GreenTech Pastures

July 3rd, 2009

Rural energy grant deadline approaches: Aids renewable energy technology investments

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 12:43 pm

Categories: energy, green tech, renewable energy

Tags: Turbine, Renewable Energy, Telecom & Utilities, Heather Clancy

I’m not sure how many farmers and ranchers read these posts, but certainly I can claim some rural business owners among my readers. So, if you are in a rural area of the United States AND you are a small business with fewer than 15 employees, you have until July 31, 2009, to apply for the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

The grants can be used to cover 25 percent of the total installed cost of a small wind turbine system, or another renewable energy system for that matter. They can be used in conjunction with the Federal Investment Tax Credit that applies to renewable energy technology investments. Caution, in the information I’m reading about this program, it could take up to two weeks to pull together an application, so you probably don’t want to wait until July 30 to start filling this out.

Some marketing folks aligned with the American Wind Energy Association were the ones that brought this to my attention, so it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that you can visit their web site for more information about wind turbine installations in general, including examples of operating expense reductions that this technology can help a company realize.

July 3rd, 2009

Green IT tips for small businesses: Analysys moves data center offsite for big power savings

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 4:05 am

Categories: conservation, energy, renewable energy, wind

Tags: Analysys, Data Center, Green IT, Small Business, Data Centers, Servers, Storage, Hardware, Data Management, Heather Clancy

Many of us who write about green technology issues often get dinged for focusing just on case studies that involve BIG companies. So, here’s some information about a much more modestly sized company in Baltimore that was able to get greener AND save a bunch of money on its power costs, by moving the majority of its data center equipment offsite.

First, let me say that servers for this company are its livelihood. Analysys is a managed services provider with approximately 40 employees that provides IT services to small and midsize businesses. Right now, it runs about four servers that are used on behalf of its clients; another two are in its office. Previously, however, the company was running 20 servers in its primary office location, and therein lies their story, says Stephen Kolbe, president of the company.

Back in January 2009, when Kolbe was looking at reducing overal operational costs for his team, he looked carefully at his server infrastructure. Immediately, he saw an opportunity to virtualize, which would enable him to devote more of his technical team to customer-facing activities, rather than ministering to its server hardware. Then he began thinking of the potential money he could save in electricity costs, not just for the servers themselves but for the back-up systems and the heating air condition and ventilation (HVAC) equipment. That’s when Analysys began measuring its power consumption methodically, using Kill-A-Watt meters.

“People think that reducing power consumption requires a premium cost, and it doesn’t,” Kolbe says. “This is a great opportunity a more positive spin on the message.”

So, here’s the bottom line on how Analysys’s actions improved its green IT profile:

• Since virtualizing its servers and moving them to a co-location facility, the company has saved about $13,000 in power costs. Overall, it cut the power use in its Baltimore office in half, without negatively impacting employees’ ability to get their job done.
• The company has gotten a big branding boost. Not only is it able to position its services as “greener” than the local competition, it is the only IT services company in Maryland to be recognized on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership list.

And, here’s what it cost, up-front, for the company to get to this place:

• IT staff costs for moving the equipment: Roughly $2,400 for 40 hours per of services work (at $60 per hour)
• The company used existing Hewlett-Packard servers to virtualize with Microsoft Virtualization technology, so the only equipment investments were two Kill-A-Watt meters and 20 Belkin Conserve surge protectors, which are priced at $35 each. SonicWall VPN and firewall technology was critical for Analysys ability to access and protect the offsite technology, while allowing employees quick remote access
• The renewable energy credits that Analysys purchased in order to claim carbon-neutrality were $1,000. Analysys works with a company called Clean Currents for this part of its operational costs; it buys wind power from the organization. The net savings per month attributable to the switch to wind power are $185 per month.
• The company does have to pay MORE in Internet connectivity and rack space in order to pull this off. This translates into $492 per month.

July 2nd, 2009

Price cuts for Innergie universal power adapters

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 5:02 pm

Categories: energy, engineering, green tech

Tags: Adapter, Heather Clancy

If you’ve been thinking about consolidating all the cords you have to pick when you travel (IF you travel), you just got a little bit more incentive to do so. That’s because Innergie has cut its prices for these gadgets by 20 percent: the multiport mCube90 (which includes BOTH an AC adapter and detachable DC adapter) is now retail-priced at $99.99 while the mCube90DC-only adapter carries a list of $49.99. Both of the cords work with notebooks that have a display of up to 17 inches and that operate at either 18-21 volts or 70 watts or less. It also works with gadgets that meet these parameters such as camcorders, digital cameras, portable game devices, MP3 players, and mobile phones. You can find out more about the products here.

