2nd Green Revolution

Many ski resorts tout their “green credentials” these days. To offset their energy consumption they purchase wind power or other renewable energy from utilities. A few years ago National Geographic reported on the migration toward wind power on behalf of ski resorts. They pointed out the obvious connection between climate change and the potential decrease in snowfall for many ski areas. More recently, USA Today reported on Western ski destinations’ move toward a more environmentally conscious way of business. A resort in Massachusetts has gone one step further by installing their own 1.5 megawatt wind turbine from General Electric. Jiminy Peak, in Hancock, Massachusetts, has installed a single turbine on the top of one of their peaks. During the winter the resort consumes a 60% of its total annual energy usage, much of which is used to make snow. According to an article on CNN.com, the turbine cost $4 million and generates a third of the electricity that the resort needs. As a result of the turbine, the resort saves $450,000 annually on their electricity bill. During the summer months Jiminy Peak’s wind turbine generates more electricity than the resort consumes. In these instances they are able to sell energy back to the utility. Based on current consumption and utility rates, the payback time is approximately nine years.

Despite the potential negative impacts of installing wind turbines, such as effect on bird migration and soil erosion, the need for local production of clean energy remains a priority for the clean energy economy. The sizable upfront investment pays off in a multitude of ways. Jiminy Peak has a recognizable, marketable advantage over other ski destinations. They become self-sufficient and a boon to the community by selling back excess power and bringing in jobs. Those resorts that purchase renewable energy offsets do help support the burgeoning industry, but Jiminy Peak stands out as a leader in the field.

- Eric Wilson

In the fourth installment of Science Channel’s Ecopolis, host Dan Kammen reviewed four projects dealing with buildings. The major environmental issue facing structures, both commercial and residential, is the exorbitant amount of energy these units consume. According to Kammen, buildings consume two-thirds of all energy. The main culprits are heating, cooling and lighting. Kammen looked at Duncan Earl’s funneling solar radiation/light into interior rooms using fiber optic cables (seen here in a short YouTube clip), green roofs which use the evaporating and insulating nature of plants to cool buildings, Aerogel insulation, and solar photovoltaic panels built into the sides of structures. Kammen decided that the possibilities of photovoltaic systems producing energy represented the best option for Ecopolis. In Freiburg, Germany numerous structures contain photovoltaic cells to produce electricity, thereby acting as a test site for the feasibility of solar energy. Within Freiburg one home stands out beyond all others. Known as Heliotrope, this structure has a 1000 square foot solar panel system on the roof that rotates with the sun, producing five times more energy than the home consumes.

One major problem facing wide spread adoption of the technology is the prohibitive price of silicon. Jeffery Grossman, a researcher at UC Berkeley, uses nanotechnology to produce cheaper solar cells using a form of carbon known as Fullerene. Grossman is working to increase the efficiency of his nano-solar cells two or three fold, from the current 6%. He believes that these cells could work in clothing, windows and paint to produce electricity. The calculations by the Center for Alternative Technology indicate a 28% drop in carbon dioxide emissions with this technology.

The production of renewable energy using solar photovoltaic cells (pv) must be accompanied by a decrease in overall consumption. Bringing down the cost and increasing the efficiency of these systems is essential in order to gain traction in the commercial market. Federal and state subsidies can play a major role in achieving these goals in the current economic environment. Manufacturing and installation of pv systems represent two areas of job creation, which is key to an economic turn around.

- Eric Wilson

Tuesday night, President Obama laid out his vision for renewable energy in a speech to a joint session of Congress. He said, “[w]e know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century.” Among projects awaiting funding is Fort ZED, short for “zero energy district”, in Fort Collins, Colorado. The town of Fort Collins and Colorado State University have entered into a partnership referred to as “UniverCity“. This joint venture aims to be a “zero energy district“. All energy needed for the town and school will be produced within a 50 mi (80km) radius by new renewable energy projects. In addition, plug-in hybrids will compose a significant portion of the vehicle fleet in order to reduce the need for fossil fuels. Lastly, energy efficiency upgrades will complete the transition to a zero energy district. Fort ZED backers estimate the price tag to fully implement the initiative at $200 million.

UniverCity Collaborative from Univercity Connections on Vimeo.

Fort ZED will make use of a smart grid. This system will constantly monitor supply and “balance it with its demand in the most efficient way possible.” Local NPR affliate KUNC, out of Greeley, Colorado, has a three minute and a half minute audio clip of an interview with Northern Colorado business editor Tom Hacker detailing the project.

- Eric Wilson

The Georgia Conservancy has given its highest honor for 2008 to Emory in recognition of the university’s sustainability initiatives and efforts to minimize environmental impacts.

