Urban energy density

Interesting and impressive analysis.

http://theenergycollective.com/robertwilson190/257481/why-power-density-matters

cnn.com

7/20/09

Can computer software account for climate change?

• Story Highlights
• Greenhouse gas emissions software designed to track and then reduce GHGs
  
• Microsoft developed online tool for cities; many more designed for businesses
  
• Worldwide over 3,000 businesses use carbon accounting software; number to rise
  
• Being able to quantify emissions will lead to more effective action say analysts
  

By Dean Irvine
CNN

(CNN) -- Microsoft had trouble solving the problems with its Vista operating system, so what are its chances of fixing climate change?

The global software firm has created an online tool called Project 2 Degrees for cities across the world to monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, the hope is, then do something about them.

While Bill Gates' company have tailored an online carbon accounting tool for cities, businesses are increasingly turning on to the benefits and need to track their own GHGs, opening up an area for enterprise software companies to provide the best tools for the job.

"A lot of companies are worried and interested in carbon accounting, but don't necessarily feel an urgency to adopt it. But there is enough regulation in the pipeline, certainly in the U.S., that makes it look real and coming in a couple of years," said Scott Clavenna of Greentech Media.

"It will go from a niche of a couple of hundred companies using this kind of software right now to thousands."

The call for more carbon accounting doesn't have any emotive ad campaigns or Hollywood celebrity-backing, instead it uses cold hard data to track emissions and empower those responsible to try and reduce them.

Cities account for only 2 percent of the worlds land mass but produce up to 75 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, so became the focus for Project 2 Degrees that is a collaboration with software designers Autodesk and the Clinton Climate Initiative.

"This is a long journey for our governments, be they local or national, but we could have the biggest impact by working with local governments as they have the ability to measure what's happening locally in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and to have an effect on the local economy and the local environment first," Matt Miszewski, Microsoft's general manager for Worldwide E-government, told CNN.

Being one of the world's richest and most profitable companies, Microsoft offers it's online GHG accounting tool for free but says Miszewski, it goes further than that.

"We want to show how software can help solve some very difficult issues. A great deal of the importance of this project is to be able to share this information from city to city, region to region," he said.

The first cities that will be comparing their CO2 high scores come from the 56 cities associated with the inaptly named C40 group that is in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative. New York and Sydney were heavily involved in beta testing of Project 2 Degrees that started last year, and once more results are in it will be offered to around 1,000 other cities.

"It is eye opening to be able to chart actual emissions against targets to see the quantum of emissions reductions required. Typically these figures are not so readily accessed and this will be a major benefit of Project 2 Degrees," a spokesperson for Sydney's local government told CNN.

Who accounts for what?

Even if the tool is working as well as possible, it seems more needs to be done by businesses and cities to accurately collect and measure GHG emissions.

"Higher level guidance should come in the form of advising what emissions to report and provision of data where possible, however each city needs to take responsibility for the emissions it creates," a spokesperson for Sydney told CNN.

Knowing what needs to be reported is a challenge that is being met. The World Resources Institute's Greenhouse Gas Protocol is the most widely used international accounting tool for both governments and businesses, covering the six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol.

"The World Resources Institute has done a really good job in defining the protocols in the data gathering. What do you gather from where and how do you report it? Now everyone is starting to compare apples to apples," Clavenna told CNN.

It could be a boom area for carbon accounting software developers. As well as numerous start-ups the big players including Microsoft's non-altruistic arm and SAP have begun their own programs aimed at businesses.

"The stakes are high for enterprise software," said Clavenna. "The big players are not aggressively marketing yet, but getting ready to come out with a big product when their customers need it."

Over 200 companies are developing accounting software, according to research by Greentech Media, and over 3,000 businesses are using their products to track their GHG emissions. Big corporations including Dell, Xerox and Pfizer have all been early adopters stretching back to 2002.

Limited carbon emissions regulations, such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and at state level in the U.S., are in place, and a number of international voluntary programs also exist. Yet most of the early-adopter businesses are responding to public pressure for them to be environmentally-aware and shareholder requests for their business to be greener.

"There have been some light triggers -- stakeholder requests, even in HR, young people asking for proof that their company is green. In a down economy a company can choose to put them aside or table them for a while," said Clavenna.

But more significant factors are on the horizon: "The big triggers are a cap and trade regime, which [in the U.S.] would come through congress and set by the EPA who will say which companies need to report and what they need to report," said Clavenna.

A cap and trade program would mean thousands more companies would have to account for and report their GHG emissions as a market is created to trade excess CO2.

Strict accounting of emissions can also be a means to beat some corporate 'greenwashing', particularly in terms of companies making claims over their carbon footprints.

Ultimately however it is about reducing those footprints and aiming to limit global warming to only 2 degrees Celsius.

