Monday, February 28, 2011

EPA Study: Where You Live Matters More Than How You Live

From Treehugger.com:

The paper finds that a home's location and access to transit -- in other words, its location efficiency -- are as important to reducing energy use as are energy-efficiency measures in homes and cars.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Making of the Ultimate Eco-Friendly Technology Workspace - March 9/10

The Making of the Ultimate Eco-Friendly Technology Workspace - March 9-10, 2011
AEF Consulting will host an open house demonstrating how they transformed a 1,700 square foot office warehouse into ten executive suites.  The space you will be viewing is that of a property leasing company (Suites Pro, Inc.) that offers IT integrated and eco-friendly business suites.  By implementing AEF’s eco-friendly construction and design principals, Suites Pro, Inc. has developed a green technology driven workplace that not only helps the environment, but provides one of the healthiest and most efficient working spaces to its tenants.
Feel free to stop by and witness the merging of technology, sustainability and property leasing.

There will be beverages and hors d’oeuvres:
March 9th and 10th, 4pm-8pm 1260 N. Hancock Street #104, Anaheim, CA 92807

Click on to the flier to the left for more details.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

ASES Small Wind Webinar - March 15, 1PM

To Register, click on:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/620025136

Small Wind Turbines (SWT) are wind turbines with a rated capacity up
through 100 kW. Used for a diverse range of applications, SWT
technology has grown at a rapid pace becoming more readily available
for consumers and the general public. Whether used to display
environmental commitment, or to offset energy costs, SWTs have the
potential to make meaningful contributions to energy security,
strategic technology, and long-term economic growth in the United
States.

This webinar will provide a general overview of small wind technology
and 12-step program for a small wind project, covering topics
including zoning, interconnection, and the economics of small wind. A
small group of experts from the SW Division will be available to
answer questions from Chapter members.

Presenter: Trudy Forsyth

Trudy has worked in the wind technology field since May 1994 as a
leader of NREL's distributed wind turbine projects. Since 1995, she
coordinated efforts between the NWTC technical staff and U.S.
manufacturers for designing new small wind turbines and testing new
prototypes. Her work at NREL is also focused on midsize wind turbines.

Trudy serves on a number of US Boards and Committees in support of
distributed wind including the Small Wind Certification Council, the
American Solar Energy Society and the ASES Small Wind Division, the
North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners and on the
steering committee for Women of Wind Energy. She is also the
secretary for an international group of small turbine experts who
revised the IEC Small Wind Turbine Safety standard (61400-2).

Trudy has authored and co-authored technical conference papers on
small wind turbines, their design features, economics, and
commonalities in the U.S. marketplace between PV and small wind. She
has given numerous presentations to both international audiences and
the general public on distributed wind technology, economics, and
applications.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Call For Volunteers! OC Renewables Fundraiser

We are in need of volunteers to be part of our Event/ Fundraising Committee. These volunteers will help us develop a strategy for our Summer Solstice Celebration event in June. Contact James Matarese for more details. Thanks!

Webinar - Energy Storage - Wednesday, February 23, 10am PST

Interesting webinar coming up next Wednesday on energy storage.

Grid Energy Storage: Understanding the Market from the End User's Perspective
Join us and over 850 of your peers on Wednesday, February 23 for a free webinar with Josh Gould, Cleantech Group's Energy Storage Analyst, and Jim Kim of Khosla Ventures as they tackle the energy storage market from the end-user’s perspective.
After attending this webinar you will understand:
  • The State of Energy Storage: How to view and categorize the marketplace
  • The End User's Perspective on Energy Storage: Revealing the results of a new Cleantech Group survey
  • Key Cleantech Group Research Insights: What grid storage consumers really want
  • Investment trends and opportunities across market sectors
Register now to reserve your seat.  Space is limited to ensure interactivity

Costa Mesa Green Task Force Seminars

CMGTFbanner

The Costa Mesa Green Task Force are an action oriented coalition providing a network of resources that inspire residents, businesses and local government in Costa Mesa to adopt sustainable lifestyles and practices.

