Frito-Lay plant goes near net zero

Frito Lay solar concentrators Frito-Lay, the company that brings you Cheetos, Doritos, and lots of other tasty snacks, has made substantial changes to its manufacturing plant in Casa Grande, Arizona to create what it can arguably state is the “greenest” manufacturing plant in the U.S. The plant, which is the first food plant to achieve Related posts: Solar / natural gas power plant hybrids Global Resource – Squeezing oil and gas from old tires and other stuff Natural Gas to Liquids Plant coming to the U.S.

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Frito-Lay plant goes near net zero

Earn Cash for Energy Efficiency Upgrades from Con Edison

Share by Courtney C. Capshaw, Lockheed Martin Member of the Con Edison Green Team Office buildings consume more energy than any other building type, according to the U.S Energy Information Administration. These buildings use 198 billion kWh of electricity each year, equivalent to the amount of electricity consumed by 18 million American homes annually. The cost of this energy usage is on average $1.51 per square foot in office buildings nationwide. That number is closer to $2.50 per square foot in New York City, where buildings consume almost 80% of all energy. Con Edisons Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Energy Efficiency Program can help to reduce energy consumption in office buildings. This program provides C&I customers cash rebates and incentives for implementing energy efficient solutions and installing energy efficient equipment upgrades. Available for both gas and electric projects, these energy efficiency upgrades can help improve your companys bottom line by reducing energy usage and maintenance costs while increasing operating efficiencies. Con Edison anticipates these cash rebates and incentives will encourage the completion of energy efficiency projects in the Companys service area, which includes New York City and Westchester County. With rebates and incentives available for both gas and electric, the program offers a variety of participation options. Since the launch of the C&I Program last summer, weve received over 1000 project applications, accounting for nearly 67,000,000 kilowatt hours and 512,000 therms savings and almost $ 6,500,000 in rebates and incentives for our commercial and industrial customers. Con Edison is committed to providing our customers with the resources they need to lower their energy usage and we encourage more customers to take advantage of these financial incentives, stated David Pospisil, Con Edison C&I Program Manager. Saving money, energy and the environment are simple reasons to participate in Con Edisons C&I Energy Efficiency Program. More specifically, the program provides cash incentives to reduce the cost of your capital investment – a welcome benefit in todays current economic environment. The program also provides customers with a network of approved energy efficiency contractors, distributors, and other energy professionals for your efficient upgrade projects. The program team is robust, ready and willing to support you on your path to a more efficient future. You can learn more about the Con Edison C&I Energy Efficiency Program by visiting their Web site at conEd.com/energysavings or by calling toll-free 1-877-797-6347. If you want to know more about energy efficiency , you may click on the resources to lead you to more information. You may also use the search box to further lead you to other articles. If you want to contribute to this website, we would love to hear your suggestions! It would be great to have you share your thoughts about energy efficiency . Feel free to send an email to us.

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Earn Cash for Energy Efficiency Upgrades from Con Edison

Growing Job Market – Energy Efficiency

In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the clean economy expanded by 8.3 percent, says the report. Efficiency, renewable energy, biofuels and other clean industries accounted for 2.7 million US jobs in 2010. To put that number in perspective, thats more jobs than youll find in fossil fuels or biosciences, but still less than information technology

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Growing Job Market Energy Efficiency

Is The Unsung Hero Of Our Times Energy Efficiency?

As our economy continues to sputter, one little-noticed industry has been booming for a while now: energy efficiency . The sector is hiring like crazy a fact that speaks volumes about the close relationship between clean energy and the economic recovery that were all waiting for. Energy efficiency could save us all.

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Is The Unsung Hero Of Our Times Energy Efficiency?

Install a Geothermal Heat Pump

Stephen Ewings asked: Today’s geothermal systems outperform the best gas technology, by an average of 36% in heating mode and 43% in cooling mode. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency geothermal heat pumps are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and most cost-effective space conditioning systems available. There is no doubt that geothermal heat pumps are the low hanging fruit of energy efficiency, which is a bit like picking apples or oranges off a tree. The simple part of picking fruit is the easy-to-reach apples or oranges. Once these have been picked it gets harder, reaching on tippy-toes, until we finally start dragging the ladder around. Geothermal heat pumps are low-hanging-fruit, and utilizing this resource really is a no-brainer. Over the last 50 years heat pumps have evolved from backyard experiments designed by enthusiasts into mainstream technology. Not that this is really new technology as the Romans many centuries ago heated their baths using a similar concept. Of course the systems these days are much more efficient, and can deliver between 2.5-4.5 units of heat for every unit of energy consumed. This means they are generally 1.4 times more energy efficient than a gas fired boiler. Apart from being cost effective, geothermal heat pumps deliver gentle heat to your home without producing any soot at your home or any other toxic exhaust. www.ghp-books.com provides in-depth detail on installation, so you can understand how to make this free energy work for you. With the rebates and grants available to buffer the capital cost, it is a great time to save money on heating and cooling costs, while doing your bit for the environment. Water 4 Gas Read more on Install a Geothermal Heat Pump… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Install a Geothermal Heat Pump