"There is a market out there for software that manages cap and trade, both from an intergovernmental aspect and a commercial aspect. Copenhagen will be a tipping point for those kinds of activity to move forward world wide. These folks are going to have an increased responsibility," said Miszewski.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/13/eco.carbon.accounting/

August 12, 2008 3:28 PM PDT

Cities to count emissions with Carbon Disclosure Project

Posted by Elsa Wenzel

How can cities reduce the role they may play in global warming? Could fire departments, garbage collection services, residential building codes, and industrial regulations be greener?

Attempting to help address those questions, 21 U.S. cities, including New York, Las Vegas, and New Orleans will describe their major sources of greenhouse gas emissions to the Carbon Disclosure Project, one of the world's largest repositories linking such data to climate change.

The nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project comprises 385 institutional investors with assets of $57 trillion, from ABN Amro to the RBS Group. It has been collecting data on corporate greenhouse gas emissions since 2003.

"Over 70 percent of total global emissions are generated from cities, and if you don't measure these emissions, you cannot manage them," CEO Paul Dickinson said in a statement.

By Halloween, the participating cities are due to file online reports. Some may draw from details they've already pooled using software from ICLEI, an association of governments of 1,000 cities, 400 of them in the United States.

ICLEI stands for International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives. Its Clean Air and Climate Protection software is among the applications that cities have been using since 1995 to measure emissions from homes, transportation, government, and industries.

Cities have been using software from ICLEI like this for 17 years. Now some will share similar details for Web-based reporting to the Carbon Disclosure Project. Click screenshot for a larger version.

(Credit: International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives)

What makes the partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project unique is that the voluntary reporting by local governments isn't tied to punitive regulations, hopefully encouraging a clear picture of cities' emissions, said Michelle Wyman, executive director of ICLEI. Interest in understanding and reducing emissions has been growing among small and medium-size communities, she added.

The results of the city reports will be published in January.

"This partnership between the world's major corporations and, increasingly, its cities, highlights the importance of the cooperative action needed to successfully counter climate change," Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City said in a statement.

Mayors of cities marked here signed onto an agreement to bring their communities in line with the Kyoto Protocol, which the federal government has rejected. Click the map for a larger version.

(Credit: U.S. Conference of Mayors)

More attention is being paid to the ways cities contribute to and can fight global warming. The 500 signatories to the U.S. Conference of Mayors climate protection agreement, for instance, pledge to exceed the goals of the Kyoto Protocol by promoting policies to reduce sprawl and increase energy efficiency.

Among the cities with ambitious goals to become greener are Austin, Tex., San Jose, and San Francisco, which last week reported an 8 percent drop in greenhouse emissions since 2000. (They are not participating in this pilot round of reporting with the Carbon Disclosure Project.)

The Clinton Climate Foundation-backed C40 partnership of some of the world's 40 largest cities also aims to tackle climate change.

One of the broadest, recent pictures of the carbon footprints of U.S. city centers comes from anApril map from the Vulcan Project, backed by NASA and the Department of Energy.

The other cities participating in the Carbon Disclosure Project are Albany, N. Y.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Anchorage, Ark.; Arlington, Va.; Burlington, Vt.; Denver, Colo.; Dubuque, Iowa; Edina and St. Paul, Minn.; Fairfield, Ia.; Haverford, Penn.; North Little Rock, Ark.; Pacific Grove and Rohnert Park, Calif.; Park City, Utah; Portland, Ore.; Washougal, Wash.; and West Palm Beach, Fla. Another nine cities are expected to join the effort soon.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10015438-54.html

NBC11.com

More Images: Only In San Francisco: Unique Stories From The City By The Ba

San Francisco Emissions Beat Kyoto Protocol

POSTED: 2:29 pm PDT August 5, 2008

UPDATED: 3:02 pm PDT August 5, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- 
By John Boitnott, Web Producer

A national organization that measures the progress made by cities and counties in curbing greenhouse gas emissions has estimated that by 2005, San Francisco had achieved a 5 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 level.

The year 1990 is the baseline year for greenhouse gas emissions in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set the target at a 7 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2012.

"We are already on pace to exceed the goal of a 7 percent reduction in greenhouse gases set by the Kyoto Protocol," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "With the aggressive policies and initiatives being put forth by my administration, we can continue to move towards our goal of 20 percent reduction by 2012."

"ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability" determined the statistics. The agency reported that while San Francisco has reduced emissions 5 percent since 1990, there has been a downturn of 8 percent from the city's peak emissions in 2000.

The city set its own goal of reaching 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2012.

The community-wide inventory included greenhouse gas emissions generated in San Francisco by residents, businesses and commuters, as well as municipal operations.

