East Philips residents back 'green zone'

Tired of swatting away businesses and land-use proposals they regard as noxious, some residents of the East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis began organizing Saturday around the idea of a “green zone” they regard as a healthier goal for their community.

About 70 people gathered at East Philips Community Center to discuss that initiative against the backdrop of a proposal by the city to buy land currently occupied by Roof Depot to move in maintenance operations for the city’s water system. They’ll meet again on March 14.

The proposal would bring 90 workers and about 75 vehicles to that site. But residents viewed it in the context of a community sensitized by repeated fights over other unwanted land uses over the past 20 years.

There was the Hennepin County proposal for a station where garbage would be shifted from garbage trucks to semitrailer trucks that was finally killed in 1991. A proposal to burn biomass for energy at the same spot was killed only when Xcel Energy Inc. broke off talks to buy its power. Residents also rallied support to make sure Xcel’s added power lines were buried underground in 2012.

The area’s City Council member is firmly opposed to shifting water maintenance to the proposed new site at 1860 E. 28th St., at the west end of the Midtown Greenway’s Sabo bridge. Alondra Cano said no last September, she told the crowd, and she said no a month ago when city staffers sought her backing for them to negotiate with the owner of the site.

“Sometimes we women of color have to say no multiple times until we’re taken seriously,” she told a crowd from a neighborhood that’s dominantly minority and in poverty.

Two youth members of an area nonprofit, Edwin Gonzalez and Carlos Parra Olivera, listed a half-dozen potential uses for the site’s large building or the greater area to help transform it to a more sustainable future. They included a green jobs re-employment center, an urban agricultural initiative, a youth-led bike shop, an aquaponics operation to raise fish and vegetables, a farm processing center and a sustainable entrepreneur incubator.

City officials said they want to move water maintenance out of the city’s East Yard site on E. Hennepin Avenue to continue a 24-year-old plan for centralizing Department of Public Works operations, and to allow a fire station to use the Hennepin site for better access to an industrial area.

But water operations would occupy only about half the site. The city’s revamped energy-efficient public works yard nearby doesn’t have room.

The city’s Climate Action Plan supports the idea of “green zones” for neighborhoods in which they’d be eligible for funds for targeted pollution abatement and on-site renewable energy.

In addition, state Rep. Karen Clark supported a 2008 law that requires an analysis of cumulative pollution impacts in the East Phillips area when businesses move in or expand.

 

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

East Philips residents back "green zone"

Home National Freudenberg's aftermarket arm Corteco to expand India biz with more...

Industry

by Jaishankar Jayaramiah Feb 28, 2015

Sanjeev Ahuja, MD, Corteco India: “We are looking to increase our India product portfolio to 2,000 numbers in 2016.”

Germany-based auto component supplier Freudenberg’s aftermarket arm Corteco has chalked out plans to expand its business in India.

Corteco is the global brand of Freudenberg for the independent aftermarket and it has established its 100 percent subsidiary in 2013 in India to market Freudenberg’s aftermarket products.

Speaking to Autocar Professional at ACMA Automechanika New Delhi, Sanjeev Ahuja, managing director of Corteco India, said the company has appointed 16 distributors thus far in India. The network will be expanded to 40 distributors by 2016 as to cover the length and breadth of the country.

Currently the company has been offering its products primarily for high-end brand cars from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Skoda, Nissan and Volkswagen.

“We have more than 20,000 products in our global product portfolio but currently we are pitching only around 500 products for the Indian market,” he said.

The company’s main focus is in the areas like anti-vibration, sealing technology and cabin air filters. Currently the company’s products will suit around 20 percent of vehicles (high-end range) in India.

Going forward, he said, the company aims to increase its India product portfolio to 2,000 numbers in 2016  and 4,000-5,000 numbers in the next five years when the company starts to cater to the entry level and middle range of vehicles in the country.

This is the second time that Corteco India has participated in ACMA Automechanika New Delhi and the visitor response has been quite high, added Ahuja.

It may be noted that more than half of all new cars in India are fitted with Freudenberg original filters. In India, Corteco offers a broad range of filters that efficiently protect the air-conditioning system and the passengers from outdoor pollutants. 

Home National Freudenberg"s aftermarket arm Corteco to expand India biz with more...

In Australia, the Green Energy Fantasy Has Collapsed

If you are sailing miles from shore and come upon the rusted prows of sunken ships, you can be sure that water is not that deep and it would be a good idea to change course.

Australia is just the latest ship’s prow to warn us away from the treacherous path of green energy mandates, taxes, and subsidies. Among the others have been Germany, Spain, and Italy.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported the collapse of the wind power market in Australia. The Liberal government there is pulling the plug on state subsidies for the renewable energy industry. Without those subsidies, investor interest evaporates. So much for the claims (also here and here) that wind and solar technologies are already competitive.

In the U.S., we had a sneak preview of what happens to wind power when it goes, cold turkey, off subsidies. An expected end to the wind Production Tax Credit on Dec. 31, 2012, dried up the investment pipeline so thoroughly that even though the PTC was retroactively reinstated just weeks after its expiration, only one wind turbine was installed in the U.S. in the first six months of 2013.

Grid parity? That’s not what we saw in the U.S. in 2013, and it’s not what wind energy companies in Australia are telling us with their actions right now.

What happened in Australia to get to this point? In 2011, the Labor government of Kevin Rudd pushed through a scheme to restrict CO2 emissions. When introduced, the approach resembled a cap-and-trade program, which effectively hides costs to consumers. But over time, the program morphed into a more explicit carbon tax.

As is almost always the case, the costs of these restrictions were downplayed while the proposal was being considered. However, the laws of science and economics cannot be legislated out of existence, and the inevitable costs soon became apparent. The program led to significant increases in the price of electricity, and the voters in Australia were not pleased with having been duped.

In fact, the carbon taxes were so unpopular that the Labor party ousted Rudd from its leadership and campaigned, in part, on getting rid of its own tax. The election’s outcome, however, forced an alliance with the Green party, whose demand was to keep the tax in place.

The voters didn’t forget the hoodwinking. In a subsequent election, they put a Liberal-National Alliance coalition in power in a campaign that was dominated by promises to remove the carbon tax. This time the politicians kept their word and jettisoned the tax.

Australians, like most people throughout the world, are more concerned with increasing economic growth, jobs, and affordable energy than they are with adopting costly yet ineffective schemes meant to address a problem that is low on their priority list. Certainly, that’s how it is in the U.S.

Survey after survey shows that Americans rank climate concerns at the bottom of virtually every list, even when the lists are restricted to environmental problems. The hysterical predictions of imminent doom, unfulfilled as the various dates pass by, have created a global warming fatigue.

People once spooked by scary predictions of ever more frequent hurricanes and other extreme weather events have seen those visions fail to materialize. Small wonder they are now not so unnerved by warnings of sea levels rising by an inch or two or afternoons warming by a fraction of a degree 100 years from now. And none of the proposed “climate-saving” policies can offer any impact beyond inches and fractional degrees.

Add Australia to the list of countries that are facing reality after seeing their green energy fantasy collapse. Germany is cutting green subsidies and building new coal-fired power plants to help halt the skyrocketing cost of electricity (three times the cost in the U.S.) that threatens its industrial base. Spain and Italy have also cut back on the renewable energy policies that helped tip them into financial crisis.

Let’s hope American lawmakers can learn from the green energy mistakes of their foreign colleagues.

