Tag:

sustainability

Cycling industry amounts to 650,000 jobs in the European Union

According to a new report, up to 650,000 people are working within the bicycle economy in the European Union. With the right incentives, these figures could reach a million jobs by 2020 according to the European Cyclists’ Federation.

As The Guardian noted :

If cycling’s 3% share of journeys across Europe were doubled, the numbers employed could grow to over one million by 2020.

(…) The study, which the Guardian has seen, finds that cycling has a higher employment intensity than any other transport sub-sector. Growth in the cycling economy should thus have a higher job creation potential than in the automotive industry for example, which employs three times less people per million euros of turnover.

The ECF calculated that the annual economic benefit of cycling in the EU27 is of at least 205 billion euros (256 billion US Dollars). This includes among other benefits savings on fuels, the various health benefits, the lower traffic congestions and air pollution…

If health benefits are the largest – ranging from 114 to 121 billion euros – tourism is another major positive impact as the impact is believed to be of 44 billion euros.

What if the future of transportation within cities were surprisingly low tech ? Bikes are economical, do not emit carbon dioxide or pollution, keep us fit, enable us to avoid traffic congestion and take almost no place to park. It is high time cities and businesses alike promote this transportation mean to make it the norm.

A study by the World Health Organization points out that 10,000 lives could be saved each year and 76,600 jobs would be created in 54 major cities around the world if their citizens biked as much as the Danes do.

To conclude this article, it is worth noting that in Europe, for every car sold, almost two bicycles currently find a new customer as 20 million bikes are sold per year. If these trends were to continue, cities in the near future would have more bikes than cars. This would free a huge amount of space that would be ready for more

December 17, 2014 1 comment

Green Building

Mid Term Election Results Superb For Green Building

written by Stuart Kaplow

Election Day 2014 in which Republicans made big gains in Congress and statehouses across the country portends huge business opportunities for green building.

As more conservative legislative bodies look to enact environmental and energy policies while driving up growth without enacting new mandates or imposing new taxes, enabling voluntary green building is positioned to be part of the new legislative agendas.

The newly elected Republicans are not 1960s Barry Goldwater environmentalists who favored “federal intervention with regards to the environment.” To the contrary, most of today’s newly elected conservatives believe that a voluntary, non-mandatory approach to environmental protection is the best hope for stewardship of our planet. And that is the same belief that has led to the broad brand and wide market share acceptance of LEED. Many believe that burdening business and land owners with yet more government mandates is wrong and will not be efficacious.

The broad failure of the IgCC to be enacted anywhere suggests a building code that goes far beyond life safety is going too far. Further, the fact that ASHRAE 189.1 has only been implemented by the U.S. military is equally damning. Mandatory green codes and green standards will not be popular in conservative legislative bodies.

Additionally, attempting to mandate that a private land owner must build a LEED or Green Globes certified structure misuses the voluntary rating systems. David Gottfried, the USGBC co-founder who unabashedly believes “all building should be green” said in a recent interview, “LEED was designed as a voluntary standard” acknowledging that “some governments have grabbed onto it.” And Jerry Yudelson, the President of GBI (the Green Globes folks), makes clear he does not advocate mandatory green building laws for private building and he sees “a benefit of allowing the freedom of the marketplace to control this rapidly changing field, where performance counts.”

As transition teams for newly elected officials look for environmental and energy policies that will be no cost to government and not burden business, the environmental industrial complex needs to advocate for government policies that allow and incentivize sustainability and green building (including the resultant reduced electricity use, savings in potable water, less solid waste, eliminating toxics, and more). It is time to stop ridiculing people, who are now in control of Congress and many state legislatures, as climate change deniers (making it a moral issue equating them with Holocaust deniers). And it is time to reconsider the abject failure to of the green building community to articulate the advantages of building sustainability that has resulted in green building no longer being the cool kid.

Not only is green building a solution to many of the environmental impacts arising from human activity, but from an economic perspective it is clear that green building is profitable. There is nothing wrong with making a profit while saving the planet.

These elections have presented an opportunity for the green building industry to thrive.

Green building policies that promote innovation and create an environment rich for investment in real estate can save both mankind and its current way of life; and we all can get wealthy building green.

November 13, 2014 0 comment

Green Building

GRESB Merges with GBCI: What it Means for Survey Respondents

written by Matt Ellis

Just over five years into its existence GRESB, the benchmark for portfolio-level sustainability performance has merged with GBCI, the dominant building-level sustainability certification body.

The move makes clear winners of GRESB (the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) and GBCI (the Green Building Certification Institute): they now have almost total dominion over building- and commercial real estate company-level green certifications and rankings. Arguments for and against the merger have since cropped up. While healthy dialogue will help us get to stronger, more transparent and ultimately more valuable measures of non-financial performance, this post is not about taking sides.

