Monitor Your Green Savings With Green Goose

February 9, 2010 at 12:25 pm · Filed under Conservation, Green Practices, Portland ·Tagged

ReadWriteWeb is writing about a new San Francisco/Portland based financial management start-up that launched yesterday – Green Goose.

Using green Internet-connected eggs, it measures how much energy you expend on your bike or how much water you use in your shower – and transfers amounts from your checking account to your savings account based on the ’savings’ you made doing those activities.What’s interesting though is that the savings are calculated based on the actions measured by small battery-powered, wireless sensors. You stick these sensors on your bike, thermostat, showerhead “and even your keychain.”

Here’s how the sensor part works: the sensors communicate with a “Green Gateway” that then sends messages to the web site. The Green Gateway – which is also “egg-like” – has an Ethernet port that connects to your network hub via a router. The bike sensor measures miles ridden. Green Goose also plans to offer sensors for your automobile, shower (hot water), and thermostat (heating and cooling).

In the future, Green Goose might also be able to pull savings data in “from open APIs like that proposed by Google Power Meter for savings earned by using less electricity.” It also plans to eventually move beyond energy to capture savings earned from making “other lifestyle decisions.”

You can get started today with a “Green Goose Bike Sensor Kit,” which retails for $49 plus $10 for postage. The Portland and San Francisco-based company is currently in talks with the BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance) in Portland and they’re already installed “in a number of coffee shops.”

As well as consumers, the service is targeting employers with a “a unique sustainable savings benefit” offering for their staff. One of the features for employers is managing and auditing details for the IRS bike commute tax credit.

Green Goose is currently in pre-production and running beta trials. Right now it’s offering 100 Savings Kits for bicycle owners.

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Portland’s Green Empowerment Is Taking Renewable Energy to the Developing World – Village by Village

February 8, 2010 at 10:13 am · Filed under Alternative Energy, Portland ·Tagged , , , ,

Portland’s Green Empowerment is proving that renewable energies are not only for the privileged in the developed world. Mirroring many of the same values that have propelled Portland to be the most livable city in the US and a center for cleantech, Green Empowerment quietly goes about their work in developing countries empowering local communities to control their own energy sources, preserve the environment and ultimately alleviate poverty.  Their core values of Social Justice, Local Leadership, and Sustainability guide their work as their own triple bottom line.

Green Empowerment was founded in 1997 by a Portland-based human rights attorney who was inspired by the life of Ben Linder, a neighbor and friend who was killed in Nicaragua.  Green Empowerment’s first project was to work with Ben’s colleagues to complete a micro-hydro renewable energy system to provide clean electricity to a village in northern Nicaragua.

Fundamentally, Green Empowerment emphasizes local leadership, community participation, and long-term economic and environmental sustainability. They develop lasting partnerships with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in emerging countries to build sustainable capacity for renewable energy and water systems. These projects produce electricity for residential and community use to promote local economic development, micro-enterprises, and deliver potable water. In their partnerships, they assist with feasibility studies, technical training, project construction, commissioning, organizational planning, publicity and fund-raising. Green Empowerment relies on their local NGO partners and communities to determine their own priorities and goals.

An important goal and outgrowth of the mission of Green Empowerment is to conduct outreach, education, and training in the United States to promote understanding of the global indivisibility of environmentalism, social justice, and sustainability. They have learned that fundamental social and environmental problems cannot be solved without a global perspective.

Green Empowerment has been instrumental in successfully establishing community-owned micro-hydroelectric projects in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.  These endeavors have brought electricity to thousands of people and boosted the local economies.  In addition, Green Empowerment has provided solar power for 37 health clinics in Burma, developed solar projects with three indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon and eight villages in Northern Peru.  They have supported small wind projects in Northern Peru and water pump projects in Nicaragua and the Philippines. To date, through renewable energy, they have helped 23,500 heads of household gain lighting in their homes, secured local access to clean water for 11,000 people, and improved schools, clinics and small-businesses for an additional 177,500 villagers. All told Green Empowerment has helped improve the lives of over 385,000 people.

It’s interesting to note that as Portland gains notoriety for progressive green and social policies at home in the US, Green Empowerment is quietly putting those policies to work in rural villages in the developing world. Take a moment and learn more at greenempowerment.org.

