Progress Energy's $17B nukes approved by state regulators

Progress Energy's $17-billion nuclear project won approval Tuesday morning from state regulators, who voted unanimously that the the project is necessary and cost effective.

"It's an investment that pays off over time," said Public Service Commissioner Katrina McMurrian.

The St. Petersburg utility could start billing customers for the project as early as January. It remains unclear how it will impact monthly bills. Progress Energy said in March that residential customers could see an increase of $9 a month, but that number may have changed. The utility has redacted its latest estimates from recent state filings.

Progress Energy needs to return before the Public Service Commission in September for a hearing on how much it will charge customers for the project. The cost to customers will be made public in time for the September hearing, although it is unclear when.

"I also find the costs quite daunting," said Commissioner Lisa Polak Edgar. "But I think that it's a step we need to take."

Tampa gets a gold star

The U.S. Green Building Council announced Florida's first gold-certified LEED building this week.

And the award goes to....wait for it...the 7-story, 523,558-square-foot behemoth USAA regional office in Tampa. It may not be a stunning example of cutting-edge visual design, but the building's 128-acre plot does incorporate a 22-acre man-made lake, a jogging trail and wetlands.

--Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer

It IS easy being green

Ever wondered what a green job is? It might be the job you already have.

A new report from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts tallied up workers whose jobs could become “green” if businesses start investing in solar and wind power, retrofitting buildings for energy-efficiency, and building gas-sipping cars.

A boom in wind turbine construction could lead to higher demand for sheet-metal workers. Want more solar? You’ll need more electrical engineers and electricians. The report counted 69,000 carpenters, 44,000 electricians, 14,000 welders and 24,000 truck drivers in Florida whose jobs could go “green” as the state pushes to reduce greenhouse gases.

Given the state of Florida's economy, workers will likely happily accept these jobs as soon as they materialize. The report didn't say when that might be.

No word either on whether writing this blog item counts as a green job.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer

How rising sea level could affect Florida's coastline

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is hosting two events in Miami today to promote awareness about global warming's impact on sea level rise. A lunchtime event at the Intercontinental Hotel features Edward Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030’s which has prepared an interactive graphics display on how sea level rise might affect Florida's coastline.

"More than 70 per cent of electrical generation goes to heating, lighting and cooling for buildings," says Melissa Meehan, Florida climate organizer for the SACE. "So it's easy to see how green building has to be part of the solution."

Architecture 2030's mission is to transform the building sector from being the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to becoming part of the solution. The 2030 Challenge calls upon the building sector to reduce emissions by the year 2030 through investment in energy efficient buildings. The US Conference of Mayors, The American Institute of Architects and the US Green Building Council have adopted the challenge.

An evening Panel featuring leaders from business, community and faith-based group to discuss sea level rise problems and solutions at the Temple Beth Sholom from 6:45- 8:00 p.m.

Click here for the inter-active display.

- David Adams

More and more states tackling global warming

"As proposals to cap greenhouse gas emissions stall in Congress, more than half the states are moving aggressively to combat the pollution that causes global warming," USA Today reports in a front-page story today that is woefully short on details.

In 2008, eight states are scheduled to release plans to slash emissions of heat-trapping gases, the story notes, and 17 states -- including Florida -- already have set emissions targets.

"States are deploying an array of strategies to reduce pollution," the story reports. "Among them: capping carbon dioxide emissions of power plants or vehicles and promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy."

To read the USA Today story, click here. (Fair warning: It's not much longer than this blog post.)

--Craig Pittman

Florida business trend is green - outlook for 2008

In its annual outlook for 2008, Florida Trend magazine says “green consciousness” will be a defining factor in 2008.

"For some companies, it’s just a marketing strategy, but others seem motivated more by a sense of responsibility — or recognition that going green can help the bottom line. This year’s Industry Outlook issue kicks off with a look at real “green” leaders around the state. Meanwhile, each of the 13 industry roundups includes a snapshot of green efforts in those economic sectors."