Instead, it’s a look at the merger’s practical impacts on Survey Respondents. From this point of view, the merger is a decidedly good thing. Here’s why:

In order to win the trust of those who would disclose (Survey participants) and purchase its data (Investors), GRESB needed to bring more rigor to its auditing and assurance processes. At its core, this is what the merger is all about. GRESB and GBCI drive this point home in their joint press release: “GBCI’s established expertise providing rigorous third-party review, verification and training, will be extended to the GRESB Survey… Together, GBCI and GRESB will provide investors with reliable information to inform global real estate investment decisions [italics mine].”

But improved rigor doesn’t just build trust in GRESB’s scores and rankings, it’s also a prerequisite of any credible measure of non-financial performance for the global commercial real estate industry. And this is the (unicorn?) data point for which we’re all searching. As rigor increases, GRESB will be in a better position to sift through its haystack of asset- and entity-level information to tell us what truly matters, why and by how much.

This gets to the other benefit of the merger: deeper and higher quality data sets. GBCI’s market visibility and credibility should expand GRESB’s reach. As it ensnares more respondents and increases its Survey sample size, data depth and robustness should similarly improve, helping drive more accurate measures of financial performance. Consequently, investors who fret they’re buying reports filled with dubious data should be assuaged.

As investor confidence in the Benchmark grows, Survey participants can take comfort that a more stable and sophisticated GRESB will translate to more accurate scores and rankings. More accurate scores will carry greater currency with investors, which means the time and expense of sustainability reporting will be worth it. Ultimately, as incentives and market signals for sustainability performance become clearer, companies will devote more resources to taking action on sustainability as opposed to merely disclosing it which, of course, is the whole point. It’s also the moment at which Survey respondents get greatest benefit from participating in GRESB.

While these outcomes are by no means assured – much hard work remains in front of the newly wed organizations – some practical impacts are highly likely:

GBCI will bring enhanced rigor to GRESB’s methodology as well as its data collection and assurance processes.
Greater rigor will enhance the value of GRESB Survey results.
More robust scores and rankings mean investors will use them to scrutinize financial performance.
Greater investor scrutiny will raise the stakes and lead to fiercer competition.

In other words, the bar will get higher.

November 4, 2014 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

Interview: JP McNeill, CEO and Co-Founder of Renovate America

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

Making the Energy Efficient Choice Affordable: PACENow’s David Gabrielson Talks with JP McNeill, CEO and Co-Founder of Renovate America.

David Gabrielson: JP, tell us about your background and how you got interested in PACE.

JP McNeill: Being a father and a spouse and wanting to promote sustainability led me into solar energy. I joined SunEdison, a company working on large scale solar PV projects for commercial, municipal and utility customers and worked with home rule municipalities that could write their own legislation to put assessments on properties in their jurisdictions, and subsequently issue bonds to fund large solar PV installations. This was prior to the first two PACE programs being launched in Berkeley and Palm Desert, CA. In 2008, once I learned about the passage of statewide PACE legislation in California, I left SunEdison and started Renovate America with the goal of creating a solution that would catalyze the mass adoption of EE/RE and water conservation measures at the household level. When home owners move forward with a project that saves them money, they realize that being more energy efficient is in their financial interest, and, ultimately, the concept of being green is not only good for the environment, but is also good for their pocket books. This realization changes people’s behavior further, when they consider what other things they can do to live more efficiently or sustainably. Thus, I think PACE can serve as a catalyst to live more sustainably.

DG: You are talking about community based awareness that comes out of individual homeowners making decisions in their best interest, and in turn sharing sustainable practices with their neighbors.

JM: David, one can make an argument that building a nuclear power plant or a PV system in the desert is a positive thing, but it doesn’t change the behavior at the household level. Putting a solar PV system on one’s home and seeing the impact that it has in terms of saving money, ultimately, results in making other decisions that create a more sustainable culture, which is what I want to be a part of.

DG: So you started in Riverside County and builtthe HERO program that has been successful. What you think is the key to this success?

JM: The HERO program is an energy efficiency financing program and these types of programs, whether they have been implemented by utilities, municipalities or public agencies, have been around for more than sixty years in North America and Europe. Operating any energy efficiency financing program means doing hundreds of things on a daily basis that impact the consumer experience. This covers the gamut from policies, processes, software, workforce training, marketing, etc. It is a culmination of doing many things really well that resulted in the success we have achieved. I’ll give you an example, last month, we handled 30,000 calls from property owners and contractors, received about 3,000 applications, and funded over 1,000 projects. There is a lot of interaction that goes on behind the scenes in order to create a better consumer experience and achieve success.

DG: You also made it simple for contractors, who are the key sales force in the residential market, to sell PACE funded energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades.

JM: One can create a program with accurate documentation, but in order to achieve high levels of participation, it needs to be viewed as a consumer product. Contractors also need to view PACE as a product that can help them. Each property owner and contractor have certain expectations about how things should operate. Similarly, when we use cell phones or turn on a light in a room, we have certain expectations. So if a program is not aligned with a property owner’s and contractor’s expectations, neither party will use it. It requires a tremendous amount of work to build a program that meets consumer’s and contractor’s expectations.

DG: How do you market PACE to property owners?

