EverLast Facility Lighting Out Performs Competitors with Energy-Efficient Fixtures
Full Spectrum Solutions, Inc., an innovator in energy-efficient, full spectrum facility lighting, has completed several independent studies comparing the performance of EverLast commercial lighting solutions with other popular brands in facility, warehouse, manufacturing and other work environments. Based on typical customer experiences and data supplied by facilities managers, EverLast has consistently delivered significant energy savings, improved worker productivity and safety records under normal operating conditions.

“With the cost of energy these days and the increased concern for worker safety along with an emphasis on reducing operational overhead, EverLast has become the preferred choice for new and replacement commercial lighting,” said Mike Nevins, founder and CEO of Full Spectrum Solutions. “Businesses that have been waiting for competitively priced facility lighting that can dramatically reduce maintenance costs and increase energy-efficiency will discover that EverLast is the solution that can do it all.”

Among the cost factors studied was the replacement of traditional fluorescent tubes or HID fixtures with energy-efficient EverLast commercial induction fixtures. By providing energy savings of up to 60 percent, expenditures for EverLast products were recouped in less than 2 years and resulted in ongoing, long term savings.

When compared to traditional commercial lighting, EverLast also outperformed competitors with respect to lighting quality and worker productivity. EverLast lamps provide an increase in contrast recognition which has been credited with increased job safety rates and improved worker efficiency.

R&M Materials Handling, Inc. Introduces the LoadMate Electric Chain Hoist for Wind Turbine Applications
The LoadMate Electric Chain Hoist by R&M Materials Handling, Inc. is a compact, versatile and cost-effective electric chain hoist. With load capacities from 1/8 to 1 ton, a lifting height up to 262 feet and a wide range of lifting speeds and power supplies, the LoadMate is well suited for wind turbine applications.

The LoadMate is a compact electric chain hoist that can be installed inside the wind turbine nacelle to assist with standard maintenance activities, including change-outs and repairs of generators, high-speed gears, yaw and pitch motors, etc.

Because of the compact design of a wind turbine nacelle, it is important for the hoist to deliver high efficiency in small work spaces. The LoadMate is an ergonomic low-headroom hoist that allows for close trolley approaches. The LoadMate is constructed of a highly durable, yet light-weight, pressure-cast aluminum with epoxy paint for corrosion resistance and a ribbed design for better heat dissipation.

The LoadMate uses premium-grade (AGMA rated) precision gearing for smooth operation in wind turbines. A torque limiter protects against overloads, and the hoist comes standard with upper and lower limit switches. The LoadMate is equipped with a safety latch for the detachable upper hook which complies with DIN standards. The LoadMate requires a very low level of maintenance and saves on downtime costs because it is equipped with detachable parts and electromagnetic disc brakes for a longer service life. The DC brake can be replaced without resetting the torque limiter. The external torque limiter can also be easily adjusted and is integrated with the brake to ensure that the load is always stopped when the control button is released.

The lifting motor has 40 percent ED, IP55 protection, Class F Insulation, with thermal protection. The hoists have low-voltage control for 115 volt or 48 volt, with a two button pendant with emergency stop button and IP65 protection, and come standard with a wide range of lifting speeds; including 64 and 16 fpm, 96 and 24 fpm and 128 and 32 fpm. The LoadMate is also available in a wide range of power supplies, including 208, 230, 460, 575/3/60 or 380/3/50.

MIT and Texas Instruments Develop Energy-Efficient Microchip
Researchers at MIT and Texas Instruments have unveiled a new chip design for portable electronics that can be up to 10 times more energy-efficient than present technology. The design could lead to cell phones, implantable medical devices and sensors that last far longer when running from a battery.

Joyce Kwong, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), carried out the project with MIT colleagues, professor Anantha Chandrakasan, the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley professor of Electrical Engineering, and EECS graduate students Yogesh Ramadass and Naveen Verma. Their TI colleagues are Markus Koesler, Korbinian Huber and Hans Moormann. The team demonstrated the ultra-low power design techniques on TI’s MSP430, a widely used microcontroller. The work was conducted at the MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories, which Chandrakasan directs.

