Green Building & Manufacturing
Plastic Electronics Could Slash the Cost of Solar Panels
ScienceDaily (Apr. 3, 2010) - A new technique developed by Princeton University engineers for producing electricity-conducting plastics could dramatically lower the cost of manufacturing solar panels.
By overcoming technical hurdles to producing plastics that are translucent, malleable and able to conduct electricity, the researchers have opened the door to broader use of the materials in a wide range of electrical devices.
With mounting concerns about global warming and energy demand, plastics could represent a low-cost alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO), an expensive conducting material currently used in solar panels, according to the researchers.
"Conductive polymers [plastics] have been around for a long time, but processing them to make something useful degraded their ability to conduct electricity," said Yueh-Lin Loo, an associate professor of chemical engineering, who led the Princeton team. "We have figured out how to avoid this trade-off. We can shape the plastics into a useful form while maintaining high conductivity."
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Southern U.S. Could Benefit From a Little Efficiency
That the American South is both a voracious consumer of energy and a laggard on implementing efficiency measures has long been a matter of some concern for policymakers and energy analysts.
A 2007 report by Forbes magazine, for example, ranked states according to a composite score in six categories: carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives and energy consumption.
Top honors went to states like Vermont, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey. The first Southern state east of Texas listed was Florida - at number 20. And as noted at the time by Robert Hawley - then a renewable energy researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and West Virginia made up seven of the bottom eight on the list. (The were joined by Indiana.)
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New car efficiency rules could help improve New Jersey's chronically polluted air
Automakers will have to build cars and light trucks that get better fuel mileage and generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions beginning with model year 2012 under rules issued by the Obama administration on Thursday. Experts say the new rules should help New Jersey improve its chronically polluted air.
The rules build on more stringent fuel efficiency and emissions standards that California, New Jersey and a number of other states had wanted to implement but had been blocked from enacting by the Bush administration.
Starting with the 2012 model year, automakers must improve fleetwide fuel economy and reduce emissions by 5 percent a year. The fleetwide fuel economy standards would reach 34.1 to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
The vehicles will cost about $950 more, but the improved gas mileage will save consumers an estimated $3,000 over the life of the vehicle, federal officials said.
New Jersey consistently fails federal clean-air standards, and up to half of its pollution comes from cars and trucks on its crowded roads and highways, experts say.
In New Jersey, the new rules could result in drivers avoiding 3.3 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions a year by 2016, according to a report by Environment America. New Jersey drivers could also save 352 million gallons of gas in 2016, a $969 million reduction in total fuel costs.
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Does the jobs recovery boost chances for the bipartisan climate and clean energy jobs bill?
"Employers in the U.S. created more jobs in March than at any time in the past three years, showing the recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s is broadening and becoming more entrenched."
That's Bloomberg reporting on new data from the Labor Department, which showed that "payrolls rose by 162,000 workers, the third gain in the past five months."
Since bad economic news would certainly be bad for a climate bill, this must be seen as good news. I have repeatedly written about studies showing how clean energy legislation will create 1.7 million jobs and opportunities for low-income families, including lower energy bills. And Nobel prize-winning NYT columnist Paul Krugman has explained why climate action "now might actually help the economy recover from its current slump" by giving "businesses a reason to invest in new equipment and facilities."
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Researcher Modernizes US Power Grid
ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2010) - Although the U.S. electric power industry is one of the greatest engineering marvels of the 20th century, aging technology and an increase in demand create problems for the electricity infrastructure that need to be fixed.
Venkat Selvamanickam, director of the Applied Research Hub and the M.D. Anderson chair professor of the department of mechanical engineering, University of Houston, is developing a technology with high temperature superconducting wires that is revolutionizing the way power is generated, transported and used.
