Hyatt puts Tesla roadster recharging stations in 3 hotels
David R. Baker
SF Chronicle
August 30, 2007
Electric car lovers willing to spend nearly $100,000 on the new Tesla Motors roadster will have some swanky places to plug it in. Hyatt will install Tesla recharging stations at three hotels, stretching in an arc from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. The two companies announced the agreement Wednesday at Hyatt's Fisherman's Wharf hotel, where a handful of surprised tourists watched Mayor Gavin Newsom take one of the gleaming, all-electric sports cars for a spin.
Granted, installing chargers at three hotels may not seem like much of a business alliance. But the agreement between Tesla, one of Silicon Valley's growing crop of green tech startups, and Hyatt, a global corporation with 753 hotels, shows just how much has changed in the way the world looks at electric cars. Namely, they're now considered sexy.
Hyatt chose to work with Tesla because the roadster will probably attract the same customers that the hotel chain wants - affluent people who don't mind spending money for high-end anything. Despite the sizable price, Tesla has already received nearly 600 orders for its sleek and low-slung cars, the first of which will be shipped this fall. "The kind of customer who would buy a Tesla and stay at a Hyatt is one and the same," said Jordan Meisner, senior vice president of field operations for Hyatt.
That kind of customer apparently includes Newsom, who has placed an order for one of the cars (with his own money, he said - not the city's). He used to lease an EV1, an earlier generation of electric car from General Motors, and said he briefly considered stealing it when GM recalled the vehicles. "Some people thought they were ugly looking cars and you looked foolish in them," Newsom said. "Now you have a world-class car that looks like a world-class car."
By placing rechargers at Hyatts at Fisherman's Wharf, Sacramento and Incline Village on Tahoe's North Shore, a Tesla owner could drive from San Francisco to the lake without fear of running out of juice. Tesla has already driven one of the roadsters from Tahoe back to the company's San Carlos headquarters without recharging, but that was downhill, said Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's director of corporate marketing.
The agreement between Hyatt and Tesla underscores a primary issue for electric cars - coming up with a standardized way to recharge the things. All Tesla owners will have two options. They can plug the roadster into a standard wall socket and wait six or seven hours to juice up. Or they can use a recharging station designed by Tesla, one that an electrician must install in the garage. Those are the stations that Hyatt will use at its three hotels, and they take three to four hours to recharge the roadster.
The method of recharging electric cars is a bigger issue than it may appear. During the era of the EV1, automakers battled over two different, incompatible recharging technologies. One, backed by GM and Toyota, passed current through a flat, plastic-covered disc with a handle at one end. Drivers would insert the disc into a port on the car, and energy would be transferred via an electromagnetic field. The other technology, favored by Ford and Honda, worked more like a standard power plug, with power passing through connected pieces of metal. California regulators eventually weighed in, deciding in 2001 that they preferred Ford and Honda's approach.
"That was a big controversy, a Beta versus VHS kind of debate," said Roland Hwang, vehicles policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We need to make it as easy as possible for the consumer to make a clean-energy choice. You don't want them to be confused." Tesla received a grant from the California Air Resources Board to design a recharging station that could be used by multiple makers of electric cars. Tesla is still devising ways to weatherproof the station, but the basic model uses what looks like a beefed-up extension cord with a circular plug. It attaches to the car on the rear post of the driver's side.
Tesla hopes to persuade other automakers to use the same system. "In some respects, we've done a lot of their work for them," O'Connell said. Other companies may not want to follow Tesla's lead. GM, for example, is developing a car called the Volt that will function mostly on electricity, although it will have a small, gas-powered motor to recharge the battery once the car has gone more than 40 miles on a trip. GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss said the Volt will just use a standard power plug, not a special recharging station. "We have to make it as consumer-friendly as possible," he said.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/BUKERRNPR.DTL
Friday, August 31, 2007
London set to be first green city
By Bob Sherwood
FT.com
August 30 2007
Up to 100 of the UK capital’s public-sector office buildings, including City Hall and Transport for London’s headquarters, are to be given a green makeover at a cost of about £10m. Ken Livingstone, the London mayor, will on Friday invite energy and utility management companies to bid for the contract to increase energy efficiency in the buildings by about 25 per cent. London is the first to take action of 16 cities, including New York and Tokyo, which in May signed up to a deal, developed by the Clinton Climate Initiative, to make buildings more efficient.
The contract is seen as the first phase of creating a framework that could be opened up to include the whole of the public sector. The mayor wants to prove that increasing the efficiency of large buildings cannot only cut carbon emissions but also achieve cost savings. If successful, it is hoped the contract will be copied by the private sector.
The 900 buildings run by the Greater London Authority group, which includes TfL, the Metropolitan Police Authority, London Fire Authority and London Development Agency, could save up to 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and £1m in lower energy bills each year. The contract will build in guarantees of energy savings over a 10-year period.
The mayor’s advisers believe the contract can pay for itself over time and could stimulate a new market in improving energy efficiency in corporate buildings. They say a contract to conduct an audit of scores of buildings to determine the best way to improve each one makes more sense than making piecemeal improvements, such as adding double glazing, without an overall plan.
Mr Livingstone said: “London is leading the way by becoming the first of the 16 cities signed up to the Clinton Climate Initiative programme to begin work to cut climate change emissions by making our buildings more energy-efficient. We have started the tender process for companies to bid for the first part of the work and I hope that this will also lead to a boost in London’s green industries.”
Under the terms of the contract, the companies will have to plan and implement energy-saving measures for each building, possibly ranging from reducing heat gain and installing energy-efficient lighting and better insulation, to adding “smart” controls for buildings’ services and even sustainable energy systems.
The mayor’s office is expecting international interest in the contract, which is being advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union. International groups such as Honeywell and Siemens have expressed interest in the work for all 16 cities.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/11c9624c-5719-11dc-9a3a-0000779fd2ac.html
By Bob Sherwood
FT.com
August 30 2007
Up to 100 of the UK capital’s public-sector office buildings, including City Hall and Transport for London’s headquarters, are to be given a green makeover at a cost of about £10m. Ken Livingstone, the London mayor, will on Friday invite energy and utility management companies to bid for the contract to increase energy efficiency in the buildings by about 25 per cent. London is the first to take action of 16 cities, including New York and Tokyo, which in May signed up to a deal, developed by the Clinton Climate Initiative, to make buildings more efficient.
The contract is seen as the first phase of creating a framework that could be opened up to include the whole of the public sector. The mayor wants to prove that increasing the efficiency of large buildings cannot only cut carbon emissions but also achieve cost savings. If successful, it is hoped the contract will be copied by the private sector.
The 900 buildings run by the Greater London Authority group, which includes TfL, the Metropolitan Police Authority, London Fire Authority and London Development Agency, could save up to 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and £1m in lower energy bills each year. The contract will build in guarantees of energy savings over a 10-year period.
The mayor’s advisers believe the contract can pay for itself over time and could stimulate a new market in improving energy efficiency in corporate buildings. They say a contract to conduct an audit of scores of buildings to determine the best way to improve each one makes more sense than making piecemeal improvements, such as adding double glazing, without an overall plan.
Mr Livingstone said: “London is leading the way by becoming the first of the 16 cities signed up to the Clinton Climate Initiative programme to begin work to cut climate change emissions by making our buildings more energy-efficient. We have started the tender process for companies to bid for the first part of the work and I hope that this will also lead to a boost in London’s green industries.”
Under the terms of the contract, the companies will have to plan and implement energy-saving measures for each building, possibly ranging from reducing heat gain and installing energy-efficient lighting and better insulation, to adding “smart” controls for buildings’ services and even sustainable energy systems.
The mayor’s office is expecting international interest in the contract, which is being advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union. International groups such as Honeywell and Siemens have expressed interest in the work for all 16 cities.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/11c9624c-5719-11dc-9a3a-0000779fd2ac.html
Thursday, August 30, 2007
To go green in jet fuel, Boeing looks at algae
By Ángel González
Seattle Times
Once reluctant to believe that alternative energy made any sense in jet airplanes, Boeing now ponders how to take the biofuels revolution off the ground. The world's largest airplane maker is working with fuel developers from around the world to find the holy grail of alternative fuels: one that will shrink jet flight's substantial environmental footprint without requiring an overhaul of the world's existing airplane fleet.
"Two years ago, we were quite skeptical of this whole area, because we thought there were too many challenges," said Bill Glover, environmental-strategy director for Boeing's commercial plane division. "Then we started to see a few things we hadn't seen before, people entering the field looking at alternatives, all kinds of feedstock."
Sometime next year, the company, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic and engine maker GE Aviation, plans to fly a biofuel-propelled 747. The company is testing biofuels from different origins, ranging from soybeans — a well-established source of biodiesel — to algae.
The perfect compound would help stave off global warming without compromising the industry's growth. "The first big step is to have a fuel that will go into today's airplanes and today's infrastructure seamlessly," Glover said. But it's not an easy task. First, unlike ethanol, the ideal fuel would need to pack the same energy punch that fossil fuels do. Second, it must remain liquid at the low temperatures that surround an aircraft in flight — biofuels tend to solidify more quickly than their fossil-derived equivalent.
Third, producing it in quantities to feed jets' enormous appetite must be environmentally sustainable — which bodes ill for fuels derived from land-hungry crops such as soybeans.
There's hope, though, in futuristic crops such as algae, Boeing executives say. A Seattle-Washington, D.C., flight consumes 29 gallons of jet fuel per passenger, says Boeing. That would require a half-acre of soybeans.
"You would have to plant an area the size of Florida with soybeans to provide a 15 percent blend of jet fuel" for the whole U.S. aircraft fleet, said Dave Daggett, who heads energy and emissions research at Boeing Commercial Airplanes' product-development unit. "Clearly that's not going to be appropriate."
Currently, the airline industry is responsible for about 11 percent of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector, while automobiles account for 56 percent, according to a Federal Aviation Administration document. But aviation's share of the greenhouse-gas pie is poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.
Higher fuel costs and growing political pressure are also driving airlines' interest. New aircraft technology is one response: Boeing's 787 jet produces 20 percent lower emissions per passenger than similar-sized planes. Alternative fuels, however, are more difficult to implement in planes than in cars, experts say. Safety is a prime concern. "Any change in fuel specifications is a huge issue for the industry," said Paul O'Neill, a London-based airline expert with Deloitte. "If you get adulterated or bad fuel, the aircraft might drop out of the sky."
Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80 percent. That figure takes into account not only a lower emissions rate, but also the carbon dioxide absorbed by the vegetable crops used in producing the biofuel. Airlines will most likely start by blending small quantities of biofuels with existing jet fuel, and increase the level as availability increases, said Daggett. The fuel Boeing seeks in its testing would contain at least 20 percent biofuel, but ideally 50 percent.
Boeing executives said the company is informally collaborating with leading Brazilian biofuels maker Tecbio, Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand and other fuel developers around the world. So far, Boeing has tested six fuels from these companies, and will probably have gone through 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them," Daggett said. Testing could wrap up in early fall, said a spokesman.
Boeing executives say the biofuel of the future also needs to be available in sufficient quantities and produced in a sustainable way. "The biggest challenge right now is whether you can grow enough biomaterial to make enough jet fuel," said Daggett. It would take a lot of land to produce enough crops like soybeans to propel fuel-hungry jets. The increasing use of crops like corn and soybeans to produce ethanol and biodiesel is already stirring a controversy of its own. Some argue these biofuels have a negative impact on the environment and on food prices.
The solution could lie in algae, experts say. These slimy aquatic creatures not only absorb great quantities of carbon dioxide during their lifetime, but they are also the source of energy-rich oil that can be turned into fuel. Lurking in the depths of ponds, they take a lot less space than conventional horizontal above-ground crops — and they can live in brackish water. A huge algae bio-reactor — a series of chambers or ponds outfitted to boost growth — could supply more fuel in less space than other plants.
"Instead of needing all of Florida [for U.S. transport needs], you could provide the whole world's fleet with biojet fuel if you had a bioreactor the size of Maryland," Daggett said. Daggett estimates that a pilot plant for algae-based fuel could be in place in a year or so. "I think within 10 years we could see biofuel produced from algae," he said.
It's likely, though, that different countries will find their own solutions. The nuts of the babassu palm, abundant in Brazil, offer a "pretty good yield per hectare" and could be an eco-friendly solution if used to reclaim land ravaged by deforestation in South America, Daggett said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003858756_boeingenergy30.html
By Ángel González
Seattle Times
Once reluctant to believe that alternative energy made any sense in jet airplanes, Boeing now ponders how to take the biofuels revolution off the ground. The world's largest airplane maker is working with fuel developers from around the world to find the holy grail of alternative fuels: one that will shrink jet flight's substantial environmental footprint without requiring an overhaul of the world's existing airplane fleet.
"Two years ago, we were quite skeptical of this whole area, because we thought there were too many challenges," said Bill Glover, environmental-strategy director for Boeing's commercial plane division. "Then we started to see a few things we hadn't seen before, people entering the field looking at alternatives, all kinds of feedstock."
Sometime next year, the company, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic and engine maker GE Aviation, plans to fly a biofuel-propelled 747. The company is testing biofuels from different origins, ranging from soybeans — a well-established source of biodiesel — to algae.
The perfect compound would help stave off global warming without compromising the industry's growth. "The first big step is to have a fuel that will go into today's airplanes and today's infrastructure seamlessly," Glover said. But it's not an easy task. First, unlike ethanol, the ideal fuel would need to pack the same energy punch that fossil fuels do. Second, it must remain liquid at the low temperatures that surround an aircraft in flight — biofuels tend to solidify more quickly than their fossil-derived equivalent.
Third, producing it in quantities to feed jets' enormous appetite must be environmentally sustainable — which bodes ill for fuels derived from land-hungry crops such as soybeans.
There's hope, though, in futuristic crops such as algae, Boeing executives say. A Seattle-Washington, D.C., flight consumes 29 gallons of jet fuel per passenger, says Boeing. That would require a half-acre of soybeans.
"You would have to plant an area the size of Florida with soybeans to provide a 15 percent blend of jet fuel" for the whole U.S. aircraft fleet, said Dave Daggett, who heads energy and emissions research at Boeing Commercial Airplanes' product-development unit. "Clearly that's not going to be appropriate."
Currently, the airline industry is responsible for about 11 percent of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector, while automobiles account for 56 percent, according to a Federal Aviation Administration document. But aviation's share of the greenhouse-gas pie is poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.
