Synder’s-Lance, a snack food company, has completed its 3.5 MW Solar Farm located at its headquarters in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The project covers 26 acres and is comprised of 15,092 solar panels. The solar farm has the ability to generate up to 4,453,136-kilowatt hours (kWH) and save close to 30 percent of the facility’s energy costs. The project took nine months …
Popemobile Reportedly Going Green
A greener Popemobile is reportedly in the works and could be on the road by next year. A German newspaper reported over the weekend that Mercedes-Benz is designing a new hybrid four-wheel drive for Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican has confirmed that such a vehicle is under development but will not be ready in time for the pope’s visit to …
Hall Wines Installs EV Charger
Napa, California-based Hall Wines has paid for and installed an ECOTality electric vehicle charging station. “We are pleased to be working with an organization that is as passionate and supportive of the environment, as ECOTality,” said Jonathan Read, CEO of ECOTality, Inc. “In addition to enriching the successful execution and continued maintenance of rich electric vehicle charging infrastructures in California, …
Ecotech Institute Holds Open House for Solar Day
It’s global renewable energy week. Today is Global Wind Day and Saturday is world SolarDay, at least for those in North America. To celebrate, the Ecotech Institute, the first and only college whose sole focus in preparing Americans to work in green jobs, is hosting an open house on June 18. Since the school installed a solar energy system in …
Alcatel-Lucent Flips the Switch On Solar System
Solar energy has come full circle for Bell Labs. Recently, Bell Labs Global Headquarters in Murray Hill, NJ “flipped the switch” on its 1.2 megawatt solar power system. This is the same site where in 1954, Bell Labs researchers invented the first device to convert sunlight into electricity in meaningful amounts. A formal ceremony was held at the site on …
Affordable Housing Community Dedicates Solar System
Community HousingWorks (CHW) and HelioPower hosted a celebration today for the completion of the first multifamily affordable Solar Housing MASH) project to be completed at Las Serenas, an affordable housing community located in San Diego. The 108-unit neighborhood will receive free solar energy from the solar power system and it is estimated that the energy will offset nearly 20 percent …
SEPA Releases Utility Solar Rankings Report
The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) released its 2010 SEPA Utility Solar Rankings report today that details the top utility companies to add solar energy to their portfolios in 2010. More specifically, the report identifies the Top 10 U.S. utilities that added the most new solar power to their systems last year and the Top 10 utilities that added the …
Removing Barriers for Clean Technologies
A new “joint principles” document has been created by the Electricity Storage Association (ESA) and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) to help level the playing field for clean energy technologies. Both organizations advocate for public policies that will remove barriers and increase market access for emerging clean energy technologies such as wind. In the current climate, it has been …
Third Annual SolarDay June 18
For those living in Canada, United States and England, SolarDay is June 18, 2011. However, if you live in Australia, you’ll have to wait until November 19, 2011 – but no worries, I’m sure you’ll get some great ideas from the events that will take place on or around June 18th. The event has grown from one event in 2009, …
Solar Panel Efficiency on the Rise
The efficiency of solar panels are on the rise with several companies making recent announcements that new products have increased sun to energy conversion rates. Today SunPower Corp has launched the SunPower E20 series of solar panels that achieve total area efficiencies of 20 percent or more. The 96-cell E20 solar panels are available in 333 watt and 327 watt …