Thinking Energy
News
December 14, 2008
- Australia brings forward fund for 'solar revolution'
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called for a "solar revolution" on Sunday as he unveiled plans to bring forward a fund to promote renewable energy, writes Reuters. The AD500 million (USD329 million) fund's timescale would be brought forward from the original six-year plan to the next 18 months. "It's good for jobs. It's good for stimulus. It's good for acting on climate change," Rudd said of the move. He spoke just a day before a key announcement on Australia's greenhouse gas emissions targets. A policy document is due on Monday setting out Australia's official targets for emissions cuts and plans for carbon trading. Australia is expected to adopt a target of a 10 percent cut from 2000 levels by 2020. - 23 days
source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News) - Ten Eco Victories, Green-Based Prosperity, and Downturn Growth
- Amidst deepening recession, green fights back.
- Top 10 victories for the environmental movement in 2008.
- Can green firms grow in today's downturn?
- Architects say 47% of clients add green building elements.
- Take a head-on approach to green-based prosperity.
- Oregon governor seeks mandatory efficiency audits for home sales.
- The economic downturn has decimated recycled materials market.
- 24 days
source: (Jetson Green)
December 13, 2008
- UN climate talks: The train to Copenhagen on tracks
The UN climate conference in Poznań ended today with a clear commitment from governments to shift into full negotiating mode next year in order to shape an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be agreed in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. A key event, the ministerial round table on a shared vision on long-term cooperative action on climate change, gave a resounding commitment to achieving a comprehensive deal that can be ratified by all. The next major UN climate gathering will take place from 29 March to 8 April next year in Bonn, Germany. The first draft of a concrete negotiating text would be available at a gathering in Bonn in June of 2009. - 24 days
source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News) - Hydropower plant reaches milestone
The first large-scale hydroelectric plant in the UK for 50 years has had its first 24 hour period of full capacity operation.
- 25 days
source: (Renewables) - Wind turbines 'offer farmers big earnings'
Building a wind turbine on their land could see farmers multiply their earnings, it has been claimed.
- 25 days
source: (Renewables)
December 12, 2008
- Pallet Barn Updates by Hive Modular
You remember Paul Stankey of Hive Modular, right? We mentioned his container cabin about this time last year, and since that time, the rustic retreat has been showcased in probably every quality design magazine in the country. What interesting, however, is that Paul’s been working on phase two: A new project adjacent to the cabin. Paul was speaking with the folks at loll about their waste and came to find out that they have huge pallets sitting around. So he decided that the pallets could be put to clever use, I mean, they’re sturdy and heavy, weighing in at roughly 200 pounds each. He designed Pallet Barn.
They poured the footings and bootstrapped the pallets in place. It’s funny how a bone skinny structure like this can have such elegance and aesthetic. After the pallets were in place, they started work on the cladding and that’s pretty much where work is to this point. They built in some loft spaces, but the place will need some TLC in the form of finishing the siding, adding doors, and finishing the interiors.
If you recall, last June we mentioned another pallet project called Unit Load_Redux. Now with this Pallet Barn, I’m beginning to wonder if pallet reuse is now what container reuse once was ...
Image credits: Hive Modular Blog.
- 25 days
source: (Jetson Green) - EU leaders agree deal on climate change
European Union leaders agreed at a summit today to a deal on tackling climate change. "This is quite historic. You will not find another continent in this world that has given itself such binding rules as we have just adopted - the objectives remain the same," said French President Nicholas Sarkozy, reports Reuters. "Actually it turned out to be much easier than people said," Sarkozy said. He is presiding over the European Council being held in Brussels. - 25 days
source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News) - EIB confirms strong support for green EU economy
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group underlined its commitment to addressing climate change at the 2008 UN climate talks in Poland. In line with the European Economic Recovery Plan, the EIB Group will extend an additional EUR 6 billion annually in 2009 and 2010 in support of clean energy, energy efficiency and low carbon technologies to contribute to a greener EU economy. According to Simon Brooks, Vice President, EIB, this kind of promotion is amongst the most significant of the EU long-term goals which the EIB supports. The Bank has heightened its contribution to addressing climate change in recent years, not least during the current difficult financial climate. - 26 days
source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News) - Solucent Architectural Mesh Draws Daylighting While Saving Energy
Cambridge Architectural recently released a new product called Solucent, an architectural mesh system for building interiors and exteriors. To market the product, they've created a clever tagline, too: "Where the Sun and Shade Mesh." This statement conveys two concepts. First, that architectural mesh is a flexible daylighting material that can be used to allow the desired amount of natural lighting through (and save costs on electrical lighting). Second, the mesh also reduces interior solar heat gain by shading the sun, a feature that also leads to energy savings on cooling costs.
