Electricity no longer a cheap commodity

Wasteful energy consumption isn’t what it used to be. Once merely an act of inattentiveness that held little consequence, gluttonous energy consumption practices now significantly impact the bottom line of both individuals and businesses. As energy costs continue to skyrocket and environmental concerns move to the fore, running an energy-efficient business becomes a mission-critical practice that not only saves significant money, but also helps create a positive identity that attracts publicity and ongoing business

lighting control and energy management

Wireless Lighting Controls Offer Flexibility And Cost Savings in Commercial Buildings
BY CRAIG DILOUIE, ON MARCH 11, 2011

Image courtesy of Leviton.
Radio-frequency (RF) wireless communication is a significant emerging lighting control technology. In a typical hardwired lighting control system, control signals are sent using communication wires. In a wireless RF system, control devices communicate through the air using radio waves, eliminating the need for control wiring. The resulting advantages enable advanced lighting control with greater installation flexibility and lower labor installation cost, ideal for hard-to-wire applications non-accessible ceilings, hard ceilings, asbestos abasement issues, and brick and mortar existing buildings.
Wireless RF lighting control first became popularized in residential applications, with typical applications including home theater, kitchens and other common areas, master bedrooms and exterior and security lighting. In recent years, however, wireless RF lighting control has emerged as a viable alternative to hardwired controls in commercial building applications. What benefits does RF wireless communication provide?

The first benefit is flexibility. Wireless control devices can be placed where they are needed without limitation imposed by wiring, including areas that are difficult to wire. More flexibility is provided in unique applications. Electrical planning may be shortened. After installation, devices can be moved and the system expanded with relative ease.

The second benefit is labor and material cost savings, which may result in net installation savings after the typically higher product cost is figured. Wireless control eliminates the need for dedicated control wiring and associated switch legs, traveler wires and other raw materials. The system installs more quickly, producing labor savings. With no damage to walls or ceilings, and little to no disruption to business operations, wireless control lends itself well to existing building applications demanding the benefits of advanced lighting control.


Image courtesy of Leviton.
The advantages of wireless control make these solutions particularly suitable for commercial building applications where the cost of running control wires is too costly or simply not possible, such as outdoor lighting, parking garages, warehouses and retrofits.
RF Control Systems

Wireless RF control devices for commercial applications include occupancy sensors, photosensors, low-voltage relay switches, line-voltage controls, plug controls, hotel card switches, shade controls, HVAC and valve controllers, door/window sensors. Despite similarities between products, various manufacturers may take significantly different approaches.

In the simplest wireless RF system, a sensor, such as an occupancy sensor, communicates to a controller that controls the load, such as a wall switch with embedded RF receiver, using radio waves instead of wiring. The level of communication is pier to pier—two devices communicating within range. To extend the range, a repeater is required.

Wireless control devices may be powered by batteries or through energy harvested from the operating environment. High-quality batteries offer a rated life of 10 years. Self-powered devices are available using EnOcean’s wireless RF technology. For example, the simple motion of pressing a light switch harvests a sufficient amount of energy to send a control signal to a receiver. Sensors are powered by ambient light or via temperature differences. Hotel key card systems are powered by the motion of the placement of the card into the device.




Image courtesy of Ledalite.

Image courtesy of Ledalite.
Mesh Networking

More sophisticated control needs, involving a greater complexity of loads and integration of multiple control strategies, will involve larger systems such as mesh networks. In a mesh network, control signals are passed along, or routed among, all of the wireless devices that make up the system, or network nodes, providing multiple, redundant pathways for signals to get to their intended receiver(s). As such, repeaters are not necessary. In a typical system, each device is connected via at least two pathways. If two-way communication is enabled, devices can acknowledge receipt and request retransmission of data, enhancing reliability.


Image courtesy of Zensys.
Communication of a robust control signal is therefore enabled via the most efficient path between devices that have no direct path to each other or are out of range. This approach makes it possible for devices with relatively low transmitting power to communicate reliably over long distances. Mesh networks are “self healing,” meaning if one of the devices is not functioning, the signal simply routes through another functioning device. This type of configuration is easily scalable. Note that configuring a mesh network is more difficult than a non-mesh network. And the selected solution should include a method for locating and identifying devices for installation, operations and maintenance.
Protocols

For wireless RF control devices to be interoperable within a given control system, they must be compatible with the same protocol. Today, there are four main types of RF communication protocols: ZigBee, Z-Wave, EnOcean and proprietary.

ZigBee is an open-source protocol (IEEE 802.15.4) that is supported by the ZigBee Alliance of manufacturers. Vendors offering products based on the 2.4 GHz ZigBee platform include Sensor Switch, Crestron and Control4. ZigBee enables complex control functions and mesh and star networking configurations.

Z-Wave was developed by Zensys, a home controls manufacturer, and is shared with partnering companies through the Z-Wave Alliance, making this protocol a de facto open standard. Vendors offering products on the 900 MHz Z-Wave platform include Leviton, Cooper Wiring Devices and Intermatic.

EnOcean technology was developed by EnOcean and is shared with partnering companies through the EnOcean Alliance, making this protocol another de facto open standard. Manufacturers offering self-powered products based on the 315 MHz EnOcean platform include Leviton, Ledalite Architectural Products, Illumra and Zumtobel.

Some manufacturers develop proprietary protocols unique to their products operating as part of an engineered system. Manufacturers include Vantage Controls (900 MHz), WattStopper (900 MHz) and Lutron Electronics (400 MHz).


Image courtesy of Leviton.
Range
Wireless RF control devices in a network communicate with a radio range of 30-100 ft., more or less depending on whether the signal must travel through open space or obstacles such as dense walls. Range can be extended by adding devices, either repeaters or additional control devices in a network. Passing the signal through obstructions can impact range; the range given by a manufacturer as “open air” distance is not the same as what will occur in a structure.

Not just physical obstructions such as walls, but the type of material in the obstruction—steel, wood, brick, cement, etc.—will affect range. Installation in metal enclosures such as a metal junction box with a stainless steel faceplate will similarly affect range. Finally, range may be dependent on what protocol is used; the EnOcean Alliance, for example, claims a range of 50-150 ft. (through walls and ceilings). A device such as an RF signal strength meter (“sniffer”) should be used to check locations for these devices prior to installation.

Startup

Control devices in a wireless lighting control system work together in much the same way they would in a wired system. What is different is the way in which the devices interact and the level of intelligence required. In a hardwired system, the devices intended to work together can be simply wired. In a wireless system, the devices must be programmed or mapped to each other so they know to which control signals they should be responsive, and how they should respond. Additional intelligence is not new; it has been deployed in networked lighting systems for some time.

Along with the flexibility of wireless lighting controls comes some added complexity. Important questions to ask include how the devices are set up and commissioned, and by whom. It is recommended that programming be performed prior to physical installation, as the operating range is reduced during programming. It is further recommended that the wired receiver device be installed first and then the wireless device programmed within 10 ft. to ensure mapping.