"The country's electric transmission grid currently consists of about 160,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, with forecasters predicting an additional 12,900 miles needed over the next five years to meet increasing demand," said Selvamanickam. "The goal of my research is to modernize the power grid with high temperature superconducting wires to improve efficiency and reliability. Almost anything in the power grid- cables, transformers, motors, generators -- can be more efficient if you use high temperature superconducting wires. Superconducting power cables can transmit up to 10 times more power than traditional copper cables without the significant losses of traditional cables and are considered environmentally friendly. Superconducting fault current limiters can enable uninterrupted power transmission when conventional circuits will otherwise succumb to outages in events such as lightning storms."
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ZAP Completes First Public Demonstration of Two Electric Vehicles.
The first-ever Korea Electric Vehicle Challenge took place outside Seoul with electric car pioneer ZAP and distribution partner in Korea Samyang Optics entering two vehicles under development, the Alias electric car and A380 electric SUV.
This was ZAP's first public demonstration of the Alias and SUV. ZAP's two 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs) drove along a 200km/124.3 mile route at an average speed of 85kph (52.8mph) as part of the EV Challenge. Using a new lithium battery system, the ZAP SUV drove 195 km (121 miles), on a single charge. The ZAP Alias concept car completed 50 km (31 miles) on traditional lead acid batteries before requiring a recharge. ZAP will be using lithium batteries in a test this May. The three-day event included manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries, chargers and components with parades and an exhibition.
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Government offers $10 million L Prize for energy efficient lighting that even CFL haters can love
Call it the curse of the CFL.
Back in 2007, before those swirly twists of glass had become mainstream, their energy-gobbling predecessors were put on death watch by Congress. The incandescent bulb, in use for more than a century, was judged too inefficient to meet the new standards established that year as part of a broader energy bill. Come 2012, the regulations require that common household bulbs use 20-30 percent less electricity. The U.S. push isn't unique, either: similar rules are coming on line in Australia, Canada, and Europe.
Enter compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. It didn't take long for the bulbs to emerge from their niche status and go mainstream, hyped by a blitz of utility incentives, industry ads, and public service messages. Spurred on by high electricity prices, the public dutifully unscrewed their Edison-era bulbs and subbed in the new eco-alternatives.
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Electric bikes aren't the answer to our prayers. We are.
Mmmm. An electric bike. Zipping through the city. Surging up hills without gasping for breath. Riding in business dress and arriving fresh and dry. Healthy, moderate exercise. No traffic jams. Free parking. Huge load-hauling potential. Near-free fueling. Zero emissions. Breeze in your face. Appealing!
So why haven't e-bikes caught on (yet)? Especially in the Pacific Northwest, which is brimming with well-heeled tech enthusiasts? What's stopping electric bikes from devouring automotive market share the way DVDs killed VHS? At least in good weather? Why aren't they as commonplace on our boulevards as motorcycles or scooters or muscle-powered bikes or even motorized wheel chairs? Will they be soon?
" In China, an estimated 120 million electric bicycles now hum along the roads, up from a few thousand in the 1990s. They are replacing traditional bikes and motorcycles at a rapid clip and, in many cases, allowing people to put off the switch to cars. . . . From virtually nothing a decade ago, electric bikes have become an $11 billion global industry.
In the Netherlands, a third of the money spent on bicycles last year went to electric-powered models. Industry experts predict similar growth elsewhere in Europe, especially in Germany, France and Italy, as rising interest in cycling coincides with an aging population. India had virtually no sales until two years ago, but its nascent market is fast expanding and could eclipse Europe's in the next year."
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Proposed Grid Could Make Offshore Wind Power More Reliable
ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2010) - The energy needs of the entire human population could potentially be met by converting wind energy to electricity. While offshore wind power resources are abundant, wind turbines are currently unable to provide steady power due to natural fluctuations in wind direction and strength.
Offshore wind power output can be made more consistent by choosing project development locations that take advantage of regional weather patterns and by connecting wind power generators with a shared power line, according to a paper by researchers from the University of Delaware and Stony Brook University published in the April 5 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Making wind-generated electricity more steady will enable wind power to become a much larger fraction of our electric sources," said the paper's lead author Willett Kempton, UD professor of marine policy in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and director of its Center for Carbon-free Power Integration.