Click here to read the 'green leaders' Industry Outlook, 'Shades of Green.'

(Florida Trend is a sister publication of The St Petersburg Times, publishers of this blog.)

- David Adams

Net Metering comes to Florida

Good news for people who want to put a wind farm in their back yard. The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved rule changes for “net metering.” That’s when your electric meter rolls backward to reflect power you produce at home.

The commission expedited interconnection, expanded eligible power to any type of renewable instead of just solar photovoltaic systems, and increased the size of eligible systems from 2 kilowatts to 10 megawatts, enough to power more than 6,000 homes. If no comments or requests for hearing are received, the rule will be filed for adoption with the Secretary of State.

The rule changes allow people to come up with some innovative ways of producing power. For example, there's been some speculation that exercise equipment could generate power while in use, or large vacant properties could be turned into mini-solar arrays, or homeowners could start building their own windmills. Still, these mini power plants have to pass muster with the neighbors, as the New York Times noted in this article.

Local utilities Tampa Electric and Progress Energy have just a handful of interconnected customers now. It remains to be seen if the new rules will offer incentive enough to homeowners to offset the cost of solar systems or other types of power.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Crist promotes energy innovation across Florida

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is continuing to show his keen interest in emerging alternative energy technologies. Yesterday he visited an eco-friendly roofing company, Advanced Green Technologies, in Fort Lauderdale.
The company designs different various systems, including solar-powered canopies (see photo) which uses a high light-transmissive polymer, instead of the traditional photo-voltaic roof panels.

On Thursday, Crist is due to attend a Governors Roundtable on Alternative Fuels and Vehicles, as part of National Governors Association’s 'Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative,'  taking place in Tampa.

While the Governor advocates increased state and federal involvement in promoting alternative energy he is also highlighting the important role of innovative private companies (something this blog has also focused on).

"I'm very proud of what these Florida corporations are doing. In my opinion, they are the leaders in green initiatives," Crist said. ''It's people that make a difference. It's private enterprise that makes a difference."

Click here to read more from The Miami Herald. Click here to read more from The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

- David Adams

Green building code in Tampa. Council member takes on the challenge

A City Council member in Tampa got tired of waiting for the city staff to draw up a green green building code. So John Dingfelder is writing it himself. Way to go John.

Click here to tread more in The St Petersburg Times.

- David Adams

South Florida hotels 'going green.'

South Florida's hotels are attempting to be more eco-friendly in response to the state's 'green lodging' program designed to reduce pollution.
The program was introduced in 2004, but interest has picked up this year after Florida Governor Charlie Crist ordered that state-sponsored meetings and conferences be held at certified green hotels whenever possible, beginning Jan. 1.

Click here to read more about the efforts made by Bob O'Neill, director of security at the Four Seasons hotel on Brickell Ave.

Click here for a list of green certified hotels in South Florida.

- David Adams

Energy cost and emissions of heating and cooling your house.

Both heating and cooling your home take large amounts of energy, more than we use for any other appliance. But according to researchers at National Geographic's The Green Guide, you will probably consume more energy heating your home than cooling it.

Click here to learn more from NPR's Morning Edition.

- David Adams

'Green Lodging' in Florida

Florida Gov Charlie Crist is promoting a 'Green Lodging' plan to encourage hotels to be more environmentally conscious and conserve energy. The Florida Green Lodging Program was established in 2004 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The latest hotel to be certified is the Sirata Beach Resort on St Petersburg Beach. This brings the list to 29 certified hotels, including The Four Seasons and the Intercontinental in Miami. Others seeking certification include the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura, the DeSoto Ocean View Inn in Hollywood, and the Woodmont Hotel in Tamarac.

Read more about it in The Miami Herald.

- David Adams

Governor's mansion taps Sunshine State's free power source

As promised, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had solar panels installed on the governor's mansion. He unveiled the results today.

