Deployed Goat Herd to Save Energy, Money

During the summer of 2010, the extreme overgrowth and underbrush on the hillside behind the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Courthouse in Pasadena, California, prompted the U.S. General Services Administration's Pacific Rim Region property management to take quick action to avoid summer fires. Ultimately, the choice was easy: Use a herd of goats. The decision meant a cost-saving to taxpayers over hiring manual labor and proved to be better for the environment than bulldozers.

The unusually wet winter and spring caused the overgrowth, which, in California, always means the risk of summer wildfires and grass fires because of tinder underbrush. The goats are an efficient vegetation management tool, costing thousands less and taking three days vs. a week for manual labor, with few side effects. Unlike bulldozers, used historically for the annual project, goats control brush and weeds without disturbing the grass and soil. They also do not pollute or leave synthetic chemicals that could run off into lakes and streams or be ingested by other animals.

U.S. Solar Market Heating Up

A recent study by GTM Research, a market analysis company focusing on renewable energy industries, estimated that the U.S. solar market could grow eightfold to $8 billion by 2015. Driving such growth are state policies that require power companies to generate a certain portion of their electricity from renewable sources. Generous federal and state government tax credits aimed at spurring clean energy sector growth have also made such investments more competitive with already-subsidized, traditional fossil fuel plants.

In late November, for example, a Seattle-based solar developer, Summit Power, teamed up with one of the world’s largest manufacturers of photovoltaic solar panels to form a joint venture to build solar plants in the western United States. The new company, NorthLight Power, has signed a contract to provide a California electric utility with power from a 60-megawatt solar farm that will be built in California’s sunny Central Valley and go online in mid-2013. Read more.

Volvo Group Contributes to Carbon-Neutral Airports

In partnership with Schmidt and Swedavia, the Volvo Group is participating in a field test to trial the world’s first biogas-fueled snow sweeper. The vehicle is equipped with two nine-liter Volvo engines fueled by biogas combined with conventional diesel, which may ultimately be replaced by biodiesel, enabling entirely carbon-neutral driving.

The state-owned company Swedavia aims to make all of its 14 airports in Sweden carbon-neutral in terms of upkeep and maintenance. Daily operations involve the deployment of an extensive fleet of machinery comprising Volvo products featuring customized equipment, including snow removal machines that keep the runways clear of snow. Read more.

Hawaii Hydrogen Infrastructure Gets Boost

Ten companies, agencies and universities have joined an initiative between The Gas Company (TGC), and General Motors to make hydrogen-powered vehicles and a fueling infrastructure a reality in Hawaii by 2015.

The plan, called the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative (H2I), aims to integrate hydrogen as an essential building block for Hawaii’s sustainable energy ecosystem. The effort to reduce the state’s 90 percent dependence on imported oil is expected to make hydrogen available to all of Oahu’s 1 million residents by 2015. The goal is for 20 to 25 hydrogen stations to be installed in strategic locations around the island. Read more.

Skanska to Launch Green Office Project, Lustgården, in Stockholm - Invests SEK 1.4 Billion

Skanska is starting the first phase of the Lustgården office project on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. According to Skanska, the property will be the largest green office project in the Nordics and the most environmentally compatible project developed by Skanska to date. The investment amounts to approximately SEK 1.4 billion and the construction contract for Skanska Sweden to approximately SEK 1 billion, which will be included in the fourth quarter order bookings.

The phase starting now comprises about 35,000 square meters of modern office premises. A second phase, consisting of an additional 20,000 square meters, is on the starting blocks when demand requires it. The investment is Skanska’s single largest investment to date in the development of new offices. In a third phase, approximately 170 new residences are planned. Skanska expects to invest a total of approximately SEK 2.5 billion in the project in the next few years. Read more.

Swedish Hamburger Chain Max Committed to Sustainable Practices

Max is a family owned hamburger restaurant chain in Sweden. The company dates back to 1968, when Curt Bergfors and his fiancée Britta Andersson opened the first MAX Restaurant in Gällivare, a small Swedish city just north of the Arctic Circle. In 2008 Max became the first company in the world to publically disclose declarations of CO2 emissions for all its products. Furthermore, and in addition to a number of other corporate social responsibility programs, MAX offsets its entire carbon footprint through agro forestry programs in Africa.

In the process, Max turned to the international NGO for strategic sustainable development, The Natural Step (TNS). In the summer of 2007, a model for collaboration between Max and TNS was agreed upon. The project started in September 2007 and early results could be presented in May 2008, encouraging further efforts. The Natural Step (TNS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to research, education, and consultancy in sustainable development.

Hertz Launches First Electric Vehicle Rental and Carshare Service in the U.S.

