Green Building : Jetson Green

Mag-Wind New Wind Turbine [Video]

Jay Leno's all about the green tech, I mean, his garage is running on wind and solar, and it powers approximately two-thirds of the place.  So recently, he just put up this video demonstrating a new technology for rooftop wind applications.  The Mag-Wind turbine is made by Enviro Energies and both Jay Leno and Ed Begley Jr. have their own versions on order.  Naturally, Leno was excited to point out that his turbine will be bigger than Begley's, but in addition to that, you'll get an idea from the video how interesting the technology actually is.  It's built using magnetic levitation technology that reduces friction, noise, vibration, and energy loss.  Some other interesting aspects of the Mag-Wind System include:

ASU Salvages Old Building for New School of Sustainability

Check out this bright, contemporary renovation of an old, 1960s nursing building.  The renovation was led by the design team of Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Gould Evans Associates; they’re anticipating LEED Silver certification and did it all with a $6 M budget.  Now complete, it will be used for Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability and a newly formed School of Sustainability.  In terms of performance, the Institute is anticipated to save 18.7% on energy and 50.3% on water use compared with its baseline usage -- plus, it's been outfitted with six, hard-to-miss, state-of-the-art AeroVironment parapet turbines. 

Former Bathhouse Gets LEED Platinum

Located in a formerly desolate area of downtown St. Louis, the William A. Kerr Foundation building is a showcase for sustainable renovation strategies.  It started out in the late 1800's as a bathhouse (it sits above a natural mineral spring), and thereafter as a paint warehouse -- over time, it fell into disrepair.  The neighborhood was blighted when it was acquired by the owners, and they wanted to restore the building for the foundation's offices and educational activities.  Subsequent to remediation and renovation, it was awarded 58 out of a possible 69 points by the USGBC and received LEED Platinum certification.  The William A. Kerr Foundation building has the following green features:

EcoLogic Lofts Winds Up Green Chicago

This is the initial rendering for a project called EcoLogic Lofts in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago, a project that developers plan to break ground on in early 2009.  Shooting for LEED Silver certification, the 7-story, 94-unit condo building will source two percent of its power from rooftop wind turbines that look like those made by Aerotecture International (and which are also on Near North Apartments).  Located at Bucktown, Lakeview and Lincoln Park, EcoLogic Lofts will have one and two bedroom units with prices ranging from $239k - $499k. 

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 ...

Chipotle Green Restaurant Uses On-site Wind Power

How good would a chicken (or veggie, if that's your style) burrito bowl taste, knowing that it's been cooked by the power of on-site green energy?  I haven't tried one yet, but I can only imagine ... Chipotle Mexican Grill will be opening a green restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois, which restaurant features a prominent six-kilowatt wind turbine.  Although mostly a symbol for the company's efforts to create more environmentally friendly store designs, the turbine will generate ~10% of the store's power.  The Gurnee Chipotle will have some of the following green features:

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. 

[Updated] Gore Challenges Nation to 100% Renewable Energy Within 10 Years

Not unlike John F. Kennedy's goal to land a man on the moon, Al Gore challenges the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun, and other earth-friendly sources within 10 years.  Here are some links ...

[+] The (Annotated) Gore Energy Speech [NY Times]
[+] Former V.P. Lays Down a Green Gauntlet [WSJ]
[+] Gore sets 'moon shot' goal on climate change [AP]

What About the Solar Corridor, Mr. Pickens?

It's clear our country is reaching what future generations will see as a watershed moment as it relates to our current energy situation and how we handle it.  In the U.S. alone, buildings account for roughly 70% of electricity use and 39% of energy use, so any discussion of our energy future naturally implicates the built environment.  The current state of discussions on our energy future has brought together some incredible minds and one of those is the great T. Boone Pickens, an expert in recognizing scarce resources and future energy trends.  Just today, he announced his efforts relating to the PickensPlan -- a plan he explains himself in the above video.

Now, I think Mr. Pickens is definitely probing one of the better ways to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil, but I also think he's skipping over an important aspect of this discussion on our country's energy mix.