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Coquille Invention On The Road to Production

February 7, 2010 at 3:01 pm · Filed under Alternative Energy, Wind Power ·Tagged , ,

Southern Oregon Coast’s The World is reporting on the progress of Rogue River Wind. Their product is a roof mounted, ultra-efficient, low-profile, sturdy wind turbine with a built-in generator called the V-LIM. Despite numerous set backs over the years the reality of production is getting closer.

After attempts to get the V-LIM off the ground locally [Coquille] failed, [CEO Mary Geddry] relocated the project to Portland where a prototype was in the works, before she again relocated it to Cottage Grove where it was completed and may be manufactured.

She said some manufacturers in Alaska and the East Coast have expressed interest in producing it, as well.

The V-LIM is said to be more efficient than traditional wind turbines in that it produces electricity in winds ranging from light breezes to Class 2 hurricanes, is silent and vibration free even in gusts up to 100 miles per hour. As wind speed increases, so does the turbine’s power output.

It’s about three meters in diameter and is designed for commercial and industrial use. The unit costs between $125,000 to $150,000.

The V-LIM produces 25 kilowatts on average during wind bursts. Peak energy users can expect a return on investment, in consistently blustery regions, in about three years, Geddry said.

Geddry, who crafted the unit’s aerodynamic design, recruited brain power from Portland State University to upgrade the efficiency of the mechanism with a high-bandwidth generator.

Electrical engineer and Coos County resident Dr. Stanley Marquiss came on board to design a “plug-in-play” feature, which allows the appliance to configure itself into a facility’s energy system automatically once it’s installed.

Before the V-LIM can officially go on the market, it needs to be certified with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energies Laboratory, a process that could take about six months. In the meantime, Geddry hopes to begin production to meet demand — which may come from the U.S. Department of Defense.

All military bases, Geddry said, must produce 25 percent of energy from alternative sources, such as wind, by 2025.

Talks with the DOD are preliminary at this point, she said, but supplying the government agency with the V-LIM has potential.

“It appears that they would be one of our biggest markets,” she said.

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Mayor Adams Announces New Sustainable Development Fund in State of the City Address

February 5, 2010 at 7:09 pm · Filed under Alternative Energy, Bikes, Policy, Portland ·Tagged , , ,

Mayor Sam Adams repeatedly pointed to Portland’s culture of sustainability in his State of the City Address to the City Club today:

With great firms here like Iberdrola Renewables, Vestas, Glumac, Benson and Solarworld, we are emerging world leader in sustainable industries and clean technology practices in all industries. There isn’t any reason why Portland can’t become the nation’s new hub for clean technology – a means to create electricity and fuels with a smaller environmental footprint. And we should be exporting all these goods and services all around the globe.

Clean Energy Works, the ReVOLT headquarters, and streetcars are three examples of our new Economic Development Strategy in action.

Adams showcased Clean Energy Works, Portland’s “first-in-the-nation” program for home energy retrofits, financed through a person’s utility bill, pointing out that Senator Merkley has proposed legislation to take the program national.

Adams recently returned from Washington, DC where one of his tasks was lobbying for the Oregon Sustainability Center.

The Oregon Sustainability Center will be the largest ecologically “living” building on Earth. The governor and I, along with higher education, a scrappy group of non-profits, the Portland Development Commission, and our ever-resourceful federal delegation, are pushing to build this Center on the campus of Portland State University.

Much of Adams speech centered on the economy where Adams announced a new Sustainable Development Fund:

Today, through smart use of federal stimulus resources, we’re announcing the formation of the Sustainable Development Fund. The Sustainable Development Fund is a best-in-the-nation green financing fund with up to $33 million in resources, which will help bring Clean Energy Works to our commercial and industrial sectors.

He didn’t shy away from Portland’s new 20 year bicycle plan and it’s $600 million price tag:

The same goes for our brand new bicycle plan, which elevates our aspirations to one in four trips in Portland to be made on bicycle. It’s the most ambitious, most comprehensive plan of its kind in the country. By building it out, we will be on par with the great bike cities of Northern Europe.

There’s been some chatter out there about cost, and that’s fine.