See our politics blog, The Buzz, for details.

Another look at Home Depot's 'Eco Options.'

Manufacturers are striving to be green. But many don't make the grade. Just ask Ron Jarvis, a Home Depot senior vice president who oversees the Eco Options program.

Click here to read an article in The New York Times about how Home Depot grades its econ-options products.

Click here to visit Home Depot's Eco Options website.

Click here to visit previous April 17 posting on The Fueling Station.

- David Adams

Florida's 'green town' of the future.

An unbuilt community in Florida's Panhandle is hoping to be the 'green town of the future.'

If all goes as planned, the 600 families in the town of Sky will be the first community-wide energy-efficient housing development of its kind.

The idea is for one central air conditioner for the entire town and distributing the cooled air to houses. Some heating and cooling may be done with a geothermal system, where liquid is piped underground to be heated by the Earth in the winter and cooled by it in the summer.

Residents would be able to walk everywhere. Appliances would be run by solar-powered batteries. Houses would be oriented to avoid the summer sun. And everyone could grow some food in the garden.

Click here for the story from AP.

- David Adams

Gore's big plans.

Click here to read James Traub's essay 'Al Gore has big plans,'  in The New York Times Magazine on the former VP's transformation from defeated candidate to successful global warming activist.

Traub provides interesting insights on Gore's rediscovery of his global warming roots and the now-famous slide show. There's also some interesting comments from Gore about a future presidential run. He doesn't rule it out, though he says it would take exceptional circumstances to get him to throw in his hat. What he seems to be saying is that if the Hillary or Obama campaigns haven't clicked by the end of this year, he might give it a shot.

By the way, the magazine also has a feature series on 'Eco-tecture,' or green architecture.

Home Depot to offer new 'Eco' labels

Following the environmental lead of Wal-Mart Stores, another major retailer, Home Depot, today will introduce a label for nearly 3,000 products, like fluorescent light bulbs that conserve electricity, sustainable forestry and clean water.

The initiative — which is expected to include 6,000 products by 2009 - would become the largest green labeling program in American retailing, the New York Times reports.

Home Depot executives say that as the world’s largest buyer of construction material, their company had the power to persuade thousands of suppliers, home builders and consumers to follow its lead on environment sustainability.

But persuading the majority of Americans to buy less polluting products could prove an uphill battle, at least for now, environmental advocates say. Decades of research have shown that consumers often say they want sustainable products but rarely purchase them. Prices tend to be higher, and consumers complain that the products do not always work as well as those they are meant to replace.

Click here to read the article.

- David Adams

Discovery to launch green living channel

The Discovery network is set to launch a new channel next year focused entirely on eco-friendly living. It's betting on consumers' — and advertisers' — continued interest in everything green.

Click here to find out more from Marketplace on American Public Media.

- David Adams

Bank of America latest to go green

Bank of America Corp says it plans to commit $20 billion over the next decade to support growth in environmentally-friendly businesses.

About $18 billion will be used to help commercial clients finance the use and production of environmentally sustainable products, services and technologies.

Nationwide, Bank of America has 5,704 offices with about $558.2 billion in deposits.

The Charlotte-based company will introduce several products for individual customers over the next year, including credit cards where use will result in contributions to greenhouse-gas reduction projects and lower-cost mortgages for people who buy homes with low energy consumption.

Bank of America recently expanded its $3,000 hybrid-vehicle reimbursement program to more than 185,000 of its U.S.-based employees. All full-time and part- time, U.S.-based associates working at least 20 hours per week are eligible.

Bank of America is also building a green office tower in New York. When it opens in 2008 it will be the country's greenest high-rise building, demonstrating the state of the art in energy efficiency, indoor air quality, sustainable materials, and environmentally-conscious construction, operations, and maintenance procedures. The 55-story, 2.2 million sq. ft. tower is the first to strive for the Platinum LEED designation.

