Green Energy Sidewalk:
It was a green idea that boogied straight off the dance floor and onto the city streets. Residents in the French city of Toulouse are testing out a special stretch of pavement in the city center that produces energy every time someone walks across it.

The pavement is embedded with special sensors that convert energy from motion into electricity. It’s an green idea that was first implemented in a Rotterdam nightclub by the Dutch company Sustainable Dance Club ( SDC ), where the company installed special modular dance floors that harvested the dancers’ energy.

Green Energy Body Heat:
Meanwhile, in Sweden, experts have figured out a way to harness body heat from morning commuters at the busy Stockholm station and transfer it to the heating system of a nearby building. It’s a system that is already in use at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, but the Swedes have worked out a way to move the heat between buildings.

The station is toasty in the morning as more than 250,000 Swedes rush about getting to work; the station’s ventilation system traps their body heat, which is then used to warm water in underground tanks. That water is then pumped through pipes to a nearby 13-story building about 100 yards away and used to heat that building.

source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/04/15/europes-newest-green-energy-sources-pedestrians-and-body-heat/

As citizens, businesses and non-profit organisations seek to transition to cleaner greener power sources like solar and wind, some big energy firms whose business models rely on polluting sources are standing in the way.

In Georgia, the energy company Georgia Power has lobbied for favorable public policies at the Public Service Commission ( PSC ) and State legislature that are making it difficult for the state’s residents to transition to solar power.

IPS learned that the Dekalb County school system wanted to put solar panels on their schools, but could not do it because of state policies like the Territorial Electric Service Act of 1973 which gives Georgia Power a monopoly over the purchase of energy.

“In Georgia, we have about a dozen state policies preventing creation of green solar energy,” James Marlow, vice chair of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, told IPS. “One of those is the Territorial Act.”

“If you’re looking at a school, one of the common ways [of setting up solar panels] is using a power purchase agreement or PPA,” Marlow said.

Typically, one of the biggest obstacles for businesses and organisations to switch to solar energy is the initial cost of obtaining and installing the panels. A PPA allows a school system, for example, to obtain the panels for no cost from a solar installation company which finances the panels.

Then, the school can purchase the green energy from the solar installation company, which would own the panels, for a 20-year period. Marlow said that a PPA client typically pays for the panels after the first five years and then saves money on energy for the next 15, all the while avoiding the use of dirty energy.

However, because of Georgia’s Territorial Act, individuals, organisations, and businesses with solar panels can only sell their energy to Georgia Power. This means they cannot enter a PPA with a solar installation company and may have difficulty affording the panels in the first place.

Other states like Colorado have taken a different approach to encourage the use of solar panels. They charge all energy customers 50 cents a month, a very low amount, to support the purchase of solar energy from producers.

MORE >>>> http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50862

India has more than 250,000 cellphone towers which consume 3-5 kilowatts power depending on the number of operators using the tower. These towers consume about 2 billion litres (about 530 million gallons ) of diesel every year.

Cellphone towers are quite energy intensive as they use power non-stop without any interruption. Air conditioning of the equipment housed in the nearby hubs also takes up substantial amounts of energy. Thus any change in the power generation method of cellphone towers would make tremendous impact in terms of resource savings and reduction in carbon emissions.

India has about 500 million mobile phone subscribers, more than even the population of any country except China, but continues to be one of the two fastest growing telecom markets. With telecom operators looking to expand operations in the rural areas, even more telecom towers are set to come up.

Reduction in carbon emissions

Taking a conservative approach and assuming no increase in number of towers India.

Number of towers = 250,000

Diesel used every month = 530 million gallons

Carbon emissions from diesel = 22.2 pounds/gallon

Total carbon emissions from cellphone towers annually = 11.76 billion pounds or 5.3 million tons

Cost of diesel every year (average price of diesel = $0.7) = $1.4 billion (INR 6400 Crore)

Thus by replacing diesel generators with solar panels in cellphone towers more than 5 million tons of carbon emissions could be prevented from entering the atmosphere.

