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In 2010 the Winter Olympics will come to Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The athletes will live in an all-new, sustainable urban neighborhood. Denis DuBois toured the site, now under construction, with the man in charge of Olympic Village development and the surrounding neighborhood known as Southeast False Creek. (photos)
Dockside Green has gained international acclaim as a mixed-use sustainable development that is achieving LEED Platinum ratings and winning exceptions to local building regulations in return for its innovative solutions. Denis Du Bois toured the site with its visionary leader, Joe Van Belleghem. (photos)
Great minds think green. The Energy Priorities Thought Leaders group at LinkedIn was founded a year ago, in October 2007. Members can see who they know among Energy Priorities readers, and connect with like minds.
Continue reading "Energy Thought Leaders Group Marks One-Year Anniversary" »
The CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund's announcement earlier this month -- that Matthew Lecar will henceforth manage the fund -- is good news for the cleantech industry. Lecar combines Sand Hill investment savvy with energy industry expertise. That means entrepreneurs will meet an investor who understands the value of transformational clean energy innovations, and sees through those that aren't really.
In Beijing China, 17,000 athletes from around the world are staying at a LEED Gold Olympic Village, their temporary home for the 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. Green Building Council announced this week that the Village has been awarded LEED Gold certification under a pilot LEED for Neighborhood Development certification program.
Continue reading "Beijing Olympic Village Certified Green; Vancouver Seeks Twin Golds for 2010" »
The technologies that make a building "smart" come at a cost, and as much as we hear about saving energy to save the planet, building owners still manage by financial metrics. Jim Sinopoli led the Smart Buildings track at ConnectivityWeek 2008, including a session on the ROI of enterprise energy management. This interview between Denis Du Bois and Jim Sinopoli is the second in a series of podcasts from the ConnectivityWeek 2008 conference.
Continue reading "Smart Buildings: Interview with Jim Sinopoli - Building Priorities Briefing" »
Denis Du Bois interviewed ZigBee Alliance Chairman Bob Heile at ConnectivityWeek 2008. ZigBee is an open protocol for wireless communications for building-automation sensors and controls. The Alliance is a group of vendors who align themselves with the ZigBee protocol. Heile led a track at ConnectivityWeek -- one session was on ZigBee in commercial buildings, and another was on the role of ZigBee in smart energy.
We explore three commercial buildings without power bills, and contrast the many meanings of "zero" in energy and carbon. First, a commercial building proven to be zero energy -- and then some. In the first 12 months after construction, this building produced more energy than it consumed. Then we learn about two more buildings presented in the ZEB session at Globe last month. The Energy Minute is about the meaning of zero: What should be counted when designating a building "net zero energy" or "zero carbon"? In the Program Notes we have photos and links to more information for those of you who are researching the net-zero option for your own buildings. (podcast) (photo)
Continue reading "Three Buildings Net Zero Energy - Building Priorities Briefing" »
CHICAGO, April 1, 2008 -- Remember the turn of the 21st century, when intelligent buildings were at the bleeding edge of technology? Now, artificial intelligence is out of the lab and headed for a building near you. Buildings have literally taken on a life of their own and today, the first of April, the first sentient building opened in Chicago Illinois. Denis Du Bois interviews Cornice Leed, the brains of the new Gore Tower office building in the Windy City. (podcast) (transcript)
GLOBE 2008-- If you know about Globe, then you know this is one of the biggest international events about sustainability. If you haven't heard of Globe, I can tell you it is not yet-another-upstart conference to tap into the environmental revival. The Globe 2008 conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is also one of the longest-running conferences for sustainable business, having started in the early 1990s. (photos)
Energy independence comes in many forms. We look at a commercial office example and a residential example that demonstrate how solar helps owners to be self-sufficient in ways that match their values. The California Healthcare Foundation covered the roof of their newly renovated offices with solar panels. Going solar is consistent with their mission to improve the health of Californians. Borrego Solar co-founder Chris Anderson built a new home for himself and went off-grid. He wants to show Northeasterners that a home can be energy independent and comfortable at the same time. Renewable energy isn't the only green-building feature of these two projects. (podcast) (photos)
Continue reading "Energy Independence at the Office and at Home - Building Priorities Briefing" »
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- If the global economy coughs, will it choke off the flow of capital into the solar energy sector? Or does this hot industry have a special antibody that makes it immune to a recession? The prospect of a slowdown is a global issue. For a global perspective, Denis Du Bois interviews Peter Bostock of Solaicx, a company that ships its ingots and wafers to major photovoltaic cell manufacturers all over the world. (podcast)
Continue reading "Solaicx Anticipates Growth, Even if Economy Slows" »
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 opened earlier this week with keynote addresses by two well-known Nevada dignitaries. This is the fifth year for the conference and expo formerly known as Power-Gen Renewable Energy and Fuels. More than the name has changed. This article is your gateway to our coverage of this all-renewables conference.