Originally published in The Washington Times 

In Australia, the Green Energy Fantasy Has Collapsed

REC Group and Sunrun Increase Solar Panel Supply Agreement to 100 Megawatts

REC Group and Sunrun Increase Solar Panel Supply Agreement to 100 Megawatts

Visit http://www.recgroup.com for further information

“REC is committed to consistently delivering volume quantities of its high quality panels”

Submitted on 02/26/15, 01:54 PM

OSLO, NORWAY AND SAN FRANCISCO — FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — REC Group (Oslo Stock Exchange: RECSOL), a leading global provider of solar energy solutions, and Sunrun, the largest dedicated residential solar company in the United States, today announced the expansion of their supply agreement signed in August 2014. Under the terms of the deal, Sunrun will purchase 100 megawatts (MW) of REC’s high-quality, high-performing Peak Energy solar panels, with deliveries scheduled throughout 2015.

“Our original panel supply contract with Sunrun called for a minimum of 50 MW, with an option for up to 100 MW, so this doubling of volume underscores the solid relationship between the two companies and our position in the U.S. residential market,” said Arndt E. Lutz, senior vice president of REC Group and managing director of its North American business. “Customers like Sunrun understand the value of REC’s high standards of quality, reliability and integrity inherent in our products and the way we do business.”

“REC is committed to consistently delivering volume quantities of its high quality panels,” said Paul Winnowski, chief operating officer of Sunrun. “This enables Sunrun to provide consumers with the best and most reliable solar panels on the market for their home solar system. Our decision to strengthen our partnership reflects the confidence we have and that our qualified installers have in REC’s high-performance rooftop solar products today and in the future.”

The amended Sunrun agreement is the latest in REC’s string of major panel supply agreements and installations in the U.S. market. REC has signed 703 MW of long-term supply agreements for the residential, commercial, and utility segments in the U.S. market since May 2014. The Norway-based company is expanding its production capacity to 1.3 gigawatts at its state-of-the-art, vertically integrated Singapore manufacturing facility.

About REC Group
REC is a leading global provider of solar energy solutions. With more than 15 years of experience, we offer sustainable, high-performing products, services and investments for the solar industry. Together with our partners, we create value by providing solutions that better meet the world’s growing energy needs. REC is headquartered in Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: RECSOL). Our 1,700 employees worldwide generated revenues of $647 million in 2013. For more information, visit www.recgroup.com.

About Sunrun
Sunrun pioneered solar as a service, a way for homeowners to go solar without high upfront cost, and is the largest dedicated residential solar company in the U.S. Sunrun provides end-to-end service for homeowners to choose cleaner, cheaper solar energy and fix their electric costs for 20 years. The company designs, installs, finances, insures, monitors and maintains the solar panels on a homeowner’s roof, while families pay just for the electricity at a lower rate than their current utility. Since Sunrun introduced solar service in 2007, it has become the preferred way for consumers to go solar in the nation’s top solar markets. For more information, please visit: www.sunrun.com.

REC Group and Sunrun Increase Solar Panel Supply Agreement to 100 Megawatts

Wave Home Solutions is making waves in clean air and water

However, just because you do not have a say in how your environment is altered, this does not mean that you have to live with the potential consequences that come with all of those dangers.

The air we breathe and the water we drink is much more dangerous than it was 100 years ago. This is not speculation, this is a fact. The increase in the amount of pollutants in the air and water is the direct result of the actions humans are taking on this planet, and those actions are creating challenges for people who want to live long and healthy lives.

Fortunately, there are some companies that recognize the importance of helping people take back some control over the quality of water and air that their family is exposed to on a daily basis. For example, Wave Home Solutions offers all-in-one filtering and ventilation systems. Sadly, many people do not understand just how vital it is for them to take advantage of these options.

The Gasification of Our Water Supply

Hydraulic fracturing, also known more commonly as fracking, has been used for decades to free natural gas from layers of stone and mine so that is can be used to provide heating for homes and businesses. It sounds like a great idea, but there are two problems with fracking that are affecting your water: chemicals and natural gas.

Fracking uses mostly natural materials such as water and sand to release the gas and bring it to the surface. But there are a small percentage of chemicals used in fracking that get into the area’s water table and contaminate the drinking supply. These chemicals are worse than smoking thousands of cigarettes and they are referred to as “Highly Volatile Organic Compounds” or HVOC. Three of the main chemicals in question are Hexane, Trimethylbenzene and Xylene.

Chemicals of this type are not simply utilized in fracking, and an analysis of their other uses makes it difficult to condone putting them in the ground near drinking water. For example, hexane is used to make glue for roofing, leather products and shoes, and inhalation exposure can impact the central nervous system.

Trimethlybenzene exposure can cause a wide variety of health issues such as chronic bronchitis and vomiting, and it is typically used in auto fuel, solvents, wood stain, paint thinner and dyes. California residents cannot even purchase xylene because this adhesive remover is known to cause cancer (California Proposition 65).

All of the chemicals that are used during fracking have come under heightened scrutiny as a result of the fact that contaminated water can apparently be set on fire. Although it is not guaranteed that every fracking well will contaminate the groundwater, it can definitely happen.

In many instances, that groundwater trickles into local rivers and streams, and this causes the local water supply to become completely contaminated. It is possible that known issues such as this one explain legislation that has been passed to keep fracking out of affluent areas.

The other issue with fracking is the natural gas itself. It would be great if all of the gas that was released went directly into convenient storage tanks and was shipped off to heat our homes. Unfortunately, some of the gas escapes into the local water table and contaminates the groundwater, drinking water wells, and other sources of fresh water. When you see the pictures of people setting wells or streams on fire, this is the result of having gases in the water.

While fracking is essential in allowing us to utilize a plentiful resource like natural gas, it also has its challenges. While not every fracking organization and every fracking well contaminates the nearby drinking supply, it happens often enough that it should be a concern for you and your family.

The Realities of Drinking Contaminated H2O

Whether you get your H2O from a private well or the local municipality, it helps to understand the truth behind drinking water before you can appreciate the urgent need for a professional and comprehensive filtration system in your home. It has become standard for communities all over the world to add chlorine to their drinking water. In the United States, this practice is widespread, and the levels of chlorine in American drinking water tend to be higher than most other countries. Chlorine destroys bacteria and pathogens in water, but it has a side effect that can be dangerous to your health

Chlorine combines with naturally occurring elements in drinking water to create a compound called trihalomethanes. There is nothing that can be done to stop the creation of trihalomethanes as they occur naturally, and a high concentration of chlorine in the drinking water means a higher concentration of trihalomethanes as well.

The EPA has been warning people for years that the levels of trihalomethanes in many public drinking water sources are dangerously high and this can lead to liver problems, nervous system issues and even cancer. A European study showed that men who are exposed to trihalomethanes have an increased risk of bladder cancer.

The presence of chlorine in drinking water has also been linked to increased instances of breast cancer in women. The scariest part of it all is that chlorine is absorbed through the skin and from inhalation; you don’t even have to drink it to be exposed to its dangers. This means each time you drink, cook, brush your teeth, bathe or shower, you are absorbing the chlorine into your body. To put it bluntly, your drinking water could be hazardous to your health.

How Can You Protect Your Family’s Water Supply?

Most people would admit that they are unable to directly change the damage that individuals and businesses are having on the environment. There are activist groups fighting lobbyists and a seemingly endless line of bureaucratic challenges, but they can only help prevent some of the problems. However, this does not mean that you have to expose your family to the hazards that are created by others.

Fortunately, there are many innovative companies and individuals who do have the earth’s best interests in mind. For example, Wave Home Solutions focuses on creating products that enable people to protect their family from our rapidly deteriorating environment. It makes sense to fight these issues in your home because this is where most of your exposure to toxic chemicals will occur. Additionally, your home is the only place that you can exert a lot of control over.

What Is The Solution?

To combat the issues with drinking water quality, many people turn to bottled water or smaller filtration systems. While taking these steps shows plenty of initiative in keeping your family healthy, it does not come close to solving the problem of exposing your family to dangerous drinking water.

