Wineries in Oregon are reducing their carbon footprint in innovative ways.

Advanced insulation and solar panels are part of the solution, complemented by the use of goats and raptors, rather than lawnmowers and pesticides.  Remaining carbon offset purchases are funding a dairy farm methane digester.

Sustainable Business Oregon is covering the story.

Oregon wineries are poised for an even bigger spotlight in the national fight against global warming.

Beginning in 2011, when a voluntary carbon reduction program becomes a full-fledged certification process, these winemakers will leapfrog ahead to become the first in the world to develop an industry-specific program.

Oregon wineries are poised for an even bigger spotlight in the national fight against global warming.

Beginning in 2011, when a voluntary carbon reduction program becomes a full-fledged certification process, these winemakers will leapfrog ahead to become the first in the world to develop an industry-specific program.

It isn’t just cute labels and talking points.

A new $92,000 grant expected from the United States Department of Agriculture will evolve the Oregon Environmental Council’s Carbon Neutral Challenge by funding the development of long-term certifications for wineries that remain carbon neutral, and others that follow their lead.

The new certification, called Climate Pioneers, will build on the success of the 14 wineries that completed the Carbon Neutral Challenge in April — a list that included three of the state’s largest wineries: Willamette Valley Vineyards of Turner, King Estate Winery of Eugene, and A to Z Wineworksof Dundee.

Through the challenge, the wineries reduced their carbon emissions by retooling practices in their vineyards and wineries, an effort that called for solar panels, retrofitted lighting, tank insulations and even using goats and raptors instead of lawnmowers and pesticides. The wineries also purchased carbon offsets to neutralize their remaining emissions, which built a methane digester for a dairy farm in Boardman.

Looking ahead, as many as a dozen new wineries are predicted to jump into the program following the USDA funding for its development.

Salem-based LIVE, Low Input Viticulture Enology Inc., is tasked with crafting the program will oversee Climate Pioneers. The 11-year-old agency also runs a sustainability certification for wineries with third-party backing from Europe.

While the Climate Pioneers program will likely lend a marketing advantage to participating wineries, Hannelore Schmidt Buckenmeyer, project director of the Oregon Wine Board, said that hasn’t been the program’s biggest lure. Most people at the helm of the effort simply want to be good stewards and set an example for other industries, she said, particularly because grapes are highly susceptible to climate change.

Tony Soter, co-owner of Soter Vineyards, echoed that sentiment.

“I’ve been doing organic farming since the mid 80s and frankly it’s more of a conviction that it’s the right thing to do than anything else,” he said.

Soter Vineyards is among those wineries that will pursue a Climate Pioneers certification next year. Soter said he hopes the effort will inspire other industries to launch similar carbon-neutralization efforts. He is also hopeful that consumers will notice and support responsible provenience of grapes and wine in the future.

“It will be their pocketbook, their taste and their sense of responsibility,” he said, that pushes the concept forward.

For now, LIVE is proposing two tiers of certification for Climate Pioneers, one for wineries that track and gradually reduce carbon emissions and another, higher standard for wineries that purchase offsets as well.

Wineries that certify as carbon neutral will track different scopes of carbon emissions, ranging from direct emissions from fuel used by tractors or in bottle sterilization, to emissions from electricity use and from things out of a winery’s control but related to business, like emissions associated with transporting wine, making glass and or employee travel for sales.

A panel of experts — including industry professionals, researchers and environmental groups — is still fine-tuning requirements for both tiers of certification and is expected to add new components as science advances.

Certification will be costly at first, and Buckenmeyer said the ability of wineries to participate would depend largely on economics.

According to Soter, certification requires a $6,000 audit and another $2,000 inspection by a third party, in this case the Oregon Department of Agriculture. It also costs $600 to register with the Climate Registry.

Carbon reduction can be affordable, Soter said. In some cases it’s as simple as changing light bulbs and training employees to reduce waste streams. Other efforts at reduction, such as buying carbon offsets or installing solar power, can require big financial investments. Those investments will continue to present challenges over the life of the certification, particularly as science aimed at carbon reduction changes.

