Black Silicon May Transform Solar PV Manufacturing Market

The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) announced a major feat in technological advancement.  NREL, in partnership with NJ-based Natcore, have uncovered "Black Silicon" as an efficient alternative for the solar photovoltaic material of choice.

Read the full article HERE.

BP Solar Keeps Australian Venture

In the wake of British Petroleum (BP) announcing their retrenchment in the global solar market, the company vows to maintain a venture in Australia.

See full article HERE.

Denver Receives High Marks on Energy Policy for National Green Cities Study

A recent study of 27 US municipalities by Siemens, notes that the energy policy in Denver, Colorado is one of the best in the country.

Way to go, Denver!

Siemens' Study Acknowledges San Francisco as US City Leader in Sustainability

International corporation, Siemens, conducted a survey of 27 cities to quantify and stratify green/sustainable cities.  Among the 31 objective factors that the study reviewed, San Francisco has risen among the group as the official municipal green leader.

Metrics reviewed for the study included: CO2/capita, water consumption, recycling/capita, LEED-certified buildings, and other key objective measures.

The full study can be found here.

wireless electric vehicle (ev) charging?

automobile innovators believe that the eventual future of electric vehicles (ev) will be a far cry from extension cords and finding an outlet.  the vision is for wireless inductive charging.  this method seems very plausible for market induction, as it would increase user convenience dramatically.  

i would be curious to learn more of cost of the technology, implementation/construction of the infrastructure, and energy loss as a result of the technology operations.

chevy volt declared greenest car in 2011 by kelly blue book

kelly blue book just announced their list of the top ten greenest cars in 2011.  not surprising, the chevy volt, weighing in at 93 miles per gallon took the pole position over number two, toyota prius.  nice work, chevy!

solar safety for firefighters--innovative workshop launched in denver by IECRM

Denver, CO, March 22, 2011 – Today, the non-profit association, Independent Electrical Contractors-Rocky Mountain (IECRM) launched a very important piece of the training puzzle for the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry:  how to make sure that firefighters stay safe on a fire call with a solar electric system.  IECRM rolled out a Solar PV Safety for Firefighters course at the North Washington Fire District in Thornton this morning.  The course was taught by PV expert, Andrew Truitt of Truitt Renewable Energy Consulting.

Solar PV systems on homes and businesses act like mini-power generating stations and operate via Direct Current (DC), which poses a unique set of challenges over electricity found in standard homes and businesses that have Alternating Current (AC) service from the electric utility.  DC creates potential safety risks to fire fighters that AC typically does not have.  With the dramatic increase of adoption of solar electric systems within the state of Colorado over the past few years and well into the future, emergency responders need to be educated on these unique concerns in order to ensure safety on fire calls.

“The solar overview provided us with a basic understanding on how the systems operate,” said North Washington Fire District Battalion Chief Stuart Sunderland, “and it provided us with the general information and safety concerns presented will definitely make us stop and think the next time we respond to a call to a building with a solar system.”  IECRM will be reaching out to other fire districts in the metro to make them aware of the cautions of PV systems and what their fire fighters should know about handling them.

IECRM is a 170-member strong non-profit association and Colorado’s largest electrical apprentice training school, educating hundreds of electrical and renewable energy professionals each year. For more information, www.IECRM.org.

new green professional (gpro) job training program launched in colorado

Green Job Training for Traditional Electricians

 Denver, CO, February 2, 2011 – Over 180 traditional electrical students were some of the first in the country to receive a new green building training called GPRO. GPRO was developed over the last 3 years at an expense of over $750,000 by the Urban Green Council chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the leading organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. GPRO is a visionary job skill training that target those working in the building trades and will elevate the green building skills of the Colorado workers, keeping our workforce competitive in the emerging green marketplace.

 Through a unique partnership between Independent Electrical Contractors-Rocky Mountain (IECRM) and USGBC Colorado Chapter, GPRO was launched through a SESP state grant in January 2011 to all 3rd and 4th year Electrical Apprenticeship students at IECRM. The students that received the training were ecstatic at the opportunity and hungry for more. “The GPRO Fundamentals of Green Building class was great! The course was very informative and really relevant on all of the jobs we work on these days,” said student, Luke Fletemeyer.

“The LEED® green building certification program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings. LEED®, however, has largely focused on developers, architects, and engineers—not those that actually construct the buildings. GPRO is designed to educate trades people in the who, what, and why of green building. GPRO empowers the workforce with the skills necessary to compete in today’s changing construction industry,” said Spenser Villwock, IECRM Executive Director. 

GPRO will be available to the public at the upcoming USGBC Colorado annual conference, Rocky Mountain Green, on April 19, 2011 in Denver, as well as through the IECRM Energy Academy later this spring. IECRM is a 170-member strong non-profit association and Colorado’s largest electrical apprentice training school, educating hundreds of electrical and renewable energy professionals each year.

For more information, visit www.IECRM.org. U.S. Green Building Council Colorado Chapter (USGBC Colorado) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to advancing and promoting sustainable planning, design, construction and operation of the built environment through education, improving industry guidelines, policy, advocacy, and information and resource sharing. To learn more, visit www.usgbccolorado.org.