Click here  to go to Bank of America's "Environment" website.

- David Adams

House Democrats Urge Greening of Capitol Complex

This should be interesting. I wonder what they will come up with. Solar panels on the Capitol roof, maybe? Apparently, the Capitol is overheated in the winter, lighted by thousands of bulbs, brimming over with copy paper and short on recycling containers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Juanita Millender-McDonald, Chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration wrote yesterday to Daniel Beard, Chief Administrative Officer, requesting a "Green the Capitol" initiative. They want to see recommendations by June 30.

“The Capitol complex should lead the nation in preserving our planet for future generations,” they wrote in their letter.

Below is the text of the letter:

March 1, 2007

Dear Mr. Beard:

We are writing to direct you to undertake a critical initiative to address energy conservation, efficiency and cost savings for the U.S. Capitol and congressional office buildings.

The House of Representatives should provide leadership to the nation in providing an environmentally responsible and healthy working environment for our employees. 

We request that you, in conjunction with your Senate counterparts, undertake a “Green the Capitol” initiative to ensure that the House institutes the most up-to-date industry and government standards for green building and green operating procedures.  This process should include recommendations for benchmarking existing conditions; setting meaningful and measurable goals; timetables for implementing various changes in operating conditions; and measures to report progress on a regular basis.

A preliminary report should be provided by April 30, 2007, with final recommendations submitted to us by June 30.  Please undertake this initiative in cooperation with the Architect of the Capitol, U.S. Capitol Police, and other House officers.  You should also consult on a regular basis with the House Administration Committee, the Committee on Appropriations, and other House committees as appropriate.  We would hope that you can consult with your Senate counterparts to ensure that the improvements you recommend are fully considered by those managing Senate operations and buildings as well.

The Capitol complex should lead the nation in preserving our planet for future generations.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Juanita Millender-McDonald

Click here for news coverage of the announcement

- David Adams

Green building on Florida's Gulf Coast

Earlier this month the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council held the second annual Smart, Sustainable Tampa Bay event in the Clearwater/Largo area, which like the inaugural one last year was sold out on both days.  The concept of the event is to inform about the beneficial effects that green building design, construction and operation has on human health, productivity, the environment, and profitability.... or people, profits, and planet.

There were about two hundred attendees from Hillsborough, Manatee, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, including City and County elected officials and staff, commercial real estate developers, architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, consultants and students. The event brought prominent speakers about sustainability and associated building practices from Florida, Ohio, Texas, California, Oregon, and Vancouver, Canada.  The speakers were Linda Chapin, Director, Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies University of Central Florida; Rob Bennett who has recently joined the Clinton Foundation's Climate Initiative Large Cities Project; Michelle Kaufmann, Principal Architect, MKD; Bob Moroz and Joe Kuspan who are working on the Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, TX, which will be the world's first Platinum LEED^® rated hospital; Paul Richardson, V.P. and Legal Counsel of Renewal Partners and Bahar Armaghani from the University of Florida, Facilities Planning and Construction Department.

Linda Chapin presented a study undertaken by the University of Pennsylvania Department of Regional and City Planning about the future of the seven county region of Central Florida.  The study paints two starkly different pictures of how the region will look in 2050.  While the current growth pattern would lead to a future of endless traffic, roads and houses, the study proposes an alternate solution that would conserve environmentally sensitive land and create higher density residential areas around light and high speed rail.

Rob Bennett spoke about his work in Vancouver, Canada and Portland, Oregon. In Vancouver he was involved with planning a downtown, waterfront 70 acre site which is being constructed to green building standards and will be used initially as the Olympic Village for the 2010 Winter Olympics, then as a residential community.  During his tenure in Portland he was Programs and Policy Manager at the city's Office of Sustainable Development.

