In England, a handful of efficient demonstration homes have been built on the grounds of the Building Research Establishment Ltd, including “The Lighthouse,” which is the first net zero carbon house in the UK.  The house is also the first to attain level six in the Code for Sustainable Homes, which indicates that it is carbon neutral. The two-bedroom house is only 93.3 square meters (barely over 1000 sq. ft.) in a 2-1/2 story building.  The building has solar panels and evacuated solar tubes on its roof, as well as making use of passive measures with ventilation chimneys.  It also incorporates rainwater catchment as part of the building design.
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We have to be skeptical with small wind because it’s been so shady up until now, but Mariah Power is seriously poised to release their vertical axis wind turbine this spring for $3,995.  This is incredible news.  They just passed the ETL (safety) certification and also comply with UL1741 and IEEE 1547.1.  Translation:  the Windspire is safe to go to market.  But you’ll notice that the Windspire features a new design, which is expected to produce about 1800 kilowatt hours per year in 11 mph average wind conditions.  That amount of wind power is roughly 25% of a typical household’s energy. 

The Windspire has several features that make it a likely candidate to dazzle the market.

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This is just another example of micro-green technology in an entirely necessary and functional setting.  The video shows a streetlight running on both wind and solar in front of Panasonic Center in Tokyo.  In addition to the helix turbine and butterfly solar panels, there’s a high-efficiency light bulb and battery for capturing energy during the day (to be used at night).  Someone tell me why we don’t see more any of this in the U.S.?  Via EcoGeek.

I ran across some news that Marquiss Wind Power just raised $1.3 M in series A funding, which, in and of itself, isn’t that big of a deal to me (because funding doesn’t = anything).  That said, Marquiss Wind Power has quite the value proposition with their ducted wind turbine product called Aeropoint, a product that comes in three sizes.  It’s a small-wind turbine built for commercial buildings of 1-3 floors.  Based out of Folsom, California, the company had encouraging results with the first three test turbines.  Actually, the results were so good the company claims purchasers should have a payback period of 2-7 years.  You’ll notice that depending on a lot of different factors, a 2-7 year payback is about 2x faster than the payback for solar. 

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• Wind Power booms with 45% growth in 2007!
• GE Financial targets $6 Billion in renewable energy investments.
• N. Cali homebuilder group mandates 50% energy reduction by 2020.
• Natural Home Top 10 green housing developments.
• Going green can attract and keep employees.
• Greening developers may not be that easy.

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.