The key to the improvement in energy efficiency was to find ways of making the circuits on the chip work at a voltage level much lower than usual, Chandrakasan said. While most current chips operate at around 1 volt, the new design works at just 0.3 volts.
Reducing the operating voltage, however, is not as simple as it might sound, because existing microchips have been optimized for many years to operate at the higher standard voltage level. “Memory and logic circuits have to be redesigned to operate at very low power supply voltages,” Chandrakasan said.

One key to the new design, he said, was to build a DC-to-DC converter — which reduces the voltage to the lower level — right onto the same chip, which is more efficient than having the converter as a separate component. The redesigned memory and logic, along with the DC-to-DC converter, are all integrated to realize a complete system-on-a-chip solution.

One of the biggest problems the team had to overcome was the variability that occurs in typical chip manufacturing. At lower voltage levels, variations and imperfections in the silicon chip become more problematic. “Designing the chip to minimize its vulnerability to such variations is a big part of our strategy,” Chandrakasan said.

So far the new chip is a proof of concept. Commercial applications could become available, “in five years in a number of exciting areas,” Chandrakasan said. For example, portable and implantable medical devices, portable communications devices and networking devices could be based on such chips, and thus have greatly increased operating times. There may also be a variety of military applications in the production of tiny, self-contained sensor networks that could be dispersed in a battlefield.

In some applications, such as implantable medical devices, the goal is to make the power requirements so low that they could be powered by “ambient energy,” Chandrakasan said — using the body’s own heat or movement to provide all the needed power. In addition, the technology could be suitable for body area networks or wirelessly-enabled body sensor networks.

“Together, TI and MIT have pioneered many advances that lower power in electronic devices, and we are proud to be part of this revolutionary, world-class university research,” said Dr. Dennis Buss, chief scientist at Texas Instruments. “These design techniques show great potential for TI future low power IC products and applications including wireless terminals, RFID, battery-operated instrumentation, sensor networks, medical electronics and many others.”

The research was funded in part by a grant from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Ormat Technologies Signs a New Power Purchase Agreement with Great River Energy
Ormat Technologies, Inc. has announced that one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries has executed a new 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Great River Energy (GRE), a Minnesota cooperative corporation, for electricity to be produced by a new ORMAT Recovered Energy Generation (REG) facility. The new facility will have a net capacity of 5.3 MW and will convert the recovered waste heat from the exhaust of an existing gas turbine into electricity. The turbine is located at a compressor station along the Northern Border natural gas pipeline and Ormat has already secured the rights to the waste heat for the new facility.

"We are encouraged by the increased attention to energy efficiency and the confidence in our REG technology,” said Dita Bronicki CEO of Ormat Technologies. “Using clean solutions such as Ormat's REG units is a win-win strategy all around, providing both parties with one of the cleanest, fastest and most cost efficient ways to generate power while reducing carbon emissions. While each of our REG power plants along the Northern Boarder pipeline is only about 5 MW, when combining the opportunities along this one pipeline alone, we are generating power equivalent to the capacity of one of our 50 MW geothermal power plants."

Ormat expects the plant to be commissioned in 2009 or early 2010. With the addition of this new REG facility, Ormat will own a total of nine units with an installed capacity of nearly 50 MW along the Northern Boarder pipeline which are currently under operation and under various stages of construction. This is the first Ormat plant in Minnesota, a state that has enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standards program.

"Our REG technology responds to two objectives high on many governments' energy policy agendas: energy efficiency and emission reduction. As people and governments worldwide have a vital interest in reducing carbon emissions, energy efficiency solutions for existing infrastructure will become more prominent in the fight to curb harmful greenhouse gas emissions. We believe that Ormat's REG technology will become a preferred solution for business operators looking to reduce their carbon footprint - a fact that we believe is validated by each new REG facility we provide," said Bronicki.

The Ormat REG facility consists of an ORMAT Energy Converter (OEC) based on Organic Rankine Cycle technology, which converts recovered heat to electric power without the need for any additional fuel or water. The OEC unit is environmentally benign, as it has no emissions of CO2 or NOX.

Hamlin Energy Solutions Demonstrates Cost Savings and ROI of Solar Energy Installation
Hamlin Energy Solutions, a division of Hamlin Companies which designs and installs solar energy solutions for the commercial and industrial construction market, has installed the largest building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) laminate rooftop power plant in North Carolina at its sheet metal fabrication plant in Benson, N.C. Along with the environmental benefits of this power plant, the advantages of federal and state tax incentives make solar technology an affordable solution for any business including corporations, schools and governments.

