Sunday, August 31, 2008

Pacific Gas deal will nearly double USA's solar power

Another proof of falling solar costs- A US based utility company will buy 800 megawatts of solar-generated electricity as they commented the price of solar has come to a point they feel comfortable doing it.


Pacific Gas deal will nearly double USA's solar power
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

Electric utilities are warming to solar power in a shift that promises to turbocharge a technology that has been hindered by high prices and slow consumer adoption.
Pacific Gas and Electric (PCG) in California announced last week it will buy 800 megawatts of solar-generated electricity from two companies, enough to light 239,000 homes. Within three years, PG&E will buy its solar energy from OptiSolar and SunPower, which plan to build the world's two largest solar farms in California as part of the deal.
It would nearly double the USA's entire solar-panel capacity. Driving the trend are solar's falling costs and state alternative-energy mandates.
Solar power has grown but still makes up well under 1% of U.S. power generation. More than 90% of solar panels have been installed on rooftops by maverick consumers and businesses. Utilities' embrace of solar energy will help push it to about 10% of power generation by 2025, predicts Ron Pernick, principal of research firm Clean Edge.
"Just a handful of utilities doing something big changes the scale of the entire market," says Julia Hamm of the Solar Electric Power Association.
Solar power typically has cost about twice as much as electricity from fossil-fuel-fired plants. But PG&E Vice President Fong Wan says prices in last week's deal approach electricity from natural-gas-fired plants. "The cost has come down to a point where we're comfortable doing it," he says.
Prices for solar-generated electricity have been falling, thanks largely to increasing manufacturing capacity and technological improvements, SunPower's Julie Blunden says. Other recent deals:
•Building farms. Florida Power & Light and Sempra Generation, a power wholesaler, each plan to build solar farms of up to 25 megawatts in Florida and Nevada, respectively.
•Purchasing power. CPS Energy in San Antonio, Duke Energy in North Carolina and Florida Municipal Power Agency say they'll buy solar power from suppliers willing to invest in new generation. That avoids upfront construction costs for utilities.
•Installing panels. Utilities are putting panels that feed into the grid on neighborhood roofs. That sidesteps the need for costly transmission lines. Southern California Edison last week began placing panels on 100 warehouses in the Los Angeles area. Duke Energy, Long Island Power Authority and Portland General Electric in Oregon plan similar initiatives.
With costs for traditional power plants rising and solar falling, "We see a convergence coming," Duke executive Owen Smith says.

(via.USA Today)

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Green Corporation

Another green news of mega corporation.

Energy Efficiency Saves Dell $3M
By GreenBiz Staff, GreenBiz
Published August 7, 2008

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Dell's three-tiered plan to neutralize its carbon footprint has reached its goal five months early and saved the company $3 million, Dell said Wednesday.
"It's a piece of our overall strategy and one we're pretty excited about," Dane Parker, Dell's director of environmental, health and safety, told GreenBiz.com.
The company announced last year its goal of becoming carbon neutral by late 2008. Since then, it focused on reducing energy consumption and buying renewable energy before offsetting the remaining emissions.
Overall, Dell lowered total energy demand by about 5 percent through efficiency projects such as lighting upgrades, HVAC retrofits, tweaking building temperature settings and shutting off computers not being used.
Most projects had a payback period of three years or less, Parker said. As the company moves beyond the low-hanging fruit, it is considering projects with longer ROIs, such as equipment upgrades for building controls. Dell's data centers, accounting for about 20 percent of its global power use, represent another opportunity for energy savings.
The company currently buys enough renewable energy to comprise 20 percent of its worldwide portfolio, the majority of it wind power. In the U.S., green power purchases meet a third of its demand. Dell now buys roughly 116 million kWh each year, compared to 12 million kWh in 2004.
Although the company met its goal early, it will continue looking for ways to weave additional efficiencies into its operations, Parker said. In addition to electronics waste efforts and more efficient products, Dell plans to reduce and reuse 99 percent of its waste by 2012.
"We're at 95 percent now," Parker said. "The last 4 percent doesn't sound like a lot but it's the hardest part."

(via. ClimateBiz)

Friday, August 29, 2008

JCPenny is installing their solar systems and wind turbines for 200 stores by year 2011.

JCPenney Adds Solar and Wind Power to Its Green Program
By GreenerBuildings Staff, GreenerBuildings
Published August 15, 2008

PLANO, Texas -- J.C. Penney Company is advancing its environmental program by hosting solar power systems and a wind turbine and by setting a goal of attaining Energy Star status at 200 or more stores by 2011.
SunPower Corporation of San Jose, Calif., will install solar power systems on the rooftops of 10 JCPenney stores. Four are in California in the cities of El Cajon, Palmdale, Redlands and Santa Clarita. Six are in New Jersey in Cherry Hill, Deptford, East Brunswick, Freehold, Wayne and Woodbridge. The systems will be financed, owned and operated by a third-party financier, from which JCPenney will purchase the solar-generated electricity under a SunPower Access power purchase agreement.
Broadstar Wind Systems, based in Dallas, Texas, will provide the technology for a hosting arrangement that will bring a Broadstar building-mounted AeroCam wind turbine system to JCPenney's 1.6 million-square-foot distribution center in Reno, Nev. JCPenney will purchase electricity generated by the system from Broadstar...

