Eideard

Proposed for the Aalborg Waterfront in Denmark, a new housing development would feature 60 apartments, from 4 to 12 stories high, all supplied with a 100 percent renewable energy source…

C.F. Møller’s architectural design features a south-facing roof-plane, fitted with 1,200 sq.m. of photovoltaic and solar thermal panels. The solar paneling is reportedly capable of producing 104,000 KWh of electricity annually, which is estimated to be enough to cover the yearly electricity demand of every apartment. In addition, four vertical axis low-noise wind turbines take advantage of strong western winds, creating an additional power supply to recharge electric cars. A rainwater collection system is used to irrigate the surrounding gardens, whilst the lush landscaping helps maintain a clean air environment. Tall window openings allow for natural light to filter through to the apartments’ living zones, an example of the passive-housing standards that are incorporated to ensure reduced energy consumption all round.

This slide-like shape of the building creates a distinctive silhouette, which is positioned between Aalborg’s main bridges. The roof-plane appears as if it is stretching into the water’s edge, where an underpass shelters a public gazebo and café. The extension of the roof is a visual display of the building’s power plant, and whilst it may take precedence over optimum, waterfront views, it’s essential to the building’s sustainable design.

Delightful. I can picture this design in a few comparable locales where I had clients back in the day. Most certainly in the vibrant waterfront of Portland, Maine.

Just keep their backwards governor from sticking his nose in. He’d probably insist on replacing the solar panels with coal-burning potbelly stoves.

Naoto Kan, the prime minister of Japan, is expected to confirm the “Sunrise Plan” initiative in a statement on the nation’s energy policy at the forthcoming Group of Eight Summit opening this week in France.

Mr Kan is expected to tell other leaders that Japan will continue to use nuclear energy following industry-wide improvements on safety standards, according to Japanese media reports.

However, he is also expected to highlight the nation’s future efforts to boost the use of renewable energy sources, in particular solar power for which the nation is already among the world’s top users…

The Sunrise Plan builds on earlier solar plan initiatives, including a target of using solar power energy in 12,000 schools as part of its School New Deal, with the company Kyocera Corporation already installing panels in over 1,200 establishments.

Millions have also been spent encouraging home solar power use on a domestic level, with one initiative involving utilities having to purchase excess solar power from homes and businesses for higher amounts than standard electricity rates.

Other energy sources being investigated by the government include geothermal, wind, biomass and hydropower, as the nation explores ways to increase its energy independence.

Most Americans have no idea where building codes come from. If anything, it’s just one more thing to whine about. It might be different if the United States played a leading role at anything more than fire safety – where we participated in the worldwide process of advancing safety decades ago.

We will be last in line, once again.

“A license to print money”

Xcel Energy is proposing a new penalty on Colorado residents who generate their own renewable electricity.

The “infrastructure upkeep fee” could range between $20 and $200 per year, the Denver Post reports. Customers who buy and install their own solar panels would essentially be asked to keep paying for some of the energy they’re no longer using from Xcel’s electricity grid.

“It’s only fair everyone pay for the system,” an Xcel spokesman said, noting that the grid provides a “backup” for solar users.

Huh? Is there any other industry that could get away with proposing something like this? Your customers don’t need your product anymore, so you propose making them pay for it anyway, just in case they need it again someday?

What’s really going on here is the beginning of a potentially massive powershift, one in which Xcel and other large utilities’ customers are increasingly becoming the competition by generating their own electricity. Xcel has a strong record of supporting renewable energy, so long as it’s the one generating the profits.

These are the sort of schmucks who’ve been in charge of so-called public utilities all my life. They get a guaranteed profit structure. State regulators band over backwards [and forwards] to keep them happy. And, of course, you and I pick up the tab.

Thanks, Mike Herron

Daylife/AP Photo by Manu Fernandez

A Spanish city has found an unusual place to generate renewable energy – the local cemetery. Santa Coloma de Gramanet, near Barcelona, has placed 462 solar panels over its multi-storey mausoleums.

Officials say the scheme was initially greeted with derision, but families who use the cemetery eventually supported the idea following a public campaign.

There are now plans to erect more panels at the cemetery and triple the amount of electricity generated.

The cemetery was chosen for the project because it is one of only a few open, sunny places in the crowded city, which has a population of 124,000 crammed into 4 sq km.

RTFA. Local response ranges from reason and science to irrational fears.

Fortunately, reason prevailed.

Solar power, with its promise of emissions-free renewable energy, boasts a growing number of fans. Some of them, it turns out, are thieves…

Police departments in California – the biggest market for solar power, with more than 33,000 installations – are seeing a rash of such burglaries, though nobody compiles overall statistics.

Investigators do not believe the thieves are acting out of concern for their carbon footprints. [No kidding!] Rather, the authorities assume that many panels make their way to unwitting homeowners, sometimes via the Internet.

In Contra Costa County, detectives accustomed to handling thefts of copper began to notice solar panels disappearing in the past six months, according to Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the county sheriff’s office.

“We were surprised and kind of caught off-guard” by the solar panel thefts, said Lee, who recommends that people engrave their driver’s license numbers onto their panels for better identification.

In Europe, where the solar industry is well established, thievery is entrenched, and measures to ward it off have become standard, including alarm systems and hard-to-unscrew panels.

I like the engraving idea. Include your social security number and we can add identity theft to the whole process.