Green
As the UN climate change talks continue in Poland, the European Commission announced today that it’s picked the first set of investments for its Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund. This first round will funnel €22 million ($29.3 million) into small-scale renewable energy projects in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
The very well-funded thin-film solar firm Masdar PV also picked up some funding today, with the European Commission approving €28 million in aid from Germany. Masdar PV is backed by oil-rich Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Initiative.
The €22 million of the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund, meanwhile, will be invested in two regional funds, one focused on projects in sub-Saharan and southern Africa, the other in Asia with a focus on India. The commission said regional projects including wind power, small hydro, biomass and methane recovery will get financing.
According to the commission, 1.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to reliable energy services. The EU hopes to help change that with its global fund, which has received €110 million in commitments from the European Commission, Germany and Norway through 2011. The fund is targeted at investments under €10 million, which the commission said are mostly ignored by private investors and international finance institutions. In addition to Africa and Asia, the fund is looking at projects in the Caribbean, the Pacific, Latin America, and non-EU Eastern Europe.
Masdar, which announced earlier this year that it would put $2 billion into manufacturing thin-film photovoltaic solar modules, is getting a break on some of that cash from the German government with the €28 million in regional investment aid. Germany needed to get authorization from the European Commission for the grant under EU rules.
Masdar PV is setting up a €143 million thin-film solar module factory in Germany, with the project expected to create at least 184 new jobs. The Abu Dhabi-backed group, which is also putting up a solar factory in its home country, has already made at least one distribution deal for its planned solar modules, with Germany’s Colexon announcing earlier this week that it signed a strategic partnership with Masdar PV for more than 150 megawatts of solar modules. That contract runs until 2013.
Masdar PV’s first production site in Erfut, Germany, is expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2009, with the Abu Dhabi factory going on-line in the second quarter of 2010. The company said both sites will initially reach a total production capacity of 210 MW per year.
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Lightwave Power Gets $13M from Quercus Trust, 21 Ventures
Josie Garthwaite - Energy
Solar startup Lightwave Power said today it has closed a Series A round of just over $13 million, with Quercus Trust leading the investment and 21 Ventures co-investing. Lightwave co-founder Lawrence Kaufman told us the funding began in June, just six months after the company launched and began licensing technology from MicroContinuum, a decade-old developer of “roll-to-roll processes,” often used for making electronics on rolls of flexible plastic or metal foil.
Lightwave, which shares its Cambridge, Mass. office and half of its founding team with MicroContinuum, combines roll-to-roll processing, nanotechnology and photovoltaics — much like Nanosolar, a relative heavyweight in the market Lightwave wants to enter. The company is working on large, flexible films that it says can be added to existing solar cells at low cost for efficiency of up to 85 percent. Kaufman said the films, stamped with arrays of repeating metals, would be “helpers” for silicon crystal, amorphous silicon, or other solar cells, and could be licensed to companies like Nanosolar.
Lightwave is also working on optical antennas that, like solar panels and unlike the films, would turn solar energy into electricity — rather than being “stuck on anyone else’s solar cells,” Kaufman said. As explained in a straightforward video on the MicroContinuum site (at the bottom of this page), these thin sheets, made with plastic and common metals, are printed with arrays of nano-antennas that can capture infrared radiation. Think TV antennas, but much smaller so they pick up much smaller wavelengths.
The deal announced today marks yet another step into the solar sector for David Gelbaum’s quiet Quercus Trust, at least three-quarters of whose holdings lie in solar technology. We’re waiting to see if Lightwave will keep pace with its Quercus-funded brethren, which now includes Sencera, GridPoint and Open Energy.
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IS IT GREEN?: Portland, Oregon
Adrianne Jeffries - Policy
This week's Is It Green comes to you from the lush city of Portland, Oregon. I have lived in many cities, from Los Angeles to New York City to the suburbs of DC to Singapore. I have traveled to many more cities – Key West, Montreal, Tokyo – and can say that Portland embodies the culture of sustainability more than any of them. From green transportation to sustainable agriculture and public policy, Portland offers a shining example that all cities should aspire to. Read on for an in-depth report on the city’s green merits.