JM: Homeowners want two things: first they want to know what options they have when it comes to home improvements. Secondly, they want to select the best product, the best contractor and the best financing option. In terms of getting the word out, we do some outreach to homeowners, but it’s difficult and expensive to do a lot of outreach to homeowners. Many homeowners call their bank to see what financing options are available to them. Contractors also inform homeowners what payment options exist, which also includes credit cards and HERO. HERO is a much better option than credit cards, because interest rates are lower, payments are fixed, interest is tax deductible and the payments stay with the property. Thus, we work with contractors to educate them on the benefits of HERO. From the property owner’s perspective, HERO protects them by ensuring that only contractors who are licensed, bonded and in good standing with the program can participate; only products that meet the U.S. Department of Energy Star minimum efficiency standards are available; permits must be pulled for all projects; the contractor must provide fair pricing; and the project must be completed and homeowner must be completely satisfied before payment is made. Unfortunately, if a homeowner uses a bank or credit card, none of these consumer protections exist.

DG: Have you put together a training program? If so, how many contractors have you trained?

JM: We have a certification program and a continuous training program for contractors. So far, over 5,000 people who have registered with the program, which includes field reps, technicians, office staff, and marketing staff. Also, we built partnerships with big box retailers: Lowes and Home Depot. The interaction with the contractor community is never ending. We have a team of people that work with contractors on a daily basis. Our team makes sure that contractors understand how to answer questions from property owners and when to use the call center.

DG: In the commercial arena, contractor training and certification seem to have brought great results in markets where this is being done. Are you seeing an 80/20 rule in action, 20% of contractors you train bring 80% of the leads?

JM: HERO is a new product so there is an adoption curve associated with it. The 80/20 dynamic is more typical in mature markets. The new product paradigm is different. Each one of us adopts new products within a different time period. Some of us are early adopters and some of us are laggards. Over time, as the product matures, more people use it and then I think we will see the 80/20 rule.

DG: Tell us more about the approval process for HERO financing. We’ve heard it’s easy and fast?

JM: We are meeting consumer expectations and providing a service at the level they have been accustomed to. If you don’t meet consumer expectation as it relates to a timely response, they look for alternatives. And credit card financing is an option many homeowners use, not because it’s the cheapest financing, but because it meets their expectations. We are working really hard to offer them a more affordable option.

DG: How many communities in California offer HERO financing? Where do you expect to be in 6 months?

JM: Today, there are 140 cities and counties that have approved HERO. Five of the top 10 cities, 10 of the top 20, and 49 of the top 100 make HERO financing available to their constituents. Over time, we think every city and county will adopt HERO, and probably other programs as well. The ability to offer multiple options will raise awareness of EE/RE, , improve service and lower the price for homeowners. Cities will benefit by creating more jobs, a higher economic stimulus and lower emissions. Plus, they reduce risk, because they shouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket by just offering one program to their residents. Many cities are doing this including San Diego and San Jose.

DG: Is HERO offered anywhere outside of California?

JM: People underestimate how difficult it is to create a successful program, whether it covers a city or a region. We are focused on creating a great consumer experience within the markets we operate in and overtime we will expand to new markets outside of California.

DG: How many homes took advantage of HERO financing? What types of projects were these?

JM: Over 11,000 homeowners have utilized HERO to make improvements to their home to lower their energy bill. Approximately 2/3 of the homeowners financed an energy efficient measure such as insulation, weatherization, efficient furnaces, efficient air-conditioning, efficient roofs and other products that consume less energy. About 1/3 of the homeowners used HERO to purchase solar PV systems and charging stations. We are also seeing an increase in homeowners using HERO to finance water efficient measures due to the drought in California.

DG: This is impressive. Are you seeing any trends with mortgage foreclosure rates?

JM: I don’t know if you have ever done a home improvement project, but it’s not what most people want to do on weekends or weekdays. These people move forward with higher quality projects that use less energy because they want to lower their bills and increase their disposable income. As a result, it doesn’t surprise me that we are seeing homes that participate with HERO have a lower mortgage foreclosure rate than homes that would otherwise qualify for HERO, but did not participate. This is important because the lending industry would love to lower utility bills and increase disposable income so that homeowners can pay their mortgage. In fact, the lending industry has long sought to create a financing product that would enable adoption of EE/RE measures for this reason. If we, as an industry, can demonstrate that a PACE product, with proper underwriting and consumer protection, can lower the mortgage default rates, protect the consumer better than other financing products and have a positive impact on job growth and environment, it will be a compelling value proposition for the mortgage industry. We will continue to monitor our portfolio and share data.

DG: Moving on to your position on home energy audits. Do homeowners take advantage of audits through the HERO program?

JM: We certainly encourage audits, but at the end of the day it is up to the property owner to determine whether they want to take advantage of one. When homeowners are in the market to replace broken or poor performing equipment, they are less inclined to purchase other products (audits) with it. Property owners undertake audits when they are looking to do an evaluation of their home. Historically, analysis of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in North America and Europe shows that the more hurdles a program puts in front of a property owner, the less likely it is to achieve a high participation rate.