“Hamlin knew installing this BIPV power plant was a smart decision for our operating model, and the tax incentives offered by North Carolina make it especially viable and practical for industrial and corporate organizations within our state,” said Will Hamlin, executive vice president, Hamlin Energy Solutions. “Solar energy can dramatically lower utility costs and with the federal and state incentives any business will see an accelerated return on this investment.”

A typical 20,000 square-foot commercial roof can support a 100-kilowatt solar panel system (using BIPV laminates). In one year, such a system can produce 150,000 kW hours of carbon-free electric power, equal to the power production of 56,000 pounds of coal or 4,670 gallons of gasoline.

The energy generated by Hamlin’s roof will result in a cash benefit of approximately $150,000. Hamlin will benefit from the North Carolina tax incentive of 35 percent throughout the span of five years and the federal tax incentive of 30 percent in the first year. Another incentive is accelerated depreciation; the equipment can be fully depreciated in five years.

Unlike conventional solar panels, Hamlin’s BIPV technology integrates directly with existing roofing infrastructures, giving it a much lower installed lifecycle cost per watt of power delivered. By contrast, BIPV solar material used by HES is a photovoltaic laminate less than 1/8 of an inch thick that can be fully integrated to the building envelope without requiring roof penetrations. Compared to the traditional “rigid frame” crystalline silicon solar panels, the laminates can generate power even on cloudy days and in indirect sunlight. No significant structural weight is added to the roof and each panel features a durable impact-resistant Teflon shell.

Shermco Executives Meet with European Wind Energy Leaders
Shermco executives recently met with European wind energy leaders. The meeting focused primarily on EU and American policy on renewable energy and the positive affects of North American companies participating in European wind energy events, said Scott Meador, Shermco vice president for the apparatus services division. The roundtable included Christian Kjaer, EWEA CEO; Arthouros Zervos, EWEA president; Steve Sawyer, Global Wind Enegy Council secretary general; Scott Meador and Chris Perry, Shermco sales manager.

“We support regional, national and global wind energy associations because it helps stimulate investment, creates jobs and advances the renewable energy technologies,” Meador said. “Wind energy not only provides electricity to the global grid, but to developing countries where basic necessities such as water and sanitation would not be possible without wind energy.”

Chicago Rolls Out ZAP Solar Electric Car for Catering
Chicago's Sopraffina Marketcaffe has unveiled a new 100-percent solar-electric powered catering vehicle. La Grange Park electric car dealer Jessup's Automotive helped bring the vehicle to Chicago as part of a dealer network being formed by ZAP.
 
The modified ZAP Xebra truck runs on electric power throughout the day and can be charged by solar panels located on the roof. At night, the vehicle recharges at a standard outlet. Owner Dan Rosenthal had the car modified for catering in downtown Chicago.

"The economic impact on companies is marginal and the environmental impact is huge," said Dan Rosenthal, president of The Rosenthal Group, which owns five Sopraffina Marketcaffes as well as Trattoria #10 and Poag Mahone's. "Electric vans should become the vehicle of choice for city-based deliveries. Every minute our van is on the street it is telling our potential clients that we are making a serious effort to help the environment. We're delighted to be the first in Chicago to have this type of vehicle."

Sopraffina Marketcaffe is a founding member organization of the Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op. Started in October 2007, the Co-op has grown to include nearly 100 restaurants.

The Xebra truck hits a top speed of 40 mph and is virtually silent during operation. It was modified with special compartments to keep insulated catering containers secure so food remains at the correct temperature during delivery. The vehicle does not require gasoline, diesel fuel, oil or any of the regular maintenance of conventional cars. The vehicle costs about three cents per mile to operate.

Wind Energy Manufacturers Call for Immediate Extension of Key Renewable Energy Incentive
Senior executives from four large, international wind turbine manufacturers, GE Energy, Gamesa, Siemens and Vestas, have recently joined together in urging Congress to act promptly to extend the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC). The PTC is now set to expire Dec. 31, 2008, although a one-year extension was recently approved by the Senate.

