All Aboard: New Rail-Booking System Unveiled
Posted: Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:00:48 +0000
Ever have to book rail travel from Italy to the Netherlands via Spain? It ain’t easy unless you happen to be adept at multiple languages, can convert differing currencies and have the patience of a saint. Now, however, thanks to a new integrated global rail search and booking system, rail travel across Europe – and the United States – could be a lot easier.
SilverRail Technologies recently debuted SilverCore, a rail search and ticketing program that integrates multiple rail connections from around the world into a single booking system. The platform removes the complexity of selling rail by allowing customers to search and buy tickets for multicountry journeys with two or more train operators in a single booking. It also allows online travel agents, traditional travel agents and travel management companies to offer simplified rail search and booking, include rail as part of holiday packages and display rail fares side by side with air thus making the booking process as easy as booking flights.
image via Shutterstock
The SilverCore platform now includes rail connections in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Additional rail operators across Europe and elsewhere in the world will be added later this year and in early 2012.
The SilverCore system comes at an opportune moment: Europeans are investing $250 billion in 48 high speed-rail projects (including at least $10 billion in Germany), China plans to lay down 10,000 miles of high-speed tracks by 2020 and President Barack Obama presented a $53 billion proposal to Congress for a high speed rail project that will provide transport to 80 percent of Americans within 25 years.
U.S. Wind Power Surges In Third Quarter
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:00:23 +0000
If you thought you were seeing a lot of stories about new wind power plants in Colorado, there’s a reason for that: In the third quarter of 2011, Colorado installed more new wind capacity than any other state – way more. According to the latest quarterly report [PDF] from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Colorado installed 501 megawatts from July through September, outdistancing Minnesota (163 MW), Oklahoma (130 MW), West Virginia (98 MW) and Texas (88 MW). Nationwide, 1,204 MW of capacity went in, bringing 2011 installs to 3,360 MW.
The U.S. wind industry’s cumulative capacity now totals 43,461 MW. Texas leads with 10,223 MW, nearly 7,000 MW more than second-place Iowa (see map below). As of the end of July, wind power provided about 3 percent of the nation’s electricity, according to the AWEA.
image via AWEA
There is a lot more on the way, too, with 8,400 MW now under construction, the organization said. California (1,200 MW) leads in that category, followed by Oregon (800 MW), Oklahoma (700 MW) and Iowa (700 MW). The nationwide under-construction figure is right up there with the 2008 boom times that preceded the financial-sector crash. But the AWEA is concerned that wind development – and the jobs that feed into it – will dry up and blow away if the federal production tax credit for wind power, set to expire at the end of 2012, isn’t soon renewed.
image via Shutterstock
“Policy uncertainty has many leading wind developers saying they have no projects scheduled for 2013, which is starting to threaten both development companies and the U.S. wind energy supply chain,” the AWEA said in a statement that accompanied the report. The group was active last year in lobbying Congress to extend the Section 1603 Treasury Program, and promised it will be working every bit as hard on the tax credit issue.
Denise Bode, the organization’s CEO, said she’ll bring a host of questions to for lawmakers when she travels to Capitol Hill: “Do you want to raise rates on consumers in a bad economy by raising taxes on wind? Do you want to be the one to say that we just shut down a new manufacturing sector, and an industry that could support 500,000 jobs in less than 20 years, just as it was getting a foothold in the U.S. market?”
UC Davis Pushes Green Winery Envelope
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:00:32 +0000
The University of California, Davis, wasn’t done when it opened “the most technologically advanced and environmentally sophisticated winery in the world” last year. Now the university, the nation’s leading center for wine-related study, has broken ground on an adjacent 8,000-square-foot building that it said will allow the complex to become the first “self-sustainable, zero-carbon teaching and research facility in the world.”
Two of winemaking’s biggest ecological pressure points are water use for sanitation, and carbon dioxide production from fermentation. On both counts, the new UC Davis building will work to obviate impacts. Rainwater will undergo high-purity filtration and be used for cleaning fermenters and barrels in the winery, and 90 percent of the water and chemicals from each winery cleaning cycle will be captured and processed for future use in the complex, eventually being used as many as 10 times, the university said.
image via Shutterstock
Solar panels on the winery building will provide power for, among other things, and icemaker that will be used to produce chilled water. Those same panels will also power an electrolysis system that will produce hydrogen gas, allowing the winery to use a hydrogen fuel cell for nighttime energy production.
On CO2, “the building will sequester carbon dioxide captured from all fermentations in the winery and convert it into calcium carbonate, or chalk, which will be given to a plasterboard company,” the university said.
The new structure will bear the name Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building, in honor of the late California wine giant (think Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay). Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, pledged $3 million to the university, which will go a long way toward meeting the new building’s $4 million cost. The building is expected to be completed in 2013.