SunPower Goes Small-Scale with Latest Deals
David Ehrlich - Big Green
Silicon Valley-based SunPower can still go big with solar, but today the company announced two installations that are under a megawatt each. In Western Australia, SunPower signed a deal to build a 505-kilowatt solar power plant for Horizon Power that SunPower said will be the largest solar power tracking system in the country. Closer to home, SunPower also announced the completion of a 554-kW system at the Wal-Mart store in Hanford, Calif.
The small-scale business seems to be doing well for SunPower, with its worldwide residential and small-commercial rooftop dealer network growing by more than 25 percent in the third quarter over the previous quarter. The company reported $377.5 million in revenue for the third quarter, with its Components segment, which includes those small installations, accounting for 49 percent of that revenue.
The Horizon Power installation will be built on two sites in the east Pilbara region of Western Australia, with construction expected to be complete by September 2009. The government-owned Horizon Power provides power to remote and regional communities and operations in the state.
SunPower entered the Australian solar market earlier this year when it acquired Solar Sales, an Australian distributor with a network of 30 dealers throughout the country.
In California, the Wal-Mart installation is expected to cover 15 percent of the Hanford store’s electricity. It’s part of a pilot project at the giant retailer to put in solar power systems at up to 22 Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs (also owned by Wal-Mart) and distribution centers in California and Hawaii.
A total of eight Wal-Mart locations in California will be getting SunPower solar installations by the end of this year, adding up to 4.2-MW. The other systems are going up in Porterville, Chino, Simi Valley, Brea, Orange, Lakewood, and Palmdale.
SunPower, which handles everything from the design and manufacturing of solar cells and products to the installation of commercial, residential and utility-scale solar power projects, scored two utility-scale deals over the summer.
In July, SunPower announced a contract for two big solar power plants for Florida Power & Light. SunPower will design and build the 25-megawatt and 10-MW plants and Florida Power will own and maintain the facilities. And in August, PG&E signed a deal to buy power from a 250-MW SunPower plant in Northern California, as well as from a 550-MW solar plant being built by OptiSolar.
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Apple Debuts the Greenest Macbooks Ever
Alexandra Kain - Graphics & Packaging
The folks at Apple recently debuted their latest line of sleek notebooks, and we were excited to hear that they’re the greenest Macs ever! They’ve removed many of the harmful toxins found in computers including mercury, arsenic and PVC and made the remaining parts nearly all recyclable. The software has also been redesigned to run on 30% less power than previous models, earning them Energy Star certification. And finally, Apple cut out nearly half of the bulky packaging to streamline their distribution and create less trash to bring home.
BlackLight Says It's Signed County Coop As First Customer
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
BlackLight Power — that startup with a supposedly physics-defying fuel-cell technology and $60 million in funding — says this morning that it has signed its first commercial license agreement with Estacado Energy Services, a subsidiary of Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative. Roosevelt is a small utility coop in east central New Mexico that serves eight communities, six of which boast populations of less than 300 persons and two of which are counties that have populations under 20,000.
The licensing agreement is definitely not a game-changing coup for the startup, but it demonstrates that there are utilities out there willing to take a chance on an experimental technology. BlackLight says Estacado will use its technology in a non-exclusive license to produce a maximum continuous thermal power up to 250 MW. Other than that, very little is explained in BlackLight’s press release, including when the fuel cell technology would be implemented or the cost of the deal, and we’re waiting to hear back from BlackLight and Roosevelt on the details.
There’s a lot of controversy over BlackLight’s process as it defies certain laws of quantum physics. Blacklight's founder and CEO, Randell Mills, has been creating controversy in the world of physics for years. But BlackLight is insisting that its technology is legit; the company says it has created a 50,000-watt prototype and has had its technology validated by Rowan University researchers. The company also says it’s raised $60 million from individual investors.