The inventory also included emissions from both transportation sources and from building energy sources.

Nearly 900 cities, towns and counties are members of ICLEI. ICLEI works with local governments through international performance-based, results-oriented campaigns and programs, according to the agency's Web site.

"Today we recognize San Francisco as a true leader and innovator on climate protection and part of an elite group of cities driving action and inspiring others," said ICLEI Executive Director Michelle Wyman. "From green building standards and their commitment to recycling and waste reduction, San Francisco illustrates the power of a local government to proactively address global warming while enhancing the community."

The report from ICLEI showed that the vast majority of transportation emissions in the city came from car traffic.

San Francisco road vehicle emissions had actually decreased since 1990, the report claimed.

San Francisco's carbon footprint is shrinking, mayor says

Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

(08-05) 14:56 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco has cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent from 1990 levels and is on track to meet its goal of a 20 percent reduction in four years, Mayor Gavin Newsom said today.

The city's Department of the Environment studied total emissions and found the city had reduced them by 5 percent between 1990 and 2005 and by 8 percent since 2000.

The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997 by several nations but not the United States, set a goal of reducing emissions by 7 percent of 1990 levels by 2012. Newsom said the city will easily reach that figure and is on its way to reach its goal in 2002 to reduce emissions by 20 percent in 10 years.

"It's one thing to say something - it's another thing to prove it and measure your assertions," Newsom said.

The study was independently reviewed by ICF International, which has produced and reviewed hundreds of other public and private sector greenhouse gas inventories.

Rahul Young, senior associate for ICF, said the study attempted to take into account all emission sources in the city, including public and private modes of transportation and the electricity use by residential, commercial and industrial buildings.

"It's a new field - there's never a completely perfect inventory," Young said. "We think it's done very well, and the numbers are as real as they can be with the available data. They're headed in the right direction."

Newsom made the announcement at the unveiling of Cool Globes, an exhibit of large globes designed by artists to raise awareness about global warming - akin to the city's display of painted fiberglass hearts to raise money for San Francisco General Hospital.

The globes are on display at Crissy Field through Oct.12.

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/05/BAIB125JQO.DTL

Solar & Alternative Energy

Solar-energy collecting potential in urban Honolulu

Stephen Meder and Olivier Pennetier

A novel method to assess the intensity of solar radiation on existing rooftops uses a combination of aerial images and geographic information systems software.

The Helianthus solar-energy assessment (HSEA) method was developed to evaluate the solar-radiation intensity striking existing buildings in urban areas. It uses aerial images, geographic information systems (GIS) software, and field observations, as well as a robust assessment protocol and additional patented processes. The HSEA method doubles as a powerful design tool aiding the orientation and solar integration of buildings. The Mapunapuna district of Honolulu was selected for the technique's validation study. This urban area, immediately to the northeast of the Honolulu international airport, comprises a mix of industrial, commercial, and residential buildings, thus offering a representative cross-section of building types (see Figure 1). The assessment guidelines were tested for feasibility and accuracy, refined, and adjusted to facilitate an efficient and reasonably accurate evaluation. At present, the research protocols include nine steps, identified below, and a verification procedure.

First, aerial photographs at a scale of 1:48,000 (1in=4000ft) were used. Although not offering the same level of accuracy as larger scales, they allow simultaneous analysis and assessment of insolation of large areas. Since most aerial images must subsequently be scaled and georeferenced to a GIS layer (step 2), the use of a single small-scale photograph speeds up the assessment process. GIS layers also provide helpful information about the area of study, such as land use and zoning, Hawaii-specific tax-map key numbers, and property areas. In addition, a 3D digital elevation model (DEM) of the island of Oahu was acquired, containing elevation information for any point on the map.

Next, we scaled and georeferenced the aerial photographs to the GIS layers. Georeferencing is the spatial alignment of the photograph to known geographical features. Scaling within the GIS program is necessary to identify and calculate surface areas corresponding to actual dimensions.

 

Figure 1. The Mapunapuna district of Honolulu. The yellow shading corresponds to our study area.

We identified building rooftop areas from six specific, homogeneous neighborhoods in the study district (step 4). These sectors were defined by their land use and zoning characteristics, as well as their roof-surface distinctiveness, identified from field surveys and aerial photographs.

The orientation of single building rooftops can be determined through georeferencing to GIS layers (step 5). However, roof-slope angle (or pitch) could not be identified using aerial photography combined with image-recognition software. Field surveys in the study area (step 6) were an important part of the protocol. A pitch factor was tagged to the total surface area for each sector of the study district (step 7).

