Posts Tagged alternative energy

LA’s Solar Power, Green Jobs Potential Largely Untapped

“World Bank financing has help put solar power systems on more than 300,000 homes and small businesses in Bangladesh. Working with its local partners, the World Bank’s International Development Association IDA’s Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Project (RERED), is aiming to boost that to more than 1 million with an additional $172 million credit facility.

Imagine what could be done here in the US if local, state and the federal government really got behind and supported solar and renewable energy. A lot of potential lies untapped, in many cases solely due to a lack of political will and determination.

An academic study conducted by researchers from UCLA and USC found that there’s a wealth of untapped human resources in LA just waiting to be employed in the solar energy industry. City and civic leaders have thus far failed to enact policies that would take advantage of it, however.”

LA’s Solar Power, Green Jobs Potential Largely Untapped via Andrew Burger – Triple Pundit

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The Most Important Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Reducing your carbon footprint is do-able; it’s about making changes in how you live your day-to-day life. Even small changes, like reducing the amount of driving you do, can make a huge impact in the environment.

Yogi Times polled experts of all ages in the field of green living and sustainability to bring you some tips for how to make your life and the planet a little greener.

Live in Los Angeles?  You can meet all of these experts and hear them speak at the Green Festival, the largest sustainability event in the nation, taking in place in Los Angeles, California, October 29th and 30th, 2011.

The Most Important Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint via Sarah Forman / Los Angeles Green Festival Speakers – Yogi Times

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GREEN FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY IN SAN FRANCISCO

CONTACT:
SAEGERMEDIAGROUP, Inc.
Katy Saeger
katy@saegermediagroup.com
310.935.3883

Green Festival celebrates 10 years in San Francisco November 12-13, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO - The nation’s premier green living event returns to San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center November 12-13, 2011. This year, Green Festival celebrates a ten-year milestone with over one million attendees in eight cities.

This unique experience celebrates positive solutions working in our communities.  It’s where people come to meet renowned authors, actors, visionaries and community leaders; shop with hundreds of green businesses; participate in DIY workshops; enjoy live music and local vegan and vegetarian cuisine; and join friends at the organic beer and wine garden.

San Francisco leaders are supporting the 10th anniversary.  According to Mayor Edwin M. Lee,   “I applaud Green Festival on its tenth anniversary of bringing together key environmental thought leaders and the best in green economy innovations.” Supervisor John Avalos of the Board of Supervisors commented, “We welcome Green Festival back to San Francisco, it’s a great event to bring your families.”

Ten stages and pavilions will host more than 125 inspirational and educational speakers, including Amy Goodman, Rev Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, John Perkins, Frances Moore Lappe, Laura Flanders, Mark Hertsgaard, Anuradha Mittal, Q’orianka Kilcher, John Robbins, Jeffrey Smith, and a special tribute to Wangari Maathai.

With the holiday season just around the corner, Green Festival is the perfect location to support local businesses all in one location.  The Green Marketplace profiles hundreds of green and socially responsible businesses and organizations. Attendees browse everything from green, non-toxic home furnishings to organic clothing to Fair Trade gifts, children’s toys and much more.

“By bringing together all the parts of the next economy—the green economy—the Green Festivals follow the core principle of Mother Nature: unity of diversity,” says Green Festival co-founder Kevin Danaher. “Instead of waiting for elites to reform the economy from the top down, we are constructing a new economic model from the grassroots up.”

“Whether you go to shop, learn, or experience art and music, Green Festival has it all, it’s a great place to celebrate what’s working in our communities and find the sustainable solutions that fit your lifestyle,” says Denise Hamler, Green Festival Director.

Green Festival offers something for the entire family. Peruse the latest in earth-friendly fashions. View socially and environmentally impactful film shorts at the Sierra Club Green Cinema. Learn by doing at hands-on DIY workshops and gain practical green tips you can apply to your everyday life. Empower your inner entrepreneur with Green Business Seminars and find your next green career at the Green Career Resource Center.

With special performances by Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, Evelie Delino Sales Posch with the Spiral Dance Chorus and Band, Banana Slug String Band, Valerie Orth, David Young and DJ Sister Yasmin.

Check out the latest in all-electric and hybrid transportation at the Ford Pavilion and enjoy a test drive right at the Green Festival.  Join Ford in celebrating social and environmental innovation in the community and vote for the finalists who will win a $5,000 Ford Community Green Grant.