Hertz announced today that New York will be the first city to receive electric vehicles (EV) as part company's Hertz Global EV initiative with cars also being delivered to Washington DC and San Francisco. Beginning December 15, 2010, Hertz will make next generation of electric vehicles available to the general public through its Connect by Hertz car sharing operation and, starting today, local area residents and visitors can sign up to be among the first to try an EV such as the smart Electric Drive and Nissan LEAF. Read more.

IKEA US Gives Away Bikes to All 12,400 Employees to Support Sustainable Transport

Truck doors will open, bicycles will be unloaded and the surprise will be disclosed. IKEA US co-workers across the country will then find out that each and every one has a brand new bike to take or ride home.

"It's been a good year for IKEA, so what better way to celebrate our success than to thank our IKEA co-workers who made this happen. Our big reveal today will be a fun day as we unload 12,400 new bikes at IKEA US locations. This is our way of saying 'thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.' We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport," commented Mike Ward, IKEA US President. Read more.

SWECO: Alingsåshem Wins Prize for Renovation of Million Programme Area

Alingsåshem, led by Managing Director Ing-Marie Odegren, has been chosen by the consulting engineering company Sweco as the winner of the 2010 Swedish Energy Prize for its renovation of the Brogården residential area.

Prior to renovation, the Brogården residential development from the first half of the 1970s consisted of 300 old and run-down rental units. With the use of passive building techniques, energy consumption in the units has now been reduced by 75 per cent. “We have taken a holistic approach to the renovation project. The focus has been on energy and environmental consideration, but at the same time we have worked hard to create economic and social sustainability. We want Brogården to be a safe and attractive area where people enjoy living,” says Ing-Marie Odegren, Managing Director of Alingsåshem. Read more.

DOE and Seven Other Agencies Launch Energy Export Initiative

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today joined seven other U.S. Government agencies in launching the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative, a coordinated effort to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency exports.

Tres Amigas Proposes First Renewable Energy Market Hub

The United States is looking for solutions to connect its three separate power grids. If successful, power from wind and solar would be possible to transport across the country.

Tres Amigas is developing a $1 billion connecting hub that would work like a traffic roundabout for the nations three main grids so that large amounts of electricity can be moved from our producing regions to consuming regions; using superconductor electricity pipelines from American Superconductor.

America's Largest PV Power Plant Is Now Live

Renewable energy world reports that the largest PV power plant in the U.S. quietly went online in Boulder City, Nevada, about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Sempra Generation's 48-MW Copper Mountain Solar Facility began construction in January 2010 and on Dec 1st, the company announced that it had finished the project and the facility was now generating electricity. At its peak, Sempra said, more than 350 construction workers were installing the 775,000 First Solar panels that power the plant on the 380-acre site. Full article.

Ericsson Highlights the Role of ICT in Addressing Climate Change

Between November 29 and December 10, world leaders are meeting in Cancún, Mexico for the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to engage in global climate negotiations. To date, much of the focus in the climate negotiations has been on cleaning up the emissions problem after it has already occurred. This year Ericsson is actively engaging with stakeholders in Cancún to promote the use of ICT solutions, which can be transformative when helping to reduce or even avoid future CO2 emissions. Ericsson has been working with the Mexican government and industry peers for the past six months in order to bring forward this message to global leaders and climate negotiators in Cancún. Raising awareness of what ICT solutions can do to increase energy efficiency in all sectors of society is the first step. Read more.

Nearly $21 Million to Improve Energy Use in Commercial Buildings

During a live online chat at the White House earlier today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that 24 projects are receiving a total of $21 million in technical assistance to dramatically reduce the energy used in their commercial buildings. This initiative, supported with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will connect commercial building owners and operators with multidisciplinary teams including researchers at DOE's National Laboratories and private sector building experts. The teams will design, construct, measure, and test low-energy building plans, and will help accelerate the deployment of cost-effective energy-saving measures in commercial buildings across the United States. Read more.

Swedish Trade Council Hosted SAGA Session, Convened Leaders in Sustainable ICT

On December 2, leading Swedish and American actors in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector convened at the Swedish Trade Council in Stockholm to discuss the role of ICT in making cities more sustainable. The SAGA session was opened by U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Matthew Barzun and moderated by Håkan Dahlfors and Cecilia Schartau from the Trade Council.

Participants: Gunnar Söderholm, Director of the Health and Health Administration the City of Stockholm; Baard Eilertsen, CEO Maingate; David Mothander, Nordic Policy Councel Google; Elaine Weidman, Vice President for Sustainabiliy and CSR Ericsson; Andreas Lundgren, External Relations Manager IBM Sweden; Jakob Lind, CEO Futurniture; Björn Qvist, Business Manager ÅF; Henrik Tegnér, Sustainability Services Accenture Nordics.

