REGCN: October 2011

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Geothermal mapping report confirms vast coast-to-coast clean energy source in U.S.

Geothermal mapping report confirms vast coast-to-coast clean energy source in U.S.: (Source: ScienceDaily: Energy Technology News - References: Sierra Club Compass) New research documents significant geothermal resources across the United States capable of producing more than three million megawatts of green power -- 10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today.

The World's Best Solar Power Regions are the Coldest Locales

The World's Best Solar Power Regions are the Coldest Locales:

Large expanses of desert have received most of the attention when it comes to large solar power installations, but a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology says that the world's coldest regions are actually some of the best places for solar power generation.

The study found that the Himalaya Mountains, the Andes and Antarctica are some of the most ideal solar power locations, with the ability to produce more energy per hectare than the world's deserts. The Himalayas could provide power to China, while the polar regions see 24 hours of sunlight a day for half the year.

The study used weather data to account for any decrease in solar cell output due to freezing temperatures, snow fall and transmission losses when calculated the areas' power generation potential.

Research bases on Antarctica already successfully make use of solar and wind power for electricity, but transmitting power generated at the poles or deep in the Himalayas to places towns and cities will likely prove to be the biggest hurdle to these solar power "hot spots."

via Fast Company

Friday, October 21, 2011

Empire State Building Achieves LEED Gold for Operations

Top-10 Green Products for 2012 Picked by BuildingGreen

Top-10 Green Products for 2012 Picked by BuildingGreen: BuildingGreen announces its Top-10 Green Products, featuring groundbreaking innovations in flooring, coatings, lighting, and all other aspects of green building.

Habitat for Humanity’s Kent County Chapter Incorporates LEED Gold Standards into All of Their Homes

Habitat for Humanity’s Kent County Chapter Incorporates LEED Gold Standards into All of Their Homes:

Habitat for Humanity, Kent County Chapter , leed, leed certified home, leed silver, green home, eco home, green design, eco design, usgbc, leed gold, green house, kent county

Habitat for Humanity’s Kent County Chapter has always been a leader in the field of affordable and sustainable housing and even built the nation’s first affordable LEED certified home under the LEED for Homes pilot project way back in 2006. Due the success of the first home, the chapter made a commitment in 2007 to make sure future families would live in homes built to a minimum LEED Silver Certification. Currently, they have surpassed the Silver level and have progressed to LEED Gold Certified Homes as their new standard house. It is estimated (based on their earliest LEED Homes) that annual savings costs for electric, water, and heating will be at least $1,000 per home per year. The extra money available every month eases the hard decision between heat and food for families who live close to the poverty line.

+ Habitat for Humanity Kent County

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Manitoba improves energy retrofit incentives

Manitoba improves energy retrofit incentives:
The provincial government is chipping-in some money to a federal government incentive program that encourages people to make energy-saving home improvements.

Friday, October 14, 2011

London’s First Certified Passivehaus Shaves 90% Off its Energy Bill

London’s First Certified Passivehaus Shaves 90% Off its Energy Bill: (Source: Alternative Energy) Filed under: Energy News

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Nissan Working on Ten-Minute Fast Charger

Nissan Working on Ten-Minute Fast Charger:

by Christopher DeMorro

If electric vehicles are ever to be adopted en masse, they're going to have to cut down on charging times drastically. Nissan obviously realizes this, and they are currently working on a system to fully charge a Leaf EV in ten minutes or less.

As it stands, a Nissan Leaf can take anywhere from seven to 20 hours to fully recharge, although quick-charging stations can cut that time down to 30 minutes. Still, 30 minutes is probably longer than most people want to wait to get back on the road. But ten minutes for another 60-80 miles of real world driving? That's not too shabby at all.

The breakthrough has come through a research partnership with Japan's Kansai university, and involves charging an electrode in the capacitor from carbon to tungsten oxide and vanadium oxide. This allowed the battery of the Leaf to be charged in about ten minutes with no impact on battery life or reliability. That's big, big news.

Nissan has made big progress on the charging aspect of EV's, and just last month they announced the development of a smaller, cheaper charging station for Leaf owners. While this fast-charging technology could take a decade to commercialize, Nissan may be able to fast track it for production if EV demand is strong enough. No word on cost...but just the ability to recharge a big battery in a short time is impressive in and of itself.

Reprinted with permission from Gas 2.0

Friday, October 7, 2011

7 Futuristic Modes of Green Transportation for Land, Sea and Sky

7 Futuristic Modes of Green Transportation for Land, Sea and Sky:

While they may look like something out of Star Wars or The Jetsons, these super futuristic vehicle designs are actual concepts being worked on for production – and in some cases are already exploring the world by land, sea, and air! While it was tough to pick the best of the best, here are 7 spectacular designs we spotted that really push the boundaries of green transportation. Hit the jump for more!

REGCN