Originally published on Sefaira. By Carl Sterner The Myth of the Green Premium Conventional wisdom holds that high-performance buildings cost more than their inefficient counterparts — therefore only green-minded clients, or those with a long-term stake in a building, would be interested in pursuing performance goals. But what if the … [continued]
Originally published on Renew Economy. We’ve seen and published many dramatic graphs about the fall in solar, such as this one tracing the fall over the past 30 years and this from Citigroup, but the following graph from investment bank Sanford Bernstein is quite stunning – not just for its simplicity but because … [continued]
Scaling Wind, directed by Michelle Nunez, and produced by GreenTech Films, is an informative 30-minute documentary showcasing the benefits and challenges of reaching 20% wind energy by 2030 in the US. The film shows how the goal started, with a 2006 State of the Union address by George W. Bush. … [continued]
Production has now begun on the first electric Saab model — the 9-3 Aero electric sedan — according to recent reports. The Chinese-Swedish company that owns Saab — National Electric Vehicles Sweden — is currently in the process of building 200 electric 9-3s to be tested in the Chinese state … [continued]
Hawaiian and Nissan Leaf magic combine to make possible a climb to heaven’s morning — for the Leaf’s driver, a Maui resident, that is. Neil Wagner woke predawn to become part of the famed sunrise over the volcano in Haleakalā National Park. Imagine the lone darkness and ascending climb of … [continued]
Originally published on SEFAIRA. By Carl Sterner 2014 promises significant changes in the architecture industry. As the economy recovers, the pace of change around Performance Based Design continues to accelerate. In this blog we explore six key trends that will drive building performance throughout the industry, and what architects can … [continued]
Originally published on SEFAIRA. By Carl Sterner California’s recent revisions to Title 24 put in place ambitious performance goals: all residential buildings must be Zero Net Energy (ZNE) by 2020, and all commercial buildings must follow suit by 2030. The code also applies to retrofit projects that pass certain thresholds. … [continued]
Originally published on Ecopreneurist. Solar power for mobile devices is the wave of the future, but many of the small portable solar chargers on the market aren’t big enough to efficiently power tablets and other gadgets that have a larger battery capacity, and they don’t often include an onboard battery pack … [continued]
Originally published on Ecopreneurist. Great business ideas are virtually everywhere, but all too often the process of raising capital to fund the launch of the new product or service, as well as handling all of the marketing, the logistics, and the distribution for it, is too difficult, which means that … [continued]
GE Energy Financial Services — the energy arm of US conglomerate General Electric (GE) — recently announced that it will be financially backing a massive 230 MW solar PV power plant currently being slated to be constructed in the Japanese city of Setouchi. The US-based GE is planning to invest … [continued]
