Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Vatican Gets Serious with Solar

Maybe Samsø started a trend in becoming a net exporter of renewable energy because it appears that the Vatican is thinking about doing something similar.  The curvacious roof of Paul VI Audience Hall, a building that's located right by the famous St. Peter's Basilica, has been topped with 2,400 photovoltaic panels to source energy for lighting, heat, and air conditioning.  The 5,000 m2 (54,000 sf) roof will produce ~300 megawatt hours of energy and cost approximately $1.6 million (donated by SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology).  With the addition of this massive solar roof, the sovereign city-state will cut CO2 emissions by about 225 tons.  But that's not all:

Thoughts on Al Gore's Five-Part Plan to Repower America

I've always been kind of irked by the fact that President Reagan, after having the White House's leaky roof fixed, never replaced the solar hot water panels installed by President Carter.  But it's hard to judge him because I was barely crawling at the time -- I have no idea what was going on in the collective conscious of that generation.  I mean, Al Gore mentions in Sunday's Op-Ed in the NY Times that President Nixon established Project Independence 35 years ago with a goal to, in seven years time, develop the potential to meet our country's energy needs without having to rely on any foreign energy sources.  Yet, that never happened and Reagan's act, the way I see it, symbolically shut the door on the possibility of American energy self-reliance.  At least for the time being. 

Solyndra's Totally Tubular Solar Cells Perfect for Commercial Applications

Solyndra just released new details of their proprietary solar technology printed with a copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS) mixture on glass tubes.  Solyndra also announced over $1.2 billion in orders and a successful installation using the cylindrical solar tubes on the roof of their corporate headquarters.  With the glass tube design and easy installation, the company expects to provide commercial customers with higher electricity output per rooftop and significantly reduced installation costs.   

Air Breeze Off-Grid Wind Turbine Improves Upon Popular Air-X

If you've heard of the popular Skystream 3.7 by Southwest Windpower, then you're probably familiar with their smaller wind turbine called Air-X.  Air-X was introduced in ~2001 and flew off shelves, selling over 100,000 units.  Building on the success of Air-X, Southwest Windpower recently released Air Breeze, its next iteration of the successful small wind generator.  I first noticed an ad for Air Breeze in Natural Home Magazine last September and have since seen news of it popping up everywhere.  Air Breeze was engineered to be quieter, more efficient, and more effective at lower wind speeds ...

Samsø Gaining Recognition for Off-Grid, Carbon-Free Way of Life

A few months ago, I became interested in Samsø after reading Elizabeth Kolbert's column in The New Yorker entitled The Island in the Wind.  With news of this Danish Paradise chilling out in the recesses of my mind, just this week, I noticed a photo essay of Samsø in The Guardian with pictures from Nicky Bonne.  What's interesting about Samsø is that it's a producer of energy -- the entire island produces more energy from renewables than it uses.  They sell the rest and have been doing so since 2003.  Which makes me wonder, how did they get to this point? 

Putting Parking Lots to Good Use

University of California, San Diego is in the process of installing Solar Trees by Envision Solar on the roofs of two of its parking garages.  The Solar Trees are designed to provide clean energy for the campus, shade for vehicle parking, and future infrastructure for electrical vehicles.  Each Solar Tree at UCSD will generate more than 17,000 hours of clean energy per year, which is enough to power more than four single-family homes.  In aggregate, with two parking garages topped with Solar Trees, you can imagine the power they're generating. 

Broadstar On Track to Sell 70 Turbines

When Maria Surma Manka brought us news of Broadstar Wind Systems last June from Windpower 2008, our interest was stoked, especially considering the fact that Broadstar was claiming that their AeroCam turbine could achieve $1 per watt installed.  Well, the company is still beta testing the AeroCam turbine, but demand is crazy and they're "on track" to install more than 70 turbines.  J.C. Penny Co. plans to install AeroCam turbines on their distribution facility in Reno, Nevada by November this year.  Plus, 15 companies have contracted to test the turbines and 12 more are in talks. 

Swedish Energy Ball Changes Look and Feel of Small Wind Tech

This technology by Swedish company HomeEnergy has taken the web by storm over the past couple days.  The Energy Ball is an aberration in a small wind market that seems to be dominated by vertical axis, helical, miniature, and three-blade designs.  It takes the shape of a puffed up flounder -- with an orb of six blades and a fin to guide the orb towards the wind.  The Energy Ball is, of course, meant for small scale, decentralized energy generation.  As shown below, you could place it in the urban setting or plant several poles for multiple corporate installations. 

Solar Cell Tree Charger, A Home Gadget Worth Buying

We don't really talk about small gadgetry and knickknacks on this website, but this solar cell tree charger by Vivien Muller is, I think, kind of different.  You can use it to recharge your cellphone, camera, or whatever, because it has 54 tiny photovoltaic panels and an internal battery that stores energy during the day.  The modular parts are connected and can be rotated infinitely creating a different tree for your favorite sunny spot at home. 

Get Ready for Hot, Flat, and Crowded

So the big day is September 8, 2008 -- the day Mr. Thomas Friedman's next book goes on sale.  It's called Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--And How It Can Renew America.  I have a feeling it's going to be good, too, but I can't pinpoint why.  Maybe it's because Friedman does a lot of research and assesses that research with a fresh perspective.  Maybe it's because he says new stuff -- he's not necessarily regurgitating what we hear everyday.  Maybe it's because he takes a strong position.  Whatever it is, I have a stack of great books that I've been trying to get through, but this one will likely make it to the nightstand.