Source: Environmental Expert.com

PNNL compares environmental impacts of LED, CFL and incandescent lights

RICHLAND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Today’s light-emitting diode light bulbs have a slight environmental edge over compact fluorescent lamps. And that gap is expected to grow significantly as technology and manufacturing methods improve in the next five years, according to a new report from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and UK-based N14 Energy Limited.

“The light-emitting diode lamp is a rapidly evolving technology that, while already energy efficient, will become even more so in just a few short years,” said Marc Ledbetter, who manages PNNL’s solid-state lighting testing, analysis and deployment efforts. “Our comprehensive analysis indicates technological advancements in the near future will help people who use these lamps to keep shrinking their environmental footprints.”

The report examines total environmental impact, including the energy and natural resources needed to manufacture, transport, operate and dispose of light bulbs. Fifteen different impacts were considered when evaluating environmental footprints, including the potential to increase global warming, use land formerly available to wildlife, generate waste and pollute water, soil and air. The report examines the complete life cycles of three kinds of light bulbs: light-emitting diodes, also called LEDs, compact fluorescents, or CFLs, and traditional incandescent light bulbs.

Completed for the Solid-State Lighting Program of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, this is the first public report to examine the environmental impact of LED manufacturing in depth. Manufacturing processes contribute substantially to a light bulb’s overall environmental impact, but companies generally keep manufacturing information private. The research team was able to gather manufacturing data with the help of industry consultants and some companies on the condition that the final report would not reveal individual company data.

Incandescents lose out
Continue reading LEDs Winning Light Race to Save Energy, the Environment

Source: Fuel Fix.com

Discussions about conserving energy typically focus on everyday energy guzzlers like incandescent bulbs, air conditioners and washing machines.

But one device goes largely unnoticed despite hogging loads of electricity each year: Exit signs.

Across the United States, more than 100 million of the siren-red signals hang above doors in office buildings, movie theaters and other public facilities. They consume more than 30 billion kilowatt hours of power each year nationwide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That’s more electricity than 3 million U.S. households. In other words, all of the homes in Texas’ 10 largest cities, from Houston to Lubbock – with their A/C pumping, refrigerators running and electronics charging up — don’t match power consumed by the little signs pointing you to the stairwell.

Still, exit signs have come a long way in their energy efficiency, as Alex Wilson details at BuildingGreen.com. Federal rules now require each sign built since 2006 consume no more than 5 watts each.

But there are a lot of doors in the country, so those watts add up. The price tag to keep those letters lit up for 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

A cool $3 billion a year.

Source: Jon Guerster, Groom Energy. from Rocky Mountain Institute Outlet

Groom Energy, in cooperation with Greentech Media, just published its latest Enterprise LED market research, which studies trends in commercial and industrial LED lighting and profiles the top vendors. The report includes a newly developed LED Lamp and Fixture Pricing Index which tracks historical pricing for these products.

The idea for the index came during customer interviews. In talking with corporate managers, a theme emerged: “It seems like LED performance has really increased, but they’re still pretty expensive. Maybe I should wait until next year when prices come down.” Since Groom was already testing periodic vendor pricing, tracking an average price for a basket of Enterprise LED products was a logical addition to its research.
Continue reading LED Fixture Prices Fall 24% in Two Years—How Much Lower Can They Go?

Source: Sustainable Energy Guide 2012
admin Establishing a Baseline, Tips and Tricks

Green leases are lease agreements that ensure building owners and tenants work together to maintain a new or existing building’s green third-party certification through operations and management practices. A green lease is unique in that it prohibits the tenant from using the office or retail space in any way that conflicts with the landlord’s sustainability practices (including any third-party certification system). The landlord may prepare an Operations and Maintenance Manual for the building and require the tenant to comply with it.

Green lease agreements could include the following:

Reducing energy and water use

• Tenant space is sub-metered for electricity use.
• Compact fluorescent lights, occupancy sensors and other lighting improvements have been installed where appropriate.
• Interior lights throughout the building, except exit lights, are turned off at night.
• Appliances, computers and other technologies are Energy Star–certified.
• All faucets have aerators and showerheads that are low-flow (2.5 gallons per minute or less).
• Energy and water consumption is tracked and reported to tenants.
• If a lawn is present, it is not watered.

Avoiding toxic chemicals

• Cleaning supplies are certified by Green Seal or meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment standard.
• Janitorial service is committed to purchasing nontoxic cleaning materials and training staff on how to use them.
• Only organic fertilizers and pesticides are utilized for landscaping.

Recycling

• Recycling containers have been provided for newspapers and magazines.
• Containers for glass/plastic bottles and cans are provided.
• Fluorescent lights, batteries, old paint, and scrap metal are recycled.
• Appliances, computers and other technologies are recycled and/or refurbished when possible.

Many organizations in recent years have been working to provide green lease guidelines to assist building owners and tenants agree on terms for building operations and maintenance. Some of the best guides are listed below.

Resources

• BOMA International sells a guide to writing a green commercial lease.
• California Sustainability Alliance provides a “Green Leases Toolkit.”
• Green-buildings.com produced a micro-site devoted to issues relating to green leases. It includes guides to rethinking the traditional triple-net lease, “five must-have items” in an effective green lease and the specific lease provisions tenants and perspective tenants should consider when negotiating a green lease.
• Real Property Association of Canada offers a standard green lease for single building projects.

