Florida town invests in solar-powered street lights
Solar power in the Sunshine State -- sounds like a winner to us! The town of Dania, Florida has taken a page from Treehugger, and decided that solar-powered street lights would be a good investment, considering the threat of hurricane-caused power outages. Dania will invest $1 million in the improvements, and city officials believe that's money well-spent after the power outages caused by 2005's Hurricane Wilma.
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Community energy success stories
Smart Communities has an excellent list of community energy successes. Solar, wind, fuel cell, and even geothermal power installations. It's great to see projects that have been deployed and are working instead of just hearing endless talking and no action! Kudos to these communities and businesses.
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Nellis air force base begins 15MW solar installation
The Nellis solar energy system will generate in excess of 25 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually and supply more than 25 percent of the power used at the base. Occupying 140 acres of land leased from the Air Force at the western edge of the base, this ground-mounted solar system will employ an advanced tracking system, designed and deployed by PowerLight, to follow the sun. Approximately 70,000 solar panels and the patented PowerLight PowerTracker(R) will capture up to 30 percent more energy than an equivalent ground-mounted fixed-tilt system. Rated at approximately 15 megawatts (MW), the array will generate the power of a rooftop solar system with a rating of approximately 18 MW. The energy generated will support the more than 12,000 military and civilians at Nellis who are responsible for Air Force advanced combat training, tactics development and operational testing.
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VendingMiser occupancy sensor
The City of Seattle, Washington has an array of excellent incentives for energy conservation. One of their incentives is an $80 rebate on a VendingMiser occupancy sensor. This is a prime example of a something simple, effective, and which can be done today at very little cost. An immediate 50% reduction in energy consumption (read: waste)! It's midnight. Everyone's gone home. Why is your vending machine on? Vending machines use electricity 24 hours a day, nights, weekends, and holidays. Even if no one's around to use them. Seattle City Light has a better way. The VendingMiser reduces the energy consumption of cold drink vending machines by using an occupancy sensor to power down the lights and compressor. A temperature sensor powers the machine back up as needed to keep drinks cold. The device is invisible to the user since the lights come on when an occupant is detected. City Light Incentives have spurred the installation of over 3,300 units in the Seattle area.
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Converting trash gas into energy gold
Lagrange, GA, U.S. -- Landfill Gas Projects are no-brainers. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans produce an average of 4.5 pounds of garbage per person per day. All that trash goes into landfills, which are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States. U.S. landfills are responsible for a third of all methane emissions worldwide. As trash decomposes in landfills, methane is generated. The oxygen-free conditions in landfills and dumps support bacteria that break down the waste. These bacteria produce a natural byproduct called landfill gas, which is roughly equal parts methane and carbon dioxide. Depending on the amount of methane produced, by EPA regulation the gas is either allowed to escape into the atmosphere or is sucked out and burned. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. In the atmosphere, it absorbs radiation reflected from Earth's surface, enabling the planet to maintain its livable temperatures. However, according to the EPA, because methane is 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere, it plays a much larger role in global warming. The process of converting landfill gas into energy is relatively simple. Wells sunk into a landfill collect the gas, which is then used to burn in engines and boilers, heat greenhouses and fuel vehicles. Guzzone said landfill gas can be used just as traditional fuels such as coal and natural gas are used. "It's comparable to natural gas," he said. As of 2005, there were 396 operational landfill gas projects in the United States and more than 1,300 candidate landfills, according to Guzzone. The current projects produce the energy equivalent of providing electricity for 725,000 homes or heat for 1.2 million homes. The reductions associated with these projects are equal to 13 million vehicles being removed from the road, Guzzone said. "You reduce air pollution by using landfill methane in lieu of fossil fuel," he says, thus improving air quality. The gas is sucked up from the 90-acre landfill by 53 pipes, compressed, and piped 10 miles to the carpet production plant where it is used as fuel.
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Companies tap industrial waste for savings
Food processor Cargill generates heat from methane made from scraps By Melissa Lee BEARDSTOWN, Ill. - One man's trash is another man's treasure. And the same goes for corporate America's waste. Companies and municipalities have been looking to their landfills and trash bins for fuel sources for years. But with energy prices spiking, that search has intensified. Just about every business is looking to cut costs these days -- particularly industries under intense pricing pressure. As a result, waste-to-energy projects are getting more popular, thanks to the rising payoff of a smaller energy bill. On the cutting floor of global food giant Cargill's pork processing plant here, nothing goes to waste. From the choice cuts, like the back ribs and the shoulders to the fat that falls on the floor. But it's the water used to clean up the place that actually saves Cargill money. Under a huge dome lies a 19-million gallon lagoon, where that waste water is transformed into energy. "Water comes from operation with organic material," said Cargill General Manager Steve Pirkle. "The bacteria feeds off that material and generates the gas." That methane gas is then fed to the company's boiler room to generate steam and hot water, for sterilizing instruments. That cuts Cargill's energy bill, helping the company battle rising costs and thin margins. Aside from its renewable energy project here, Cargill has seven others just like it, and two under construction. The reason behind the investment is simple: cargill saved $10 million in natural gas costs last year.
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New sun-tracking skylights greatly reduce energy bills
Read how a chain of Ace Hardware stores in Northern California installed new sun-tracking skylights and reduced their monthly electric bills by about a third, depending on the time of year. Not only were lighting costs reduced, but cooling costs as well. The proprietor estimates he is saving approximately $500 per month on cooling alone. An additional benefit has been the increased sales which has been attributed to the better quality of light in the stores. Natural lighting has been shown to improve the mood of workers and shoppers alike.
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