Solucent systems are designed based on building orientation and can be customized to meet the precise opacity requirements of a given project. Plus, the mesh is lightweight, made of recyclable materials, and provides airflow into a building.
Notably, mesh can contribute to approximately four LEED points through optimized energy performance, using recycled content materials, and introducing daylight and views into the regularly occupied areas of a building. And, from what I understand, Cambridge offers full system design, engineering, and collaboration through installation. Check out some case studies ...
Image credits: Cambridge Architectural.
- 26 days
source: (Jetson Green) - Scottish hydropower scheme approved
A hydropower scheme that is expected to generate enough renewable electricity for the equivalent of 2,000 households has received planning permission.
- 26 days
source: (Renewables) - First wind turbine for sewage plant approved
Plans for the first turbine to be power a sewage plant have been approved.
- 26 days
source: (Renewables) - Marine power gets more subsidies
Renewable energy technologies such as marine power and anaerobic digestion could get more subsidies than others, according to the New Energy Focus.
- 26 days
source: (Renewables) - High efficiency wind turbine based on jet engine technology
Massachusetts-based FloDesign has developed a wind turbine that could generate electricity at half the cost of conventional wind turbines. The company's design, which draws on technology developed for jet engines, circumvents a fundamental limit to conventional wind turbines. Typically, as wind approaches a turbine, almost half of the air is forced around the blades rather than through them and the energy in that deflected wind is lost, but by using a shroud design, the company says it is able to generate as much power as a conventional wind turbine with blades twice as big in diameter...
Tags: Design, Emissions Control
Related Articles:- StatoilHydro to build 2.3MW offshore floating wind turbine
- MIT designs giant wind turbines for use at sea
- AeroVironment awarded patents for wind-power system
- Student develops low-cost wind turbine for the developing world
- Wind-powered mobile phone charger
- World's largest offshore wind farm
- 26 days
source: (gizmag: ecoGizmo) - High efficiency wind turbine based on jet engine technology
Massachusetts-based FloDesign has developed a wind turbine that could generate electricity at half the cost of conventional wind turbines. The company's design, which draws on technology developed for jet engines, circumvents a fundamental limit to conventional wind turbines. Typically, as wind approaches a turbine, almost half of the air is forced around the blades rather than through them and the energy in that deflected wind is lost, but by using a shroud design, the company says it is able to generate as much power as a conventional wind turbine with blades twice as big in diameter...
Tags: Design, Emissions Control
Related Articles:- StatoilHydro to build 2.3MW offshore floating wind turbine
- MIT designs giant wind turbines for use at sea
- AeroVironment awarded patents for wind-power system
- Student develops low-cost wind turbine for the developing world
- Wind-powered mobile phone charger
- World's largest offshore wind farm
- 26 days
source: (gizmag: ecoGizmo) - High efficiency wind turbine based on jet engine technology
Massachusetts-based FloDesign has developed a wind turbine that could generate electricity at half the cost of conventional wind turbines. The company's design, which draws on technology developed for jet engines, circumvents a fundamental limit to conventional wind turbines. Typically, as wind approaches a turbine, almost half of the air is forced around the blades rather than through them and the energy in that deflected wind is lost, but by using a shroud design, the company says it is able to generate as much power as a conventional wind turbine with blades twice as big in diameter...
