While this most recent project further demonstrates Denver Zoo’s commitment to reducing its footprint, it is only the latest step in the zoo’s ongoing greening. Among the employees, Denver Zoo has a full-time Sustainability Coordinator on staff. “This coordinator guides purchasing decisions, deciding which industries, vendors and products best support the Zoo’s mission. That includes being environmentally, socially and economically responsible.”

In 2008, the zoo was accepted into the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment’s Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) as a Gold Leader. As part of this honor, the zoo developed an ISO-14001 Environmental Management System, becoming the first Zoo to achieve this international standard in every facet of its operations. It is this level of achievement that supports their claim as the greenest zoo in the country.

Additionally, the zoo has converted all of its holiday lights to LEDs, “saving 70-90 percent more energy than regular incandescent holiday lights.” The Zoo Lights installation runs during the winter holidays and closes shortly after the new year. Further energy savings were realized by having Xcel Energy conduct an energy audit of the facilities.

The zoo also promotes alternative modes of transportation. In addition to a bus stop located in front of the grounds, all employees are eligible for an Eco Pass, which “allows employees to ride public transportation for free, both for commuting to and from work as well as taking care of personal errands and travel.” Walking, biking, and carpooling are also encouraged. Located in the city’s largest park, there are bike and walking paths that make navigation easy. Lastly, “the Zoo also implemented a transportation logging database to collect the usage of the Eco Pass to prove and continue to improve its usage.” Using this system, zoo employees tallied 146,000 commuter miles using the various modes of alternative transport. Furthermore, a $2 discount is given to guests who use mass transit. Unfortunately, the only route that services the zoo directly has been reduced in its frequency and inexplicably no longer runs on the weekend. While the zoo may not control mass transit decisions, they have supported various modes of transportation both among their employees and patrons.

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Smart meters have been in use since 2006 in the United States and have gained wide penetration in some areas and caused backlashes in others.  In the near future  many utilities will be switching their customers over to this technology.  So what exactly are smart meters, why are they sometimes controversial, how do they help consumers and utilities save money, and who is the industry leader in the field?

A smart meter is a device that collects electric consumption data from a home or business and communicates that data back to the utility.  This communication is accomplished by the use of Radio-Frequency (RF) technology.  Smart meters provide several advantages to the customer as they allow the customer to monitor their energy use in real time and allow for the customer to receive real versus estimated electric bills.  For the utilities there are several major benefits as well.  Primary among these is that smart meters allow the utility to adjust its billing policies to entice customers to use electricity during non-peak hours.  This is vital as during peak electric usage periods the utilities must bring on-line less efficient energy methods or purchase power from other entities.  Both of these methods increase costs to the utility.  Incentivizing customers to adjust their energy use to off-peak hours helps the utilities keep costs down and potentially produce electricity using more environmentally-friendly methods.  A good example of this approach can be seen with TXU Energy’s Free Nights program which is designed to encourage customers to change their electricity usage habits and as a reward not be billed for electricity usage between 10 PM and 6 AM, non-peak hours for the utility.   Another use of smart meters is that they allow utilities to more quickly respond to power outages or problems as they are now receiving almost real time information from customers.

The level of penetration of smart meters in the United States varies dramatically by region of the country.  PG&E just recently announced that it had installed its 9 millionth unit in Northern California while other areas of the country have almost no units in place.  Current levels of penetration in the United States are estimated at 35%.  In some areas there has been a backlash against smart meters due to health concerns regarding the RF technology used to communicate between the readers and utilities as well as concerns about customer privacy.  Although the use of RF technology has been approved and deemed safe by the Federal Government, fears still remain.