Source: Sustainable Energy Guide 2012

Philip Krain, Michael Polentz, Tara Kaushik, SI Staff Buying Renewable Energy, Tips and Tricks

The third-party financing method is used to make the most out of a diverse resource mix. One participant may have real estate ideal for a renewable energy project; the other may have capital and/or expertise to facilitate the investment purchase. There are many types of third-party financing within all the renewable technologies. The benefits to both the host and the investor vary.

Here’s how it works:

• In the energy industry, there are financiers (investors) who are  comfortable with evaluating the internal and external risks. The investor offers the host an energy services agreement (ESA), which establishes specific terms and payments that must be met.
• In solar, the ESA typically calls for all power generated from the system to be purchased by the host. In wind, the ESA is typically signed by the utility due to the production-based incentives and project scale. In either case, the investor-owner assumes all costs, maintenance and risks associated with the system’s performance.
• The investor is responsible for permitting, engineering and design, procurement and installation. The host provides roof space, is willing to commit to a financing contract (see below) and provides access to the host for maintenance.

Traditional financing

Traditionally, a business applies for a commercial loan or line of credit from a bank. Certain integrators and industry trade associations have recently established financing programs to assist with the acquisition and installation costs. Some banks have also dedicated millions of dollars to financing programs that offer debt and tax equity for investment in renewable energy projects.

Power purchase agreements (PPAs)

In most cases, hosts commit to a 20-year contract. At the end of the contract, they may sell the system at “fair market value.” In many cases, the owner (investor and developer) is looking to gain the short-term market rate return provided by the investment tax credits and the mid-period return based upon the power rates. Typically, the end user purchases the power on a kilowatt-per-hour basis from the energy company and/or dealer of the solar system.

The Oregon Flip, or an operating lease

This model aims to transition ownership of the system to the property owner after a six-year period. In this model, the host is a more active participant with some upfront financing. The host chooses to leverage its financial resources in order to purchase a system, which may be 10 times the size of a direct purchase.

For wind projects, the benefits to the property owner are much the same. The difference is that their contracts are usually 10 years rather than six. After the investor-owner absorbs the tax benefits and the developer has achieved its return, the real estate owner becomes the system owner for an agreed-upon price.

Third-party investors

Major developers and financiers of renewable energy systems include Renewable Ventures, SolarCity, SunEdison, Tioga Energy, Conergy, as well as Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and other large financial conglomerates.

Choosing the right provider will depend primarily upon project size and expertise. Many of these organizations are looking to finance solar projects no smaller than 5 megawatts, making it difficult for building owners to participate.

Federal tax credits, grants, loan guarantees and state rebates

These tax credits, grants, loan guarantees and state rebates may play a role in the selection and terms of the contract options above. The federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 authorizes $18 billion in incentives for clean and renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency improvements.

The federal tax credit for solar systems is generally 30 percent of the cost and allows for accelerated depreciation. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made available $3 billion in cash assistance to energy production companies. The Department of Energy has also made available an estimated $30 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and a program to award $2.3 billion in manufacturing tax credits for clean energy.

Source: /a>

LAS VEGAS — The politics of renewable energy headed the agenda in battleground Nevada, as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar opened a fifth annual green energy conference with the announcement that a 12-square-mile wind energy farm in rural White Pine County will begin producing electricity.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton brought star power and some advice to wrap up the daylong National Clean Energy Summit 5.0 on the Las Vegas Strip.

U.S. renewable energy efforts lag behind those in other countries, Clinton said, recalling losing Senate backing for the 1997 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The U.S. never ratified the treaty, dubbed the Kyoto accord, that aimed at cutting greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Clinton said it will take what he called “a bias toward action, a bias for cooperation and a bias toward thinking big” to change the future.

“The power of example changes consciousness,” he said, adding that slow change shouldn’t discourage development and government can help with programs like tax incentives for renewable energy projects.

Germany and China have used such incentives to become leaders in solar power around the world, he said.

Clinton also took several one-on-one questions from his former White House chief-of-staff John Podesta, now the head of a think tank and an energy conference organizer. The former president didn’t take questions from the audience or the media at the conference focusing on wind, solar and geothermal energy.
Continue reading Green energy, politics lead agenda at Vegas summit

Source: Energy Pathfinder.com

With 50 states plus a number of territorial authorities, we’re starting to see a fairly impressive cross-section of stimulus-funded energy efficiency programs. Just one example comes from Nevada. Per their website:

“The mission of the Nevada State Energy Office (NSOE) is to ensure the wise development of the state’s energy resources in harmony with local community economic needs and Nevada’s natural resources by leading the nation in renewable energy production, energy efficiency and conservation, and exportation. The NSOE strives for this by facilitating cooperation between key stakeholders, leading initiatives to stimulate economic development and attracting every energy-related business venue including energy education, retrofitting, manufacturing, site development, generation and production, interstate and intrastate transmission.”

Trying to move the needle on energy efficiency in an otherwise libertarian business community is a challenge, to say the least. The folks in Nevada are nevertheless making it happen, as duly noted by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Continue reading Kudos to Nevada State Office of Energy

July 16, 2012

Source: DOE Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

As part of the Energy Department’s Open Energy Information platform (Open EI) and its continued commitment to open and transparent energy data, the Department released today a new public database featuring cost and performance estimates for electric generation, advanced vehicle, and renewable fuel technologies. The Transparent Cost Database (TCDB) provides technology cost estimates for companies, utilities, policy makers, consumers, and academics, and can be used to benchmark company costs, model energy scenarios, and inform research and development decisions. The database makes it much easier to view the range of estimates for what energy technologies, such as a utility-scale wind farm, rooftop solar installation, biofuel production plant, or an electric vehicle, might cost today or in the future.

Full story