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Meraki Rolls Out Solar-Powered Wifi Repeaters
Jorge Chapa - Energy
Fans of Meraki’s innovative approach to accessible wifi will be excited to know that they recently unveiled a solar-powered wifi repeater capable of providing people in remote locations with access to the internet! Perfect for resorts, national parks, and rural areas, the elegant device is easy to set up, completely energy-independent, and runs on a state-of-the-art solar-charged battery.
Daily Sprout
Josie Garthwaite - Misc
Senate Could Snip Green Strings Attached to Auto Bailout: They made it through the House, but environmental clauses included in the $14 billion bailout plan for the auto industry may not survive a Senate vote. — Daily Green
Local Governments Vie for Energy-Efficient Public Works Projects: City and county leaders want the incoming administration to invest $18 billion of Federal Transit Administration money in clean-energy projects just waiting for “the cha-ching.” — Washington Post
Slipping Confidence in Renewable Energy Technologies: A new survey shows climate experts now have less faith in the potential for alternative energy to reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere over the next 25 years than they did a year ago. — NYT’s Green Inc.
Georgia Cleantech: Suniva opened a solar cell factory in the Atlanta metro area today and plans to create more than 100 jobs at the plant by the end of next year. — Press Release
Let the Predictions Begin: Terry Tamminen of Pegasus Capital Advisors predicts three sustainability trends for 2009: labels, virtual meetings, and zero waste. — Fast Company
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Report: Obama Should Spend $100B on Green Stimulus
Katie Fehrenbacher - Policy
Now that the credit crunch has blown a hole in investment and consumer spending and the housing market has crashed, President-elect Barack Obama will be looking to stimulate the economy through hundreds of billions of dollars in spending. A report from UBS Investment Research and the Center for American Progress lays out a plan for how Obama could spend $350 billion in a year, and the stunning part is this: The groups suggest that over $100 billion of that should be spent on green job and infrastructure investments (breakdown below).
That green stimulus spending will also help a variety of stocks, say analysts with UBS Investment Research. Analyst Jason Feldman says spending on building out the power grid and making it smarter will benefit smart meter company Itron, as well as electrical transmission and distribution builder Cooper Industries — and of course GE with its Ecomagination initiative. Analyst Stephen Chin says First Solar, Applied Materials and SunPower will benefit from a solar infrastructure build out.
Wondering what other sectors could see some of the suggested green stimulus plan? Here’s the breakdown:
- Green school construction and renovation, $7.3 billion
- Greening affordable housing, $5.0 billion
- Green job creation, $100.0 billion
That green job creation portion will include (but is only a portion of the spending):
- The Weatherization Assistance Program, $0.9 billion
- The Federal Energy Management Program, $1.3 billion
- Refundable residential energy efficiency tax credits, $5.0 billion
- Solar roofs on federal buildings, $3.5 billion
- Smart grid federal matching funds, $1.3 billion
- Building retrofits, $10.0 billion
- Energy efficiency and conservation block grants, $5.0 billion
- "Cash for Clunkers" rebates for older cars, $2.5 billion
- Electric transmission grid, $10.0 billion
- Advanced technology vehicle manufacturing and retooling, $7.5 billion
- Replacing aging buses and acquiring rail cars, $4.0 billion
- Local transit infrastructure, $8.0 billion
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GREEN GIFT GUIDE: Green Gadgets
Olivia Chen - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide
Every year we’re excited to see more and more exciting innovations in the clean tech industry, and happily many of these advancements are finally trickling down to greener consumer gadgets. From renewable mobile energy sources to greener materials and manufacturing, today’s gizmos are smarter, smaller, and more efficient than ever before. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite clean green devices that are sure to bring holiday cheer to the gadget geeks in your life.