Continue reading "Renewable Energy World Conference Is Changing with the Industry" »
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- As oil prices closed above $100 a barrel for the first time, the Renewable Energy World 2008 conference and expo opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, today with a keynote address by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (photos)
Seattle Home Show -- Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels commemorated the anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol on opening day of the 64th Annual Seattle Home Show with a short speech and a tour of energy-efficiency and renewable-energy exhibits here.
Continue reading "Mayor Marks Kyoto Anniversary with Home Show Tour" »
This month we explore the cohousing trend in residential green building. We start with an audio tour of a cohousing community now under construction in New Hampshire. The sustainable housing development uses wood pellet boilers to provide heat and hot water, so the Energy Minute is about using biomass as a heating fuel. In the third half of the show we hear about what opportunities the cohousing trend creates for builders and developers. (podcast) (photos)
Continue reading "Cohousing: Green Building Trend and Opportunity - Building Priorities Briefing" »
The total FY 2009 request for the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is a 27 percent cut from the FY 2008 level. Nuclear and "clean coal" are obvious priorities for the Administration, with increased budget proposals for each.
Continue reading "FY 2009 Budget Request Means Big Cuts for Efficiency, Renewables" »
This is the premier edition of the new Building Priorities Briefing. This month we'll see what decisions went into the design of a new mixed-use campus to reduce their costs throughout the building lifecycle. The Energy Minute this month is about open versus proprietary networking methods for building controls. And Denis Du Bois interviews the consultant who designed the networked controls system for the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, CA. (podcast)
Continue reading "Open Networks for Building Control Systems - Building Priorities Briefing" »
2008 promises to be an interesting and fruitful year. We can look forward to the effects of a new Energy Bill, presidential elections, and a growing trend toward sustainability in every aspect of business.
All three hold tremendous potential to strengthen profitability, competitiveness and our outlook for a sustainable future.
Our wish for you is to realize your full share of that potential in 2008.
Happy New Year,
Denis, Linda, Chris, Kathleen and everyone else who makes the virtual "printing press" go round at Energy Priorities.
Austin, Texas will be the site of the first manufacturing facility for HelioVolt Corporation, a producer of thin film solar energy products. The site was announced this morning. HelioVolt is headquartered in Austin, home to several clean-tech companies.
Continue reading "Austin Clean Tech Hub Expands: HelioVolt To Build Thin-Film Solar Factory" »
The Energy Independence and Security Act was signed into law moments ago by President Bush. This Energy Priorities summary, based on a list provided by Rep. Jay Inslee's (D-WA) office, focuses on the highlights of the bill. Renewable electric energy provisions are in Title VI; green building provisions are in Title IV.
Continue reading "Summary of the Energy Independence and Security Act, H.R. 6." »
Data center managers are increasingly concerned about the energy footprint of their operations. Power consumption, cooling demand, and physical space are at or near maxed-out levels. Several resources are emerging to provide information about shrinking the footprint and reducing the energy-related risks in data centers.
Continue reading "Data Center Energy: Information Resources Emerge" »
Fat Spaniel Technologies today announced a new web-based monitoring service for commercial-scale solar hot water installations. FST also announced a new integration with Outback equipment for off-grid and grid-tie photovoltaics. The news indicates the company is expanding its market focus into emerging niches of renewable energy information and analysis. (photos)
Continue reading "Fat Spaniel Spreads Out To Cover Solar Thermal Monitoring" »
Solaicx is a manufacturer of silicon ingots and wafers for photovoltaics, and the company recently opened a new manufacturing facility in Portland, OR. The plant will start out producing about 32 megawatts per year, and at full capacity it expects to employ 180 skilled workers and churn out 180 megawatts per year. Solaicx says its proprietary manufacturing technology yields low-cost, high quality cells that are optimized for solar energy applications. Why locate in Oregon, and not Asia? What is it about the Solaicx process that could make solar "affordable?" Denis Du Bois interviews the company's CEO, Bob Ford. (podcast) (photos) (transcript)
The IPCC's Synthesis Report, the fourth and final installment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is due in a few weeks. Just the Summary for Lawmakers is more than meaty enough to consume your idle reading time this weekend. Thankfully, our staff has extracted the key points and boiled 23 pages down to 2.