Bottled water uses plastic as its primary container. While we would all like to believe that most plastic bottles get recycled, the sad truth is they do not. Countries all over the world utilize bottled water, and a large majority of those bottles find their way into landfills and as garbage floating in our fresh water supply.

Filtration systems that attach to your kitchen faucet or come in the form of pitchers you put in your refrigerator only do part of the job. However, you are also exposed to chlorine and other chemicals from every faucet in your home, so focusing solely on your kitchen faucet will not eliminate all of your potential risks.

The problem with your home’s municipal water source is that you are relying on politicians and failed public policy to determine the health of your family. Maximum contaminant levels that are accepted by municipalities do not mean that those levels are healthy; they just mean that bureaucrats can live with that much pollution.

When these maximum levels are exceeded, it is much easier and cost efficient for politicians to simply raise the allowable levels instead of dealing with removing them from the water supply. It can be a helpless feeling, but you can do something about it. Instead of putting your family at the mercy of bureaucrats and politicians who are not enforcing the clean air and water laws that are on the books, you can install a full house water filtration system that will protect your family at all times.

A full house filtration system reduces your carbon footprint by eliminating your use of plastic bottles. It also saves you money by eliminating the need to buy bottled water, and it protects your family by making certain that all of your home’s water is clean. There are a number of makers out there that have the products to help you get the clean water you need to protect the health of the ones you love, irrespective of your water supply. These companies have solutions for city and well water that won’t break the bank.

Clean Air Is Another Challenge

When it comes to the issues of clean air and clean water, people appear to be equally as concerned about both. It is good that people want to address the problems that come with our polluted environment, but as with the solutions that most people use to address the issue of polluted water, the manner in which many people attempt to get clean air in their homes also falls short.

What If You Do Nothing?

The important thing to understand about being healthy is that the conditions that have been created throughout the world make it difficult to achieve this goal without being proactive. A large majority of people will take the time to change the filters in their furnaces and central air conditioning units, and there are many who will invest in a single air filter for their bedroom. But the reality is that, given the conditions of the air you breathe, these simple solutions are not enough.

If you do not actively work to clean up the air in your home, you are creating a breeding area for bacteria and disease. Stagnant, moist air that is not properly conditioned is the perfect growing conditions for mold, dust mites, and insects that bring disease. If you do nothing about the air in your home, you are exposing your family to a variety of potential hazards. Radon gas, which can seep into your basement through the foundation, gases produced by combustible appliances, carbon monoxide and toxic vapors from cleaning materials are all everyday sources of indoor air pollution that can’t be ignored.

Natural Moisture Is Also a Problem

It is not always the man-made issues that pose threats to your home as naturally occurring conditions can also be a hazard. There is moisture that naturally occurs in your home. It is most prevalent in the basement crawl spaces and attic areas where the air is usually stagnant and thick with moisture. This moisture is the breeding ground for mold, which can lead to asthma and other respiratory ailments.

The World Health Organization estimates that three out of every four people who live in a naturally damp environment are at greater risk for asthma and other respiratory ailments. The worst part is that the air in your home rises from that contaminated basement and crawl space into your living areas, bringing with it mold spores, odors, gases and pollutants.

If this air is not addressed in some way, the moisture will not only affect your health but it will also degrade the structural integrity of the home by causing wood rot, condensation and rust. After a few years, the damage can even be visible with your floor board’s windows, beams and foundation walls.

Ventilation and Air Circulation

Organizations such as the American Lung Association and the EPA all acknowledge that stagnant, moist and unfiltered air can create a situation where diseases are more prevalent. We have expended a lot of attention to tightening up our homes for energy efficiencies but are paying a steeper price by keeping them indoors and breathing them in constantly.

So what are people trying to do to solve these problems? It would be nice to open a window and let the fresh air clean out the atmosphere inside a home, but that is impractical in the winter, during the summer with periods of high humidity and during rainy days. That is why most people turn to other air circulation and treatment solutions.

One of the most popular solutions used to try to combat moisture in the air is to install a dehumidifier in the moist areas of the house. While this can remove some of the moisture, it does not solve the problem of airborne bacteria, gases, pollutants and other environmental issues.

A dehumidifier simply recirculates the same stagnant air that was in the room to begin with. It will remove a portion of the moisture, but it does not address the other issues, and it still leaves a stale, musty odor. Dehumidifiers can also be noisy and difficult to use, and many of them only last a short while before they need to be replaced. Additionally, dehumidifiers are energy guzzlers, and most people are not aware of the actual cost of running them. They consume so much energy that you can spend more than $70 a month just in energy bills to keep them running.

Another problem is the tremendous amount of maintenance those units require. Dehumidifiers have to be emptied repeatedly or you have to build a drain area for them to discharge the water. If you don’t empty the water, they become a breeding ground for bacteria.

Air filtration systems need to have their filters emptied. If the filter clogs up, you are no longer getting the positive effects of the filtration unit, and it is essentially just wasting energy as it runs. There are better solutions and ways for you to get the comprehensive protection you need for your family without having to go through all of the steps required by inadequate water and air treatment and filtration systems.

The Solution Is A System That Protects Your Whole Home

Just like the solution to your clean water issues is a comprehensive filtration system that perpetually cleans the water in your entire home, the solution to your indoor air quality issues is a system that addresses the most problematic air mass and by doing so benefiting the entire house. It is also important to use a solution that keeps its energy usage down so that your energy bills will be as low as possible.

There are many reputable companies that offer complete home systems that filter water and air to make them safer for your home. Recognizable names such as Culligan and Pelican have systems that remove many of the contaminants that are found in drinking water, while Lennox can offer you a solution to filter your air.

The problem is that these companies often do not offer solutions for both, and they do not focus on the operational costs of their systems. WAVE Home Solutions offers comprehensive whole house solutions, and there is a significant focus on making sure that utilizing WAVE products does not put a huge dent in your energy bills.

Continuous Mechanical Ventilation

Instead of recirculating bad air inside your home, a WAVE Ventilation system will expel bad, moist air as well as the pollutants and gases that naturally build up. All of these unwanted elements are then expelled in their entirety out of the house to keep clean air flowing throughout your home.

The WAVE systems also have sensors that will keep a close eye on the level of moisture throughout your home, and they automatically adjust the rate of ventilation to make sure that those levels are always safe and conducive to good health and home maintenance.

The WAVE Ventilation system is easily installed in a basement, crawl space or on the ground level of a slab home, and it expels the moist, polluted air directly to the outside. It then continuously brings down the drier, healthier air from upstairs through a vent to prevent any stagnation.

This process is called continuous mechanical ventilation, and it is one of the elements of a Wave system that makes it unique in the air treatment industry. ASHRAE, which is the technical body that develops and maintains ventilation standards for the United States, recommends whole house air exchange throughout the day in order to maintain healthy living conditions.

A WAVE Ventilation system can create 6 to ten whole house air exchanges a day. That means that you actually can bring in the fresher air from outside into your home, replenishing the entire house, several times a day.

Energy Efficiency Is a Part of the Process

The U.S. Department of Energy conducted a study that compared continuous mechanical ventilation to the natural circulation processes in crawl spaces. They also took a look at how continuous mechanical ventilation affects the entire cost of running the heating and cooling systems for the whole house, and the results were very interesting.

It requires more energy to heat or cool moist air than it does drier air. In a controlled particular study, the Department of Energy found that mechanical exhaust and replenishment systems like the WAVE system lowered the overall energy costs of the HVAC systems around 17 percent and were effective in keeping the relative humidity at 60 percent.