They are into their second weekly speaker and training series. Next Wednesday at 6 PM, they will discuss the following:

Wed, Feb. 23rd, 2011: Conscious Consumerism - The Real Costs of What We Consume

We vote with our pockets and every time we make a purchase, we cast a vote for the way things are. Join Jesse Baker, PhD from Ecofficiency and other speakers as we discuss and breakdown the true costs associated with the things we consume on a daily basis.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

March Speaker - Samantha Simonnet

Samantha Simonnet Pic
Samantha Simonnet is the Founder and Managing Director of C-MONet, The Cleantech Management and Organization Network, a Cleantech & Sustainability Human Capital Consulting Firm. 
Because Human Capital is an organization’s greatest asset, C-MONet unlocks its clients GREENOVATION potential starting with the most important component of the TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE: People. C-MONet addresses the energy workforce deficit through talent acquisition and talent management, building and shaping great teams and preparing global professionals for new heights of leadership. Samantha has extensive international organizational consulting, corporate training and executive coaching experience, acquired in Asia and Europe with leading outfits such as Boyden Executive Search & the Center for Creative Leadership Asian Research Institute. Samantha serves on the board of Cleantech Open, Cleantech Orange County and the Workforce Investment Board and teaches cleantech and sustainability at UCI and CSUF.
Presentation Title and Description
Just How Clean is Cleantech?
A recent article in GreenBiz.com dated Feb 2 2011 raised an interesting point that is gaining an increasing amount of attention: Just How Clean is Cleantech? There's a significant difference between clean technology and sustainable technology and as sustainability and carbon footprinting gain momentum, cleantech business models, deemed green and clean by essence, will be under as much if not even more scrutiny as “traditional” companies. Recognizing that sustainability and cleantech are not synonyms, the Cleantech Open, whose mission is to find, fund, and foster the big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental, and economic challenges, has developed a Sustainability Program which strives to highlight the relevance and promote the philosophy of sustainability throughout its activities. The primary goal is to give the tools and motivation to embed sustainability into every aspect of a company. The Cleantech Open sees cleantech as the end product or service, and sustainability as a key driver in determining the process to get to that end point. Join us to learn about the Cleantech Open, the benefits of entering the competition, how sustainability is now at the top of the judging criteria and why it matters.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Greening the World, One Project At A Time

The California Center for Sustainable Energy has an excellent article in their newsletter this month.

You’re going to hear a lot about energy efficiency and home performance during 2011, not just from us at CCSE, but also from local municipalities, San Diego Gas & Electric and various energy-related businesses and contractors. That’s because there are several federally funded and state-mandated programs rolling out now and over the next few months to help us reduce energy use, save on utility bills and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Those are truly wonderful goals, but I believe the best part of these efforts is that energy efficiency can make your home life more comfortable.

Read more by clicking here.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Webinar: RETScreen Solar Thermal Tutorials

From ASES and the New York Solar Energy Society:

The New York Solar Energy Society will present three RETScreen solar thermal tutorials for utilizing the software available from RETScreen Canada. At the same time NYSES will be preparing status reports on your experience with their software thanks to a grant from RETScreen. The American Solar Energy Society is providing the webinar time for NYSES.

What is this RETScreen software? Want to know how a solar hot water system will work for you? If you know the basic parameters of your location and how big your system needs to be you can find out the pay back time, the carbon off sets, and more. Watch our instructor, Dan Connors take you through a few examples. You won't need to take notes as the examples will be sent out after the tutorial.

How to sign up? Go to
www.nyses.org and the RETScreen logo and fill in your registration information. Your invitation to join the webinar will be sent to you and you'll get reminders for your class.

Upcoming solar thermal tutorials:
February 10 at 6:30 pm (EST)
February 11 at 10:00 am (EST)
March 3 at 6:30 pm (EST)

A tutorial runs about 2 hours and 15 minutes and includes time for questions and answers. Your input is very important.

The RETScreen Conference for advanced workshops will be on June 20, 21, and 22 in Niagara Falls, Canada.

Join us!

Dan Connors, Instructor
President, Renewable Energy Strategies, LLC

*New York Solar Energy Society** - The solar resource network*
* 5270 Sycamore Avenue, Bronx, NY 10471-2838*
*
www.NYSES.org*
*wyldon1@gmail.com*
*Mobile: 917 974 4606 FAX: 347 269 4141*
* NYSES is a chapter of the American Solar Energy Society*

Thursday, February 3, 2011

LATimes: Fool's Gold Catches Eye of UCI Solar Energy Researchers

Lead researcher Matt Law - seen holding a solution of pyrite nanocrystals - and his colleagues believe fool's gold, which is composed of iron and sulfur, could be used to make solar cells in a major production process. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)

Great article in the Los Angeles Times about solar research and technologies here in Orange County. Iron pyrite — also known as fool's gold — may be worthless to treasure hunters, but it could become a bonanza to the solar industry. The mineral, among the most abundant in the earth's crust, is usually discarded by coal miners or sold as nuggets in novelty stores. Read more by clicking here.