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New Haven’s successes have earned the city a prize, 23 kilowatts of solar arrays to be installed on public buildings. So far, a two-kilowatt array has been installed at Common Ground High School (pictured at the right of the roof). via New Haven Walks The Clean-Energy Walk | New Haven Independent. See also the story about the AFL-CIO taking aim at the CBIA here. I was pleased to see front-page coverage of wind power in the March 1 Courant ["Turbines Could Tilt Balance Of Power"]. We should take advantage of all the free, clean, renewable power we can. But a suggestion: Why not use the top floors of downtown buildings, setting baffles and turbines to capture the winds in our urban canyons? via Wind Power, Pro And Con – Courant.com. A broad coalition of environmental advocates and clean energy businesses united with legislative leaders yesterday to call for policies that will get Connecticut residents back to work in good, green jobs. While some of those policies would require some financial investment, others would require no financial expense at all. In many cases, the no-cost policies call only for planning, cooperation and communication. via Connecticut League of Conservation Voters: Broad Coalition Rallies for Action on Green Jobs. Or read the news release from CFE below::: Continue reading Broad Coalition Rallies for Action on Green Jobs, Saving Energy Funds Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE) released the following statement on the findings of two panels convened by Speaker Chris Donovan to address business expansion in the state’s green sector and energy rate relief. The panels met in January and February of 2010 and convened legislators, business leaders, utilities representatives, workforce training experts, trades representatives, and others to find solutions to Connecticut’s high energy costs and struggling business climate. Bulkeley High School teacher Deborah Davis and members of her Advanced Placement Environmental Science class Brandon Elvas, Magdalyn Roldan, Gerson Mendoza, Gissella Jimenez, Whitney Vitale, Danny Castillo, Jassica Mahadeo and Saida Cooke celebrated after receiving a $20,000 grant from Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P). The school was the winner of the 2010 CL&P Live Green – Win Green contest, which encourages students to consider projects to make their schools more environmentally friendly. via Bulkeley High Wins $20G In CL&P’s ‘Live Green — Win Green’ Contest – Courant.com. Dow Chemical Co. is expanding its renewable and alternative energy reach today as the state is expected to award the Midland-based company more than $108 million in business tax credits and grants. The company is entering into new territory with a $5 million Center of Energy Excellence Program grant to establish a center focused on low-cost carbon fiber for industrial applications, including advanced wind turbine blades. via Dow Chemical reaping windfall, expanding alternative energy reach | – MLive.com. It’s a chicken-or-egg scenario when it comes to emerging fuel-cell technology allowing automobiles to be powered by hydrogen and emit little more than a trickle of water from the tailpipe. Manufacturers need to commit funds to mass-producing the vehicles, but hydrogen fueling stations to fill those vehicles also are needed. Wallingford, Conn.-based Proton Energy Systems has announced plans to develop the privately funded network of stations along the East Coast through sister company SunHydro. via Which comes first, hydrogen fuel, or cars that need it? – Fosters. The exposition at the 2010 NHA Hydrogen Conference & Expo, to be held May 3 – 6, at the Long Beach Convention Center, is projected to be 10 to 20 percent larger compared to the 2009 event, according to Bruce Cole, Expo Manager for the National Hydrogen Association (NHA). By mid-February exhibit sales had equaled the 2009 expo sales. “We know that new exhibitors will join the event in March and April, positioning the Expo for the NHA Hydrogen Conference for growth,” Cole said. via National Hydrogen Association Annual Hydrogen Conference May 3-6, Long Beach. The Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project had the kick off meeting Feb. 17, 2010, in Hartford. The Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition, Inc. (GNHCCC), together with over 30 partner organizations will develop and implement a state-wide, fuel-neutral effort that will deploy 183 alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) through incremental funding and provide fueling capability for 21 additional fleet vehicles and infrastructure necessary to directly support the vehicle deployments as part of the Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project. Also see this story in the Register Citizen about an announcement from Gov. M. Jodi Rell: The Governor announced today that Connecticut has moved closer to those goals with the newly released preliminary recommendations from her Electric Vehicles Infrastructure Council that is examining ways the state can accommodate electric vehicles (EVs) through public policy, infrastructure and education. via Governor Rell announces electric vehicles are closer to coming to Connecticut – The Register Citizen. Montville – A state authority has determined that a plan for Montville Power LLC to convert one of its generation units into a biomass system will not have a negative environmental effect. The Connecticut Siting Council approved the request for a declaratory ruling submitted by the energy station’s parent company, NRG Energy Inc. of New Jersey, at its meeting Thursday