This does not take into account the cost savings of utilizing a single, energy-efficient unit versus scattering dehumidifiers throughout your home. While that particular study did not analyze the positive results of expelling contaminants, these systems have been independently tested to reduce radon, although it is not promoted as a radon mitigation device. The end result is that it is much more energy efficient to use the Wave system than any other type of air dehumidification system available.

Look Into A WAVE Solution

Phil Konigsberg, the president of WAVE Home Solutions stated, “People don’t always pay attention to the fact that certain ailments they have may be due to their indoor everyday environment. It is extremely important to make sure that the two most important things we need to live, air and water, are contributing to our well-being, not detracting from it.” It makes a lot of sense to take pride in the care of your home and family, and part of that care is being proactive in creating a clean living environment.

The WAVE Ventilation solution requires no maintenance, and to be fair, there are many competing solutions and technologies on the market. But, of utmost importance, you will be creating a safe environment for you and your children and have confidence in the food you feed them and the water they drink and use to bathe themselves Do your research and make calls. Talk to contractors in your local area. Read up on the issues with deteriorating quality of our indoor water and air. Know the background of city water in your area.

You can choose to ignore the fact that your air and water are not clean or the healthiest they can be or you can take action and talk to a professional organization about putting an end to unclean air and polluted water. You may not be able to tell a multi-billion dollar corporation to follow the environmental safety laws, but you can affect what happens in your own home. With a WAVE Home or competing system you can determine how healthy your family will be, regardless of what the rest of the world may be doing to the environment.

Wave Home Solutions is making waves in clean air and water

PG&E Commits $250000 for Solar Energy Projects by Local High Schools

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) announced at today’s We Day California event a $250,000 sponsorship that will provide sustainable energy project opportunities for several local high schools. Students will build portable solar units, share their commitment to sustainability by participating in local projects and have a chance to make a global impact.

The solar suitcase is a small, portable photovoltaic lighting system, powerful enough to illuminate a small room. PG&E will provide 100 solar suitcase units to high schools throughout Northern and Central California, supplied by the nonprofit Green Tech. The schools who receive the solar suitcases will be trained by Green Tech on assembly of the portable kits and will learn firsthand the basic principles of clean energy technical education.

“PG&E is a champion of education, providing nearly $70 million to local schools throughout Northern and Central California over the last decade. By pairing that commitment with our focus on clean energy sources like solar, we can help educate students and inspire them to create lasting and sustainable action,” said Chris Johns, president of PG&E.

Encouraging students to “act locally and think globally,” PG&E’s program includes a local community service sustainable activity component as well as an international opportunity. Part of the program involves students’ participation in local sustainability projects of their own choosing, such as park cleanups, water and energy conservation teams, or community gardens.

“PG&E believes in a cleaner energy future that includes solar. Students like those invited to We Day California—who are already deeply invested in improving their local communities—are exactly the type of young leaders who will drive a clean, sustainable energy future. These passionate young Californians are on a profound path to forever change the lives of others in their local communities and around the world. We’re excited to share the potential of solar with them,” said Helen Burt, senior vice president of corporate affairs for PG&E.

Participating students can submit videos of their own local sustainability project success stories to earn a chance to be one of four participants selected for a humanitarian solar suitcase delivery mission to orphanages, schools and medical clinics in Kenya with international charity Free the Children. This unique global opportunity for local high school students adds a new dimension to PG&E’s commitment to education and renewable energy.

To learn more about solar suitcases, visit PG&E Currents at http://www.pge.com/solarsuitcase.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), and the PG&E Corporation Foundation strive to power strong communities throughout Northern and Central California. In 2013, PG&E contributed more than $23 million to more than 1,300 charitable organizations, including matching the generosity of employees who donated more than $7.3 million and volunteered more than 75,000 hours to company-supported events. Community investments are funded entirely by the company’s shareholders. For more information, visit www.pge.com/community

PG&E Commits $250000 for Solar Energy Projects by Local High Schools

Second golden eagle found dead at Nevada wind farm

Conservationists are calling for regulatory action after the death of a second golden eagle in three years at a White Pine County wind farm that sells power to NV Energy.

The body of the federally protected bird was found Feb. 9 near one of the massive turbines at the Spring Valley Wind Energy facility about 260 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Operators of the wind farm reported the death to federal regulators and collected the juvenile bird’s carcass for further examination by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

“Our folks in the regional office are aware of it, and they are consulting with the Bureau of Land Management and waiting for information from them,” said Dan Balduini, spokesman for the Fish & Wildlife Service in Nevada. “As it stands right now, we’re not taking any action until we get information that’s necessary to move forward.”

The wind farm received no penalties the last time a golden eagle was killed there, two years ago this month, even though the facility lacked a federal permit for the so-called “incidental take” of such protected birds.

In a letter to regulators, members of the Western Watersheds Project, an Idaho-based environmental group, said they were “extremely disappointed” by the second eagle death and demanded to know what would be done to prevent more deaths.

“We expect a far more robust response to this second unauthorized kill,” the letter from group said.

Rob Mrowka, senior scientist for the Tucson, Ariz., based Center for Biological Diversity, said it will be interesting to see how regulators respond to this latest incident after giving the wind farm “a free pass” the first time around.

“There is no incidental take allowed after the first eagle,” he said. “After the first eagle they have to face consequences, theoretically.”

San Francisco-based Pattern Energy owns the 152-megawatt wind farm, which features 66 turbines arrayed across more than 7,600 acres of federal land at the heart of the vast Spring Valley.

The $225 million facility went online in August 2012 as the first utility-scale wind farm in Nevada. It is designed to generate enough electricity to supply about 40,000 homes, with NV Energy as its only customer for the first 20 years of operation.

Each of the wind farm’s 262-foot towers holds a rotor the diameter of a football field. When one of its three blades is pointed straight up, the structure reaches more than 425 feet in the air, roughly the same height as the Palms casino resort. Though the blades appear to spin slowly, their tips can reach 170 mph, churning the air into tornado-like swirls that can be deadly for a bird or bat that flies too close.

Eagle deaths at wind farms nationwide have stoked debate over the environmental trade-offs associated with the sort of large-scale green energy projects championed by the Obama administration in the face of climate change.

In December 2013, the Interior Department exempted wind farms from penalties associated with bald and golden eagle deaths for up to 30 years, provided companies obtain permits and make efforts to avoid killing protected birds.

Pattern Energy formally applied for a 30-year take permit early last year but has not yet been granted one by the Fish & Wildlife Service. Until a permit is issued, any eagle killed would count as a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Balduini said.

In a written statement Monday, Rene Braud, Pattern’s director of environmental compliance and policy, said the company has already implemented some mitigation measures at the site. “It is unfortunate when any eagle is lost, and we will continue our efforts to reduce the project’s impact,” Braud said. “We also believe that other energy facilities and industries result in far more bird fatalities than wind projects.”

The Western Watersheds Project and the Center for Biological Diversity sued to block construction of the Spring Valley wind farm in January 2011, resulting in a settlement that set limits on bird and bat mortality at the site and spelled out what the facility must do to track and curb wildlife impacts.

The facility was built about five miles away from a cave where biologists think as many as 3 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost during their southern migration to Central America from late July through early October.

Last year, Pattern was forced to adjust when its turbines kick on after the wind farm killed an estimated 566 bats in 2013, triple the number allowed under the settlement. Preliminary data seem to show a significant decline in bat deaths since Pattern changed the “cut-in” speed for its windmills, said Paul Podborny, a BLM field manager in Ely.

Adjusting the operation to curb eagle deaths is a trickier proposition. With such a small sample size to work with — two dead birds in three years — it’s hard to know exactly what to do to reduce the chances of it happening again.

“I think that’s the dilemma that the biologists are facing,” Podborny said. “What do we need to do? It’s going to take a little thought.”