Higher fuel costs and growing political pressure are also driving airlines' interest. New aircraft technology is one response: Boeing's 787 jet produces 20 percent lower emissions per passenger than similar-sized planes. Alternative fuels, however, are more difficult to implement in planes than in cars, experts say. Safety is a prime concern. "Any change in fuel specifications is a huge issue for the industry," said Paul O'Neill, a London-based airline expert with Deloitte. "If you get adulterated or bad fuel, the aircraft might drop out of the sky."
Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80 percent. That figure takes into account not only a lower emissions rate, but also the carbon dioxide absorbed by the vegetable crops used in producing the biofuel. Airlines will most likely start by blending small quantities of biofuels with existing jet fuel, and increase the level as availability increases, said Daggett. The fuel Boeing seeks in its testing would contain at least 20 percent biofuel, but ideally 50 percent.
Boeing executives said the company is informally collaborating with leading Brazilian biofuels maker Tecbio, Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand and other fuel developers around the world. So far, Boeing has tested six fuels from these companies, and will probably have gone through 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them," Daggett said. Testing could wrap up in early fall, said a spokesman.
Boeing executives say the biofuel of the future also needs to be available in sufficient quantities and produced in a sustainable way. "The biggest challenge right now is whether you can grow enough biomaterial to make enough jet fuel," said Daggett. It would take a lot of land to produce enough crops like soybeans to propel fuel-hungry jets. The increasing use of crops like corn and soybeans to produce ethanol and biodiesel is already stirring a controversy of its own. Some argue these biofuels have a negative impact on the environment and on food prices.
The solution could lie in algae, experts say. These slimy aquatic creatures not only absorb great quantities of carbon dioxide during their lifetime, but they are also the source of energy-rich oil that can be turned into fuel. Lurking in the depths of ponds, they take a lot less space than conventional horizontal above-ground crops — and they can live in brackish water. A huge algae bio-reactor — a series of chambers or ponds outfitted to boost growth — could supply more fuel in less space than other plants.
"Instead of needing all of Florida [for U.S. transport needs], you could provide the whole world's fleet with biojet fuel if you had a bioreactor the size of Maryland," Daggett said. Daggett estimates that a pilot plant for algae-based fuel could be in place in a year or so. "I think within 10 years we could see biofuel produced from algae," he said.
It's likely, though, that different countries will find their own solutions. The nuts of the babassu palm, abundant in Brazil, offer a "pretty good yield per hectare" and could be an eco-friendly solution if used to reclaim land ravaged by deforestation in South America, Daggett said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003858756_boeingenergy30.html
NERC Wants Pre-paid Meters for Urban Customers
Onyinye Ubanagu
08.30.2007
Lagos
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has told the power distribution companies in the country to connect their customers in the urban centres to pre-paid meters. NERC’s Commissioner for Government and Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Grace Eyoma, said this in an interview on Wednesday as she explained that the use of pre-paid meter was in the best interest of both the distribution companies and their customers. She explained that “the pre-paid meters would save the consumers the harrowing experience of crazy bills and mass-disconnections by the utility companies. "It would also assist the consumers to efficiently manage their consumption patterns and conserve energy," she said."There is plan to roll out these meters, especially in the urban centres. It will allow the operators have enough money to do their business and the banks will find it easier to do business with them. "They will be able to get banks support because they can show them the cash flow. I think it is a much better arrangement and nobody will feel cheated that way."
She said the use of pre-paid meters would soon gain wider acceptability when she made reference to the success rate of pre-paid billing system in the telecommunication industry. Only last month, the commission told the distribution companies to sparingly use mass-disconnections of electricity consumers as a strategy to collect unpaid electricity bills.
Onyinye Ubanagu
08.30.2007
Lagos
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has told the power distribution companies in the country to connect their customers in the urban centres to pre-paid meters. NERC’s Commissioner for Government and Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Grace Eyoma, said this in an interview on Wednesday as she explained that the use of pre-paid meter was in the best interest of both the distribution companies and their customers. She explained that “the pre-paid meters would save the consumers the harrowing experience of crazy bills and mass-disconnections by the utility companies. "It would also assist the consumers to efficiently manage their consumption patterns and conserve energy," she said."There is plan to roll out these meters, especially in the urban centres. It will allow the operators have enough money to do their business and the banks will find it easier to do business with them. "They will be able to get banks support because they can show them the cash flow. I think it is a much better arrangement and nobody will feel cheated that way."
She said the use of pre-paid meters would soon gain wider acceptability when she made reference to the success rate of pre-paid billing system in the telecommunication industry. Only last month, the commission told the distribution companies to sparingly use mass-disconnections of electricity consumers as a strategy to collect unpaid electricity bills.
More people, more concrete, and lots more heat in Phoenix
An 'urban heat island' effect, fed by the city's growth, is trapping heat and making temperatures soar.
Faye Bowers
The Christian Science Monitor
August 30, 2007
PHOENIX
Arizona is poised to take another record. It's about as unwelcome as a couple of other firsts – No. 1 in the nation for most illegal immigrants crossing the border, or No. 1 in the nation for identity thefts. This "one" directly corresponds with another No. 1 – its status as the fastest-growing state in the nation. While news of global warming becomes as common as the wheeze of air conditioners here, Phoenix is fighting a different, if related, problem. In part because of heavy growth – particularly in the Phoenix metro area – heat is being reflected, trapped, and absorbed in concrete, rooftops, and a maze of buildings that blocks wind. At the same time, there's little vegetation to absorb the heat, and high energy usage generates more.
It's called the "urban heat-island effect," and whatever the impact of global warming here, this phenomenon is sending the mercury rising. On Tuesday, Phoenix tied the all-time record of 28 days at 110 degrees or greater in one summer, reached in 1979 and again in 2002. If the temperature rises to 110 degrees one more day this year, Phoenix will set a record.
"We're forecasting 111 for Wednesday, 109 for Thursday, and 110 again on Friday," says Keith Kincaid, a forecaster with the National Weather Service here. But if the temperature doesn't hit 110 on those days, he adds, "we have had 110-degree days in September before."
This summer is hot elsewhere, to be sure. But in few places can you fry an egg on a sidewalk as quickly and thoroughly as you can here. And you'd have to fry a lot of them: Experts say the main reason the number of 110-degree-or-higher days has risen so steadily – and steeply – is rapid growth. In the 1950s, for example, the temperature rose to 110 or higher an average of 6.7 days per year. In the 1960s it was 10.3 days per year; in the 1980s it was 19 days per year, and in the 2000s (through Aug. 21, 2007), 21.9 per year, according to the National Weather Service.
For Westerners living here, it's about as much fun as an earthquake, a drought, or, well, a 110-degree day. But it does have people's attention. True, it's not as difficult as this summer's devastating floods or fires elsewhere in the US. Many people have swimming pools, and most have air conditioning. But that, too, adds to the problem of the heat-island effect, experts say.
"Every time you use that mechanical air conditioner, you're throwing hot air back into the environment," says Jay Golden, an expert on urban climate and energy at Arizona State University in Tempe. "It's not only the sun and the pavement, but we're generating more heat because of human adaptation." And that's where global warming comes in: The hotter it is, the more we need to cool off; and the more we try to cool off – with air conditioning, for instance – the more heat-trapping greenhouse gases and "waste energy" we create, feeding both phenomena.
No escape in the Phoenix nights
The lows at night are rising, too. Three decades ago, the nighttime low here was about 30 degrees cooler than the days. Today, it is on average only 20 degrees cooler. That's because cities are slower to cool off at night, retaining their heat in roads and buildings. Dr. Golden points to differing temperatures between downtown Phoenix and a rural weather station at the Casa Grande National Monument, about 50 miles southeast. In 1950, he says, it was only six degrees warmer in Phoenix than at the Casa Grande Monument. By 2000, the temperature in Phoenix was 12 degrees higher. Now, it is almost 14 degrees warmer in the city than in the adjacent rural areas.
That has a huge impact on water consumption and electricity generation, he says. Researchers in his department recently calculated the correlation between nighttime temperatures and water consumption. "A one-degree nighttime [temperature] increase equals 677 gallons more on average per household per year," he says – due as much to evaporation from pools, irrigation, and agriculture as to human consumption. Golden and his colleagues study these rises in temperatures for urban areas from here to London and Beijing.
"We are trying to do two things," Golden says. "One is to quantify the impacts from this national trend of climate change in the broad context…. Then, we try to provide policymakers sound science and engineering to understand what the impacts are."
Looking toward solutions
Here in the Phoenix area, for example, 40 percent of the heat-island effect is due to paved surfaces, according to Golden. "We're trying to transition to pervious pavement, which would allow for water penetration," he says.
That, he adds, would support the growth of urban vegetation, which is typically removed for new building projects. And urban vegetation planted at intervals, as well as the water pervious pavement retains, would lead to cooler temperatures at night.
"If we were to take all the surfaced parking lots in this city and cover them with 50 percent tree cover," that would significantly decrease the surface temperatures, he says. His department is also studying the survival methods of this area's early inhabitants, such as the Hohokam with their earthen structures.
Today, two-story houses are popular, he says. But what if policymakers were to ban future building of two-story houses – or at least upper floors – in order to make buildings shorter, and less prone to trapping heat. Instead, housing plans could include basements, he says, which would naturally remain cooler – though the prospect of lower levels has long been considered too expensive or difficult, despite the plethora of inground pools. The good news about these rises in temperatures, if there is any, Golden says, is that local governments are beginning to pay attention to how they design cities, how closely they space houses, and how much forestry and agriculture they plan.
Phoenix, for example, is pushing for more open-space parks with trees downtown. And the city of Mesa is offering $500 rebates to residents who convert their yards from lawns to xeriscape, including desert trees that provide canopy shade.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0830/p01s01-wogi.htm
An 'urban heat island' effect, fed by the city's growth, is trapping heat and making temperatures soar.
Faye Bowers
The Christian Science Monitor
August 30, 2007
PHOENIX
Arizona is poised to take another record. It's about as unwelcome as a couple of other firsts – No. 1 in the nation for most illegal immigrants crossing the border, or No. 1 in the nation for identity thefts. This "one" directly corresponds with another No. 1 – its status as the fastest-growing state in the nation. While news of global warming becomes as common as the wheeze of air conditioners here, Phoenix is fighting a different, if related, problem. In part because of heavy growth – particularly in the Phoenix metro area – heat is being reflected, trapped, and absorbed in concrete, rooftops, and a maze of buildings that blocks wind. At the same time, there's little vegetation to absorb the heat, and high energy usage generates more.
It's called the "urban heat-island effect," and whatever the impact of global warming here, this phenomenon is sending the mercury rising. On Tuesday, Phoenix tied the all-time record of 28 days at 110 degrees or greater in one summer, reached in 1979 and again in 2002. If the temperature rises to 110 degrees one more day this year, Phoenix will set a record.
"We're forecasting 111 for Wednesday, 109 for Thursday, and 110 again on Friday," says Keith Kincaid, a forecaster with the National Weather Service here. But if the temperature doesn't hit 110 on those days, he adds, "we have had 110-degree days in September before."
This summer is hot elsewhere, to be sure. But in few places can you fry an egg on a sidewalk as quickly and thoroughly as you can here. And you'd have to fry a lot of them: Experts say the main reason the number of 110-degree-or-higher days has risen so steadily – and steeply – is rapid growth. In the 1950s, for example, the temperature rose to 110 or higher an average of 6.7 days per year. In the 1960s it was 10.3 days per year; in the 1980s it was 19 days per year, and in the 2000s (through Aug. 21, 2007), 21.9 per year, according to the National Weather Service.
For Westerners living here, it's about as much fun as an earthquake, a drought, or, well, a 110-degree day. But it does have people's attention. True, it's not as difficult as this summer's devastating floods or fires elsewhere in the US. Many people have swimming pools, and most have air conditioning. But that, too, adds to the problem of the heat-island effect, experts say.
"Every time you use that mechanical air conditioner, you're throwing hot air back into the environment," says Jay Golden, an expert on urban climate and energy at Arizona State University in Tempe. "It's not only the sun and the pavement, but we're generating more heat because of human adaptation." And that's where global warming comes in: The hotter it is, the more we need to cool off; and the more we try to cool off – with air conditioning, for instance – the more heat-trapping greenhouse gases and "waste energy" we create, feeding both phenomena.
No escape in the Phoenix nights
The lows at night are rising, too. Three decades ago, the nighttime low here was about 30 degrees cooler than the days. Today, it is on average only 20 degrees cooler. That's because cities are slower to cool off at night, retaining their heat in roads and buildings. Dr. Golden points to differing temperatures between downtown Phoenix and a rural weather station at the Casa Grande National Monument, about 50 miles southeast. In 1950, he says, it was only six degrees warmer in Phoenix than at the Casa Grande Monument. By 2000, the temperature in Phoenix was 12 degrees higher. Now, it is almost 14 degrees warmer in the city than in the adjacent rural areas.
That has a huge impact on water consumption and electricity generation, he says. Researchers in his department recently calculated the correlation between nighttime temperatures and water consumption. "A one-degree nighttime [temperature] increase equals 677 gallons more on average per household per year," he says – due as much to evaporation from pools, irrigation, and agriculture as to human consumption. Golden and his colleagues study these rises in temperatures for urban areas from here to London and Beijing.
"We are trying to do two things," Golden says. "One is to quantify the impacts from this national trend of climate change in the broad context…. Then, we try to provide policymakers sound science and engineering to understand what the impacts are."
Looking toward solutions
Here in the Phoenix area, for example, 40 percent of the heat-island effect is due to paved surfaces, according to Golden. "We're trying to transition to pervious pavement, which would allow for water penetration," he says.
That, he adds, would support the growth of urban vegetation, which is typically removed for new building projects. And urban vegetation planted at intervals, as well as the water pervious pavement retains, would lead to cooler temperatures at night.
"If we were to take all the surfaced parking lots in this city and cover them with 50 percent tree cover," that would significantly decrease the surface temperatures, he says. His department is also studying the survival methods of this area's early inhabitants, such as the Hohokam with their earthen structures.
Today, two-story houses are popular, he says. But what if policymakers were to ban future building of two-story houses – or at least upper floors – in order to make buildings shorter, and less prone to trapping heat. Instead, housing plans could include basements, he says, which would naturally remain cooler – though the prospect of lower levels has long been considered too expensive or difficult, despite the plethora of inground pools. The good news about these rises in temperatures, if there is any, Golden says, is that local governments are beginning to pay attention to how they design cities, how closely they space houses, and how much forestry and agriculture they plan.