Integration

While wireless RF control systems may be standalone, wireless devices may also supplement, expand or otherwise interface with an existing control system.

The wireless RF solution may be required to integrate with the hardwired lighting control system as well as other building monitoring and control systems such as BACnet, LONworks, Modbus, DALI and TCP/IP (Internet). Additionally, it may also be required to operate with other wireless control devices. Selected devices should not interfere with each other, should be FCC certified, and should be secure from intrusion. EnOcean modules, for example, contain a unique 32-bit ID number to prevent overlap with other wireless controls. Additionally, some wireless controls also use 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) security for communications.

Wireless Expands Lighting Control

RF wireless lighting controls are growing in popularity both as a more flexible alternative to hardwired systems in new construction and as an economical way to retrofit existing spaces with minimal cost and disruption.

More information:

See LCA’s new online course on wireless lighting controls here.

See Lutron’s offering of wireless controls here.

See Leviton’s offering of wireless controls here.

See WattStopper’s offering of wireless controls here.

Carbon Credits

Branson sails on with "Operation Rock the Boat"
Dec 6, 2010 Business Green
The Carbon War Room has today launched an online database ranking the environmental performance of most of the world's ocean-going vessels in a bid to help the shipping industry cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than half a billion tonnes a year by 2020.
The lobby group, which was founded by Richard Branson 18 months ago, said the new ShippingEfficiency.org site will list fuel efficiency data for around 60,000 ships, including the majority of the world's container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise ships and ferries.

The site aims to help businesses and individuals make better informed decisions about the ships they use by rating vessels using a simple A to G grading system.

The group said it has used rating methodology developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization's under its Energy Efficiency Design Index and combined it with data from the world's largest ship registry, IHS Fairplay.

The site is the latest project from The Carbon War Room's so-called "Operation Rock the Boat" initiative, which aims to encourage shipping operators to invest in lower carbon technology to cut emissions and operating costs.

It says a new global fleet based on the most efficient available technologies could cut CO2 emissions by half a billion tonnes a year by 2020, putting it on a path to cut more than one billion tonnes of carbon annually by 2050.

Today's launch forms part of the group's five-pronged attack on shipping emissions, which also calls for the industry to update key charter contracts and accelerate the adoption and enforcement of new national shipping legislation.

In a recent interview with The Economist, Branson said the group is also trying to convince ports in the US to give preferential treatment to lower-carbon vessels when docking.

Shipping is thought to account for about three per cent of the world's carbon emissions, but because it is not covered by the Kyoto Protocol the sector currently has no mandatory targets for cutting emissions.

Electrical Energy Management

Oct 29, 2010
Australia’s biggest office landlords are switching off lights and installing more efficient air conditioners ahead of rules demanding reporting of energy use in the nation with the developed world’s second-highest greenhouse gas emissions per person.
The largest property managers are ahead of legislation which comes into effect Nov. 1 requiring owners to reveal office buildings’ energy efficiency to tenants and buyers, according to Simon Wild, Sydney-based principal at sustainable design consultants Cundall. Cundall worked with the U.K. Green Building Council on a study of the nation’s sustainability rating tool, the results of which were released in August.
“The industry, particularly the tier one landlords, have been disclosing for a long time,” Wild said. “Australian companies are very much market-driven about how they can attract the big players in town to reside within their buildings.”
GPT Group, Australia’s second-biggest diversified property trust by market value, cut its buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent between 2005 and 2009 by installing more efficient air conditioners and recycling more waste. Morgan Stanley-backed Investa Property Group’s 21-story Ark building in North Sydney can generate electricity, recycle rainwater and recharge electric cars.
Australia boasts some of the most environmentally friendly real-estate groups in the world, a survey of global companies by Netherlands-based Maastricht University found this year. Sydney- based GPT heads the Dow Jones Sustainability Index’s 21-company real-estate leader list, a third of whose members are Australian, more than any other country.
Energy Efficiency
Australia had the second-highest carbon dioxide emissions per capita among developed nations, according to 2008 figures from the International Energy Agency, the latest data available from the group. Only Luxembourg’s emissions were higher.
The legislation requires owners of office buildings leasing or selling more than 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet) to reveal their day-to-day energy efficiency on the five-star National Australian Built Environment Rating System. Companies pay A$770 ($752) for a rating to New South Wales state’s Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, which administers the program nationally, and about A$3,000 for an assessor to review documents including the previous year’s bills, said Yma ten Hoedt, the department’s principal program manager.
The rules will affect 10 percent of office buildings nationally every year, DECCW estimates. Companies must also disclose tenanted areas’ lighting systems’ performance and provide a statement on buildings’ efficiency from Nov. 1, 2011.
Smaller owners, who may not have ratings or necessary documents, will be most affected, said Rebecca Pearce, Sydney- based head of sustainability at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world’s largest commercial property broker.
Tenants
Government agencies, which occupy about a third of offices nationally, will require buildings they lease or own to have a minimum 4.5 star energy rating by next year. The national average is 2.5 stars, with the biggest landlords targeting 4.5 over the next two to four years.
“To have a building vacant because it’s not efficient or rated so tenants don’t want to go into it, we don’t even want to go there,” said Rowan Griffin, head of sustainability at Colonial First State, the asset management arm of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Colonial manages 34 office properties, valued at about A$4 billion.
Almost 300 tenants occupying about 1.5 million square meters, have committed to the CitySwitch Green Office program, including accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, property broker DTZ, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country’s biggest bank, pledging to achieve at least a four-star tenancy rating.
Improving Performance
PricewaterhouseCoopers has spent A$800,000 replacing light switches in its Sydney office with sensors, according to the CitySwitch website. DTZ is saving A$3,500 a year on the energy bill at its Sydney headquarters by introducing steps such as installing shared printers and setting computing equipment to turn off automatically, the website said.
A one-star efficiency gain means A$2 to A$4 in annual savings per square meter, a Citi Investment Research study in January found. For a 10,000-square-meter office building, that equates to savings of as much as A$40,000 a year.
A University of California, Berkeley, study found buildings rated under a U.S. plan similar to the system used in the incoming Australian rules commanded rents of about 3.5 percent more than comparable properties, and sale prices rose as much as 16 percent. A similar Australian study is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2011.
Building Management
Companies reach up to four stars by better timing lights and equipment use, installing more efficient systems during upgrades, and better training staff, said Craig Roussac, general manager for sustainability, safety and environment at Investa. The company improved one of its building’s performance by 1.5 stars more than expected by adjusting the way it was run by its manager, he said.
“You can have an efficient car, but you can be driving it with the handbrake on and completely stuff things up,” Roussac said. “Conversely, you can have someone who’s passionate and skilled, and see an increase in returns.”