Michelle Kaufmann's presentation was titled "Prefab Green", which showed how her firm is leading the way in making it easy to go green for residences.  She included strategies for designers and clients to reduce waste, minimize energy use and maximize resource efficiencies.  One of her firm's designs, the Glidehouse, is currently on display at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  The presentation by Bob Moroz and Joe Kuspan about the Dell Children's Medical Center covered the entire design process for the project, including the early business decision to only include good design practices that met the owner's ROI criteria.  Some sustainable features that have been incorporated into the project include reuse of materials from the original airport runways; electricity production on site via a natural gas cogeneration plant, which will also provide chilled water for air-conditioning and steam for hospital use and extensive use of daylighting throughout the facility.  They mentioned that due to the design features of the hospital, unlike other healthcare facilities owned by the client where it is a challenge to recruit staff, there is a waiting list to work at this facility.  It is scheduled for opening in July 2007.

Paul Richardson's presentation included the socially and environmentally responsible companies that Renewal Partners invests in as a seed capital company and his involvement with the Great Bear Rainforest (GBR).  The GBR is the world's largest coastal, temperate rainforest and occupies 21 million acres.  Mr. Richardson's work has entailed the creation of new organizations and funding mechanisms that will be part of the largest integrated conservation program in North American history.

Bahar Armaghani discussed the 18 LEED^® projects that she is the coordinator for at the University of Florida.  All the speakers provided a wealth of information and attendees had the opportunity to ask questions during the presentations and breaks between sessions. Planning for next year's event will be starting in the next few weeks.

Why Build Green ?

Although automobiles come to mind when green house gases and global warming are mentioned in conversations, most people do not realize that in the U.S., residential and commercial buildings account for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, they account for 36% of total energy use, 65% of electrical consumption, 30% of raw material use, 30% of waste output, and 12% of potable water use annually according to the U.S. DOE Energy Information Administration.  These numbers make it evident that even a small change in the design and construction of buildings can have a significant effect on the use of finite and diminishing resources of the planet.

An organization, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), has been promoting the design, construction, and operation of green buildings since 1993.  The USGBC?  It is a diverse, non-profit membership based organization, with members and volunteer leaders that are from all the stakeholders in the building and design industries, such as Architects, Building Owners, Code Officials, Contractors, Engineers, Interior Designers and Planners.  The organization currently has over 6,500 member companies and organizations.

In order to define and measure what constitutes a green building, the organization developed the LEED^® standard, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  The standard has five environmental categories which are Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality.  A sixth category, Innovation and Design cover areas not covered by the other categories.  There are pre-requisites that have to be met, plus other criteria which have a point score that will define the level of green building certification. The levels are certified, silver, gold, and platinum.  There are currently 10 certified buildings in Florida, with another 133 projects planned.

Click here for information about the Central FL study.

Click here for information about the 2010 Olympic Village.

Click here for information about MKD's prefabricated green designs.

Click here for information about the Dell Children's Medical Center of Texas.

Click here for information about Renewal Partners sustainable business model.

Click here for information about the local Chapter of USGBC.

International Builders Show: In search of new ideas.

James Culp, a valued reader of The Fueling Station sent us this report from the International Builders' Show in Orlando. James, who runs the Energy Program at Florida's Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA), was typically on the hunt for innovative energy-saving ideas. Here is what he found:

James writes:

"I must admit, the 2007 International Builders' Show (IBS), held 7 - 10 Feb at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida can best be described as overwhelming. As National Association of Home Builder's (NAHB) President David L. Pressly, Jr commented in the Presidents Message within the Exhibit Guide, "Prepare to be dazzled!" This year's exhibit hosts over 1,900 suppliers within 300 different industry categories on floor space exceeding one million square feet! Besides sponsoring the IBS, the NAHB is also the leadership behind the National Green Building Conference that will be held March 25-27, 2007 at the Adams Mark Hotel in St Louis, MO.  Needless to say, the magnitude of the show made the search for clean energy innovators a bit challenging. However, by the close of business on Friday, I had met professionals dispensing "green" advice, uploading "green" energy management software, selling "green" contractor's vehicles, blowing in "green" insulation, writing "green" mortgages, and generating "green" power...just to name a few. Hopefully, in next year's Exhibit Guide, the NAHB can include a "green" building category to help us with our search.

