Green Building : Jetson Green

Solar Verde Zero Energy Green Homes

I'm dedicating this article to all the traditionalist readers out there -- I must admit, though, I'm seriously hesitant about the design here, but I know some of you love this style.  What I love, however, is the idea that green homes and communities can be zero energy.  That's what Solar Verde is all about.  Solar Verde is a planned community of 20 homes and the developer claims its the first development east of the Rocky Mountains to offer a roof-top photovoltaic system as a basic design feature.  Homes come with a 4 kW solar PV system made with SOLARSAVE roof shingles.  As you can tell, the developer finished the first two model homes last July for this south Chicago green community.   

EnergyPeak Standing Seam Roof BIPV Provides Quick Payback

We keep hearing about thin film solar innovation and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), but it may be hard to image how this technology will play a part in the future of our buildings.  But I think CENTRIA Services Group has a product that could certainly change that: EnergyPeak.  They've combined the flexibility of laminate photovoltaics (LPV) with strong, durable standing seam roof panels to create a rooftop solar option with a fast payback.  I mean, just look at the diagram and check out its immediately recognizable benefits:

RoofRay Your Building's Solar Potential

I just noticed this RoofRay mashup that uses Google Maps and various other information to help you calculate the solar potential of your building.  It's pretty interesting, actually.  You can find your building, trace the potential solar roof area, adjust the calculations based on your estimate of orientation and angle, and then see what you have.  After that, you start entering in your electricity usage information and the company you purchase electricity from (watch out though because they didn't have Rocky Mountain Power's information and may not have your information yet).  After that, you cruise along where they start to provide you with an estimate of the system's cost, rebates, and potential savings, etc. 

Palo Alto Law Firm Installs Large 87 kW Solar System

The Silicon Valley-based law firm of Cooley Godward Kronish has just brought online the largest on-site solar system of any Bay Area law firm.  The 465 panel, 87 kW system was installed on the roof of their Palo Alto-Hanover building of 130,000 sf.  Installing a solar system of this size has almost lost its newsworthiness, especially with tons of companies placing monster solar arrays in service by the end of this year to take advantage of the tax benefits.  But what's really interesting, I think, is one of the reasons the firm decided to generate some on-site green power: their clients are in this business and inspired them to go green. 

Matching Modern with Energy Efficiency

I'm in Huntington Beach this weekend taking a little r&r and didn't realize how much of the housing here is built like the townhomes above: with an urban feel -- tightly together with at least 2-3 levels.  These townhouses are located on 19th Street in Santa Monica and called Green on 19.  Three are already sold with the remaining two ready to go.  Green on 19 was designed by Jesse Bornstein to provide modern living while supporting the global community's need for energy efficiency. 

Martin Eberhard Illustrates Tesla Roadster's Solar Synergy

Martin Eberhard calls it "Solar Synergy" -- an apt phrase for the benefits derived from having an electrical car and a home that's powered by an extensive solar PV array.  Eberhard was a founder of Tesla and he just received his shiny new Founders' Series Roadster.  It's an incredible car, don't you think?  As you ogle its curves -- it's the embodiment of pure innovation, try to recall what I said recently in the article about the Green Building Aspects of the Plug-in Toyota Prius.  In that article, I made the statement that "buildings might just replace gas stations."  Actually, I should be more assertive:  buildings will replace gas stations.  And if you'd like to see a more defined example as to how that will happen, make sure to read about Eberhard's 5.2 kW photovoltaic system and all-electric Tesla Roadster. 

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

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

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

Sopogy Shrinks CSP For Efficient, On-site Use

It seems like there's a new, cutting-edge technology in the limelight everyday and today is no exception.  You've heard of CSP -- concentrated solar power, right?  Well Sopogy has been in R&D for several years perfecting their MicroCSP technology.  They developed the above pictured application for commercial, industrial, and small utility uses.  MicroCSP takes traditional, large scale, open faced, desert, parabolic trough CSP panels and shrinks them down to 25% of the size.  The trough is between 12 and 18 feet long and is meant for distributed energy solutions from 200 kW to 20 MW.  It can be used on-site, too, whether on a roof or adjacent to a building. 

Covalent Solar to Commercialize Low-Cost Organic Solar Concentrators

The innovators of this new technology, if they get it into production, may just be the green building revolutionaries of tomorrow.  At the end of the week, MIT engineers published research of new technology showing that the sun's energy could be harvested from a large area, such as a window, and concentrated at the edges by solar cells.  With this so-called luminescent solar concentrator, the potential for low-cost electricity seems almost within reach.  Technically, here's how it works: 

[Video] GM Installing $78 M World's Largest Solar Roof

Earlier this week, GM announced that they were adding the world's largest, rooftop, solar photovoltaic power installation to its car assembly plant located in Zaragoza, Spain (a factory that manufactures Opel vehicles for sale in Europe).   When the project is completed in the fall of 2008, the solar installation will have 85,000 solar panels covering about 2,000,000 sf of roof space.   Bloomberg further reports that the $78.5 million installation will avoid about 7k tons of emissions per year.