Phoenix, for example, is pushing for more open-space parks with trees downtown. And the city of Mesa is offering $500 rebates to residents who convert their yards from lawns to xeriscape, including desert trees that provide canopy shade.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0830/p01s01-wogi.htm
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Solar Energy Consortium woos state for aid
Robert M. Miraldi
DailyFreeman.com
08/26/2007
When Vincent Cozzolino and Frank Falatyn first spoke to U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey about their plans for a venture into the rapidly expanding solar energy field, they were taken aback by Hinchey's zeal for the subject.
Cozzolino and Falatyn, two of the three founding members of The Solar Energy Consortium, bring considerable resumes in the semiconductor industry, a fact that was not lost on Hinchey.
With Cozzolino and Falatyn's strong connections in the technology field and the Hudson Valley, Hinchey, D-Hurley, knew this was an ideal opportunity to further the vitally important field of sustainable energy. "He said that if we were serious, he would make this his top priority," Falatyn said. "He basically said that 'Together we can make this happen.' In that regard, he was our champion from the beginning."
Hinchey was also a proponent of the consortium because it has the possibility of bringing renewed life to TechCity, the former IBM-Kingston plant in the town of Ulster. The consortium has plans to set up operations in a 300,000-square-foot building at TechCity.
Cozzolino, a former IBM vice president at the Poughkeepsie and Fishkill sites, has led global teams for IBM in China and worldwide. He is founder and executive director of the Institute for Business Innovation, a consortium in the Hudson Valley.
Some of Falatyn's more notable achievements, aside from being president of his own company, Fala Technologies, include being named New York's 2005 Small Business Person of the Year, serving as president of the Council of Industry of Southeastern New York and serving as a founding member of the Mid-Hudson Technology Council.
Getting political capital is vital for the project. To convince Empire State Development - New York state government's primary agent for economic growth and building - that the project is worthy of serious funding, the consortium needed serious political backing.
The consortium's approach in asking for funds is much different from that of other renewable energy ventures. In essence, the fact that the consortium is starting from scratch, albeit with some bright industry minds, had the potential to scare off the Governor's Office. Most projects of this nature come with the backing of large private companies and are viewed as a safer bet.
"The model here is to help small ideas bubble up and develop into manufactured products," said Falatyn.
While Empire State Development has been tight-lipped in its public response to the funding request, the agency has privately hinted that the consortium's model is not its model. Whether the state relents on the importance of such a model remains to be seen, but for now, Cozzolino and Falatyn are relying on the political heavy-hitters whose support they have enlisted.
Locally, that group includes Ulster County Legislature Chairman David Donaldson, D-Kingston, Ulster County Development Corp. President Lance Matteson, and Industrial Development Agency Chair March Gallagher. All three have reached out to Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office.
Hinchey has already secured $4 million in federal funding on behalf of the consortium to date. Those funds, which were appropriated as part of the defense fund and the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, will not be available until March 2008. Until then, the consortium will be forced to rely on private funding.
Aside from county political leaders, the consortium has enlisted the support of state Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, and state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, both of whom have met with officials from Empire State Development. One factor that may help convince the state is the consortium's newly affirmed status as a nonprofit organization.
The consortium says its aim is to create "a solar technology cluster of manufacturing companies" in the state. "In order to progress with this technology and make it more pervasive, there is a need for fundamental research and development as well as technology support of those companies that are start ups in this field," the consortium said in a statement. "(The consortium) will sponsor this."
Aside from sponsoring research, the consortium also aims to become a center for competency in the field of solar technology that would draw in companies. Recently, Cozzolino and Falatyn met with officials from SUNY Binghamton, including the college president, in an effort to continue building their research team - a group of academic university partners. Cozzolino called it "a match made in heaven."
Increasingly, the property of academicians - such as the scientists and professors who will work with the consortium - belongs to the college they hail from, or the academics themselves. In the case of the consortium, the ultimate goal is not to bring in esteemed minds to conduct the research and development of solar products and keep it private. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Research that can benefit the industry, and discovered by the consortium will be made publicly available in an 'open systems' like format," the consortium said. "Research that is funded directly by private companies but performed by our university partners, will belong to that company."
"We'll give it out," said Cozzolino. "We want to inspire competition."
This year's AT Kearney report - a report that gives long-term recommendations to the state about how to improve its economic future - reads as if it were made for the consortium. In the executive summary, the report says,
"New York's best hope for the future is to focus both statewide and regional investments on emerging sectors - especially nanotechnology, bioscience and cleantech," the report's executive summary says. "If New York is to enjoy a long-term economic renaissance - one that benefits every region - it must look toward the Innovation Economy."
Based on that report, one would think the consortium stands a good chance of eventually obtaining funds from Empire State Development. But the consortium's braintrust is certainly not going to rest on its laurels until then.
Speaking about the efforts of Senator Bonacic and Assemblyman Cahill to secure funds from the state, Cozzolino said, "We need them to rise to the occasion in a very big way... If it wasn't for state subsidy, the solar industry wouldn't make a whole lot of money."
The flip side is that renewable energy ventures are being undertaken at a pace somewhat similar to the number of dot-coms that flooded the market in the late 1990s. Additionally, solar energy is often regarded as the fourth option when it comes to renewable energy, behind biodiesel, nuclear and coal.
These facts have not scared off the Solar Energy Consortium. Its principals say they are confident that the New York City market, less than 100 miles south, will provide more than enough demand for solar power. As Cozzolino put it, "You're not going to see a nuclear reactor in Midtown. Solar in New York City is going to be vital."
What will also be vital for the consortium is figuring out how to incorporate solar technology into the city like no one has before. Large-scale solar systems that are laid out on the tops of flat shopping malls and warehouses are becoming a popular idea and a logical one. But that is not a possibility in a city that extends vertically. The consortium will have to enlist the help of scientists who can design systems to wrap around buildings, as well as blend into them.
It is one of the many challenging tasks the consortium will have to tackle as it continues to navigate a crowded renewable energy field.
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18750202&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6
Robert M. Miraldi
DailyFreeman.com
08/26/2007
When Vincent Cozzolino and Frank Falatyn first spoke to U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey about their plans for a venture into the rapidly expanding solar energy field, they were taken aback by Hinchey's zeal for the subject.
Cozzolino and Falatyn, two of the three founding members of The Solar Energy Consortium, bring considerable resumes in the semiconductor industry, a fact that was not lost on Hinchey.
With Cozzolino and Falatyn's strong connections in the technology field and the Hudson Valley, Hinchey, D-Hurley, knew this was an ideal opportunity to further the vitally important field of sustainable energy. "He said that if we were serious, he would make this his top priority," Falatyn said. "He basically said that 'Together we can make this happen.' In that regard, he was our champion from the beginning."
Hinchey was also a proponent of the consortium because it has the possibility of bringing renewed life to TechCity, the former IBM-Kingston plant in the town of Ulster. The consortium has plans to set up operations in a 300,000-square-foot building at TechCity.
Cozzolino, a former IBM vice president at the Poughkeepsie and Fishkill sites, has led global teams for IBM in China and worldwide. He is founder and executive director of the Institute for Business Innovation, a consortium in the Hudson Valley.
Some of Falatyn's more notable achievements, aside from being president of his own company, Fala Technologies, include being named New York's 2005 Small Business Person of the Year, serving as president of the Council of Industry of Southeastern New York and serving as a founding member of the Mid-Hudson Technology Council.
Getting political capital is vital for the project. To convince Empire State Development - New York state government's primary agent for economic growth and building - that the project is worthy of serious funding, the consortium needed serious political backing.
The consortium's approach in asking for funds is much different from that of other renewable energy ventures. In essence, the fact that the consortium is starting from scratch, albeit with some bright industry minds, had the potential to scare off the Governor's Office. Most projects of this nature come with the backing of large private companies and are viewed as a safer bet.
"The model here is to help small ideas bubble up and develop into manufactured products," said Falatyn.
While Empire State Development has been tight-lipped in its public response to the funding request, the agency has privately hinted that the consortium's model is not its model. Whether the state relents on the importance of such a model remains to be seen, but for now, Cozzolino and Falatyn are relying on the political heavy-hitters whose support they have enlisted.
Locally, that group includes Ulster County Legislature Chairman David Donaldson, D-Kingston, Ulster County Development Corp. President Lance Matteson, and Industrial Development Agency Chair March Gallagher. All three have reached out to Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office.
Hinchey has already secured $4 million in federal funding on behalf of the consortium to date. Those funds, which were appropriated as part of the defense fund and the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, will not be available until March 2008. Until then, the consortium will be forced to rely on private funding.
Aside from county political leaders, the consortium has enlisted the support of state Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, and state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, both of whom have met with officials from Empire State Development. One factor that may help convince the state is the consortium's newly affirmed status as a nonprofit organization.
The consortium says its aim is to create "a solar technology cluster of manufacturing companies" in the state. "In order to progress with this technology and make it more pervasive, there is a need for fundamental research and development as well as technology support of those companies that are start ups in this field," the consortium said in a statement. "(The consortium) will sponsor this."
Aside from sponsoring research, the consortium also aims to become a center for competency in the field of solar technology that would draw in companies. Recently, Cozzolino and Falatyn met with officials from SUNY Binghamton, including the college president, in an effort to continue building their research team - a group of academic university partners. Cozzolino called it "a match made in heaven."
Increasingly, the property of academicians - such as the scientists and professors who will work with the consortium - belongs to the college they hail from, or the academics themselves. In the case of the consortium, the ultimate goal is not to bring in esteemed minds to conduct the research and development of solar products and keep it private. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Research that can benefit the industry, and discovered by the consortium will be made publicly available in an 'open systems' like format," the consortium said. "Research that is funded directly by private companies but performed by our university partners, will belong to that company."
"We'll give it out," said Cozzolino. "We want to inspire competition."
This year's AT Kearney report - a report that gives long-term recommendations to the state about how to improve its economic future - reads as if it were made for the consortium. In the executive summary, the report says,
"New York's best hope for the future is to focus both statewide and regional investments on emerging sectors - especially nanotechnology, bioscience and cleantech," the report's executive summary says. "If New York is to enjoy a long-term economic renaissance - one that benefits every region - it must look toward the Innovation Economy."
Based on that report, one would think the consortium stands a good chance of eventually obtaining funds from Empire State Development. But the consortium's braintrust is certainly not going to rest on its laurels until then.
Speaking about the efforts of Senator Bonacic and Assemblyman Cahill to secure funds from the state, Cozzolino said, "We need them to rise to the occasion in a very big way... If it wasn't for state subsidy, the solar industry wouldn't make a whole lot of money."
The flip side is that renewable energy ventures are being undertaken at a pace somewhat similar to the number of dot-coms that flooded the market in the late 1990s. Additionally, solar energy is often regarded as the fourth option when it comes to renewable energy, behind biodiesel, nuclear and coal.
These facts have not scared off the Solar Energy Consortium. Its principals say they are confident that the New York City market, less than 100 miles south, will provide more than enough demand for solar power. As Cozzolino put it, "You're not going to see a nuclear reactor in Midtown. Solar in New York City is going to be vital."
What will also be vital for the consortium is figuring out how to incorporate solar technology into the city like no one has before. Large-scale solar systems that are laid out on the tops of flat shopping malls and warehouses are becoming a popular idea and a logical one. But that is not a possibility in a city that extends vertically. The consortium will have to enlist the help of scientists who can design systems to wrap around buildings, as well as blend into them.
It is one of the many challenging tasks the consortium will have to tackle as it continues to navigate a crowded renewable energy field.
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18750202&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6
Lighting up Africa: Why today's residents are still making do with wax and wicks
28 August 2007
The Independent (UK)
When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb he vowed that electricity would be so cheap that only the rich would keep burning candles. Try telling that to today's residents of Africa, still making do with wax and wicks some 130 years later. The Dark Continent nickname may have been coined by Edison's contemporary explorers, but in one respect the moniker is still accurate, as a quick glance at a night satellite photograph of the globe proves. While the lights of Europe and America twinkle brightly, Africa is swathed in a cloak of blackness.
In Sierra Leone, the UN war crimes court is praised as much for lighting up one area of the capital Freetown, as for its justice. In the dilapidated Guinean capital, Conakry, young men flock to the airport of an evening, perched on bollards to cram in after-dark exam revision in the one place with constant lighting. And in the desert expanses of eastern Chad, families gather together for a meal by moonlight.
Even in Africa's most cosmopolitan cities - Johannesburg, Nairobi and Dakar - where the electricity grid is well-established, power cuts are a common aggravation, with neighbourhoods suddenly plunged into darkness. To counteract this, the clatter of back-up generators has become a familiar soundtrack to life in the wealthier suburbs.
Development experts have long fretted about the knock-on effect that power shortages have on the continent's ability to haul itself out of poverty. Put in simple human terms, an estimated half a billion people do not have any electricity whatsoever.
"There is not enough time in the day to extend the electricity grid," says Russell Sturm, an energy expert for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank. "We need a more immediate solution." It is with a view to plugging the gap that the World Bank is set to unveil its Lighting Africa initiative. The target is to get 250 million Africans supplied with clean-energy lighting by 2030.
Many of the continent's poorest people are dependent on kerosene lamps or candles, and typically spend at least a 10th of their income on lighting their shacks. The lamps often kick out more smoke than light, and there are frequent stories of huts going up in flames as they get knocked over. People with a bit of extra cash may invest in a small diesel generator, but the extra illumination and the reduced danger does not quite compensate for the noise and the polluting fumes.
The future, according to the World Bank, is LED lighting. In the UK, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are more commonly thought of as the tiny red and blue dots of light on household remote control units, but the new generation of LEDs give out useable white light. And these devices could help switch on the lights in Africa, in the same way that mobile phones have changed the continent.
"When the cellphone arrived, suddenly it made no sense to wire countries up to the landline network," says Mr Sturm. "I think you can have the same impact with LED lighting." LEDs are very efficient, in that they use a very small amount of power (typically one watt) but produce enough light to read by. They can also be recharged with mechanically-operated chargers such as hand cranks or pedal power, which makes them particularly suitable for African villages far from the grid.
Energy experts say that with the slow uptake of electrification,LEDs are good for the short term. "There's definitely room for targeted rural initiatives. They are starting from such a low base. In rural areas, we are talking about a 2 per cent access rate," explains Anton Eberhard, a former electricity regulator and professor at the University of Cape Town.
The World Bank and its IFC private investment arm has a pot of $12m (£6m), which will serve primarily as seed money to grow the ideas of interested businessmen and entrepreneurs. "The technology is already out there ... but what the World Bank can do is use its muscle to drum up interest and do this on a very large scale," says Walt Patterson, author of the recently-published Keeping The Lights On and a fellow at London's Chatham House.