Our first energy innovator today is Michael Schildt at Marathon Engine Systems out of East Troy, WI. Their highly-efficient Ecopower micro-CHP is a Swiss-designed Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit that produces 4.7 kw of electricity with a combustion engine/generator and then harvests the waste heat off of the engine, generator, and exhaust system. This waste heat is sufficient to heat a normal-sized single family home or can be integrated into a hot water system. Michael not only builds the combustion engine component of the CHP unit, he has installed two units in his dad's basement in Wisconsin. He showed me pictures of the entire system on his pc. When his dad visits Florida for a couple of months each winter, he leaves one unit running to keep the pipes from freezing. The best part is he has a $350 check waiting on him for selling power back back into the grid of his local utility.

Thanks to all the extremely helpful folks from the Chrysler group who did a great job familiarizing me with their vehicles for contractors. I was glad to hear that "as of the 2007 Model Year, all Chrysler Group engines are B5 (5% biodiesel) compatible." Even more exciting, in their Cummins 5.9L and 6.7L engines for military and government fleet versions, you can use B20 without voiding your warranty. "Chrysler Group is working with industry partners to define and adopt consistent standards for biodiesel fuel content and quality," the company says. For the 2007 Model Year, B5 vehicles include the 3.0L V6 Grand Cherokee, the 5.9L I6 Ram 2500/3500 pick-ups, and the 6.7L I6 Ram 3500 Chassis/Cab and Ram 2500/3500 pick-ups (2007.5). In addition to the biodiesel vehicles offered by Chrysler, they also have a whole line of E85 Flex Fuel Vehicles as well. 

David Verbofsky, Manager of Learning at Alcoa Home Exteriors, Inc emphasized the importance of "superior energy performance" in the form of Structure EPS Premium Insulated Siding. This house siding is a step above standard insulated vinyl siding, and it adds an insulation factor of R-4 and leads to an average increase of 25% to your home's energy efficiency. Besides being "real insulation that's Energy Star qualified," EPS siding has many environmentally friendly benefits. Nearly all scrap material from manufacturing is reprocessed, leading to near zero waste. Also, vinyl siding is easier to maintain and does not require any toxic stains, paints, or other coatings in order to look good. Utilizing this product also "reduces the strain on scarce natural resources such as cedar and other wood products." "According to the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) studies, vinyl siding is rated significantly better than brick and stucco for both economic and environmental performance."

Another energy innovator is Awal "Dave" Lall, at Demilec (USA) LLC.   His public relations and marketing manager, Marija Gluscevic, from Immotion Studios in Fort Worth, Texas did a great job of building the excitement around their new soy-based, sprayed on insulating foam. Earlier in the day, the HGTVpro team that I met told me that Heatlok Soy was a must see product. Not only does Heatlok Soy utilize soy-based additives to replace some of the petroleum-based products typically found in this product, it also contains recycled plastics, and uses blowing agents that are "zero ozone depletion" rated.

Finally, how can you search for energy innovators at a massive builders' show without taking a look at what is new in the lighting world. Steven Pyshos at Cooper Lighting is by far the most astute lighting expert that I have ever spoken with. He should be heading up a lighting research program at one of our national laboratories. To say this man knows his lighting would be a major understatement. Steven easily moves from answering show attendee questions about what would look good lighting up a granite countertop to my highly technical prodding about energy efficiency and next generation lighting. He is also intimately familiar with coatings, chemistry, and manufacturing processes of all lighting presently on the market. Steven even works closely with his colleague at the UC Davis California Lighting Technology Center.  I was hoping to hear that LED lighting was going be a major solution to reducing energy consumption in residential and commercial applications, but from Steven's research, we are still a ways off from widespread LED usage. There are too many manufacturing and commercialization issues that still need to be worked out. That's not to say we don't have room in our lives for LEDs. As a case in  point, Steven pointed out that they are being used in patient rooms in healthcare applications such as task lighting for looking at records when a room is dark and the patient is sleeping. For now, I am told we should continue integrating compact fluorescent lighting  into our lives, along with highly efficient tungsten halogen IR lamps."

