Monday, May 31, 2010

Study focuses on perennial grasses for biomass energy - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

Study focuses on perennial grasses for biomass energy - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

Growing energy makes sense


Thursday, May 27, 2010

$1.5B for solar power plants - Chatham Daily News - Ontario, CA

$1.5B for solar power plants - Chatham Daily News - Ontario, CA

SOLAR POWER: Canada targeted for joint venture
Posted By STEFANIA MORETTI, QMI AGENCY

Two global solar power players have secured up to $1.5 billion for solar energy projects with plans to spend much of that in Canada in an effort to boost renewable energy output and create jobs, an executive told QMI Agency on Tuesday.

Solar energy developer SunEdison and private equity firm First Reserve Corp. have established a joint venture, which could provide for the acquisition of up to $1.5 billion in current and future SunEdison solar photovoltaic energy projects.

The initial commitment of $167 million targets solar energy projects in the U.S., Italy, Spain and Canada.

SunEdison country manager Jason Gray said the funding will help create jobs in Canada, especially in Ontario where a new feed-in tariff program has increased demand for solar projects.
The company recently broke ground on an 18-megawatt fixed-tilt solar panel facility in Norfolk County, Ont. and plans to build another 9-megawatt moving axes solar farm in Chatham, Ont. later this year.
It will also use the money to roll out its rooftop portfolio including another 9-megawatts commercial rooftop
initiative with the Remington Group.
Gray said the company is also in the final stages of a deal with a leading auto parts supplier that will re-tool one of its existing plants to manufacture the racking system used with its solar panels for export to the U.S.

Contrary to popular belief, parts of Canada are fairly strong solar resources.
Ontario, for example, has equal or better solar resource than Germany and Germany has had the greatest number of solar megawatts installed in the world, Gray said.
The other half of the battle lies in government initiatives to help promote renewable power use and pricing schemes, Gray said.

The recently updated feed-in tariff program in Ontario and B.C.'s proposed Clean Energy Act make the two provinces particularly appealing.
"We're optimistic to see other provinces follow suit. All eyes are on Ontario to see how successful the program is."
The SunEdison project in Norfolk employs upwards 200 people and the company's Toronto office is quickly becoming one of its biggest, he said.
"There's been a lot of focus globally on Ontario and what they've done with the green energy and economy act not only encouraging installation of solar and wind but also the job growth that is being associated with that."
Once plants are constructed, the joint venture will purchase the projects and SunEdison will run them with the hope of selling them to a long-term power purchase agreement or feed-in tariff arrangements, the pair said in a release Tuesday.
SunEdison, a division of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., develops, installs, finances and operates distributed solar power plants for commercial, government and utility customers.

It manages more than 350 solar electric power plants worldwide. SunEdison has been active in Canada since 2007.
The company has not set any new megawatt or dollar targets for Canada.
"As demand allows, we certainly want to use as many of the fund dollars in Canada as possible," Gray said.



Wednesday, May 26, 2010

interesting stuff

Popular Science hottest gadgets for May.
http://www.wservernews.com/UY0HR7/100525-Hottest-Gadget

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .


Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Green Horizon group-pioneering real solar grid solutions for Ontario

Information about the Green Horizon group and its partners

- Showcasing Horizon Energy Solutions

About Horizon Energy Solutions
 Owned by Horizon Holdings Inc., which has over $419 million in assets and carries among the highest credit ratings of all Ontario utilities. In 2009, the Horizon group of companies were named Company of the Year by the Ontario Energy Association,

Powered by Experience

As part of the Horizon family of companies, Horizon Energy Solutions shares an impressive track record of customer service, operational efficiency, commitment to community and far-sighted innovation in sustainability and the culture of energy conservation in Ontario.Horizon Energy Solutions is a sister company to Horizon Utilities Corporation, one of the largest, most successful and most dynamic local distribution companies in Ontario.
In 2009, the Horizon group of companies were named Company of the Year by the Ontario Energy Association, recognized for developing the first-ever sustainability-based annual report by an energy company in Ontario. The report focuses on the social, environmental and economic dimensions of the company's business and benchmarks performance against the rigorous Global Reporting Initiative™, an international standard for sustainability.

The Horizon group of companies are 100-percent municipally owned and resulted from the merger of Hamilton Hydro and St. Catharines Hydro. Hamilton Utilities Corporation and St. Catharines Hydro Inc. are owned respectively by the City of Hamilton and the City of St. Catharines.