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.

Second golden eagle found dead at Nevada wind farm

Sunday Evening Forecast, 2.22.15

Updated: Sunday Evening, February 22nd, 2015
Reported By: Meteorologist Christy Shields

Clouds continue for this evening and tonight. Even a stray snow shower is possible, especially across the Northern Tier and the Laurel Highlands. Snow should not accumulate, but if it does it will only be a dusting. Colder air is being ushered in by a westerly wind. Winds will continue to pick up tonight with gusts into the 20 mile per hour range. Temperatures tonight will drop into the single digits across Central Pennsylvania, and the air will feel even colder thanks to the gusty winds. The arctic air sticks around for Monday despite some sunshine. Temperatures will only be in the lower teens, and by Monday night, some spots will go below the zero degree mark once again. Due to the extreme cold, the National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory for most of the viewing area that begins Monday at 12:00 AM and continues until Tuesday at 9:00 AM. Please make sure to bundle up when going outside, and that your pets have a warm place to stay. High pressure continues to build for Tuesday with a mix of clouds and sunshine and temperatures will rebound into the upper 20s. By Tuesday night, a cold front will glide across the area to the north, this will bring us some snow showers, and the snow showers will continue into Wednesday. Highs on Wednesday will be in the mid 20s, and by Wednesday night, more cold air filters in. Lows on Wednesday night will be in the upper single digits. Another high pressure system moves in for Thursday and Friday, and by the weekend temperatures will be back into the 30s.

Sunday Evening Forecast, 2.22.15

Israeli Solar Energy Startup SolarEdge Files for $125 Million Nasdaq IPO

Its products make it possible possible to increase utilization of energy on solar collectors

Israeli startup SolarEdge, founded 9 years ago, is looking to raise $125 million in an IPO, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

The company plans to trade on the NASDAQ, using the symbol SEDG.

SolarEdge makes a solar energy optimization and monitoring system, making it possible to increase utilization of energy on solar collectors through optimization of each collector’s functioning, while providing real-time data on their production.

Effective energy storage via sun collectors has long been the bottleneck in making this form of renewable energy affordable.

Run by co-founder Guy Sella, SolarEdge has so far sold 4.5 million of its power optimizers and more than 200,000 of its inverters, 1.5 million of them in the second half of 2014.

Read more about: Alternative energy, Guy Sella, SEDG, solar energy, SOLAREDGE TECHNOLOGIES INC, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Israeli Solar Energy Startup SolarEdge Files for $125 Million Nasdaq IPO

Renovation helps Charlotte couple create energy-efficient home

Most of us take small steps to cut heating and cooling costs – high-tech thermostats or an extra sweater after ticking down to a setting of 65 degrees in winter.

This homeowner’s strategy was more like the long jump.

A fire in 2012 left Michael and Kelly Gervais with a 1940s Plaza Midwood home in need of a full renovation. Mike Gervais, a structural engineer, saw it as an opportunity to invest more thoughtfully in materials and equipment and, most importantly, in a well-conceived design for his home’s heating and cooling system.

The setup that Gervais created with the help of a mechanical engineer is not one you can buy off the shelf. You’d need an engineer who specializes in HVAC systems to produce a similar design.

Gervais invested $40,000 for an engineer’s design, an energy-saving heating and cooling system, insulation and solar panels. He estimates he spent $15,000 for upgrades not required by building codes.

While in a condo for seven months during renovation, Kelly Gervais suffered from allergy and asthma attacks. That convinced Mike Gervais to add an air filtration system as a part of those costs. She’s had no more Claritin binges and no more asthma attacks since moving into the house.

Yearly energy costs before the renovation were $1.26 per square foot, compared to $.47 cents per square footage afterward. That’s nearly a 63 percent difference.

The savings are nice, but Gervais had other reasons for wanting the upgrades.

“I invest in saving energy because I feel we have a moral obligation to do so,” said Gervais, 39. “I invest in a better HVAC system for the better comfort and indoor air quality it provides.”

Here’s how he did it:

1 Roof: Twenty solar panels produce, on average, about 20 kilowatt hours of power per day. One kWh of energy will power a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours, according to Duke Energy.

2 Insulated attic: The temperature stays within 5 degrees of that in the basement, even in summer. Gervais accomplished that by having insulation on the roof’s interior instead of on the attic floor. Putting insulation inside the roof cavity prevents the hotbox or greenhouse effect, where temperatures in the attic can rise well above the temperature outside. The attic walls have spray-foam and fiberglass batt insulation covered with a foil-like heat shield. Keeping attic temperatures moderate also can reduce energy loss when you have ductwork in the attic.

3 Walls: Added R-13 batt insulation to walls that had been mostly uninsulated. A foil-like heat shield covers the insulation. Tape at the radiant barrier’s seams is an extra protection against air and moisture. Caulk prevents air leaks at the joints where the floors and walls meet.

4 Custom heating and cooling system: The system includes an electric heat pump and an energy recovery ventilator. Air from outside is heated or cooled to a moderate temperature before going into the system. As a result, it takes less time and energy to heat or cool air before it flows into the house. A variable-speed blower motor keeps the system from working at full capacity unless temperatures are extreme. Those adjustments can keep costs lower and extend the system’s life. High-quality (Merv 16) air filters strip out impurities and UV bulbs help kill germs. A motorized damper can adjust air flow to rooms based on demand.

5 Encapsulated basement: Foil-like R10 bubble wrap is draped on walls to insulate and keep moisture out. A sheet of plastic covers the floor as a vapor barrier.

Renovation helps Charlotte couple create energy-efficient home

Rice moves to seven percent solar energy

Rice University has taken early steps toward  green power and sustainability by signing a one-year contract with MP2 Energy, a renewable energy company. This agreement signifies that an average of seven percent of Rice’s power supply will come from solar energy, according to Richard Johnson, director of Rice’s Administrative Center for Sustainability and Energy Management.

“During the afternoon, as much as 25 percent of Rice’s energy will come from [off-site] solar energy, since the amount of solar power we get naturally varies over the course of the day,” Johnson said.

Rice had been interested in using solar energy for a while, but there were concerns regarding any extra cost the move might entail, according to Mark Gardner, manager of Energy Strategy and Utility Program Development. According to Johnson, Rice continually indicated its interest in renewable energy sources to MP2 to demonstrate it as a topic about which they remained interested.

“We kept signalling our interest, and it didn’t take long for them to catch on that it was something we really wanted,” Johnson said. “They wanted this to happen as much as we did. They’re a really innovative group and they want to be able to demonstrate ways that people can procure green without paying extra.”

Rice was able to formulate a plan with MP2 Energy to minimize cost. As a part of this plan, instead of paying one flat rate over the course of the day, Rice pays in hourly increments, with prices varying with the demand for electricity over the course of the day. According to Johnson, with this method of paying for electricity, Rice would pay more for electricity in the afternoon, when the most electricity is used on campus, and less for electricity at night, when less electricity is used and produced via the solar panels.

According to Gardner, another benefit to this incremental method of payment involves the solar panels installed on the roof of Jones College. When the prices for solar electricity peak, the panels at Jones produce the most energy. Gardner said because of these sets of solar panels, Rice does not need to purchase as much solar energy from MP2 Energy when prices are the highest.

“Because of the shaped curve method [in which the per hour price of electricity varies over the course of the day] of paying for electricity, there is no change in the cost of electricity for Rice,” Gardner said.

According to Johnson, this is the first time a commercial entity in Texas has made a deal with an electricity company to use off-site solar power.

Johnson said Rice has been looking into incorporating other renewable sources of power as well in order to increase environmental friendliness.