San Francisco Green Team Spared the Ax — for Now
Josie Garthwaite - Policy
San Francisco — home of an ambitious solar incentive program, a Tesla-driving mayor who blogs against “drill baby drill,” and soon, electric vehicle infrastructure by Better Place — faces a staggering budget deficit for next year. Mayor Gavin Newsom revealed a plan for $71 million in spending cuts to this year’s budget at a Board of Supervisors Meeting late yesterday — significantly less than the $125 million anticipated by local media, but enough to put nearly 400 city employees out of work by February. An additional 313 positions (currently unfilled) will be eliminated.
Leading the way on many green initiatives when times were good, San Francisco’s response to falling revenues — a challenge shared by cities around the country as a result of the economic slowdown — could be a bellwether for cutbacks nationwide. Many of the city’s hallmark environmental programs, including the alternative fuels and renewable energy initiatives run by the Department of the Environment, remain secure in their funding because it does not come from the city’s general fund. “We’re safe this year and it’s looking good for the future,” said Mark Westlund, a spokesperson for the department, “as long as state funds are still there and people still pay their utility bills.”
For now, it looks like Newsom will also hang onto staffers working on climate change issues, but the green team may not have the same security as environment programs funded by state and federal grants, utility charges and garbage rates. The top climate aide’s six-figure salary, for example, is partially covered by the Municipal Transportation Agency, which faces cuts under Newsom’s plan. According to Brian Purchia, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, the fact that the team draws funds from different pots affords it some protection. (The Department of Health takes the biggest hit in Newsom’s proposal in part because it draws heavily from the general fund.) The group earns more than $1.6 million — a small fraction of the $576 million deficit projected for 2009-10, but the same amount cut from the Fire Department under Newsom’s plan for 2008. It may not escape the ax next time around.
Purchia told us today that fighting climate change remains a top priority. “The Mayor is committed to his core principles,” he said, “and one of them is the environment.” Asked if city staff working on climate issues would be affected by this year’s cuts, Purchia said, “No, not yet.” But given the outlook for 2009 and 2010 (Newsom called the budget situation “a magnitude that can only be described as a crisis”), he said that could change.
The more than $160,000-a-year climate aide position created earlier this year may be a particularly juicy target. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin called for its elimination today, and the San Francisco Chronicle has presented it as an example of eco-excess.
Here’s a look at the climate change-fighting team that was spared in this round of cuts, assembled by the Chronicle in February. As the Chron intro put it:
“At least 25 city employees work directly on initiatives related to climate-control efforts in San Francisco. Here is a sample of those jobs and what they are paid”:
- Mayor’s Office, $160,720: Director of climate protection initiatives
- Department of the Environment, $800,000: Eight-person Energy and Climate Program team led by a climate action coordinator — at a total cost of more than $800,000
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, $146,218: Projects manager for the climate action plan
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, $156,655: Assistant to the general manager for water enterprise (works on how climate change is going to impact the region’s water supply)
- San Francisco International Airport, $190,091: Manager of environmental services
- Municipal Transportation Agency, $116,584: Manager of emissions reductions and sustainability programs
*Salary figures include annual salaries and estimated benefits.
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GREEN GIFT IDEAS: Let's All Go Out to an Eco-Friendly Restaurant!...
susan - Sustainable Ideas
Do we need more stuff? No. But we all need to eat. And there's no lovelier gift for friends and family than gathering everybody together – and NOT cooking. Dining out is definitely a splurge, but the beauty of this gift is that the giver gets to enjoy it, too. Naughty, but nice. And if that isn’t the holiday spirit, then you can just put a lump of coal under my Chanukah tree.
So pick an eco-friendly restaurant in your neighborhood, and tell everybody, this is our gift: Friendship, fun, family spirit – and FOOD. There's no reason not to make it fine food, while you're at it. So here are the Top 10 Eco-friendly Restaurants that Bon Appéti magazine picked for 2008, where the fish is line–caught, the meat grass–fed, birds are cage–free and the rest is local, sustainable, organic and all-around mouth-watering (and oh yes, healthy).