July 2nd, 2009

From iPhones to smart grid sensors

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 2:43 pm

Categories: conservation, energy, green tech

Tags: Apple iPhone, Sensor, AT&T Corp., Wireless, Smart Phones, Wi-Fi, Telecom & Utilities, Wireless And Mobility, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

When AT&T loses its iPhone exclusive, at least it will still represent some other wireless-enabled emerging technology: sensors for the smart grid.

The telecommunications giant has struck an agreement with Cooper Power Systems under which it will be able to sell smart-grid sensor devices that have been certified to run on its wireless data network. Utility companies are obviously the target customers.

AT&T will represent two different offerings: OutageAdvisor, which pinpoints line problems and faults; and VARAdvisor, which monitors equipment that controls voltage levels that are delivered to consumers. The alternative to both of these technologies today? Manual inspection.

July 1st, 2009

Some more Energy Star compatibility updates. This time, from Lenovo and Dell

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 5:01 pm

Categories: green tech

Tags: Dell Computer Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd., Dell Optiplex, Dell Latitude, Servers, Notebooks, Desktops, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Heather Clancy

A quick alert to let you know that Dell believes that certain configurations among its OptiPlex desktops, Latitude notebooks and Precision workstations stand up to the Energy Star 5.0 specification, which went into effect today. Compliant models include the following:

• Latitude 2100, E4200, E4300, E5400, E5500, E6400, E6400 ATG, XT2 and E6400 XFR
• Dell Precision M2400, M4400, T3500, T5500, T7500, R5400
• OptiPlex 760, 960, 360, 160 and FX160

Here’s the complete blog detailing this update from Dell.

Separately, Lenovo has shipped an SMB server line that includes some configurations that are compliant with Energy Star for Servers.

The newest additions to the ThinkServer line include the TD200 and TD200x towers and the RD210 and RD220 rack servers. They all support Xeon 5500 series processors and can be configured with up to 128 gigabytes of DDR3 memory. Their storage capacity: 12 hard drives in the rack or up to 16 in the towers. Lenovo claims that the servers use 30 percent less power than comparably configured systems; the power supplies used in the servers are more than 92 percent efficient.

Pricing for the RD210 rack configurations starts at $1,699, while pricing for the TD200x begins at $2,699.

July 1st, 2009

EPA, Climate Savers to host power management tips seminar

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 3:25 pm

Categories: conservation, energy, green tech

Tags: Power Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Sales Force Management, Benefits, Sales, Human Resources, Heather Clancy

If you’ve got a little time on July 21, green IT organization Climate Savers Computing Initiative and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are teaming up to host a Webinar entitled “Briefing on IT Power Management for Utility Energy-Efficiency Program.” The content will include an overview of the impact that controlling the power profiles of desktops and other technology can have on a company’s energy consumption. There will also be an update on the Energy Star program, the goals of the Climate Savers organization and an overview of the various utility rebate and incentive programs that could benefit businesses that want to marry cost-cutting and green computing initiatives. The speakers will include the sponsors, as well as experts from Beacon Consultants, Cadmus Group and PG&E.

Here’s the registration link.

July 1st, 2009

Should you really buy new gear or look for almost new?

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 9:13 am

Categories: conservation, energy, green tech, recycling

Tags: Sales Strategy, Data Centers, Sales, Storage, Hardware, Data Management, Heather Clancy

A few months back, I mused about how long the average company should keep their technology infrastructure around and about whether or not they really need new equipment for certain applications. Needless to say, I heard from several organizations that make their living on the hope that businesses will at least consider purchasing refurbished or pre-owned equipment, especially if it was covered by warranties and decent support contracts.

One of the companies vying for a little cyber-ink is Network Hardware Resale, a reseller of networking hardware that generated roughly $185 million in revenue last year. Mike Sheldon, CEO of Network Hardware Resale, says the company has grown fivefold since 2001 when the dot-com bubble burst, when tons of gear being used by failed start-ups flooded the marketplace.

At any given moment, the company carries some 3,000 to 4,000 SKUs or products: up to one-third of these products are brand-new, either from companies that have gone under and needed to liquidate assets or that were part of reneged orders. “It used to be that we received a lot of products off trade-in for data centers and larger companies but the overstock situation or the bankruptcy or the cancelled order is now about one-third of the supply,” Sheldon says.

While Network Hardware Resale’s revenue this year is off about 10 percent, its unit sales are up and Sheldon says his company is shipping close to 1,000 products daily to businesses that have no qualms about using switches, routers or other products that have already been in service—or that were never claimed by their original buyer. There are lots of reasons that people buy from Network Hardware Resale, he says. Sometimes, for example, a department needs an older configuration that has been discontinued. Or they need a piece of equipment for a secondary purpose and don’t need the latest and greatest.