CBS News correspondent Celia Hatton reports wind turbines that can be seen slicing the sky above rural Minnesota were manufactured more than 6,000 miles away by a Chinese company. They’re helping to power the nearby town of Pipestone.

” The wind is blowing nearly all the time, ” said Pipestone resident Elmer Stoltenberg. ” We should take advantage of that. ”

In New Jersey, one Rutgers University campus gets 10 percent of its energy from 7,000 solar panels also made by a Chinese company.

China has a dirty reputation as the world’s factory, but its emerging green energy sector is threatening to leave the United States in its dust.

The overall environmental report card is not pretty for either country. China is the world’s top producer of greenhouse gases. The United States is a close second, followed by Russia, India and Japan.

China burns mountains of coal–the dirtiest form of energy–for 70 % of its power. The nation consumes 2-and-a-half billion tons each year. Twenty-three percent of America’s energy also comes from coal, using 1.2 billion tons annually.

source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/09/eveningnews/main6282499.shtml

Go Green Expo, the nation’s largest eco-friendly trade and consumer lifestyle showcase, returns to New York on March 19 – 21, 2010, as part of a nationwide tour that also includes Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Building on last year’s success, Go Green Expo 2010–which provides a comprehensive look at the growing green revolution–is expected to attract thousands to this year’s event.

Go Green Expo invites business leaders, eco-minded consumers and their families to explore the latest in every aspect of green living and sustainable business practices including green energy, home and building, transportation, electronics, food, and health & beauty. Joining the lineup of keynote speakers this year are actress Mariel Hemingway, award-winning actor / director Ed Begley Jr. (presented by Enviro-Energies & Water for Life) and award-winning actor / political activist Matthew Modine. Additional eco-celebrity speakers include nationally-renowned eco-friendly interior designer Robin Wilson, nutritional expert and world-class athlete Bobby Williams, Eco-Sex author Stefanie Iris Weiss, award-winning environmental journalist Dan Shapley, eco-fashion designer Linda Loudermilk, and more.

Go Green Expo offers a multitude of interactive seminars and speaker panels led by industry-leading experts including Watershed Program Director Craig Michaels, Senior V.P. Worldwide of Rainforest Alliance Ana Paula Tavares, eco-business leader David Kistner of Green Apple Cleaners and founder/CEO of Go Green Expo, Bradford Rand. NYSERDA will host a panel discussion about Workforce Development Initiatives, Green Jobs Green New York, Green Multifamily Buildings and Photovoltaic (PV) Systems. Other topics will include Success Stories of Eco-Entrepreneurs, Creating an Eco-Logical Home, Younger Generations Going Green, The State of Our Environment, and Eco-Fashion and Lifestyle.

Key exhibitors include The Home Depot, which will showcase the array of Eco-Options available in its stores, automakers Volkswagen and General Motors, earth-friendly paper goods company Marcal, eco-responsible dental care company Aquafree, sustainable printers Print Responsibly and Linda Loudermilk’s eco-fashion line.

To produce the event, Go Green Expo is partnering with numerous eco-responsible organizations, businesses and publications including Organic Spa Magazine, Community Energy, Habitat for Humanity, Riverkeeper, New York Restoration Project, Natural Home magazine, Gotham magazine, am New York, greenhome.com, Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, Sierra Club, New York City Audubon Society, KIWI magazine, E – The Environmental Magazine, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and Ogden Publications, Inc.

Go Green Expo welcomes all trade professionals to a complimentary business-to-business day on Friday, encouraging organizations to embrace the large-scale use of Earth-friendly products, services and ideas. The event opens Saturday to everyone interested in learning about environmentally friendly goods and services for an unprecedented weekend event.
For more information and a full schedule of the show’s events, please visit www.gogreenexpo.com.

WHERE AND WHEN:
Pier 92
12th Avenue and West 55th Street – on the Hudson River
(646) 778-3211
www.piers9294.com

Business-to-Business Expo:
Friday, March 19 — 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Tickets are complimentary to trade professionals, the press and corporate buyers (please bring business card for admission).