“Before we made the agreement with MP2 Energy, we looked into using landfill gas, as well as wind power and other solar power opportunities,” Johnson said. “We’re still looking into using wind power, and we’re looking into opportunities to increase the photovoltaic cells on campus. Our big strategies are [to] use less energy and buy green when it doesn’t cost us more.”

Johnson credits Gardner and Energy Manager Eric Valentine with being the most dedicated to finding cost-effective ways for Rice to use green energy.

Rice moves to seven percent solar energy

Cloudy Prospects for Rooftop Solar's Growth in Florida: Energy

(Bloomberg) — The so-called Sunshine State hasn’t been a great place for homeowners to install solar panels.

Florida ranks near the top for the amount of solar potential, yet comes in 15th for home solar systems. Texas, which rivals California for most sun resources, comes in 11th in installed residential panels, according to GTM Research in Boston.

What makes them different from California, the top market for solar power, is cheaper utility rates and the lack of policies to encourage rooftop panels. Policy issues are due in part to conflicting interests between power companies and consumers, and how states like Texas and Florida choose to address this may provide a model for other states to follow.

“Just being a very sunny state is not always enough for people to take full advantage of solar,” said Chad Singleton, an analyst with energy industry consultant Wood Mackenzie.

Plunging prices for equipment and advancing technology are making solar more attractive to consumers. The average cost of a home solar system has dropped about 70 percent since 1988, and they are now cost competitive with grid-supplied power in 42 U.S. cities including Dallas and Miami, according to a recent government-funded study by North Carolina State University.

Many utilities, meanwhile, have been cautious about encouraging residential solar because they lose revenue when customers start producing their own power. Utility power rates are expected to rise as much as 83 percent over the next 25 years, according to U.S. government data.

Leasing Limits

Under Florida law, only utilities can sell power to retail customers. That effectively shuts down solar leasing, the no-money-down model that’s made residential the fastest-growing part of the U.S. solar market.

With leases, sometimes called power-purchase agreements, companies like SolarCity Corp. own the panels and their customers sign long-term contracts to buy the power.

Pro-solar activists are gathering votes for a ballot initiative in Florida that would open the door to SolarCity and similar companies.

“It’s appalling that the Sunshine State has policies in place that blocked the sun,” said Debbie Dooley, one of the leaders of the movement and founder of the Green Tea Coalition, a conservative group that supports solar energy.

Florida’s two biggest utilities, owned by NextEra Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp., say they support policies that promote solar as long as they’re fair to all customers and keep bills low.

Solar Farms

NextEra, North America’s largest generator of wind and solar power, is making plans for its own large-scale solar farms, saying that’s more cost-effective than individual rooftop systems. The company’s Florida Power & Light unit said last month it plans to build three solar plants by the end of 2016 that will triple its total photovoltaic capacity to about 335 megawatts.

Solar advocates point to the state’s lack of a renewable power standard as another impediment.

Texas has such a mandate, a requirement that utilities get a certain amount of power from renewable sources, and most of that is met with the state’s abundant wind energy. Solar makes up less than one percent of the state’s energy mix, which is dominated by coal and natural gas.

Texas is one of seven states that doesn’t require utilities to buy power from consumers’ home-solar systems. This arrangement, known as net metering, is how most people recover the cost of installing rooftop power; without this payment, home solar is far less economical.

Austin Incentives

Most of the home solar installed in Texas is in San Antonio, where the local utility does offer net metering, and Austin, where a similar arrangement provides customers with statement credits for energy produced by rooftop power systems.

NRG Energy Inc., the nation’s biggest independent power producer and largest electricity retailer in Texas, sees a growing business opportunity in rooftop solar as prices continue to slide, Chief Executive Officer David Crane said in an interview last month. The company sells residential systems in Texas through its NRG Home Solar unit.

Solar in the North American power market has “snowballed from a science experiment and a niche technology” to “a potential disrupter of utility business models and the power industry at large,” Prajit Ghosh, a power analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said in a report this month.

Just as shale drilling changed the math for oil and gas markets, Ghosh wrote, “no other technology is closer to transforming power markets in a similar fashion.”

Voted Down

Not yet, though, in Florida and Texas. Bills in recent years that have proposed solar incentives in Texas have failed to pass the Legislature, said Terry Hadley, a spokesman for the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Cracking markets like Texas and Florida, which have low power prices and few financial incentives, “would really be a signal of the market reaching an unprecedented level of maturity,” said Cory Honeyman, a solar analyst with GTM Research.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net Will Wade

Cloudy Prospects for Rooftop Solar"s Growth in Florida: Energy

/ Pump Patrol

No email address was supplied by
.

To complete your registration on this site, please supply an address.

Please confirm or modify the email address to which you will have subscription offers sent.

Email

/ Pump Patrol

Havyard delivers first wind farm service vesssel to Esvagt

FEBRUARY 15, 2015 — Norway’s Havyard Ship Technology AS reports that its Leirvik shipyard has delivered the first of three Havard  8302 SV wind farm service vessels to Danish shipowner Esvagt.

The vessel is the first of a pair ordered in July 2013 to work under long-term contracts with Siemens on service assignments for offshore wind farms. The second is scheduled for delivery from the shipyard in March this year. Esvagt has also ordered an additional Havyard 832 SOV from the shipbuilder that  will be under contract for the Dudgeon windfarm, which is operated by Statoil.

“This is yet another milestone for Havyard,” says Kenneth Pettersen, head of the Ship Technology business area in Havyard Group ASA.”Havyard has good references and a strong position in designing, building and fitting out advanced vessels for use in connection with offshore oil production. We have now used this expertise and experience to gain a foothold in the new and exciting renewable energy segment. We also design and build vessels for the fisheries and aquaculture industries, and we have orders for several icebreaker vessels on our books.”

“In times with low oil prices and a weak market for the oil service companies, it is a strength that we have several strings to our bow,” he adds. “We will use our expertise to continue to explore opportunities in alternative markets.”

As with the other vessels built at the shipyard, the design and detailed engineering for production of the vessel are provide by Havyard Design & Solutions, with Havyard Power & Systems, which is based in Ålesund, delivering the electrical engineering, automation and alarm systems and Havyard ConceptBridge. Havyard Ship Technology now has fishing vessels, live fish carriers, offshore vessels, icebreakers and service vessels for wind farms under construction for shipping companies from Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Russia.

“Most companies in our industry are experiencing a challenging situation because of the low oil price, a reduced activity level and cost-cutting by the oil companies,” says Gisle Vinjevoll Thrane, who is Senior Vice President Sales at Havyard Design & Solutions AS. “However, we also see many opportunities in other markets, not just in the offshore industry. The low exchange rate for the Norwegian krone is also an advantage for us, and we are now finding that we can compete with countries that we have previously regarded as low-cost countries. This is a golden opportunity for foreign shipping companies, or shipping companies whose revenues are in foreign currency, to build in Norway.”

In addition to designs for the building of ships at Havyard’s own yard, Havyard Design & Solutions also has orders for the delivery of design and equipment packages for the building of ships of Havyard design in Brazil, Spain, Singapore, India and China.

HAVYARD 832 SOV

The primary task of the Havyard 832 SOV vessels will be to provide accommodations and transportation for personnel and equipment involved in service and maintenance of offshore wind turbines.

The ship is equipped with a specialized gangway system that makes it possible to transfer personnel to the wind turbines in harsh weather conditions.

Emphasis has been placed on providing good facilities and comfort for the personnel on board, the ability to stay in position by the wind turbines, and environmentally friendly and economical transit between onshore bases and the offshore wind farms offshore.

The Havyard 832 SOV has a foreship designed to have good properties in both calm and rough seas and a stern with twin skegs that improve the performance of the hull and propellers and their operating economy. 