afternoon. via State agency supports biomass plan | The Day. KILLINGWORTH — The town has joined the Connecticut Clean Energies Program, committing in its first step to spending 20 percent of its electricity on clean, renewable energy and eliminating 10 percent of its total energy consumption. via Killingworth joins clean energy program – The Middletown Press. If you’re looking for the guy in Connecticut who knows everything and anything about green transportation, Lee Grannis is your man. He is your bio-fuel expert. The Bethany resident heads the Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition, which has a goal of promoting air quality, public health, energy security and economic development — all while decreasing our dependence on foreign oil. Accompanying the article about Grannis is a picture of him standing in front of one of the decommissioned electric New Haven street cars. via CONNTACT.COM – Personal Achievement: Lee Grannis. Waltham firm must clear hurdles before capitalizing on leftovers A hungry young company in Waltham is eyeing that half-eaten bagel on your plate, that grapefruit rind, and those first few pancakes that didn’t come out quite right. Harvest Power Inc. looks at leftover food from homes, restaurants, and supermarkets as an underutilized resource. Today, nearly all of it heads to the landfill. In Harvest Power’s vision of the future – supported by $40 million in funding from investors like venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers of California and the trash-hauler Waste Management Inc. – it has the potential to be turned into compost, electricity, natural gas, or steam for heating. via Waltham company aims to make fuel from food – The Boston Globe.  Bruce Becker discusses the 360 State project with an audience at New Haven Green Drinks Feb. 17, 2010 Bruce Becker has tried to do the right thing. That may have been his mistake. Becker is the developer of nearly completed 360 State Street, a 32-story, 500-unit apartment building in New Haven. The building, which will contain retail space and enclosed parking for 500 cars, is one of the largest residential buildings ever built in the state. I have been following this project, in part to see if Becker is able to attain his goal of making it one of the state’s greenest buildings as well. He’s trying to make his the state’s first residential building to achieve LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The state isn’t making it easy. via New Haven Fuel Cell Wrapped In Red Tape – Courant.com. 360 State is expected to receive LEED Platinum. The project will have half the carbon footprint of a comparable urban apartment building and less than 20 percent of a typical suburban residential development. It will be the first on-site residential application of a fuel cell power plant in Connecticut. The 400KW fuel cell will provide for 92 percent of the building’s total electric demand and 100 percent of the building’s hot water demand, generating enough clean, renewable power for year-round heating of domestic hot water, the building’s heat pump water loop for space heating and the swimming pool. At TED2010, Bill Gates unveiled his vision for the world’s energy future, describing the need for “miracles” to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he’s backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050. “Solar and wind got all the attention, but new funding is putting geothermal and other technologies front and center,” says Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Assn. in Washington. So far, at least $500 million in government backing has gone to such projects worldwide. via Now, an Alternative to Alternative Energy – BusinessWeek.
But this afternoon at Phoenix Press, workers are installing the three-bladed rotor that will rise 150 feet over the parking lot, the most dramatic visual element of the Driscolls’ new 100-kilowatt wind turbine.  photos: ct environmental headlines A Phoenix Press representative told CT Environmental Headlines the turbine will begin churning out the energy in a few weeks. via Wind Turbine Installed In New Haven; Visible From I-95 – Courant.com. A popular program in Wilton is under the gun in Hartford The town has benefited from programs funded through the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. Now Gov. Rell has proposed taking some of the money earmarked for those funds and using it to plug holes in the state budget deficit. Not surprisingly, the Wilton Energy Commission is opposed to this measure. Joshua Ross, a partner in the Ross Solar Group of Brookfield, said the energy systems the company installs in homes and small businesses in the Tri-state area can usually lower average monthly electrical costs “by 70 to 80 percent.” Ross and his brother, Jason, recently moved the company, which has about 10 staff members, from Danbury to 72 Grays Bridge Road, in Brookfield. via Brothers Relocate Solar Energy Firm – Housatonic Times. GE Energy Financial Services is making a $65 million preferred equity investment to fund construction of the CPV Keenan II wind farm, with an option to invest $100 million more in partnership equity upon commencement of commercial operations. CPV Renewable Energy Company — an affiliate of Competitive Power Ventures, Inc. — plans to begin construction this month of the 152-megawatt wind farm, 12 miles southwest of Woodward, Oklahoma. The project is scheduled for completion by year’s end. via GE Energy Financial Services Invests in Oklahoma Wind Farm, Calls for Stronger US Renewable Energy Incentives | Investorideas.com. |
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