Of the 387 wineries in Oregon, 16 of the 30 that participated in the Oregon Environmental Council’s Carbon Neutral Challenge were unable to purchase offsets because of the cost, though many made reductions in their own emissions. A few small wineries also found it difficult to track carbon use because of the effort’s demand on staff time.

In what was expected to be an electric vehicle tour kicked off at Portland State University, Ford Motor Company announced a major partnership with Portland General Electric.

Sustainable Business Oregon is writing about the partnership that will support the influx of new electric vehicles within Portland and Oregon.

Ford Motor Company announced Tuesday that it will make formal a partnership with Portland General Electric to develop electric vehicle infrastructure and policy and study driver behavior as the cars start hitting the streets. The auto giant made the announcement during the launch of its national electric vehicle tour at Portland State University.

The partnership is further validation that Portland — and Oregon —are making strides toward the head of the U.S. pack when it comes to electric vehicle infrastructure.

“We set out to make Portland a premium launch site for electric vehicles,” said Charlie Allcock, director of economic development for Portland General Electric and the utilities point person on electric vehicles. “This is another recognition by a global brand that we’re doing something right here.”

The PGE-Ford partnership involves the following elements:

• • Ford and PGE will work together to share information on charging needs and requirements to ensure the electrical grid can support the necessary demand for electric vehicles, as well as partner on electric vehicle consumer education.
• • The companies will work with state and local governments to support charging station permitting, electric vehicle tax credits and future legislation or regulations.
• • Over the next two years, Ford will introduce the Transit Connect Electric small commercial van, the Ford Focus Electric passenger car, two next generation lithium-ion battery hybrids and a plug-in hybrid. While the company has not yet made formal its launch cities for these new vehicles, the partnership with PGE makes it clear that Portland will get them early — if not first — in the game.
• • Ford and PGE will work with universities such as Portland State University to further study urban mobility and the integration of energy and sustainable design.

“We had a common vision, common goals, so we said, ‘Why don’t we formalize it?’” said Mike Tinskey, manager for Ford’s sustainability activities. “We’re going to work together to remove the barriers for electric vehicles.”

Ford is also working with Microsoft and itsWeb-based Hohm product, which helps consumers monitor and improve their home energy efficiency. Ford wants to tap that connection to help its cars interface with electric utilities to optimize charging times.

For its part, PGE brings to the table its close work with Portland State University on a variety of aspects for the electric vehicle roll-out — from the study of how early adopters will use the charging infrastructure to battery technology.

“We work together so seamlessly with PGE, it’s almost like we’re fraternal twins,” said George Beard, the Portland State University professor who heads up the school’s partnership with PGE.

Where exactly Portland’s early lead in electric vehicle roll-outs will end up in terms of jobs and economic development is an open question.

Allcock points out that electric cars are basically smart appliances and the number of applications that will be developed to manage and optimize them is yet to be seen.

Portland State University President Wim Wiewel said he is confident that the city’s early lead will pay off in exportable expertise (think: consulting firms) and new industries.

“I use the example of the street car industry,” he said. “Who would have thought that when we started using street cars that we’d spur Oregon Iron Works to become the only company turning out American-made street cars.”

Rendering of Vestas Americas HQ in Portland

Vestas, the world’s leader in high-tech wind power systems, announced yesterday it will move its North American sales and service headquarters into the historic Meier & Frank Depot Building in Portland’s Pearl District.

The $66-million building retrofit will focus on meeting the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification.  There are currently only 15 buildings in Portland designated as LEED Platinum, the highest rating given by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Built in 1928, the Meier & Frank Depot Building, vacant since 2001, will undergo a complete historic renovation by Gerding Edlen Development, one of the country’s largest developers of LEED-certified properties. Construction should begin this October, with Vestas moving into the building in early 2012.

Planned features include a rainwater collection system, raised-access flooring with under-floor mechanical ventilation, thermally insulated operable windows, and a central, multi-story atrium to provide natural light and to reduce energy usage.  Also planned is the largest roof-mounted solar array in Portland’s central business district along with an eco-roof terrace and gardens.