On a more philosophical note, James adds:

"Most of us who work in the clean energy field on a day-to-day basis realize that there is not going to be a "silver bullet" for our nation's energy crisis. In other words, we cannot sit around and live our lives waiting on someone else to make an amazing discovery in cellulosic ethanol production, next-generation lighting, or super-efficient electricity generation, and then expect the commercialization of the technology to fix all of our ills related to energy. There is not one solitary thing that is going to save us. Rather it will be a comprehensive interworking of existing technologies that fold into new discoveries that will make a real difference. It is going to take everyone making tangible changes in their lives to quell the fears of runaway oil and electricity prices, lack of energy diversification, zero power for countless days after a storm, and the uncertainties associated with importing oil from areas that are constantly in crisis. Every one of us can attain the goal of leading a "greener" life by starting at home. This means there are actions we can take that will make a real difference when we are building, remodeling, and operating our homes and businesses."

Solar: 2./ Solar power home rental units

Here's a couple of solar concepts that are new to me and which I feel might interest readers of The Fueling Station: 'concentrated solar power,' and solar power rentals. I'd be interested to get your feedback as both seem to me to have great potential.

2./ Solar power rentals: A Wilmington Delware-based company, Citizenrē REnU , is offering a unique option for domestic solar power.
The company will come to your home and install free of charge a solar power system which you the  rent, according to its website. The company owns and operates the package, while at the same time guaranteeing that your electricity bill will not be greater than the amount you were paying to receive power from the grid.

"You don’t have to worry about maintaining the equipment or any of the other concerns that come with making an investment into solar power. All you are required to do is pay for the electricity generated from these panels, at a fixed rate that is at or below your current electricity price, for up to twenty-five years," the website says.

As I understand it the company makes money both by charging the home owner for energy consumed as well as providing surplus energy to the grid.

"Our solar engineer will go through your past energy bills. Then, if you are interested, they will walk through your house and show you how to save energy.  Taking all this into consideration, they will calculate how much energy your personal solar unit will need to produce in order to supply energy for all of your needs. They will then design the system to supply that energy. You simply pay the rate per kilowatt hour that is on your contract for all the clean, renewable energy that your system produces."

The company has a sophisticated website but it does not provide much professional background about its staff.

Click here to visit Citizenrē REnU website. Check the energy savings calculator to work out how much you might save using this system.

Click here for the company's 'Frequently Asked Questions' webpage.

- David Adams

'Living With Ed.' Series Finale

I know it's Superbowl Sunday but tonight is the last episode of “Living with Ed” on HGTV at 10 pm EST, starring actor Ed Begley. Tape it, TIVO it, whatever, but don't miss it.

The last episode of this green reality show includes a visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Nye, who was the host of the Emmy Award-winning educational TV show from the 90s, lives in the same neighborhood as the Begleys. I'm told he and Ed get a bit competitive about who is the most green. Nye is a proponent of hybrid vehicles and is the “virtual” host of a resource center on Hybridcenter.org

Begley has been a revelation in this show. Personally I love his iZip electric workout bike which he uses to make his toast in the morning. Ed, I have a suggestion for you courtesy of one of my neighbors. He suggests going commercial with your bike Gym's could adapt it to channel all the energy from those spinning sessions my wife is into? Imagine how much electrictity all those gym bunnies could create!!

Click here to read my Jan 7 post when 'Living With Ed' launched.

Click here for Ed's Top ten Tips for Going Green.

- David Adams