A joint project of Green America and Global Exchange, Green Festival is a non-profit 501c3 event to explore and build sustainable solutions for successful communities and a healthier environment.

Engage with Green Festivals online at www.GreenFestivals.org.

Connect with Green Festival on Facebook and Twitter @GreenFestival.

Sign up for the Green Festival Newsletter at www.greenfestivals.org/newsletter for program updates and giveaway opportunities.

Become a Green Festival volunteer and get free admission volunteer@greenfestivals.org.

Green Festival Partners make the event possible: Clif Bar, Ford Motor, Renewal by Anderson, Ben and Jerry’s, New York Times, O Organics/Bright Green, New Resource Bank, Earth Balance,  BRITA, Calvert, Consumer Reports, DotGreen, Essentia, Four Green Steps, Green Bash, Manitoba Harvest, Numi Tea, Zu-Kay, Book Publishing Company, and Democracy Now.

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About Green America

Green America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982, providing the economic strategies, organizing power and practicing tools for businesses and individuals to address today’s social and environmental problems. Its Green Business Network is the largest national network of businesses screened for their social and environmental responsibility.  www.greenamericatoday.org

About Global Exchange

Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change. www.globalexchange.org

About Seven-Star, Inc.

Seven-Star, Inc. is the nation’s premier green full-service event company focusing exclusively on green events. Since 1999, Seven-Star has provided turn-key green event services for environmentally responsible and socially respectful (eR/sR) festivals, trade and consumer expositions, conferences and concerts. Events include the greening of the 2007 International Live Earth events, 2008 Democratic National Convention events, and Green Festivals. Seven-Star is the first event company to win the EPA’s Gold Waste Wise Award for Excellence in recognition for their proprietary system of event waste diversion, which has consistently achieved greater than 92%.www.sevenstarevents.com

San Francisco 2011 Green Festival Program Highlights:

  • Eco-Fashion Showcase
  • Sustainable Home and Garden Pavilion
  • Do-It-Yourself Workshops
  • Green Kids’ Zone
  • Green Business Pavilion
  • Green Jobs and Careers
  • Green Investing
  • Green Building Pavilion
  • Renewable Energy
  • Beer and Wine Pavilion
  • Organic Local Food
  • Ford Pavilion
  • Fair Trade Pavilion
  • Community Action Pavilion
  • Acoustic Music Café
  • Sierra Club Green Cinema
  • Youth Programs
  • Zero-waste Tour

San Francisco Green Festival

November 12-13

Saturday, 10 am – 7 pm

Sunday, 11 am – 6 pm

Concourse Exhibition Center

8th Street at Brannan, San Francisco

Pricing:

$10 all access weekendpass (online) with two gifts.

$10 day at the door

$15 weekend at the door

Green Festival Fan Package  – weekend pass for 2 — $48 (online) with gifts or $55 (at door)

Free Admission:
Youth under 18, seniors, union members, cyclists (with use of bike valet), volunteers and Green America and Global Exchange members.

Event contact: June Brashares

Event phone contact: 415-425-3733

Event email contact: june@greenfestivals.org

Second Event Contact: Bryan Ting

Second Event phone contact: 925-788-7797

Second Event email contact: bryan.ting@greenfestivals.org

Event category: green, family, festival, education, expo

Ongoing Event (y or n)  Y – annual event

Short Event Description:

Green Festival, the nation’s largest and most trusted green living event returns to San Francisco for its 10th year on November 12-13, 2011. This unique experience celebrates positive solutions working in our communities. Festivities include presentations by more than 125 renowned authors and inspiring visionaries, DIY workshops, cutting-edge films, enriching kid’s and youth activities, organic beer and wine, delicious organic vegan and vegetarian cuisine, music and art and an amazing marketplace of hundreds of green local and national businesses and organizations.

Shorter Event Description:

Green Festival, the nation’s largest, most trusted green living event returns to San Francisco for its 10th year on November 12-13, 2011.  Meet and hear renowned authors and  inspiring visionaries. Participate in DIY workshops. Enjoy films, fun kid’s activities, organic vegan & vegetarian cuisine, local beer & wine, music & art and a diverse marketplace of green businesses & organizations.

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Bay Area Moving Planet This Sat Sept. 24 Still Needs Volunteers – and you can get FREE SF GREEN FESTIVAL TICKETS by volunteering!

