http://www.environmentalleader.com Environmental Leader Fri, 25 May 2012 17:41:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/22/nascar-and-epa-partner-on-environmental-initiatives/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/22/nascar-and-epa-partner-on-environmental-initiatives/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 06:14:20 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=77117 NASCAR and the EPA have signed a memorandum of understanding intended to raise racing fans’ awareness of environmentally friendly products and initiatives. Under the agreement, NASCAR will use products that have earned EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) label at racing events. The DfE label tells consumers that, according to the EPA, the product performs [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/22/nascar-and-epa-partner-on-environmental-initiatives/feed/ 3 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/21/contract-wins-solarcity-pv-delta-and-doe-allure-energy/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/21/contract-wins-solarcity-pv-delta-and-doe-allure-energy/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 13:43:33 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76939 Campus Crest Communities has partnered with SolarCity to install more than 9,000 solar panels on student housing facilities in Greeley, Colo.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; and Las Cruces, N.M. The “purpose-built” student housing developer says the initiative will provide more than 2.3 million kWh of renewable power annually, offset the housing complexes’ electricity consumption by about 50 [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/21/contract-wins-solarcity-pv-delta-and-doe-allure-energy/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/us-imposes-31-duty-on-chinese-solar-panels/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/us-imposes-31-duty-on-chinese-solar-panels/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 14:50:49 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76887 The US government has imposed tariffs of around 30 percent on solar panels imported from China, sparking charges of “trade protectionism” from Chinese government officials and increasing friction between the two countries. The US Commerce Department ruled yesterday in favor of American companies that charged Chinese exporters had illegally “dumped” their solar panels on the [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/us-imposes-31-duty-on-chinese-solar-panels/feed/ 2 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/policy-enforcement-briefing-bonn-climate-talks-new-zealand-ets-iris-review/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/policy-enforcement-briefing-bonn-climate-talks-new-zealand-ets-iris-review/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 13:20:33 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76860 Here’s the latest policy, enforcement and legal news affecting corporate environmental and energy executives. Today’s briefing includes 11 items. UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said that country delegates who agreed on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, a process to develop a new GHG emissions reduction protocol by 2015, should set targets this year to [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/policy-enforcement-briefing-bonn-climate-talks-new-zealand-ets-iris-review/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/apple-data-center-to-be-powered-by-100-renewable-energy/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/apple-data-center-to-be-powered-by-100-renewable-energy/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 06:29:02 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76873 Apple said it will power its 500,000-square-foot data center in Maiden, N.C., entirely with renewable energy by the end of the year. The announcement, which was posted on Apple’s website, follows protests against Apple by Greenpeace activists who criticized the company for powering its iCloud using coal-fired power plants. Apple received the fifth-lowest score in Greenpeace’s [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/18/apple-data-center-to-be-powered-by-100-renewable-energy/feed/ 1 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/17/walmart-announces-27-solar-projects-totalling-10-5-mw/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/17/walmart-announces-27-solar-projects-totalling-10-5-mw/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 16:30:00 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76755 Walmart has announced plans to install solar photovoltaic arrays on 27 of its Massachusetts stores as early as August, adding on-site generation to more than half of its outlets in the state. The arrays are in the engineering phase and still require permits, the Boston Globe reports. Once operational, the installations should have a total [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/17/walmart-announces-27-solar-projects-totalling-10-5-mw/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/16/nrel-model-improves-predictions-of-shade-effects-on-solar-pv/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/16/nrel-model-improves-predictions-of-shade-effects-on-solar-pv/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 13:55:49 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76690 Using microinverters instead of typical string inverters can improve solar panels’ performance in shade by more than 12 percent, according to a new National Renewable Energy Laboratory test procedure, which the lab says greatly improves the accuracy of predictions about shade effects. Shade hinders photovoltaic performance, which is why solar installers consider it in PV [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/16/nrel-model-improves-predictions-of-shade-effects-on-solar-pv/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/15/gm-aims-for-third-leed-with-water-recycling-solar-composting/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/15/gm-aims-for-third-leed-with-water-recycling-solar-composting/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 06:19:15 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76572 General Motors is building an engine plant in southern Brazil equipped with numerous sustainable features