Opportunity

To participate in Horizon's commercial solar rooftop offer, you ideally need a roof with 12,500 or more square feet. Optimal-size roofs are in the range of 20,000 to 100,000 square feet and larger.

Basic customer benefit? Here are the key points:

  • Horizon has over 100 years in the energy business – we bring deep knowledge, experience, stability and community presence to this business. This is a crucial point to consider when a company is locking into long-term contracts (20yrs)
  •  The customer will generate risk-free income for the life of a worry-free product.
  •  Horizon offers a full turn-key solution. As energy professionals, we supply the expertise and technology
  •  HESI provides the technical know-how, project design, permitting, power sales, financing and technology operation and maintenance.
  •  Lease income will be competitive and be coming from a financially secure and trusted provided
  •  Customers take on no additional operational or technical responsibilities or risk.
  •  We ensure very minimal to no interruption of daily operating activities during the construction phase
  •  We will accommodate the customer’s needs with respect to movement or removal of the system for roof repairs
  •  We will not void any existing roof warranties
  • All aspects of the project are fully insured
  • Provide environmental profile to customers by allowing them to demonstrating commitment to the environment and sustainability.
The Process

There are five easy steps to become a Horizon partner.

Step One – Initial Consultation:
No commitment required  
Complimentary introduction to rooftop PV systems
Step Two – Formalizing Relationship:
Develop and sign a Letter of Intent
Step Three – Preliminary Site Inspection and Design:
On-site structural evaluation of facility
Customized plan to determine optimal racking system and PV array configuration
Step Four – Lease Agreement: http://www.horizonenergysolutionsinc.com/commercial.shtml
No capital investment required
Guaranteed income stream for 20 years
Step Five – Installation and Operation:

Highly professional installation of solar system on your roof
Ensure your daily business operations are not impacted
Easily accessible Internet energy management and monitoring tools

Project team leader-Horizon Energy Solutions Neil Freeman is Vice President, Business Development of Horizon Holdings Inc. and Horizon Energy Solutions Inc. He has been focusing on bringing the benefits of renewable energy to Horizon customers in order to reduce energy usage, costs and carbon footprints. Neil was instrumental in the development of the company's sustainable development initiative and making a Global Reporting Initiative™ filing, the de facto international standard for sustainability reporting.


Neil brought to Horizon extensive business and management experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining Horizon, Neil was involved in the establishment of Hydro One Inc.'s competitive services company and its acquisition of local distribution companies. Later, while at the Ontario Power Authority, he led the integration of environmental, energy and infrastructure planning policies in long-term plans and had responsibility for evaluating the sustainability of the planning outcomes.Neil is the author of two very notable utility industry publications. His book, The Politics of Power: Ontario Hydro and its Government, 1906-95, was published by the University of Toronto Press. His consulting report for the Ontario Municipal Water Association,

More information available on other team members

Useful Canadian  study about the opportunity and impact of Solar Energy in Canada



Wednesday, May 12, 2010

What are the consequences? -Caution recommended on oil cleanup

Caution urged in oil spill cleanup
BERKELEY, Calif. (UPI) -- A U.S. ecologist is urging extreme caution in the cleanup of the fragile Gulf Coast ecosystem in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Terry Hazen, a microbial ecologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said detergents used to clean oil contaminated sites can make a bad situation even worse.

"The concentration of detergents and other chemicals used to cleanup sites contaminated by oil spills can cause environmental nightmares of their own," Hazen said. "It is important to remember that oil is a biological product and can be degraded by microbes, both on and beneath the surface of the water. Some of the detergents that are typically used to cleanup spill sites are more toxic than the oil itself, in which case it would be better to leave the site alone and allow microbes to do what they do best."

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig leased by BP Plc that exploded and sank April 20 is now disgorging thousands of gallons of oil daily into the Gulf of Mexico, officials said.

Hazen said aggressive cleanup efforts are fraught with unintended consequences,

He cites as a prime example the Amoco Cadiz disaster.

In 1978, an oil tanker, the Amoco Cadiz, split in two about three miles off the coast of Normandy, releasing about 227,000 tons of heavy crude oil that ultimately stained nearly 200 miles of coastline. He said the spill-site was so large, only areas of great economic impact were treated with detergents. Large regions in more remote parts of the coast went untreated.