Electrical Energy Management

1. High-tech tools to save energy in center city
Sep 24, 2010 Charlotte Observer
Duke Energy and corporate-government partners unveiled plans Thursday to deploy cutting-edge technology to save energy in uptown Charlotte's commercial core.
The initiative, which Duke calls the first of its kind, would apply the smart-grid devices Duke is already testing in south Charlotte homes to the energy-hungry buildings in the center city.
The goal, by 2016, is to cut energy use 20 percent in about 60 buildings, including most commercial structures inside the Interstate 277 loop.
Smart grid refers to the use of digital technology and sensors to update an electrical system that has changed little, in its basics, since Thomas Edison. It uses electricity more efficiently, in part by giving consumers more information and control over their energy use.
In uptown, digital displays in each building's lobby will track its real-time energy use. Building managers will use the information to fine-tune heating, cooling and lighting. Workers, Duke hopes, will be motivated to turn off lights.
With Thursday's announcement, Duke, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County - which control about 12 million of the 15 million square feet of commercial space inside the loop - agreed to make it a joint effort.
Organizers hope to expand it to most other commercial buildings in the uptown loop.
"We're putting control in the hands of our major customers and we're making our city one of the most energy-efficient in the world" as energy costs rise, Duke CEO Jim Rogers said in New York, where the plan was announced at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The Clinton initiative promotes government-private sector partnerships.
Duke worked with Charlotte Center City Partners, the uptown development group, to design a signature test of energy efficiency. It will be the first in a series of public-private projects focused on green values under an umbrella initiative called Envision: Charlotte.
Duke and technology company Cisco will front the $5.3million cost of outfitting Charlotte's commercial buildings with energy-management equipment. Duke hopes to recover some of its costs through a small energy-efficiency rider that would be added to customer bills.
Apart from saving electricity, one of the goals is to heighten awareness of energy conservation.
"One of the biggest challenges in succeeding with smart grid is changing behavior," said Ed Carney, a Cisco vice president.
Uptown buildings might compete with each other to save power. Their total energy use will be compared with that of Raleigh, Atlanta and New York.
"The real power of smart grid lies in the power of information," said Yi Deng, dean of UNC Charlotte's College of Computing and Informatics, which will help Duke analyze the energy data that's produced.
"A substantial part is behavior and how can you better manage the buildings. Right now, we don't have the information to answer those questions."
Commercial buildings waste about 30 percent of the energy they buy, the Environmental Protection Agency says. Bank of America and Wells Fargo, which together control 10 million square feet uptown, have both set corporate energy-saving goals and erected new towers that meet high efficiency standards.
Charlotte has also staked a claim as an energy capital because of the presence of Duke, 13,000 energy-related jobs in the broader region and training programs such as UNCC's Energy Production & Infrastructure Center.
"We are the right city at the right time," said Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy North Carolina.

Electrical Energy Management

Iran provides finance for Zimbabwe's energy sector





A Zimbabwean diplomat announced that Iran has opened a multi-million-euro credit line to aid the African state in financing its energy sector.

Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Iran Nicholas Kitikiti said that Iran's €40 million credit line will finance energy, banking and industrial projects in the African country.

The funds would be used to rehabilitate the country's main power station to increase electricity supplies and reduce rationing, Kitikiti has said.

"The facility is there and waiting for us to harness. I am sure this will go a long way in assisting us in our economic development programs," Nicholas Kitikiti said, referring to the Iranian credit line.

He said Zimbabwe had already opened negotiations with Iran for further lines of credit covering the agriculture, health and technology sectors.

In April 2010, Iran and Zimbabwe signed 11 documents for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in different fields.

The protocols, signed during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the African state, envision cooperation in the fields of tourism, science, technology, youth affairs, transportation, aviation and education as well as lifting political and service visa issuance.

Furthermore, Iran's Export Guarantee Fund and Zimbabwe Finance Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the meeting as the two countries' officials agreed on formation of mutual investment companies and drawing up executive plans for scientific, cultural, and technical cooperation.

Energy Management

Dora-1 Geothermal Project - VCS
Available for purchase on the website

The Dora-I Geothermal Project is a 7.9 MW renewable energy geothermal power plant located in the the Salavatli village of Aydin city in Turkey. Using geothermal energy, the power plant generates electricity that is exported to the national grid of Turkey. Some of the waste heat is planned to be used in local greenhouses to support the regional horticultural industry.

This pioneering Project is the first private geothermal power plant in Turkey and it uses state-of-the-art technology. By developing one of the first projects demonstrating the operational capability of geothermal power plants, the project operators have taken significant first mover risks and helped to stimulate the growth of the geothermal power industry in Turkey.



Project Details More Resources:

Location: Salavatli village,
Aydin city in Turkey


Coordinates: 37°53’22.85’’N / 28°06’33.50’’E
view location on map

Type: Geothermal

Standard: Voluntary Carbon Standard

Vintage: 2008/09


Status: Voluntary Carbon Standard Issued

Project Operator: Menderes Geothermal Elektrik
Uretim A.g and South Pole
Carbon Asset Management Ltd.

Clean power. where is the US?