Lighting Africa officially launches on 4 September, when organisers will unveil a competition for the design and delivery of low-cost, green lighting products for low-income consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 350 companies have already expressed an interest - from Africa-based small businesses to multinationals like Philips.
Perhaps key to the appeal, is the World Bank calculation that the so-called "energy poor" in Africa spend about $17bn each year on fuel-based lighting. "It's a sleeping giant from a market perspective," says the IFC's Mr Sturm. "The poor, even the poorest of the poor, can be a profitable market."
Again, the parallels are drawn with mobile phones. In Kenya, for example, mobiles rocketed from almost zero to nearly six million users in the decade since the technology was introduced. It will be in the first wave of countries that Lighting Africa will target, along with Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, before the project is rolled out more widely.
"We're working with manufacturers to bring down the costs of LED lighting ... and then the real challenge is on marketing and finding the avenues to distribute these products," says Vijay Iyer, an energy specialist at the World Bank.
For the fisherman plying the waters of Lake Victoria, that day cannot come soon enough. The men work at night, using lights to attract shoals of fish to the surface before trapping them in nets. Currently they use kerosene lamps, spending $1,000 a year on fuel. But with an LED light, they could eliminate that expense and pocket more cash to feed their families and send their children to school. And those children could study at night, improving their grades and, so some development experts believe, help raise the educational standards.
The other major benefit of better lighting would be better security. In some of the continent's crime-ridden slums, women cannot walk at night for fear of being attacked and some stallholders refuse to stay open after dusk for fear of being robbed. With fewer shadows for criminals to lurk in, the streets could become safer. While the Lighting Africa initiative could make a real, immediate difference to the lives of many, experts including Professor Eberhard warn that it should not distract attention from the wider problem of generating more electricity for the continent.
"In my view, probably the most critical challenge is getting power to businesses so they can power the economy," he says. Take Nigeria. Despite being the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, power is such a problem that the National Electric Production Authority (Nepa) is known as Never-Ever Power Always. Thirty years ago, Nigeria had 79 generating stations, now only around 15 are still working.
The frequent power cuts - or "lights out" as they are called locally - mean companies have to invest in generators. That electricity costs around 10 times that of the grid. It is a burden on small businesses, not to mention a turn-off for outside investors. The World Bank estimates that lack of reliable power is clipping more than 2 per cent off the annual growth rates of the worst-hit African countries.
There are moves afoot to crank up the power. The idea of bio-fuels is catching on, with production experiments taking place in many countries. South Africa has started constructing the continent's first ethanol plant, and the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has created a new ministry devoted to biofuels and renewable energy. It is early days, however, and with solar power still too costly to be able to harness the power of African sun, it is hydropower that is seeing the most investment - although critics worry about the environmental impact and the fact that the rainfall is too variable.
In Uganda, however, the government has finally given the green light for a 30m-high dam on the Nile just below the favourite white-water rafting hangout of Bujagali Falls. An international consortium is pumping £400m into the hydropower project, the biggest-ever foreign investment in east Africa. Similar dams are planned for the Niger and Volta rivers.
Without doubt, the most powerful weapon in Africa's electricity arsenal is the river Congo, which sends 42.5 million litres of water pouring into the Atlantic every second - a flow second only to the Amazon. The idea of a huge power plant on this river has been described by some as a "Marshall plan for Africa". The 40,000 megawatts of potential electricity from the so-called Grand Inga, would be more than twice the projected capacity of the Three Gorges Dam in China, and could literally light up the continent. But it comes with a giant price tag - $40bn compared to the $12bn spent on infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa since 1985. And on top of that the Democratic Republic of Congo is still recovering from a civil war, and is a long way from shaking off its reputation as "corruption central". All in all, it looks like it could be some time before the African joke - "What did we do before we used candles? We had electricity" - becomes obsolete.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2900990.ece
28 August 2007
The Independent (UK)
When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb he vowed that electricity would be so cheap that only the rich would keep burning candles. Try telling that to today's residents of Africa, still making do with wax and wicks some 130 years later. The Dark Continent nickname may have been coined by Edison's contemporary explorers, but in one respect the moniker is still accurate, as a quick glance at a night satellite photograph of the globe proves. While the lights of Europe and America twinkle brightly, Africa is swathed in a cloak of blackness.
In Sierra Leone, the UN war crimes court is praised as much for lighting up one area of the capital Freetown, as for its justice. In the dilapidated Guinean capital, Conakry, young men flock to the airport of an evening, perched on bollards to cram in after-dark exam revision in the one place with constant lighting. And in the desert expanses of eastern Chad, families gather together for a meal by moonlight.
Even in Africa's most cosmopolitan cities - Johannesburg, Nairobi and Dakar - where the electricity grid is well-established, power cuts are a common aggravation, with neighbourhoods suddenly plunged into darkness. To counteract this, the clatter of back-up generators has become a familiar soundtrack to life in the wealthier suburbs.
Development experts have long fretted about the knock-on effect that power shortages have on the continent's ability to haul itself out of poverty. Put in simple human terms, an estimated half a billion people do not have any electricity whatsoever.
"There is not enough time in the day to extend the electricity grid," says Russell Sturm, an energy expert for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank. "We need a more immediate solution." It is with a view to plugging the gap that the World Bank is set to unveil its Lighting Africa initiative. The target is to get 250 million Africans supplied with clean-energy lighting by 2030.
Many of the continent's poorest people are dependent on kerosene lamps or candles, and typically spend at least a 10th of their income on lighting their shacks. The lamps often kick out more smoke than light, and there are frequent stories of huts going up in flames as they get knocked over. People with a bit of extra cash may invest in a small diesel generator, but the extra illumination and the reduced danger does not quite compensate for the noise and the polluting fumes.
The future, according to the World Bank, is LED lighting. In the UK, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are more commonly thought of as the tiny red and blue dots of light on household remote control units, but the new generation of LEDs give out useable white light. And these devices could help switch on the lights in Africa, in the same way that mobile phones have changed the continent.
"When the cellphone arrived, suddenly it made no sense to wire countries up to the landline network," says Mr Sturm. "I think you can have the same impact with LED lighting." LEDs are very efficient, in that they use a very small amount of power (typically one watt) but produce enough light to read by. They can also be recharged with mechanically-operated chargers such as hand cranks or pedal power, which makes them particularly suitable for African villages far from the grid.
Energy experts say that with the slow uptake of electrification,LEDs are good for the short term. "There's definitely room for targeted rural initiatives. They are starting from such a low base. In rural areas, we are talking about a 2 per cent access rate," explains Anton Eberhard, a former electricity regulator and professor at the University of Cape Town.
The World Bank and its IFC private investment arm has a pot of $12m (£6m), which will serve primarily as seed money to grow the ideas of interested businessmen and entrepreneurs. "The technology is already out there ... but what the World Bank can do is use its muscle to drum up interest and do this on a very large scale," says Walt Patterson, author of the recently-published Keeping The Lights On and a fellow at London's Chatham House.
Lighting Africa officially launches on 4 September, when organisers will unveil a competition for the design and delivery of low-cost, green lighting products for low-income consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 350 companies have already expressed an interest - from Africa-based small businesses to multinationals like Philips.
Perhaps key to the appeal, is the World Bank calculation that the so-called "energy poor" in Africa spend about $17bn each year on fuel-based lighting. "It's a sleeping giant from a market perspective," says the IFC's Mr Sturm. "The poor, even the poorest of the poor, can be a profitable market."
Again, the parallels are drawn with mobile phones. In Kenya, for example, mobiles rocketed from almost zero to nearly six million users in the decade since the technology was introduced. It will be in the first wave of countries that Lighting Africa will target, along with Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, before the project is rolled out more widely.
"We're working with manufacturers to bring down the costs of LED lighting ... and then the real challenge is on marketing and finding the avenues to distribute these products," says Vijay Iyer, an energy specialist at the World Bank.
For the fisherman plying the waters of Lake Victoria, that day cannot come soon enough. The men work at night, using lights to attract shoals of fish to the surface before trapping them in nets. Currently they use kerosene lamps, spending $1,000 a year on fuel. But with an LED light, they could eliminate that expense and pocket more cash to feed their families and send their children to school. And those children could study at night, improving their grades and, so some development experts believe, help raise the educational standards.
The other major benefit of better lighting would be better security. In some of the continent's crime-ridden slums, women cannot walk at night for fear of being attacked and some stallholders refuse to stay open after dusk for fear of being robbed. With fewer shadows for criminals to lurk in, the streets could become safer. While the Lighting Africa initiative could make a real, immediate difference to the lives of many, experts including Professor Eberhard warn that it should not distract attention from the wider problem of generating more electricity for the continent.
"In my view, probably the most critical challenge is getting power to businesses so they can power the economy," he says. Take Nigeria. Despite being the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, power is such a problem that the National Electric Production Authority (Nepa) is known as Never-Ever Power Always. Thirty years ago, Nigeria had 79 generating stations, now only around 15 are still working.
The frequent power cuts - or "lights out" as they are called locally - mean companies have to invest in generators. That electricity costs around 10 times that of the grid. It is a burden on small businesses, not to mention a turn-off for outside investors. The World Bank estimates that lack of reliable power is clipping more than 2 per cent off the annual growth rates of the worst-hit African countries.
There are moves afoot to crank up the power. The idea of bio-fuels is catching on, with production experiments taking place in many countries. South Africa has started constructing the continent's first ethanol plant, and the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has created a new ministry devoted to biofuels and renewable energy. It is early days, however, and with solar power still too costly to be able to harness the power of African sun, it is hydropower that is seeing the most investment - although critics worry about the environmental impact and the fact that the rainfall is too variable.
In Uganda, however, the government has finally given the green light for a 30m-high dam on the Nile just below the favourite white-water rafting hangout of Bujagali Falls. An international consortium is pumping £400m into the hydropower project, the biggest-ever foreign investment in east Africa. Similar dams are planned for the Niger and Volta rivers.
Without doubt, the most powerful weapon in Africa's electricity arsenal is the river Congo, which sends 42.5 million litres of water pouring into the Atlantic every second - a flow second only to the Amazon. The idea of a huge power plant on this river has been described by some as a "Marshall plan for Africa". The 40,000 megawatts of potential electricity from the so-called Grand Inga, would be more than twice the projected capacity of the Three Gorges Dam in China, and could literally light up the continent. But it comes with a giant price tag - $40bn compared to the $12bn spent on infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa since 1985. And on top of that the Democratic Republic of Congo is still recovering from a civil war, and is a long way from shaking off its reputation as "corruption central". All in all, it looks like it could be some time before the African joke - "What did we do before we used candles? We had electricity" - becomes obsolete.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2900990.ece
Warm water the eco-friendly way
A groundbreaking solar water-heating project in Cosmo City's social housing section has brought warm water to 170 homes – with many residents getting hot water for the first time.
August 27, 2007
By Emily Visser
Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)
SOLAR geysers have been fitted to 170 homes in extension two, Cosmo City over the last three months. For some of the residents, this is the first time they have hot water in their homes. The project is the first of its kind in Johannesburg and cost the city about R2-million; each unit, consisting of a geyser and a solar panel, cost R13 000.
Extension two residents come from informal settlements; they began moving into the newly built Reconstruction and Development Programme houses in November 2005, and to date more than 2 000 of these homes have been occupied. Although equipped with water, sanitation and electricity, they have no geysers.
Manda Mandavha, the Cosmo City manager in the City's department of environmental management, says that over time, the project result in savings to the environment and consumers. Electric geysers use about a third of a household's total electricity consumption; direct solar heating generally reduces electricity consumption by between 10 and 30 percent. Little maintenanceOnce installed, the units require little maintenance. "The system has to be flushed out every two years or so by opening a small tap or valve [to replace the water]," explains Shaun Rieche, a partner at Solar Heat Exchanger, which installed the units. The company has designed a simple owner manual, copies of which will be handed over to recipients at a community meeting.
Installation underway
The solar heating units are not backed up by electricity because of a lack of funding and the limited power supply in those areas. If the sun does not shine there is no hot water, but on sunny days users can expect water temperatures of 55° Celsius and higher. Rieche says the project brought many happy smiles but also some criticism, as not everyone could be accommodated. The initial tender was for 500 units but this number had to be cut because of cost constraints.
The City used two criteria for allocating the units. "A first-come-first-served system was used, and only north-facing houses [were considered]," Mandavhe explains. Installing units at homes facing west-east would have added another R600 to the cost because it would have been necessary to install a special roof bracket.
Extending the projectThe department is working closely with electricity supplier Eskom and Sustainable Energy Africa, a non-governmental organisation, to extend the project to other areas. Sustainable Energy Africa is drawing up a business plan on behalf of the City that will be submitted to Eskom for funding of future projects, confirmed Mandavha. Eskom offers financial assistance to approved Demand Side Management (DSM) projects.
By-laws regarding solar water heaters were recently approved by the Cape Town city council, and that city will enforce the use of solar heaters in all newly built houses and in new building additions. There will be some exemptions, however. Tshwane is looking at similar regulations, which it hopes to have in place by 2008.
The City of Johannesburg will be looking at by-law enforcement in the near future. "Right now we are working on an energy efficiency strategy for the entire city but [solar water heating] by-laws are the route we are heading to," Mandavha confirms.
On a national level, the Department of Minerals and Energy has started a roll out programme of solar heaters for middle- to high-income households in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The initiative is spearheaded by the Central Energy Fund.
http://www.joburg.org.za/2007/aug/aug27_geyser.stm
A groundbreaking solar water-heating project in Cosmo City's social housing section has brought warm water to 170 homes – with many residents getting hot water for the first time.
August 27, 2007
By Emily Visser
Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)
SOLAR geysers have been fitted to 170 homes in extension two, Cosmo City over the last three months. For some of the residents, this is the first time they have hot water in their homes. The project is the first of its kind in Johannesburg and cost the city about R2-million; each unit, consisting of a geyser and a solar panel, cost R13 000.
Extension two residents come from informal settlements; they began moving into the newly built Reconstruction and Development Programme houses in November 2005, and to date more than 2 000 of these homes have been occupied. Although equipped with water, sanitation and electricity, they have no geysers.
Manda Mandavha, the Cosmo City manager in the City's department of environmental management, says that over time, the project result in savings to the environment and consumers. Electric geysers use about a third of a household's total electricity consumption; direct solar heating generally reduces electricity consumption by between 10 and 30 percent. Little maintenanceOnce installed, the units require little maintenance. "The system has to be flushed out every two years or so by opening a small tap or valve [to replace the water]," explains Shaun Rieche, a partner at Solar Heat Exchanger, which installed the units. The company has designed a simple owner manual, copies of which will be handed over to recipients at a community meeting.