DG: Let’s talk about the recent securitization of residential PACE bonds.

JM: We started the process to securitize PACE assessments four years ago and began working with rating agencies and attorneys, who went through a very thorough analysis of our portfolio. We are very happy with the outcome.

DG: This issue was privately placed? Are they municipal bonds?

JM: It was a private placement. It was a not a municipal bond product, but an asset backed securities product.

DG: 4.75% seems pretty attractive at this point, but might still be a bit high given the credit strength. It’s still a very illiquid market.

JM: You have to look at the weighted average life of the pool and at the spread: 180 basis points over the swap rate at 11 years. More than anything these numbers are a function of the illiquidity of the asset. When you have a small inventory of assets, you aren’t going to have a significant amount of trading on the secondary market. So any product that was purchased will more than likely, won’t be traded. Overall, credit is strong but liquidity is weak, which has an impact on price. As far as it being AA rated by Kroll, it is hard to find too many AA notes with and 11 years average life that trade at a tighter spread.

DG: What would you tell a homeowner about HERO program?

JP: Consumers have a variety of choices, not everybody qualifies for HERO and there are people who might be able to get a lower cost of financing elsewhere, (although one can’t get the same PACE characteristics in a mortgage or a home equity line). Homeowners should look at all alternatives and find the best option. Our goal is to create a financing mechanism that enables homeowners to select the products they want to save them money.

Article appearing courtesy PACENow.

May 8, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

EU Passes Historic Law Requiring Large Companies to Report on Sustainability

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The European Parliament has passed a historic law that makes it mandatory for the largest companies in Europe to include sustainability factors as an integral part of their annual financial reporting. The law, which was passed with a thumping majority vote of 599-55, will apply to publicly traded companies employing more than 500 workers.

This momentous law will require these companies to report on policies, risks and results with regard to social, environmental and human rights impact, diversity and anti-corruption policies in their annual reports. The law was first proposed in 1999 by Richard Howitt, European Parliament Rapporteur on Corporate Social Responsibility. Howitt has welcomed the vote as a major step towards “integrated reporting” by businesses across the world.

Howitt said that all the evidence points towards the fact that transparency is the best way to change business behavior. This European law will help the global economy make a leap in the transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy for the future. The law will encourage businesses to use recognized reporting frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Teresa Fogelberg, GRI’s deputy chief executive, said that this new law is the vital catalyst needed to usher in a new era of transparency in the largest economic region in the world. The companies that fall under the ambit of this law must not only report on issues concerning sustainability, but must also describe their business model, outcomes and risks of their policies with regard to these issues, as well as their diversity policy for management and supervisors.

Small businesses are currently exempt from this law, but because of the fact that the large companies will be required to report information on their supply chains, the ramifications of this law will reach far enough to impact businesses across the supply chains. Addressing the supply chains in the area of sustainability is the next big challenge for large companies, and this law brings EU one step closer to achieving this goal.

Article by Vikas Vij of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.

April 21, 2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

Linkin Park, Lawrence Bender & Henry Waxman at UCLA Fundraiser

written by Sarah Backhouse

The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) honored musicians Linkin Park, producer Lawrence Bender and U.S. Representative Henry Waxman for each of their environmental accomplishments at their Evening of Excellence fundraiser. The event was held at a private estate owned by Tony and Jeanne Pritzker in Beverly Hills. Visit http://www.environment.ucla.edu/ for more information.

April 17, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Local Energy Rules Episode 20 – The Power of Collective Energy Purchasing

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

“We can’t do it as an individual, But four hundred communities aggregating and asking for local wind power and solar power – that’s really powerful.”

Oak Park, IL, is one of hundreds of Illinois towns using their authority to buy electricity in bulk on behalf of its residential and small business customers. So far, most communities have used the policy – known as community choice aggregation – to negotiate for less expensive electricity compared to the default electric utility, Commonwealth Edison. Many have also purchased renewable energy credits with their power, but it’s not clear if the practice is greening or green-washing the power supply.

Learn more about the incremental steps forward with community choice aggregation in Illinois and the potential for much greater collaboration between cities in this interview with outgoing Sustainability Manager K.C. Doyle of Oak Park, recorded via Skype on Mar. 28, 2014.

K.C. is also the founder of the Prairie State Local Government Sustainability Network, providing peer-to-peer networking of municipal officials around sustainability and climate planning.

Starting an Avalanche of Local Control in Illinois
The Illinois state legislature authorized “community choice aggregation” in 2009, allowing cities in this already deregulated electricity market to buy energy in bulk for their customers. It’s a 20-year-old policy, and such local city (or county) aggregations serve about 5% of utility customers in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and California. Most states

Uptake of local aggregation was slow at first. Only a couple other communities had tried it when Oak Park city staff brought the issue to their town board in December 2010. The city held its referendum in April 2011, and two-thirds of voters approved of the city taking more control over electricity purchases.

