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.

Continue reading "Wireless Smart Buildings: Interview with Bob Heile, ZigBee Alliance - Building Priorities Briefing" »

Suniva's investors have put US $55 million of venture capital into a startup whose technology promises to achieve high efficiencies with low-cost monocrystalline silicon solar cells. Denis Du Bois interviews founder and solar pioneer Ajeet Rohatgi about the future of the PV industry and the meaning of his company's name. (podcast)

Continue reading "Lower Solar Cost and Higher Efficiency is "Gift from the Sun"" »

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)

Continue reading "Sentient Building Marks Major Advance in Artificial Intelligence: Exclusive Interview" »

Energy Minute: Biomass is slowly gaining popularity for space heat -- in part because it's a renewable energy source, and in part because it's less expensive to operate than a conventional furnace. (podcast)

Continue reading "Biomass for Central Heat" »

Energy is the theme of the upcoming ConnectivityWeek conference -- specifically the energy we use in buildings, and how we can leverage things like renewables, distributed energy, demand response, and information to help solve energy-related problems. Denis Du Bois interviews Anto Budiardjo, president and CEO of Clasma Events, about the "energy revolution" that will change the way buildings are designed and built. (podcast)

Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2008 Promises "Energy Revolution" for Buildings" »

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 -- Day4 Energy of Canada is one of the almost 200 exhibitors at the conference. Economic woes don't seem to dampen this company's enthusiasm. With a fresh IPO and a sold-out production run, Day4 is just trying to keep up with demand for its innovative photovoltaic modules. Denis Du Bois interviews Day4's Jake Brown at REW. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Day4 Energy Rides Rising Global Demand for Solar Power" »

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- Adding solar power to your building is getting easier, thanks to a financing model borrowed from utility-scale renewable energy projects. Power purchase agreements are now an option for getting your own clean energy source, without laying out the capital. But even big projects don't happen without the right incentives in place. Some important federal subsidies are due to expire if Congress doesn't act soon to extend them. Will that happen in an election year? Does this dark cloud cast gloom on renewable energy's future? Denis Du Bois asks Mark McLanahan of MMA Renewable Ventures about his expectations for the production tax credit, the investment tax credit, and the global economy.

Continue reading "Solar Financier's Outlook is Bright; Tax Credits' Future is Cloudy" »

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" »

Seattle Home Show 2008 -- This is the place where Puget Sound-area homeowners and exhibitors gather twice a year. If you're thinking of building or remodeling, you'd come here to find contractors, retailers, designers -- and if you're an exhibitor here, you'll meet thousands of homeowners in a few short days... but what about the rest of the year? Home Savvi is using technology to bring homeowners together with the green building information, products and services they need, online. Denis Du Bois interviews Villette Nolon, CEO and co-founder of Home Savvi, at the 64th Annual Seattle Home Show. (podcast) (screen shots)

Continue reading "Home Savvi Connects Homeowners with Green Building Resources" »

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" »

Energy Minute: Systems in a facility can be networked so they can interoperate. Just stringing a wire between a security system and a lighting controller isn't enough. Your choices will affect the life cycle cost of your building or campus.

Continue reading "Networked Building Controls: Open or Proprietary?" »

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" »

A valuable new audio series from Energy Priorities magazine keeps commercial building owners, developers and managers up to date with green building.

Continue reading "What Is the Building Priorities Briefing?" »

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)

Continue reading "Solaicx Begins Full-Scale Production of "Solar-Optimized" Silicon Wafers in Oregon" »

GREENBUILD-- Hear from 7 exhibitors in 12 minutes in this whirlwind audio tour of the expo hall. Denis Du Bois hand-picks energy-related vendors and brings you an audio summary of what they have to say. Denis does the walking, interviews the top people in each booth and edits their message down to its essence; you just sit back and enjoy. (podcast)

Continue reading "Greenbuild 2007 Expo Audio Tour" »

The renewable energy industry's leading podcast series ran a segment I recorded at Greenbuild. It's an excerpt of an audio package I produced when I visited the exhibits of the major energy-related exhibitors there. (podcast)