China Leading Global Race to Make Clean Energy
By KEITH BRADSHER
TIANJIN, China — China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year.
China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.
These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.
“Most of the energy equipment will carry a brass plate, ‘Made in China,’ ” said K. K. Chan, the chief executive of Nature Elements Capital, a private equity fund in Beijing that focuses on renewable energy.
President Obama, in his State of the Union speech last week, sounded an alarm that the United States was falling behind other countries, especially China, on energy. “I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders — and I know you don’t either,” he told Congress.
The United States and other countries are offering incentives to develop their own renewable energy industries, and Mr. Obama called for redoubling American efforts. Yet many Western and Chinese executives expect China to prevail in the energy-technology race.
Multinational corporations are responding to the rapid growth of China’s market by building big, state-of-the-art factories in China. Vestas of Denmark has just erected the world’s biggest wind turbine manufacturing complex here in northeastern China, and transferred the technology to build the latest electronic controls and generators.
“You have to move fast with the market,” said Jens Tommerup, the president of Vestas China. “Nobody has ever seen such fast development in a wind market.”
Renewable energy industries here are adding jobs rapidly, reaching 1.12 million in 2008 and climbing by 100,000 a year, according to the government-backed Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association.
Yet renewable energy may be doing more for China’s economy than for the environment. Total power generation in China is on track to pass the United States in 2012 — and most of the added capacity will still be from coal.
China intends for wind, solar and biomass energy to represent 8 percent of its electricity generation capacity by 2020. That compares with less than 4 percent now in China and the United States. Coal will still represent two-thirds of China’s capacity in 2020, and nuclear and hydropower most of the rest.
As China seeks to dominate energy-equipment exports, it has the advantage of being the world’s largest market for power equipment. The government spends heavily to upgrade the electricity grid, committing $45 billion in 2009 alone. State-owned banks provide generous financing.
China’s top leaders are intensely focused on energy policy: on Wednesday, the government announced the creation of a National Energy Commission composed of cabinet ministers as a “superministry” led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao himself.
Regulators have set mandates for power generation companies to use more renewable energy. Generous subsidies for consumers to install their own solar panels or solar water heaters have produced flurries of activity on rooftops across China.
China’s biggest advantage may be its domestic demand for electricity, rising 15 percent a year. To meet demand in the coming decade, according to statistics from the International Energy Agency, China will need to add nearly nine times as much electricity generation capacity as the United States will.
So while Americans are used to thinking of themselves as having the world’s largest market in many industries, China’s market for power equipment dwarfs that of the United States, even though the American market is more mature. That means Chinese producers enjoy enormous efficiencies from large-scale production.
In the United States, power companies frequently face a choice between buying renewable energy equipment or continuing to operate fossil-fuel-fired power plants that have already been built and paid for. In China, power companies have to buy lots of new equipment anyway, and alternative energy, particularly wind and nuclear, is increasingly priced competitively.
Interest rates as low as 2 percent for bank loans — the result of a savings rate of 40 percent and a government policy of steering loans to renewable energy — have also made a big difference.
As in many other industries, China’s low labor costs are an advantage in energy. Although Chinese wages have risen sharply in the last five years, Vestas still pays assembly line workers here only $4,100 a year.
China’s commitment to renewable energy is expensive. Although costs are falling steeply through mass production, wind energy is still 20 to 40 percent more expensive than coal-fired power. Solar power is still at least twice as expensive as coal.
The Chinese government charges a renewable energy fee to all electricity users. The fee increases residential electricity bills by 0.25 percent to 0.4 percent. For industrial users of electricity, the fee doubled in November to roughly 0.8 percent of the electricity bill.
The fee revenue goes to companies that operate the electricity grid, to make up the cost difference between renewable energy and coal-fired power.
Renewable energy fees are not yet high enough to affect China’s competitiveness even in energy-intensive industries, said the chairman of a Chinese industrial company, who asked not to be identified because of the political sensitivity of electricity rates in China.
Grid operators are unhappy. They are reimbursed for the extra cost of buying renewable energy instead of coal-fired power, but not for the formidable cost of building power lines to wind turbines and other renewable energy producers, many of them in remote, windswept areas. Transmission losses are high for sending power over long distances to cities, and nearly a third of China’s wind turbines are not yet connected to the national grid.
Most of these turbines were built only in the last year, however, and grid construction has not caught up. Under legislation passed by the Chinese legislature on Dec. 26, a grid operator that does not connect a renewable energy operation to the grid must pay that operation twice the value of the electricity that cannot be distributed.
With prices tumbling, China’s wind and solar industries are increasingly looking to sell equipment abroad — and facing complaints by Western companies that they have unfair advantages. When a Chinese company reached a deal in November to supply turbines for a big wind farm in Texas, there were calls in Congress to halt federal spending on imported equipment.
“Every country, including the United States and in Europe, wants a low cost of renewable energy,” said Ma Lingjuan, deputy managing director of China’s renewable energy association. “Now China has reached that level, but it gets criticized by the rest of the world.”

Energy Management

11. Past Decade Warmest Ever, NASA Data Shows
Jan 22, 2010 New York Times
By John M. Broder
WASHINGTON — The decade ending in 2009 was the warmest on record, new surface temperature figures released Thursday by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration show.
The agency also found that 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began. The warmest year was 2005. The other hottest recorded years have all occurred since 1998, NASA said.
James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that global temperatures varied because of changes in ocean heating and cooling cycles. “When we average temperature over 5 or 10 years to minimize that variability,” said Dr. Hansen, one of the world’s leading climatologists, “we find global warming is continuing unabated.”
A separate preliminary analysis from another NASA office, the National Climatic Data Center, found that 2009 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest year on record, based on measurements taken on land and at sea. The data center report, published earlier this week, also cited the years 2000 to 2009 as the warmest decade ever measured. The new temperature figures provide new evidence in the scientific discussion of global warming but are not likely to be the last word on whether the planet’s temperature is on a consistent upward path.
Dr. Hansen, who has been an outspoken figure in the climate debate for years, has often been attacked by skeptics of global warming for what they charge is selective use of temperature data. The question of whether the planet is heating and how quickly was at the heart of the so-called “climategate” controversy that arose last fall when hundreds of e-mail messages from the climate study unit at the University of East Anglia in England were released without authorization.
Critics seized on the messages as evidence that, in their view, climate scientists were manipulating data and colluding to keep contrary opinion out of scientific journals. But climate scientists and political leaders affirmed what they called a broad-based consensus that the planet was growing warmer, and on a consistent basis, although with measurable year-to-year variations.
The NASA data released Thursday showed an upward temperature trend of about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit (0.2 degrees Celsius) per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have risen by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880.
“That’s the important number to keep in mind,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist at Goddard. “The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years.”
Policy makers at the United Nations climate change summit conference in Copenhagen last month agreed on a goal of trying to keep the rise in average global temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, to try to forestall the worst effects of global warming.

Saving electricity

Construction Management Degree
Guide to online construction management schools and degrees The Fixer-Upper Blog
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8 Painless Ways To Cut Your Electric Bill This Winter
With the winter season upon us, the high heating expenses are not far behind. There was a time when the only to combat them was to stay away from the heater and suffer. However, in recent times there have been loads of advances in conservation, efficiency, and technology. Below are 8 painless ways to cut your electric bill that require a little time, less money, and can end up saving you hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of dollars across a short span of time.

1.Strip : According to the experts at Lowe’s, a 1/8″ space between a standard exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a two square inch hole in the wall. Closing those gaps can save you up to 15% in heating costs and reduce the demand on your heating system. They also offer a guide on how to accomplish this at the beginner level. Only three tools, three materials, and a day is all it requires to weatherstrip your entire home.
2.Dodge The Draft : Cold air can seep in through your front, rear, or any entryway door. One of the best ways to deal with this is to install a draft dodger. As Seen On TV sells one for a considerable price. However, Green Upgrader shows you how to make one of your own at a fraction of the cost. All you need is some fabric and sewing supplies.
3.Find An Outlet : Another way drafts go in and out of the home is through the outlet and outlet covers, particularly the ones along exterior walls. Not to worry, there are special outlet and switch gaskets specially made to significantly reduce drafts. This store sells an entire kit for only $1.94.
4.Insulate : Water needs to be heated in the winter as well, so don’t throw money away by not insulating. If your water heater’s storage tank has a R-value of under R-24, adding insulation can reduce heat loss by 25-45%. The U.S. Department of Energy has tips on how to insulate both electric and gas heated water tanks. There are also other useful related guides.
5.Go Tankless : If you’re in the market for a new water heater, try a tankless one. They create hot water on demand so there’s no stored water needing to be continuously heated. They cost about $200 more than a standard water heater. However, the money you save by cutting your electric bills, especially in winter, can add up to that difference in just a few years. In addition, certain tankless heaters can qualify for up to a $1,500 tax credit.
6.Reflect On It : Radiator reflectors are insulation boards with aluminum or material on one side. When placed on the wall behind the radiator unit, they reflect heat back into the room, instead of allowing the heat to escape. An easy install for anyone looking to cut bills. They are also an inexpensive purchase at a hardware store, or you can make your own.
7.Program the Problems Away : A programmable thermostat allows you to set different temperatures for different times of the day, and even different times on different days. Cut your winter electric bills by setting it to automatically lower the temperature when you leave for work and raise it an hour before you return home. The DIY network shows you how to choose one and install it yourself, all in less than two hours.
8.Watch Out For Carbon Monoxide : The leading cause of poisoning accidents in the United States, a common cause of it is poorly maintained heating systems. Also, since the symptoms seem like the flu, it is not taken seriously. This video from WebMD show you how to prevent and detect it. Don’t waste the money you saved on winter electric bills with costly medical ones.
With just a little time and money, you can save an impressive amount of your hard-earned pay by following the tips in these 8 painless ways to cut your electric bill this winter. And since they only have to be done once, these tips can save you tons of money for years to come. All you have to do is decide what to spend all that savings on.

