photovoltaics
Several hundred new green jobs are on their way to Aurora, Colorado, courtesy of GE’s plan to build the largest US-based solar-panel factory yet there. Expected to begin production in 2012, the plant will be set up in an existing building close to a GE solar research center that
Greenbang Awards
Good news, Greenbangers: we’ve had such an overwhelming last-minute response to our call for entries for our Greenbang 2011 Efficiency Awards, that we’re extending the deadline to the close of business on Friday, Oct. 28. So if you thought you’d run out of time, now’s your
smart cities
Incheon city leaders hope to redevelop two areas of the Nam-Gu ward as a “smart city.” Officials in South Korea’s third-largest city plan to use Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities program to create blueprints for more technologically advanced and networked neighborhoods in the Ju An 2 and 4 Dong
water
For all the complaining about waste in Washington, DC, it seems that some federal agencies are doing pretty well at cutting back on wasted energy and water. This year’s winners of Federal Energy and Water Management Awards, now in their 30th year, helped to reduce energy use by 7.
renewables
A small Danish island in the Baltic Sea is becoming a living laboratory for technologies that could dramatically transform the energy world. Having already developed a substantial supply of renewable energy, Bornholm is now embarking on a test of smart-grid technologies designed to give residents greater insights into how they
Greenbang Awards
The clock’s quickly ticking toward the Oct. 14 deadline to enter your efficiency technology, project or person for Greenbang’s 2011 Efficiency Awards. We’ll need to hear from you before the end of the day tomorrow to be able to consider you for this year’s awards. (Editor’
carbon tax
The Australian House of Representatives has passed a package of clean-energy bills that would for the first time impose a carbon cost on polluters. The package of 19 bills is next due to go to the Senate for consideration, and is expected to pass by the end of the year.
smart metering
A study of some 100 smart-meter pilot programs around the world has concluded that the technology can lead to significant and lasting energy savings. The biggest difference-maker between a more or less successful program, however, turns out to be not the technology used, but the way in which utilities work
smart metering
Installing smart gas meters across Ireland would save residents and the country €59 million ($81 million) over the next 20 years, according to a study by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). Those savings would come from lower bills for customers, as well as from efficiency and environmental benefits. A
green buildings
Green office buildings are a win-win for both tenants and owner-managers, an ongoing study reports. Buildings that have been constructed or renovated to meet LEED certification or earn Energy Star ratings from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enjoy both higher value and demand in the marketplace, according to a
carbon capture and storage
A lot of hope has been placed on developing affordable, scalable technologies that can grab carbon out of the emissions from coal-fired power plants and store it long term to prevent further climate change. As financial concerns continue to weigh heavily on governments on either side of the Atlantic, though,
energy security
For a fascinating and in-depth — if also somewhat despair-inducing — account of efforts to build a modern energy infrastructure in Afghanistan, be sure to check out Glenn Zorpette’s article in this month’s IEEE Spectrum. “Re-engineering Afghanistan” illustrates more vividly than any whitepaper the vast assortment of obstacles (sadly, far