read the whole story here

(via. GreenBiz)

Move Business Forward

More and more businesses go GREEN now and treat it simply as their "overall optimization strategy":

Green Manufacturing Can Help 'Move Business Forward'
By GreenBiz Staff
Published August 15, 2008

LONDON, UK -- Manufacturers increasingly see green initiatives as a way to move business forward through cost savings, improved efficiency and reputation boost, according to a new survey.
Eyefortransport (EFT) turned to 300 North American executives overseeing manufacturing, operations and supply chains to gauge adoption and perception of green efforts. The results showed a majority see the price barrier to green manufacturing shrinking and a view that environmentally friendly practices can be successfully combined with traditional business practices.
"When asked how they view green manufacturing initiatives, 84 percent told us that they see them as part of an overall optimization strategy," said Katharine O'Reilly, EFT's senior vice president of environmental research. "This marks a major sea change, and implies that environmental programs are becoming part of the standard arsenal of strategies employed to boost innovation and optimize operations."
Ninety-five percent of respondents in the "Green Manufacturing: Adoption & Implementation 2008" said green manufacturing will increase and expand. Two-thirds believe in the existence of markets for greener, more expensive products. Leading drivers toward greener operations include the contribution to sustainability strategies, response to consumer interest and improving reputation.
Forty-three percent said eco-initiatives improved their bottom lines through better product quality and increased efficiency. Most -- 65 percent -- turned to recycling and reuse programs, followed by water reduction programs (58 percent), continuous improvement (54 percent) and energy management (50 percent).

(via. GreenBiz)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

All Solar!

Everything goes solar now!

Greencore's Solar-Powered Air Conditioner (Finally!)
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08.11.08



Is any Technology more Overdue than Solar-Powered Air Conditioning?
We've been writing for many years about how solar-powered air conditioning is a big "duh!", and should be used more widely. After all, it's when you have lots of sun that you need A/C the most, and anything that helps smooth out peak demand on the electrical grid can help delay the construction of new polluting power plants.

Greencore's Solar A/C System
The Greencore 10200 comes in two models: a fixed one, and a mobile version (which can be had with 2 or 4 batteries). Using a single 170-watt solar panel, it can keep a 600 square-foot room cool. One of the good design decisions was to make it run on DC current, so no AC inverter is needed and conversion losses are avoided.

We're not quite sure what they're doing here, but it looks cool.


The Greencore solar A/C system is actually a hybrid; when the sun isn't shining, it can use power form the grid, during off-peak hours, to charge its batteries. This is the kind of load shifting that can save money and smooth out demand.

You can see some specs here (pdf).
Two high-profile clients of Greencore are McDonald's and the US Navy. Both of them are testing solar air conditioner units.

It can be used for modular classrooms and construction trailers.


Solar Air Conditioning

SolCool: A Solar Air Conditioner
Solar Powered Air Conditioning Just Makes Sense
Small-Scale Solar Powered Air Conditioning Is Here (in Spain, Anyways)
Solar-Powered Air Conditioner About To Be Released

More on Greencore Solar Air Conditioner

Greencore Website
Solar Powered Air Conditioner Released

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Sustainability = Critical Business Strategy

Going green makes financial sense for businesses:

'The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits'
By GreenerBuildings Staff
Published August 1, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Companies that pass up a chance to green their existing commercial buildings may never recover from the losses resulting from greater operating costs, lower productivity, negative brand image and declining attractiveness to workers, according to a recent study.The study called “The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits” was co-authored by green real estate authority and consultant Charles Lockwood and Deloitte.It was based on a survey of organizations or companies whose existing buildings underwent a green retrofitting. Participants were asked what motivated them to consider the projects and what influenced their decisions.
Findings concluded that while savings from energy efficiency was a top goal, as cited by 75 percent of respondents, corporate environmental commitment was the leading motive. Another 75 percent of respondents reported improvement in employee health. One hundred percent of respondents experienced an increase in goodwill/brand equity."The value of green retrofitting helps demonstrate that sustainability is rapidly becoming a critical business strategy," said Chris Park, leader of Deloitte’s Enterprise.