Moving Planet - A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels - September 24, 2011

***The first 50 volunteers will get free T-Shirts and ALL volunteers will get free tickets to the 10 Anniversary Green Festival in SF!***

Moving Planet, Sept 24th is this Sat!!!

About 200 volunteers are needed this Saturday to make Bay Area Moving Planet happen smoothly.

That’s where you come in!

There are many kinds of volunteer opportunities available at all times of the day Sat (and this week beforehand).  Just fill out this short form to sign up: http://goo.gl/g1B13

In case you want to know more about Moving Planet:

Moving Planet is a worldwide rally on September 24, 2011 to call for solutions to the climate crisis—a single day to move away from fossil fuels. In cities and towns around the world, people will take to the streets on bicycles, skateboards, on foot, and more, coming together as a global community dedicated to moving our planet in a new direction, away from fossil fuels and towards a sustainable future. Here in the Bay Area, we’re on track to have one of the most massive mobilizations of people power (and pedal power!) our nation and world has ever seen. In fact 350.org* is dedicating a huge amount of staff time, resources, and money to make this one of our best events yet. So far, we have Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org; Mike Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club; and Carl Anthony, co-founder Race, Poverty and the Environment scheduled as speakers, with more politicians and leaders to come.

Local actions are happening all over the Bay Area in the A.M.

Then everyone will MEET at Justin Herman Plaza in SF at NOON.

We will PARADE down Market Street at 12:30 P.M. headed towards Civic Center Plaza, where speakers, entertainment, and activities abound through 6:00 P.M.

Remember to sign up to volunteer!
http://goo.gl/g1B13

Please spread the word to other potentially interested people/groups!

http://www.moving-planet.org/BayArea
https://www.facebook.com/bayareamovingplanet

contact for questions or comments:

Kimberley D.C. Schroder
Day-Of Logistics Coordinator for Bay Area Moving Planet
(925) 766-8813

*What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in “parts per million” (ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM—a “people powered movement” that is made of people like you in every corner of the planet

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Over 150 Countries Join "Moving Planet" Day to Push for Clean Energy Solutions

Hundreds of thousands prepare for the world’s largest “day without fossil fuels”

Moving Planet - A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels - September 24, 2011

INTERNATIONAL — Is it possible for the world to move beyond fossil fuels? On September 24, more than 150 countries are expected to take part in a global day events called “Moving Planet” dedicated to the goal of solving the climate crisis by ending the world’s dependence on fossil-fuel energy.

From Pacific islands to European capitols, hundreds of thousands will join creative rallies to show that people around the world are ready for clean energy and climate solutions.

“The planet has been stuck for too long with governments doing nothing about the biggest problem we’ve ever faced,” said Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, the international climate campaign that is coordinating the demonstrations. “This is the day when people will get the earth moving, rolling towards the solutions we need.”

“Moving Planet” events will include:

  • In the Dominican Republic, students will paint the country’s first bike lane in Santo Domingo.
  • In Brazil, thousands of cyclists will take to the streets of São Paulo to call for sustainable transportation solutions.
  • In India, thousands of people gathered in Andhra Pradesh for a public meeting on the impact of coal pollution in the region.
  • In Indonesia, cyclists will bike 350 hours from Bali to Bandung for a clean energy rally. In Italy, hundreds of cyclists will take to the busy streets of Milan to draw attention to local pollution and traffic congestion.
  • In Ukraine, hundreds are expected to join a “flash-dance” in Kiev’s main square.
  • In Egypt, hundreds of people will parade in blue clothing to create a human Nile river, drawing attention to the importance of protecting precious water resources.
  • In South Africa, thousands will join a parade in Cape Town to call on the South African government to support bold climate action at this November’s UN Climate Talks in Durban.

Photos and videos of the events will be projected at a rally outside UN Headquarters in New York City, where world leaders will be gathered for the UN General Assembly.

“Moving Planet” is meant to show politicians that in every country on Earth, people are demanding an end to the fossil-fuel economy and an immediate transition to clean energy solutions.

