Medical company goes big on solar
Medical device company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Medical has installed what it says is Australia’s largest commercially-funded solar panel grid at its regional headquarters, based in North Ryde, Sydney. The company spent $1 million on a 220kW Sanyo system for its roof, which will save around 10% of its electricity costs.
Consisting of 952 panels covering a surface area of 1,212 square metres, the system is equivalent to powering 50 homes a year and will eliminate up to 240 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. The first part, comprising 100kW, was installed and switched on in June, and has so far generated up to 1,500kW hours. Last Thursday was the official launch.
For more on this story go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1516397
China attacks polluting industries
The Chinese government has ordered the closure of over 2,000 companies in 18 different industries - including the dyeing and finishing sector - as the country mulls a new environmental tax on manufacturing to crack down on highly polluting industries.
Ecotextile News reported that around 2,087 manufacturing companies in China will be shut at the end of September by the Chinese government after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a new directive. The list includes 200 textile printing and dyeing mills and 80 leather tanneries that were deemed highly polluting, highly energy wasting, or did not meet safety requirements. The list also includes 762 cement factories, 279 paper mills, 175 steel mills and 192 coking plants.
This information comes from the Resource Recovery Forum: www.resourcesnotwaste.org
Electric Vehicle taxi trial for Better Place
California-based electric vehicle battery manufacturer, Better Place, has extended its switchable-battery electric vehicle (EV) taxi pilot in Tokyo to operate through the end of the year. The pilot project began on April 26, in cooperation with Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo’s largest taxi operator, and focuses on the feasibility of battery switch as means for taxis to have instant, zero emission, range extension.
The second phase will begin on September 1 until November 19, 2010, with EV taxi position, remaining battery power, temperature and other factors monitored in real time to optimize battery management.
The Better Place EV taxi trial represents the first ‘real-world’ assessment of electric vehicle battery performance under heavy driving conditions and different charging patterns. It also provides insight into driver behaviour as they adapt to the use of battery switch technology. Kiyotaka Fujii, president of Better Place Japan said, “up to this point, there has been very little information about how an EV battery will perform in heavily used, real-world, taxi conditions. This program has provided us with critical insights into the battery performance in a switch model and switch station performance for the toughest customers – taxi drivers”.
Findings from both phases of the taxi trial will be used by Better Place to inform its EV network deployments in Israel, Denmark and Australia. Better Place Australia will commence rollout of its electric vehicle network in Canberra in the second half of 2011.
For more on this story go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1516426
From coal mining to water sports!
In the former East Germany, numerous brown coal mining open cut pits have been stabilised and filled with water to create new post mining uses integrated with landscape architecture. The former coal mining region has been transformed with new economies focussed on water sports, floating houses, tourism and recreation integrated with conserved mining heritage features.
CSIRO maps out wave energy hotspots
Australian scientists have mapped out the best places across the nation's southern coast for generating wave energy, all the way from Geraldton in WA to King Island in Tasmania. A new CSIRO energy atlas shows that if just 10% of the energy generated from waves was harnessed it would meet 50% of the nation's current electricity consumption. Australia's southern coastline has been identified by the World Energy Council as one of the world's best sites for generating wave energy.
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research's Dr Mark Hemer says even the small fraction of energy harnessed from Australia's coast will be enough to meet future government targets. "We figure out that if we could harness just 10% of the wave energy along a 1,000km strip of the southern coast, then that would be enough to meet the Federal Government's renewable energy targets of 20% renewable energy before 2020,” Hemer added. The research has been published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.
Story sourced from: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1516375
I&I Comment – the challenge also seems to be what is the best technology to use?
When Root Cause Analysis is not always the best choice
One of the more useful and popular methods used by quality professionals is root cause analysis (RCA). But, there are instances in which RCA isn’t the best choice. One such situation is when working to reduce the chance and cost of recalls and especially product liability lawsuits, according to Randall Goodden, chair of American Society for Quality’s Product Safety and Liability Prevention Interest Group for the past 12 years (the group was established in 1981).
For more on this story go to: http://www.asq.org/media-room/news/2010/08/20100816-root-cause-analysis.html?WT.dcsvid=MTEwMTY5MDE5S0&WT.mc_id=EM5462
The Smart Home gets a family
Smart Home Family project begins A family of three have moved into Australia's first Smart Home in Newington, Sydney to road-test the latest energy efficient technologies, including a solar pergola, electric bike and a heat pump clothes dryer. The family was chosen from 160 applicants from Australia and overseas to live in Energy Australia's Smart Home rent-free for 12 months while they write about it, good and bad. The home was fitted out as part of a trial with Sydney Water to help show the future of household energy and water use and will generate and store its electricity via a solar pergola, rooftop solar panels, a ceramic fuel cell which converts gas into electricity and battery storage technology.
More than 20 energy efficient appliances have been installed in the home including LED lights, a new-type of heat exchange air-conditioner and a 6-star LED backlit television. The family will also test an electric car. Recycled material has been used throughout the home, including cupboards made from recycled plastic sheeting and dining chairs made from recycled car batteries. The Smart Home is part of a two-year Smart Village trial supported by the NSW Government's Climate Change Fund.
To follow the Smart Home experience go to: http://www.smarthomefamily.com.au/
Story sourced via: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1036180
Vibration packs to replace batteries?
A Japanese electronics firm has shown off a vibration-harvesting generator that could replace standard batteries. BBC Online reports that Brother Industries, better known for its line of printers, claims the devices could be used in place of AA or AAA batteries for some applications.
At an event in Tokyo, the firm showed the device powering a TV remote control, a remote switch for a lamp and an LED flashlight. The mechanism works similarly to that of a bicycle light dynamo, only in this instance movement from a few shakes provides the energy to power.
For the full story, visit BBC Online http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10711202 This information comes from the resource recovery forum: www.resourcesnotwaste.org
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