FEATURES AND NEWS
Lifeline Data Centers is planning the installation of a 4 MW solar power array at its Eastgate data center campus in Indianapolis, Ind. (pictured). The installation will begin in the next few months and will be fully functional by April 2014. Through a long-term partner relationship with Indianapolis Power & ... Read more »
California Governor Jerry Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency related to the wildfires burning near Yosemite, and said the fires “have caused damage to electrical infrastructure serving the City and County of San Francisco and now threaten damage to property, equipment, and resources of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. ... Read more »
The debate over the visibility of eco-fees diverts attention from the most important issue: fair, judiciously applied fees can serve as a catalyst for educating consumers and offering more environmentally friendly products. As part of a comprehensive product stewardship strategy, eco-fees can be a valuable tool to help increase responsible ... Read more »
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Volvo’s transportation efficiency project cut emissions from 400 distribution trucks between 30 percent and 80 percent over three years, the automaker says. In the Climate-Smart City Distribution project, which ended in spring 2013, Volvo worked with several partners to improve the efficiency of distribution operations in central Gothenburg, Sweden. Over ... Read more »
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Corporations, like leaders, display habits that can identify their commitment to sustainability, says Dow Chemical’s vice president of sustainability and environment, Neil Hawkins. He singles out six habits that he says leading green businesses must embody in a column for Ensia magazine. Hawkins categorizes the habits under three core ideas: ... Read more »
The EPA has announced enforcement actions against four Seattle-area companies for allegedly discharging industrial stormwater to Puget Sound waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act. Ash Grove Cement has agreed to a $600,000 penalty; Waste Management of Washington has agreed a $33,750 penalty; and Gary Merlino Construction Company agreed $36,000. Special ... Read more »
Unit-based pricing, also known as pay as you throw (PAYT), disposal bans, and recycling mandates are the three top strategies for increasing recovery rates and sustaining financing for collection and recovery in waste management systems, according to a white paper by the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (Ameripen). ... Read more »
Another nuclear plant will soon close, bringing the number making such announcements this year to five – an all-time high. Entergy announced it would close the 41-year-old Vermont Yankee plant next year, citing low natural gas prices, high operating costs as well as “artificially low” power prices, Bloomberg reports. But ... Read more »
Here’s the latest news on hirings, promotions and departures among environmental leaders. Alcoa: The producer of primary and fabricated aluminum has promoted Mike Barriere (pictured) to executive vice president, human resources and environment, health and safety (EHS). Barrier previously was Alcoa’s vice president, human resources. The company also promoted Kevin ... Read more »
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Clean-tech company Ion Engineering has licensed carbon capture technology that provides a potentially cheaper and more efficient method for stripping greenhouse gases such as CO2 from industrial emissions, according to University of Alabama, which has patented the method. Nearly all commercially available efforts at scrubbing GHGs from emissions use a ... Read more »
Why haven’t utilities made more progress? Co-authored by Earl Simpkins & Josh Stillman Consumers have heard that digital technologies are revolutionizing electrical systems across the country, promising new services and lower prices for customers. Local utility may have installed a “smart meters” at customers’ homes. And maybe the power company ... Read more »
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has created the Keystone Energy Education Program (KEEP) to teach students and teachers at Pennsylvania schools how to track energy efficiency. There will be 12-day workshops held throughout the state during the 2013-2014 school year, beginning in early October. Six school teams will attend ... Read more »
Among the many uses of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division forthcoming FlexLab will be its capability to test successfully integrating HVAC, facades, shading, lighting systems and controls in a way that’s cost effective, and generates aggressive energy savings, according to a question and answer session with the facility’s manager Cindy ... Read more »
Energy intensive companies in Singapore are performing well in core aspects of energy management, but need to improve people-centric aspects, such as organizational structure, performance management and incentives, to fully realize and sustain the benefits of energy management, according to a survey by Accenture. Accenture, with support from the National ... Read more »
The Dominican Republic has a 1.5 MW solar array with panels from Solar World that sits by the side of the runway in the Cibao International Airport. The solar panels represent the largest installation in the Caribbean island nation. The project was developed and installed by Dominican-based Trace Solar within ... Read more »
NRG Energy has acquired Energy Curtailment Specialists in a transaction with undisclosed terms. Energy Curtailment Specialists currently manages more than 2,000 MW of demand response across the US for over 5,000 customers. Jim Korczykowski will continue to serve as president of Energy Curtailment Specialists within the NRG Energy organization. Energy ... Read more »
Philadelphia-based utility PECO has installed about 700,000 smart meters across its service territory since March 2012 and will complete the deployment of smart meters to all 1.6 million its customers, both residential and commercial, by the end of 2014 – five years ahead of its original schedule. Pursuant to Pennsylvania ... Read more »
The SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has acquired the landmark Kiernan Plaza in downtown Albany, NY, in a bid to create a hub for smart cities technology companies. The $30-million CNSE-led initiative, identified as a priority project by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Capital Region Economic Development Council ... Read more »
Gevo, with support from the Coca-Cola Company and Japanese chemical giant Toray Industries, has opened a demonstration-scale paraxylene plant in Silsbee, Texas. The paraxylene facility is located adjacent to the renewable chemicals and biofuels firm’s existing jet fuel plant in Silsbee. Gevo says it establishes the site as a biorefinery ... Read more »
Centennial Plastics is the first company to earn certification to NSF/ANSI Standard 358-1: Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water-Based Ground-Source “Geothermal” Heat Pump Systems. NSF International awarded Centennial the certification verifying that the company’s CenFuse geothermal pipes meet minimum performance and safety requirements. Bass Computers has achieved the R2 electronics recycling standard, as well ... Read more »
Organic food manufacturer Amy’s Kitchen, Farm Aid, Clif Bar & Company, The Urban Farm, Organic Seed Alliance and the Center for Food Safety are among more than 150 farm organizations, millers, retailers, bakeries, seed businesses and food processors urging the US Department of Agriculture to improve its oversight of experimental ... Read more »
San Jose, Calif., will likely become the biggest city in the state, if not the US, to ban plastic foam food containers following a City Council vote today, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Proponents say the plastic foam, called “expanded polystyrene” or EPS, ends up in landfills because there’s ... Read more »
Smith Electric Vehicles will form a joint venture with Taikang Technology in Taiwan for the latter to distribute all-electric vehicles in Taiwan. The agreement covers sales of 5,000 garbage pick-up trucks over the first three years, of which the initial models will be from Newton and Edison.