CleanTechnica

A team of researchers at Yale University has developed a new kind of magnetic, lead free solder that could be used to manufacture electronics more cheaply and efficiently.  That would be a big boost for efforts to manage the growing problem of electronic waste disposal and recycling, because conventional solder is made from lead, a known health hazard.

Lead is a heavy metal that was commonly used in house paint and gasoline in the U.S.  Those uses were banned after the discovery that lead is a potent neurotoxin, but lead solder continues to be permitted in U.S. manufacturing.  That creates a huge problem in the electronic waste stream, and it also impedes U.S. companies from entering global markets where anti-lead regulations are growing.

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Sage Electrochromics, Inc, a Minnesota-based inventor of an international breakthrough glass innovation – a window that can be switched on or off to reject up to 98% of the sun’s heat and light on demand – has received a financial shot in the arm from the Obama administration Department of Energy for a total of $103 million.

Earlier this year, the company had been one of the recipients of the Recovery Act funded Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits (for $31 million), and today was offered an additional $72 million loan guarantee to help it invest in a 250,000 square foot high volume manufacturing facility to ramp up operations to mass produce its energy-saving glass.

“This investment will help cut utility bills, reduce carbon pollution, and create jobs our economy needs,” said Energy Secretary Secretary Chu in granting the loan guarantee.  ”It’s a perfect example of the power of American innovation to create a stronger economy and a healthier planet.”

Globally, this is a breakthrough technology – an electronically tintable glass that can be switched from clear to darkly tinted and back at the push of a button. It could radically reduce world energy use, as it makes it possible to switch windows on or off, reducing building energy use by as much as 28%.
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Claiming that the majority of the Recovery Act green stimulus is going to foreign wind companies, four Democrats have introduced legislation today to require that the grant money only fund clean energy projects relying on parts 100% manufactured in the US and creating the bulk of their jobs domestically and subject to ‘buy American’ provisions, requiring they rely on iron, steel and goods manufactured in the US.

But the remedy proposed by Senators Senators Schumer, Casey, Brown and Tester in the American Renewable Energy Jobs Act actually would hurt American jobs, and slow the development of an American wind sector, because no wind developer could meet the strict requirements of their ‘Buy American’ amendment–the United States simply does not have the manufacturing capacity yet to produce 100% of the turbine parts.

Under the green New Deal of the Recovery Act stimulus funds, an astounding 16 Gigawatts-worth of renewable energy projects has been funded. This will be a huge step forward in bring America back to the forefront of the new renewable energy industry sector. But right now, we do lag a decade behind Europe in wind energy.

Because its legislatures approved Kyoto in 1995, foreign wind companies now have a decade’s start on US wind companies. As a result, most wind projects in the US currently have foreign ownership, with or without the green new deal of the Recovery Act.

However, as Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association has pointed out; 100% of the funds are in lieu of a US tax credit for investment in projects supplied more than 50% by US iron, steel and manufactured parts.

“The truth is, by law, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants can only be used to finance projects that are being built in the US,” the AWEA’s Bode said. Read the rest of this entry »

South Dakota’s potential for utility-scale wind projects could be seriously curtailed by three bills now in the House that reduce the attractiveness of investment in a permanent, safe and clean energy source that could bring billions in much needed revenue to the state.

Like cutting itself off at the knees to save on shoe leather, the Republican-held legislature is considering three pieces of very short sighted legislation that cut off the few tax breaks that wind investment had.

Senate Bill 123 would remove all incentives for large capital improvement projects.
Senate Bill 195 would eliminate any refunds on projects that cost more than $40 million.
House Bill 1060 heard yesterday would cut tax refunds for large commercial projects.

Like all new power stations, wind projects are “large capital improvement projects”, “cost more than $40 million” and are “large commercial projects”. The shortsighted laws curtail wind power.

“When you’re talking investments in wind, you’re talking about heavy, capital-intensive projects. A cheap project for us is $300 million.” says Steve Wegman executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association.”We have a huge problem coming down the pike, and we need consistent public policy.”
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Marks & Spencer (M&S) may not be a familiar company to those outside of Britain or Europe, but it is no small business. It sells clothing, home and furniture goods, electronics, and food in 30 countries. It has 560 stores in the UK and 130 more worldwide.

