2nd Green Revolution, LLC

Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

Denver’s (Bio)Diesel Powered Stimulus

Projects August 9th, 2009

Months after President Obama signed the “American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″, also
known as the stimulus bill, in Denver, Colorado, the
city has begun benefiting from the legislation. 2nd
Green Revolution wrote about the initial signing,
significant for its choice of location. Some of the
funds have been allocated for a number of projects
in and around the Denver area.

A number of the projects revolve around measures for conserving regular petroleum
based diesel while increasing the amount of bio-diesel used by the city. Read the rest
of this entry »

Tags: Biogas, Colorado, NREL, President Obama, Stimulus Bill

Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Local Energy/Food, Renewable Energy,
Transportation | Edit | No Comments »

U.S. Energy Consumption Dropped in 2008, Renewables

Increased August 8th, 2009

Lawrence Livermore National

Laboratory in California, part of the
United States’ Department of Energy,
announced last month that the total energy consumption in the US decreased during
the 2008 calendar year. Measured in quads (representing a quadrillion BTUs – a
“British Thermal Unit is a unit of measurement for energy, and is equivalent to about
1.055 kilojoules”), the lab reports that the total energy consumed in the United States
fell from 101.5 quads in 2007 to 99.2 in 2008. According to the report
 2nd Green Revolution, LLC

Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

Americans used more solar, nuclear, biomass and wind energy in 2008 than they did in
2007, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory. The nation used less coal and petroleum during the
same time frame and only slightly increased its natural gas consumption. Geothermal
energy use remained the same.

However, nonrenewable sources of energy still dominated American energy

consumption. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Energy, Energy Conservation, Hydroelectricity, Solar Energy, Systems Thinking

Posted in Eric Wilson, Renewable Energy, Solar | Edit | No Comments »

Five Friday Facts August 7th, 2009

The following are about the Sidwell Friends School’s

Green Building. Sidwell Friends is a private school
located in northwest Washington DC where the Obama
daughters go.

• 93% reduction in use of water supplied by

Washington DC by treating our sewage on site in
our constructed wetland and reusing the water,
as well as through water efficient landscaping
• 78% of our building materials were manufactured
regionally to minimize energy needed to transport them to our site
• 5% of our electricity is generated by the sun and harvested by the photovoltaic
array on our rooftop
• 60% less energy is used through energy efficiency and passive solar design
including ventilating and shading naturally to reduce air conditioning load, and
managing lights with occupancy sensors and photosensors.
• 60% of the waste generated during construction was diverted from landfills and
recycled

- 2nd Green Revolution

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Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

Tags: Efficiency, Green Building

Posted in 2nd Green, Five Friday Facts, Green Building, Justin Manger | Edit | No
Comments »

Concentrated Solar Power Project in North

Africa August 6th, 2009

Last month, 2nd Green Revolution brought you

news of DESERTEC, a project aimed at tapping into
the vast potential solar energy in the Sahara desert.
The plan brought together various conglomerations
from Europe with an eye on transmitting the power
from Northern Africa to European countries. In a
follow up to a recent story on concentrated solar energy (which 2nd Green Revolution
wrote about the other day), Public Radio International’s program “The World,”
reported on this venture. The story claims that the purported project to install
concentrated solar power would cost more than 500 billion (USD), including
transmission lines sunk at the bottom of the Mediterranean to carry the power north
to Europe. The upfront funding would be provided by a European consortium. Reporter
Jerry Hadden cited a statistic claiming that the world’s deserts “receive enough solar
radiation in six hours to power all of human civilization for a year.”

According to “The World,” Africa’s first photovoltaic power plant, located in Morocco,
went online two years ago. It provides enough energy to power a mere 50 homes. The
hope is that DESERTEC could promote technological advancements in North Africa
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Africa, Alternative Energy, Electricity Generation, Renewable Energy, Solar

Energy
Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Solar | Edit | No Comments »
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Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

2 Upcoming Events from Rocky Mountain

Institute August 5th, 2009

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), one of the

nation’s leading energy research firms and
think tanks, is holding their “Revolutionizing
Engineering: Better Design for a Better
Tomorrow” lecture in Aspen, Colorado on August 11th.