Seek Out Your Energy Independance -The First Step: Energy Efficiency

With the 4th of July on the horizon, independence is top of mind for those in the U.S. energy independance Independence can mean many things, however; and this year, with the effects of the BP oil spill making headlines every day, energy independence should be forefront. While energy independence will not happen overnight, the first steps can be taken today if we turn our focus toward energy efficiency. Buildings consume 40% of the nations power, so reducing energy consumption in the spaces we inhabit is a very good place to start. Read more on Seek Out Your Energy Independance -The First Step: Energy Efficiency… Energy Tags: battery technology , hybrid cars Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Seek Out Your Energy Independance -The First Step: Energy Efficiency

Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report

Heres my brief analysis of and comments on the recent IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change released from Bangkok, Thailand as it relates to alternative energy. Energy Efficient & Net Zero Energy Buildings Energy efficiency and renewable energy are rightly held to be a key ways to reduce carbon emissions. Buildings, both residential and commercial, are a significant emitter of greenhouse gasses. Solar hot water heating can be used to provide up to 70% of annual hot water needs for homes, it can also be used in commercial buildings that require significant hot water such as gyms and nursing homes. Geothermal (ground source heat pumps) is a lesser known source of alternative energy which can be used to both heat and cool buildings in a highly efficient way and is suited both to residential and commercial buildings. It can also be used to provide hot water. As bore holes and/or trenches need to be dug for geothermal to be installed, it is particularly suited to new builds. Electricity can be provided from renewable sources via the grid (e.g. wind power) or off-grid it can be generated using for example solar photovoltaic panels (PV). The use of insulation, natural light & shade, low energy lighting, motion detection lighting etc. can further reduce energy usage. As noted in the report appropriate building codes can minimise carbon emissions from buildings. Alternative Energy = Energy Security The report notes that nations seeking energy security (security of supply) can help achieve it using alternative energy. Nations lacking their own fossil fuels resources should be concerned with the negative impact reliance on fossil fuels can have on their economies. By increasing utilisation of alternative energy resources, nations can increase their energy security. Transport Policy & Fossil Fuels Subsidies I was disappointed by the reports lack of vision on transport. It correctly notes that past increases in efficiency in internal combustion engine (ICE) design have been used to increase power rather than fuel efficiency meaning vehicle carbon emissions have continued to climb. This trend has even continued into hybrid vehicles with performance being favoured over fuel economy (e.g. Lexus hybrid cars). Mention was made of making increased use of biofuels, which can actually significantly increase carbon emissions (see this post on Palm Oil Biodiesel ). The glaring emission, is the need for a fundamental shift from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles. I got the impression the report in trying to build consensus was avoiding treading on any toes. Perhaps thats why it recommended only reducing rather than eliminating the subsidisation of fossil fuels. Research and Development + Technology Transfer India and China will soon be at the top of the list of carbon emitting nations. The report wrongly suggests that because many new power stations are being built in developing nations, they will be using new energy efficient designs and technologies. While new power stations may be more efficient than those built decades ago, for cost reasons less efficient technology is usually used (for more details see this post on Clean Coal ). The report notes there have been low levels of investment in research and development. Investment is needed now and much more should be done to aid the transfer of the most energy efficient technologies between nations. IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change (pdf link)

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Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report

