Solar Activated Tinting Glass Needs No Electronics

May 17, 2013 by Linda Hardesty

Innovative Glass Corp has added SolarSmart to its eGlass product line.

SolarSmart is a self-tinting glass that automatically darkens in the presence of direct sunlight to block heat, glare and ultraviolet light. The dynamic glass is 100 percent solar activated, powered and controlled, requiring no wires, electronics, external power or user involvement, which simplifies installation, and maximizes potential energy savings, says the company.

SolarSmart features a proprietary interlayer, which responds to the heat of the sun. The product has passed NREL’s durability and exposure tests.

Innovative Glass says buildings with SolarSmart can save up to 22 percent of installed equipment costs, ...

Oregon 28 MW Geothermal Plant Online

March 12, 2013 by Energy Manager Today Staff

Oregon’s first industrial-scale geothermal plant is feeding power to the electric grid, the Statesman Journal reports.

The Neal Hot Springs plant (pictured) in Eastern Oregon’s Malheur County is generating 28 MW of electricity, according to the newspaper. US Geothermal, which owns project in partnership with Canada’s Enbridge, initially put the plant’s estimated output at 23 MW.

Idaho Power buys the electricity under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The PPA has a starting price of $96 per MWh and escalates at a variable percentage annually.

The $143.6 million project consists of three separate power modules. US Geothermal’s pumps draw 300-degree water from an ...

Walgreens Builds Net Zero Energy Retail Store

March 8, 2013 by Linda Hardesty

Walgreens plans to build what it believes will be the nation’s first net zero energy retail store, producing energy equal to or greater than it consumes.

Walgreens plans to achieve that by utilizing solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal technology, energy-efficient building materials, LED lighting and ultra-high-efficiency refrigeration.

“We are investing in developing a net-zero store so we can learn the best way to bring these features to our other stores,” said Thomas Connolly, Walgreens vice president of facilities development.” Walgreens operates 8,000 stores nationwide.

The first net-zero store will be located in Evanston, Ill., at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and ...

New District Energy System in Vancouver Uses Waste Heat From Data Center

March 6, 2013 by Linda Hardesty

Canadian telecommunications company Telus is building a $750-million residential and commercial complex in downtown Vancouver, BC, and is going to heat and cool the new Telus Garden development with waste heat from its own nearby data center.

The Telus Garden development is comprised of a LEED Platinum 24-story office tower, a LEED Gold 53-story residential tower with more than 425 homes, and retail space.

Vancouver, BC, utility FortisBC is partnering with Telus and real estate developer Westbank to create a regulated district energy system for Telus Garden. The system will use waste heat from an adjacent data center and the new office tower’s cooling system to heat and ...

Forget Tar Sands: How Canadian Hydro Can Help America

Our neighbor to the north has an energy source that our nation has yet to fully utilize—and it’s not tar sands.

Mari Hernandez: March 4, 2013

Canadian hydropower has contributed to America’s clean energy economy, and has the potential to provide our nation with more clean energy. The question is, how can Canada and the United States strengthen this trade relationship?

An event last week called Power Partnerships: How Canada-U.S. Hydroelectric Partnerships Reinforce America’s Clean Energy Economy, held at the Wilson Center in Washington D.C., brought together representatives from public utilities, think tanks, and government officials to answer that question.

Canadian hydropower has been supplying baseload ...

Vacaville, Siemens team up for energy efficiency projects

Yesterday, BOMA International staff had the opportunity to enjoy breakfast with the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-Nev.), at a small real estate gathering.  The leader discussed topics of interest to the real estate industry, including
energy efficiency incentives, the potential for repealing or amending the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), and the outlook for legislation to grant states the right to collect sales tax from Internet retailers.  The Majority Leader also expressed frustration over the anticipated sequestration set to kick in tomorrow.  He does not believe that there will be a last minute solution this time around, but hopes that both sides will come to an agreement shortly thereafter.

UB Improving Energy Efficiency

David Bertola

Energy-efficiency projects at the University at Buffalo, made possible by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will save the university approximately $513,000 in energy costs and eliminate more than 2,600 tons of global warming, greenhouse gas emissions annually.

The energy-saving projects support Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ambitious Build Smart NY initiative to increase energy efficiency in state buildings by 20 percent in seven years by strategically accelerating priority improvements in energy performance. The comprehensive initiative will save millions of dollars for taxpayers and create thousands of jobs while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The NYSERDA-funded initiatives move the university ...

Join the Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) Campaign

Webinar

Thursday, February 28, 2013
  1:00-2:00 PM EST 

Speakers include:  Paul Wessel, Green Parking Council; Ralph Williams, Walmart, Chris Magee, Vice Chair Incorporated Cities Representative;  Dave Mounce, Vice President Engineering at Hines

Parking lots and structures are significant consumers of electricity, and nationally use approximately 50 billion kilowatts per year.  The Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) Campaign, launched last Fall by BOMA International, the Green Parking Council and the International Facility Management Association, encourages commercial building owners and managers and parking garage/lot owners and managers to take advantage of the proven ...

The Inside Story of Diageo's Stunning Carbon Achievement

by Andrew Winston  |  11:00 AM February 20, 2011

Here's what scientists are telling us: the world must cut carbon emissions by at least 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 to (we hope) avoid the worst of climate change. This level of change seemed like a pipe dream to many, including me... until I spoke last fall to Roberta Barbieri, the global manager for environmental sustainability for Diageo, the $17 billion spirits company. Imagine my shock, as we talked about setting aggressive goals on carbon emissions, when she casually mentioned that Diageo's North American division — a group with $5.58 billion in sales and 14 production and manufacturing facilities — had already cut emissions 80 percent.

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