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Going Green

Personal Footprint
You can take steps to address your carbon emissions right now.
First you need to calculate the emissions you release from driving your car, your air travel, and the electricity you use in your home.
We'll then calculate how many carbon credits you need to offset your emissions. Our safe online payment process makes it easy for you to make a difference in just a few clicks.
You can also use the calculators to measure and offset flights, car trips and electricity associated with an event, such as a birthday or wedding celebration or honeymoon.
When you buy carbon credits through Climate Friendly, you're in effect putting renewable energy back into the power grid to replace the energy from fossil fuels that you have used.
Most of us do our best to address global warming by switching off lights and appliances, reducing our waste and walking or cycling more. But the global average emissions for an individual remains 5 tonnes a year, rising to 28 tonnes in countries such as the US and Australia.
Climate Friendly helps you to take immediate and meaningful action against global warming - contributing to an effective, long-term solution.
20 tips for energy saving
You don't need to be a Climate Friendly customer to reduce your carbon emissions. Here's 20 tips to get you started.
Buy renewable energy. Make the switch to save around 30% of your household greenhouse gas emissions a year.
Drive less. Cars contribute to a high percentage of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Before getting into your car, think about walking, riding your bike or taking public transport instead. It's better for your health and the planet.
Turn off lights and switch your bulbs. Turning off the lights when you leave a room or office and switching to compact fluorescent bulbs can make a big difference to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And it saves you money in energy costs.
Insulate your home and body. Look for ways to keep warm in winter without heating. Insulate ceilings, walls and your hot water heater, and wear a coat instead of turning up the heat.
Open the window, turn off the air conditioning. Air-conditioning is a great contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In summer, open your window, use a fan instead of air-conditioning, and always turn off air-conditioning when not at home.
Switch off standby. As much as 10% of your home's emissions may be from appliances like computers, televisions and other home entertainment devices left on standby. Try to always turn off appliances at the source.
Conserve water. Use less water when possible. Install a rainwater tank or even a grey water system that channels water from showers and baths to toilet and garden systems.
Fly less. Take international trips sparingly and make the most of local destinations. Do business remotely via conferencing units or online conferencing applications. This will mean fewer flights, less travel time and savings of up to 10 tonnes of emissions per international trip. If you need to fly, consider offsetting your flight emissions.
Use alternatives to electricity. Switching to solar hot water or gas heating can save as much as 3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
Buy efficiency. When buying high energy-using equipment or appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers, try to choose the item with the best energy rating.
Dry washing outside. One t-shirt can send 4 kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere during its lifetime, mostly due to washing and drying. Whenever possible, use the power of the sun or a clothes horse instead of the dryer.
Choose a hybrid, biodiesel or fuel-efficient car. When buying your next car, make the move to a greener vehicle. It can save up to 3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
Work from home. Even one day a month working from home can make a difference by reducing transport emissions. Ask your boss if you can work from home occasionally and skip the commute.
Pay bills online. Paying your bills online saves paper, transport energy and time.
Own just one refrigerator. Old, inefficient second refrigerators and freezers are huge energy users and often have other environmental issues such as leaking chemicals that damage the ozone layer. If you don't really need it, look into local buy-back schemes or dispose of old refrigerators and freezers properly to ensure ozone-depleting chemicals are not released into the atmosphere.
Eat lower on the food chain. Producing meat uses a lot of energy and water and often requires pesticides and other chemicals. In fact, producing meat generates about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Eating less meat is good for you and the environment.
Buy local. Buy food and other products that are grown and produced locally to reduce emissions from transportation and to support your local community.
Green your event. If you are holding a conference, family reunion or wedding, do what you can to reduce the environmental impact by buying locally, choosing energy-efficient and environmentally aware venues, and offsetting remaining emissions.
Buy recycled and 'vintage'. Buying used or recycled goods avoids the energy used and emissions released in making a new product. Always try to recycle your waste and unwanted goods.
Check your tires. Inflating your car's tyres to their proper level means the car runs more efficiently, uses less energy and produces fewer harmful emissions

