Solar Sunday is my weekly roundup of renewable energy and energy efficiency news from around the web.
Collaboration, the future of green commerce
“Increasing political momentum around issues such as resource scarcity, climate change, security, and new regulations brings to light critical challenges that our industry will face in the coming years,” said Sabine Ritter, general manager for GCI. “The 2007 Bali Treaty and other political initiatives are driving the industry to come up with breakthrough solutions. Such solutions require new thinking, new approaches and new collaboration on infrastructures.”The key, the report puts forth, to a more sustainable supply chain is sharing. Companies need to share warehouses, transportation, and, most importantly, information to help reduce carbon footprints and cut costs.
Ritter explained, “The coming years will see a new era for industry collaboration, which will become an important factor for future success. In many cases, this will require companies to rethink their areas of competitive advantage. Some business areas that are now considered to be core differentiators may well become candidates for non-competitive collaboration with competitors, such as replenishment in inner cities. In addition, industry collaboration will be essential to encourage governments to enact more appropriate regulations.”
Aptly nicknamed the “green blade,” Jean Nouvel’s newest addition to the asphalt laden City of Angels slices through the concrete jungle at 10,000 Santa Monica, adding much needed greenery to the surrounding office towers. Standing 45 stories tall and little more than 50 feet deep, this statuesque green structure is bound to make an sustainable impact that we hope others will follow.Green Blade, Jean Nouvel, Jean Nouvel Green Blade, Los Angeles green building, Jean Nouvel green building, sustainable building, green housing, sustainable design, Jean Nouvel Pritzker Prize, Jean Nouvel Ateliers, Santa Monica green building, blade8.jpg
With $400 million going into a mere 177 residential unit, you can be sure that nothing will be spared in the new residence. Each unit will run the width of the building with views from the balconies on the north and the south façade. The narrow units help with energy efficiency but still have plenty of square footage on multiple stories ranging from 3,400 to 9,400 sq feet each. Plans currently show the south side landscaped in natural California foliage, while the north will take on more tropically lush feeling , providing plenty of green those viewing from afar while offering each residence to step out into a re-defined urban jungle. Not just for looks, the greenery will help minimize the heat island effect in LA.
Tokyo’s mayor has seen the (green) light and is taking major steps to introduce a climate change programme for the city despite Japan’s reticence nationally on the matter. Mayor Shintaro Ishihara is a 75 year old self-acknowledged rightwinger who has decided to go it alone and impose strict curbs on local green house gas emissions. Some have compared his initiatives to those of California’s Governor Schwartzenegger’s differences with the Bush administration.As of 2010 Tokyo will impose caps on emissions on its largest polluters, along with credit trading for those who go over the limit. The city has budgeted $191M for green initiatives this year including subsidies to small businesses to help them comply. Building regulations are being tightened for new buildings and increased energy efficiency is being promoted in Tokyo homes and offices. Almost 1,000 hectares of new parks and trees will be planted in the next 8 years. Tokyo has a population of 13M people but it is only responsible for 5% of Japan’s emissions because it is has little heavy industry. However this stance will certainly send a strong message to the Prime Minister in time for the G8 summit next month where he has promised to put global warming high on the agenda, and hopefully show more leadership in this area.
Self-Healing solar-wind skins to retrofit older buildings
There’s nothing like a towering wind turbine to inspire NIMBY sentiment from neighbors and city councils alike. Enter a striking new alternative energy concept by Mexican-born Agustin Otegui, who works with economies of a much smaller scale. He has conceived of a next-gen Nano Vent-Skin that sheathes structures in a shimmering solar weave studded with micro-turbines. The concept takes advantage of a structure’s maximum available surface space, and its modular composition allows it to retrofit our old buildings instead of pouring resources into new ones. Plus, the stunning superstructure incorporates micro-organisms to soak up C02.In the past we’ve covered approaches to alternative energy that seek to synthesize solar with wind. It’s an exciting area to watch as technology improves and processes are streamlined, and Ostegui’s concept charts some innovative new territory.
The Nano Vent-Skin is a zero-emission material that takes a tri-partite approach towards energy efficiency. First, it soaks up sunlight via a photovoltaic layer, and transfers energy via nano-wires to storage units at the end of each panel. Second, its tiny turbines employ “polarized organisms” to create chemical reactions, generating power each time the turbine makes contact with the structure. Third, the organisms present in the inner skin of each turbine soak up C02.
At the core of the technology is an elaborate system of bio-engineered micro organisms which “have not been genetically altered; they work as a trained colony where each member has a specific task in this symbiotic process.” Ostegui even has plans for the system to be self-healing: “Every panel has a sensor on each corner with a material reservoir. When one of the turbines has a failure or breaks, a signal is sent through the nano-wires to the central system and building material (microorganisms) is sent through the central tube in order to regenerate this area with a self assembly process.”
More and more countries are banning incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs. But options to recycle the mercury-laden alternatives are often scarce.A variety of European Union recycling regulations make it unlawful for EU residents to dispose of CFLs in the trash. In the United States, some states are following suit, though most localities rely on consumers to voluntarily mail the bulbs back to manufacturers for recycling. In developing countries, recycling is less available, and proper landfills often do not even exist in the event that the bulbs are discarded as trash.
To reduce hazardous waste at its source, leading CFL manufacturers have committed to reduce the mercury content of their products. Martin Goetzeler, CEO of Munich-based Osram, said his company aims to cut the mercury content of its CFLs by half in the coming years. “It should be part of any new technology that hazardous substances are regulated,” he said. “And we should use the lowest levels [of toxins].”
