Monthly Archives: April 2013

Lawmakers float renewable energy finance bill – The Hill’s E2-Wire

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green Energy Technologies & Development

A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers revived legislation Wednesday that aims to spur renewable energy investment through federal tax code tweak. Lawmakers unveiled the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act — spearheaded in the Senate by Sens.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The bill would extend master limited partnerships to renewable energy projects ranging from wind power to energy efficiency. Currently, only oil-and-gas projects can use the financing mechanism.

“This market-driven solution supports the all-of-the-above energy strategy we need to power our country for generations to come. Our legislation will unleash private capital, create jobs and modernize our tax code,” Coons said in a statement.

See on thehill.com

Lithium-polysulfide “Flow” battery helps solar and wind power the grid

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green Energy Technologies & Development

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have managed to design a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar …

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The new Stanford/SLAC battery design uses only one stream of molecules and does not need a membrane at all. Its molecules mostly consist of the relatively inexpensive elements lithium and sulfur, which interact with a piece of lithium metal coated with a barrier that permits electrons to pass without degrading the metal.

When discharging, the molecules, called lithium polysulfides, absorb lithium ions; when charging, they lose them back into the liquid. The entire molecular stream is dissolved in an organic solvent, which doesn’t have the corrosion issues of water-based flow batteries.

“In initial lab tests, the new battery also retained excellent energy-storage performance through more than 2,000 charges and discharges, equivalent to more than 5.5 years of daily cycles,” Cui explained.

See on www.tgdaily.com

USDA Renews Dairy Energy Pact – Domestic Fuel

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green & Sustainable News

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack today renewed a historic agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate the adoption of innovative waste-to-energy projects and energy efficiency improvements on U.S. dairy farms…

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

USDA support for agricultural and waste-to-energy research has played a key role in the agreement’s success to date. Since signing the MOU, USDA has made nearly 180 awards that helped finance the development, construction, and biogas production of anaerobic digester systems with Rural Development programs, such as the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, Value Added Producer Grants, amongst others. These systems capture methane and produce renewable energy for on-farm use and sale onto the electric grid. Additionally, during this period, USDA awarded approximately 140 REAP loans and grants to help dairy farmers develop other types of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems at their operations.

See on domesticfuel.com

More Major Companies Embrace New Recycling Label | Ethical Consumption

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green & Sustainable News

A dozen major U.S. companies, including General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Kellogg’s (NYSE:K), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and REI, have already joined the labeling scheme. Since launching last January, How2Recycle has established itself as the only labeling system that convey recyclability across all material types and provides explicit directions to consumers to influence their recycling behavior.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

“Consumers are faced with a confusing landscape of material and recycling messages that are often inconsistent or misleading. We believe this label will help consumers and companies more effectively communicate recyclability and contribute to more successful resource recovery,” said Anne Bedarf, who led the development of the label, at a launch ceremony for How2Recycle last year.

“As we enable consumers to recycle correctly, we ensure more quality recycled material is available for us to use, our consumers send less waste to landfill, and we can reduce the energy needed to create new packages,” added Lorio, whose company was recently named one of the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” by Corporate Knights.

See on www.justmeans.com

And now, for printed energy storage – with solar : Renew Economy

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green Building Design – Architecture & Engineering

Australia’s Dyesol teams up with a developer of printed energy storage technology to create self-powering indoor devices.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Australian solar dye technology develop DyeSol and created a new venture with Singapore based Printed Power to develop combined energy generation and printed energy storage devices designed for the commercial building market.

See on reneweconomy.com.au

Biofuel Used to Make Stronger Building Materials

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green Building Design – Architecture & Engineering

Biodiesel Fuel. Image Source: Tomorrow Is Greener Civil engineers have developed a tougher and more resilient form of concrete by using waste material created during the manufacture of biofuel as a proxy for cement.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Biofuel manufactured from cellulose materials such as wood and straw creates a residue called lignin, which is generally deemed a waste product and disposed of via burning or burial.

Engineers at the University of Kansas have found that the lignin has immense potential as a green building ingredient. When 20 per cent lignin waste was added to a concrete mix as a replacement for cement, the ensuing chemical reaction created a building material endowed with 30 per cent more strength.