Continue reading "Solar at Greenbuild: Audio Tour (Inside Renewable Energy)" »

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" »

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" »

When you're considering whether to install renewable energy at your business, or make any kind of energy efficiency investment, one major factor in your decision is how much and how fast you expect energy costs to change. What are the factors that drive energy prices up or down? I interview Ben Parker, who leads the Boston office of Tradition Energy. He's been involved in retail energy markets for 15 years, was an independent energy broker, and served a term in the New Hampshire state legislature. (podcast)

Continue reading "Predicting Energy Costs: What Difference Will Deregulation Make?" »

Even though the technique isn't quite out of the lab yet, Hydrogen Power in Seattle is already thinking about how to commercialize a process for producing hydrogen from aluminum powder.

Continue reading "Hydrogen via Aluminum: From Soda Cans to Submarines" »

Energy Minute: A small region of Spain is far ahead of almost everyone in its use of renewable energy. It uses wind, solar, biomass and hydro to produce 60 percent of its power. (podcast)

Continue reading "Spain's Navarre Region Runs with Renewable Energy" »

The BuilConn and ConnectivityWeek conferences ended on a high note with an award gala reception and dinner.
ConnectivityWeek founder Anto Budiardjo was master of ceremonies. This closing dinner and awards ceremony was mostly for fun, but Mr. Budiardjo had a few serious things to say. Then he announced the winners of the 2007 Buildy Awards. (podcast)

Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2007: Buildy Award Winners" »

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" »

A quick guide to the day's sessions, plus an interview with Jack McGowan, president of Energy Control Inc. (podcast) (transcript)

Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek 2007: Wednesday Highlights" »

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" »

Why it is what it is: The evolution of ConnectivityWeek. Conversation between Denis Du Bois and conference founder Anto Budiardjo. (podcast) (transcript)

Continue reading "ConnectivityWeek: Tuesday Highlights" »

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" »

Energy Minute: Smart electric meters communicate over a network, so utilities can verify demand response and provide net metering of on-site renewable energy. (podcast)

Continue reading "Smart Meters" »

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)

Continue reading "GridWeek 2007: Balancing Innovation and Regulation -- Interview with NERC President Rick Sergel" »

Day two of GridWeek is devoted entirely to the topic of demand response. Denis Du Bois is hosting a daily podcast series featuring the top speakers at the conference. Today he interviews the DOE's Director of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Kevin Kolevar, one of today's keynote speakers. (podcast)

Continue reading "GridWeek 2007: Interview with Kevin Kolevar, Director of the DOE's Office of Electricity" »

The first annual GridWeek kicks off today in Washington DC. Energy Priorities editor Denis Du Bois is hosting a daily podcast series featuring the top speakers at the conference. Today he interviews Erich Gunther, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of EnerNex Corporation. (podcast)

Continue reading "GridWeek 2007: Interview with EnerNex CTO Erich Gunther" »

Energy Minute: Rooftop concentrating solar is a scaled-down version of the technology behind the largest utility-class solar power plants. A handful of companies are working on innovative approaches. They promise to have products on the U.S. market by 2008. (podcast)

Continue reading "Rooftop Concentrating Solar" »

When you decide to put a solar power system on the roof of your building, the next question is, "what kind?" There are conventional silicon modules, a technology that hasn't changed dramatically since the first lunar landing. There are thin film solar sheets that add a layer of protection and insulation to the roof, while they generate power -- although not as efficiently. Soliant Energy is working on a form of concentrating solar technology for commercial rooftops. Energy Priorities interviews CEO Brad Hines. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Soliant Energy Targets Commercial Rooftops with its Concentrating Solar Platform" »

Energy Minute: Demand response programs ask customers to stop buying as much power during periods of peak demand, because there's not enough energy to go around. This "triple-shot" Energy Minute examines whether those customers, or the utilities, could somehow use renewable energy instead. (podcast)

Continue reading "Can Renewable Energy Help Manage Peak Demand?" »

Demand response is catching on around the world as a means of reducing the need for new power plant construction, lowering wholesale power costs, and cutting harmful emissions. It can also be a source of revenue for participating companies. If demand response is going to be part of your energy cost management strategy, then you have some options for how you go about it. (podcast)

Continue reading "Getting Started with Demand Response" »

Demand response has been around for many years, but it still hasn't caught on at a national level here in the US. Participants still are pioneers -- they need a willingness to wade through the options and paperwork, not to mention dealing with immature technologies and managing their programs with sketchy data.