Tags: Design, Emissions Control
Related Articles:- StatoilHydro to build 2.3MW offshore floating wind turbine
- MIT designs giant wind turbines for use at sea
- AeroVironment awarded patents for wind-power system
- Student develops low-cost wind turbine for the developing world
- Wind-powered mobile phone charger
- World's largest offshore wind farm
source: (gizmag: ecoGizmo)
December 11, 2008
- Eco-Laboratory Concept Living Building
This could just be one of the most innovative sustainable designs you'll see all year. Here's the background: a team from Weber Thompson designed this building for the Cascadia Natural Talent Design Competition put on by the Emerging Green Builders of the USGBC. They won the Cascadia competition and moved on to compete against about 15 other regional winners from around the country. They won there, too, and "Eco-Laboratory" was announced as the winner of the 2008 Natural Talent Design Competition at Greenbuild. Eco-Laboratory is a theoretical design set in Seattle with affordable and market-rate residential housing, a job training center, homeless shelter, hygiene station, and public farmer's market.
Aesthetically speaking, Eco-Laboratory is quite slick, but the innovative symbiosis of the systems, I believe, earned them a grand prize at Greenbuild. You can enlarge the models above to see the energy (left), ventilation (center), and water (right) systems specifics.
Eco-Laboratory includes a rainwater collection system; hydroponic garden to grown food for the community; biological wastewater treatment system to convert black water to greywater and potable water; earth tubes to funnel clean, natural air into the building through underground ducts; vertical axis wind turbines and solar panels for on-site green energy; and hydrogen fuel cells powered by methane, a byproduct of the wastewater treatment system.
Eco-Laboratory was designed by Myer Harrell, LEED AP; landscape designer Dan Albert, LEED AP; and former Weber Thompson staff members Brian Geller, LEED AP (now Sustainability Specialist with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects); and Chris Dukehart.
Congratulations to the entire team for a fantastic and thoughtful design!
Image credits: Weber Thompson.
- 26 days
source: (Jetson Green) - Ban Ki-moon: World must avoid backsliding in climate fight
The world must avoid backsliding in the fight against global warming and work out a "Green New Deal" to fix twin climate and economic crises, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday, according to Reuters. "We must re-commit ourselves to the urgency of our cause," Ban told environment ministers at
U.N. climate talks in Poland. He said coping with the financial crisis would need a "massive stimulus" a big part of that spending should be an investment in a green future. Ban also urged leadership on the climate from President-elect Barack Obama and from the European Union, which is holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. - 26 days
source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News) - Dimas: We are going to have EU climate deal this week
The European Union's Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, was confident on Wednesday the bloc would resolve disputes and agree an EU climate package at when EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. Germany, Italy and new eastern member states seek 'sufficient' concessions to protect their manufacturers and power plants. "Companies may have to pay for fewer emissions permits under the new concessions but that would still leave enough auction revenues for EU treasuries to fund the fight against climate change," said Dimas. Danish Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard echoed Dimas' optimism on the summit's outcome but said tough negotiations were ahead. - 27 days
source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News) - World's Most Sustainable Airport Hangar
This is Hangar 25, a LEED Platinum certified airport hangar located at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California. It's the world's first aviation hangar to achieve such a high level of certification from the USGBC. The 60,000 square foot structure was built by Shangri-La Construction without a significant cost increase over building a non-green airport hangar -- a fact that furthers the financial case for green building development. Check out this green list of accomplishments:
- 61% less indoor water use than code-compliant building
- 51% less landscape water used than a typical building
- 77% of construction/demolition waste was recycled
- 35% of the value of construction materials from recycled materials
- 48% of the value of construction materials were locally harvested
- Over 95% of regularly occupied spaces were daylit
- The building received 14 of 15 EQ points under LEED
- The building received 17 of 17 EA points under LEED
- Building produces 110% of total energy needs on-site with solar
- Airplane process loads will be powered with solar charging carts
- Building has 7 efficient Big Ass Fans for air circulation/comfort
This positive-energy, $17-million hangar is poised to become a game changer in the industry. It's supposed to be significantly cheaper to operate than a non-green hangar. You'll notice in the images that the facility has abundant natural light coming inside; that helps keep the lighting bills down and reduce reliance on mechanical systems.
Image credits: 3030 N. Clybourn Avenue.
- 27 days
source: (Jetson Green) - Fenland school to get wind turbine
A wind turbine is to be installed at a Fenland school to provide electricity for the building and help educate the children about climate change and renewable energy.
- 27 days
source: (Renewables)