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Cuccinelli's climate denial lawsuits could junk auto industry's recovery
Virginia's extremist attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA), is threatening the recovery of the American auto industry with new climate denial lawsuits. Wonk Room's Brad Johnson has the story.
To the applause of automakers, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation finalized landmark new fuel economy standards last week, completing President Obama's campaign promise. Cuccinelli has already filed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger the public, claiming that hacked "Climategate" emails prove a conspiracy by scientists involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to replace real science with "political science." In response to the new fuel economy standards - the first rules to take into account greenhouse pollution - Cuccinelli is filing yet another lawsuit, according to spokesman Brian Gottstein:
In that motion, the attorney general's office asked the EPA to reopen its proceedings in light of the recent evidence that the reports the EPA was relying on for its decision contained erroneous and/or unverifiable global temperature and other data. We will file a notice of appeal with respect to today's ruling.
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Notes on the Synthesis of BIM
A Building Information Model (BIM) does a remarkable job of organizing disparate design and construction data for others to then extract and use as needed. While a BIM contains an abundance of data-construction and fabrication, facilities and maintenance, cost and specifications, environment and topography, design and contractual-design professionals and others on the construction team synthesize this information into a comprehensive end product. BIMs collect-and designers and constructors synthesize-the information contained in the model.
BIM does a better job at optimizing often conflicting information than those who use it. Optimizing, but not unifying. As Christopher Alexander wrote in his seminal book, Notes on the Synthesis of Form, published in 1964: "A design problem is not an optimization problem." Design is a problem of synthesis. Design professionals and constructors are hardly alone in their ability to synthesize large and complex data into concise recommendations for action. Operations data analysts synthesize complex data into meaningful, action-oriented reports with charts and graphs-something anyone with exceptional analytical skills can accomplish. Music technologists do so in the process of making music from digital electronic equipment; chemists in executing chemical reactions in the making of products.
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Over 3,000 U.S. businesses push new ads for action on climate and clean energy jobs
A group of 3,000 national and grassroots companies are taking part today in a new national advertising campaign calling for swift action on energy and climate legislation. These businesses, including the groups American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE) and the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), range from national brands - like Google, Nike and Timberland - to mom-and-pop companies.
That's from a press release from American Businesses for Clean Energy. Here's more on this groundswell of business support for action on climate change and clean energy jobs:
Appearing in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Florida, the print ad, titled "A Question of American Leadership," calls on Congress to enact bipartisan climate and energy legislation that "…increases our security and limits emissions, as it preserves and creates jobs."
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How does lighting efficiency fit into our overall challenge to reduce energy use?
Better lighting is just one part of a broader push to improve how buildings use energy. A typical building lasts 150 years, so any technology we build into them is likely to stay in place for decades. It's better to build them right, the first time, than to fix them later. This means putting in more efficient lighting, superior insulation to keep things cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and good windows that let in light but that don't leak energy. NRDC supports these goals by trying to upgrade codes and by promoting efficiency incentives at local, state, and national levels.
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GSA Invests $4 Billion in Green Recovery Act Construction Projects Nationwide.
The U.S. General Services Administration last week marked another major milestone in its implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. To transform federal buildings into higher performing, greener buildings, the agency announced that it awarded construction projects to more than 500 companies creating jobs in all 50 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia by investing $4 billion in Recovery Act funds.
Since the passage of the Recovery Act, GSA infused funding into 391 projects. The agency made its Recovery Act funds go further through lower-than-anticipated competitive bids; funding $173 million of additional work to equip U.S. federal buildings with cost-saving, energy-conserving, sustainable features at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
"By delivering on-time and under-budget on these green retrofit projects, we're not only making more cost-saving building improvements than anticipated, but creating new opportunities for more than 500 companies nationwide," said Vice President Joe Biden.
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Integrated LED Replacement Lamps and Existing Dimmers: Compatibility Issues
With more than 4 billion incandescent lamps installed in homes, retrofit represents the biggest opportunity for LED technology in residential applications. Currently, directional LED replacement lamps are beginning to offer suitable alternatives to directional incandescent lamps, and manufacturers are working on viable replacements for omnidirectional incandescent lamps. LED technology has the potential to offer significant benefits to consumers, such as energy savings, no radiated heat or ultraviolet output, no contained mercury, and long service life.