Open to Public:
Saturday, March 20 — 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 — 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

$25 for a full-weekend pass — open to both business buyers and consumers — includes complimentary admission to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show located next to Go Green Expo. Use promo code GGENYC for discounted tickets.
Tickets allow access to the entire exhibit floor as well as all panel and speaker discussions. Go Green Expo tickets at the door or online at gogreenexpo.com.
For exhibiting and sponsorship information, please contact:
Seth Berk, Go Green Expo, LLC, (212) 655-4505, Ext. 244 or SBerk@GoGreenExpo.com

Dan and Leia Armstrong of Carlisle are looking to build their first home in Upper Dauphin County, and they want it to be as cost -and energy efficient as possible.

The young couple were checking out geothermal heating systems Saturday at the Pennsylvania Home Show at the Farm Show arena in Harrisburg. Mike Armstrong, sales manager for Morrison Inc. of Duncannon, was selling them on the benefits. Costs to heat a 2,000 square-foot home would be around $670 a year with a geothermal system compared to about $3,000 for propane or electric baseboard, he said.

Then there are the incentives. A 30 % federal tax credit. A rebate from PP&L.

A $20,000 geothermal system would come in closer to $14,000, he said, about the cost of a more conventional system.

The Armstrongs were convinced.

“ Not only does it help the environment, it saves the homeowner money too, ” Dan Armstrong said.

Many of the exhibitors at the Home Show advertised “ green ” or “ energy efficient ” on their signs. While some contractors are still suffering with the recession, business is good for green systems like geothermal, Mike Armstrong said.

There has never been a better time to go green, according to John Kautz, owner of Energy Smart of Boiling Springs. His business does energy audits on homes, then adds insulation, new windows, siding, or whatever else the audit shows would help the home become more efficient.

” We’re at a pivotal time … We’re in a position of strength, ” he said, what with electric rates rising as the caps come off, the federal tax credit, PP&L incentives, and President Obama’s proposed “ Homestar ” program, also called “ Cash for Caulkers, ” which would offer instant rebates up to $1,500 for energy efficient upgrades if it passes Congress.

Kautz said it makes more sense for homeowners to make their homes efficient before looking at more exotic upgrades like solar panels or windmills.

Matt Wilson of Secco Home Services of Camp Hill said solar energy is also selling well, though. In addition to the other incentives, Pennsylvania is offering grants of $2.25 a watt for solar systems, which could save homeowners thousands of dollars.

All in all, the costs of installation could be nearly cut in half with all the incentives, he said. Homeowners could recoup their initial costs in seven to ten years.

Doug Snyder of Millersburg said he’s thinking of installing a couple of solar panels on his roof to heat his water.

“With the costs of electricity going up, I’m looking at ways to offset it,” he said. While rising electric rates are the prime motivator, the incentives are nice too, he added, bringing the $7,500 cost closer to $4,000. He got a federal tax break for putting in a new metal roof last year.

Dave Henry of Hanover was traveling throughout the show considering replacement projects for his 25-year-old home – a geothermal heating system, better windows, siding, insulation and appliances. He said the warehouse where he works just replaced its lights at a cost of $80,000, but with the incentives and energy savings, the project will pay for itself in six months.

“Now’s the time to look at this,” he said. “I think this is the future…At least we’re throwing money at something worthwhile down the road.”

Contractor Joseph Dubrovich of J.D. Builders of Dillsburg has a sign reading “I have been green all my life” in capital letters, and has photos of a 2,500 square foot home he built which costs $100 a month in heat, electric and lighting bills. He said he doesn’t mind that others are “jumping on the green bandwagon” because “it establishes me better.”

He said the rising costs of energy are the biggest reason people are going green, more so than the rebates and tax incentives. But there are also less mercenary reasons, according to Dubrovich.

“A lot of people are interested in saving the planet,” he said. “People want to do good things.”

The show runs through March 14 at the Farm Show Complex

source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/03/visitors_to_pennsylvania_home.html