“We are making a long-term commitment to Portland,” said Martha Wyrsch, president of Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc. “We are intent on growing. Our new headquarters gives us the flexibility to accommodate up to 600 employees.”

Vestas’ 400+ Portland employees work in fields including engineering, sales, project management, training, technology, accounting, human resources, legal services and marketing, among others. Vestas, which employs about 2,400 people in the United States and Canada, also has 30 full-time employees in central and eastern Oregon who maintain and service wind turbines. Vestas first moved its North American headquarters from Palm Springs, Calif. to Portland in 2002.

The search for a new headquarters was competitive, and the company considered other cities within other states, including Denver, Houston, and Vancouver, Wash..  Portland, however, won out because it shares Vestas’ commitment to sustainability and it already employs a large, highly skilled work force that Wyrsch said is committed to the city.

“We have a really terrific work force in Portland,” Wyrsch said. “People who live in Portland, stay in Portland.”

Though other cities could provide deeper subsidies to compete, the company received $1.25 million in state tax credits and another $1 million from the state’s strategic reserve fund in an agreement that stipulates the company, which employs 400 locally, must add at least 100 jobs within the next five years.  The city will also give the company a 15-year, interest-free loan for $8.105 million. The company is expected to repay the loan within five years.

“I am so pleased that Vestas is making a long-term commitment to grow their business here in Portland,” said Mayor Sam Adams. “Today’s announcement shows the success of working strategically to grow quality jobs by building on our competitive advantage as a leader in clean technology and sustainable industries. Moreover, our joint efforts mean that local architects, construction workers and engineers will get to work now converting a Portland landmark into one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the United States.”

Vestas is expected to create 600 construction-related jobs during the building retrofit project.

“This is a great day for Vestas, for the City of Portland and for the state,” Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said. “This building represents the very best in public and private partnerships. Our collective investments in this project will pay off now and in the future in the form of more green jobs in Portland. It also will establish a stronger renewable energy foundation for Oregon as a whole.”

Vestas has more than 2,400 employees in the USA and Canada, where it has now supplied more than 11,000 wind turbines.  Vestas Americas has an accumulated installed capacity of 7,768 MW.  Vestas Wind Systems, of Randers, Denmark, has supplied more than 40,500 turbines worldwide since 1979.

Check back for regularly updated content, and feel free to follow us out on Facebook.

We started CleanOregon just about a year ago. Our main purpose was to learn about developments in clean tech and sustainable businesses in Oregon.

At this point, we’ve decided to take a breather and focus on other endeavors. We hope that we’ve been able to provide you with some useful and interesting information.

Please feel free to contact us at: fross [at] hevanet [dot] com if you’d like to get involved in the future.

Again, thanks!

In a play to cater to green-minded businesses that might be shopping for a new home, Site Selection magazine released its inaugural sustainability rankings Thursday, placing Oregon third on its state list behind California (No.1) and Washington (No. 2).

In the magazine’s city list, the Portland metro area placed second behind the San Francisco Bay Area.

Its top sustainable nation list elevates Canada to the top spot followed by Brazil and China. The United States was not in the top 10.

Published by Conway Data Inc., Site Selection magazine examined corporate facility management in green technology sectors to weight its sustainability index. The list’s creators also gave points for factors that make those investments possible including government policies. The number of LEED-certified green buildings also factored into the calculation.

The magazine used the partnership between Toyota and Tesla Motors to reopen the NUMMI plant in Northern California as a case study of what incentives and friendly policy can achieve.

The full report, available here, includes the following rankings:

Top five sustainable states:

1. 1. California
2. 2. Washington
3. 3. Oregon
4. 4. Massachusetts
5. 5. Minnesota

Top five sustainable U.S. metros:

1. 1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.
2. 2. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.
3. 3. Denver-Aurora, Colo.
4. 4. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
5. 5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif.

Top five sustainable nations:

1. 1. Canada
2. 2. Brazil
3. 3. China
4. 4. Germany
5. 5. Norway

LeanPath Inc. will launch this summer a software-as-a-service product aimed to help any commercial kitchen reduce its waste stream by tracking the food that gets thrown away.

