What are Smart Microgrids? | Galvin Electricity Initiative. Microgrids are modern, small-scale versions of the centralized electricity system. They achieve specific local goals, such as reliability, carbon emission reduction, diversification of energy sources, and cost reduction, established by the community being served. Like the bulk power grid, smart microgrids generate, distribute, and regulate the flow of electricity to consumers, but do so locally. Smart microgrids are an ideal way to integrate renewable resources on the community level and allow for customer participation in the electricity enterprise. They form the building blocks of the Perfect Power System. Here at the Galvin Electricity Initiative's Microgrid Hub, you will find a comprehensive set of resources on microgrids, collected from our partners and from across the web. Use the navigation system at the left to browse through all of our microgrid materials, and if you have suggestions for additional content, please let us know.
Bring Co-op Power to Your Community. “Co-op Power was a critical partner in the development and implementation of our RootsUp Green Jobs Training Program and the Energía, LLC. energy efficiency contracting company venture. We would have been unable to launch these initiatives with out the entrepreneurial spirit, drive, and experience, as well as the networks and knowledge, of Co-op Power.” -Daniel Ross, Executive Director Nuestras Raíces, Inc.
/Solutions CDC Co-op Power Support for Building Community-Owned Green Energy and Green Jobs in Your Community One of the most powerful benefits member receive for their membership in Co-op Power is the support they get for building community-owned green energy and green jobs in their communities. Co-op Power supports groups of dedicated people in a local community to really make a difference, rather than reinventing the wheel, getting lost doing lots of clerical work, and getting stuck only doing public education. Project Development and Project Financing Outreach and Education Efforts. Senior Chinese leader visits old industrial bases. SHENYANG, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Li Changchun has called for greater efforts to accelerate economic transformation in northeast China's old industrial bases during his trip to Liaoning province from last Friday to Tuesday.
Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, encouraged enterprises in the industrial base to foster modern management systems and increase input in research and development to sharpen their competitive edge both in the domestic and international market. While touring the Huachen Auto Group, Li said the company should place emphasis on innovation to build its brand "Zhonghua" into a recognized name that can represent China worldwide.
Li also made tours of several privately-owned enterprises. He urged them to better their cultural environment to attract more professionals to spur sound development in the private sector. "Could Cornstarch Have Plugged BP's Oil Well?": NPR report on a PRL Letter. 2011-12-05 Energy Aid Founded by IBM and Practical Action Launches to Provide Universal Energy Access.
LONDON - 05 Dec 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and international development charity Practical Action today announce the launch of Energy Aid, a new global charity with a mission to provide sustainable energy for those who have limited or no access for heating, lighting, cooking, communications and mechanical work.
Energy Aid recognizes that improved access to energy can be a route out of poverty for the 1.3 billion people globally who have no access to electricity. As a result, the charity will identify and address issues preventing large portions of the population from using electricity safely such as helping the 2.7 billion people a year who cook with biomass, wood, dung, coal and other solid fuels to avoid indoor smoke from cooking stoves[1].
Surpassing the death toll caused by Malaria, indoor smoke kills 1.4 million people each year, most of which are women and children. Energy Aid will provide support through three key strategies: Founding Partners – IBM and Practical Action Notes to Editors. Spinoff Bright Automotive Dies, But the Ideas Behind It Remain a Force. The regrettable demise of RMI spinoff Bright Automotive is an old business story—the struggles of start-ups in tough economic times—far more than it represents a failure of Bright’s innovative business model or technology. Bright drew interest from companies ranging from Google to General Motors, weathered the market crash of 2008, and lasted 39 months through a Department of Energy loan process before deciding to shut down. Bright, which said Tuesday it opted against private capital from China, said it received four “near final” conditional commitment letters from DOE during that time, once being told in 2010 that it would get its loan “within weeks, not months.”
This loan never materialized. Bright, with roots in RMI and Chief Scientist Amory Lovins’ principles embodied in the award-winning Hypercar concept of the 1990s, spun off from RMI in 2008. It aimed to make a lightweight plug-in hybrid fleet vehicle and to spread a revolutionary approach to making superefficient autos. African American Museum to Reflect Sustainability, Respect for Earth. Sustainability is a human rights issue. All living things have the right to clean air and water and a healthy place to live, and we have the right to expect that the planet our children inherit is capable of sustaining life indefinitely. If these expectations cannot be guaranteed, we have a human rights problem. The Smithsonian Institution has embraced the correlation among human rights, the African American experience, and sustainability in the highly anticipated National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The design team for this important building has kept constant sight of that connection. On February 22, the new museum broke ground on the National Mall. The sustainability lessons visitors learn in this museum are intended to inform decisions they make in their own lives. Water plays a powerful role in African American history, and the water story at the museum is a strong one.