Archive for December, 2010

Utilizing a progressive financing solution offered by Metrus Energy, defense industry giant BAE Systems’ Greenlawn, N.Y. facility will implement approximately $2 million in efficiency measures with repayment based solely on actual realized energy savings. The project, expected save $300,000 in annual energy and operating costs, includes heating and cooling system upgrades, high-efficiency pumps, motors and controls, and other measures that will reduce electric and natural gas consumption.  Read the rest of this entry »

Echotect, a Dutch clean tech company, has successfully deployed software from Autodesk, Inc. to design and optimize technology to produce a cost-effective, recyclable, and environmentally sustainable alternative to engineered stone. Combining quartz, marble, and other aggregates with recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), the technology has resulted in a product that is almost indistinguishable from natural stone, but the material is non-porous and 100% recyclable. Five years in development, the engineered stone will provide consumers with an eco-friendly alternative that meets the performance characteristics of traditional products. Read the rest of this entry »

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking another step toward protecting children from harmful exposure to lead. Lead can impair a child’s IQ, learning capabilities, and memory even at low levels. Read the rest of this entry »

Plastic: it’s pretty inescapable. Unless you are a Tibetan monk living on a mountain top or a Maasai tribesman in the wilderness of East Africa, chances are, you’re swimming in plastic. It’s not news that the landfills of the world are also miles deep in the stuff, and will continue to be hundreds of years from now, since petroleum-based plastics are estimated to take somewhere between 500 and 1,000 years to break down in today’s landfill environments. Read the rest of this entry »

image from DOE

The new cool roof installation on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Headquarters West Building has been completed. No incremental cost was incurred by adding the cool roof as part of the roof replacement project, and it will save taxpayers $2,000 every year in energy costs. Earlier this year, Secretary Steven Chu directed all DOE offices to install cool roofs, whenever cost effective, when constructing a new roof or replacing an old one. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2008, Dell made a commitment to reduce the energy consumption of its products and to avoid millions of tons of CO2 emissions worldwide by the year 2010. With 2010 coming to a close, Dell has announced that they have achieved their goal with a 25% reduction of energy costs for their customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Several states have turned to new technology and environmentally sensitive solutions to cut costs and improve efficiency when battling Mother Nature’s winter forces. These solutions are examples of how winter issues can be addressed in a more environmentally friendly fashion while also keeping a green eye on the bottom line. Read the rest of this entry »

Gills Onions in Oxnard CA has a mission to sustainability and they are doing it through innovation and ingenuity. Without shedding a tear (that’s an onion cutting joke), Gills is one of the nation’s largest fresh-cut onion processors that is powering their production facilities with biogas and is set to install a new energy storage system. Read the rest of this entry »

The “PAC Green Den – Fast Track to Sustainable Innovation” competition, conducted at PACK EXPO International 2010, awarded the top prize to MicroGreen Polymers’ InCycle method for reducing the cost of recycled plastics. The InCycle processing technique increases the efficiency of recycled PET by adding a gas that expands the length and width of solid polymer sheets, making it more lightweight, insulating, and cost effective. Read the rest of this entry »

The Department of Energy (DOE) has instituted a new market-based industrial energy efficiency program that will “serve as a roadmap for industrial facilities to help continually improve their efficiency and maintain market competitiveness.” The Superior Energy Performance program is ANSI accredited and will recognize those industrial sector manufactures who are saving energy and creating new clean energy jobs. Three companies were selected by DOE as the first recipients of program certification. Read the rest of this entry »