Too often, brilliant green ideas stay on paper. This year for the fifth time, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is helping some of them actually reach the general public. The global competition encourages people to think creatively about fighting climate change.  Previous winners have gone on to achieve success with their innovative products and services, thanks in part to the publicity and network around the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge.

The Dutch Postcode Lottery received 717 entries from 81 countries in this year’s Green Challenge. Six were named finalists – two from the Netherlands and one each from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Actor Brad Pitt wished the finalists good luck in a video message. William McDonough, guru of sustainable building and production, announced the winner’s name.

Nick Christy of Australia has won the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2011 with his Water Recycling Shower. He will receive €500,000 to bring it to market. The shower system cuts water and energy use and costs by 70 per cent without compromising comfort. It works by heating water just before use and sterilising and reusing the excess.This patented shower system reduces water and energy use and cost by 70 per cent without impairing enjoyment. Showering represents households’ biggest use of water and second largest use of energy, but existing green solutions suffer from reduced water flow, length and temperature. This product combines an electrical element that heats the water, recirculation of warm water, and a heat exchanger that runs cooler water past hotter water.

The jury awarded a runner-up prize of €200,000 to Eden Full, 19, of Canada, whose SunSaluter, a $10 bamboo and metal rotator, boosts solar panels’ effectiveness by 40 per cent by tilting them towards the sun.  This $10 rotating tracker increases solar panels’ energy output by up to 40 per cent. A simple mechanism of sustainable bamboo and metal tilts the panels toward the sun. Electricity-free, it needs less maintenance than existing systems. Two prototypes have been deployed in Kenya. The SunSaluter provides a solution to the costliness of high-output solar systems and is easier to use and greener than motorised rotators. Suited to small- and large-scale use, it can encourage clean energy consumption in the developing world and improve its availability in established markets.

Austin, TX – The University of Texas at Austin has received almost $1.6 million in a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) for installing two solar cell systems at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus (PRC) in north Austin. Together, the systems are capable of producing nearly 434,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy per year. 

The statewide grant is derived from federal stimulus funds to encourage development of renewable energy sources. Grant dollars will pay 80 percent of the cost of the nearly $2 million installation, with the university paying the remainder.

The project consists of two grid-tied solar power systems. One system will be a ground-mounted array of solar panels in a field south of the Microelectronics & Engineering Research Center building. The other system will be an array of panels over a newly constructed carport west of the Bureau of Economic Geology Administration building. A monitoring system will track the energy generated at each installation.

“We’re going to offset a portion of PRC’s annual electrical load with non-polluting solar panels, and see savings over the next 25 years,” explained Juan Nuñez, associate director of Facilities Services at PRC. With the new technology in place, PRC expects to decrease peak demand costs and reduce around 100 metric tons of carbon per year.

“We are pleased to partner with SECO to expand renewable energy sources at UT Austin,” said Michael A. Miller, P.E., director of Facilities Services for the university. “This project supports the university’s sustainability policy and efforts to maximize efficiencies in its operations and services.”

Work on the project will begin on February 14, 2011, and be substantially completed on April 21, 2011. Contractor is Jamail & Smith Construction of Austin. Texas Solar Power Company of Austin is the subcontractor.

ONTILITY has announced the nation’s first advanced solar photovoltaic training for architects and engineers. Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio are very active solar markets where larger solar electric systems are being designed and installed. Local roofing solutions provider, Burns and Scalo, wll work with ONTILITY to bring high quality solar training to the Pittsburgh area.

ONTILITY is offering a pair of classes for architects and engineers who are engaged in the design and installation of solar energy systems, or who are interested in incorporating solar energy into their building plans. The five days of training is broken into two parts. First, the two-day Solar Fundamentals for Architects and Engineers introduces solar energy concepts and design parameters as they impact building design and function. Next, the three-day Advanced Solar Design for Architects and Engineers builds on the first course and provides an opportunity to work on real-world projects.

ONTILITY classes are conducted in cooperation with an area green roofing solutions provider and will be held at the company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh during the week of May 16-20, 2011.
“The solar industry is maturing and a one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t work for everybody,” says Ken Whiteside, Director of Education at ONTILITY. “We recognize that engineers and architects needs specialized training – their focus is very different from, say contractors who are more focused on system installation,” Whiteside continued.

The instructor for these classes is Brian Cunningham, full-time ONTILITY solar instructor and system design consultant, NABCEP Certified PV Installer and BSEE graduate from the University of Tennessee.

For more information or to register for these courses call John Berry toll free: 877-495-7863 or by e-mail: john.berry@ontility.com
Source: ONTILITY

Duke Energy Renewables now owns a 1-megawatt solar farm on the grounds of an elementary school in the southwestern corner of North Carolina.

Approximately 4,400 ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar modules on the property of the Martins Creek Elementary School in Murphy, N.C., will generate an estimated 1.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year – enough to power more than 150 average-sized homes.

Duke Energy Renewables, part of Duke Energy’s Commercial Businesses, acquired Martins Creek Solar N.C., LLC, from ESA Renewables, LLC, in March 2011. ESA Renewables (www.esarenewables.com) designed and built the solar array, and operates it for Duke Energy Renewables. Electricity from the solar farm is sold through Blue Ridge Mountain EMC to the Tennessee Valley Authority, as part of TVA’s Generation PartnersSM program. The site began producing electricity in March.

The PV installation is believed to be the only one of its kind on school property in the state and the third-largest solar farm sited on school property in the U.S. The structure of the 10-year power purchase agreement with TVA through Blue Ridge Mountain EMC enables the elementary school to share in revenue created by electric generation at the site. This revenue roughly equates to the cost of staffing two full-time teachers at the school.

An interactive electronic display allows Martins Creek Elementary School students to track power production at the PV facility, which is located approximately 500 yards from the school.

The Martins Creek Solar Project is Duke Energy Renewables’ fourth commercial solar farm in North Carolina and fifth nationwide. Duke Energy Renewables’ initiatives are separate from the activities of Duke Energy Carolinas, which is part of Duke Energy’s regulated business.

Clean Energy Pathways, a renewable energy company, has signed a joint venture agreement with Green Mountain Properties to develop a $28m solar power plant in Green Mountain, North Carolina.

 Green Mountain will provide 40 acres of land for the solar power facility.

Clean Energy Pathways will be the lead developer, engaging ESA Renewables as co-developer to provide a turnkey solution to have the project operational within four to six weeks of breaking ground.

Clean Energy Pathways will own the plant, which is expected to generate approximately $5.7m in revenue for the company within the first year.

Clean Energy Pathways CEO Michael Parsons said that this first solar power development is the beginning of a pipeline of such projects the company has planned for 2011.