A $35 million Advanced Energy Research Technology Center opened today on the campus of Stony Brook University in New York. The center will conduct research on how to make the various kinds of clean energy affordable to the average person. The Center is a partnership of NY state government, local businesses and scientists. The building itself will be among the most effient in the country.
A solar PV project is in the design stage for the army that will cover almost 12 acres – the largest solar array at a U.S. Army facility and one of the largest in Colorado. 3 Phases Energy Services, LLC, SunTechnics Energy Systems, Inc., and Morgan Stanley, will develop, engineer, install and finance a 2-megawatt (MW), ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) array at Fort Carson, CO. The solar array will consist of flat-plate, thin-film solar technology provided by First Solar. The solar modules are warranted for 25 years and the plant can be expected to produce energy efficiently for up to 40 years. “The 2 MW solar project at Fort Carson represents the collaboration of seven major players, each of whom has played a decisive role in making this project a tremendous success,” said Erik Rothenberg, Managing Director at 3 Phases Energy. A California based developer of renewable energy projects, 3 Phases worked with Fort Carson to assemble the various pieces and partners to make this an economically viable project for the Army. Two utilities and a federal power marketing agency cooperated in making the project possible. Xcel Energy will purchase the renewable energy credits (RECs) for 20 years under its […]
A new photovoltaic (PV) industry association, PV Cycle has set up a program to facilitate PV module recycling at end-of-life. In the future, the PV industry will voluntarily take back defective or used solar modules to recycle and recover valuable materials as appropriate. In July, a group of PV solar companies founded the ‘European Association for the Recovery of Photovoltaic Modules AISBL’, known in short as PV CYCLE. The Association will develop and introduce a European-wide collection, recycling and recovery system. The member companies committed themselves to take responsibility for the end-of-life treatment to their products. The Association will create a waste management policy for the industry, guaranteeing the highest economically feasible collection and recovery rates as well as appropriate treatment of waste PV modules. The voluntary take back system will go into effect in 2008. PV CYCLE members will, in working groups, establish and document best practices for photovoltaic waste. In addition, the Association will support research projects on this topic. The companies’ joint aim is to achieve the highest possible reusability quota across the lifecycle of a photovoltaic module. The Association was set up by solar energy companies Avancis, Conergy, Isofoton, SCHOTT Solar, Solarworld and Sulfurcell Solartechnik as […]
Office Depot (NYSE:ODP announced the launch of its new “Tech Recycling Service” – the office supply retailer will offer recycling for tech equipment at all its 1,100-plus stores in North America. The program was piloted in 2006 in approximately 100 stores in the U.S., and has already resulted in the recycling of more than 108,000 pounds of technology. The Tech Recycling Service enhances Office Depot’s current range of recycling solutions, through which customers can recycle cell phones, rechargeable batteries and ink and toner cartridges. Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR), a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced that its Spanish subsidiary will design and construct an 18-megawatt (MW) Olivenza solar electric power plant in the Badajoz region of Spain. SunPower will debut its proprietary SunPower® T20 Tracker solar tracking system in Europe at the 70-hectare site. The Tracker follows the sun as it moves across the sky, delivering up to 30% more energy than fixed-tilt systems while reducing installation cost per kilowatt. Olivenza is financed by a consortium of institutions, including AIG Financial Products Corp., a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. and a principal investor in the energy and infrastructure sectors, and 360 CORPORATE, a Spanish principal investor in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as equity investors. This project will expand SunPower’s footprint in Spain to more than 100 megawatts under contract. Construction is expected to be complete in the spring of 2008. Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Organic To Go (OTCBB:OTGO), the nation’s first fast food chain to be certified as an organic retailer, has closed on $4.3 million of an anticipated $6 million financing with institutional investors, bringing the total equity investment in the company in the last year to $23 million. The final closing is expected within five days for the company, which posted 69% revenue growth for its second quarter over the prior year. Boston-based Winslow Green Growth Fund is a lead investor in this latest round of financing. “We believe that Organic To Go is in the right space at the right time, with an exceptional management team,” says Matt Patsky, Managing Director. The company also entered into a purchase agreement to acquire three new San Diego cafes with two catering locations that generated more than $3 million in profitable revenue last year. With this latest acquisition, Organic To Go now has 25 cafes in four regions. “There’s no slow down in the public’s interest in healthier food and more organic choices,” says Jason Brown, founder and CEO. This latest cash infusion will allow us to secure our footprint in the San Diego area and reach thousands of new people. For the remainder […]
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Last week we reported that countries such as Indonesia and Brazil are asking industrialized countries to pay for the preservation of their rainforests. (see Rainforest-Rich Countries Say Ante Up! http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/news/sbnews.cfm?id=14410) The World Bank is testing a fund, The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, to do exactly that. It will pay developing countries to protect and replant tropical forests. The fund will initially use US$300 million to test practical methods to protect and monitor tropical forests in nations like Brazil, Indonesia, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guyana and Suriname. With a $30 billion carbon market in 2006, the fund could potentially provide a lot of money. It would generate revenue to reduce poverty in developing countries, while maintaining forest resources like clean water and indigenous medicines. The new facility is seen as a R&D tool to develop practical ways to stop deforestation. Methods will need to be developed, for example, for governments to measure the current state of their forests and then prove how much deforestation is being reduced. Deforestation contributes 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the world’s cars, trucks, trains and airplanes combined. Pressure for this is likely to increase, if the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change […]
How much emissions do we have to reduce to limit climate change to acceptable levels? It’s a slippery slope – the Kyoto Protocal calls for a mere 6-8% reduction, but it’s widely acknowledged that they need to be reduced by 80% or more. Last week we reported that even the 10 year window scientists gave us before climate change “really kicks in” has closed 8 years early because of rapid growth in China and India. (See No 10 Year Window – Greenhouse Gases Have Hit Danger Mark: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/news/sbnews.cfm?id=14411) The scientific concensus seems to be that we must limit climate change to a two degrees rise in temperature in the next century. Above that, we face “dangerous” climate change. A new computer analysis shows that the only way to do that is to TOTALLY eliminate industrial emissions. Beyond a two degree rise, continents would no longer absorb more CO2 than they produce. Tundra and other areas of permafrost would thaw and produce more gas, adding to emissions. The result would be widespread flooding, reduced food production and widespread species extinction. The computer model used was the same as that used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate […]
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