spillwock

germany solar industry still growing

2012-03-17T15:29:00.000-06:00

despite germany cutting feed-in-tarriffs (FITs), their solar PV market continues to remain strong. this outcome may be a surprise to a number of market critics that forecasted otherwise.

expanded article here.

solar PV technology improvement to cut cost

2012-03-15T18:23:00.000-06:00

san jose, ca-based twin creeks technologies has developed a new process for ultra-thin solar photovoltaic wafers. this innovative technology is purported to reduce cost, which may assist in driving down panel price.

read the full release here.

Mortenson Construction Big into Renewable Energy

2012-01-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Minnesota-based General Contractor, Mortenson Construction, announced recently that they are getting 1/4 of their revenue from renewable projects--primarily wind power and solar power.

To read the full article, click HERE.

Black Silicon May Transform Solar PV Manufacturing Market

2011-12-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) announced a major feat in technological advancement. NREL, in partnership with NJ-based Natcore, have uncovered "Black Silicon" as an efficient alternative for the solar photovoltaic material of choice.

Read the full article HERE.

BP Solar Keeps Australian Venture

2011-12-26T23:18:00.001-07:00

In the wake of British Petroleum (BP) announcing their retrenchment in the global solar market, the company vows to maintain a venture in Australia.

See full article HERE.

Denver Receives High Marks on Energy Policy for National Green Cities Study

2011-07-04T15:04:00.001-06:00

A recent study of 27 US municipalities by Siemens, notes that the energy policy in Denver, Colorado is one of the best in the country.

Way to go, Denver!

Siemens' Study Acknowledges San Francisco as US City Leader in Sustainability

2011-07-01T20:17:00.002-06:00

International corporation, Siemens, conducted a survey of 27 cities to quantify and stratify green/sustainable cities. Among the 31 objective factors that the study reviewed, San Francisco has risen among the group as the official municipal green leader.

Metrics reviewed for the study included: CO2/capita, water consumption, recycling/capita, LEED-certified buildings, and other key objective measures.

The full study can be found here.

wireless electric vehicle (ev) charging?

2011-05-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

automobile innovators believe that the eventual future of electric vehicles (ev) will be a far cry from extension cords and finding an outlet. the vision is for wireless inductive charging. this method seems very plausible for market induction, as it would increase user convenience dramatically.

i would be curious to learn more of cost of the technology, implementation/construction of the infrastructure, and energy loss as a result of the technology operations.

chevy volt declared greenest car in 2011 by kelly blue book

2011-04-13T17:27:00.000-06:00

kelly blue book just announced their list of the top ten greenest cars in 2011. not surprising, the chevy volt, weighing in at 93 miles per gallon took the pole position over number two, toyota prius. nice work, chevy!

solar safety for firefighters--innovative workshop launched in denver by IECRM

2011-03-22T17:31:00.000-06:00

Denver, CO, March 22, 2011 – Today, the non-profit association, Independent Electrical Contractors-Rocky Mountain (IECRM) launched a very important piece of the training puzzle for the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry: how to make sure that firefighters stay safe on a fire call with a solar electric system. IECRM rolled out a Solar PV Safety for Firefighters course at the North Washington Fire District in Thornton this morning. The course was taught by PV expert, Andrew Truitt of Truitt Renewable Energy Consulting.

Solar PV systems on homes and businesses act like mini-power generating stations and operate via Direct Current (DC), which poses a unique set of challenges over electricity found in standard homes and businesses that have Alternating Current (AC) service from the electric utility. DC creates potential safety risks to fire fighters that AC typically does not have. With the dramatic increase of adoption of solar electric systems within the state of Colorado over the past few years and well into the future, emergency responders need to be educated on these unique concerns in order to ensure safety on fire calls.

“The solar overview provided us with a basic understanding on how the systems operate,” said North Washington Fire District Battalion Chief Stuart Sunderland, “and it provided us with the general information and safety concerns presented will definitely make us stop and think the next time we respond to a call to a building with a solar system.” IECRM will be reaching out to other fire districts in the metro to make them aware of the cautions of PV systems and what their fire fighters should know about handling them.