By the end of 2012, dozens of Illinois communities had held votes approving local electricity purchase aggregation.

Cheap, Clean, or Both?
Once the town board had voter approval for aggregation, it began discussing options. The city could simply bid for cheaper electricity, or it could focus on more energy efficiency and renewable energy.

One of the city’s goals was to use a small fraction of the potential energy savings to set up an energy efficiency fund to offer energy audits or upgrade city lighting. That concept was dropped because of concerns that, amidst what was already a somewhat complex discussion for a small city, residents might perceive this fund as some sort of energy tax.

On clean energy, the decision was easier, although the outcome remains murky. Doyle notes that citizens were very clear in their interest in renewable energy:

“The answer was overwhelmingly…yes, we want the best price possible and yes, we want renewable energy as our power mix. In fact, we want it all renewable energy.”

In fall of 2011, the city went out to bid for green energy, with 100% of it covered by renewable energy credits (RECs) from wind power.

RECs – Renewable Energy Credits
ILSR and others have explained the concept of RECs elsewhere, but what’s important to understand is that buying RECs didn’t change the actual source of electricity flowing to Oak Park homes and businesses, nor did it mean the construction of new renewable energy facilities.

“We are not getting wind power through our electric socket…we’re getting the same mix everyone in northern Illinois is getting from ComEd…but we can say we offset that purchase with the purchase of wind RECs,” says Doyle, by “buying the environmental benefit of an already built wind farm in our energy market area (PJM),” which spans five states and part of Canada.

What’s clear is that the competitive energy market doesn’t offer small cities like Oak Park much choice.

“If you’re a large enough aggregation (e.g. Chicago), you can go right to the source” and get wind energy from a specific wind power provider in Illinois or even sign a long-term supply contract. With just 20,000 electric accounts, Oak Park doesn’t have the market leverage. Using long term contracts wasn’t of interest to the city board, either, since the board didn’t want to sign contracts longer than their terms of office (6 years).

Organizing to Move Beyond RECs
But cities like Oak Park do have a choice to increase their market power: join with their neighbors.

The North Shore Electricity Aggregation, for example, serves eight municipalities north of Chicago and bids on behalf of the entire group. The Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus also established a “reverse auction platform” allowing cities to solicit bids simultaneously from energy supply companies. But that platform still only helps communities with similar energy use profiles. “The more alike you are,” says Doyle, “the easier time [suppliers] have bidding on your aggregation.”

The move toward larger aggregations may also help promote local renewable energy. While their first bid was limited to wind RECs in the larger PJM market area, the 2014 bid from Oak Park will ask for RECs from Illinois-only wind farms. Perhaps in future years they’ll shift toward procuring renewable energy locally, as Marin Clean Energy has done in northern California.

The focus on clean energy is tricky, though. The city remains “very price sensitive” as ComEd’s rates come down, says Doyle. They “want to remain competitive.”

What’s Next for Local Energy Aggregation?
Early aggregations in Illinois were able to take advantage of a unique situation to obtain much lower energy prices, but that situation has changed. They’ll need strategies beyond price to keep aggregation a “value add” for their residents.

Cities can take up and invest in energy efficiency. They can solicit bids for electricity contracts that include real-time pricing or demand response. And they should always ask for a price for local renewable energy, says Doyle:

“Every single community should ask the question…you are showing the suppliers that you have a very, very interested community in supporting the local renewable energy industry. It’s powerful information for decision makers, legislators, Illinois Power Agency…four hundred communities aggregating and asking for local wind power and solar power – that’s really powerful.”

Ultimately, communities should build on the success of collective action.

“We do this really great thing together, we banded together, we went out for a cheaper price and we saved a ton of money. $5 million in 2 years…there’s a lot of [community] pride around that.”

Article by John Farrell, appearing courtesy Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

April 17, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Fuel Cells Power Up: Three Surprising Places Where Hydrogen Energy is Working

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The concept is tantalizing: Use abundant hydrogen to fuel vehicles and power plants, producing nothing but water and heat as a byproduct. The advent of hydrogen fuel cells would help provide the energy the world needs, while slashing greenhouse gas emissions and curbing our dependence on oil.

If that notion seems too good to be true, that’s because it has been. Despite a flurry of investment in fuel cells over the past two decades, the vision articulated by former President George W. Bush of an America leading the world in producing “pollution-free” vehicles that run on hydrogen has seemingly evaporated into thin air. But the fuel cell is far from dead—indeed, it is gaining a commercial foothold in some niches, evidenced most recently by news that megaretailer Walmart is expanding its use of fuel cells to power forklifts at its stores.

Such implementations of fuel cells, which use hydrogen and oxygen to produce energy via an electrochemical reaction, are small but growing exponentially. According to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report released last October, annual global shipments of fuel cell systems increased sixfold between 2008 and 2012. And at least one major analyst forecasts that the market for some fuel cells will grow from $1.4 billion to $40 billion by 2022.