When will demand response become a mainstream resource? I went to America's most progressive state for demand response, and asked the top regulator and top grid operator to get specific about when demand response will be commonplace. (podcast)

Continue reading "When Will Demand Response Be as Accepted as Daylight Savings Time?" »

In the dot-com boom, cities and states did their best to attract internet companies. Now that we're in the watt-com boom, it seems like every locality's economic development office is trying to attract renewable-energy businesses to their region. To me, it makes a statement about renewable energy's status as a sector, and about government leaders' expectations for the long-term growth of the industry. I interviewed some regional representatives at the Power-Gen Renewable Energy and Fuels 2007 conference. (podcast)(photo)

Continue reading "Marketing Regions To Attract Energy Companies, Customers" »

Interview with Peter Fusaro, the founder of Global Change Associates, an energy and environmental advisory, and the author of "What Went Wrong at Enron." (podcast)

Continue reading "Will 2007 Be the Year for U.S. Carbon Legislation?" »

Life is good for renewable energy companies, but sustained success will require a sustained commitment, says National Renewable Energy Lab director Dan Arvizu. He spoke at the Power-Gen Renewable Energy and Fuels 2007 conference in Las Vegas Nevada last week. Here are the highlights of his keynote address. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "NREL Leader Urges Investing with the Long View to Sustain Renewable Industry's Growth" »

Building owners are looking for new ways to squeeze more energy efficiency out of their commercial facilities, and one of the largest opportunities is in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Jim Hanna of Optimum Energy explains how the company's control technology makes commercial air conditioners more energy efficient. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Slow Down and Keep Cool: Technology Fine-Tunes Chiller Speeds to Cut Air Conditioning Costs" »

Checking in on a solar array from the office is an intriguing thought for a solar homeowner. But there's a more serious and practical side to monitoring renewable energy systems for businesses, who are demanding accountability from solar installers and integrators. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Monitoring Solar Energy for Fun and Profit: Fat Spaniel's "PV2Web" Displays Real-Time Status" »

In many regions of the U.S., utilities are feeling the heat. Peak power demand threatens their ability to deliver as much energy as customers need on hot afternoons. Ice storage air conditioning shifts a major commercial energy load into off-peak evening hours, saving money for businesses and reducing pressure on the grid. California's new building energy code makes load shifting a necessity for many new facilities. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Ice Energy's "Ice Bear" Keeps Off-Peak Kilowatts in Cold Storage to Reduce HVAC's Peak Power Costs" »

GREENBUILD -- Building-integrated solar, or BIPV, has caught attendees' attention at the Greenbuild 2006 Conference and Expo. Open Energy, a relatively new company in the space, is exhibiting three types of BIPV for roofs and windows. Their solar building materials are of particular interest to the large audience of LEED-accredited architects here. Open Energy's Howard Gomes talks with us about their products and the return on investment in various parts of the U.S. and the world. (podcast) (photos)

Continue reading "Open Energy's Solar Building Materials Draw Crowds at Greenbuild" »

GREENBUILD -- Hear what's now and what's next from Lutron, makers of commercial lighting control systems. Lutron is showing their EcoSystem lighting control system at Greenbuild 2006, together with new automated shading and a wall control unit. (podcast)

Continue reading "Lutron Shows Lighting Control and Shading Systems at Greenbuild" »

GREENBUILD-- Interview with John Langdon of HelioVolt, a maker of solar power products that use no silicon. He talks about the applications of the company's photovoltaics for commercial buildings, and the economics of designing solar into a structure. Hear what's now and what's next from this innovative renewable energy company, with a prediction for the future of solar technologies. (podcast)

Continue reading "HelioVolt's No-Silicon Solar Technology -- The Future of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics?" »