Renewables Promised Big Backing In Germany
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:00:07 +0000
Germany isn’t being coy about how it will survive without nuclear power: It’s going to funnel great wads of cash into renewables. So says state-owned development bank KfW, vowing to “facilitate renewable energy and energy efficiency investments in Germany with €100 billion (nearly $140 billion) over the next five years.”
After the Fukushima disaster, Germany committed to shutting down its nuclear plants, which had provided nearly a quarter of its electricity, by 2022. “With the decision to abandon nuclear power earlier this year, it was clear that the road ahead would be challenging,” Tobias Homann, photovoltaic-industry expert for the economic development agency Germany Trade & Invest, said in a statement. “But Germany is in a very promising position to be the first industrialized country to rely entirely on renewable energy.”
image via Shutterstock
KfW said new loans and projects are targeting a range of energy areas, “including energy efficiency, smart grids, as well as wind and solar energy generation.” Last year, two in every five photovoltaic installations in Germany were KfW-financed.
“Although the spotlight has recently been on wind energy, photovoltaic energy in Germany recently made headlines for surpassing hydropower in total energy generation,” KfW said. “Photovoltaics continues to be a critical component in the energy transition, especially as grid parity is around the corner.”
Ontario Kaiser Hospital All Green and Fuzzy
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:00:24 +0000
Kaiser Permanente is all about health, so it makes sense that the new Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center in Ontario, California, would be built to green and healthy standards . This 386,000-square-foot hospital, “designed with the patient in mind,” is said to combines forward-thinking tech with a peaceful, patient-centered atmosphere.
Green features of the new hospital include a white, heat-reflective roof; use of recycled water for landscape irrigation; drought-resistant landscaping ; eco-friendly wall coverings and flooring; carpet and furnishings constructed with recycled content; energy-efficient lighting, electrical and plumbing systems; and a campus-wide recycling program. Other thoughtful touches include the use of green cleaning products by housekeeping staff, the elimination of mercury in medical equipment, the use of low-VOC paint throughout, and bicycle racks meant to encourage bike commuting.
image via Kaiser Permanente
Greg Christian, Executive Director, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals/Health Plan, Fontana and Ontario, called the new hospital, in a statement,“one of the largest, greenest, and most technologically advanced ever built in the area,” going on to note that Kaiser’s investment in this facility symbolizes the company’s commitment to the health of those who live and work in the Inland Empire region of California.
The “patient centered” design of this new facility includes private patient rooms with an acoustic design that reduces noise, and walls decorated with warm colors and artwork. A family-friendly environment offers beds for overnight stays and wireless Internet access, while numerous sky lights and large windows maximize natural light, easing stress for patients and their families while benefiting the environment.
Small-Scale Solar The Focus In Tennessee
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:00:41 +0000
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is revamping its program for developing small-scale solar power sources, aiming to encourage more but not-quite-so-big installations – and a Chattanooga, Tenn., company is looking to step in to fill the need. SunOne Energy put out word that it’s seeking south-facing rooftops and clear pasture land where it could build community-owned solar arrays under 50 kilowatts (kW) in size. That’s the new maximum size allowed in the TVA’s Generation Partnersprogram.
In a pilot phase running through July 31, the TVA program saw 619 projects completed, totaling 23 megawatts (MW) of power generation, with another 213 projects and 45 MW in the pipeline. The incentive program had allowed projects up to 200 kW, and those came to comprise nearly 90 percent of the installed capacity. That became unsustainable for the program, which is supported by revenues from renewable power blocks sold through TVA’s Green Power Switch program.
image via TVA
“The move comes as costs to produce solar power are dropping and the region’s solar industry grows more competitive, self-sufficient and less reliant on subsidies for long-term success,” TVA said in announcing the changes.
SunOne is putting community ownership at the center of its business model. Under its plan, “members can buy individual solar modules (units) in a particular farm and receive a portion of the income and tax benefit generated by the array,” the company said. The company and its development partners, including Chattanooga State Technical Institute, would develop maintain and monitor the system “to provide the member solid returns by maximizing the outputs, and creating opportunities through education,” SunOne said.
Turbine Bonanza: BP, GE Do Big Business
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:56:01 +0000
Those 262 GE wind turbines bound for the Flat Ridge 2 wind power plant in Kansas aren’t the only ones BP Wind Energy has purchased in recent weeks. According to the companies, BP has also ordered 88 GE 1.6-82.5 turbines – those are a bit shorter than the 1.6-100 units going to Kansas – for its Mehoopany Wind Farm outside Scranton, Pa.