Still, industry players speak with an awareness of the gap between the lofty hopes that have been pinned to fuel cells and the market reality. “Fuel cells can’t do everything for everyone,” said Chip Bottone, president and CEO of the Connecticut-based power company FuelCell Energy, “but we are getting to a point where we could play a very significant role.”

Lower Emissions, but Higher Costs

Fuel cells come in a wide variety of types and applications, from stationary cells that produce energy for both primary and backup power to systems used in vehicles like cars and forklifts. But so far, the cost of producing fuel cell technologies remains a barrier to widespread adoption, as does a lack of fueling infrastructure for hydrogen cars.

And hydrogen, despite being abundant and clean when employed in a fuel cell, must be harvested. Nearly all the hydrogen produced in the United States comes from natural gas in a process called steam reforming. Other potential feedstocks include coal or biomass. It is also possible to use emissions-free nuclear or renewable power to harvest hydrogen by electrolysis—running an electric current through water to break the bond between hydrogen and oxygen.

Even when fossil fuel is used as a feedstock to produce hydrogen, fuel cells can offer significant emissions benefits. Research by the the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggests that in a “well to wheels” analysis, hydrogen cars fed by natural gas can cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than a third compared to conventional gasoline cars, and by more than half if the hydrogen is produced from biomass. Emissions are zero once the fuel cell is operating.

Here are three areas where fuel cells are making inroads, plus another one that shows promise:

Forklifts

In February, Plug Power announced a deal to supply 1,738 hydrogen-powered forklifts and associated infrastructure to Walmart. Although Plug had been around since 1997 and had never seen a profit—explaining why its shares sank from nearly $1,500 in 2000 to 15 cents in 2013—over the course of the next two weeks, the company’s stock nearly tripled in value.

Short-selling was a factor in the run-up, but there was no denying that 1,738 was a big number, one that confirmed a real and growing market for materials-handling equipment (MHE) powered by fuel cells. NREL research suggests the switch from lead-acid batteries makes sense: In a test of 490 units that operated for a total of 1.5 million hours, the lab found them to be reliable and capable of saving about 10 percent in costs.

“If you have a big distribution center and have several dozen forklifts running, you’ll see productivity gains using fuel cells,” said Keith Wipke, who manages fuel cell research programs for NREL. A fuel cell forklift can be refueled in a minute or two, a small fraction of the time it can take to swap out a battery. Fuel cell forklifts offer another edge, too: While the battery-powered forklifts degrade in performance as their charge winds down, fuel cell forklifts run at full power until empty.

A big chunk of the deployment over the past five years was driven by 2009 stimulus-related funds, as well as incentives that won’t last forever. NREL says that continued, long-term growth of fuel cells in the MHE sector could hinge on whether the systems that are put into use prove to be as durable as promised.

Electricity for Homes and Businesses

The world’s largest fuel cell plant, a 59-megawatt facility in South Korea that opened earlier this year, provides both power and heat to homes in Hwasung. Another fuel cell “park” is set to be built in Seoul. Those cities join several municipalities and companies that are using fuel cell power plants to provide baseload electricity for homes, data centers, fulfillment centers, and similar applications.

Government subsidies have played a key role in the approval of these projects. In the United States, for example, stationary fuel cells are aided now by incentives in a few states and by a federal tax credit of up to 30 percent that expires in 2017. The relatively low price of natural gas as feedstock for these plants is helping as well.

Fuel cell power plants still are not close to competing with the size and cost-effectiveness of large gas-fired power plants, but when they can overcome their most persistent obstacle—high capital costs—they can deliver significant amounts of relatively clean, continuous-baseload energy that beats grid rates in states where energy costs are high.

Chip Bottone of FuelCell Energy, which provided the systems for the South Korea plant, acknowledges that competing on price will be key for fuel cells. “We can’t be a business that needs a significant incentive,” he said. Bottone said his company could build systems with a capacity of one megawatt or more that could deliver electricity at a cost of 13 to 14 cents per kilowatt-hour. With the current incentives, he said, they can “play in the nine to ten range,” which is about the average retail going rate in the United States.

For companies such as eBay, Apple, and Macy’s, fuel cell installations can help provide power at a stable cost while boosting operational sustainability. Verizon, when it announced the installation of systems from stationary fuel cell maker ClearEdge Power at various Verizon sites in New Jersey, New York, and California, said the use of fuel cells and solar would “reduce our carbon footprint, relieve demand on the electrical grid and enhance the resiliency of our proven service continuity—even during outages.” In the United States, stationary fuel cell customers commonly include universities, hospitals, and data centers.

Apartment complexes are also proving ripe for installations, but that’s about the extent of residential fuel cell use in the United States; at such a small scale, “the economics are tough,” said Dave Anderson, vice president of product management and strategy at ClearEdge. (An appreciable amount of home use is happening in just one place: Japan. With the energy shortage and rising costs following the 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi, consulting firm Navigant says about 70,000 Japanese homes are using fuel cell systems to provide energy and cooling and heating.)

Backup Power for Telecom

Fuel cells are also proving their worth as backup power, a key advantage in a world of more frequent extreme weather. As this Department of Energy post notes, cell phone towers that had backup from fuel cells kept running without issue during Hurricane Sandy, allowing communication to remain open.

