Comments cleantech has made
Please include costs for payback period calc
How much more do these measures cost?
Businesses need to see the payback calculation for green building measures, even though the final decision might not be completely financial.
Homeowners, however, have no marketing benefit to offset their added investment.
Take for example structural insulated panels, or SIPs. In my own experience, I found that building with SIPs cost nearly double. The energy savings -- in a moderate climate with low electric rates -- would take a lifetime to recover that cost difference.
Denis Energy Priorities
On A quick partial overview of green building techniques posted 2 years, 7 months ago 14 ResponsesEfficiency: many are calling for behavior change
The current thinking on the energy side of environmentalism is that energy efficiency is a resource, like any other power plant or wind farm. We could meet many years of growing demand -- without building new power plants -- by being more efficient.
The difference between efficiency and conservation is that with efficiency you get to keep on doing the work you were doing, but use less energy to do it.
Building automation is a prime example. Energy Priorities has many articles about facilities that use more daylight, or smarter air conditioning. Same light, same comfort. Less energy.
In transportation, as they've long ago learned in Europe and Japan, some efficiency comes from smaller vehicles and engines. The quantum leaps in efficiency come from mass transit. You know, buses and subways. Same distance, less energy per commuter.
Electricity efficiency took off in California when energy costs went past 15 cents per kWh. The concept of mass transit in the U.S. might not catch on until we have $10 gasoline.
Denis Energy Priorities
On The seductive lure of toys that promise solutions without change posted 2 years, 7 months ago 39 ResponsesEnergy was in the spotlight at Greenbuild 2006
The USGBC is an environmental organization with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable building.
At the heart of this mission is energy efficiency. I went last week to find out whether energy is of interest to LEED architects and builders. It is. Here's my perspective (in words, podcasts and pictures) on the conference and expo.
Denis Energy Priorities
On Green building convention is abuzz posted 3 years ago 1 ResponseIt's more than the 5% figure would indicate
After talking with Starbucks' Director of Environmental Affairs about their wind purchase for a case study this summer, I must say, just looking at the 5% figure belittles their effort.
Note the second part of their announcement, down at the very end -- Starbucks is supporting other organizations that are spreading the word about renewable energy -- an acknowledgement that Starbucks can't change the world alone.
Starbucks is supporting the World Resources Institute's Green Power Market Development Group and the Climate Group. Starbucks also announced a two-year commitment of cash and in-kind contributions to Global Green USA.
By Starbucks' own admission, it's not just about saving the planet.
"We could take care of our entire climate footprint and still not mitigate the long-term risk of climate change to the company," they said, referring to the potential negative impact of global warming on coffee harvests. "We have concerns about the long-term implications of climate change on our core business, which is coffee."
Denis Energy Priorities
On Coffee giant will buy 5 percent clean power for its U.S. stores posted 3 years, 11 months ago 5 ResponsesMajor orgs are serious about rebuilding green
Shortly after Katrina I wrote a brief article about being smart with tax dollars in rebuilding New Orleans sustainably, then this news came out:
Coalition Seeks to Embed Sustainable Strategies in Gulf Coast Rebuilding Efforts
The US Green Building Council, the Enterprise Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the Trust for Public Land and others announced initiatives and ideas designed to assist in the rebuilding efforts of the Gulf Coast communities ravaged by the hurricanes.
These are not the vague notions of a group of nobodys. At the Greenbuild conference in November 2005, this group of heavy hitters held sessions on embedding sustainable strategies in the rebuilding effort. They harnessed the talents of the 10,000 attendees of the Greenbuild conference -- mostly professional builders.
Their plan is to take their collective advice out to the field and put it to work in rebuilding sustainably on the Gulf coast.
"In action" beats "under development" any day. I wish we could see as much intelligence behind the billions that will be spent rebuilding the region's electric grid.
Denis Energy Priorities
On Who's going to push the new New Orleans in a green direction? posted 4 years ago 2 ResponsesRebuild Green After Katrina
Rebuilding a greener New Orleans was sugested in "After Katrina: Let's Rebuild Green" (Energy Priorities, Sept. 8, 2005).
The article asks a question we all should be asking: Why not make every new roof rebuilt with taxpayer dollars in a solar roof?
There are many other opportunities in rebuilding the Gulf cost. One of the major issues working against opportunity is time.
For example, the power grid in that area was almost completely wiped out. It probably will be replaced with the same antiquated equipment and century-old architecture that has given us hundreds of blackouts a year. The conventional grid poses serious barriers to distributed generation, like wind energy.
Rebuilding a "smart grid" there is unlikely, even though the technology exists today. Getting the lights on now is more important than keeping them on later.On What New Orleans could look like the second time around posted 4 years, 2 months ago 5 Responses
Green energy, greenbacks
It was an interesting NPR Marketplace on green energy, with lots of info packed into a short piece.
Eaton touched on green building, solar power, China, India, gas prices, and of course the cleantech venture community.
On that note, Marketplace interviewed the right guy -- Ira Ehrenpreis of Technology Partners -- about why investors are interested in cleantech.
Denis Energy Priorities
On Makower on Marketplace posted 4 years, 3 months ago 1 ResponseCurrent quotes
On greenwashing nuclear:
"Nuclear is safe, reliable and affordable" -- Barnie Beasley, CEO, Southern, in a pro-nuke advertorial in FORTUNE.
On the grid:
"Today's grid is mostly composed of traditional technologies. Thomas Edison would recognize most of it." Patrick Mazza, Climate Solutions, in a report calling for grid upgrades.
On reliability:
"We will always have blackouts" David Garman, Acting Undersecretary of Energy, in an NPR interview in 2005 about the blackout of 2003.
On solar power:
"Our natural bent at Metro would be to take advantage of this form of energy. It's something that we have to do, not only as an organization, but as a society." Dale Cummings, King County Metro Transit in Seattle. Metro bought a fleet of hybrid buses in 2004 and a hundred solar-powered lights for bus shelters in 2005.
Denis Energy Priorities
On We've already collected nature quotes -- how about some quotes on energy posted 4 years, 3 months ago 8 Responses