In all, that’s 560 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity going to BP for $750 million, including the cost of a five-year service agreement. And yep, GE is happy. “We continue to see strong demand for our advanced wind turbine technology because of its capability to meet the economic and environmental priorities of operators like BP Wind Energy,” Victor Abate, vice president of renewables for GE Power & Water, said in a statement. GE has received more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of orders for the 100-meter versions of its 1.6-MW turbine since it hit the market earlier this year.
image via GE
Like Flat Ridge 2, Mehoopany [PDF] is expected to be online by the end of 2012, BP said. The 144-MW capacity plant is being built on a 9,000-acre site in Wyoming County, about 20 miles northwest of Scranton.
BP said that to date, about 30 percent of its wind “fleet” – which totals about 1,600 MW in capacity – consists of GE turbines. What is it BP Wind Energy likes about GE? President and CEO John Graham said it’s that GE “delivers proven wind turbine technology and competitive maintenance contracts.”
CSI Wisconsin: Are Wind Turbines Killing Bats?
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:00:06 +0000
It’s a little Animal Planet, a little CSI. A new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin Madison looked into the cause of death of countless numbers of bats found near wind turbines. The study was funded by Invenergy and WisconsinFocus on Energy and recently discussed on the University of Wisconsin’s news site.
Researchers conducting the study had two culprits in mind for the cause of death: barotrauma, caused by bats flying through different pressures created by the turbines which causes the bats internal organs to explode and blunt-force trauma from bats colliding directly with turbine blades or poles. While bats are able to fly around non-moving objects, the speed of the blades makes reaction time difficult for bats to avoid.
image via Shutterstock
Researches used veterinary diagnostic techniques along with x-rays, tissue analysis, and gross necropsy to support or rule out their assumptions. Three-quarters of the bats studied had broken bones and ruptured organs. About half of the bats examined had middle and/or inner eardrum ruptures.
“We still don’t know exactly why bats are being killed — why the bats can’t see such a large thing protruding from the landscape, or what is possibly attracting the bats,” UW Professor David Drake said in the new article, “but now that we know direct causes of death we can start thinking about how to redesign turbine blades to have a smaller pressure differential or identify other cost-effective mitigation strategies that would minimize damage to bats.”
The full study, “Investigating the causes of death for wind-turbine associated bat fatalities,” is published in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy. It also isn’t the first study to look into this matter – one last year found that a slight alteration in turbine operation practices can have a big effect in reducing bat fatalities.
Denver Solar Developer Stimulus Powered
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:00:16 +0000
You might or might not think much of President Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus – more formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – but we call tell you who definitely loves it: E Light Wind and Solar and its employees. TheDenver-area solar developer has been racking up tons of business outfitting government offices with solar power systems – the latest a just-completed carport project that will come online by the end of the year, the company said.
The project actually consisted of 14 carports at four buildings at the Denver Federal Center, a sprawling complex in Lakewood, which adjoins Denver. The panels installed at the center now cover 600 parking spaces and add up to 1.6 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity. Laid end-to-end the panels would run for nearly 5.5 miles, the company said.
image from E Light
Earlier at the same complex, E Light had done two fixed position field arrays that total 2.39 MW. And before that, it installed 14,612 roof-mounted solar panels on three big buildings at the center, providing another 3.5 MW of power. Yes, they appreciate the work.
“In a down construction economy, this project has allowed our company to diversify our services and train our employees in new skillsets,” said Perry Herrmann, president and CEO of the company, which grew out of E Light Electric, a commercial electrical contractor. (The way the company seized new opportunities as a solar installer is explored in some depth in a good article in the American Business Journal.)
E-Waste Campaign A Trashy Success For Teens
Posted: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:00:44 +0000
DoSomething.Org encouraged teens across the country not to be trashy, by recycling old and used electronics. They’ve not only listened, they’ve delivered. Teenagers across the U.S. helped recycled more than 59,000 pieces of e-waste as part of the campaign.
The effort, which ran from Aug. 15 through Oct. 1 was a partnership betweenDoSomething.org, Best Buy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Energy Star Program. The movement asked teens to run “E-Waste Drives” in their schools, homes or communities and to drop off collected items at their local Best Buy store. The E-Waste Drive campaign also encouraged them to look for the Energy Star label when considering new electronics purchase.
image via Shutterstock
According to statistics, Americans throw away more than 1.5 million tons of e-waste each year. Recycling is one way that individuals can help keep harmful toxins found in electronics out of landfills. Through the E-Waste Drive/Energy Star Pledges made during the e-waste campaign, participants have committed to more than 1 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
The top 10 drives across the country were rewarded with Best Buy gift cards. One drive, Valparaiso High School from Valparaiso, Indiana collected 4,594 pieces of e-waste. The campaign has awarded the students’ hard work with a $10,000 educational grant to be split evenly among all team members.
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