As you might expect, roughly 85 percent of the company’s sales are for Cisco products, while Juniper accounts for about 5 percent, according to Sheldon.

Network Hardware Resale can also help a company find value in its old equipment, Sheldon says. If there is no “value” left in the technology, the company uses bonded professional e-waste facilities in order to recover components that could be useful and melt down the rest according to environmental regulations. “We are able to recycle and reuse something like 90 percent of the things we collect,” he says.

July 1st, 2009

Nuclear power has political meltdowns

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 6:28 am

Categories: Blogroll, Canada, Europe, air pollution, climate change, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, global warming, green tech, law & politics, nuclear power, water

Tags: Nuclear Energy, Ontario, Government, Harry Fuller

A next generation nuclear power plant was being developed in Ontario. Now all work has been stopped. The price tag was climbing and the provincial government pulled the plug even though it’s pledged to close all coal-burning plants there within five years. Right now about half of Ontario’s electricity comes from nuclear generation.
Nuclear generation is often proposed as the best alternative to burning fossil fuels. A nuclear power plant should be able to recycle the water it needs, and it produces no greenhouse gas emissions. There’s the on-going issue of nuclear waste, and in Ontario, at least, there’s the problem of the expense of the next generation technology.
Only Finland is currently building the latest and best in nuclear generation tech, the work being done by European firms, Areva and Siemens. The project is now far over budget and at least three years from completion. The plant construction began in 2005 and was supposed to have been completed this year. Situations like Ontario and Finland are not going to encourage other nations to go further into nuclear generation.
Next year Finland itself is supposed to decide whether to build more third generation nuclear plants. Whaddaya think?

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June 30th, 2009

Political gaming around the Waxman-Markey bill

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 5:48 pm

Categories: Blogroll, China, air pollution, cars & traffic, climate change, conservation, environmental health, federal government, global warming, housing, law & politics, petroleum, renewable energy

Tags: Game, Bill, Dems, Regulations, Government, Harry Fuller

Nearly every energy and greentech and auto and battery and utility company in America has a stake in the proposed Waxman-Markey bill. So does every taxpayer and the future of any potential agreement with China on global warming could hang in the balance, and…the list of possible effects of the fate of this legislation is global and ginormous.

Sen. Byrd is out of the hospital but will he be there to vote? How about Sen. Ted Kennedy? The Dems are about add to “Senator” Franken but they’ll need Republican help to get past the potential Repub filibuster. Sixty votes will be needed to secure some bill or other. That means they need 60 votes. Over 40 Dems voted against the bill in its current form in the House. What are the odds?
Likely there wil be some serious give and take on the content of the bill before any Senate vote is taken.
Anti-regulation conservatives are arguing this bill will cost too much, raising energy prices. Some even claim this bill will give the feds the right to control your showering behavior. Sniff test, perhaps?
Of course, critics don’t bother to figure the costs of environmental disasters like Katrina flooding the former city of New Orleans or perhaps flooding of some place vital like Miami Beach or Hilton Head. There’s always the debate, is it cheaper to prepare for the inevitable, or wait and fix it after the unavoidable smash-up? I am a coward and will always opt for preparation. I’d rather be in a San Francisco high-rise during and earthquake than in some unregulated building in rural Turkey. When forced by regulations, American engineers can reduce many serious threats. Without regulation we might well wait until there is no Miami or Houston above the rising sea level. Then we pay lots to fix what we could have prevented.

June 30th, 2009

California not politically bankrupt

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 12:04 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, biofuel, cars & traffic, climate change, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, green tech, law & politics, petroleum, state government

Tags: California, Harry Fuller

With more electoral votes and more voters than any other state in the U.S. California has won a big political victory in Washington. Along with more than a dozen other states like New York tagging along, California has just gotten permission to enforce its own, stricter fuel efficiency regs on autos. As the largest and richest auto market in the U.S. this move will reverberate. Not like it’s Montana and Delaware with their tiny economic clout.
As we recall, the Bush version of the EPA refused to let California have its way. The relative conservative federal courts backed up that decision. Now the Obama EPA has given California its approval. The new regs take immediate effect. It remains to be seen if the likes of GM and Chrysler will use some of the taxpayer loan money to sue to stop the move.
As you could guess, the American Petroleum Institute hates this ruling. Environmental groups applaud. The governors of New York State and California are pleased as well. The Association of International Automobile Manufacturers AIAM) seems resigned to the decision and pledges to work on improving fuel efficiency.
The California fuel efficiency standards were first enacted there in 2002 but were held in suspension because the Bush Administration refused to grant California a waiver to have standards tougher than the federal ones.
Here are the other states that intend to follow California’s auto standards: Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Also Washington D.C.