The university, located 15 minutes outside downtown Atlanta, has a small and compact campus with 54 percent of the area dedicated as green space. 300,000 gallons of storm water runoff are collected every year for landscaping and the school is on its way toward a transportation system that is 100 percent fueled by alternative energies. University President James Wagner called Emory’s sustainability vision  “a core commitment of the University with deep roots in our culture and history.” The school also boasts more certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) square footage than any other campus in the nation.

As Emory University graduates, the founders of 2nd Green Revolution are proud to see their alma mater set a leading example in sustainability and encourage continued green innovation at Emory as well as other campuses around the country.

- Justin Manger

This week’s trade fact from the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC is about solar power. Though technology for capturing and using the sun’s energy has improved over the years, the untapped potential is still enormous. Some of the numbers are staggering:

Solar Land Surface Radiation: 223,400 trillion kilowatt-hours/year
World electricity consumption: 17.48 trillion kilowatt-hours/year
World solar-cell energy capacity: 0.07 trillion kilowatt-hours/year

The article says that in only 18 sunny days, the “Earth’s land surface receives as much energy from sunlight as its crust holds in recoverable reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas.” If that weren’t impressive enough, 42 minutes of daylight contains enough energy to power the world’s electrical power utilities for a year. To be able to catch and use a fraction of the total means a flow of clean and near limitless energy.

Solar power is finally becoming competitive to traditional energy sources. This is especially true in Germany, where government regulation and incentives dovetailed with the spike in energy prices in 2007 and 2008, resulting in substantial investment in solar power.

Germany now has 3862 megawatts of solar cell capacity or about half the world’s total solar-cell megawattage. America, by contrast, has 830.5 megawatts of capacity. In America, concentrated solar power contributes a paltry 0.2 percent of America’s electricity. A look at trade numbers also shows that America is importing more solar cell technologies than it is exporting, though both numbers have nearly tripled in the last 3 years.

While solar power has distinct disadvantages such as no night time production and decreased production during cloudy weather, it is unwise to not more fully tap such a plentiful and clean source of energy. With improving electricity distribution infrastructure and doubling the supply of renewable energy both goals of the stimulus bill, it is now America’s turn to investment in these technologies and once again lead the world by example.

- Justin Manger

Vancouver, Canada has set forth an ambitious sustainability goal for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Vancouver Olympic Committee’s (VANOC) website details specific steps they are taking to host a “green games”. The measures go well beyond simple energy efficiency. Sustainable development is based upon 3 major cornerstones: environmental health, economic viability and social equity. In order to achieve these goals, the VANOC has established 6 performance objectives (listed below) under the heading of “Sustainability and Aboriginal Participation“:

Our Sustainability Performance Objectives:

1. Accountability
2. Environmental Stewardship and Impact Reduction
3. Social Inclusion and Responsibility
4. Aboriginal Participation and Collaboration
5. Economic Benefits
6. Sport for Sustainable Living

The second and fifth objectives listed above have a direct link to issues covered by 2nd Green Revolution. Under the latter, “Economic Benefits“, organizers have placed a single “sustainability performance objective . . . [t]o demonstrate that sustainable innovation and practices makes good business sense.” Clicking on the link to “Environmental Stewardship and Impact Reduction” yields five more links:

• Biodiversity and Habitat
• Energy and Climate Change
• Air Quality
• Water Quality and Conservation
• Waste Management

Many intriguing energy efficiency measures will be undertaken in the Olympic village. One unique component involves capturing waste heat produced by refrigeration of the ice rink and pumping it into nearby buildings. In addition, heat will be extracted from sewage using a heat exchanger, as mentioned in an earlier post.

Economic prosperity and environmental health lie at the heart of sustainable development. It is imperative that humans carefully manage capital and natural resources. Without access to the former, the latter cannot grow. We have entered a time where these two facets are more intertwined than ever. Individuals, corporations, and nations must work cooperatively to ensure fiscal and environmental well-being.

- Eric Wilson

For those looking for work in the Washington DC area, this is a reminder about tomorrow’s job fair. In collaboration with the Green Careers Center, the Virginia Sustainability Building Network has organized for a Green Job Fair to be held tomorrow in Arlington, VA.

According to their website, the event will feature: 1) Employers in the energy and environmental fields with both “hands on” and policy jobs 2) Presentations on the new federal economic recovery initiatives and the potential for Green Job growth in Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland and 3) Ideas on job skills and academic background necessary for the new Green economy.

The event will take place from 8:00 am – 6:00 pm at the Westin Arlington Gateway, 801 North Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia (Near the Ballston Metro Station).

- Eric and Justin

Episode three of Ecopolis deals with the waste from cities. Journalist Elizabeth Royte published her treatise on waste in 2005’s Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. Royte takes an in depth look at our trash, where it goes and how it is handled. In the third installment of Ecopolis, four projects are considered as humans try to deal with the mounting rubbish we produce. Each day Americans generate 4.5lbs (2kg) of waste per person. One project Kammen reviewed uses the garbage to construct off-shore islands. A second proposal destroys waste using gas-plasma technology as seen in this YouTube clip. Another option Kammen considered is being implemented for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This proposal involves recovering heat from sewage through use of a heat exchanger.