While stationary fuel cells do offer protection against grid failures, they actually operate continuously, Anderson notes, “with the grid as backup.” But with the Department of Energy helping spur deployments, fuel cells that can start up quickly in case of emergency have been deployed at thousands of remote telecom network towers, and Sprint recently said it would work with the DOE to put the technology to work at rooftop network sites.

Proponents of fuel cells note that, because they have fewer moving parts than diesel generators, they have lower maintenance costs and lower failure rates. They can also be controlled and monitored remotely, while producing little noise and zero emissions. That makes them the perfect backup power source, not only for telecommunications but for any site that needs uninterrupted power. The fuel cell company Ballard Power Systems argues that, though its hydrogen fuel cell backup generator system costs a few thousand dollars more than a conventional diesel-fueled system, it will pay for itself within three years and ultimately save more than $8,000. (It should be noted, however, that Ballard’s scenario assumes the availability of the 30 percent U.S. federal tax credit.)

Cars and Buses: Gaining Speed

Long after President Bush began a push to bring fuel cell cars to market, several automakers are advancing beyond the demonstration cars they began deploying a decade ago. Hyundai is now marketing a fuel cell version of its Tucson sedan, while Toyota and Honda will follow suit with their own fuel cell models next year. Meanwhile, NREL is evaluating a number of fuel cell bus demonstrations in the United States and Canada. In its most recent analysis, a 20-bus fleet operating in Whistler, Canada, over two years saved 4,400 tons in carbon dioxide emissions; on the downside, maintenance costs for the buses were 58 percent higher than for their diesel counterparts.

A host of factors are inspiring this transition from “the stuff of science fiction to something real,” as Scott Samuelsen, director at the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California Irvine, put it: Carmakers have figured out how to use less of the expensive catalyst platinum in the fuel cells; improved fuel cells can now start up quickly and operate well in cold weather that used to cause freeze-ups; range can easily hit 300 miles, thanks to storage tanks that hold more compressed hydrogen; and a fueling infrastructure is on its way in California, backed by taxpayers.

The last point is particularly important. There are now just nine public hydrogen fueling stations in all of the Golden State (compared to about 10,000 gasoline stations) and a single station—even just an island at an existing gasoline station—can cost upward of $2 million. But with the state now picking up more than half the installation costs, California expects to have 68 strategically placed stations open to the public by 2017. For the several thousand or so fuel cell cars expected to be on the road, “This will offer accessibility,” Samuelsen said. Then, “as more people choose these cars, we move into a phase of expanding capacity.”

Some, like Tesla’s Elon Musk, beg to differ. Last year, he offered a profanity-laced dismissal of fuel cells’ viability. But Samuelsen, citing the greater range and quicker refueling times that fuel cell vehicles offer, said it would be wrong to view the future of cars as a winner-take-all battle between battery electrics and fuel cells. “I see families having one of each,” he said—a small battery electric that can be charged daily at home or work for short-range city driving, and a bigger fuel cell vehicle for longer excursions, fueled periodically at a filling station just like today’s gasoline cars.

Even the most optimistic of fuel cell vehicle advocates will surely concede that, as U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in January, “there is still the need for substantial cost reduction” in order for such cars to truly be viable on the market. Yet there’s also a firm belief that the cars will eventually make it. NREL’s Wipke said, “Even in the depths of the recession, the car companies, by and large, didn’t give up. That showed me that this wasn’t greenwashing. They really see this as the future.”

Article by Pete Danko for National Geographic.

April 4, 2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

BrightFarms to Build the World’s Largest Urban Greenhouse for Giant Food Stores

written by

Giant Food Stores has inked a deal with BrightFarms, a pioneer in constructing greenhouses attached to supermarkets, to build the world’s largest urban greenhouse. The greenhouse will extend over an area of 100,000 square feet. It will deliver nearly one million pounds of fresh produce a year to about 30 Giant supermarkets in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

BrightFarms specializes in building as well as operating greenhouses, and expects the new greenhouse to open this fall. In addition to providing produce through the greenhouse, the company plans to open this massive facility to schools as an educational tool on urban agriculture and sustainability.

With a number of its greenhouses under development in areas such as Kansas City, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and St. Paul, BrightFarms is effectively promoting the urban greenhouse concept. Its deal with Giant Food Stores is the latest in a string of partnerships that the company has fostered with supermarket chains. Its other major supermarket partners include A&P, Cub and Pathmark. Marsh Supermarkets has recently signed with the company for a greenhouse in Indianapolis that will serve 97 stores in the region.

BrightFarms also has the expertise to design and build rooftop farms. It has built a 10,000-square-foot farm atop an affordable rental building in the Bronx. The farm makes use of the building’s waste heat and water harvested from the roof. It provides fresh vegetables to nearly 4,500 low-income residents who otherwise would not have affordable access to fresh food.