IECRM is a 170-member strong non-profit association and Colorado’s largest electrical apprentice training school, educating hundreds of electrical and renewable energy professionals each year. For more information, www.IECRM.org.

new green professional (gpro) job training program launched in colorado

2011-02-05T08:00:00.002-07:00

Green Job Training for Traditional Electricians

Denver, CO, February 2, 2011 – Over 180 traditional electrical students were some of the first in the country to receive a new green building training called GPRO. GPRO was developed over the last 3 years at an expense of over $750,000 by the Urban Green Council chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the leading organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. GPRO is a visionary job skill training that target those working in the building trades and will elevate the green building skills of the Colorado workers, keeping our workforce competitive in the emerging green marketplace.

Through a unique partnership between Independent Electrical Contractors-Rocky Mountain (IECRM) and USGBC Colorado Chapter, GPRO was launched through a SESP state grant in January 2011 to all 3rd and 4th year Electrical Apprenticeship students at IECRM. The students that received the training were ecstatic at the opportunity and hungry for more. “The GPRO Fundamentals of Green Building class was great! The course was very informative and really relevant on all of the jobs we work on these days,” said student, Luke Fletemeyer.

“The LEED® green building certification program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings. LEED®, however, has largely focused on developers, architects, and engineers—not those that actually construct the buildings. GPRO is designed to educate trades people in the who, what, and why of green building. GPRO empowers the workforce with the skills necessary to compete in today’s changing construction industry,” said Spenser Villwock, IECRM Executive Director.

GPRO will be available to the public at the upcoming USGBC Colorado annual conference, Rocky Mountain Green, on April 19, 2011 in Denver, as well as through the IECRM Energy Academy later this spring. IECRM is a 170-member strong non-profit association and Colorado’s largest electrical apprentice training school, educating hundreds of electrical and renewable energy professionals each year.

For more information, visit www.IECRM.org. U.S. Green Building Council Colorado Chapter (USGBC Colorado) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to advancing and promoting sustainable planning, design, construction and operation of the built environment through education, improving industry guidelines, policy, advocacy, and information and resource sharing. To learn more, visit www.usgbccolorado.org.

renewable transmission...more visionary leadership needed

2011-02-01T17:30:00.001-07:00

as the renewable industry worldwide continues to grow, issues with the infrastructure of energy transmission will grow alongside the emerging markets. distributed energy and large-scale transmission will be hot-button topics that requires a wealth of visionary leadership from our governing agencies, utilities, and regulators.

europe is leading part of this charge and you can read more about the transmission issues and possible solutions in this forward-thinking article.

1,000 miles in 2011

2010-12-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

i have a goal of running 1,000 miles in 2011. i've created a peer challenge for those who are up for the friendly competition. here is the link to sign up!

new green news source for solar, energy efficiency, and expert opinions

2010-12-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

check out "the spenser villwock green news" for the latest information on solar photovoltaic, energy efficiency, green building, environmental issues, and, more importantly, solutions for creating sustainable businesses.

solar study identifies market penetration

2010-11-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

a boston consulting group released a recent study that identifies trajectory of solar market share to challenge conventional fossil fuel energy sources.

the study highlights a market equilibrium and economy of scale to hit the solar pv market in next 5-10 years in regions of pronounced solar resource.

with continued demand for solar products increasing along with advancements in the technology-- efficiency increase and resulting cost per unit decrease--the longterm outlook for the photovoltaic industry seems to be very promising.

nabcep and valium

2010-09-24T21:15:00.002-06:00

this is not creative trickery via photoshop, this was a real google search for "nabcep training facility" and the first hit is a nabcep site, but header that alludes to them pedaling valium...?

boulder, co fourmile canyon fire

2010-09-10T08:59:00.000-06:00

the fourmile fire erupted on monday, september 6, 2010 outside of boulder, colorado. after 4 days, the flames have spread to over 7,000 acres and engulfed 170 homes, displacing thousands of individuals. below is a current burn areas.

boulder county has up to date information available here. let's hope that this is contained very soon. many thanks to all those fighting the fire, your efforts are valiant.