including solar energy and water recycling systems, which the company expects will secure the building LEED certification. If successful, the facility would join GM’s Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan and its China headquarters in Shanghai in earning this [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/15/gm-aims-for-third-leed-with-water-recycling-solar-composting/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/14/policy-enforcement-briefing-german-solar-subsidies-australian-carbon-price-honda-hybrid-suit/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/14/policy-enforcement-briefing-german-solar-subsidies-australian-carbon-price-honda-hybrid-suit/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 13:50:46 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76463 Here’s the latest policy, enforcement and legal news affecting corporate environmental and energy executives. Today’s briefing includes eight items. The German parliament’s upper house has rallied enough support to delay plans to cut solar subsidies for as long as several months. But those opposing the proposal to slash feed-in tariffs by between 20 and nearly [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/14/policy-enforcement-briefing-german-solar-subsidies-australian-carbon-price-honda-hybrid-suit/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/11/contract-wins-q-cells-pv-on-ikea-turboden-orc-at-heathrow-enernoc-in-sf/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/11/contract-wins-q-cells-pv-on-ikea-turboden-orc-at-heathrow-enernoc-in-sf/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 13:15:02 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76328 IKEA has ordered 7MW of Q.Cells’ solar modules. The retailer will install Q.Cells’ CIGS thin-film modules on the rooftop of its main warehouse in the northern Italian town of Piacenza within the coming months. Renewables provides 51 percent of Ikea’s energy, up from 47 percent in FY10, according to the company’s 2011 sustainability report. BAA [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/11/contract-wins-q-cells-pv-on-ikea-turboden-orc-at-heathrow-enernoc-in-sf/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/10/aashe-sustainability-review-green-job-training-skyrocketed-in-2011/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/10/aashe-sustainability-review-green-job-training-skyrocketed-in-2011/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 14:32:38 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76216 Nearly 60 percent of all new higher-education programs or training opportunities in 2011 focused on renewable energy and green careers, with $543 million recorded toward the effort, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s 2011 Higher Education Sustainability Review. The annual review, an analysis of 2011 AASHE Bulletin stories, shows [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/10/aashe-sustainability-review-green-job-training-skyrocketed-in-2011/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/09/aep-sustainability-report-carbon-emissions-rise-1-5-revenues-up-4-8/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/09/aep-sustainability-report-carbon-emissions-rise-1-5-revenues-up-4-8/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 14:01:17 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76062 American Electric Power’s total CO2 emissions rose just shy of 1.5 percent from 2010 to 2011, while revenues rose 4.8 percent over that time period, according to the company’s 2012 combined annual report and corporate sustainability report. In 2011, AEP emitted 136 million metric tons of carbon, up from 134 million metric tons in 2010. [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/09/aep-sustainability-report-carbon-emissions-rise-1-5-revenues-up-4-8/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/09/chrysler-dealerships-install-solar-panels-recycle-motor-oil-and-rainwater/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/09/chrysler-dealerships-install-solar-panels-recycle-motor-oil-and-rainwater/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 06:50:26 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76068 Tim Parker Chrysler, located in the Hot Springs National Park in central Arkansas, installed a 2,000-square-foot solar panel system on the dealership’s roof (pictured), making it one of the largest privately owned solar panel systems in the state, according to Chrysler. The dealership is one of 30 that Chrysler Group has recognized under the Dealer [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/09/chrysler-dealerships-install-solar-panels-recycle-motor-oil-and-rainwater/feed/ 1 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/08/nrel-unveils-more-accurate-energy-project-emissions-calculator/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/08/nrel-unveils-more-accurate-energy-project-emissions-calculator/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 16:12:45 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=75985 Cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions from solar photovoltaics are about 5 percent of those from coal; wind and solar are about equal in emissions; and nuclear energy is on a par with renewable energy, according to a new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which claims to use a more precise method for calculating life [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/08/nrel-unveils-more-accurate-energy-project-emissions-calculator/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/08/iron-mountain-looks-to-solar-pv-johns-hopkins-brings-818kw-online/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/08/iron-mountain-looks-to-solar-pv-johns-hopkins-brings-818kw-online/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 14:50:58 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=76007 Information management company Iron Mountain says it will install solar PV systems on the roofs of eight document storage facilities in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey – the first stage of a review of rooftop solar generation potential across its 1,000 global facilities. The company said the panels are part of a strategy for fixing long-term [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/08/iron-mountain-looks-to-solar-pv-johns-hopkins-brings-818kw-online/feed/ 0