Featured Global Events

North America:

  • In New York City, thousands of people will bike the United Nations headquarters for a rally to show their support for a global climate treaty.
  • In Boston, thousands of people from across the state will gather in Boston Common to call on politicians running for office in 2012 to support bold action on climate and the environment.
  • In San Francisco, thousands will come together via bike, boat, foot, and electric car for a rally outside San Francisco City Hall with 350.org founder Bill McKibben and Sierra Club Executive Director Mike Brune.
  • In Minneapolis, thousands of Minnesotans will gather at the state capitol to show their support for solutions to the climate crisis.
  • In Colorado, thousands will join a “Power Past Fossil Fuels” bike ride from the Municipal Building in Boulder to the State Capitol Building in Denver, stopping to rally at coal plants and other iconic dirty energy faciltities along the way.

Latin America:

  • In the Dominican Republic, students painted the country’s first bike lane in Santo Domingo.
  • In Argentina, a bike group will be giving out free bicycle lessons to pedestrians in Buenos Aires.
  • In Brazil, hundreds of cyclists will take to the streets of São Paulo to call for sustainable transportation solutions.

Asia:

  • In India, thousands of people gathered in Andhra Pradesh for a public meeting on the impact of coal pollution in the region.
  • In Indonesia, cyclists will bike 350 hours from Bali to Bandung for a clean energy rally.
  • In Vietnam, thousands of volunteers will take the streets in Ho Chi Minh City and across the country to raise awareness about solutions to local air pollution and climate change.

Europe:

  • In Italy, hundreds of cyclists will take to the busy streets of Milan to draw attention to local pollution and traffic congestion.
  • In Ukraine, hundreds are expected to join a “flash-dance” in Kiev’s main square.
  • In Germany, people will parade through Berlin listening to dance music broadcast by a DJ pulled by an electric car.
  • In France, hundreds of people will gather in Paris to form the image of a giant wind-turbine to demand the “transition énergétique,” an immediate transition to renewable energy.

Africa:

  • In Egypt, hundreds of people will parade in blue clothing to create a human Nile river, drawing attention to the importance of protecting precious water resources.
  • In the Democratic Republic of Congo, organizers are hosting a bike race through the streets of Kinshasa.
  • In Kenya, hundreds of young people will take to the streets of Nairobi to demand solutions to the climate crisis.
  • In South Africa, thousands will join a parade in Cape Town to call on the South African government to support bold climate action at this November’s UN Climate Talks in Durban.

Pacific:

  • In New Zealand, amateur astronauts in Wellington will be “launching” a rocket to search for a new planet to move to. If the launch fails (as expected), they’ll turn to saving the planet we already have.
  • In Australia, hundreds will gather on Bondi Beach in support of the Prime Minister’s proposed price on pollution.

For more information and to find a Moving Planet event near you, visit http://www.moving-planet.org. Keep up with Moving Planet throughout on Facebook and Twitter @Moving_Planet

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Cutting Need for Energy by Using Less of It

“In Hong Kong, as in much of the rest of the world right now, a debate is raging about how best to generate the additional electricity that is needed to power economic growth and development.

Do we use more oil and coal, which pollute and are ultimately finite? Or nuclear energy, which comes with safety concerns, and is being phased out entirely in Germany? Or renewable energies likesolar power, which many nations are promoting, but which make up only a small portion of the energy mix in most countries, and often have physical limitations?

Relatively little attention is being paid to what some analysts refer to as the “fifth fuel”: ways to consume less energy in the first place.”

Cutting Need for Energy by Using Less of It via Bettina Wassener – NY Times

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Mayor Newsom And California Independent System Operator Announce Effective End To Potrero Power Plant Operations By December 31

San Francisco - December 21, 2010 Mayor Gavin Newsom and the California Independent System Operator (California ISO), the nonprofit state organization that oversees the reliability of California’s electric grid, today announced that the GenOn Energy/Mirant-owned Potrero Power Plant in San Francisco will effectively cease operations by December 31. With the Trans Bay Cable successfully placed into commercial operation and the final segment of the San Francisco Recabling Project (Martin-Bayshore-Potrero) completed by PG&E, California ISO will release the Potrero Power Plant from its reliability must-run (RMR) contract obligation, allowing the plant to close entirely.

“Today is a historic day for so many who have worked for years to close this power plant,” said Mayor Newsom. “This is a monumental step towards cleaner air, environmental justice and our future of renewable energy and healthier communities. I want to express my sincere thanks to California ISO President & CEO Yakout Mansour for working closely with San Francisco to find a way to shutter the City’s last fossil fuel power plant while protecting the reliability of our electric grid. It has been a long and sometimes difficult road, but at last, we come together to celebrate this victory for the people of the Southeast sector and our entire City.”