Length: 83.7 m
Breadth: 17.6 m
Speed: 14 knots
Accommodations: 60 persons

Havyard delivers first wind farm service vesssel to Esvagt

Dutch Company Utilizes Plants To Power Streetlights, Wi-Fi, And Cell Phones

Over the past year, there has been a sudden boom from green technology companies to innovate ways to power cities never before thought of.

The Inquisitr reported on such daring projects in which the latest is about a prototype “wind tree,” a design that can harvest electricity from sloe-speed winds. In an earlier report on green power, a scientist found a way to create glow-in-the-dark plants, a beautiful alternative to bringing light to a city at night.

Now, there are reports of a new green method to provide power for people, which if utilized correctly, can replace present-day energy companies. This was discovered by a Dutch company that found a way to harvest electricity coming from the most unlikely of sources: plants.

According to Yes Magazine and followed-up by Inhabitat, the Dutch company known as Plant-e initially introduced their new energy project, known as “Starry Sky,” at a demonstration in Hembrug, Netherlands. In it, they were able to power 300 LED lights, a truly marvelous show for anyone in attendance. The unique part of this project is that the harvested electricity didn’t come from conventional or even traditional green energy sources — it was harvested from living plants.

Marjolein Helder, the co-founder and CEO of Plant-e, believes that the aforementioned method of harvesting electricity can be revolutionary. Using plants to generate clean energy provides an option on the table that has little to no impact on the environment, and may save consumers up to millions as a whole if implemented correctly into society. Yet, Helder understands to achieve such big dreams, one must take initial steps. For Plant-e, that is done not only through providing light, but by selling Wi-Fi hotspots, mobile chargers, and rooftop electricity modules, all fueled by living plants.

Apparently, the idea for using plants and photosynthesis to extract energy is an old one. Until now, such endeavors have been delegated to middle school projects, mostly in the form of clocks being powered by potatoes. Jim McGowan provided a graphic that gives a general summary of how this is done.

Though such an endeavor is novel, at this moment, it isn’t reliable as a commercial product. Ramaraja Ramasamy, an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia College of Engineering, explains that Plant-e utilizes sediment microbial fuel cells, a method that isn’t advanced enough to compete with more established green technology like solar panels and wind turbines. Also, it is fairly new, thus the research is quite limited.

In conclusion, Plant-e’s way of providing power through plants is interesting but not practical to use, especially in the United States and Japan, countries that use a monumental amount of electricity. Presently, Plant-e and other green technology companies like them are researching if it is possible to get around this situation.

Now that you’ve read the news on how a Dutch company is providing electricity through plants, what are your views? Do you think that such a way of providing power will eventually see the light of day in the United States or any other country that consumes a lot of electricity?

[Featured Image via Shutterstock, Post Image via Jim McGowan/Yes Magazine]

Dutch Company Utilizes Plants To Power Streetlights, Wi-Fi, And Cell Phones

What Will It Require to Release the Next Game-Changing Solar Racking System?

Virtually everybody concurs that a railless domestic placing system like the one developed by Zep Solar speeds up installation and also boosts coordinations as compared to typical railed systems. While Zep Solar was and also is a darn excellent first-generation residential railless placing system, a lot of specialists located that its high hardware price did not validate their switching expenses– the labor time and buck cost savings, logistical improvements, and various other perks merely weren’t enough.

The exemption, as well as it’s a big one, was huge professionals like SolarCity and Vivint, which had the ability to offset the increased product price with significant improvements in their industry-leading everyday installment rates. Zep’s sale to SolarCity in 2013 for $158 million confirmed the worth of decreasing complete set up price with innovative mounting systems.

After SolarCity’s acquisition, all the other professionals that were making use of the system and most of the PV suppliers that place Zep’s grooved frame on their modules acquired “Zepped.” Simply puts, their investments in incorporating the system right into operations or making the non-standard component product were stranded.

Imagine for a moment that you have designers and teams of installers trained on a set apart placing system. Suddenly the business making the mission-critical equipment is offered to your direct competitor and also you understand that you have no choice but to switch over to something else. It will be fairly a mad scramble to get a new item selected, a new supply chain setup and also everybody retrained while trying your ideal to keep your projects opting for marginal interruption.

Making concerns worse, the years-long as well as effectively advertised legal drama between Zep Solar and also Westinghouse has made the installment and also production neighborhoods suspicious of brand-new entrants right into the railless placing room. The worry is that Zep’s new parent would pursue any type of affordable risk with its profile of patents and legal resources.

With these two problems fresh in every person’s mind, many teams are still understandably unwilling to make major adjustments to their basic items or operations because they may embrace a product that will end up being a frustration. This situation alters the competitive landscape, possibly suppresses advancement and reduces cost reduction.

That being stated, when first-generation systems demonstrate some success, industry reacts. Zep’s sale and the resulting product sector void have sent out the engineers back right into creation mode. A couple of brand-new railless products have actually attacked the marketplace, however so far, adoption has actually been slow-moving. We’re listening to that the industry has 3 primary criticisms about these brand-new offerings: high price, absence of needed attributes as well as copyright problems.

So exactly what would certainly it require to launch a new railless system that could become a game-changer? We’ve done a lot of thinking of just what the excellent qualities would be. Here’s our listing:

• Devoid of intellectual property concerns. We question that Elon    Musk, chairman of SolarCity, will be as thinking about sharing Zep licenses as he was in sharing Tesla’s patents. So see to it to stay away from potential claims.


• Quick as well as easy for installers. This is a crucial part of the worth proposition for railless devices. The system must cut real mount times down by hrs.


• Simple for the developers. The product must provide great deals of style versatility. It must adjust to roof vents as well as other seepages, angled or pyramid selections and also deal with a wide range of spans.


• Landscape and also picture installs. There is means way too much irregularity in roof covering setups to have a system that simply works one way or the other.


• Suitable with composite as well as floor tile roofs. The innovation has to be able to adapt to all the different roofing manufacturers’ products.


• Robust blinking and also roof securing. Among our essential duties is to protect our home from leakages, and we’ve discovered the best ways to do it. Keep it affordable as well as simple.


• Roof covering rafter accessory. This is a proven, structurally sound technique. We discovered the driving lesson long ago that systems screwed into just the deck could chill out in the near term.


• Incorporate the grounding. Eliminate point-to-point module ground cords. This lowers material cost, accelerate setup and decreases O&M costs.


• Easy elevation change as well as range progressing. It’s important that there’s enough array to compensate for bunches of roof disproportion.


• High stamina. Railless systems have some limitations, however the system needs to be able to withstand all but the highest snow and wind tons. This covers mostly all of the united state


• Low weight. It’s less complicated on the roof, decreases product costs, lowers delivery expenses and also bushes against future metal rate rises.


• Lessened components matter. The system should not need greater than a component or more to attach the PV modules to the roof. Every little thing else is superfluous.


• Criterion devices as well as equipment. Railless systems must have less equipment, so it’s important to standardize the nuts and bolts to cut the tool-count down.


• PV module-agnostic. Everybody really wants the alternative to pick their PV supplier and also component kind. Whether the module is low cost, high power, has incredibly aesthetics or different framework dimensions, the system must function.


• Top-notch visual appeals. A bunch of job has actually entered making components look terrific. See to it the mounting system suits the modules.

While numerous of these functions appear self-evident, the engineering effort to roll them right into one product is definitely non-trivial. A good deal of time, effort, resourcefulness and also resources will be called for to bring such an ingenious product to market.

And also what about the critical aspect of price? Late in 2012 at a  Media event, MJ Shiao dealt with the topic of railless mounting systems. One of his graphes reveals that in 2014, the equipment cost of available railless systems was higher than that of rail-based systems. We have actually included the appropriate column to show what we believe the installed expense of a domestic railless system could quickly be today.

