Yesterday, Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) unveiled its new line of DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle. The Solar Shingle was designed to be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. Dow expects the shingle systems to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and more widely available in 2011. And although the company says the system will provide a low-cost solar option for homeowners, we have not received any specific pricing details at this time (see below).

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Green building certification is an interesting phenomenon.  It’s meant to convey a message about the building’s level of “green” or “sustainability,” but the message is only as strong as the system that creates it.  If you push beyond that message, you might ask: how many of these certified buildings are, say, positive energy?  That’s the goal of Elithis Tower recently opened in Dijon, France.  It has 1,600 sensors that examine energy and emissions.  This information is then displayed on a special public sign in full transparency for everyone to see.  The sign is both dynamic and clear.  

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This year's Innovation Pipeline at West Coast Green was relatively small.  In part this may reflect the state of the economy, which has lead to decreased investments in new building technologies.  Despite that, there are a few interesting technologies that have been brought to market recently or will hopefully be available soon.  Here's a look at several products that may just change the future of this industry. 

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A few months back, we reported that PNC (NYSE: PNC) was in the process of installing the largest green wall in North American on the exterior of their Pittsburgh headquarters building, One PNC Plaza.  Now, as you can see in this monstrous image, PNC has successfully installed the 2,380 square-foot living wall with 602 modular panels.  Each 2'x2' panel has roughly 24 plants, so there’s approximately 14,448 plants covering the wall of this 30-story building.  Wow!

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Yes, it has a Wilson bi-fold garage door.  Yes, it has translucent photovoltaic panels that also illuminate the interior workspace.  Yes, it's heated and cooled by a geothermal system.  And yes, it's pretty much the most amazing landscape storage shed around.  Designed by Gray Organschi Architecture, this storage barn — more appropriately a storage rack that doubles as an 800 square-foot building — is the central hub for a landscape business in Washington, Connecticut. 

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