energy

In this tight economy your city may be looking for new ways to more efficiently spend your financial resources and attract green jobs, while making your community more livable. You might want to take a look at what San Francisco is doing. continue

A note from Alpha Energy:

Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA recently hired The Alpha Group, Alpha Energy to install a 21kW solar power system to be commissioned on October 3.

“It is exciting to see educational institutions getting involved in renewable energy projects like this,” said Drew Zogby, President and COO of Alpha Technologies. “By showing their own commitment to going green, Whitman College is leading by example and encouraging their students to follow the same path. By providing Whitman with high quality system design, installation and innovative monitoring systems, Alpha Energy is demonstrating our own commitment to the best at what we do. This turnkey system is something Whitman and their students can be proud of.” continue

Anyone who lives or works near a landfill is intimately familiar with methane, the gas that produces that readily identifiable “landfill smell.” Created by decomposing organic matter, methane is 20 times better than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. But those same properties make it a fine source of energy, as more and more local governments are discovering. continue

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week overwhelmingly passed what is likely the country’s most comprehensive recycling and composting ordinance. The Board voted 9-2 to require residents and business owners to sort recyclables, food waste and trash for weekly collection, in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, make the city landfill- and incinerator-free by 2020.
The ordinance, which will take effect this fall, provides fines for failure to comply with the recycling/composting regulations. continue

Novato, Calif.’s, Sustainability Committee is holding a public workshop to receive input and comments on the development of its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (EECS) and Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP).

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Think your town is too small to go big into sustainability? Think it takes too much money to make a real statement? Think again. Ashton Hayes, a village in Northwest England, is becoming a global model for how to live sustainably. And it’s doing so in ways that any town, no matter how small, can emulate.

The village has made becoming the country’s first zero carbon emissions community its goal, according to a piece by Sarah Mukherjee, environment correspondent for BBC News. continue

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a first-of-its-kind guide highlighting the steps states can take to lead the country in the adoption of clean energy in their buildings, facilities, operations and fleets. Energy efficiency can save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while growing jobs. continue

Montana State University in Bozeman is employing roof tiles that include 80 percent recycled content to put the lid on its Zero Energy House Project. The house, a project of the university’s Extension Housing and Environmental Health Program, is designed to educate builders, architects, engineers, homeowners, students and the general public about resource efficiency.

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a new funding opportunity under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar heating and cooling (SHC) system installer training. The closing date for applications is July 30, 2009. continue

Eco Alternative Solutions, LLC is looking for 25 large US cities to participate in a no-cost 90-day trial of its Integrated Solar Series (ISS). ISS is an innovative solar-powered street light system. The company says ISS lights have been “vigorously tested” over the last year and half and placing lights in 25 selected cities will provide data from different ambient conditions.

The solar unit replaces the city’s current lighting system on 30 foot utility poles commonly used on residential and busy streets. Solar power is stored in batteries, and at dusk the the unit powers up white or yellow LEDs for 8 to 12 hours of lighting. continue