Continue reading "The Business Case for Green Office Buildings" »
GREENBUILD-- What we saw at Greenbuild 2007 could reconceptualize the way architects design buildings. When you see the photos, you'll agree. Autodesk terms it a "research project" for now. Will it be a real product, when, and in what form? EP talked with Autodesk VP Phil Bernstein about the company's sustainability analysis dashboard.
Continue reading "Autodesk Sustainability Analysis Dashboard Wows Greenbuild Attendees" »
GREENBUILD-- President Bill Clinton, speaking to a packed auditorium of 8,000 attendees at the oversold Greenbuild 2007 conference in Chicago, gave the audience a call to action: Prove to the world that solving the climate problem is the biggest opportunity for economic and social mobilization since World War II.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 enacted renewable energy tax credits, but most expire at the end of 2008. That tosses many tax and regulatory policies back up in the air. Congress has been working on energy bills aimed at weaning the U.S. off oil, creating American jobs and addressing climate change. What will be in the 2007 energy bill, and what do renewable energy industry executives foresee if it passes -- or if it doesn't?
Continue reading "Energy Bill 2007 Could Give Renewables the Green Light -- or a Lump of Coal" »
There's a one-day conference in Seattle next week, "Clean Tech Investing in the Pacific Northwest," that should be well worth attending. Stoel Rives and Nth Power recruit some outstanding speakers from around the world for the annual conference. Nth Power's founder has been in the energy business since the early 1980s and is best known for founding a clean tech investment firm before the field was even called "clean tech." She will moderate an investor panel discussing best practices in getting cleantech companies funded. Denis Du Bois interviews Nancy Floyd, founder and Managing Director of Nth Power in San Francisco. (podcast) (transcript)
Continue reading "Clean Tech Investing in the Pacific Northwest 2007" »
In the 1970s, American utilities started burying cables to avoid unisghtly poles and vulnerable overhead lines. It soon became common practice to also bury privately-owned power lines under corporate campuses, universities, hospitals and factories. Now there are billions of feet of underground aluminum and copper cables nearing the end of their 25-year lifespan. One company has invented a way to rejuvenate cabling and extend the life of its insulation. Novinium treats the cable by injecting chemicals into it, for about half the cost of replacing the line. There are important environmental advantages to this method, too. Denis Du Bois interviews Glen Bertini, CEO of Novinium. (podcast)
Continue reading "Power Lines Buried, but Not Dead: Novinium Injects New Life into Cables" »
Demand response and advanced metering are in the perpetual pilot stage in many utility territories. What will it take to make demand response an integral part of power delivery? At a conference on the banks of the Potomac, utilities and regulators will search for the answer.
Continue reading "Demand Response -- How Do We Make It Work Best?" »
Continue reading "Solar Decathlon 2007 Draws 100,000 To See Energy-Efficient Homes" »
Benefuel, Inc. and its customer Seymour Biofuels announced plans this morning to build a biodiesel refinery based on technology that converts low-grade fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel.
Continue reading "Seymour Refinery To Tackle Key Flaws in Biodiesel Production" »
SOLAR POWER 2007 -- The sold-out Solar Power 2007 conference rocked Long Beach CA. If you didn't make it to the conference, this article is your info gateway to catch up on the happenings there. Essential links to sound bytes from the keynote presentations, stories from the expo floor, an inside view from the Press Room, webcasts of the conference, and more.