“The California ISO’s job was to keep the lights on while the local infrastructure was developed to support removal of the Potrero Power Plant from the power grid,” said Yakout Mansour, California ISO President & CEO. “We thank Mayor Newsom for striking the right balance between the wishes of the community and the security of the electric supply to San Francisco.”

In a letter today, California ISO provided the RMR termination notice to GenOn Energy/Mirant effective January 1, 2011, which would technically terminate the RMR agreement by February 28, 2011. However, the California ISO will not plan to dispatch the Potrero power plant at all during this two month termination period, except in an extreme emergency, effectively ceasing operations after December 31, 2010.

“We are happy to be partners with the City and County of San Francisco,” said John Chillemi, President of GenOn West, formerly Mirant. “It has been a bit of a roller coaster to get here, but today we’re celebrating what was anticipated in our agreement with the City.”

“It’s a win-win for the residents of Potrero and Dogpatch neighborhoods and our entire City,” said Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. “The closure of the last fossil fuel plant in San Francisco furthers our clean energy goals and ensures a healthier environment for our City’s future.”

Full Press Release available at City and County of SF Office of the Mayor online.

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9th Annual Green Festival Returns to San Francisco

San Francisco – October 8, 2010 Green Festival®, the nation’s largest sustainability event, returns to the San Francisco Concourse November 6-7. This year’s Green Festival theme is ‘Engagement,’ with exciting new ways to shop green, be inspired, get engaged and give back. Community members enjoy informative, insightful speakers, incomparable green shopping, cutting edge eco-innovations, great live music, fun and educational family activities, hands-on workshops, organic wine and beer and delicious, local vegetarian cuisine. Plus, our new admission options are geared to encourage everyone to get engaged in their community with immediate dividends from Green Festival.
Ten stages and pavilions give attendees the opportunity to engage with 125 local experts and nationally-renowned authors, actors, leaders, educators, farmers and visionaries. Exciting keynote speakers include Bill McKibben, Amy Goodman, Thom Hartmann, John Perkins, Dolores Huerta, Gil Friend, Karen Stewart, Howard Brown, Kirk Boyd, Starhawk, Penny Livingston, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Ari Derfel, Daniel Pinchbeck and many more.

Green Festival’s mission is to inspire and inform as many people as possible to help make our world more just and sustainable. New admission options allow people to invest in their local community while receiving immediate dividends from Green Festival. “Pay It Forward and Get it Back at Green Festival” invites community members to volunteer with or donate to local nonprofit organizations to receive complimentary admission to Green Festival. Also new this year, when an individual purchases any ticket to Green Festival, they receive “Green Bucks,” which can be used as currency at Green Festival in the green marketplace. Find out more about receiving free tickets or shopping money at http://greenfestivals.org.

“Green Festival has something for everyone,” says Green Festival Board Member and Green America Director, Denise Hamler. “Whether you go to shop, learn, try new organic foods or experience art and music, this event has it all, with the goal to motivate every person to think, participate and make more planet-friendly, sustainable choices in their every day lives.”

San Francisco Green Festival highlights include:
•Green Business Seminars at the Green Business Pavilion — the latest on financing for growth, marketing and new media, public policy and green trends, ethical sourcing and partnering for success.
•Green Lifestyle — practical tips for everyday life and innovations ranging from green products to green building and organic foods.
•Mother Earth News Fair Pavilion – workshops and ‘DIY’ presentations from the best loved topics of their magazine and fair, including urban chicken raising, cheese making at home, seed swap exchange and growing and using herbs.
•Fair Trade Pavilion — how fair-trading your home, workplace and community with coffee, home furnishings, chocolate, rice and textiles can make a world of difference.
•Better World Stage — critical issues and solutions in communities to effectively implement and support sustainable networks.
•Vegetarian Food Court — organic cuisine from local restaurants, organic beer and wine garden and fair trade organic coffee bar.
•Green Home and Energy Pavilion — demonstrations of practical skills for personal and household sustainability from solar energy to composting and green home improvements.
•Music – live music and spoken word.
•Eco Fashion Show — showcase of eco-conscious fashion designers, make-up artists and hairstylists. (Presented by HI-DEF Creations, Inc.)
•Annie’s Green Kids’ Zone — activities and storytelling for the whole family.