Purdue’s Nobel Winner Wants Energy Solution

A Purdue University professor who will receive the Nobel Prize in chemistry in Sweden next week is deciding how he’ll use his new prominence, though he appears focused on finding solutions to energy and food shortages. Professor Ei-ichi Negishi – who is getting offers to speak and teach around the world – said the unfulfilled job of chemistry is to find a safe, renewable energy solution.

“I don’t think chemists can stop wars. That is someone else’s job. But we chemists can definitely solve energy-related issues,” he said.

Negishi, 75, grew up in Japan and has been a member of Purdue’s faculty since 1979. The Nobel committee in October awarded the prize to him and two other scientists for their development in the 1960s and ’70s of new ways to bond carbon atoms together, methods now widely used to make medicines and in agriculture and electronics. Read more from AP.

Maine Could Join Other States in Carbon Cap-and-Trade Initiative

The State of Maine is among 10 Northeastern states considering joining a carbon market trading system that includes California and New Mexico, in addition to some Canadian provinces. Maine is already part of the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative--or RGGI--with 9 other Northeastern states. Under the proposal now being considered, the region's carbon cap-and-trade program would be aligned with ones being considered in California and Mexico, and might include several Canadian provinces, according to Bloomberg News.

Major Investment in Biogas and Public Transport in Örebro

On 1 October 2009 the Municipality of Örebro put into action, in conjunction with other public sector organizations, local trade and industry, and local farmers, several parts of a widespread scheme to increase the production and use of biogas (methane). On the same day, new buses using biogas began operating in Örebro. A new and expanded bus route network was introduced just six months later. Read more.

Sweco Planning New Eco-Friendly Annex at University Hospital in Linköping

Sweco has been awarded a major healthcare contract in collaboration with L.E.B Consult. Building service systems consultants from the two companies will be responsible for planning HVAC and plumbing systems in the new annex to be built at University Hospital in Linköping. The new annex will house facilities such as patient wards, emergency care units and clinics for specialist care. The contract covers an area of approximately 53,000 square metres of new construction, all of which is subject to stringent energy targets.

“The goal is for energy consumption in the hospital facilities to amount to less than half of the applicable requirements according to the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning’s regulations. We are therefore studying solutions for both solar heating and free cooling,” says Björn Kleist, Team Leader at Sweco in Linköping. Read more.

University of Delaware to Save $30,000 a Year with Solar Power System

Cleantechnica reports that The University of Delaware has the oldest solar lab in the nation and is now looking to deck its rooftops with solar panels. The University of Delaware has announced that its new solar system will save the University over $30,000 a year. This is 1/3 of the cost of the system (which has a price tag of $90,000), meaning it will pay for itself in 3 years. Read more.

Swedish Clean Tech Export Numbers Going North

Swedish clean tech exports increased 4,8 percent, from approximately SEK 37 Billion to SEK 39 Billion, between 2008 and 2009, according to statistics from Swentec.

SAGA Monthly Report for November Has Been Released

Read the latest issue here.

Research Cruise Pairs U.S., Swedish Vessels on 3,000 Mile-Long Journey

The Swedish icebreaker Oden and U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer will cross about 3,000 miles of ocean between Punta Arenas, Chile, and McMurdo Station. Scientists aboard the vessels will study everything from invasive crabs creeping up the continental slope to decades-old pollutants infiltrating the polar food web.

Since 2007, the NSF has had an agreement with the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and the Swedish Maritime Administration to use the Oden to break a channel in the sea ice to McMurdo Station. The channel allows cargo and fuel ships to access the research station at the end of each austral summer to resupply it with everything from construction material to food to fuel for power plants, ships and planes. Read more.

ABB to Acquire U.S. Baldor Electric Company

Power and automation technology group ABB and Baldor Electric Company, a U.S. business in industrial motors, have agreed that ABB will acquire Baldor in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.2 billion, including $1.1 billion of net debt. ABB reports that the acquisition will strengthen its position as “a leading supplier of industrial motion solutions, and will also enable ABB to tap the huge potential in North America for rail and wind investments, both of which are expected to grow rapidly in coming years.”

ABB says the U.S. market for high-efficiency motors is expected to grow 10 to15 percent in 2011 on the back of new regulations. Read more.

U.S. Firms Up ‘Critical Habitat’ for Polar Bears

New York Times writes that the U.S. Interior Department has designated 187,157 square miles of Alaskan seas and lands as critical to the survival of the polar bear on Wednesday. More than 95 percent of it is offshore, including some areas that may have large undersea oil deposits. Any development in an area that has been declared critical habitat for an endangered or threatened species must undergo extensive scrutiny by federal biologists and is often eventually ruled out. Two populations of polar bears designated as threatened two years ago and thus protected under the Endangered Species Act roam widely in the areas designated by the Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department. Read more.