Why would you care about this?

Well, M&S is on track to start one of the most innovative recycling systems in the world. It will fund a new curbside (kerbside, if you are British) recycling program and will use the recycled materials for its own food products. Closed-loop — that’s what this kind of full-cycle system is called.

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Suniva, Inc., a solar manufacturer based in Georgia, is aiming to bring a commercial, grid-connected, stored solar energy system to the state for the first time.  The company has just announced a partnership with Georgia-based GS Battery USA Inc., that will combine Suniva’s solar modules with high tech batteries on a 30 kilowatt solar plant at GS Battery’s headquarters in Roswell, Georgia.

To make it a trifecta, a third Georgia-based company, First Century Energy of Atlanta, is the designer of the solar array.  It’s an interesting sustainable energy threesome given that GS Battery is a subsidiary of GS Yuasa Group of Japan, which is a global battery technology leader that has just contracted with NASA to assemble lithium ion battery cells in Roswell — and there’s a couple of other U.S. government connections, too.

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A team of Harvard scientists has discovered that gold nanoparticles could be used to produce fabrics and fragrances.  The process is cheaper and more energy efficient, and it emits fewer pollutants than conventional production methods.  The breakthrough is more proof that sustainable manufacturing methods can achieve bottom line benefits along with improvements in public health and environmental safety.

Headed by Professor Cynthia Friend, the team found that gold nanoparticles can oxidize alcohols and aldehydes (formaldehyde is a familiar example of an aldehyde) at room temperature.  The process uses less energy than the high heat required by conventional methods.  If the process can be scaled up for commercial use, it could significantly reduce the carbon footprint involved in manufacturing synthetic fabrics, fragrances, essential oils, and perhaps other products as well.

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Greenhouse gas-sucking rubber ducks could be in the future.  Myriant Technologies LLC has just won U.S. Department of Energy funding of up to $50 million to construct a new plant that will produce Succinic Acid from sorghum, using a biobased process that is more energy efficient than conventional methods, and also absorbs more carbon dioxide than it produces.

Until now, petroleum has been the feedstock of choice to manufacture Succinic Acid.  If commercially successful, a more sustainable biobased process like Myriant’s could have a significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, because Succinic Acid is used in a fantastic variety of materials from non-toxic diesel fuel additives, pharmaceuticals and food to plastic car parts, computer casings, and shoe soles.

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Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is getting $34.7 million to find ways to make cars lighter by improving carbon fiber manufacturing and processing. Though used in race cars and high-performance “supercars,” current carbon fiber composites cost too much for mass market vehicles.

Lightweight, strong carbon fiber will raise fuel efficiency, whether that fuel of the future is the natural biogas that you’ll surely one day tap from the compost in your backyard; or biodiesel (made from drought-resistant weeds of course), or the electrons off your shiny new solar roof.

The new Carbon Fiber Technology Center will try new feedstocks and new ways to create them, with the idea of reducing the cost of carbon fiber to under $5 a pound. Currently it is between $10 and $20 per pound.
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Laura Kurgan, Chris Jordan, Lorrie Vogel and Assaf Biderman – Pop!Tech 2009 – Camden, ME

In Part One, Lorrie Vogel explained some of the work Nike is doing to increase recycled and organic content in their products. Our conversation continues with discussing how Nike designers are encouraged to use sustainable principles in their work.

SS: You mentioned something about rewarding designers for innovating around sustainability, how does that work?

LV: As with any company centered on innovation, the process begins with Nike’s designers. To influence the designers to make responsible choices, Nike designers are scored against the Considered Index. In order to get new Considered innovations adopted faster, Nike gives innovation points to designers who come up with a brand new idea, as well as to teams who adopt considered innovations in the first year.

SS: And how are employees outside of the design department scored against the Considered Index?

LV: At Nike, there are so many different groups in different matrices, a lot of them are expected to calculate their CO2 footprint. But the Considered Index is primarily for designers.

SS: Sustainability 101 and Step by Natural Step (mentioned in this press release)- are they teaching personal sustainability practices, or teaching employees how to spot opportunities to be more responsible in the choices they make in their jobs?

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