Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Is solar power is a big deal? Check out a new program in San Antonio!

CPS Energy of San Antonio introduced a new solar energy program called Solartricity.  The program, which is a solar verison of the successful Windtricity program enables customers fo install a solar system and then sell electricity back to the electrical grid. CPS Energy describes the program this way.
Solartricity is a market-based initiative that will attempt to attract hundreds of small-to-large scale solar energy-generating projects to the Greater San Antonio area.
The program began June 15, 2010 and according to this article in the San Antonio Express News, applicants practically broke down the doors to apply. Solar power sparks CPS race

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Solar Power in Ely, MN

Does solar power work in the Northern US? You bet. Check out this blog posting from Piragis Northwoods Company who recently installed a PV system on the roof of their store in Ely, MN. The system was installed by Able Energy.

Piragis Northwoods to receive 11.04KW Solar Electric System.

Piragis was founded in 1979 in Ely, MN, on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and it has grown into one of the leading outfitters for trips into the BWCA and Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park. It would appear that Piragis also leads the way in bringing renewable energy and solar power to the North Woods.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Plan your day at the Austin Cool House Tour with a Google Map

The Texas Solar Energy Society's 14th Annual Austin Cool House Tour June 6, 2010 10:00am-6:00pm highlights 12 projects that are a mix of new construction and remodels and the projects range from affordable houses to mid-range and high end construction. You can plan your day using this map from Google Maps. The map includes a picture and a description of each project.

Get your guidebook/ticket now!
The guidebook, which is your ticket to the tour, is available at both Austin Central Market stores or online for $15. You can preview the guidebook on the TXSES website, but you will still need to buy the guidebook to go on the tour.

Checkout the TXSES or Cool House Tour sites for more information.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Students Resumes Listed Free at TREIA’s New Green Energy Jobs Site

Helping Build Green Careers with Every New Job
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In this tight job market it’s more important than ever for those seeking new careers to be well positioned, to ensure employers in your industry find you and see your resume. Now, students can list resumes at no charge on Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association’s (TREIA’s) new Texas jobs site. The job site is a place for people seeking careers in renewable energy and for businesses in need of qualified employees. TREIA is helping people find jobs and start green job careers.

“TREIA’s Job Board will benefit strategic economic development in the State of Texas by helping to make opportunities more accessible to those who want to “go green”. – Bob King, Good Company Associates.

In addition to other services it provides to its approximately 600 member-base, TREIA is a powerful source for job opportunity information for the broader public as well. “Given the diversity and complexity of the renewable energy industries in Texas, it can be a daunting task for job-seekers to understand — or even easily access — the opportunities available to them in these dynamic companies,” said Bob King, President, Good Company Associates, TREIA Board of Directors and Chairman of Economic Development and Green Jobs Policy Subcommittee. He went on to say, “TREIA’s Job Board will benefit strategic economic development in the State of Texas by helping to make opportunities more accessible to those who want to “go green” and join in the evolution of the energy industry in our great state.”

Students may post their resumes, view jobs and create alerts on the TREIA website job page at http://www.treia.org/page/jobs. Companies looking for qualified employees will find this an effective service to post job positions and quickly target and streamline their searches for qualifying matches and resumes. Clean renewable energy industries supported by TREIA include:
  • solar electric generation & solar hot water
  • wind electric generation large and small-scale
  • biomass electric generation
  • liquid renewable fuels
  • geothermal electric generation & geothermal heating and cooling
  • sustainable green building design and construction
TREIA is a statewide nonprofit organization of companies, organizations and individuals involved or interested in solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydrokinetic energy development, products, and/or related services. TREIA has served as a strong advocate for “Renewables” since 1984. For more information go to http://www.treia.org/.

To read the original press release, click here.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Turning waste into electricty and saving money

Bruichladdich Distillery in Scotland, a maker of single malt whisky, is hoping to save $175,000 a year by producing as much as 80 percent of its electricity from waste that was formerly pumped into the sea. The distillery now spends $30,000 each year disposing of the waste called pot ale.

Mark Reynier, the owner says that the effort is part of just trying to be sensible. For more information, read this article on CNN's website. Scotch distillery turns whisky into watts by Matthew Knight on May 21, 2010.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Green is good business!

I posted an article on my blog, Help with small business called Green is good business! This is actually a revolutionary statement. Not long ago, conventional wisdom said that going green cost too much. It turns out that conventional wisdom was wrong.

Going green makes sense. Far from being too expensive, in the long run it conserves resources, and conserving resources saves money. Major corporations such as CSC, BP, GE, Marriott, Verizon, and Wal-Mart are figuring this out. Small business owners are figuring it out too. Green is no longer a niche market. It is now mainstream.

The big driver for this change is probably customers. Just as changes in customer understanding about food has lead to greater proliferation of organic and locally produced food in grocery stores, greater customer understanding of the environment and resournces is leading to greater demand for green products and companies that use green practices. While it is true that some green things may be more expensive, customers seem willing to pay the higher prices.

The article points out that smart businesses will take the time to learn what it means to be green, and they will take that knowledge and figure out how to satisfy their customers' desires to be green. Read the post for a more detailed explanation of why green is good business.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Check out the 14th Annual Austin Cool House Tour June 6, 2010 10:00am-6:00pm

The Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES) has announced the 2010 Cool House Tour. TXSES has selected 12 projects to highlight on the tour, June 6th, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The projects are a mix of new construction and remodels and the projects range from affordable houses to mid-range and high end construction.

Get your guidebook now!
The guidebook, which is your ticket to the tour, is available at both Austin Central Market stores or online for $15. You can preview the guidebook on the TXSES website, but you will still need to buy the guidebook to go on the tour.

Checkout the TXSES or Cool House Tour sites for more information.

The tour is always a lot of fun. You are certain to learn a lot and to have a good time.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Green Building Myths

We’ve all heard the arguments over sustainable building and renewable energy. Let’s take a look at three of them.

Sustainable building is too expensive.
There is nothing inherently expensive about sustainable building. At its simplest, sustainable building uses common sense design principles such as considering the sun and prevailing winds when deciding where to build or using design principles that provide shading or natural ventilation.

Green houses look funny.
Some of them do, but most green houses look like every other house on the block. If you want to build a dome or an underground house, go right ahead. However, many of green building concepts being “discovered” today have actually been around for a long time. Deep wrap around porches, dog trot style homes, and two story houses with windows at the top of the stairway are timeless designs in the south that embody “modern principles” such as shading, natural ventilation, and “chimney effects.” Northern homes have used enclosed entries for years. The “airlock” concept is nothing new.  The only difference between many green homes and other homes is size of the utility bill!

Solar power, wind power, and rainwater collection is too expensive.
Yes. Those things do cost money. However, green building is not about finding ways for people to become miniature utility companies. In fact, before you even consider producing electricity or harvesting rainwater, you should figure out how to avoid wasting the electricity and water you already use. With that said, alternative power sources are becoming less expensive, and electricity from coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear sources is becoming more expensive. Rain has been a water source for hundreds of years, and in some places as aquifers are pumped down, rain is more reliable than a well.

If you want to see for yourself that green houses can be economical and good looking too, attend the 14th Annual Austin Cool House Tour.