But folks, here’s the bottom line: we can’t afford not to build it. Think about the cost of any given trip made on bicycle versus private automobile. There’s no such thing as a pothole caused by bikes. No noise and no emissions.

Even if you never plan to set foot on a bicycle, you benefit tremendously. Fewer vehicles, less congestion, reduced pollution.

Read the complete speech here.

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Global WInd Production Up Big in 2009

February 5, 2010 at 8:15 am · Filed under Alternative Energy, Clean Tech, Wind Power

Despite the state of the world economy global production of wind power rose considerably in 2009. According to CleanTechnica:

For the 5th year in a row, China has doubled its installed wind power capacity. Wind power capacity in the world grew 31% in 2009.

The Global Wind Energy Council released a report on new global wind power statistics this week and these are some of its main findings.

In total, 37.5 GW of wind power were added in 2009, bringing total worldwide installations up to 157.9 GW. One third of these new installations were in China.

“The continued rapid growth of wind power despite the financial crisis and economic downturn is testament to the inherent attractiveness of the technology, which is clean, reliable and quick to install. Wind power has become the power technology of choice [for] a growing number of countries around the world,” said Steve Sawyer, GWEC’s Secretary General. “Copenhagen didn’t bring us any closer to a global price on carbon, but wind energy continued to grow due to national energy policy in our main markets and also because many governments in [sic] prioritised renewable energy development in their economic recovery plans.”

The global market for wind turbine installations was worth about $63 billion (€45 billion) in 2009 and employs about half a million people now, GWEC estimates.

Top Countries in 2009

1) US: 35.2 GW of installed capacity (up from 25.2 GW in 2008, 26.5% increase)
2) Germany: 25.8 GW of installed capacity (up from 23.9 GW in 2008, 5.1% increase)
3) China: 25.1 GW of installed capacity (up from 12.1 GW in 2008, 34.7% increase)
4) Spain: 19.1 GW of installed capacity (up from 16.7 GW in 2008, 6.6% increase)
5) India: 10.9 GW of installed capacity (up from 9.7 GW in 2008, 3.4% increase)

For a full table, by continent or region and country, of installed wind power capacity in 2008 and in 2009 (and the growth in 2009, so you don’t have to do the calculations), as well as other charts and graphs, click here.


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Governor’s EV Advisory Group Calls For Stronger Incentives For EVs

February 4, 2010 at 8:43 pm · Filed under Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Oregon, Policy ·Tagged ,

Sustainable Business Oregon is reporting on a report released Thursday by Governor Ted Kulongoski.

In 2008 Kulongoski created  The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group. It was charged with developing the policies and alternative fuel infrastructure for Oregon to attract car manufacturers seeking to bring the next generation of electric and alternative fuel vehicles to market in North America.

Among the group’s primary recommendations:

— A new Electric Vehicle Executive Council, created by an executive order from Kulongoski, to set a statewide agenda for introducing and deploying electric vehicles and the related infrastructure and services in Oregon.

— An effort by the state to work with utility regulators and other governing boards to consider policies designed to overcome barriers to the widespread deployment and use of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

— New purchase standards for state-funded fleets to increase the percentage of alternative-fuel vehicles in the fleets.

— A new program to provide free home audits prior to installing charging equipment.

— The inclusion of electric vehicle manufacturing into the Business Energy Tax Credit program.

— A new Transportation Electrification Tax Credit for businesses and other organizations that buy electric vehicles and infrastructure.

— A new multi-disciplinary transportation electrification and “smart mobility” Center of Excellence at the Portland-based Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium. The center would be a partnership between private industry, universities and trade groups modeled after the International Center for Automotive Research, a $200 million collaboration in South Carolina between Clemson University, BMW and AT&T.

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HUD Announces Sustainability Initiative

February 4, 2010 at 8:23 pm · Filed under Policy ·Tagged ,

From the HUD blog:

Representing a sea of change in the way HUD works with our communities, Secretary Donovan today traveled; to one of America’s greenest and most sustainable cities Portland Oregon, to announce HUD’s own sustainable initiative.

