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Power Integrations Named Winner of Efficiency Challenge 2004

Power Integrations, Inc. (Nasdaq:POWI) has been named Grand Champion in its category of Efficiency Challenge 2004, an international design competition for power supply efficiency. The contest, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Energy Commission, showcases highly efficient power supply technologies for consumer electronics. The winning design, an energy-efficient adapter for a cordless telephone, was judged the top entry in the “market ready” category of the competition, in which practical factors such as cost and packaging were considered in addition to energy efficiency. The design uses Power Integrations’ LinkSwitch family of integrated circuits, which are ideally suited for use in low-power applications such as cordless phones, cell phones, consumer appliances and many industrial applications. The winning design will enable manufacturers to comply with the recently launched ENERGY STAR specification for cordless phones, as well as the mandatory standards recently placed on external adapters by the California Energy Commission. Said Balu Balakrishnan, president and CEO of Power Integrations, “It is particularly significant that the winning design is for the cordless phone market, where inefficient linear transformers are still the predominant power supply technology. This award validates the fact that a cost-effective, efficient alternative to these ‘energy vampires’ is […]

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Citigroup Commended For Enforcing Environmental Policy

Citigroup requires Southeast Asian timber client to obtain independent, third party certification. Forest protection advocates, human rights activists and socially responsible investors (SRI) today commended Citigroup (NYSE:C) for its proactive constructive engagement to help end endangered forest destruction, rampant illegal logging and related human rights abuses in Southeast Asia. During an “Environmental and Social Risk Management Briefing” at Citigroup’s New York headquarters this week, CEO Chuck Prince told stakeholders that client Rimbunan Hijau, a Malaysian logging giant with a well-documented history of human rights abuses and illegal logging activities, must comply with a set of progressive new environmental policies adopted by the bank last year. Mr. Prince affirmed that Citigroup will require Rimbunan Hijau to obtain credible, independent, third party certification for its Papua New Guinea operations and specified the Forest Stewardship Council program by name during his comments. The environmental and SRI communities are awaiting formal targets and timelines from Citigroup for Rimbunan Hijau’s certification process. In January 2004, Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup announced that Citigroup had adopted a comprehensive environmental policy including initiatives on endangered ecosystems, illegal logging, ecologically sustainable development and climate change. During the implementation process, Rainforest Action Network alerted Citigroup to investigations into Rimbunan […]

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Wind Power Challenged but Turbines Still Turning

by Ken Silverstein – Director, Energy Industry Analysis Even though wind power is facing challenges on a few new projects, the industry is still working to establish itself as a cornerstone of global energy policy. Successful projects could cut the level of pollutants that are released into the atmosphere. But, the nascent technology has been battered lately by determined opponents armed with new studies who argue that wind power is adversely effecting wildlife and the environment as well as adding costs to consumers’ bills. What are some of the issues? Thousands of dead bats are turning up in the hills of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland and the matter has grabbed the attention of researchers, naturalists and utilities alike. No one knows why this is happening and the issue is likely to affect a host of new wind developments that have long been in the works; The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for New England has written to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that its draft proposal essentially giving the go-ahead to an off-shore wind project to be located in Cape Cod is “inadequate.” It says that the Corps must look into matters involving the effects on […]

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Nearly One in Ten 2004 Homes Qualified for Energy Star

Nearly 10 percent of all homes built in 2004 qualified for Energy Star, according to an EPA report. Since 1995 more than 350,000 of the nation’s new homes have met Energy Star ratings, saving homeowners an estimated $200 million and eliminating approximately 4 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the emissions of about 150,000 vehicles. Home energy use accounts for nearly 17 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 15 percent of energy consumption nationwide. For the past 10 years, EPA has been working with the housing industry, utilities, states, and independent energy efficiency home ratings professionals to bring increased energy efficiency to the homebuilding industry. Today more than 2,500 builders are committed to building Energy Star qualified homes, and in some markets 20 to 40 percent of new housing starts earn the Energy Star. New homes that qualify for the Energy Star designation use about 30 percent less energy than a home built to the model energy code without compromising comfort or quality. Energy Star qualified homes can be found in every state and the District of Columbia. States with the most Energy Star qualified homes include Texas, with more than 91,000 qualifying homes, California […]

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Nuclear Delusion – The Case for a New Atomic Dawn to Meet the Carbon Challenge

by Tom Burke, March 2, 2005 The nuclear industry has grasped at climate change like a drowning man clutching a passing log. Its latest piece of flailing around involved persuading some journalists that the prime minister is just waiting for the general election to be over to put out a white paper setting out the case for 10 new nuclear reactors. This was as much news to No 10 as it was to the public. But no doubt it accurately reflects the aspirations of the diminishing band of nuclear advocates. In reality, as energy minister Michael O’Brien has pointed out on several recent occasions, the government would happily consider an application for one or 10 or any number of nuclear power stations right now from anyone who wants to build them. Unfortunately, no one is offering. The brutal truth is that no one has yet managed to work out a way of getting nuclear reactors to burn uranium as effectively as they burn money – though extraordinary creativity has gone into concealing this from public view. Nor has anyone yet discovered how to make atoms work for peace without making them available for war. For all their enthusiasm, not one […]

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