Seeing Red: Palm Oil Biodiesel

In the enthusiasm for renewable energy and taking care of our environment, it is easy to assume that making fuel from plants (biofuel) must be by definition “green” and renewable. However when it comes to energy issues, easy assumptions can be dangerous assumptions. In previous years some politicians and advocates in Europe have made these assumptions without sufficient thought and research and secured government subsidies for companies importing palm oil from South East Asia to make biodiesel for transport and for use in electricity generation. The demand for palm oil in Europe has soared in the last two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for fuel. This cheap oil can be used for a variety of purposes, including as an ingredient about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste. Promoted by hundreds of millions of dollars in national subsidies, the Netherlands quickly became the leading importer of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.7 million tons in 2006, nearly double the previous year. Now it is increasingly difficult to ignore the mounting body of scientific evidence that palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, rather than preserving the environment are in fact actively destroying it. By subsidising biofuels, European governments have artificially raised demand for palm oil in Europe, and accelerated the destruction of huge areas of rainforest in South East Asia. Palm oil plantations are often expanded by draining and burning peatland, releasing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As a result Indonesia has become the world’s third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, ranked after the United States and China, according to a study released in December by researchers from Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics , both based in the Netherlands. The 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive , which required all member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation run on biofuel in 2010, is now under review. In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia has prompted the government to suspend palm oil subsidies. In Europe a small amount of rapeseed and sunflower oil is used to make diesel fuel, however increasingly plant oils are being imported from the tropics, since there is simply not enough plant matter or land for biofuel production at home. So while the billions of dollars in European subsidies appear to have reduced carbon emissions in European countries by importing biofuels, this has been achieved by exporting them and increasing their impact many times by the permanent destruction of rainforest and peatland in South East Asia. For anyone familiar with how the ethanol industry works in the United States, they will be unsurprised to learn that the palm oil industry was promoted long before there was adequate research. Biofuel Watch , an environment group in Britain, now says that “biofuels should not automatically be classed as renewable energy.” It supports a stop on subsidies until more research can determine if various biofuels in different regions are produced in a nonpolluting manner. The group also suggests that all emissions arising from the production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. BEFORE: rainforest on the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the last eight years. AFTER: a palm oil plantation Peat is an organic sponge composed of 90 percent water that stores huge amounts of carbon, which when it is drained emits huges amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Even worse peatland is often burned to clear ground for plantations. The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peatland in Indonesia releases 660 million tons of carbon a year into the atmosphere and that fires contributed 1.5 billion tons annually. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the haze has covered much of SE Asia for extended periods of time since 1997 The total is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. “These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were not counted before,” according to a Wetlands spokesperson. “It was a totally ignored problem.” While for the moment the widescale destruction of rainforests in South East Asia continues, hopefully the palm oil story will serve as a cautionary tale which will lead to much better informed policymaking and behaviour. Politicians must resist the urge to rush to legislate and subsidise in order to bask in the glow of being seen to be “doing something” while a number of so-called green companies profit from taxpayer subsidised destruction. Energy policy must make sense from a scientific (i.e. it should be energy positive), economic and environmental viewpoint. However the continued promotion of ethanol and coal-to-liquids calls for continued skepticism.

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Seeing Red: Palm Oil Biodiesel

City Utilities End Coal Fired Electricity Contracts in California

In what is hopefully the start of a new trend, several Southern California cities have decided not to renew long-term contracts for coal-fired electricity, choosing instead to turn to cleaner sources of electricity. City officials told Utah-based Intermountain Power Agency they wouldn’t be renewing their contracts for coal-fired power, which expire in 2027, and would instead be looking for alternative energy sources. “It’s a huge change,” said Mayor Todd Campbell of Burbank, one of the cities that decided not to renew its contract. The cities are Pasadena , Glendale , Riverside and Anaheim . They join the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power , which has already choosen not to renew the contract with Intermountain. Currently coal fired electricity makes up a significant percentage of their power, for example Pasadena Water & Power says that the Intermountain plant is 65 percent of our energy. Intermountain’s general manager Reed Searle said the company had worked for three years on the renewals and was now looking at ways to modernize its plants to bring them into compliance with California’s greenhouse gas legislation that takes effect on the first of January. The cities’ decision came after increased pressure from politicians and environmentalists. Senator Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to an umbrella group for the cities last week saying she was “shocked and dismayed” by an initial decision last month by Burbank to renew the contract. Phyllis Currie, general manager of Pasadena Water & Power said the utilities wanted to explain how important Intermountain was to California cities. “It’s a serious issue when you tell us to walk away from that,” she said. The move could put Southern California in the forefront nationally of the commercial use of alternative energy in coming years. Intermountain has extended its renewal offer for power from the plants until 2023 from the previous deadline of May 2007 in the hope state regulators will let utility officials renew the contracts if greenhouse gases are reduced. Electricity utilities are starting to feel the pressure for “clean” coal .

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City Utilities End Coal Fired Electricity Contracts in California