Portland-based LeanPath, founded in 2004, will introduce its WasteLOGGER program this summer for restaurants, hotels, catering services and other operations that want to get a handle on how much food they’re wasting and how practices can be adjusted to minimize the waste.

WasteLOGGER, offered at $38 per month, is a scaled-down version of the company’s flagship product, ValuWaste, used by customers in 26 states. Priced starting at $10,000, ValuWaste — a combination of software, measuring equipment, a touch-screen terminal and operations advice — is used by volume food service operators at locations such as Providence, Portland State University and Intel.

But the scaled-down version will aim to bring the same kind of tracking ability to smaller kitchens.

A federally funded project to roll out electric vehicle charging stations across Oregon and four other states has been expanded by $30 million and will now include Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in addition to providing home chargers for owners of the Chevrolet Volt.

ECOtality Inc. (NASDAQ: ECTY) of Tempe, Ariz., in October was issued a $99.8 million federal stimulus grant to roll-out 15,000 electric vehicle chargers in 13 cities in Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Tennessee and California.

Nissan North America, a partner in the project, is also expected to deploy 4,700 of its all-electric Leaf vehicles by the end of 2010.

On Thursday, ECOtality said the U.S. Department of Energy has extended the federal grant by $30 million — split between federal stimulus money and private funds — enabling its growth into Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Qualified Nissan Leaf owners would be eligible for a free residential charger under the program. Now, the energy department has expanded that to included qualified new owners of the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range capability.

The expanded program will provide another 2,600 home chargers for Volt owners and 1,000 more for Leaf owners.

The goal of the project is to collect and study data to show how consumers use electric vehicles in a range of climate conditions and geographies so that a model can be created to implement charging infrastructure nationwide.

By including Chevy’s Volt into the program, the project can also study the performance and use patterns for vehicles with extended-range capability.

The program will begin in Whole Foods’ Pearl District location in Portland, and could expand to other stores in the area. The primary element of the partnership is a custom-built dry cleaning drop-off box. The box, which was designed and built by NamuhDesign — a Portland firm that uses reclaimed and FSC-certified materials — will be placed near the store’s cash registers. New and existing ecodrycleaner customers can drop off orders in reusable bags, which are collected each night by company drivers. Clean clothes can also be picked up from Whole Foods, which are stored in a back room and accessed by store employees.

Beaverton-based Eco Dry Cleaner, which currently operates four locations around Portland, uses the GreenEarth Cleaning process, a toxin-free alternative to traditional perc and hydrocarbon solvent dry cleaning methods. The company has 30 employees.

The program will employ a revenue-sharing model, allowing Eco Dry Cleaner to place the 2-foot by 4-foot box without leasing floor space.

The company is in the process of placing boxes in additional Whole Foods stores around Portland. DJ Widmer, Eco Dry Cleaner’s VP of sales and marketing, expects a 10 percent to 15 percent growth in dry cleaning orders from each box location.

Although they’re starting locally, Eco Dry Cleaner has national aspirations for the satellite model. Much like the Cork ReHarvest program, which began in Oregon and is now featured in Whole Foods stores around the country, the dry cleaning program is easily scalable. If picked up nationally, Eco Dry Cleaner will license the model — and their brand — to other dry cleaners that use the GreenEarth Cleaning system.

A company in Bend has installed what it says is the first vehicle charging station in Central Oregon.  [ ]

Sunlight Solar’s charging station is more a technological demonstration than a commercial moneymaker. It takes six to eight hours to fully charge each car.

It’s not an issue now since there’s only about 750 of these cars in the state.

That’s because in the U.S., you can’t get a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle right off the lot. Instead, you have to retrofit your current hybrid and that can be pricey.

But Chance Currington with Sunlight Solar says that could change.

Chance Currington: “Very soon, in the next couple years, the next generation of Toyota Prius and Insights and Escapes and Volts are going to come out with the plug as a PHEV and they’re going to be able to be charged at our station and others like it.”

Currently the charging station uses the same outlet that you would plug your toaster into.

But Currington says the station will eventually upgrade to a system that would cut the charge time down to just a couple of hours.