In a forum at Portland State University, attended by 120 stakeholders, Secretary Donovan announced the launch of HUD’s Office of Sustainable Communities (OSHC). With a $200 million budget this year, OSHC will work to connect housing to jobs, create unprecedented partnerships across federal agencies, and contribute to building a new clean energy economy. Included in the budget is $140 million in planning and challenge grants to spur local innovations and regional partnerships that will coordinate housing, transportation, and land use decisions that will connect where we live to where we work.

Guided by six principles, HUD’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities Initiative with the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency will allow us to all work hand-in-hand to drive the creation of affordable homes and thriving businesses in clean, healthy communities.

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Blumenauer Advocates Extending Renewable Energy Grant Program

February 4, 2010 at 11:21 am · Filed under Alternative Energy, Economic Stimulus, Policy ·Tagged ,

According to Sustainable Business Oregon US Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is introducing a bill to extend a federal renewable energy grant program by two years. The program is credited with expanding the US wind energy sector despite the great recession.

The grants would expire Dec. 31, but Blumenauer’s bill, dubbed the Renewable Energy Expansion Act, would extend the grant program through Jan. 1, 2013. The grants enacted in the stimulus bill served as an alternative to federal tax credits which were widely used to subsidize the cost of large projects. The tax credits became largely obsolete once the global financial crisis brought about the collapse of several major financial institutions that served as tax-equity partners for developers by financing wind projects in exchange for the lucrative tax credits.

Among the biggest recipients of the grant program was Portland-based Iberdrola Renewables, which received more than $550 million in stimulus grants for its $1.8 billion of investment in eight U.S. wind farms, including two in Oregon.

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Portland to Test Recycling Food Waste

February 4, 2010 at 10:55 am · Filed under Green Practices, Portland, Recycling ·Tagged , ,

The Oregonian reports that Portland may soon catch up to San Francisco and Seattle, both of which have active food waste recycling programs. According to the article:

In the United States, 65 cities are picking up residential food waste, including meats and cheese, with almost half in Washington, according to a 2009 survey by BioCycle magazine.

Portland has long wanted to provide curb side food waste recycling but lacks a local compost processor.  Currently what little food waste the Portland area recycles is shipped to Seattle.

[...] the city is planning to punt garbage collection from weekly to once every two weeks to help cover the extra cost of picking up the food-and-yard-waste cart weekly. Based on other cities’ experiences, food waste collection and non-weekly garbage service — at the same cost or more — will shock a lot of customers.

“We’re coming right into their kitchen saying, ‘Please change your habits,’” said Bruce Walker, Portland’s solid waste and recycling manager.

That’s why the city will test food-waste pickup with 2,000 Portland homes starting in April.

The Portland area’s best local prospect for a big, economical place to compost tons of food waste along with yard debris — Nature’s Needs in Washington County — is opposed by the city of North Plains, which worries about increased stench.

Look for a possible announcement in Mayor Sam Adams State of the City Address tomorrow.

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Obama’s Support for Nuclear Power Good News for Corvallis Based NuScale

February 3, 2010 at 11:21 am · Filed under Alternative Energy ·Tagged , ,

Sustainable Business Oregon is reporting on the positive impact President Obama’s controversial support for nuclear power could have on Corvallis based NuScale Power.

NuScale Power, a Corvallis-based startup that is developing a modular, small-scale nuclear reactor, cheered the news Monday that President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year includes a boost for the development of nuclear power.

Following up on President Obama’s state of the union address in which he called for new nuclear power development, the 2011 budget calls for a hefty $36 billion in new loan guarantee authority for two new nuclear power facilities and $793 million for new research.

But it’s the $38.8 million set aside for “Small Modular Reactors” that NuScale officials are eyeing as potential funding for the work the company is doing to complete a design certification for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which will standardize the specs of NuScale’s 45-megawatt electric Light Water Reactor nuclear power plant. The reactors are designed to scaled up in groups, 12 reactors would create a 540 MW plant.

Bruce Landry, spokesman for NuScale, says the company will deliver the designs certification in the first quarter of 2012. The company currently has just 3 full-time employees but expects to staff up to as much as 100 people, mostly engineers, within a year.

NuScale’s plan to build compact nuclear reactors originated at Oregon State University. The reactors are modular and can work alone or with up to 24 others at a single site. The first NuScale plant isn’t expected to go live until 2018.

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