As cleantech continues to make its mark around the globe, there are certain cities that are coming out as leaders in the global clean technology industry. These cities provide warm atmosphere for cleantech to expand and enable more to use renewable energy and energy efficient products. Provided here is a list of the top cities that are working to make an impact in the
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Los Angeles is known first and foremost for its colossal influence on the entertainment industry but aside from Hollywood, LA is a bustling, massive industrial hub where labor, business and government efforts are working together to make the city’s industries sustainable as well. With access to the ports, a strong, skilled workforce, a robust university presence, and industry
| Article sponsored by Solar Academy International. |
The Curve Lake First Nation Reservation, located north-west of Peterborough, recently added 10 kW of renewable solar
The next wave of California legislation aimed at reducing the state’s energy consumption and meeting mandates for reduced greenhouse gas emissions is set to wash ashore in January 2011 when Assembly Bill 1103 goes into effect. Its approach has commercial building owners, facility managers and real estate brokers throughout the state scrambling to understand the new law and begin collecting the data necessary to get a high-performance energy rating and keep their properties competitive.
Unlike California’s stringent Title 24 building energy efficiency codes that regulate standards for commercial construction and renovations, AB 1103 comes into play when a building is sold, leased in whole or refinanced. Along with the usual financial and transaction disclosures, it requires that building owners provide 12 months of energy-use information, or energy benchmarking, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
AB 1103 is one of the ways the state legislature is working to help achieve the greenhouse gas emission reductions mandated by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, also known as AB 32. Commercial buildings account for more than 35 percent of electricity consumption in California and are significant contributors to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
While facility managers wrestle with ways to make their buildings more cost effective and energy efficient, they often overlook green options for retrofitting restrooms where small changes can have large impacts on water use, waste reduction and improved image.
Reducing water use is the main goal and that when it comes to getting people to use less water, the best way is to make physical changes – most of which will be unnoticed by everyday users. And the key is to control water use without sacrificing comfort and sanitation. That’s according to Cambria McLeod of Kohler Company, speaking at a “Green Commercial Bathrooms” workshop held at the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, Calif., in April.
The quickest and easiest way to reduce commercial restroom water use is to start at the sink. Many older faucets use more than three gallons per minute, but can be modified by simply attaching a low-flow aerator that reduces water at various flows down to half a gallon per minute.
California’s high-tech giants have long used renewable energy to help power their Silicon Valley headquarters. Now, companies such as Google, Adobe Systems, and eBay are preparing for the next step — investing in off-site solar and wind installations and innovative technologies that will supply their offices and data centers with green electricity.
From the street, Adobe Systems’ San Jose headquarters looks like any other collection of skyscrapers that dot the downtown of the self-proclaimed capital of Silicon Valley.
But ascend to a skyway that connects two of the software company’s towers and you’ll find a wind farm. Twenty vertical turbines that resemble a modern art installation slowly rotate in the breeze that blows through a six-floor plaza. Down in the parking garage, a dozen electric car-charging stations have been set up. Adobe, which makes the ubiquitous Flash player software, will install 18 more chargers this year to accommodate workers expected to be first in line when the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, and other battery-powered vehicles roll into Silicon Valley showrooms later this year.