An issue of critical importance will be compatibility with the large installed base of lighting controls. It is estimated that there are some 150 million incandescent dimmers installed in American homes. Consumers value high-performance dimming, which offers the benefits of energy savings and mood setting. Additionally, application of energy-saving vacancy sensors continue to increase, driven largely by the Title 24 energy code.
Aside from poor performance with some low-end motion sensors, switching usually does not present any issues; well-designed integrated LED lamps turn ON and achieve full brightness instantly, making them friendly with switches, and frequent switching does not affect lamp life, making them friendly for use with vacancy sensors.
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Ground-Breaking Alternative Energy Options
Alternative energy options are always being improved - the options grow every year. Here, we cover some up-and-coming trends in alternative energy that you're likely to see crop up in commercial facilities as they become more mainstream.
Harvesting Ambient and Waste Energy
Duke University engineers are hoping to harvest ambient energy from the motions of everyday life. Everyday motions are normally wasted, remain unused, and dissipate in the form of heat. The device that Duke is developing to capture this energy is a small cantilever (several inches long and one-quarter-inch wide). It has an end magnet that interacts with nearby magnets to "tune" the interactions of the system with its environment. The base consists of a material that releases electrical voltage when it's strained. The range of applications for this technology is almost unlimited.
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Revolving Doors Generate Energy
A generator harvests the kinetic energy produced when the revolving door spins, and a supercapacitor stores the energy
A Netherlands train station is using a revolving door to produce some of the building's electricity. The train station anticipates the coming and going of patrons to provide 4,600 kWh of energy per year.
The revolving door uses a generator to harvest the kinetic energy produced when the door spins, and a supercapacitor stores the energy. The energy is used to power the train station cafe's LEDs. When the stored energy from the door is used up, the station's main energy supply kicks in. The station also displays the amount of energy generated as customers walk in and out.
Kinetic energy generators could go a long way toward energy generation if they're consistently implemented in new buildings and renovation projects.
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Preventing Problems with Building Controls
Unseen problems can cause your building controls to lose the efficiency they're supposed to create
If your building control system – whether it be a simple thermostat, or a complicated system for fire, security, lighting, and HVAC equipment - isn't running properly, it can cost you money and energy.
Building control systems can make you aware of operational anomalies, and they can help you understand your building's energy intensity over the course of the business day, but there are many things that can negatively affect the operation of the system.
"Building controls are connected to air handlers, pumps, chillers, and boilers – big mechanical equipment – and a lot of things can go wrong in that interface," says Greg Turner, director of global offerings for Honeywell Building Solutions.
Human error is perhaps the largest (and worst) problem that can occur with a building control system. "Someone trying to make sure he/she maintains a comfortable operating environment can bypass something, manually open a valve, disconnect an actuator, and then walk away," says Turner. "The system may stay that way for weeks or months, wasting a whole lot of energy."
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Green LEDs for Efficient Lighting
Solar-cell manufacturing techniques could yield LEDs that require 20 percent less energy.
A new approach to fabricating light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could be used to increase their efficiency by 20 percent while yielding higher-quality light than conventional LEDs. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO, have demonstrated the approach by making a yellow-green LED that could soon be combined with other colored LEDs to yield white light. The new LED could help replace current, inefficient methods of generating white light.
LEDs, devices that emit photons when an electrical charge is applied to them, are more efficient and last longer than incandescent lightbulbs. By varying the composition of the semiconductor LEDs, materials scientists can coax the devices into emitting different colors. At the minimum, producing white light requires combining red, blue, and green, but so far, only red- and blue-light-emitting diodes are well developed. To produce green light, LED manufacturers typically apply one or more phosphor materials to blue LEDs. The phospors convert high energy blue spectrum light into lower-energy light through a process that reduces overall luminosity by approximately 20 percent.
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