RMI poses the question, “What if something could be designed to run not one, not two,
but ten times more efficiently—or more?” At the lecture, they will present answers to
this query. Their project, Factor 10 Engineering, or 10xE, has been set up to figure out
ways to increase efficiency of current energy systems by ten fold. “By inspiring
designers to think in new ways, 10xE will radically improve the way we use energy and
resources. Enabling simpler, more profitable whole-system solutions, 10xE will offer
both seasoned practitioners and engineering students a better way to create a
sustainable world.” Registration is open for interested parties. The program is
complimentary.

Future events on RMI’s schedule include their October 1st through the 3rd
symposium titled “RMI2009: From Ideas to Solutions”. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alternative Energy, California, Clean Energy, Colorado, Efficiency, Energy

Conservation, LEED, Regenerative Economy
Posted in Clean Technology, Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Renewable Energy, Sustainability,
Sustainable Development | Edit | No Comments »
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Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

Nissan Rolls Out the All-electric “Leaf”; To Hit Market

Next Year August 4th, 2009

Nissan may be a small player compared to

Toyota when it comes to hybrids but it is
pushing the envelope when it comes to
all-electric cars by betting they will be
the way of the future. Nissan’s new
lithium-ion battery-powered Leaf is a
medium-size hatchback that seats five
adults and can travel more than 100 miles
on a single charge, at a top speed of 90 miles per hour. It comes with a quick charger
that can replace up to 80% of its full capacity in just under 30 minutes. Charging is
estimated to take approximately eight hours using a 200V outlet at home. The car is
slated to cost between $25,000 and $30,000.
Using some of the U.S. government loans that were also given to Tesla and Ford
Motor Company, Nissan will be adding manufacturing capacity for the first of its line of
electric vehicles at a plant in Smyrna, TN, while most of the batteries and cars will be
produced and assembled in Japan. CEO Carlos Ghosn was upbeat at the
announcement, “We have been working tirelessly to make this day a reality — the
unveiling of a real-world car that has zero, not simply reduced, emissions,” (from the
car itself) Ghosn said in a statement. “It’s the first step in what is sure to be an
exciting journey – for people all over the world, for Nissan and for the industry.” Read
the rest of this entry »
Tags: Battery, Cars, Electric Cars, Japan, Smart Grid
Posted in Business, Clean Technology, Efficiency, Green Products, Japan, Justin
Manger, Plug-ins, Smart Grid, Transportation | Edit | No Comments »
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Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

Solar Thermal Energy Production Returns

Home August 3rd, 2009

Public Radio International’s

program “The World” reported on
solar thermal electricity
generation’s long trip across the
globe last week. Originally
invented in the United States,
solar thermal (also known as
concentrating solar power), was developed in the 1970s by Arnold Goldman. Designed
as a disruptive technology, concentrated solar power uses the same general principle
as nuclear power plants and coal fired electricity: steam is used to spin a turbine
which generates electricity. In concentrated solar power’s case, long concave mirrors
focus the sun’s thermal energy on a single tube filled with a liquid, usually oil. As the
oil heats up, the energy is transferred to water which boils, becomes steam, and
causes the turbine to spin.

Goldman built nine power plants in the California desert using this technology by the
end of the 1980s. According to “The World”, the end of the energy crisis led to
decreased interest. Currently, Spain is the leader in this technology, thanks in part to
subsidies from the Spanish government. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: California, Coal, Electricity Generation, Grid, Solar Energy

Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Solar | Edit | No Comments »
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Blog Posts August 2nd – August 9th, 2009

How Sustainable are the Hawaiian Islands? August 2nd,

2009

After a recent visit to Hawaii’s Oahu and a

meeting with a LEED AP (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design
Accredited Professional) Principal in the
architectural firm Architects Hawaii
Limited (AHL), 2nd Green Revolution came
away with a deeper appreciation for many
of the unique sustainability issues facing
the Hawaiian archipelago. Obviously
resource availability, including freshwater and raw materials, plays an enormous role in
the islands’ ability to be self-sufficient. As one land developer pointed out in a
conversation, there is no lumber on the islands, which are all volcanic rock. There are
stores of bamboo, but for high-rises, the materials needed to produce steel and
concrete (coal, iron, cement, etc.) are nonexistent.

The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) reports that
“Hawaii [house bill] 1880 and [senate bill] 1985 establish a tax credit for the
acquisition of environmentally-friendly green technology facilities” ( PDF). Separate
legislation to mandate residential projects achieve similar standards faced heavy
opposition from developers who see green building requirements as too limiting. Read
the rest of this entry »

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