us senate energy committee passes $3.6bn electric vehicle bill

2010-07-22T20:11:00.000-06:00

as part of a push from the administration to launch the widespread adoption of electric vehichles (ev), the bill will work to create infrastructure for charging stations at targeted cities across the us (wsj article). the goal of this infusion of capital is to support ev industry growth and market adoption to the tune of 50% of all domestic vehicles be electric by 2030. very interested to see how this rolls out and where the targeted cities will be.

how solar photovoltaic panels work

2010-07-17T18:42:00.002-06:00

quick video provides brief overview on solar pv.

smart trainer app

2010-06-28T07:08:00.000-06:00

i downloaded the freeware "smart trainer" app to my droid the other day. it utilizes enabled gps tracking to give you distance, speed, altitude, and stores the info on a google doc with corresponding g-map.
View Run 6 26 2010 in a larger mapi have to say that it is a pretty cool program and look forward to charting my runs throughout the future.

red rocks amphitheater

2010-06-26T23:18:00.000-06:00

we have the good fortune of being a mere 25 miles from one of the world's finest natural amphitheaters, red rocks in beautiful morrison, colorado.

each year, we try to get out for at least one concert in the 9,000 person venue. it is truly like being on mars--the geology is truly awesome and confounding to the mind. being a scuba-diver, i have no question in my mind that this place was once under a large body of water. we had a great time last night, seeing our old athens, ga band, widespread panic. i need to count up my ticket stubs for how many times i've seen wsp, but know that i am well into the 30s. love me some good southern, funky rock.

vegan italian food in japan?

2010-04-08T11:42:00.000-06:00

vegan food is quite easy to come by in japan. most basic language books have the cheat sheet on how to communicate your dietary desires. once you open up that door, the possibilities are virtually endless.

a fine establishment in kitakami city, iwate prefecture is la taverna. the wonderful folks there were very accommodating and thrilled to make a full on vegan meal. now, this place is not traditional japanese food, but a lilt on italian dining. excellent wine selection, fantastic salad, a mushroom pasta dish to keep you up at night with your stomach growling, and a thin crust pizza with house-made tofu-"cheese." all was absolutely delicious and wonderful. and then they brought out the dessert...vegan strawberry shortcake--gluten-free, too! the tofu-creme was a touch of magic.

many thanks to the fine folks at la taverna for a fantastic meal.

and to koji takusari and the takusari family for their wonderful hospitality! an amazing place to share with amazing people.

diplomatic adventures navigating renewable energy in japan

2010-04-01T09:15:00.000-06:00

meeting with iwate-ken governor and senior advisors to discuss renewable energy initiatives in northern japan.

getting further detail from industry development director for iwate-ken. a number of strong take-aways thus far:

city of morioka –green initiatives
iwate prefecture –dedication to advancing green technologies
kowai closed-loop biomass facility–creating energy from organic matter discards
city of ninohe –green initiatives and solar installations
iwate hospital –energy efficiency, green roof, and solar initiative
kashiwadai hydro-electric power station –in-line small hydro facility generating 13,100kw in the three stations, interesting to note: facility on national park land and strong efforts to keep visual impairment of facilities from public eye
green power kuzumaki –wind farm in kuzumaki, energy self-sufficient town of 8,000 people by renewables
kashiwadai kougen –biomass energy production for kougen facilities

design: mindful and simple

2010-03-31T07:37:00.000-06:00

there is something humbling, something enlightening, something troubling about being out of your mundane experience and being in someone(s) else's everyday life. one can find thrill and enjoyment in a thing so simple as a public wash basin.

closed-loop biomass energy generation (no, don't yawn--this is cool)

2010-03-30T17:24:00.000-06:00

a major player in the organic/natural foods industry in japan, koiwai farms, has developed a zero-waste, methane capture energy generation system on their main growing facility in northeastern japan. the biomass and composting facility is a closed-loop system--taking the organic debris from the agricultural production and integrating it into a fuel source--biomass for biofuel.

the biofuel is created using an active process of methane acceleration and capture. the methane is then utilized to generate electricity and heat for the farm operations. the residual bio-products following the methane capture process are nutrient-rich matter that can be further composted and, in a total closed-loop process, be directly applied back into the soil of the farm itself, as rich fertilizer.

the japanese are making some headway on a few model program installations such as this, in the biofuel realm. very interesting and could be raised to large scale to create larger impact.