If I were to sum up the message of the opening remarks from the Solar Power 2007 conference, it would be simply: "We have arrived." Plus, Ted Turner's unabashed remarks were the talk of the conference. (Includes a sampling of his more memorable sound bytes.) (podcast)(photo)(transcript)
Continue reading "Solar Power 2007 Conference Keynote Presentation Themes" »
One of the promises of a "smart grid" is to bring the advantages of data and communications networks to the infrastructure that delivers electricity to our businesses and homes. That would make it possible to fully deploy ideas like demand response and real-time pricing -- ideas that depend on having intelligence at both ends of the wire -- sophisticated systems at the utility end; and at the customer's site, smart energy meters. Why is the United States so far behind Europe in deploying advanced metering infrastructures? What will it take to accelerate adoption? Denis Du Bois interviews Jeff Lund, a VP in the Networked Energy Services division at Echelon. (podcast) (transcript)
Continue reading "Marketing Intelligence: The Challenges of Selling Smart Meters in the US" »
Trojan Battery Company made record-setting investments in technologies that essentially enable them to buy less energy from their utility. What's unusual about that? The utility paid for the technology, and pays Trojan Battery to use it. The process of preparing for summer demand response yielded a fortunate financial byproduct: Trojan gets lower rates that are saving the company thousands on its electric bill every month. (photos)
Continue reading "Energy Efficiency Creates Unusual Alliance between Manufacturer and Utility" »
How do you define "Green IT?" Growth is driving global trends in resource depletion, air and water pollution, energy consumption, and climate change. A third of U.S. energy consumption comes from commercial buildings. Businesses are automating those buildings to reduce costs and emissions. Will IT lead, or follow, the coming change? This is the second in a two-part series on IT's role in solving energy and environmental problems.
Continue reading "What Is Green IT? Part 2: Converging with the Shadow Network" »
How do you define "Green IT?" Sure, data center energy savings are a huge opportunity. Data centers consume more energy per square foot than any other part of an office building. But they're part of an information and services supply chain that begins with raw materials and ends with the disposal of waste. The chain includes people, the space they occupy, and the cars they drive. Along the way, the chain increasingly gobbles energy and spews greenhouse gases.
The IT department is in a unique position to change that. This is the first in a two-part series on IT's role in solving energy and environmental problems.
Continue reading "What Is Green IT? Part 1: Cutting Emissions and Energy Use Enterprise-wide" »
Continue reading "IPCC Fourth Assessment Defines Role of Buildings in Climate Change Mitigation" »
Interview with Ed Richards of Richards-Zeta. We talk about new tools and ideas for buildings. Ed shares his insights about the influence of California, Europe and Asia on those ideas. (podcast)
Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2007 Insight: New Integrated Approach to Buildings Lifecycle" »
Interview with Carter Williams, keynote speaker and president of Gridlogix. We'll talk about the vision of Buildings 2.0 and the technology that drives it. (podcast)
Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2007 Insight: Roadmap to Buildings 2.0" »
Today is opening day for ConnectivityWeek in Chicago. The focus for today's ConnectivityWeek Insight podcast is the Cisco Connected Roundtable track. I interview Rick Huijbregts, the track leader. (podcast) (transcript)
Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2007 Insight: Cisco Connected Roundtable" »
The fifth annual BuilConn kicks off next week in Chicago as part of ConnectivityWeek 2007. Energy Priorities editor Denis Du Bois is hosting a daily podcast series featuring interviews with the top speakers at the conference. BuilConn is all about the convergence of building automation and information technology, a field that takes the concept of "connectivity" to extremes. Make it possible to connect lighting controls to the security system and tie it all to the corporate information trust, and you have an environment that just might make buildings truly "intelligent."
Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2007 "Highlights and Insights" Podcast Series Begins May 22" »
PepsiCo announced the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to match 100 percent of the purchased electricity used by all of its US-based manufacturing facilities, headquarters, distribution centers and regional offices. The EPA says the purchase marks the largest REC deal to date. The deal is for 1 billion kWh per year for three years. How much is that in real money?
Continue reading "PepsiCo Makes Largest Corporate Purchase Yet of RECs" »
Data centers are big energy users, and manufacturers like Sun and IBM have been responding with more energy-efficient technologies. Today IBM announced the application of self-assembling nanotechnology to conventional chip manufacturing, borrowing a process from nature to build the next generation computer chips. The chips will use less energy, and be faster. IBM is testing microprocessors using the new technology, and expects to deploy it in manufacturing lines in 2009. (photo)
Continue reading "IBM Advance To Make More Energy-Efficient Chips Possible" »
This is the last day of GridWeek. Denis Du Bois is hosting a daily podcast series featuring the top speakers at the conference. Today he interviews Kurt Yeager, Executive Director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, and Volker Hartkopf, Director of the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics at Carnegie Mellon University. (podcast)
Continue reading "GridWeek 2007: Buildings and the Future of Electricity" »
This morning marks the halfway point for GridWeek. Denis Du Bois is hosting a daily podcast series featuring the top speakers at the conference. Today he interviews four presenters, including the head of the North American Energy Reliability Council. (podcast)