Energy

Jun 28, 2009
New York Times
A Funding Roadblock Ahead for Clean Energy
By KATE GALBRAITH
NEW YORK — A landmark climate bill that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday would cap greenhouse gas emissions across the United States for the first time and also create a national target for renewable energy production.
Environmentalists and advocates of clean energy hailed the news in a flurry of statements. Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called it a “dramatic breakthrough for America’s future.” Denise Bode, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, described the renewable energy target as “a key first step in balancing our electric generation mix.”
The legislation, however, remains far from becoming law. The House passed the bill only narrowly — and it has been weakened since being introduced months ago — and the fight in the Senate may be even tougher.
In the meantime, there is also the pressing matter of financing renewable energy projects. Since the economic crisis began last autumn, the once red-hot activity by wind and solar developers has slowed sharply. The U.S. government’s stimulus package is supposed to help (although some portions of its aid for renewable energy have not yet been disbursed).
But many advocates of renewable energy are thinking longer term. What happens when the stimulus funding runs out, as it is scheduled to do for the industry’s projects in the next year or two?
“One of my big fears is that we will fall off a cliff,” the director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google, Dan W. Reicher, said in an interview in New York last week.
Lowell Ungar, the policy director for the Alliance to Save Energy, an efficiency advocacy group, echoed the sentiment. “The concern is that you spend billions of dollars building up this industry, training people and creating new jobs and new companies, and it all disappears,” he said.
Perhaps because of its relative newness and small size, the renewable energy industry has been hobbled by a history of uncertain funding.
In the United States, a tax credit to aid wind energy has threatened to expire about every year or two over the past decade, causing the industry to complain that long-term planning is impossible. Congress has repeatedly extended the credit on a short-term basis, but manufacturers of wind turbines have hesitated to establish plants in the United States for fear that the demand for their product might evaporate. (The three-year extension provided in the stimulus package has given a measure of stability, although it arrived — as per the definition of stimulus — just as private investors had pulled back.)
Solar energy in Spain is another classic example of roller-coaster funding. There, the government provided a strong feed-in tariff — a high payment to producers of renewable energy — and solar companies rushed into the country. Last autumn, however, the government decided that the explosive growth was costing too much and capped the amount of solar power that could qualify for the incentive.
“By having something that kind of shot out through the roof and fell back to earth, that shocked the system,” said Julie Blunden, the vice president for public policy and corporate communications at SunPower, a major solar manufacturer. “The boom and bust was very disruptive to building a base of business in Spain.”
Greece and the Canadian province of Ontario have also had yo-yo policies on encouraging solar power, Ms. Blunden said, though she added that both governments were trying to address the problem.
In the United States, the industry is planning for the period after the stimulus package, to avoid a falloff.
“There is already discussion in the market about ‘what comes next’ when the stimulus spending has run its course,” the head of the renewable energy group at the law firm Alston & Bird, Tom Amis, said in an e-mail message.
“Given the volatility of fossil fuel prices (natural gas, the key marginal price driver, has recently been at record lows), and the continued need for a long-term manufacturing increase to achieve the necessary economies of scale, there is a consensus in the industry that there needs to be a ‘second act.”’
Should the climate legislation passed in the House become law, it could lead to one type of solution. The cap-and-trade provisions would effectively raise the price of generating electricity using fossil fuels. This would help clean energy technologies — which are expensive relative to coal and natural gas — to become more competitive.
Because a cap-and-trade system, depending on its final structure, would also be likely to auction off some allowances to pollute, it would create a revenue stream that could be plowed back into energy efficiency and the renewable energy industry.
The auction provisions in the climate bill are weaker than many environmentalists had hoped, however. There would also be relatively few allowances auctioned off in the early years of the legislation, which would take effect in 2012 if passed — leaving a gap after the stimulus funds run out. Mr. Ungar of the Alliance to Save Energy suggests a mechanism that would let state governments borrow in advance against expected future revenues from the climate bill’s allowance provisions and use that money to maintain smooth funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Another solution, pushed by Mr. Reicher and others, would establish a government-backed clean energy bank, modeled on the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corp.
Such a funding apparatus, which is under consideration in various forms in Congress, could be loosely affiliated with the Department of Energy and provide aid like loan guarantees and direct loans designed to help the small renewable energy industry to scale up. Such a bank could continue some of the renewable funding measures in the stimulus package. It would also extract clean energy policies from the bureaucracy of the Department of Energy, which has complicated the release of some stimulus funds.
To be sure, the ultimate hope is that the renewable energy industry can stand on its own, without permanently relying on the government for financing. As the stimulus provisions expire, the industry hopes that the banks will be back on their feet and able to finance projects. From the companies’ perspective, standing on their own would have the benefit of avoiding the risks and uncertainties that accompany sometimes-fickle government policy.
But as the industry works up to a meaningful scale from tiny and often experimental technologies, renewable energy developers will be happy to take the help.

Lighting Control

Retrofitting standard metal halide hi-bay fixtures to fluorescent hi-bay fixtures can generate energy cost savings of about 50 percent. How does reducing the resulting energy consumption by another 30+ percent sound—made possible by switching to fluorescent?
While tapping what remains arguably the hottest lighting retrofit market, distributors should understand the full advantages of fluorescent over probe-start metal halide, such instant-on and re-strike, which enables the use of switching strategies typically not practical with HID light sources.
Example: An occupancy sensor installed in each fixture senses a lack of occupancy in the area, or a photosensor senses high light levels due to daylight contribution, and either switches off the fixture or its outboard lamp. This provides a choice of energy savings and, if desired, flexible selection of light levels.
An additional 30-80 percent energy savings using occupancy sensors and 10-30 percent savings using daylighting controls can be achieved in a hi-bay fluorescent upgrade, says John Ireland, OEM channel manager for Watt Stopper/Legrand.
Mike Connolly, market development manager for Lithonia Lighting - Industrial Products, says inboard/outboard switching—achieved by separating circuiting ballasts within the same fixture, enabling 0/50/100 percent and 0/33/66/100 percent lamp output/power—is an inexpensive way to gain the benefits of flexibility from the lighting system. “For example, in a gym, light levels can be lowered for school productions or other needs outside of athletics,” he says. “Multi-lamp fluorescent fixtures offer many light level possibilities for user control, daylight harvesting and other applications.”
Occupancy sensing is the predominant strategy, particularly in applications such as distribution centers, warehouses and bulk storage areas. “Any area of 50 percent or less usage levels will accelerate the project’s payback period—even with relatively modest electric rates of $0.07 per kWh,” says Connolly. To optimize lamp life, particularly when the fixtures have high switching activity—more than six on/off cycles per day—programmed-start ballasts and a minimum 15-minute sensor time delay are recommended.
Passive-infrared (PIR) technology is standard in occupancy sensors used in hi-bay applications. “Besides its low cost, most spaces in hi-bay applications are within the line of sight of the sensor, large motion is usually being detected, and little adjustment is required after installation,” says Tom Leonard, director, marketing and product management for Leviton Lighting Management Systems. In hi-bay applications, the sensor may have a lens that provides 360-degree coverage for open areas or a narrow linear coverage for warehouse aisles