Installation underway
The solar heating units are not backed up by electricity because of a lack of funding and the limited power supply in those areas. If the sun does not shine there is no hot water, but on sunny days users can expect water temperatures of 55° Celsius and higher. Rieche says the project brought many happy smiles but also some criticism, as not everyone could be accommodated. The initial tender was for 500 units but this number had to be cut because of cost constraints.
The City used two criteria for allocating the units. "A first-come-first-served system was used, and only north-facing houses [were considered]," Mandavhe explains. Installing units at homes facing west-east would have added another R600 to the cost because it would have been necessary to install a special roof bracket.
Extending the projectThe department is working closely with electricity supplier Eskom and Sustainable Energy Africa, a non-governmental organisation, to extend the project to other areas. Sustainable Energy Africa is drawing up a business plan on behalf of the City that will be submitted to Eskom for funding of future projects, confirmed Mandavha. Eskom offers financial assistance to approved Demand Side Management (DSM) projects.
By-laws regarding solar water heaters were recently approved by the Cape Town city council, and that city will enforce the use of solar heaters in all newly built houses and in new building additions. There will be some exemptions, however. Tshwane is looking at similar regulations, which it hopes to have in place by 2008.
The City of Johannesburg will be looking at by-law enforcement in the near future. "Right now we are working on an energy efficiency strategy for the entire city but [solar water heating] by-laws are the route we are heading to," Mandavha confirms.
On a national level, the Department of Minerals and Energy has started a roll out programme of solar heaters for middle- to high-income households in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The initiative is spearheaded by the Central Energy Fund.
http://www.joburg.org.za/2007/aug/aug27_geyser.stm
Monday, August 27, 2007
Blowin’ in the Wind
by Stanley Fish
TimesSelect (NY Times online version)
August 26, 2007
Stanley Fish is the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University, in Miami, and dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mr. Fish has also taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins and Duke University. He is the author of 10 books.
When the issue of energy came up in the debate among the Democratic presidential contenders on Aug. 7, the candidates began talking about “renewable” energy and one of them (Chris Dodd) mentioned wind power. Seems logical. Why spend all the effort and money to build huge electricity plants when the wind is always blowing? Who could argue against a technology that promises to derive energy from a renewable, and free, resource?
Everyone I know.
For five months of the year, I live in the very small town of Andes, N.Y. Each year has its signature event — floods, drought, road construction, caterpillars. And 2006 to 2007 has been the year of the wind turbines. Like many of the other towns targeted by the wind turbine industry, Andes is a rural community that over the years has lost its economic base. At one time the hills and valleys were home to many small dairy farms, but most of them are no longer in operation, and no industry, light or heavy, has taken their place. Now the area relies for its revenue on retirees and second home owners who are educated, relatively well off and tend to be teachers therapists, lawyers, artists and social workers. In short, liberals. They are all soldiers in Al Gore’s army, into organic foods, hybrid cars, clean air, clean water, the whole bit.
They are also against wind power.
Their reasons are the ones always given by those who wake up to find the wind interests at their door. Even if large wind farms were in place throughout the country, the electricity produced would be a very small percentage of the electricity we use. Because the turbines are huge, 400 feet or more, installing them involves tearing up the ridges on which they are placed. Once in operation, they cast shadows and produce noise. Their blades cause a “flicker” effect, kill birds and interfere with migration. The outsized towers ruin scenic views and depress real-estate values.
These last two reasons are seized on by wind proponents who say that a few elite newcomers are putting their aesthetic preferences ahead of both the community’s welfare and the national effort to shift to green energy as a way of slowing down global warming. It’s a nice line, but it won’t fly. The wind companies may advertise themselves as environmentalists, but they are really developers, which means that they do things with other peoples’ money — yours. Wind farms are attractive as an investment because the combination of tax credits, tax shelters and accelerated depreciation rates means that investors reap large profits in a few years. Meanwhile, those in the community pay twice for their electricity; once when their taxes go to subsidize the wind interests and a second time when the monthly bill arrives. And that bill will likely be larger than it would have been had the turbines never been erected.
Then there are the issues of “de-commissioning.” What happens when the turbines are no longer profitable and are shut down or fall into disrepair and become postmodern ruins larger than Stonehenge? Who fixes them? Who takes them down? Who repairs the ridges? Don’t ask the original developers. Before the special tax and depreciation breaks have run their course, they will be long gone, either because they have sold the project to another developer or because they have just decamped and moved on to the next town.
So what do you do? Some towns have done nothing; they think it can’t happen here. Other towns take the developer’s money but extract promises that the turbines will be set back so many yards or miles. (Good luck if the promises aren’t kept; developers never return your calls.) Others across the country have done what we did in Andes — organize. We formed an alliance, incorporated, raised money, sent out flyers, took polls, sponsored forums, wrote a zoning ordinance, presented it to the town council and planning board, and finally saw it pass. It was democracy in action.
But it’s not over. The Spitzer administration has been working on a plan to shift the authority for land use control from local communities to a state commission. Local zoning ordinances would be countermanded and communities like Andes could get wind farms even if they didn’t want them.
Perhaps the governor and his colleagues should be reminded of the company that made wind power into a big, profitable business in this country. It was called Enron.
http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/blowin-in-the-wind/#comments
by Stanley Fish
TimesSelect (NY Times online version)
August 26, 2007
Stanley Fish is the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University, in Miami, and dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mr. Fish has also taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins and Duke University. He is the author of 10 books.
When the issue of energy came up in the debate among the Democratic presidential contenders on Aug. 7, the candidates began talking about “renewable” energy and one of them (Chris Dodd) mentioned wind power. Seems logical. Why spend all the effort and money to build huge electricity plants when the wind is always blowing? Who could argue against a technology that promises to derive energy from a renewable, and free, resource?
Everyone I know.
For five months of the year, I live in the very small town of Andes, N.Y. Each year has its signature event — floods, drought, road construction, caterpillars. And 2006 to 2007 has been the year of the wind turbines. Like many of the other towns targeted by the wind turbine industry, Andes is a rural community that over the years has lost its economic base. At one time the hills and valleys were home to many small dairy farms, but most of them are no longer in operation, and no industry, light or heavy, has taken their place. Now the area relies for its revenue on retirees and second home owners who are educated, relatively well off and tend to be teachers therapists, lawyers, artists and social workers. In short, liberals. They are all soldiers in Al Gore’s army, into organic foods, hybrid cars, clean air, clean water, the whole bit.
They are also against wind power.
Their reasons are the ones always given by those who wake up to find the wind interests at their door. Even if large wind farms were in place throughout the country, the electricity produced would be a very small percentage of the electricity we use. Because the turbines are huge, 400 feet or more, installing them involves tearing up the ridges on which they are placed. Once in operation, they cast shadows and produce noise. Their blades cause a “flicker” effect, kill birds and interfere with migration. The outsized towers ruin scenic views and depress real-estate values.
These last two reasons are seized on by wind proponents who say that a few elite newcomers are putting their aesthetic preferences ahead of both the community’s welfare and the national effort to shift to green energy as a way of slowing down global warming. It’s a nice line, but it won’t fly. The wind companies may advertise themselves as environmentalists, but they are really developers, which means that they do things with other peoples’ money — yours. Wind farms are attractive as an investment because the combination of tax credits, tax shelters and accelerated depreciation rates means that investors reap large profits in a few years. Meanwhile, those in the community pay twice for their electricity; once when their taxes go to subsidize the wind interests and a second time when the monthly bill arrives. And that bill will likely be larger than it would have been had the turbines never been erected.
Then there are the issues of “de-commissioning.” What happens when the turbines are no longer profitable and are shut down or fall into disrepair and become postmodern ruins larger than Stonehenge? Who fixes them? Who takes them down? Who repairs the ridges? Don’t ask the original developers. Before the special tax and depreciation breaks have run their course, they will be long gone, either because they have sold the project to another developer or because they have just decamped and moved on to the next town.
So what do you do? Some towns have done nothing; they think it can’t happen here. Other towns take the developer’s money but extract promises that the turbines will be set back so many yards or miles. (Good luck if the promises aren’t kept; developers never return your calls.) Others across the country have done what we did in Andes — organize. We formed an alliance, incorporated, raised money, sent out flyers, took polls, sponsored forums, wrote a zoning ordinance, presented it to the town council and planning board, and finally saw it pass. It was democracy in action.
But it’s not over. The Spitzer administration has been working on a plan to shift the authority for land use control from local communities to a state commission. Local zoning ordinances would be countermanded and communities like Andes could get wind farms even if they didn’t want them.
Perhaps the governor and his colleagues should be reminded of the company that made wind power into a big, profitable business in this country. It was called Enron.
http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/blowin-in-the-wind/#comments
Call to set up an urban planning legislative and regulatory framework
08/27/2007
By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Several key issues facing Dubai's future urban development and the way residents interact with the city will be tackled by the emirate's new urban development plan. Challenges to be addressed by the Dubai Urban Development Framework (DUDF) include the emirate's infrastructure and transport supply, its ecological footprint, urban amenities and community services, and coordination between organisations responsible for the built up environment.
According to urban planning specialists, the need to set up an urban planning legislative and regulatory framework will be one of the initiative's most important responsibilities. "This step is a natural reaction to the increasing pace of development in Dubai, which has been quite extraordinary compared to other cities around the world. There is a need to revisit and upgrade the overall urban masterplan and create a uniform system," said Rod Stewart, regional managing director, Hyder Consulting Middle East, an engineering, environmental planning and management consultancy.
Important part
"Ensuring that all the development that takes place in Dubai is brought under a wider umbrella of regulatory control is a very important part of the initiative and something to be supported." Gulf News yesterday reported that Dubai's Urban Planning Committee (UPC) awarded a contract to a consortium headed by Urbis (Australia) to prepare the DUDF, with support from environmental and engineering experts WSP Group.
The project, expected to be completed in 14 months, aims to create an innovative, flexible and fully integrated development planning and management framework for Dubai to the year 2020 and beyond. It will be guided by the UPC, which has key stakeholders including Dubai Municipality, the Road and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Land Department, and The Executive Office, as well as developers such as Dubai Holdings, Emaar and Nakheel.
In Dubai there has been some criticism over gaps in the provision of urban amenities and community services. The emirate's ecological footprint has also been an area of concern, while a shortage of affordable housing and the huge pressure on the traffic infrastructure remain the main worries among residents. Over the next 14 months the DUDF will attempt to draw up ways of keeping the housing stock in line with projected economic and demographic growth, as well as guiding public and private developers on aspects such as the design and grouping of their buildings.
The management of existing heritage sites and creation of new heritage sites will be addressed, as will sustainability of coastal areas and open spaces within developments. Perhaps the most important areas will be details of primary and secondary infrastructure networks required to 2020 and beyond, and creation of a framework and strategy to make Dubai a 'green' city. In addition, the initiative aims to make Dubai an energy-efficient city by providing an energy demand-supply assessment and management study.
Addressing the need for a legal and institutional framework that can handle the complexity of urban development processes in Dubai, the initiative will find ways to direct, manage and monitor all spatial and real estate market activities in Dubai. "This move is a recognition that Dubai has to have a good level of planning control to ensure that it continues to be a very livable city," said Stewart.
Key issues and challenges DUDF could address
- Coordination and integration among stakeholders involved in the built environment, including public agencies, quasi-public and private firms.
- Infrastructure supply - demand mismatch.
- Rapidly growing ecological and physical footprint.
- Gaps in urban amenities and community services.
- Mobility of goods and people across the emirate.
- Decline in housing affordability.
- Business competitiveness in light of rising cost of living and inflationary pressures.
- Urban planning legislative and regulatory framework.
08/27/2007
By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Several key issues facing Dubai's future urban development and the way residents interact with the city will be tackled by the emirate's new urban development plan. Challenges to be addressed by the Dubai Urban Development Framework (DUDF) include the emirate's infrastructure and transport supply, its ecological footprint, urban amenities and community services, and coordination between organisations responsible for the built up environment.
According to urban planning specialists, the need to set up an urban planning legislative and regulatory framework will be one of the initiative's most important responsibilities. "This step is a natural reaction to the increasing pace of development in Dubai, which has been quite extraordinary compared to other cities around the world. There is a need to revisit and upgrade the overall urban masterplan and create a uniform system," said Rod Stewart, regional managing director, Hyder Consulting Middle East, an engineering, environmental planning and management consultancy.
Important part
"Ensuring that all the development that takes place in Dubai is brought under a wider umbrella of regulatory control is a very important part of the initiative and something to be supported." Gulf News yesterday reported that Dubai's Urban Planning Committee (UPC) awarded a contract to a consortium headed by Urbis (Australia) to prepare the DUDF, with support from environmental and engineering experts WSP Group.
The project, expected to be completed in 14 months, aims to create an innovative, flexible and fully integrated development planning and management framework for Dubai to the year 2020 and beyond. It will be guided by the UPC, which has key stakeholders including Dubai Municipality, the Road and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Land Department, and The Executive Office, as well as developers such as Dubai Holdings, Emaar and Nakheel.
In Dubai there has been some criticism over gaps in the provision of urban amenities and community services. The emirate's ecological footprint has also been an area of concern, while a shortage of affordable housing and the huge pressure on the traffic infrastructure remain the main worries among residents. Over the next 14 months the DUDF will attempt to draw up ways of keeping the housing stock in line with projected economic and demographic growth, as well as guiding public and private developers on aspects such as the design and grouping of their buildings.
The management of existing heritage sites and creation of new heritage sites will be addressed, as will sustainability of coastal areas and open spaces within developments. Perhaps the most important areas will be details of primary and secondary infrastructure networks required to 2020 and beyond, and creation of a framework and strategy to make Dubai a 'green' city. In addition, the initiative aims to make Dubai an energy-efficient city by providing an energy demand-supply assessment and management study.
Addressing the need for a legal and institutional framework that can handle the complexity of urban development processes in Dubai, the initiative will find ways to direct, manage and monitor all spatial and real estate market activities in Dubai. "This move is a recognition that Dubai has to have a good level of planning control to ensure that it continues to be a very livable city," said Stewart.
Key issues and challenges DUDF could address
- Coordination and integration among stakeholders involved in the built environment, including public agencies, quasi-public and private firms.
- Infrastructure supply - demand mismatch.
- Rapidly growing ecological and physical footprint.
- Gaps in urban amenities and community services.
- Mobility of goods and people across the emirate.
- Decline in housing affordability.
- Business competitiveness in light of rising cost of living and inflationary pressures.
- Urban planning legislative and regulatory framework.
MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND GOVERNOR SPITZER OPEN FIRST GREEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NEW YORK
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced the completion of Morrisania Homes, a 64-unit affordable housing development in the South Bronx comprised of 16 three- and 8 two-family houses. The development is the first affordable development in the State to qualify for LEED for Homes (LEED-H) designation from the U.S. Green Buildings Council.
(PressZoom) - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced the completion of Morrisania Homes, a 64-unit affordable housing development in the South Bronx comprised of 16 three- and 8 two-family houses. The development is the first affordable development in the State to qualify for LEED for Homes ( LEED-H ) designation from the U.S. Green Buildings Council.
The Morrisania Homes are being developed by Blue Sea Development through HPD’s Partnership New Homes Program and financed through the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation. The two- and three-family homes are affordable to families of four earning approximately $42,000. The homes meet requirements for water efficiency, sustainable site planning, energy, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and design process. All of the homes’ indoor features are Energy Star certified, signifying that energy consumption is at least 30 percent less compared to standard features and include high-efficiency sealed combustion boilers, lighting fixtures, and recyclable carpeting.
The Mayor and the Governor were joined at the ribbon cutting by HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan, New York State Housing Finance Agency President and CEO Priscilla Almodovar, New York City Council Member Helen Foster, Housing Partnership Development Corporation President and CEO Dan Martin, Blue Sea Development Principal Les Bluestone, and U.S. Green Building Council New York Chapter Executive Director Russell Unger.
“The Morrisania Homes show that affordable housing can also be sustainable housing,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “As we work to build housing for the million new people expected to come to New York by 2030, we need to ensure that we are building homes that people can afford and that allow the city to grow in a environmentally responsible way. These new homes are part of our 165,000 unit affordable housing plan, the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation’s history. Nearly 65,000 units have already been financed through the plan, putting us on track to complete the plan on schedule.”
“Green buildings represent an important new frontier in the development of sustainable, affordable housing,” said Governor Spitzer. “Perhaps most importantly, they demonstrate how each family can play a meaningful role in protecting our environment without incurring tremendous expense. By bringing green building to individual affordable housing units, we are adapting a comprehensive approach to conservation and helping to lay the groundwork for a cleaner, healthier future."
As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, HPD is working to create homes for almost a million more New Yorkers by 2030 while making housing more affordable and environmentally sustainable. The plan also recommends that future housing developments be located less than half a mile from public transportation. The Morrisania Homes are located within a two-block walking distance of public transportation in the Bronx. The development consists of two phases, with the second phase to be completed in the fall and resulting in four three-family homes. In total, totaling 76 affordable will be created.
“The Morrisania Homes represent a significant step forward in integrating affordable housing with environmental sustainability,” said HPD Commissioner Donovan. “As New York’s population grows, integrating these two concepts will be crucial to the well-being of the City, its residents, and the environment we all share. Part of the success of the Mayor’s PlaNYC is ensuring that residents also have access to transportation and open space. By bringing these elements of a healthy community together, the Morrisania Homes serve as an example for future developments around the City. I want to thank the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation, the Housing Partnership Development Corporation, Blue Sea Development and JPMorgan Chase for making these homes possible.”
“I am proud that the Affordable Housing Corporation has helped finance the next generation of affordable housing,” said President and CEO of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation Priscilla Almodovar. “The Morrisania Homes demonstrate New York State’s commitment to innovative housing strategies that create homes that are both affordable and environmentally sustainable.”
“Without support from the City and State, we could not have completed the first affordable LEED-H homes to be built in New York State. What makes this an especially important event is that they are built in an area of the South Bronx that was once written off and abandoned by many. We are extremely proud to be able to offer sustainable design in high performance homes to low and moderate income New Yorkers,” said Blue Sea Development Principal Les Bluestone.
Housing Partnership Development Corporation President and CEO Daniel Martin said, “Despite the perception that green homes cost more to build than conventional projects, the Housing Partnership believes, as well as our construction lenders and our public partners, that the development of sustainable, environmentally efficient homes is a sound investment. The long-term benefits will far outweigh the extra up front cost, and we are delighted to have acted as the financial intermediary on behalf of Blue Sea Development for this high-quality, affordable and energy-efficient development.”
HPD worked together with Council Member Helen Foster and neighborhood organizations to preserve a community garden on the designated property, and to relocate two additional gardens to an alternative site. HPD is working closely with the New York City Parks Department and community organizations throughout the City to identify opportunities for affordable housing development while also preserving vacant land for open space and community gardens, which contribute to healthy, sustainable communities.
“Congratulations are in order for the new Morrisania homes because we got both new homes and kept our gardens,” said Council Member Helen Foster. “These homes are the result of a partnership between HPD, my office and the Bronx United Gardeners under the leadership of Ms. Cordelia Gilford. No active gardens were lost in tribute to gardeners who had worked for decades as community leaders. A special posthumous tribute to gardener Mr. Bill Smith, who agreed to move his garden so that new homes could be built, and to his friends who continue to tend his garden.”
For the financing of the first phase of the development, the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation provided a grant of more than $1.5 million. In addition, the City provided approximately $1.9 million in subsidies and Borough President Adolfo Carrión provided $453,115 in additional funding. Council Member Helen Foster funded $40,000 for the preparation of the alternative site for the community gardens. JP Morgan Chase provided a construction loan of over $6.6 million.“
HPD and its partners have hit the mark with this inspiring, green first development,” said Russell Unger, Executive Director of the New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that created and administers LEED. “Our most vulnerable populations – the very young and the very old – spend most of their time inside homes so there is no better place for green building features, like improved air quality. The energy saving from this development is not only great for climate change, but also for the pocketbooks of the low-income New Yorkers who will be living here. As the first LEED Homes certified in New York, Morrisania Homes shows the rest of us how it should really be done.”
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced the completion of Morrisania Homes, a 64-unit affordable housing development in the South Bronx comprised of 16 three- and 8 two-family houses. The development is the first affordable development in the State to qualify for LEED for Homes (LEED-H) designation from the U.S. Green Buildings Council.
(PressZoom) - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced the completion of Morrisania Homes, a 64-unit affordable housing development in the South Bronx comprised of 16 three- and 8 two-family houses. The development is the first affordable development in the State to qualify for LEED for Homes ( LEED-H ) designation from the U.S. Green Buildings Council.
The Morrisania Homes are being developed by Blue Sea Development through HPD’s Partnership New Homes Program and financed through the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation. The two- and three-family homes are affordable to families of four earning approximately $42,000. The homes meet requirements for water efficiency, sustainable site planning, energy, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and design process. All of the homes’ indoor features are Energy Star certified, signifying that energy consumption is at least 30 percent less compared to standard features and include high-efficiency sealed combustion boilers, lighting fixtures, and recyclable carpeting.
The Mayor and the Governor were joined at the ribbon cutting by HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan, New York State Housing Finance Agency President and CEO Priscilla Almodovar, New York City Council Member Helen Foster, Housing Partnership Development Corporation President and CEO Dan Martin, Blue Sea Development Principal Les Bluestone, and U.S. Green Building Council New York Chapter Executive Director Russell Unger.
“The Morrisania Homes show that affordable housing can also be sustainable housing,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “As we work to build housing for the million new people expected to come to New York by 2030, we need to ensure that we are building homes that people can afford and that allow the city to grow in a environmentally responsible way. These new homes are part of our 165,000 unit affordable housing plan, the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation’s history. Nearly 65,000 units have already been financed through the plan, putting us on track to complete the plan on schedule.”
“Green buildings represent an important new frontier in the development of sustainable, affordable housing,” said Governor Spitzer. “Perhaps most importantly, they demonstrate how each family can play a meaningful role in protecting our environment without incurring tremendous expense. By bringing green building to individual affordable housing units, we are adapting a comprehensive approach to conservation and helping to lay the groundwork for a cleaner, healthier future."
As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, HPD is working to create homes for almost a million more New Yorkers by 2030 while making housing more affordable and environmentally sustainable. The plan also recommends that future housing developments be located less than half a mile from public transportation. The Morrisania Homes are located within a two-block walking distance of public transportation in the Bronx. The development consists of two phases, with the second phase to be completed in the fall and resulting in four three-family homes. In total, totaling 76 affordable will be created.
“The Morrisania Homes represent a significant step forward in integrating affordable housing with environmental sustainability,” said HPD Commissioner Donovan. “As New York’s population grows, integrating these two concepts will be crucial to the well-being of the City, its residents, and the environment we all share. Part of the success of the Mayor’s PlaNYC is ensuring that residents also have access to transportation and open space. By bringing these elements of a healthy community together, the Morrisania Homes serve as an example for future developments around the City. I want to thank the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation, the Housing Partnership Development Corporation, Blue Sea Development and JPMorgan Chase for making these homes possible.”
“I am proud that the Affordable Housing Corporation has helped finance the next generation of affordable housing,” said President and CEO of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation Priscilla Almodovar. “The Morrisania Homes demonstrate New York State’s commitment to innovative housing strategies that create homes that are both affordable and environmentally sustainable.”
“Without support from the City and State, we could not have completed the first affordable LEED-H homes to be built in New York State. What makes this an especially important event is that they are built in an area of the South Bronx that was once written off and abandoned by many. We are extremely proud to be able to offer sustainable design in high performance homes to low and moderate income New Yorkers,” said Blue Sea Development Principal Les Bluestone.
Housing Partnership Development Corporation President and CEO Daniel Martin said, “Despite the perception that green homes cost more to build than conventional projects, the Housing Partnership believes, as well as our construction lenders and our public partners, that the development of sustainable, environmentally efficient homes is a sound investment. The long-term benefits will far outweigh the extra up front cost, and we are delighted to have acted as the financial intermediary on behalf of Blue Sea Development for this high-quality, affordable and energy-efficient development.”
HPD worked together with Council Member Helen Foster and neighborhood organizations to preserve a community garden on the designated property, and to relocate two additional gardens to an alternative site. HPD is working closely with the New York City Parks Department and community organizations throughout the City to identify opportunities for affordable housing development while also preserving vacant land for open space and community gardens, which contribute to healthy, sustainable communities.
“Congratulations are in order for the new Morrisania homes because we got both new homes and kept our gardens,” said Council Member Helen Foster. “These homes are the result of a partnership between HPD, my office and the Bronx United Gardeners under the leadership of Ms. Cordelia Gilford. No active gardens were lost in tribute to gardeners who had worked for decades as community leaders. A special posthumous tribute to gardener Mr. Bill Smith, who agreed to move his garden so that new homes could be built, and to his friends who continue to tend his garden.”
For the financing of the first phase of the development, the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation provided a grant of more than $1.5 million. In addition, the City provided approximately $1.9 million in subsidies and Borough President Adolfo Carrión provided $453,115 in additional funding. Council Member Helen Foster funded $40,000 for the preparation of the alternative site for the community gardens. JP Morgan Chase provided a construction loan of over $6.6 million.“
HPD and its partners have hit the mark with this inspiring, green first development,” said Russell Unger, Executive Director of the New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that created and administers LEED. “Our most vulnerable populations – the very young and the very old – spend most of their time inside homes so there is no better place for green building features, like improved air quality. The energy saving from this development is not only great for climate change, but also for the pocketbooks of the low-income New Yorkers who will be living here. As the first LEED Homes certified in New York, Morrisania Homes shows the rest of us how it should really be done.”
For the Future of Farming, Look UpEviana Hartman
Washington Post
Washington Post
August 12, 2007
Page M02
If you're a follower of eco-chatter, you've probably heard that you should eat locally: The closer the farm, the less fossil fuel required to transport food to your plate. But sticking to a regional diet can be tricky, especially for city dwellers. Farmers markets are a great option but not always convenient. What if you could eat tomatoes and corn that were grown just a Metro stop from home? The idea may sound far-fetched, but it might not be far away.
The "vertical farm" or "sky farm" -- a glass skyscraper that functions as a giant urban greenhouse -- is an idea gaining traction among environmentalists and venture capitalists. Championed by Dickson Despommier, a professor of environmental health sciences at
Computers would monitor the lighting and watering, and everything would be cultivated without pesticides. Vertical farms would generate their own energy through wind power and clean-burning plant waste, purify urban sewage to use for irrigation, and collect and reuse evaporated water. Nothing has been commissioned yet, but architects have designed a number of prototypes, including buildings tailored to New York and Toronto. (To see the designs, visit the Vertical Farm Project at http://www.verticalfarm.com/). The plans call for green building technology that's already in use, but there are still hurdles: the complicated integration of cutting-edge agricultural and architectural concepts, and, of course, the cost of building them.
Still, vertical farms might be an important step to preserving the planet. "With arable land decreasing at an alarming rate due to erosion, nutrient depletion, droughts, floods, etc., vertical farming in urban centers seems like a viable option that needs to be tried," Despommier writes in an e-mail.
The global population is expected to balloon by 3 billion in the next 50 years, according to the
Depending on its size, each vertical farm is estimated to be able to feed from 10,000 to 35,000 people annually -- a significant sum, given that more than 80 percent of the developed world's population will live in cities by 2050, according to the Population Resource Center. Though you won't be able to buy blueberries grown on the Blue Line anytime soon, you can do your best to support the vertical farm's principles. Cultivate your own herbs in window boxes. If you have a back yard, plant a vegetable garden; if you don't, join an urban garden. And when shopping or dining out, find out where the food comes from and choose wisely. Remember: There's no place like home.
Impark adapts to urban need to go green
Canada's largest parking company plans to keep its spot in an energy-saving, commuter-driven future
Bruce Constantineau
Vancouver Sun
August 13, 2007
As CEO of one of North America's largest parking management firms, Herb Anderson sees a bright future for Impark, even in energy-conscious cities. Herb Anderson knows the Big Yellow Taxi lyric only too well -- they paved paradise to put up a parking lot. But the chief executive of Vancouver-based Impark insists parking does not have to symbolize urban blight. "If the market controls things, then parking spaces close to destination points will cost more and that will push more people onto public transit," Anderson said in an interview, citing U.S. parking expert Donald Shoup's recent book on the subject.
He also noted Canada's largest parking company has become more environmentally responsible in recent years -- with 13 of 80 company vehicles being fuel-efficient Smart Cars, tickets printed on recycled paper with soy ink and $12,000 spent on carbon offsets from Tree Canada that will result in at least 2,500 trees planted across Canada this year. (The company says the Tree Canada investment offsets the carbon footprint from its office space and vehicle usage but not company air travel.)