The global leader in the smart meter industry is Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI) with 8,000 customers in 130 countries.   With energy consumption continuing to grow and regulatory initiatives aimed at increasing energy efficiency being put in place around the world, the market for smart meter technology seems destined to continue to expand.  Per Itron estimates, there are 2.8 billion meters in use around the world with only approximately 10% being smart meters.   One significant risk facing Itron is that they are almost totally dependent on utility industry capital spending.  The recent slowdown in the global economy has had a direct effect on Itron’s fortunes as such slowdown reduces the industry’s capital spending.  However, with its strong financial results and healthy cash flow, Itron seems well positioned to take advantage of the growth in smart grids and smart meters in the future.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative and should not be construed as personalized investment advice. You are responsible for your own investment decisions.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Itron and no plans to initiate a position in the next 72 hours.

Image Source: whatisworking.com

• The WTC central chiller plant will circulate 30,000 gallons of Hudson River water every minute – enough to flush about 15,000 toilets.
• The electricity generated by the 1 WTC’s fuel-cell plant will be able to continuously light 52,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• At least 75% of 1 WTC construction waste is recylced.
• Everything from the gypsum boards to ceiling tiles at the WTC contains a minimum of 20% post-industrial recycled content.
• At least 50% of the wood for 1 WTC comes from Forest Stewardship Council certified sustainable harvested forests.

If you read enough articles about electric or hybrid vehicles, sooner or later you see references to ultra capacitors.  Ultra capacitors are currently widely used in many energy saving devices and have a bright future, including potentially replacing the standard battery.  Maxwell Technologies (stock symbol: MXWL) is one of several companies at the forefront of ultra capacitor technology.

First, a brief explanation of what an ultra capacitor is.  An ultra capacitor is simply a capacitor with significantly enhanced ability to collect and quickly, very quickly, discharge energy.  The charge/discharge cycle for an ultra capacitor can take only seconds.  Batteries, by comparison, have a low discharge rate of typically one to ten hours.  The ultra capacitors’ quick discharge and charge rate is accomplished by a special carbon coating that is applied to the two electrodes in the capacitor and then immersing the electrodes in an electrolyte.

Maxwell Technologies, based in San Diego, California, is a leading manufacturer of ultra capacitors.  Maxwell Technologies’ ultra capacitors are used in many green energy products such as providing burst power to control wind turbines, recapturing and storing recuperative breaking energy in hybrid drive vehicles and for quick acceleration.  In addition, their ultra capacitors provide cold start power for trucks, the energy to open aircraft doors in the event of power failure and back-up power supply for uninterruptable power sources.

Last year, Maxwell Technologies won a $1.7 million contract from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop along with the University of Massachusetts and the US Navy a “hybrid ultra cap” that combines ultra capacitors and batteries to store and quickly distribute energy and is light and small enough to be carried by soldiers in the field.  Since conventional batteries can store more energy at this time the hybrid approach is preferred. In addition to allowing a quicker discharge, an ultra capacitor also brings other advantages over a conventional battery.  One of several drawbacks of using conventional batteries is that after repetitive use they lose their ability to hold energy; they are slow to charge.  Also they work best in a narrow temperature range.  Ultra capacitors use a “mechanical” charge system instead of a “chemical” charge system and thus do not face these limitations.

For these reasons, a “hybrid ultra cap” is a step towards the Holy Grail for ultra capacitors, which is to increase their energy storing capacity and eventually replace batteries.  While this technology may be years away it holds tremendous promise for such areas as electric vehicles as well as many other applications and as such Maxwell Technologies is a company to keep your eye on as they continue to develop their ultra capacitor technology.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative and should not be construed as personalized investment advice. You are responsible for your own investment decisions.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Maxwell Technologies and no plans to initiate a position in the next 72 hours.  
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• 1774: USS Alfred, Navy’s first battleship, powered by wind and sails.

• 1955: USS Nautilus, first nuclear submarine

• 2009: First Navy aircraft engine tested on biofuel blend

• 2010: First flight of F/A-18 Hornet on biofuel blend

• 2016: The Great Green Fleet set to debut

The Green Fleet will include changes such as replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, cutting fuel consumption by 500 barrels per year; new coatings on hulls to keep them clean and thus reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency and slash fuel use by 10%;optimized ship routing that takes into consideration ocean currents and weather; hybrid-electric drive propulsion.

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