The findings could have tremendous implications for both the biofuel and concrete industries, as well as the carbon footprint of the construction sector, which generates immense CO2 emissions due to cement production.

See on designbuildsource.com.au

Zero Carbon Building Wins Hong Kong’s Inaugural Engineering Innovation Award

Posted on by
1

See on Scoop.it – Green Building Design – Architecture & Engineering

Image Source: Arup Hong Kong’s Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) has won the inaugural “Champion of the Innovation Award for the Engineering Industry” from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE). The ZCB employed a swath of integrated innovatio …

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The ZCB employed a swath of integrated innovations to best meet the unique conditions of Hong Kong’ sub-tropical location and frenetic urban setting, incorporating a total of over 80 sustainability features to heighten its efficiency and diminish its environmental impact.

The roof of the three-storey building is almost completely covered in photovoltaic panels to take advantage of Hong Kong’s torrid climate for power generation purposes. In addition to solar power, the ZCB is also capable of producing energy using biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil, which is widely used in the city’s thriving culinary culture.

See on designbuildsource.com.au

Aemetis Announces Restart of 60 Million Gallon Per Year Keyes Biofuels Plant – WSJ.com

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green Energy Technologies & Development

Aemetis, Inc. (OTCQB: AMTX), an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, announced today that the Aemetis 60 million gallon per year capacity ethanol facility in Keyes, California has completed planned maintenance and preparations for the production of Advanced Biofuel under recent EPA rulings, and is now restarting production.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The plant will start up using corn as the principal feedstock, with grain sorghum or a feedstock blend used after startup to maximize operating income. In December 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of grain sorghum feedstock along with biogas in a combined heat and power system to produce an Advanced Biofuel containing approximately 50% lower carbon content than gasoline. Advanced Biofuel generates D5 Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) that have traded at a premium to traditional ethanol D6 RINs.

[…]  “About $5 million of capital investment and new working capital has been invested since mid-January for maintenance and to enable the plant to produce Advanced Biofuel in a flexible configuration that enables the use of multiple feedstocks and energy sources.”

McAfee added, “The Keyes plant has sustainable cost advantages in Advanced Biofuels production. The plant’s location enables both rail and ocean shipping access to advanced biofuel feedstock from lower-cost supply sources. The Keyes plant is also equipped with an energy-efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system to reduce energy costs and decrease the carbon content of fuel. By using grain sorghum feedstock and sourcing biogas for the CHP system instead of natural gas, the Keyes facility is now able to produce Advanced Biofuel to support EPA requirements for advanced fuels.”

See on online.wsj.com

CHP will help reduce EU’s energy imports – European Commission – Gas to Power Journal – Gas to Power Journal UK

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green & Sustainable News

Increased market penetration of energy efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP) installations can help the EU reduce its energy imports and drive econo…

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

“Even if we disregard climate change, it would still be wise to stop spending as much as possible of the some €400 billion a year we spend on importing oil and gas. Instead, we should find ways to use European technologies and labor to get more efficient energy systems to decrease our fossil fuel imports,” he told delegates in a keynote opening address.

… the Commission has proposed €17 billion to go specifically towards energy efficiency projects including CHP. The effect of this, according to Hodson, is that “there is now a greater climate for regional authorities to build energy efficiency into their projects from the very beginning”.

See on gastopowerjournal.com

On-Site Utility – EuroSite Power Providing Savings to DoubleTree by Hilton – Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production

Posted on by
Reply

See on Scoop.it – Green & Sustainable News

LONDON, UK – EuroSite Power Inc., (OTCQB: EUSP) an On-Site Utility, offering clean electricity, heat, hot water and cooling solutions to hospitality, healthcare, housing and leisure centers in the United Kingdom and Europe is now operating a combined heat and power system supplying clean energy to DoubleTree by Hilton, Cambridge, UK.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

EuroSite Power will produce clean energy in the form of electricity, heating and domestic hot water for each hotel at a price lower than The Ability Group’s previous and future energy suppliers. Because The Ability Group opted for the company’s On-Site Utility solution, each hotel pays only for the energy used and avoids all capital, installation and operating costs. EuroSite Power also handles all service, maintenance and repair meaning neither The Ability Group nor Hilton Worldwide need to provide manpower to support the energy equipment.

See on www.cospp.com