1. Primo – Rockland, Maine
2. Firefly Grill – Effingham, Illinois
3. Hook – Washington, D.C.
4. Ubuntu – Napa Valley, California
5. Caf̩ Cenizo РMarathon, Texas
6. The Kitchen – Boulder, Colorado
7. La Provence – Lacombe, Louisiana
8. Spoonriver – Minneapolis, Minnesota
9. Blue Velvet – Los Angeles, California
10. Local Burger – Lawrence, Kansas
If none of these are in your neighborhood, go to the Certified Green Restaurant Association and find places that have been certified as green – or are working towards those estimable goals.
For more always delicious food ideas, go to Bon Appetit.
(Photo Credit: Local Burger restaurant)
Korean Subway to Put Regenerative Braking to the Test
David Ehrlich - Big Green
Ultracapacitors are getting a trial run on the South Korean subway system, with San Diego’s Maxwell Technologies announcing today that its ultracapacitor energy storage systems will be used in a regenerative braking demonstration by the Korean Railroad Research Institute.
A regenerative braking system can save the kinetic energy from braking for later use in acceleration, or feed that energy back into the grid. It’s also being used in some hybrid and electric cars, as well as in the development of Formula One racing cars.
According to Maxwell, ultracapacitors, a next-generation battery technology, can offer faster recharge and discharge rates over traditional batteries, making them ideal for regenerative braking systems, as well as for a burst of power for acceleration. Some reports say the technology could have the potential to replace traditional battery systems.
Texas-based EEStor, a stealthy competitor in the ultracapacitor field, has made its own strong claims about the power of its technology, but unlike Maxwell, EEStor has yet to ship any of its products.
Maxwell said it shipped 72 ultracapacitor modules to the contractor on the project, Korea’s Woojin Industrial Systems, earlier this year for testing on a light rail system, and delivered another 220 modules to Woojin in October for the subway demonstration. The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The smaller batch was used in a 750-volt DC system on Korea’s Gyengsan light rail transit track, with the bigger group of modules to be installed in a 1,500-volt DC system in the second quarter of next year.
In the light rail installation, Maxwell said preliminary testing projected that the system would reduce grid power consumption by more than 20 percent. If that’s matched in actual operation, the company said the regenerative braking system could save enough energy to recoup the initial investment in less than four years.
The New York subway system, one of the world’s largest, is already using regenerative braking in some of its rail cars and is looking at expanding its use of the technology, along with other energy-saving initiatives.
In addition to regenerative braking, Maxwell has also made deals for its ultracapacitors for use in consumer electronics, wind turbines, and industrial applications. In September, Maxwell announced a deal to supply its ultracapacitors to Germany’s LTi REEnergy for use in LTi’s blade pitch control system. Maxwell said its ultracapacitors will supply backup power for a safe system shutdown of the turbines in the event of a power failure.
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Energy-Generating Floors to Power Tokyo Subways
Jorge Chapa - Energy
When the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) decided to invest in alternative energy sources, it only had to look to its users for the perfect source of energy. Recently the company decided to update their Tokyo Station with a revolutionary new piezoelectric energy generating floor. The system will harvest the kinetic energy generated by crowds to power ticket gates and display systems!
Tenaska & Soltage Invest in New PV Development
Suniva Opens Solar Cell Factory
OG&E Issues RFP for 300 MW of Wind Power
EnerWorks's Collector Earns Highest ecoENERGY Program Rating
Revised NanoMarkets Numbers Show Thin Film and Organic Photovoltaic...
Solectria Renewables and NexAmp, Inc. Deliver PV System for Renowned...
Westfield Energizes Solar Array on Ice Rink Rooftop
Focus Solar launches Spanish website
Have A Recycled Holiday Season
jchait - Home & Garden
The holidays are the perfect time to put reuse to good use. Try the following…
Reuse holiday cards. Cut the fronts off and re-glue them to blank paper (recycled of course). Embellish as you like, and send.
Reuse holiday wrap. Each year save your holiday wrap for the next. You can also save holiday gift tags, bows, tissue paper, and packing materials for mailing gifts.
If you have to buy new wrapping paper, purchase recycled gift wrap.