In a Rose Garden statement last Wednesday, President Bush focused on the problem of climate change. The four executives offered their companies’ perspectives on wind power’s growth potential and called attention to wind power as part of the climate solution at a breakfast meeting convened by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.

The four firms are the largest manufacturers of turbines sold in the US during 2007, as measured by installed generating capacity in megawatts (MW) and number of turbines, as reported by AWEA’s annual survey.

The US has one of the most abundant wind resources of any nation in the world.  Industry experts believe wind energy can provide 20 percent of the nation’s electricity needs by the year 2030, creating 500,000 jobs and more than $400 billion net present value in economic benefits, while helping reduce greenhouse emissions and other pollution from the electricity sector.

“Industry expansion over the past three years can be directly credited to the renewable energy production tax credit,” said Randall Swisher, AWEA executive director. “Likewise, studies indicate that an expiration of the tax credit will place $19 billion in renewable energy investment and 116,000 American jobs at risk. We are dedicated to the extension of this tax incentive, which will generate jobs and economic growth while simultaneously reducing global warming pollution.”

“Thanks in part to the PTC, US wind power capacity is now over 16,800 MW — or enough to serve the equivalent of 4.5 million average households — and wind has been the second largest source of new electrical capacity in the nation, behind natural gas, for the past three years,” said Julius Steiner, CEO, Gamesa USA. “Gamesa has added 1,000 new manufacturing jobs in the U.S. during that time period.”

“With energy demand increasing dramatically and growing pressure to address environmental concerns, we are confident that wind energy, an abundant, reliable and carbon-free resource, will become an integral part of this country's energy mix,” said Edward Lowe, general manager, Renewables Market Development, GE Energy. “Since entering the wind business in 2002, GE has created more than 5,000 US industry jobs, a number that could more than double with a long-term, stable policy commitment in place.  We strongly urge Congress to renew the PTC in order to sustain and accelerate this industry's growth and 'green-collar' job creation.”

“Wind energy has made tremendous strides in becoming a mainstream option for meeting growing electricity demands globally,” said Roby Roberts, vice president of Government Relations, Vestas, producer of wind turbines. “In March, we opened our first factory in the US, creating over 600 local jobs, and we recently announced plans to establish a tower factory and an R&D facility in the US. We need to build up our network of suppliers within the US, and it is vital that our suppliers can make strategic decisions in the medium and long-term. Prompt extension of the PTC is crucial to fully realizing investments and to unleash the job creation this growing network can provide.”

“Wind power is fundamentally a manufacturing industry, which in turn means jobs and economic growth,” said Michael Revak, director Wind Energy Americas, Siemens. “Our Siemens Fort Madison, Iowa, turbine blade facility currently employs roughly 250 workers, and we hope to double that number.  We’re also planning a new research and development center in the US.”

The wind energy industry has spawned jobs for some 45,000 Americans, including 10,000 new jobs in 2007 alone. In 2007, six new wind manufacturing plants opened (in Illinois, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Texas) and plans for eight more (in Colorado, Iowa, South Dakota, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas) were announced.

The PTC provides an incentive of two cents per kilowatt-hour generated to facilities that produce electricity from renewable energy resources, including wind, biomass, geothermal and hydropower. The credit can be claimed for 10 years, beginning on the date the qualified facility is placed in service. The facility must begin operation before the credit expires. Previous short-term extensions of the PTC have caused a boom-and-bust cycle in the wind industry, increasing costs along the entire supply chain and keeping businesses from growing to their full potential.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Symposium 2008
Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Symposium 2008 is a conference highlighting the latest technologies and applications of green and energy efficient products and services. The presentations will be particularly orientated toward industrial, manufacturing and facilities operations. The symposium will be held November 5-6 in Atlanta, Ga. This first annual event will feature presentations on corporate sustainability, renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building materials and financing, as well as the latest market trends, best practices, case studies and opportunities for "greentech" implementations.

The conference is designed for sustainability managers, operators of renewable and alternative energy systems and programs, managers of energy efficiency and green programs for product development.

Call for Presentations
Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Symposium 2008 will host tracks dedicated to corporate sustainability, renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building materials and financing. The deadline to submit abstracts has passed, but the conference committee is still accepting abstracts on a first-come basis. Click here for details: http://www.greentechnewsmag.com/energy08_papers.php