greentechmedia Archives - Page 3 of 4

Making Affordable Multifamily Housing Greener A Good Thing

Center for American Progress President Barack Obama’s Climate Action Plan, announced at Georgetown University in June, outlined an ambitious agenda to address the increasing dangers of climate change. Although the proposed regulatory standards on existing and new power plants have taken center stage in public discussion, the president’s agenda also included several noteworthy proposals to support the important aim of increasing access to energy efficiency and clean energy technologies in affordable multifamily housing. To reduce the deadly threat of climate disruption, it is essential to rein in polluting energy use, especially the wasteful conventional consumption of electricity in buildings. Currently, large multifamily residential buildings represent a huge source of energy inefficiency, but they also hold the promise of being smart and cost-effective places to make deep savings. Low-income affordable housing in particular can help open this market, improving financial…

EV Review: A Game-Changing Electric Small Car

TopSpeed, Kirby Garlitos published on Greentechmedia The Chevrolet Spark EV appears to be a game-changer in the all-electric small car market. At least that might be the case if you’re living in Oregon or California, the only states that Chevrolet will be selling the Spark EV in for now. No mention of any expansion has been made, and we probably shouldn’t expect a decision to be made anytime soon. For one, there still aren’t a lot of these models around and it can be argued that sales of the Spark EV will be on a limited basis. If the model proves to be a hit, like Chevrolet is banking on, then we might see more states get their hands on the all-electric Spark. For now, it’s Oregon and California, two states that look to be perfect markets for the Spark EV. One of these places is a blessing to drive, with gorgeous scenic routes everywhere you look, while the other is -- well, let’s just say if you want to make the most out of an EV, California’s the place to be. …

UK Unplugs To Advance Offshore Wind

Pete Danko for Earthtechling It sounds like a contradiction, but to get more power at less cost from offshore wind turbines, the UK is looking to back projects that don’t require a grid connection – and, in some cases, don’t even have turbines. Here’s what’s going on: The Crown Estate, which manages the waters off the UK’s vast coastline, has put out a call for test and demonstration projects that seek to advance offshore wind technology in areas such as “foundations, cable laying and operations and maintenance procedures.” image via London Array Offshore wind power has a wide range of advantages over land-based wind power. People find it less objectionable, the wind is more consistent, the turbines can be made larger … the list goes on. But it’s pricey. Last year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance put the levelized cost of offshore wind at about $212 per megawatt-hour, more than twice that for land-base wind. A U.K. goal is to drive the cost down to £100/MWh by 2020 – about…

Top 6 Cities Leading The Green Building Revolution

Beth Buczynski from Earthtechling Unless they’re from Kansas or North Carolina, most people agree that green building makes sense–environmentally and financially. Instead of nagging people to unplug their appliances after use or use air conditioning sparingly, we’re now designing buildings with materials and technologies that conserve energy automatically. Although we may all agree that building green is smart, not everyone embraces it with the same enthusiasm. Some people even see “sustainable development” as part of a world domination plot hatched by business-hating hippies. Thankfully, there are some places where such claims are ignored, along with inefficient windows and toxic paint. The infographic below compares the efforts of six leading cities–New York, Vancouver, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm–providing a bird’s eye view of how cities are embracing the green revolution in the race to drastically reduce global CO2 emissions. Infographic via Ho…

The Big Book of Building Energy Data, 2008-2012

Jeff St. John for GreenTechMedia The past four years have seen the flowering of energy efficiency in the commercial and industrial sectors, with new technology, new financial models and old-fashioned bottom-line cost-cutting pressures driving the trend. But what’s the big picture that emerges from this broad shift toward cleaner, greener buildings? Last week, nationwide energy management firm Ecova released a white paper that helps answer some of those questions. Ecova, a subsidiary of Spokane, Wash.-based utility Avista, manages about $20 billion a year in energy bills for Fortune 500 companies and others, with a client base that adds up to about 8 percent of the country’s power demand, making its big data repository a pretty good benchmark for what’s going on in the energy management sector. Here are some highlights from the report, which covers changes between 2008 and 2012, along with charts that help explain where the trend lines are headed. Consider it yet anothe…

BMW New Sporting Hybrid: “Concept Active Tourer Outdoor”

by Nino Marchetti via Earthtechling BMW, even as it prepares to debut the i3 as its first ever electric car under its i brand, continues to tinker with concepts envisioning the use of green vehicle technology in different scenarios. It previously brought to public light the Concept Active Tourer, a plug-in hybrid crossover, and now refines this design study in the form of the Concept Active Tourer Outdoor. Described by BMW as a “fresh route to combining sporting aesthetics and style with sustainable drive technology, compact dimensions and functionality,” the Active Tourer Outdoor’s drivetrain system marries a transversely mounted 1.5-litre petrol engine with front-wheel drive with an electric motor that offers total system output of over 140 kW/190 hp. Performance specifications of this hybrid are fairly decent, going to 100 km/h (62 mph) in under eight seconds and hitting a top speed of around 200 km/h (125 mph). Average fuel consumption comes in under 2.5 litres per…