A project of Green America and Global Exchange, two leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to environmental and social justice for more than twenty-six years, Green Festival serves as a foundation to explore and build sustainable solutions to benefit communities and the environment, discover new environmentally-friendly products and practices and connect with likeminded individuals from all over the nation.

Green Festival demonstrates an unmatched commitment to reducing environmental impact by reusing, recycling or composting 95 percent or more of festival waste through the efforts of full-service green event management company Seven-Star Events.

Special thanks to: Made, Earthbound Farms, Park Merced, Nissan LEAF and KPFA.

To purchase tickets to Green Festival or for more information about new ways to get free tickets or shopping money, visit http://greenfestivals.org.

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About Green America
Green America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982, providing the economic strategies, organizing power and practicing tools for businesses and individuals to address today’s social and environmental problems. Its Green Business Network is the largest national network of businesses screened for their social and environmental responsibility. www.greenamericatoday.org

About Global Exchange
Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change. www.globalexchange.org

About Seven-Star, Inc.
Seven-Star, Inc. is the nation’s premier green full-service event company focusing exclusively on green events. Since 1999, Seven-Star has provided turn-key green event services for environmentally Responsible and socially Respectful (eR/sR) festivals, trade and consumer expositions, conferences and concerts. From the greening of the 2007 International Live Earth events, to the 2008 Democratic National Convention events, to producing the nation’s largest consumer Green Festivals, Seven-Star has defined itself as the company for eR/sR event production. Seven-Star is the first event company to have won the EPA’s Gold Waste Wise Award for Excellence in recognition for their proprietary system of event waste diversion, which has consistently achieved greater than 85%. www.sevenstarevents.com

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Obama Administration Announces Plans to Install New Solar Panels on the White House Residence

Washington D.C. – October 5, 2010 U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley today announced plans to install solar panels and a solar hot water heater on the roof of the White House Residence. These two solar installations will be part of a Department of Energy demonstration project showing that American solar technologies are available, reliable, and ready for installation in homes throughout the country. Secretary Chu and Chair Sutley made the announcement during CEQ’s 2010 GreenGov Symposium, which is bringing together leaders from Federal, state and local governments, nonprofit and academic communities and the private sector to identify opportunities around greening the Federal Government.

“This project reflects President Obama’s strong commitment to U.S. leadership in solar energy and the jobs it will create here at home,” said Secretary Chu.  “Deploying solar energy technologies across the country will help America lead the global economy for years to come.”

“President Obama has said the Federal Government has to lead by example in creating opportunity and jobs in clean energy,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “By installing solar panels on arguably the most famous house in the country, his residence, the President is underscoring that commitment to lead and the promise and importance of renewable energy in the United States.”

The PV system will convert sunlight directly to electricity. The solar hot water heater will have a solar collector facing the sun that will heat water for use in the White House Residence.  The Department of Energy will now begin a competitive procurement process to select the company responsible for the installations.

By installing solar panels on their homes, consumers are able to effectively lock in the price of electricity they will pay in the years ahead, acting as an insulator against future rises in electricity prices since the systems installed in homes today are expected to last approximately thirty years. Financial incentives are also available to offset the initial costs of installing solar energy systems, including a 30 percent federal tax credit and additional state, local, and utility incentive programs to encourage the deployment of renewable energy.  The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency has additional information about state, local and utility rebates for solar generation throughout the country.

The deployment of solar energy and other renewable energy sources will help expand U.S. clean energy manufacturing and create new jobs for American workers. As a result of investments under the Recovery Act, the solar energy industry is growing and solar resources can now be seen in communities nationwide.  In the coming years, continued investments in innovation and cutting-edge solar technologies will help make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional electricity sources all across the country.

This announcement is made on the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s Executive Order 13514 on Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which called on the Federal Government to lead by example towards a clean energy economy and reduce, measure and report direct and indirect greenhouse gas pollution. In support of this goal, the Department of Energy also released “Procuring Solar Energy: A Guide for Federal Facility Decision Makers” to support the use of solar energy throughout the Federal Government.  Read the full guide (pdf – 6.6 MB).

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Follow the Department of Energy on FacebookTwitterYoutube and Flickr. Follow Secretary Chu on his Facebook page.

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