Energy Data Available Anywhere, Any Time

Posted on | January 26, 2010 | No Comments

Having rapidly established itself as a “go to” site for transportation and other related energy information, the Virtual Information Bridge to Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (VIBE) is expanding its reach to attract new users across the widest range of energy issues. A sister site to VIBE, called Open Energy Information, has been launched to allow organizations around the world to both post their own energy data and download data, for free.

At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), VIBE is known as a state-of-the art presentation studio on the third floor of Building 16. Its walls are covered with flat-screen monitors aglow with widgets, home pages, Web links and sundry visual cues of the virtual world, all smattered among scores of more conventional pie charts, myriad bar graphs and a plethora of energy datasets.

To the world beyond the Laboratory, VIBE and Open Energy Information (OpenEI) contain that same treasure trove of information and a lot more — with every tidbit of data just a mouse click away from any internet-connected device, anywhere.

DOE Selects Platform for Internet Information Sharing
In recent weeks, the potential of VIBE has become apparent across the nation and around the globe.

Last month, OpenEI was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to fulfill the Administration’s commitment to open up the workings of the federal government through the Internet. DOE hailed OpenEI as the way to make energy information “transparent, participatory, and collaborative.”

“This information platform will allow people across the globe to benefit from the Department of Energy’s clean energy data and technical resources,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. “The true potential of this tool will grow with the public’s participation — as they add new data and share their expertise — to ensure that all communities have access to the information they need to broadly deploy the clean energy resources of the future.”

Through VIBE and OpenEI, NREL is putting information and data at everyone’s fingertips, to use, to download, to build on, and to spur needed new analysis. The ultimate goal is to make the most relevant knowledge about energy issues available to anyone at any time, so that decision-makers in both the public and private sectors can help the nation achieve its clean energy goals.

Together, these digital assets provide worldwide access to NREL’s valuable analytical capabilities, and thus help transform energy markets, policy decisions, and technology investments.

Gateway to Allow International Exchange
OpenEI also was seized on by the teams representing the United States at international climate negotiations in Copenhagen and the Major Economies Forum (MEF). A new gateway was created specifically for MEF on the OpenEI platform, allowing participating countries to share data, information, resources and tools, including real-time activity tracking. It also will facilitate open participation and input via a “wiki” type collaborative system.

OpenEI, it is hoped, will leverage a wealth of data to allow MEF countries to share best practices and successful implementation strategies, facilitate collaboration with other nations and international organizations, provide global resource maps and information on hot-spot development, make available a portfolio of analysis tools to encourage sustainable energy development, maintain data about the status, characteristics and impacts of clean energy technology deployment, and accelerate development of clean energy through worldwide access to information.

Over time, the plan is to expand the OpenEI portal to include on-line training and networks of technical experts. The portal is co-funded by the International Energy Agency, United Nations Industrial Development Organization and many other international organizations.

Another new gateway that showcases the work of the entire Department of Energy national laboratory complex already is available on the OpenEI platform. That gateway, U.S. OpenLabs, was high-lighted at the Copenhagen Climate Conference last month.

VIBE and OpenEI will continue to evolve to support greater knowledge of energy issues and options, and strengthen sound decision-making for policy makers, researchers, technology investors, venture capitalists and market professionals across the U.S. and around the world.

Learn more about Energy Analysis at NREL.

