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Blue Hawaii getting greener every day
By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now
(HONOLULU) – Hawaii has found a new place in the sun. With a local in the White House and clean-energy tech booming, this sunny, windy island state is blossoming into an exotic garden of alternative power innovation with nearly $1 billion in clean energy projects underway. The aggressive new initiatives are driven by history and necessity.
Necessity, because Hawaii gets 90 percent of its energy from imported oil, while its isolation makes it vulnerable to frequent power outages (no neighbors to send in reserves – until wave power is tapped). Not-so-distant history, because native Hawaiian culture is rooted in respect for nature, a vibe that resonates “take no more than is needed and squander nothing that is taken”.
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Tags: · Biofuels, Blue Planet Foundation, Energy Conservation, geothermal power, Hawaii, Hawaii test site for renewable energy, Hickam Air Force Base, hydrogen vehicles, Punahou School, solar collectors, Solar Power, Sopogy, sustainable Hawaii, Wind Power
Clean-tech jobs on the increase, and they’re not just for geeks and experts
[caption id="attachment_5941" align="alignright" width="263" caption="Roof-mounted solar panels on Hall's Warehouse in South Plainfield New Jersey. (Photo: Business Wire)"]  [/caption]
By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now
The latest generation of workers in clean technology jobs aren’t all engineers, tech experts and scientists. They aren’t all in Silicon Valley – some are from Detroit or Gary, Ind.
They may come from community colleges or be fresh out of high school.
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Tags: · Biofuels, Clean Edge, Clean Edge job report, Clean Edge report, clean tech, clean tech jobs media pay, clean technology, clean technology and Detroit, Green Bonds, green tax credits, median pay jobs, Pacific Gas & Electric, Renewable Energy, Ron Pernick, smart grids, Solar Power, The Green Bank, Wind Power
Solar Decathlon shows that homes can run on the sun
By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now
Tomorrow’s leaders are already working towards a cleaner future. The Solar Decathlon, an international competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is showcasing solar-powered home designs created by students from around the world.
Students selected to participate were given two years to design and build solar homes, which must be carbon neutral and completely powered by the sun. The projects, many costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, are on display at the National Mall in Washington through Sunday (Oct. 18).
Two thousand students came together to form 20 teams, which are competing to win prizes in several categories, such as best architecture or engineering or “comfort zone.”
The Solar Decathlon Proposal Review Committee, which is made up of engineers, scientist, and other experts from the DOE and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory, selected the teams that they thought had the ability to meet the strict structural and safety requirements. Once selected, each team was given $100,000 to get started. Projects often require more, so individual teams then raise any additional funds.
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Tags: · Net-zero homes, Solar Decathlon, solar home prototypes, Solar Power, solar power demonstration, U.S. Department of Energy, universities, Washington, zero carbon homes
Wind, solar and batteries may power your portfolio, just don’t expect a rocket to riches
By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now
Before the recession put a stranglehold on most every investment, clean technology was hot. Nearly 80 percent of all the venture capital spent in 2008 went to clean, green investments. The industries slumped for much of 2009, but now investors are returning to clean industries.
Regular Americans are curious about these clean tech companies, too, and they’re asking their financial advisers about them, according to one survey.
What is clean tech? It refers to technologies made without generating significant pollution, which produce products that can replace non-renewable energy sources, like oil, and make us more energy-efficient. Think solar cells and wind-generated power, hybrid or electric cars, green buildings, desalinated water and a “smart grid” that will help businesses and home owners to connect with new sources of power, like wind farms and giant desert photovoltaic installation
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Tags: · Biofuels, Clean Edge, Cleantech Group, Electric Cars, green investment, green lighting, Green Tech Media, Greentech Media, hybrid cars, Morningstar, Solar Power, Wind Power, Winslow Management
Evander Holyfield takes a jab at climate change
September 29th, 2009 · No Comments
By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now
Four-time heavy weight boxing champion Evander Holyfield is ready for another fight. Except  this time, he is fighting for the planet. Known as the Real Deal in the sports world, Holyfield will also be going by a new nickname, Lean Green Fighting Machine. Friday morning, Holyfield announced that in partnership with Global-NES-Georgia, Inc., he plans to build a 40 acre solar energy farm on his estate in Georgia.
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Tags: · Evander Holyfield, Georgia, Global-NES-Georgia Inc., green power, Real Deal, solar farm, Solar Power
Counterintuitive Idea of the Week: EarthSure’s buried solar panels
September 15th, 2009 · 1 Comment
Green Right Now Reports
Looking to improve the cost efficiency and aesthetics of solar power, a New Jersey company, EarthSure, has decided that solar panels should be buried in the earth.