Global insolation on a horizontal surface (or flat) includes both direct and diffuse solar-radiation values.¹ While this important information is readily available for numerous cities,² it does not account for mesoclimatic factors such as orographic overshadowing, which is particularly prominent within the deep valleys surrounding Honolulu.³ We acquired a GIS extension, Solar Analyst, which enables the identification of solar radiation incident on any terrain⁴ (step 8). It also accounts for the shadow effect caused by its topography⁵ (see Figure 2). This allowed us to assess the insolation on existing building rooftops (step 9).

 

Figure 2. Insolation map of the Mapunapuna district, with orange and blue representing high and low incident radiation, respectively.

Four input variables affect the overall radiation incident on a surface. The first two relate to the clearness index, which quantifies how much cloud cover should be implemented into the model.⁵ The third input parameter is linked to the shading coefficient. Shading might be produced by rooftop mechanical equipment, adjacent buildings, parapets, or other obstructions. The final variable is driven by the albedo factor, which can potentially increase the insolation received by a given surface.¹

We conclude that the roofs in our study area could potentially supply enough electrical power for 250–300 nearby homes per year. While the main purpose of the solar-radiation modeling program is to estimate incident insolation, we can also produce design guidelines pertaining to surface tilt and orientation to optimize solar collection on future structures. This includes considerations of terrain features and shading, and is extendable to locations worldwide if DEMs (and other relevant information) are available.

This research was funded by the Hawaiian Electric Company Inc. and the Electric Power Research Institute.

---

Stephen Meder

School of Architecture and

Center for Smart Building and Community Design

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Honolulu, HI

Stephen Meder holds a joint appointment at the School of Architecture and the Sea Grant College Program at the University of Hawaii (UH). He is the director of the Center for Smart Building and Community Design. He serves on the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, the Chancellor's Commission for Climate Change, and the UH Council for Sustainability.

Olivier Pennetier

School of Architecture

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Honolulu, HI

---

References:

1. S. A. Klein, An algorithm for calculating monthly-average radiation on inclined surfaces, Trans. ASME, J. Solar Energy Eng. 103, pp. 29-33, 1981.

2. T. Yoshihara, P. C. Ekern, Solar Radiation Measurements in Hawaii, pp. 104, Hawaii Nat. Energy Inst., University of Hawaii, HI, 1977.

3. W. Falicoff, G. Koide, P. Takahashi, Solar/Wind Handbook for Hawaii, US Department of Energy, 1979.

4. P. Fu, P. M. Rich, The Solar Analyst 1.0 User Manual, Helios Environmental Modeling Institute, 2000.

5. P. M. Rich, Design and implementation of the solar analyst: an ArcView extension for modeling solar radiation at landscape scales, Proc. 19th Ann. ESRI User Conf., 1999, 2000. Paper 867

DOI: 10.1117/2.1200807.1103

D.C. region produces more carbon dioxide than many countries

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington region, with its crawling traffic and several coal-fired power plants, produces more carbon dioxide than several medium-size European countries, according to a new study of pollution.

Estimates produced by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments show 65.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide were emitted in the region in 2005 — more than in all of Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Denmark or Switzerland. And each of those countries have more people than the Washington area.

"It's not a surprise that we compete with entire countries in Scandinavia," said Mike Tidwell, who heads the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, an environmental group. "What this data does is point up just how huge America's contribution to climate change is. .. if our one capital region is emitting on par with other industrialized countries."

The study is one of the first to inventory pollution for an entire metropolitan area, rather than just looking at individual states and cities. It has some surprising results for how carbon emissions are produced across political boundaries. The Maryland suburbs, often thought of as more liberal and environmentally friendly, produce more carbon dioxide than either the Virginia suburbs or the District of Columbia, according to the estimates.

Coal-burning power plants are among the biggest polluters, and nearby Maryland counties have three of them. When compared with a similar study of the San Francisco Bay area, Washington doesn't shape up much better. San Francisco produces more carbon dioxide than Washington at 69.7 million metric tons, but it also has more people. That means the D.C. area produces more carbon emissions on a per capita basis.

"We're kind of like a country — you know, a small country," said Judi Greenwald, director of innovative solutions at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a non-profit group. She said that if Washington cleaned up, the world would notice. "We can take action that is globally significant," Greenwald said.

Local governments are already working to become more "green." Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties have joined a "cool counties" program that calls for more "green" buildings and hybrid cars in county fleets, and the D.C. government has mandated energy-saving features in some new buildings.

But the region's continuing growth means carbon emissions are still expected to increase 35% by 2030. So the solution may have to come from a new technology or other changes to reduce pollution while the population grows. "We don't know how we're going to meet the very, very. .. intense goal" of sharp reductions in the coming decades, said Stuart Freudberg, director of environmental programs for council of governments. "It's not going to be something we figure out — you know, six months from now, we have the answer."

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2007-09-30-dc-emissions_N.htm