Of the four projects, Kammen chose to focus on one that has its roots in an ancient Amazonian practice of burning organic waste in a low oxygen environment to produce terra petra (dark earth). Mixing the terra preta, or biochar, with the existing soil creates a rich, fertile substrate. Of the 100,000 tons of garbage produced each day, up to half is said to be organic matter, which could become fodder for producing biochar. The reason this proposal is so appealing is that the average American uses 24 acres of natural resources a day according to the video below. This over consumption of resources leads to the need for petroleum based fertilizers to replenish the soil. Producing biochar also has the added benefit of generating an energy rich gas as a byproduct. Burning the energy rich gas generates a source of renewable electricity, while waste heat recovered from the combustion of the organic material is used to dry the charcoal. As a further benefit, carbon can be sequestered in soil for the long term. With all of these features, the calculated cut in carbon dioxide emissions would be 21%.

Perhaps the most significant part of this proposal is the fact that all facets of the process represent energy savings and manifold benefits. In the future, it is essential that humans design systems that are interconnected and able to work in concert with each other. These systems save money and resources while providing jobs.

-Eric Wilson

NPR reported yesterday from the Washington DC car show on a number of high tech innovations planned by the big three automakers. With the advent of Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid Volt due to enter production in late 2010, Ford Motor Company has pinned their electric vehicle hopes on a battery powered version of the Focus scheduled for 2011. The range for the Chevy Volt is 40 miles on the initial charge.

Plug-in hybrids, also known as extended range vehicles, have a gas-assist engine that acts like a traditional hybrid, charging the car while decelerating and braking. Although the price of the Volt has not been determined, estimates place the MSRP (manufactured suggested retail price) between $30,000-50,000. GM has to subsidize the cost of the vehicle as it is not expected to make money for several years due to the extensive cost of research and development.

While Ford has exhibited a plug-in version of the Escape at car shows this season, there are plans to produce an all-electric prototype under the Focus family of cars. Fully recharging the electric version of the Ford Focus takes up to 12 hours (at 110 Volts) but only costs $1-1.50, depending on electric rates.  Given the 100 mile range of the electric motor powered Focus, the equivalent cost to fill up a standard gasoline-powered Focus would be around $6 with current gas prices at $2/gallon and an estimated mpg of 35. Homeowners can plug in to an outlet at home. However, without a series of public charging stations electric cars and plug-in hybrids are less attractive for apartment dwellers. In addition, the cost of the battery in Ford’s plug-in version of the Focus has been placed somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars according to Joss Dillon, engineer at Ford. For the consumer though, cost per mile driven is 2-3 cents as compared to 6-7 cents based on gasoline at $2 per gallon. With the greening of the grid, this becomes a much more efficient option than traditional gas powered engines. Cars plugged in at night will draw energy from the grid during off-peak hours, which reduces the need for coal-fired base load power.

- Eric Wilson

In the second episode of the Science Channel’s Ecopolis, host Dan Kammen reviewed four proposals to deal with the issue of transportation. For a brief background of the program, please see the previous post on Ecopolis. In the transportation episode, Kammen considered the following carbon dioxide reducing concepts: 1) a blended wing plane  2) oil from algae as seen in this YouTube clip 3) hydrogen fuel cell car and  4) electric taxis. Concepts three and four deal with two major concerns facing future cities: waste and vehicles.

Athena Ballesteros’s idea involves creating a fleet of electric powered cabs to reduce the consumption of polluting diesel fuel. In Manila, Philippines, former US Army Jeeps were turned into “Jeepnies”, or mini-taxi cabs, after World War II. Out of 1.4 million vehicles on the streets of Manila approximately 300,000 are former US Army Jeeps. These vehicles currently run on polluting diesel, but have been revamped to run on a 5 horsepower electric motor. In addition, the re-engineered “Jeepney” was rebuilt using fiberglass, a low weight alternative to steel, allowing for increased efficiency due to its decreased mass. However, the electric motors for these taxis still rely on electricity, which often comes from polluting nonrenewable resources. The second part of the proposal includes trapping methane from waste. When the trash in landfills decays in an anaerobic setting, it releases methane. Combustion of methane, a form of natural gas, yields a renewable source of electricity. According to the findings of the Center for Alternative Technology, CO₂ emissions would be reduced by 8.7%.

The move to public transportation powered by electric motors, which in turn draw power from a renewable source of electricity will serve as a necessary component of the growing future mega-cities. Even with the increased generation of electricity from wind, solar and biomass, humans need to rethink their transportation methods. Riding light rail trains, buses, subway lines or large capacity taxis will reduce the per capita consumption of energy.

- Eric Wilson