No they’re not trying to win the “renewal energy miscalculation” award, they have developed a way to funnel solar light to the buried panels, which would gather solar power from the transported light (like solar tubes). The new operation would be unseen, and would not require that rooftops be converted into glassy conversation pieces.
Homeowner’s associations listen up:
“No unsightly above-ground solar panels need to be used anymore. This is an enhancement not only in economics and in the green movement, but a great technological improvement in the area of design and construction as well,” the company reports in a news release.
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Tags: · EarthSure, Green Energy, N.J., Ray Saluccio, Renewable Energy, rooftop solar panels, Solar Power, SubSolar solar power systems, underground solar panels, Woodbridge
Sears Tower reaching for greener heights
By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now
The Sears Tower is undergoing a renovation of massive proportions. As the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the Sears Tower is already relatively eco-friendly, meeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria. But now it is aiming to be even greener.
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Tags: · Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago, daylight harvesting, fuel cell technology, green roofs, LEED certified, Sears Tower, Solar Power, Water Conservation
Waxman-Markey may or may not raise electricity bills, but not much, we think
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Talk about a hot and windy debate as Washington grapples with the first big bill to try to power up a new clean energy economy. Studies and accusations are whipping around like wind propellers as the contituencies of fossil fuels and new energy square off.
While this seems like a flurry of much ado — is it possible that the American Clean Energy and Security Act wouldn’t pass? That the fossils would win?
Still, there’s much at stake. As we know from last year’s blockbuster stimulus bill, no one really reads all the copy, so there could be a lot of caveats, crumbs and sneaky insertions embedded into the 1,000-plus page act, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill.
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Tags: · American Clean Energy and Security Act, BarbaraKesslerBlog, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Waxman-Markey, Wind Power
Schools go net-zero in Kentucky and win national award
By Diane Porter
Green Right Now
There’s a shiny green report card out in Warren County, Kentucky this month.
The county’s school district won the Alliance to Save Energy’s 2009 Andromeda Award for its programs, which include $4 million in energy savings over the last five years, a 28 percent energy use reduction, a daily curriculum that focuses on energy efficiency and Energy Star ratings on four buildings. But the star of their show undoubtedly is the new Richardsville Elementary, a Warren County School on target to become the nation’s first net zero energy public school when it opens in fall of 2010 (see photo above).
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Tags: · 2009 Andromeda Award, Alliance to Save Energy, energy efficiency in schools, Energy Star, geothermal power, Green Schools, Kentucky, LEED certification, net zero school, Recycle & Reuse, Richardsville Elementary, Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects, Solar Power, Warren County
Waxman-Markey goes low-RES, angering wind companies
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Comments are flying faster than bats heading for a wind turbine in D.C. as all the “stakeholders” queue up to make their case for or against the Waxman-Markey climate legislation being marked up next week.
First, our favorite — and this is a real giggle — from U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, the fast-fossilizing Republican from south of Dallas. He’s suggested that Congress not “cap” industrial emissions per se and that it “exclude carbon dioxide from a list of federal pollutants,” according to a McClatchy-Tribune news service report.
Right. Great answer to carbon pollution.
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Tags: · Alternative Energy, BarbaraKesslerBlog, clean energy, renewable energy standard, RES, Solar Power, Waxman-Markey, windpower
My Green Job: Skelly Holmbeck, NextEra Energy Resources
Skelly Holmbeck; Juno Beach, FL
What I do:
I manage environmental strategy for NextEra Energy Resources, the largest producer of wind and solar  energy in the US. I work with experts in all different parts of the company, as well as outside the company, to develop strategies to keep our projects green, in every way, every day. One of my biggest projects right now is working with Oxford and Texas Christian University to address some of the most critical environmental issues related to renewables.
How it Helps:
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Tags: · environmental strategy, Green jobs, NextEra Energy Resources, Skelly Holmbeck, Solar Power, Wind Power
My Green Job: Chad Sanders, solar installer
Chad W. Sanders, 34, Lakewood, Colorado
What I do:
 I work for Metro Solar, a solar thermal and photovoltaic installation and service company. We specialize in solar thermal heating and high efficiency boiler systems, but also install PV (photovoltaics). Since we are one of the few companies that service old systems, the majority of the work I do is in this area. There were many solar thermal systems installed in the Denver area back in the ‘80s and Metro Solar has stayed in business maintaining these systems during the last three decades. Now that there is a renewed interested in solar we are starting to install new systems.
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Tags: · Chad W. Sanders, Colorado, Denver, Lakewood, Metro Solar, My Green Job, Photovoltaics, Solar Power, solar roof installations, solar thermal
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