(via. Greenerbuildings)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Corporations benefit from Solar




IKEA to Invest $77 Million in Clean Tech, Could Result in Solar Sales in Stores
Published August 8, 2008


LUND, SW -- IKEA plans to invest in $77 million in clean tech startups in the next five years with an eye to selling solar panels and other green tech products in stores or having suppliers use them, the Cleantech Group reported.
The plans emerged from the four-member IKEA Greentech group, which formed eight months ago, the report said.
IKEA established Greentech as its corporate venture arm to invest long term in clean tech solutions. Its mission is to identify and invest in marketable solutions that can be sold or used in IKEA stores or used by retailer’s suppliers, according to the
Cleantech Scandinavia organization.
Johan Stenebo, managing director for IKEA Greentech, is slated to speak on his firm’s strategy for external clean tech growth and the importance of organizations, such as the one he heads, as tools for green tech development later this year at Cleantech Scandinavia’s annual conference.
The investment plan is the latest example of the IKEA ethos that entwines the company’s mutual drives for environmental responsibility and business success.
In the United States, Swedwood North America — a subsidiary of the Swedwood industrial group within IKEA — is building a manufacturing facility in Danville, Va.
The 810,000-square-foot factory will be the Swedish firm’s first furniture production plant in the U.S. The site was chosen for its proximity to North American IKEA stores and distribution centers, a selection that enables IKEA and Swedwood to reduce transportation costs and environmental impacts. IKEA has 283 stores in 36 countries and territories; 35 are in the U.S. and another 11 are in Canada.
In October, the company will stop offering plastic shopping bags to U.S. customers. IKEA eased into its campaign to phase out the bags last year. It set a goal of halving use from 70 million bags to 35 million in 12 months, and as incentive to reduce consumption charged a nickel for a plastic bag and offered reusable bags for 59 cents apiece. The company donated the more than $300,000 in proceeds from the plastic bag sales to America Forests to plant trees.
The campaign and the donation program mirror IKEA programs in the United Kingdom, where plastic sacks were bagged in June, and in Australia, where the bags became history in December.




(via. GreenBiz)

Monday, August 25, 2008

How to green your electricity?

Jacob Hugger of TreeHugger gives us some tips on daily energy saving:




What’s the Big Deal?

The cost of electricity is going up (both in dollars and in environmental and health impacts) and it doesn’t show any signs of doing otherwise. About half of the energy in the American grid is coal generated. We won’t bore you with what you already know: coal is a really stinky, dangerous, nasty, unsustainable, and silly way to make power. By using less energy, and greening the electricity that we do use, we can lighten our footprint immensely. The subject of electricity and its environmental impacts is a massive one and we can’t cover every corner of it here. We hope that this brief guide can offer some solid suggestions for greening your electricity and use thereof...






Read more here



(via. TreeHugger)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

SOLAR vs. COAL

First Solar : Quest for the $1 Watt
By Richard Stevenson
First Published August 2008




PHOTO: Gehrlicher Solar
Before First Solar's manufacturing innovations, cadmium-telluride photovoltaic cells were the size of postage stamps; now the company makes them as big as window panes





PHOTO: juwi
First Solar's current production mostly goes into solar farms, like this 40-megawatt facility in Brandis, Germany.






Photo: Sven Kaestner/AP Photo; diagram: emily cooper
A rare look inside a First Solar plant—here, in Frankfurt/Oder, eastern Germany—gives away none of the company’s secrets, which involve manufacturing very large panels. The cell structure itself is known [see diagram below]; as in all thin-film designs, the active layers are built on an inert glass wafer.










Read to whole story here

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Green Dollar

Going green makes financial sense for businesses.


'The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits'
By GreenerBuildings Staff Published August 1, 2008


OAKLAND, Calif. -- Companies that pass up a chance to green their existing commercial buildings may never recover from the losses resulting from greater operating costs, lower productivity, negative brand image and declining attractiveness to workers, according to a recent study.The study called “The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits” was co-authored by green real estate authority and consultant Charles Lockwood and Deloitte.It was based on a survey of organizations or companies whose existing buildings underwent a green retrofitting. Participants were asked what motivated them to consider the projects and what influenced their decisions.
Findings concluded that while savings from energy efficiency was a top goal, as cited by 75 percent of respondents, corporate environmental commitment was the leading motive. Another 75 percent of respondents reported improvement in employee health. One hundred percent of respondents experienced an increase in goodwill/brand equity."The value of green retrofitting helps demonstrate that sustainability is rapidly becoming a critical business strategy," said Chris Park, leader of Deloitte’s Enterprise.





via. Greener Buildings

http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/08/01/the-dollar-and-sense-green-retrofits

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Solar for Home

Here is why you should start thinking about Solar:

Starting Investment of Solar Panels for Home Use
by Solar Panel World

Residential solar panel systems admittedly have beginning costs that are much higher than when power for everyday use originates from the local utilities or gas. This seemingly less expense brought about by the latter makes most home owners and builders decide on siding on the conventional power source.Still, it should be clearly explained that the solar panels for home use of today are not competitive with regards to costs and expenses. Right now, most solar power proponents not only fight for the home solar panels because of their environmental benefits, but it can likewise be an economical reason.





As years go by, conventional fuel as well as electricity is becoming more expensive; this makes solar panel systems more advantageous. And not only the solar panels for home use are cost-effective but solar water heaters likewise offer great savings for the users. It is shown that the water heaters’ expenses and costs are at least 50 percent lower than the electric heaters.Besides the possible savings, there are likewise local and state financial incentives as well as tax credits which will sharply decrease the cost in the end. Solar panel systems indeed are the best alternative when comes to finding ways to replace the conventional power source.