Use oddball wrap. Wrap a gift in newspaper, old art projects, found vintage or thrift tins, a reusable bag, or an old box.
Use recycled table items for holiday parties and events.
Recycle holiday meal leftovers into your compost bin and turn it into great garden matter.
You can recycle your Christmas tree by buying a live tree, that you can then re-plant (not totally recycling, but you get the idea). You can even go extreme green, and decorate a tree outside instead of buying new.
Purchase recycled gifts and toys. All sorts of gifts can be bought used, and many companies make new items out of recycled goods. See gift ideas (many recycled) from Best Green Home Tips.
What other holiday reuse ideas can you come up with?
VIDEO: A tour of the Eco-Friendly Translucent M-Cube Home
Haily Zaki - Sustainable Building
Earlier this summer, Inhabitat got a chance to catch up with M Design’s eco-prefab architect Mark Baez in lovely Venice, CA when he gave us a personal tour of his M Cube home - the minimalist, modular, sustainable, and surprisingly affordable prefab residential development that he designed using his patented prefab modular building system. Designed based on traditional Japanese tatami and imperial units of measurement, M Cube may appear spartan at first glance but proves deceivingly comfortable once inside.
Old Coal Mines Adapted to Generate Geothermal Energy
Bridgette Steffen - Energy
Recently the town of Heerlen in the Netherlands repurposed an old abandoned coal mine into a brilliant source of geothermal energy. The project takes advantage of flooded underground mine shafts, using their thermal energy to power a large-scale district heating system. Dubbed the Minewater Project, the new system recently went online and provides 350 homes and businesses in the town with hot water and heating in the winter and cool water in the summer.
Breaking News - help save handmade toys in the USA - sign the online...
jchait - Home & Garden
Please head over to Tree Hugging Family today, to learn about the new Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) laws on toy making. These new laws will make it nearly impossible for parents and children to have access to green and handmade toys.
If you want green or handmade toy options available for your children you need to get involved.
Nissan Altima Hybrid: The Fuel Economy Test Drive
khallgeisler - Bikes & Cars
The first thing to note about the Nissan Altima Hybrid is that it makes use of the Toyota hybrid system. Nissan is working on its own proprietary hybrid system, but in order to enter the HEV market ASAP, they leased the technology from Toyota and dropped it into the Altima, giving the car an EPA mileage rating of 35 city, 33 highway. Not too shabby for a four-door sedan.
Since the hybrid system was thrown into the Nissan Altima almost on a whim, the gauges lack the depth of fuel economy information seen in other hybrids. The center gauge does display “EV Mode” when the car is running under electric power only, which makes for a fun mpg challenge for the driver. The key is to stay in EV Mode for as long as possible, or to get EV Mode to kick in while driving around. I found that with careful pedal work, I could do most of my Christmas shopping on electric power. That was cool.
The Nissan Altima Hybrid gets good marks for its safety — five-star ratings for front and side crashes — and its low carbon footprint. But the integration of the hybrid system into the existing Altima leaves a lot to be desired, especially at a base price of $25,070. I assume the Nissan hybrid system of the future will work more seamlessly in its own cars.
Top image courtesy Nissan USA.
Better Place Makes Electric Vehicle Grids a Reality
Bridgette Steffen - Solar Power
Lately the Better Place electric vehicle network has been expanding at an incredible rate, with Hawaii recently signing on for an electric vehicle grid and Israel recently unveiling the first completed plug-in charging spot. We recently touched upon the company when we covered California’s plans to become the electric vehicle capital of the US, but we wanted to go into more detail about Better Place and how their innovative electric vehicle network would work.
GREEN GIFT GUIDE: For Tots
Jill Fehrenbacher - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide
Shopping for any little ones this holiday season? We’ve got some great green gift ideas for you that allow you to purchase the most environmentally sensitive products for the tots in your life. From soy pebble crayons, to cute and cuddly knit gifts, to ornament toys, the Inhabitots Green Gift Guide has you covered for all your kiddie-shopping needs
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