Impark -- a private company owned by U.S. and Australian interests -- is the largest parking management firm in Canada and the third largest in North America, behind only Central Parking Corporation of Nashville and Chicago-based Standard Parking. It operates about 1,800 parking locations in the U.S. and Canada and company revenues increased by 15 per cent last year to $200 million. Impark employs 3,700 people and about 70 per cent of its operations are in Canada. Anderson said the company will grow through acquisition, as the North American parking industry is still very fragmented, with about 80 per cent of the business controlled by local and regional operators.
"Many of them have been in the business for a long time and are looking for exit strategies," he said.
Impark has acquired two parking companies in the past year -- Urban Parking of Winnipeg and Metro Parking of Vancouver.
Canadians have been quick to accept automated parking services -- like pay-by-cellphone technology -- and more than 50 per cent of Impark operations are automated to some degree. Anderson said Impark competitors have only about five per cent of their operations automated. "It usually takes about 35 seconds to exit a parking lot through a cash line," he said. "But it's only about 15 seconds if you pay at an automated line or pay in advance and just go through."
So what is the future of big parking companies if environmentally-conscious governments push to get more cars off the road and more people onto public transit? Anderson said the future looks promising, even though big cities like London, England, now tax people for the privilege of driving in the downtown core. New York is considering a similar measure. "That encourages greater use of commuter trains, which offers new opportunities for us," Anderson said. "We'll look to manage parking lots along the train line [where commuters drive to catch the trains]."
Shoup, a UCLA urban planning professor, agrees parking management companies have a viable future. "Companies that manage existing spaces and figure out how to make the best use of them will do okay," he said in an interview.
Shoup's book, The High Cost of Free Parking, contends that free or cheap curbside parking in cities encourages wasteful practices as drivers cruise around and consume more gas as they search for parking spots. He expects drivers will have to pay more for those spots in the future. "That will require more sophisticated metering and technology, a lot of which is made in Vancouver [by Digital Payment Technologies]," Shoup said. "The right price will be one that yields about 85 per cent occupancy, so it's well used but parking is still readily available."
Canada's largest parking company plans to keep its spot in an energy-saving, commuter-driven future
Bruce Constantineau
Vancouver Sun
August 13, 2007
As CEO of one of North America's largest parking management firms, Herb Anderson sees a bright future for Impark, even in energy-conscious cities. Herb Anderson knows the Big Yellow Taxi lyric only too well -- they paved paradise to put up a parking lot. But the chief executive of Vancouver-based Impark insists parking does not have to symbolize urban blight. "If the market controls things, then parking spaces close to destination points will cost more and that will push more people onto public transit," Anderson said in an interview, citing U.S. parking expert Donald Shoup's recent book on the subject.
He also noted Canada's largest parking company has become more environmentally responsible in recent years -- with 13 of 80 company vehicles being fuel-efficient Smart Cars, tickets printed on recycled paper with soy ink and $12,000 spent on carbon offsets from Tree Canada that will result in at least 2,500 trees planted across Canada this year. (The company says the Tree Canada investment offsets the carbon footprint from its office space and vehicle usage but not company air travel.)
Impark -- a private company owned by U.S. and Australian interests -- is the largest parking management firm in Canada and the third largest in North America, behind only Central Parking Corporation of Nashville and Chicago-based Standard Parking. It operates about 1,800 parking locations in the U.S. and Canada and company revenues increased by 15 per cent last year to $200 million. Impark employs 3,700 people and about 70 per cent of its operations are in Canada. Anderson said the company will grow through acquisition, as the North American parking industry is still very fragmented, with about 80 per cent of the business controlled by local and regional operators.
"Many of them have been in the business for a long time and are looking for exit strategies," he said.
Impark has acquired two parking companies in the past year -- Urban Parking of Winnipeg and Metro Parking of Vancouver.
Canadians have been quick to accept automated parking services -- like pay-by-cellphone technology -- and more than 50 per cent of Impark operations are automated to some degree. Anderson said Impark competitors have only about five per cent of their operations automated. "It usually takes about 35 seconds to exit a parking lot through a cash line," he said. "But it's only about 15 seconds if you pay at an automated line or pay in advance and just go through."
So what is the future of big parking companies if environmentally-conscious governments push to get more cars off the road and more people onto public transit? Anderson said the future looks promising, even though big cities like London, England, now tax people for the privilege of driving in the downtown core. New York is considering a similar measure. "That encourages greater use of commuter trains, which offers new opportunities for us," Anderson said. "We'll look to manage parking lots along the train line [where commuters drive to catch the trains]."
Shoup, a UCLA urban planning professor, agrees parking management companies have a viable future. "Companies that manage existing spaces and figure out how to make the best use of them will do okay," he said in an interview.
Shoup's book, The High Cost of Free Parking, contends that free or cheap curbside parking in cities encourages wasteful practices as drivers cruise around and consume more gas as they search for parking spots. He expects drivers will have to pay more for those spots in the future. "That will require more sophisticated metering and technology, a lot of which is made in Vancouver [by Digital Payment Technologies]," Shoup said. "The right price will be one that yields about 85 per cent occupancy, so it's well used but parking is still readily available."
Can good economics clean up Mumbai's air?
Rediff News
August 22, 2007
Can good economics work to clean up the foul air Mumbai breathes? Last summer some of Mumbai's BEST buses began using cleaner diesel instead of regular diesel, which cuts down emissions of dirty air. The fuel is made by combining methanol and vegetable oil to make methyl ester commonly called bio-diesel. The buses use a blended fuel, adding one part of this to 19 parts of regular diesel. The bio-diesel supplied to BEST is cheaper compared to regular diesel by around Rs 2 a litre. Around 80 buses from the corporation's 3,400-strong fleet are being run on the blended fuel as a pilot project.
As part of another project conceived by The Energy and Resources Institute, around half of the 90-odd boat-owners at Mumbai's Gateway of India have begun using blended diesel in their boats. The boat-owners who ply rides to Mandwa and Alibag on the mainland, Elephanta island and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, and ferry tourists around the harbour buy the cleaner fuel at slightly less (around 80 paise less) than regular diesel which costs around Rs 34 a litre.
An order of the Supreme Court got Delhi to clean up the air by running buses on CNG, but perhaps Mumbai could do it without intervention by the courts? Not so easy. The fuel-supplying company subsidises the price of the bio-diesel sold to the boat-owners and BEST by over a fourth of the actual cost (around Rs 45 a litre) to match the government-subsidised price of diesel. The subsidy is being offered as an incentive to get consumers to convert to the clean fuel, and the company says it cannot continue it for much longer. If blended diesel got more expensive than regular diesel, would the boat-owners and BEST continue to use it? They might not.
Tests conducted by TERI on the boat emissions show that using the 5 per cent blended fuel cuts significant levels of air pollution, so it is worth figuring a way to continue to use it. In fact, according to TERI, an increase in the proportion of bio-diesel to dirty diesel from 5 per cent to 20 per cent in the blended fuel will drastically reduce emissions. So the cleaner Mumbai's air gets, the more its residents may have to pay for it. BEST chief Uttam Khobragade says he will not buy the blended fuel if it is more expensive than regular diesel. With the price of vegetable oil soaring, the price of bio-fuels is unlikely to fall anytime soon.
This is probably the point at which public policy must intervene. City authorities must decide whether cleaning up the city's air is worth the extra cost, and pass the cost on to bus or boat passengers, or alternatively, the government should switch the subsidy it provides on regular diesel (by some estimates, this is currently as high as 11 per cent) to blended diesel to encourage its use. There are sound economic and environmental reasons why public transport should be subsidised, and even if one were to contest the need to subsidise tourists who take a boat ride at the Gateway, it makes little sense to subsidise a dirty fuel and penalise a clean one.
There is, of course, the option of using CNG, which is both a cleaner and cheaper fuel. Khobragade reckons it will cost about Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) to convert BEST buses to CNG, but the cash-strapped corporation cannot afford to pay for it. Instead, he has a plan. He has written to the government to defer the Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) in tax the corporation pays each year for the next 10 years.
Once this is done, BEST could raise Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) as a loan and use the tax saved to pay it off over the next decade.In which time it would have made savings by using a cheaper fuel in its buses, and possibly be able to pay the deferred tax to the government. That sounds like a plan, one that could be a big step towards cleaning up the city's air.
Rediff News
August 22, 2007
Can good economics work to clean up the foul air Mumbai breathes? Last summer some of Mumbai's BEST buses began using cleaner diesel instead of regular diesel, which cuts down emissions of dirty air. The fuel is made by combining methanol and vegetable oil to make methyl ester commonly called bio-diesel. The buses use a blended fuel, adding one part of this to 19 parts of regular diesel. The bio-diesel supplied to BEST is cheaper compared to regular diesel by around Rs 2 a litre. Around 80 buses from the corporation's 3,400-strong fleet are being run on the blended fuel as a pilot project.
As part of another project conceived by The Energy and Resources Institute, around half of the 90-odd boat-owners at Mumbai's Gateway of India have begun using blended diesel in their boats. The boat-owners who ply rides to Mandwa and Alibag on the mainland, Elephanta island and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, and ferry tourists around the harbour buy the cleaner fuel at slightly less (around 80 paise less) than regular diesel which costs around Rs 34 a litre.
An order of the Supreme Court got Delhi to clean up the air by running buses on CNG, but perhaps Mumbai could do it without intervention by the courts? Not so easy. The fuel-supplying company subsidises the price of the bio-diesel sold to the boat-owners and BEST by over a fourth of the actual cost (around Rs 45 a litre) to match the government-subsidised price of diesel. The subsidy is being offered as an incentive to get consumers to convert to the clean fuel, and the company says it cannot continue it for much longer. If blended diesel got more expensive than regular diesel, would the boat-owners and BEST continue to use it? They might not.
Tests conducted by TERI on the boat emissions show that using the 5 per cent blended fuel cuts significant levels of air pollution, so it is worth figuring a way to continue to use it. In fact, according to TERI, an increase in the proportion of bio-diesel to dirty diesel from 5 per cent to 20 per cent in the blended fuel will drastically reduce emissions. So the cleaner Mumbai's air gets, the more its residents may have to pay for it. BEST chief Uttam Khobragade says he will not buy the blended fuel if it is more expensive than regular diesel. With the price of vegetable oil soaring, the price of bio-fuels is unlikely to fall anytime soon.
This is probably the point at which public policy must intervene. City authorities must decide whether cleaning up the city's air is worth the extra cost, and pass the cost on to bus or boat passengers, or alternatively, the government should switch the subsidy it provides on regular diesel (by some estimates, this is currently as high as 11 per cent) to blended diesel to encourage its use. There are sound economic and environmental reasons why public transport should be subsidised, and even if one were to contest the need to subsidise tourists who take a boat ride at the Gateway, it makes little sense to subsidise a dirty fuel and penalise a clean one.
There is, of course, the option of using CNG, which is both a cleaner and cheaper fuel. Khobragade reckons it will cost about Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) to convert BEST buses to CNG, but the cash-strapped corporation cannot afford to pay for it. Instead, he has a plan. He has written to the government to defer the Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) in tax the corporation pays each year for the next 10 years.
Once this is done, BEST could raise Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) as a loan and use the tax saved to pay it off over the next decade.In which time it would have made savings by using a cheaper fuel in its buses, and possibly be able to pay the deferred tax to the government. That sounds like a plan, one that could be a big step towards cleaning up the city's air.
Are scooters the answer to NYC jams?
By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, New York
Members of the New York Scooter Club bring colour to the city streetsOn the corner of a slightly run-down street in the Meatpacking District of New York, a row of 30 shiny, colourful scooters stands out like a coloured umbrella on a rainy day. Every Wednesday, at about 1900, these Vespas, Stellas or Lambrettas show up and are parked in front of the Brass Monkey bar, the meeting point for the New York Scooter Club. With a drink in hand, two-wheel aficionados discuss their latest acquisitions, look out for vintage models or try out their friends' scooters.
Scooter riders say the small but sometimes noisy vehicles are the best answer to a dreary subway commute or, even better, to the traffic congestion that chokes New York streets. "I commute every day from Queens. It can be scary, it takes a little bit of getting used to [driving in between big four-wheel-drive cars]," says one rider. "But it's fun, I'm outside, it's great and quicker than being stuck in a traffic jam."
Jonathan Perkel, one of the club's founders, says he believes scooters would take off as a transportation mode if they were exempt from the congestion charge that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is trying to impose on cars driving into the centre of town. London Mayor Ken Livingstone introduced congestion charging in 2003. Singapore also charges a similar tax.
Think of the money I'm saving by riding this - to fill it up costs $5 and it lasts for a month. But Mr Bloomberg is fighting stiff resistance to his plan, including in the state capital, Albany, where opposition from lawmakers last month meant that New York state failed to get a $500m (£248m) federal grant to implement the plan as a pilot project. The US Department of Transportation did award the city $345m to fund part of the plan, but this will mostly be used to improve public transportation.
Outside the Brass Monkey, the scooter club's conversation turns to congestion pricing. "I'll still be happy to pay the tax if scooters are not exempt," says Graham Fowler, originally from the UK. "Think of the money I'm saving by riding this - to fill it up costs $5 and it lasts for a month."
Parking wars
Allison Waters, another of the club's founders, says she hopes that if scooters become a more popular way to help combat congestion, the city might think about providing riders with legal parking options. New York is plagued by traffic jams that cause pollution and delays. At the moment, New York City is not embracing the scooter or motorcycle," she complains. Parking on the street is a hazard. Drivers often park their car by feel, knocking over or denting scooters in the process. It is illegal to park on pavements, although scooter riders sometimes do it anyway and remove their licence plate to foil traffic wardens.
Garages and parking lots often refuse to rent spaces to scooters, even when riders offer to pay the full parking rate. One man has seen an opportunity here: Paolo Timoni, who heads the America section of the Piaggio group, which produces the well-known Vespa scooter, of which there are about 6,000 in New York. Mr Timoni has paid to rent space in parking lots around town and is offering this, free, to scooter riders for two months. In a city where a parking spot can sell for $225,000, this is parking nirvana.
Mr Timoni readily admits that the free-for-scooter parking campaign is part of a marketing drive for Vespa, but points to the many advantages of riding a scooter. "Of course we have a profit objective here, but the fact is that scooters consume less gas, are less polluting and can help ease traffic congestion." He adds: "We asked a company to do a study for us to find out what would happen if we replaced 20% of the cars in Manhattan with scooters. "We found that every single driver in Manhattan would save 100 hours a year that are currently lost in traffic - that's huge."
Air quality
Mr Bloomberg himself is known to walk or take the subway to work and has played up the economic advantages of a pricing plan that would help reduce traffic. Mr Bloomberg proposed the charge as part of his environment plan. "Congestion pricing wasn't just about bringing in money to pay for mass transit," said the mayor, as he reacted to the thwarting of his bid for a federal grant by lawmakers in Albany last month. "Congestion pricing was about reducing the time it takes to get to one place from another, so it was about the future of this city and its economy and its competitiveness."