"The untreated coastal areas were fully recovered within five years of the Amoco Cadiz spill," Hazen said. "As for the treated areas, ecological studies show that 30 years later, those areas still have not recovered."

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .


Back to Eden communities  Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Solar - a bright idea for everyone to consider

Hello Sunshine , welcome to Ontario

Even though its 93 million miles away, the sun lights up our world for an average of 12 hours a day, 365 days a year. It's quality light too. On a typical day it will deliver up to 100,000 lux of illuminance (luminous emittance is measured in lux). By way of comparison, office lighting is normally about 400 lux and TV studio lighting is about 1000 lux. This makes the sun a pretty impressive light source and best of all, its free...it doesn't cost us a dime!

However, despite all this high quality, free light we're receiving, guess what small to medium business spend most of their electric bill on? You guessed it's...lighting! In fact, artificial lighting can account for as much as 40% of a business' electric bill. The good news is, the biggest users of energy often present individuals in the Energy Saving Business with their biggest opportunities!
A solar strategy makes sense . Harnessing the Sun through solar panels to make green energy viable and available is a bright idea whose time has come . If you are interested in how to harness the Sun and build the solar grid ,please contact us .    Sieg Holle   backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com


--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"

Friday, May 07, 2010

E-waste -an opportuity waiting to be fixed

E-waste increasing in developing world
TUCSON (UPI) -- U.S. scientists said they've determined developing nations will produce at least twice as much electronic waste as developed countries by 2016.

A study by Assistant Professor Eric Williams and colleagues at Arizona State University also foresees that by 2030 developing countries will be discarding up to 700 million obsolete personal computers per year compared to 300 million by developed countries.

Williams said not only is there a continuing increase in ownership of PCs and other electronic devices worldwide, but at the same time technological advances are shrinking the lifetime of consumer electronics so people discard the products sooner than ever before.

"Our central assertion is that the new structure of global e-waste generation … combined with economic and social considerations, call for a serious reconsideration of e-waste policy," the researchers said.

The findings are detailed in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.


Copyright 2010 by United Press International

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .


Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Scientists create molecular computer

HOUGHTON, Mich. (UPI) -- A team of U.S. and Japanese researchers says it has

created the first brain-like organic molecular layer that can solve complex

problems. The researchers from Michigan Technological University and Japan's National

Institute of Information and Communication Technology said their achievement

marks the first time an "evolutionary circuit" has been created.

The scientists said the world's fastest supercomputer can only process bits


one at a time in each of its channels. But they said the newly created


organic molecular layer allows instantaneous processing of approximately 300


bits.



They said the processor not only can produce solutions to problems for which

algorithms on computers are unknown, such as predictions of natural

calamities and outbreaks of disease, but the molecular processor is capable

of healing itself if there is a defect by using the self-organizing ability

of the molecular monolayer.



The work that included Associate Professor Ranjit Pati of Michigan

Technological University and Anirban Bandyopadhyay, the study's lead author,

at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, appears in the

journal Nature Physics.

HORIZON ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC. | Horizon Energy Solutions launches "Ontario's Solar Sunbelt" from region's rooftops

HORIZON ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC. Horizon Energy Solutions launches "Ontario's Solar Sunbelt" from region's rooftops


Agreements are in the works for solar installations on dozens of commercial, institutional and industrial buildings in the region, and beyond. A residential solar offering will follow, likely later this year.
Every 10,000 kilowatts of solar energy generated - about the size of forty commercial-size installations - avoids or reduces emissions equal to taking more than 500 typical cars off the road for an entire year. 10,000 kilowatts of solar power, delivered over the year, is enough power to supply approximately 1,200 homes.
The solar power generated will be made available to the provincial power grid under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program. This program was established by the Ontario Government as part of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act of May 2009.
"Ontario is becoming one of the world leaders in green energy and we aim to make the Golden Horseshoe the first choice for manufacturers and green technology businesses," noted Horizon CEO Max Cananzi. "We have a proven track record in the energy sector, and excellent strategic partnerships for research, training, and location."

You can be part of this solution -if you are the owner of building(s) with the prefered flat roofs -of approximately 40,000 square feet in southern Ontario ( a combination of 200 ft by 200 ft) . We would like to hear from you . We will lease your roof ,install the energy grid and pay you for making a green difference . Contact Hollecrest & Associates Inc for more information S.Holle BS MBA backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com