Energy Crisis

Obama's goal for the hybrid cars will be a challenge
Apr 16, 2009
Omaha World Herald
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to put 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015 is fraught with difficulties, from technical and engineering hurdles to the realities of the economy and the price of gasoline.
It took eight long years to get 1 million hybrids on the road in the United States, and even a White House task force says one of the leading new plug-in cars being developed is too expensive to gain popularity any time soon.
Obama's goal could help revitalize the struggling U.S. auto industry and begin shifting motorists away from the gas pump. But to many, it's overly optimistic.
President Barack Obama on a tour of the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, Calif., last month.
"The economics won't make sense for the majority of Americans in the next several years," said Brett Smith, who studies plug-in hybrids at the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research.
Plug-in hybrids allow motorists to drive a limited number of miles on battery power before the engine switches over to run on gasoline or other fuels. A driver can plug the car into a conventional wall outlet at night and be ready to go electric again in the morning.
The cars could dramatically reduce gasoline use because many commuters drive less than 40 miles a day.
Obama last month toured a California electric car facility where he announced $2.4 billion to develop advanced batteries and electric cars. The administration has said the vehicles would play a role in its goal to reduce dependence on foreign oil, cut greenhouse gas emissions and create "green" jobs.
"Even as our American automakers are undergoing some painful adjustments, they are also retooling and reimagining themselves into an industry that can compete and win," Obama said in Pomona, Calif.
During his campaign, Obama promised $4 billion in tax credits to automakers to revamp their plants to build plug-ins, and a $7,000 tax credit for consumers who buy early versions of the cars. He even pledged to convert the White House vehicle fleet to plug-ins within a year, as security permits, and require half the cars bought by the government to be plug-in or all-electric by 2012.
To automakers, battery makers and utilities, the pledge was akin to one made by President John F. Kennedy generations ago. "That's a 'Go to the moon' kind of goal," said Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of hybrid vehicle programs. She said it would demand "unparalleled collaboration" among the government, the industry and academia.
Automakers are already committed to plug-ins and electric vehicles. Toyota Motor Corp. will produce a few hundred plug-in Prius hybrids later this year as a test fleet, General Motors Corp. plans to release an extended range electric plug-in called the Chevrolet Volt in limited numbers in late 2010, and Nissan Motor Co. is planning to sell an all-electric car next year. Chrysler, Ford and Daimler are all developing plug-ins and electric cars.
But numerous questions remain about the cars. One of the biggest hurdles is whether their large lithium ion batteries are ready for mass production. Some analysts have pegged the cost of the batteries at $1,000 per kilowatt hour, which could add about $16,000 to the cost of a first-generation Volt and thousands of dollars to a plug-in Prius.
Lithium ion batteries have been used commonly in cell phones and laptop computers, but the auto industry needs to ensure that the batteries will remain long-lasting and safe. Automakers have partnered with utilities and universities to develop recharging stations and a common way of communicating between the vehicles and the electric grid.
None of the major automakers has made a firm commitment on the mass production of plug-ins — building 100,000 vehicles a year or more — that would be required to meet Obama's goal.
"It certainly is a difficult challenge to achieve that goal," said Tony Posawatz, GM's vehicle line director for the Volt. GM has not released production figures for the Volt, but Posawatz estimated it would be in the "tens of thousands" of vehicles by 2015.
"It's not readily obvious, based on the product plans that have been communicated, that the 2015 objective aligns with what is currently on the books," he said.
Conventional gas-electric hybrids account for less than 3 percent of the car market and it took about eight years to get 1 million hybrids on the road in the United States, according to automotive consulting firm R.L. Polk & Co.
Obama's own auto industry task force, which is trying to help GM and Chrysler emerge from the crisis that left them needing $17.4 billion in government loans, casts doubt on the Volt in a March 30 report. That report says that although the car "holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short term."
GM has not announced pricing for the Volt, but it's expected to cost between $30,000 and $40,000.
Current fuel prices also are an issue; $2-a-gallon gas gives consumers few incentives to spend thousands of dollars extra for a hybrid or even more for a plug-in. It would take years for the fuel savings to outweigh the price premium.
The industry also will need a smooth transition for plug-ins to take off. Any hiccups along the way could hurt the vehicles' image.
"They've got to be commercial-ready," said Tom Stricker, Toyota's director of technical and regulatory affairs. "You do risk having a negative response from the consumer if the technology doesn't meet their expectation in terms of durability, cost and performance."

Lighting control and energy management

'SA facing serious energy crisis' 03/04/2009 08:04 - (SA)
Pretoria - Urgent steps are needed to counter South Africa's low electricity reserve margin, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Thursday.
Despite the success of the Earth Hour on Saturday, the minister urged South Africans to do more.
She said the government commended the Earth Hour initiative and hoped that it promoted awareness that the country was still facing a serious energy crisis.
"South Africa is one of the least energy efficient nations in the world and the least efficient in Africa", she said.
"We also hold the number 11 spot on the top 20 greenhouse gas emitters list and are responsible for 42% of Africa's emissions. Every kilowatt of electricity you use produces one kilogram of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases."
Two years ago, the minister warned that South Africans needed to start saving 10% of their electricity usage every year for the next five years or the energy supply would be threatened.
In early 2008, periodic blackouts outraged all South Africans, yet by October of the same year only 0.4 percent had been saved.
'We are in trouble'
A healthy electricity reserve margin sat at 17 to 20%, an amount that ensured sudden changes in demand or supply and power-plant maintenance did not cause blackouts, but South Africa's reserve margin remained much lower than that.
"The recent lack of blackouts has led to the assumption that our energy situation has been resolved," Sonjica said.
"Unfortunately this is far from the truth. We are in trouble unless we all begin to take responsibility for our habits of energy wastage."
She said nations across the world were rising to the challenge of sustainable energy development and conservation.
Sonjica said energy sustainability had become an issue that no country, industry or individual could afford to ignore. - SAPA News 24
Wayne Felton.

Energy Management And Carbon Footprints

Nicole Rego
Johannesburg - Power utility Eskom's drive to encourage South Africans to save electricity is bearing fruit, with the latest data showing a decline in energy consumption.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said estimated consumption for electricity in May 2008 decreased by 2.5% when compared with May 2007. The data is contained in its most latest report on electricity generated and available for distribution.
The decline translates into a reduction of approximately 520 Gigawatt-hours (GWh).
One Gigawatt-hour hour is equal to one million kilowatt hours, and a kilowatt hour is enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.
"In the first five months of 2008, consumption of electricity was affected by numerous factors that led to reduced levels of consumption, such as load shedding and a continuous drive from Eskom in encouraging users to save on electricity consumption," said Stats SA.
Economists agreed that the planned blackouts, known to South Africans as load shedding, was one of the biggest contributors to the data's decrease.
Investment Solutions economist Chris Hart agreed, but said that the decrease "reflected the slowdown in the economy".
ETM economist Russell Lamberti said the economy's slowdown was showing in the data: "I think we as South Africans are probably saving more electricity, but there is no doubt that the economy is under strain."
Lamberti said that looking forward, the country would see electricity consumption data start to moderate.
The Stats SA data also showed that the estimated total production of electricity in May 2008 decreased by 2.1% when compared to the same month last year, which is a reduction of 487 Gigawatt-hours.