And, he pointed out, it was also about improving the air that people breathe in the city. "I just for the life of me do not understand how anybody is going to look parents in the eye and say, we'll get to this some other time, just tell your kid: don't breathe deeply." A panel has now been set up in Albany to review the mayor's plan, which would impose an $8 tax on cars driving into the city centre and a $21 charge for lorries.
Limited incomes
Despite the Department of Transport grant, opposition continues, especially from outside the city. "Two-thirds of all people who live in Queens must come to Manhattan's medical centres and hospitals for treatment," said Walter McCaffrey, from the Keep New York City Congestion Charge Free lobby group. "Many of them are senior citizens, on limited incomes, who could not afford to pay $8 to drive, and they're not about to be able to rely on the mass transit system back and forth for these kinds of appointments."
Mr McCaffrey, who lives in Queens, also said it would be unfair to impose the $21 charge on small businesses which have lorries coming into the city, putting them at a disadvantage when they are trying to compete with rivals inside Manhattan. And not everyone agrees that New York's congestion is a problem. "Keep the traffic, I like it, it makes it exciting to walk to work, trying to dodge the cars," says one young man in mid-town Manhattan.
But what about more scooters to reduce the traffic? "I think it would look silly, it would be like Europe and I don't know if I can deal with that," he replies. The riders of the New York Scooter Club had better stay away from him when they go, tooting their horns, to dine in little-known spots of New York that can only be discovered on two wheels.
By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, New York
Members of the New York Scooter Club bring colour to the city streetsOn the corner of a slightly run-down street in the Meatpacking District of New York, a row of 30 shiny, colourful scooters stands out like a coloured umbrella on a rainy day. Every Wednesday, at about 1900, these Vespas, Stellas or Lambrettas show up and are parked in front of the Brass Monkey bar, the meeting point for the New York Scooter Club. With a drink in hand, two-wheel aficionados discuss their latest acquisitions, look out for vintage models or try out their friends' scooters.
Scooter riders say the small but sometimes noisy vehicles are the best answer to a dreary subway commute or, even better, to the traffic congestion that chokes New York streets. "I commute every day from Queens. It can be scary, it takes a little bit of getting used to [driving in between big four-wheel-drive cars]," says one rider. "But it's fun, I'm outside, it's great and quicker than being stuck in a traffic jam."
Jonathan Perkel, one of the club's founders, says he believes scooters would take off as a transportation mode if they were exempt from the congestion charge that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is trying to impose on cars driving into the centre of town. London Mayor Ken Livingstone introduced congestion charging in 2003. Singapore also charges a similar tax.
Think of the money I'm saving by riding this - to fill it up costs $5 and it lasts for a month. But Mr Bloomberg is fighting stiff resistance to his plan, including in the state capital, Albany, where opposition from lawmakers last month meant that New York state failed to get a $500m (£248m) federal grant to implement the plan as a pilot project. The US Department of Transportation did award the city $345m to fund part of the plan, but this will mostly be used to improve public transportation.
Outside the Brass Monkey, the scooter club's conversation turns to congestion pricing. "I'll still be happy to pay the tax if scooters are not exempt," says Graham Fowler, originally from the UK. "Think of the money I'm saving by riding this - to fill it up costs $5 and it lasts for a month."
Parking wars
Allison Waters, another of the club's founders, says she hopes that if scooters become a more popular way to help combat congestion, the city might think about providing riders with legal parking options. New York is plagued by traffic jams that cause pollution and delays. At the moment, New York City is not embracing the scooter or motorcycle," she complains. Parking on the street is a hazard. Drivers often park their car by feel, knocking over or denting scooters in the process. It is illegal to park on pavements, although scooter riders sometimes do it anyway and remove their licence plate to foil traffic wardens.
Garages and parking lots often refuse to rent spaces to scooters, even when riders offer to pay the full parking rate. One man has seen an opportunity here: Paolo Timoni, who heads the America section of the Piaggio group, which produces the well-known Vespa scooter, of which there are about 6,000 in New York. Mr Timoni has paid to rent space in parking lots around town and is offering this, free, to scooter riders for two months. In a city where a parking spot can sell for $225,000, this is parking nirvana.
Mr Timoni readily admits that the free-for-scooter parking campaign is part of a marketing drive for Vespa, but points to the many advantages of riding a scooter. "Of course we have a profit objective here, but the fact is that scooters consume less gas, are less polluting and can help ease traffic congestion." He adds: "We asked a company to do a study for us to find out what would happen if we replaced 20% of the cars in Manhattan with scooters. "We found that every single driver in Manhattan would save 100 hours a year that are currently lost in traffic - that's huge."
Air quality
Mr Bloomberg himself is known to walk or take the subway to work and has played up the economic advantages of a pricing plan that would help reduce traffic. Mr Bloomberg proposed the charge as part of his environment plan. "Congestion pricing wasn't just about bringing in money to pay for mass transit," said the mayor, as he reacted to the thwarting of his bid for a federal grant by lawmakers in Albany last month. "Congestion pricing was about reducing the time it takes to get to one place from another, so it was about the future of this city and its economy and its competitiveness."
And, he pointed out, it was also about improving the air that people breathe in the city. "I just for the life of me do not understand how anybody is going to look parents in the eye and say, we'll get to this some other time, just tell your kid: don't breathe deeply." A panel has now been set up in Albany to review the mayor's plan, which would impose an $8 tax on cars driving into the city centre and a $21 charge for lorries.
Limited incomes
Despite the Department of Transport grant, opposition continues, especially from outside the city. "Two-thirds of all people who live in Queens must come to Manhattan's medical centres and hospitals for treatment," said Walter McCaffrey, from the Keep New York City Congestion Charge Free lobby group. "Many of them are senior citizens, on limited incomes, who could not afford to pay $8 to drive, and they're not about to be able to rely on the mass transit system back and forth for these kinds of appointments."
Mr McCaffrey, who lives in Queens, also said it would be unfair to impose the $21 charge on small businesses which have lorries coming into the city, putting them at a disadvantage when they are trying to compete with rivals inside Manhattan. And not everyone agrees that New York's congestion is a problem. "Keep the traffic, I like it, it makes it exciting to walk to work, trying to dodge the cars," says one young man in mid-town Manhattan.
But what about more scooters to reduce the traffic? "I think it would look silly, it would be like Europe and I don't know if I can deal with that," he replies. The riders of the New York Scooter Club had better stay away from him when they go, tooting their horns, to dine in little-known spots of New York that can only be discovered on two wheels.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Hawaii seeks second garbage power plant
By Johnny Brannon
HonoluluAdvertiser.com
A major new garbage-to-energy plant could soon become the centerpiece of efforts to manage O'ahu's growing waste disposal problem — if the city decides to build it. Companies eager to provide such a facility have lobbied officials for years on competing technologies, including some that remain unproven on the scale the island needs.
A deal has remained elusive, while controversy about the future of the Waimanalo Gulch landfill near Kahe Point simmers. But three companies have formally bid on a complex new proposal to build and operate a new alternative energy plant, modify and operate the existing H-Power incinerator-generator for 20 years, or a combination of both. The contract is expected to be worth $350 million or more, and a decision is due in January.
The landfill's state operating permit is set to expire four months later, and some Leeward Coast businesses and residents hope it will be shut down for good. Whether that is a viable option remains unclear. The island produces about 1.6 million tons of trash and debris each year, and that is expected to increase by 20,000 tons a year for the near future, according to recent studies. More than 300,000 tons of garbage already go into the landfill each year, along with 168,000 tons of ash and residue from H-Power.
A new plant could eliminate as much as 400,000 tons of garbage per year, in addition to the 600,000 tons H-Power already handles, according to city construction outlines. But a new plant would not likely be ready for operation until 2011 or later. Even then, the island would still need a landfill — at Waimanalo Gulch or elsewhere — for any waste that can't be burned, recycled or otherwise eliminated, city officials say. And unless H-Power is upgraded, it will continue to be shut down periodically for maintenance, leaving tons of trash piling up in the gulch landfill or another spot.
WAIMANALO GULCH
Mayor Mufi Hannemann is working to extend the landfill's current permit for two years, while the city conducts an environmental study to support a separate request to expand the site and keep it open 15 years longer. In the meantime, the city may soon start shipping some trash to a Mainland dump and launch a curbside residential recycling program to help decrease the trash flow.
If the city decides on a new waste-to-energy facility, it would be built next to the 17-year-old H-Power plant at Campbell Industrial Park. H-Power uses trash combustion to heat two huge boilers, which produce steam that powers a turbine and generates up to 46 megawatts of electricity. The new plant could be based on a different technology, such as gasification or vitrification, which burn waste at a higher temperature and leave less ash.
Officials are now evaluating whether the three proposals that were submitted meet the city's qualifications. They will ask for final price offers in October. The projects could be financed through city bonds, or by private investors who would recoup their money through operating fees or a sale to the city. Covanta Energy Corp., which operates H-Power, confirmed that it is among the bidders, but details of its proposal remain confidential. The company's H-Power contract expires in 2010, and it hopes to continue beyond that.
"There are lots of possibilities, so whoever bid had the option to bid different packages," said H-Power business manager Rodney Smith. "It's a really big investment for the city, so they need to take their time and make a good decision." Waste Management Inc., the company that operates Waimanalo Gulch for the city, declined to say whether it or an affiliate submitted bids. The firm and a subsidiary were among dozens of companies that received copies of the city's request for proposals.
TRASH-TO-MAINLAND IDEA
At least three Mainland firms hope to land a contract to ship some trash to Washington state or Oregon. But so far, there's nothing to bid on. City environmental officials drafted a bid request package in mid-July, but said the plan raised "major" concerns from attorneys and finance officials. The documents are now being revised to include a two-step process, in which bidders submit their qualifications before specifying prices for shipping.
Only one firm, Hawaiian Waste Systems, has obtained all the necessary permits to begin a trash-shipping operation from here. The Seattle company hopes to begin shipping more than 100,000 tons a year to a major regional landfill in rural Washington while the new waste-to-energy facility is built — or longer if that plan stalls. The company says it could also handle ash from H-Power. Hannemann is expected to announce details of a curbside recycling project late next month, and it could begin by October.
Hawai'i Kai, Kailua and Mililani are being considered for a pilot program, which would be launched in two of those neighborhoods and could expand islandwide if successful. The City Council is considering a bill that would allow a $10 monthly fee for homes that want to continue having trash picked up twice a week in addition to the recycling pickup. An initial committee vote is expected next month.
By Johnny Brannon
HonoluluAdvertiser.com
A major new garbage-to-energy plant could soon become the centerpiece of efforts to manage O'ahu's growing waste disposal problem — if the city decides to build it. Companies eager to provide such a facility have lobbied officials for years on competing technologies, including some that remain unproven on the scale the island needs.
A deal has remained elusive, while controversy about the future of the Waimanalo Gulch landfill near Kahe Point simmers. But three companies have formally bid on a complex new proposal to build and operate a new alternative energy plant, modify and operate the existing H-Power incinerator-generator for 20 years, or a combination of both. The contract is expected to be worth $350 million or more, and a decision is due in January.
The landfill's state operating permit is set to expire four months later, and some Leeward Coast businesses and residents hope it will be shut down for good. Whether that is a viable option remains unclear. The island produces about 1.6 million tons of trash and debris each year, and that is expected to increase by 20,000 tons a year for the near future, according to recent studies. More than 300,000 tons of garbage already go into the landfill each year, along with 168,000 tons of ash and residue from H-Power.
A new plant could eliminate as much as 400,000 tons of garbage per year, in addition to the 600,000 tons H-Power already handles, according to city construction outlines. But a new plant would not likely be ready for operation until 2011 or later. Even then, the island would still need a landfill — at Waimanalo Gulch or elsewhere — for any waste that can't be burned, recycled or otherwise eliminated, city officials say. And unless H-Power is upgraded, it will continue to be shut down periodically for maintenance, leaving tons of trash piling up in the gulch landfill or another spot.
WAIMANALO GULCH
Mayor Mufi Hannemann is working to extend the landfill's current permit for two years, while the city conducts an environmental study to support a separate request to expand the site and keep it open 15 years longer. In the meantime, the city may soon start shipping some trash to a Mainland dump and launch a curbside residential recycling program to help decrease the trash flow.
If the city decides on a new waste-to-energy facility, it would be built next to the 17-year-old H-Power plant at Campbell Industrial Park. H-Power uses trash combustion to heat two huge boilers, which produce steam that powers a turbine and generates up to 46 megawatts of electricity. The new plant could be based on a different technology, such as gasification or vitrification, which burn waste at a higher temperature and leave less ash.
Officials are now evaluating whether the three proposals that were submitted meet the city's qualifications. They will ask for final price offers in October. The projects could be financed through city bonds, or by private investors who would recoup their money through operating fees or a sale to the city. Covanta Energy Corp., which operates H-Power, confirmed that it is among the bidders, but details of its proposal remain confidential. The company's H-Power contract expires in 2010, and it hopes to continue beyond that.
"There are lots of possibilities, so whoever bid had the option to bid different packages," said H-Power business manager Rodney Smith. "It's a really big investment for the city, so they need to take their time and make a good decision." Waste Management Inc., the company that operates Waimanalo Gulch for the city, declined to say whether it or an affiliate submitted bids. The firm and a subsidiary were among dozens of companies that received copies of the city's request for proposals.
TRASH-TO-MAINLAND IDEA
At least three Mainland firms hope to land a contract to ship some trash to Washington state or Oregon. But so far, there's nothing to bid on. City environmental officials drafted a bid request package in mid-July, but said the plan raised "major" concerns from attorneys and finance officials. The documents are now being revised to include a two-step process, in which bidders submit their qualifications before specifying prices for shipping.
Only one firm, Hawaiian Waste Systems, has obtained all the necessary permits to begin a trash-shipping operation from here. The Seattle company hopes to begin shipping more than 100,000 tons a year to a major regional landfill in rural Washington while the new waste-to-energy facility is built — or longer if that plan stalls. The company says it could also handle ash from H-Power. Hannemann is expected to announce details of a curbside recycling project late next month, and it could begin by October.
Hawai'i Kai, Kailua and Mililani are being considered for a pilot program, which would be launched in two of those neighborhoods and could expand islandwide if successful. The City Council is considering a bill that would allow a $10 monthly fee for homes that want to continue having trash picked up twice a week in addition to the recycling pickup. An initial committee vote is expected next month.
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