Railed systems, which have actually dominated the marketplace for decades, have regarding reached their design limitations, and it’s tough to see numerous practical distinctions between the items now on the market. Methods such as increasing quantity, simplifying procedures as well as reducing margins supply some restricted potential for expense decrease, however supplier earnings will likely experience.

Railless items have the possibility to radically shift the price contour downward and potentially offer disruptive company designs. We think that over the following five years, the market will certainly adopt railless systems for the vast bulk of residential installations.

The railless change is coming. Lower hardware expenses, faster installs and enhanced coordinations will drive adoption by all professionals no matter size. Like other manufacturers in our industry, mounting system firms will need to reduce actual costs and also maintain their growth on lesser dollar-per-watt income. The leader, while unclear at the moment, will have a substantial opportunity to control this item sector, develop a considerable, lucrative business, as well as come to be the industry specification.

What Will It Require to Release the Next Game-Changing Solar Racking System?

Why Furnace Filters and Pads Are More Important...

Air Flex Heating & Cooling Limited in Toronto has been in the business of everything related to heating and cooling since 1993. They’ve built a long standing reputation of providing quality repairs and installations of the industry’s top name-brand products. Their inventory is wide ranging and the quality of the selection is second to none. That’s why if you’re looking to improve the air quality in your home, save money on your utility bills, protect your home from mold, mildew and all kinds of airborne diseases, you’ve got to go with Air Flex Heating & Cooling.

One thing their team of professionals does better than anybody else in the business is keep the focus on maintenance. Any savvy homeowner should know that it is much cheaper to maintain something than it is to fix it after the fact, so having a mindset of proper ongoing care when it comes to the heating and cooling systems in your home is definitely the best way to go.

One simple thing Air Flex Heating & Cooling can do for you is ensure that the filter in your furnace and the pads in your humidifier are changed on a regular basis. The filters you purchase through them are manufactured by companies that have been the industry leaders for decades including Lennox, Carrier and AprilAire to name a few.

What’s most important about changing your filters and pads on a regular basis aside from choosing a trusted name brand, however, is the fact that a filter’s job is to get rid of microscopic particles that can be harmful to your health such as mold spores, smog, smoke, dust particles and many types of airborne viruses.

Most people don’t even realize that the rule of thumb for installing a fresh filter is about once every three months, so if you haven’t done so in a while, get in touch with the team at Air Flex Heating & Cooling. They’ll not only handle the job for you and help keep the air in your home safe and clean, they will repair, install and provide any number of heating and cooling appliances you may need and put a system in place that you can count on.

Don’t risk being exposed to all kinds of harmful microscopic diseases in the air you breathe. Spare your lungs, your wallet and your piece of mind by having all of your heating and cooling appliances maintained by the best name in the business…Air Flex Heating & Cooling.

They serve customers across the Greater Toronto Area. Visit their website or call 416-439-7155 to get a quote today.

Why Furnace Filters and Pads Are More Important...

Nissan Leaf Gets Glow-In-The-Dark Paint Job To Promote Solar Energy: Video

Nissan Leaf Gets Glow-In-The-Dark Paint Job To Promote Solar Energy: Video

Follow Jeff

[% } %]

[% }); %]

]]>

Have you ever thought to yourself “Man, I wish my car was more visible at night!”? Well, Nissan may have you covered as they’ve managed to coat a Leaf with glow-in-the-dark paint. The resulting look is illuminating to say the least.

By snagging UV light during the day the paint gets charged up to glow when it gets dark. The idea behind the car is to show how Nissan Leaf owners can capture solar energy at home during the day and convert it into money-saving free electron juice to power the living space. According to Nissan, 89% of Leaf owners charger their vehicles at home overnight. We’re not sure what the other 11% are doing but we assume it’s looking at their expensive lawn ornaments.

Regardless, it’s a fun way to shed light (pun intended) on good way to save money at home while working to help the environment. Also, it makes for what must be the coolest looking Nissan Leaf on the planet, outside of the Nismo version.

_______________________________________

Follow Motor Authority on Twitter, and Google+.

Glow In The Dark Nissan Leaf

Sign up for our Daily Newsletter Get daily news, spy shots and more!

Posted in:

Follow Us

Get daily e-mail updates

Sign up for our Daily Newsletter Get daily news, spy shots and more!

From dealers near you

Most Popular This Week

More

Related Used Listings

Browse used listings in your area.

More from High Gear Media

• 
  


• 
  

Nissan Leaf Gets Glow-In-The-Dark Paint Job To Promote Solar Energy: Video

Businesses meet in Springfield on environmental issues

Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015 12:01 am

Maldaner’s owner and chef Michael Higgins showed off his rooftop garden and solar panels last summer.

PHOTO BY DAVID HINE

Climate change is bad for business, according to concerned business owners who met in Springfield last week.

Washington, D.C.-based Business Forward hosted a meeting of Springfield business leaders and state lawmakers on Feb. 5 to discuss how climate change negatively affects business. The same day, the Illinois Clean Jobs Initiative – another group of lawmakers and business leaders – called for raising the state’s energy efficiency goals to create “green” jobs.

The climate change meeting raised a variety of environmental issues which state lawmakers will likely have to address in the coming years. Woody Woodruff, a farmer and conservation associate with the Illinois Stewardship Alliance in Springfield, was largely concerned with soil health. He said that over-tilling of soil can release more carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming, but growing cover crops between planting seasons can help draw carbon out of the atmosphere.

“We think in agriculture we can have a key role in helping to curb climate change or at least help to be prepared,” Woodruff said.

Michael Higgins, owner and chef at Maldaner’s Restaurant in Springfield, has different concerns. He said that agricultural complications brought on by climate change can drive up his food costs, but conducting his business in an environmentally conscious way helps him better market his business.

Higgins said he has different responses to give people when they ask if he’s an environmentalist.

“To some I say, ‘Well, sure, I’m an environmentalist,’ ” Higgins said “For other people I say, ‘No, it makes business sense.’ ”

Cindy Davis, co-owner of Resource One Office Furnishings and Design in Springfield, has concerns related to preserving old buildings and furniture construction. For example, she said wooden office furniture, if not finished properly, can release hazardous vapors.

Davis, who founded an annual symposium in Springfield on renewable building and interior design practices in 2002, said restoring older buildings is more environmentally friendly than new construction for two reasons: the energy costs of tearing down and building again, and the waste left over. Davis said waste like drywall from tearing down buildings can end up in landfills and release toxic runoff when it rains.

Unless an existing building is a hazard, Davis said, wasting the time, materials and energy that went into its construction is “crazy.”

“The greenest building is an existing building,” Davis said.

That same day at the Illinois Statehouse, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition announced a new public-private partnership to pursue policies to bolster green energy jobs. The coalition said 32,000 new jobs could be created annually if their policies are adopted – policies like increasing renewable energy standards to use more solar and wind or raising efficiency standards to encourage retrofitting of old heating and air conditioning systems.

“We have one goal: to promote policies that will maximize the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in Illinois, and create thousands of good-paying jobs,” said Jen Walling, executive director of Illinois Environmental Council. “That is to go beyond the 100,000 clean energy jobs in Illinois today.”

While each of the business leaders at Business Forward had different environmental concerns and unique solutions for them, the focus of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition was singular and direct: grow the renewable energy economy in Illinois, both for the sake of the environment and the economy.

“We all have a very clear understanding of the direction that the country is going on these issues, the direction the world must go on these issues,” said state Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston. “But there’s an enormous, enormous dividend to be paid to those who move earlier.”

Contact Alan Kozeluh at intern@illinoistimes.com.

Businesses meet in Springfield on environmental issues