Tag Archive for: green

Scientists in the Netherlands have assessed how the so-called blue-green roofs can help reduce the operating temperature of rooftop PV panels and have found they provide a significant cooling effect.

Well-irrigated roofs with vegetation have cooling effect on PV systems

A research group led by the Netherlands’ Water Research Institute has investigated how a blue-green roof (BGR) may act as a cooling agent for rooftop PV systems and has found that this kind of roof may lower the roof surface temperature by up to 4.64 C compared to a conventional bitumen roof (BiR).

Blue-green roofs are roofs that use “green” technologies, such as lateral drainage and irrigation for plant and crop growth, as well as “blue” technologies like rainwater storage and dosage.

The scientists conducted a series of tests on a PV system installed on a so-called constructed wetroof in an apartment building in Amsterdam. Constructed wetroofs are roofs that use natural processes involving wetland vegetation, soils, and their associated microbial assemblages to improve water quality. The irrigation system used for the research project relies on an additional water supply sourced from grey water from showers that is transformed into irrigation water.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Too many neighborhoods are not designed for today’s record-setting heat. “Smart surfaces” can make cities cooler and less vulnerable to flooding.

We need cooler cities. Here’s how to build them.

“Why is our neighborhood hotter than the one down the road?”
“Why are flooding and mold more frequent?”
“Why is it getting so hot that our kids can’t go outside and play?”

The last eight years have been among the eight hottest on record globally, with 2023 on track to be the hottest year ever recorded. This summer has seen days with more than 100 million Americans living under extreme heat advisories. And 2023 has also been a year of devastating floods across the nation, from California to Vermont.

As heat waves set records and floods reach higher marks, community members living in neighborhoods built to overheat and vulnerable to floodwaters want solutions. And they deserve them.

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Source: GOVERNING

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The SMMUSD, one of the city’s largest energy consumers, is set to begin the transition to running on 100% renewable energy.

Santa Monica Malibu-Unified School District to transition to 100% renewable energy

The Santa Monica Malibu-Unified School District (SMMUSD), one of the city’s largest energy consumers, is set to begin the transition to running on 100% renewable energy.

The move, which was approved by the Board of Education with a unanimous thumbs-up at their March 15 meeting, is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

The decision follows mounting pressure from district staff, teachers and students for SMMUSD to take greater strides towards sustainability in the face of climate change.

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Source: Santa Monica Daily Press

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The International Energy Agency has set out leading green transition pathways for Africa – delivering better economic and social returns.

IEA 2022 outlook for Africa highlights solar and hydrogen in green transition

Following on from recent statements suggesting that Africa must double investments to reach its energy and climate goals, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has set out leading green transition pathways for the continent – delivering better economic and social returns. These sustainable development routes, presented in the IEA’s freshly-launched Africa Energy Outlook report – a full policymakers’ summary of findings to be exhibited live at this year’s MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power conference to west Africa’s top corporate and government authorities in aid of formulating a unified African narrative ahead of December’s 27th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27) – call for two thirds of additional investment to be directed into clean energy sources by 2030.

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Source: Energy Capital & Power

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Here are the best breakthrough technologies that could help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient & resilient future.

Solar-powered tuk-tuks and thermal clothing: The best green innovations of May 2022

Every hour, the Earth is bathed in 430 quintillion Joules of energy from the sun. That is more than the amount of energy the whole of humanity consumes in a full year. These staggering figures show the true potential of solar energy for innovation. And the uses of sunshine go beyond solar farms and solar panels on domestic roofs.

Four of this month’s innovations use the sun as an energy source for applications as varied as urban mobility and water disinfection. A new tiny house achieves carbon neutrality through in-built solar panels, while an electric tuk-tuk can travel 10,000 kilometres per year on solar energy alone. Meanwhile, a cleantech startup has a bold vision to put super-efficient, digitally printed solar cells on every consumer device, and a social enterprise has developed a device that lets remote communities harness the UV rays in sunlight to disinfect drinking water.

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Source: edie

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Solar thermal is used for harnessing solar energy to generate heat for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors

Solar thermal energy: An industry with untapped potential

When we think about the energy transition, the first images that come to mind might be of roofs covered with solar PV panels, a windfarm – either on land or in the sea – or maybe even electric vehicles. But one technology is often overlooked and underfunded: solar thermal, which is used for harnessing solar energy to generate heat for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors. At a time when the EU is planning to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030, experts in solar thermal energy emphasise the importance of including this technology into the energy mix.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, the case for a rapid, clean energy transition has never been stronger and clearer. The EU imports 90 per cent of its gas consumption, with Russia providing around 45 per cent of those imports in varying levels across Member States. The EU initiative REPowerEU will seek to diversify gas supplies, accelerate the green transition and replace gas in heating and power generation.

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Source: Climate-KIC

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12,000 solar panels, the size of 4 football pitches floating on Portugal's Alqueva reservoir will produce enough energy to power 1,500 homes.

Biggest ‘floating solar park’ in Europe will open this year in Portugal

Europe’s largest floating solar park will take shape in July this year, in Portugal’s Alqueva reservoir.

Two tugboats are currently moving a vast array of 12,000 solar panels, the size of four football pitches, to their mooring on the reservoir.

Built by EDP, the country’s main utility company, on Western Europe’s biggest artificial lake, the shiny floating island is part of Portugal’s plan to cut reliance on imported fossil fuels whose prices have surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Source: Euronews

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This solar-powered plane could stay in the air for months

In 2016, a bizarre-looking plane, covered with more than 17,000 solar panels, showed the world a glimpse of the future of flight. With the wingspan of a Boeing 747, but weighing only as much as an SUV, it circumnavigated the Earth without using a drop of fuel.
Called Solar Impulse 2, it was the brainchild of Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and Swiss engineer Bertrand Borschberg, built to showcase the potential of renewable energy. After its record-breaking flight, it had accomplished its goal — but now it’s getting a new lease of life.
In 2019 it was bought by Skydweller Aero, a US-Spanish startup which aims to turn the plane into the world’s first commercially viable “pseudo-satellite,” capable of doing the work of an orbiting satellite, but with more flexibility and less environmental impact.

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Source: CNN

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Amazon ramps up green push with more renewable energy deals

Amazon.com Inc. struck deals to boost its access to renewable energy by almost a third as the company looks to get all of its power from green sources within a few years.

The retail giant will buy power from 3.5 gigawatts of new projects — mostly solar farms in the U.S. — to supply its offices, warehouses and data centers, it said in a statement. Amazon is seeking to bolster its standing as the world’s largest corporate green energy buyer as investors and consumers pressure big businesses to go greener, and has signed a number of deals in recent years.

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Source: Bloomberg

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