I mentioned Nanosolar back in August because I found an excellent video about the company — they’re poised to dramatically flip this solar industry inside out.  Today comes news that they shipped their first product and received an actual revenue check.  This is a big deal.  Thin film solar is incredible because it can be used more flexibly and produced at a much lower cost. 

Their powersheet product was recognized by Popular Science as 2007 Innovation of the Year.  Now that the product is a reality, we’re going to see some craziness.  They’ve accomplished a slew of world’s firsts (below) and decided to auction off an early batch of product on eBay.  Unfortunately, that’s all you’re likely to get because they’re sold out for the next 12 months!  Better start your orders now. 

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Vampire energy, aka phantom loads, is estimated to cost U.S. consumers about $3 billion per year.  I know, it’s not really that much … I mean, if you break it down to the individual level, that’s only $10 per person ($3 billion / 300 million).  But the point is, it’s money that goes in the pocketbook of energy companies and their shareholders — it’s not going in yours.  The chart above is courtesy of GOOD, the magazine that always brings a full-page spread to otherwise obfuscatory information.

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• Green standards irk (lumber) dealers. 
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• Finding financing for you green building project.
• Affordable housing advocates build green and inspire innovation.
• Planner says going green has its advantages.
• S.F. to have greenest building codes in the nation?
• 67% of consumers willing to pay for green power.
• One writer finds it’s not easy building green.

Ciralight caught the attention of a few attendees at this year’s Greenbuild 2007 exhibition.  Their flagship product, SunTrackerOne, is free-standing, solar-powered, and completely self-contained.  SunTrackerOne has three mirrors that track and reflect the sun into buildings through a thermal barrier, light well, and diffuser.  It’s different than passive lighting because it collects more light and diffuses it more effectively throughout a building.  This lighting system is a major green innovation to keep an eye on, especially since Ciralight touts a seductive 15 – 35% return on investment on energy savings alone.

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• Study claims energy-efficiency fails to cut consumption.