BrightFarms employs the same business model of leasing instead of owning greenhouses, which has already worked so well in the case of solar systems. BrightFarms takes total responsibility for its greenhouses and rooftop farms by financing, building and operating them. A long-term purchase agreement is signed by the supermarkets that partner with the company in these projects. The supermarkets get the advantage of fixed, reliable prices with minimal volume commitments.

BrightFarms was launched in 2011 with an initial funding of $4.3 million. It raised another $4.9 million in January this year to finance its growing operations.

Article by Vikas Vij of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.

April 2, 2014 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

New York City Bets On Energy Efficiency To Boost Sustainability

written by

The world needs to make a transition to renewable energy as part of a global sustainability project, but until solar, wind and other renewables become the norm, there’s one solution that is available now: energy efficiency. More energy efficient buildings means less energy and fewer emissions, besides huge savings. However, financing projects is not always easy, since payback is not immediate, putting lenders off.

But New York City is looking at this issue in a different light, thanks to two initiatives. New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) and the recently launched New York State green bank are offering solutions for clean energy financing in New York City and State, respectively. They leverage expertise and financial resources to convert inefficient buildings into clean, high-performing investments. Best of all, they can offer custom-built financing options that are too attractive for building owners to turn down.

“Clean energy building upgrades have an important role to play in the new Mayor’s promise to increase affordable housing in NYC, and innovative financing program’s like those offered through the city and state’s green banks are exactly what New York needs to ensure a greener, cleaner, and more affordable living experience,” wrote Susan Leeds, NYCEEC’s CEO, in a recent blog post.

Take the example of LEEDS highlighted Franklin Plaza, a Mitchell-Lama housing co-op in East Harlem that has taken advantage of the city’s new energy finance offerings. Franklin Plaza recently closed on the first tranche of its $3.8 million loan through the NYC Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Program for Energy Retrofit Loans, a program enabled by HDC’s partnership with NYCEEC. THis investment will result in measurable environmental benefits: a 15 percent reduction in energy use, which equals a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions.

NYCEEC recently announced $50 million in financing available through a range of products and partnerships. These include equipment loans, mortgage lending, credit enhancements and energy services agreements, covering a range of services and upgrades to improve the performance of a building.

Article by Antonio Pasolini of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.

March 5, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Apple Stands Behind its Focus on the Environment

written by 2GreenEnergy

One thinks of Apple CEO Tim Cook as being an extremely calm person, but he drew a hard line against a conservative faction of shareholders who complained that the company should focus entirely on its bottom line, and knock off its demand for renewable energy and its participation in other sustainability initiatives aimed at stemming climate change and reducing other forms of environmental damage. According to this CNET article, “To any who found the company’s environmental dedication either ideologically or economically ill-advised, they can ‘get out of the stock,’ Cook said.”

The article continues:

Cook came back with a harsh reminder that despite the company’s mounds of cash, it is not in the business of caving to shareholder demands, especially politically motivated ones. “We do a lot of things for reasons besides profit motive,” Cook said. “We want to leave the world better than we found it.”

Wow. When I see moral character like this, it makes me proud to be a human being, and it gives me renewed hope that humankind can find a path to sustainable living here on Earth. Nice going, Tim.

March 3, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Pedal Power for Solar Power

written by Walter Wang

We love a good adventure, especially for a good cause – so we’re excited to announce that we are one of Climate Ride’s newest beneficiaries, and we’re looking for intrepid cyclists to join us!

Climate Ride is the nation’s largest cycling event raising support for organizations dedicated to climate change issues, renewable energy and sustainability. Amazing riding, epic scenery, and great speakers all combine to make this a remarkable experience. And the best part? When you ride for Vote Solar your fundraising directly supports our work to power the country with clean, homegrown solar energy!

You can ride for Vote Solar in any of Climate Ride’s 4 events across the country this year. But the soonest one in May – a California wine country trek from San Francisco to Sacramento – is filling up fast. Other rides include NYC to DC and Grand Rapids to Chicago (both in September) and there’s even a hike in Glacier National Park if that’s more your thing.

Need some more info? Check out the Climate Ride website for more details or give Ashley a holler at (415) 817-5063 or ashley@votesolar.org.

Vote Solar is a non-profit grassroots organization working to fight climate change and foster economic opportunity by bringing solar energy into the mainstream.

February 26, 2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

IBM Harnesses Crowdsourcing in the Amazon Rainforest to Educate and Conserve

written by Walter Wang

A year ago, we reported on an IBM effort called Water Watchers, an android app and portal that makes it possible for citizens to report water issues in South Africa. Now, IBM is at it again, harnessing its core competencies in big data and app development to solve social and environmental issues, while educating citizens and earning

February 24, 2014 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

Submersive Tech Cools Supercomputers and Cuts Costs

written by Walter Wang

The digital economy has brought uncounted positive benefits, but it has also created one major sustainability problem. What to do about the growing energy requirements of larger, more power-hungry servers and supercomputers? And what to do about the heat given off by these larger, more powerful machines and data centers that make huge

February 18, 2014 0 comment

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