Energy management and carbon credits

JOBURG
AA-credit rating for City
By Lucille Davie
12 August 2008
INTERNATIONAL rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded Johannesburg's long-term credit rating to AA-, from last year's A+ rating, and its short-term rating to F1+ from F1.
A rating provides a relative measure of a city's creditworthiness. The best long-term rating is AAA, while the best short-term rating is F1+. The F1 rating refers specifically to the city's ability to pay its short-term debt.
Stating that the City's outlook remained stable, the agency said: "The upgrade reflects the City of Johannesburg's strengthening operating performance, driven by a growing tax base and subsidies from the national government."
The rating "also reflects higher provisions for asset depreciation, which help to self-finance its investments, now approaching R5-billion, up from R1-billion in [financial year 2004]".
Responding to the upgrades, City Treasurer William Mathanela said: "We are very excited about the investor confidence that the rating has shown - it means the City has done a lot of good work."
Fitch said the rating considered the City's long-term challenges to be "income inequality and low labour participation", which limited tax generation and collection.
"The ratings could be upgraded further if easing macroeconomic tensions help to alleviate rising cost pressures on the municipality's operating performance, and if the sale of its R2-billion net debtor-book is completed successfully, providing the municipality with corresponding liquidity."
The agency warned that ratings might be negatively affected if borrowing exceeded projections, which would lead to declining debt collection, and restricted tax revenue growth, if gross domestic product (GDP) growth weakened.
"[Johannesburg's] operating performance continues to be strong, underpinned by tax and fee collection rates of about 95 percent," Fitch Ratings indicated.
The City was committed to keeping expenses below 7 percent of expenditure, it said, but this would be influenced by a slowdown in GDP growth which would, in turn, limit the City's ability to pass on to consumers increasing costs of water, electricity and other service costs.
Fitch suggested that local economic growth should hover around 3 percent per year, given a boost from the public works in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.
"Estimated income per capita of about R60 000 is approximately 40 percent above the national average and should help to underpin an average operating revenue growth of close to 10 percent. Tax and fee rates linked to inflation and the continual expansion of the tax base should help to maintain a good match between revenue and spending."
Mathanela said the 3 percent was too low for a city the size of Joburg - it would probably be around 4 to 5 percent.
However, the rise of commodity prices and frequent power cuts could have a negative effect on the local economy, causing operating costs to rise, said Fitch.
Mathanela was particularly happy to have the asset register complete, because it provided a higher provision for depreciation, and investors now knew the total assets of the City, giving them increased confidence in its growth prospects. "The past year has been a good year."
There were long-term challenges for the City, however, Fitch said. The fact that the national government oversaw revenue and expenditure weakened its manoeuvrability. On the other hand, the 2007 Municipal Fiscal Power Act had allowed cities to raise revenue by means of a 2 percent business levy for inner city regeneration.
"Income inequality and the still high percentage of population infected with HIV remain the main burden on future economic growth, with their demand for higher social and health costs over the medium term."
There were other factors that would slow growth. "A potential burden stems also from pension and potential unfunded liabilities, which the City seeks to control by implementing self-insurance policies.
Joburg's population is believed to be around four million. It remains the financial hub of the country, contributing about 16 percent of GDP and some 15 percent of employment. The City's GDP will remain at an average 6 percent annually until 2010

www.thorntongroup.co.za

In most work/office environments we can make quite dramatic gains in our energy efficiency by simply changing settings, buying more carefully and changing our work habits.
No cost energy saving hints
•
Switch off all PCs at the end of every day and weekends.
•
If you going to be away from your computer any longer than 15 minutes switch off your screen.
•
Make sure all printers and photocopiers are switched off at the end of every day and weekends.
•
Don’t replace if you can share a printer or copier instead.
•
Activate sleep or power-down features when possible.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
•
Buy energy efficient equipment (Energy Star rated etc).
•
Use laptop computers wherever practical. They consume between 70-90% less energy than desktop computers.

Green Building & Energy Management

Green building practices urged
12 June 2008
SOUTH AFRICA is lagging far behind other countries in the adoption of sustainable green building practices.
This was revealed at a conference held at Cedar Park Hotel on 9 June, to discuss green building practices and other techniques new buildings should embrace.
Speaking at the conference, Pristine Technology Solutions' managing director, Mazuro Gundidza, said green buildings still had a long way to go in South Africa.
"South Africa lags behind Europe and the United States in that eco-friendly design is not readily available - something that will hopefully be addressed by the newly established Green Building Council (GBCSA) in South Africa."
The GBSCA will provide guidelines and a certification system for commercial green building and in the long run, also for green commercial interior design.
"Internationally, the move to green building has been described as a phenomenon and the benefits are significant. South Africa may have been slow on the uptake of the concept, but the fact remains that it is striving towards establishing green building," he said.
Green buildings conserve the Earth's natural resources through the efficient and intelligent use of energy, materials, water and the building site. One of the greatest benefits of green buildings is their reduced use of electricity and energy, which helps to cut dependence on fossil fuels.
For green building to be driven forward, it needed to be accepted by all industry stakeholders and a fundamental mind shift needed to take place, focusing on the initial capital cost of a building, Gundidza said.
"Considering South Africa's current power crisis and a possible water crisis, green building will not only save energy, but also place our country on the map of protecting resources."
The chief executive officer for the Council for the Built Environment, Bheki Zule, said green building had a pivotal role to play in South's Africa's energy crisis.
"Green building will result in the saving of energy and the reduction of emissions. This provides opportunities for other investments by the consumer and contributes to creating a more economically comfortable life for households."
David Botha, the executive director of the South Africa Institution of Civil Engineering, said changing climatic patterns had raised awareness of the need to save energy and safeguard natural resources.
"We need a rational approach to green buildings and to assess the total costs not only to the pocket but also to the environment," he said.
"It's no use having a house that runs on computers and fancy climate controls, made in Singapore or Taiwan, if these computers are costing us more in terms of environmental impact than the use of simpler methods like opening and closing a window by hand."
Rodney Milford, of the Construction Industry Development Board, said the South African government had plans to retrofit its106 000 buildings countrywide with energy efficient measures. "This process is currently under way and over 100 buildings in Tshwane, Western Cape and Free State have already been completed."
The departments of Minerals and Energy and Public Works had set an overall target for energy demand reduction of 12 percent of the projected energy consumption, to be met by 2015.
Many countries have developed their own standards of energy efficiency for buildings. The United States Green Building Council developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system, which is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance buildings.
Canada has also implemented "R2000" guidelines for buildings built after the year 2000. Incentives are offered to builders to meet the R2000 standards in an effort to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability.
The Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia also promotes green building techniques, while the UK Building Regulations set requirements for insulation levels and other aspects of sustainability in building construction.
Source: Joburg.org.za

Renewable energy

Christopher Flavin, president of US-based think-tank Worldwatch, says the "action" on renewable energy is happening "at the national and state levels and in private industry where business is booming - 38 billion US dollars of investment in renewables in 2005, according to our estimate."

WindMany experts see wind power as the renewable source of energy with the greatest potential for growth and investment. Government and investor interest has increased significantly as wind has evolved into a more cost-effective mode of producing electricity. The Global Wind Energy Council reports that in 2005 alone, the total number of wind-produced megawatts (MW) produced on the global market increased by over 40 percent.

The wind sector stands to grow by leaps and bounds if global reliance on renewable energy continues its upward trajectory. Germany, currently a global leader in wind power production and consumption, produced roughly 26.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of wind-generated electricity - the most of any form of renewable. This figure could dramatically increase in the coming years if the German government stays committed to reaching its goal of 20-25 percent reliance on renewables by 2010.

And that is only in Germany. Other countries, including Spain, India, and China are also embracing wind power on a large scale. Recognizing the opportunities of wind energy, industrial and financial giants, such as the Allianz Group, which made its first investment in a wind farm project in Sicily, Italy, in December 2005. Wind will play a central role in Allianz's plans to invest 300 to 500 million euros in renewables over the next five years.