— Gary Schmitz

FIRST INTERNATIONAL GREEN COMPUTING CONFERENCE

Posted on | January 25, 2010 | No Comments

August 15-18, 2010, the International Green Computing Conference sponsored by IEEE addresses key issues and topics related to energy efficiency in computing and promoting environmentally friendly computer technologies and systems. The conference aims to provide a forum to a wide audience for discussing, sharing and investigating the state-of-the-art for all aspects of green computing, which include energy-efficient use of computers, design of algorithms and systems for environmentally-friendly computer technologies, and wide range of related topics. The conference will publish papers pertaining to hardware and software systems, algorithms, applications as well as power, energy and temperature related research areas of current importance to researchers, engineers and practitioners. The conference will hold forums and workshops on hot topics related to how the carbon footprint of computing can be reduced and how computers can contribute to the environment and overall well being of the planet. Topics of interest are: Power-aware software Code profiling and transformation for power management Power-aware middleware Power-efficient architectures and chip designs Resource management to optimize performance and power Runtime systems that assist in power saving Models for collective optimization of power and performance Monitoring tools for power and performance Algorithms for reduced power, energy and heat Power-aware applications Static and dynamic data allocation for distributed servers Efficient circuit design for energy harvesting Power efficient cluster and enterprise computing Power management at component level, including memory, disk. Configurable and renewable energy Low power electronics Embedded systems, ASICs and FPGSs Power leakage and dissipation Power implications for portable and mobile computing Power aware networking Reliability of Power-aware computers Use of sensors for climate monitoring Smart control for eco-friendly buildings Thermal control of data centers Energy recycling Energy efficient power and cooling infrastructure Review of Manuscripts———————All submitted manuscripts will be reviewed and evaluated on correctness, originality, technical strength, significance, quality of presentation, and interest and relevance to the conference scope. Papers must be received by March 15, 2010, by 11:59pm, U.S. Eastern Daylight Time. Full manuscripts must be received by May 15, 2010, by 11:59 PM, U.S. Eastern Daylight Time. Best Paper AwardsAwards will be given for best papers in different categories. Important Dates:Paper Due: Monday, March 15, 2010 Paper notification: April 30, 2010 Camera ready papers due: May 15, 2010 The final appearance of the accepted papers in the official conference proceedings (through IEEE Digital Library) is contingent on two conditions: (1) that at least one author of an accepted paper registers for the conference at the time of the submission of the final manuscript and (2) that one of the authors presents the paper at the conference in person. Full details of the conference may be found at the conference website: www.Green-Conf.org.

DOE Loans Tesla Motors $465 Million

Posted on | January 24, 2010 | No Comments

The U.S. Department Of Energy announced on January 21 that it has closed its $465 million loan with Tesla Motors, Inc. for the construction of two manufacturing facilities, one in southern California for the Model S electric sedan and one in Palo Alto, California, for electric powertrains. The Palo Alto facility will assemble electric vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla’s own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers. Tesla’s planned all-electric Model S has a base price of $49,900 and is being designed to offer a variety of range options depending on the battery pack used, from 160 to 300 miles on a single charge. Volume production of the Model S will begin in 2012 with a target production capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2013. According to Tesla, the Model S project and powertrain manufacturing facility are expected to create more than 1,600 jobs.

The Tesla announcement marks the second loan agreement signed by DOE with an advanced technology vehicle manufacturer, following a $5.9 billion agreement with Ford Motor Company in September 2009. DOE has also signed conditional commitments with Nissan North America, Inc. and Fisker Automotive. Tenneco Inc. became the first advanced technology component manufacturer to obtain a conditional commitment from DOE in October of last year. Nissan plans to build electric cars and battery packs at the company’s Smyrna, Tennessee, manufacturing complex, while Fisker recently announced plans to build plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by reopening a shuttered GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware.

Congress appropriated $7.5 billion to DOE to support up to $25 billion in loans to companies using U.S. factories to make cars and components that increase fuel economy at least 25% above 2005 fuel economy levels. DOE plans to make additional loans over the next several months to large and small auto manufacturers and parts suppliers up and down the production chain. The intense technical and financial review process is focused not on choosing a single technology over others, but is aimed at promoting multiple approaches for achieving a fuel efficient economy. See the DOE release and the Model S page on the Tesla Motors Web site.

About The Tesla Model S
With a range up to 300 miles and 45-minute QuickCharge, the Model S can carry five adults and two children in quiet comfort – and you can charge it from any outlet, without ever stopping for gas. World’s first mass-produced electric vehicle offers performance, efficiency and unrivaled utility for a base price of $49,900*, making it the only car you’ll ever need.

* – 300 mile range
* – 45 minute QuickCharge
* – 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
* – Seats 7 people
* – More cargo space than sedans
* – 2X as efficient as hybrids
* – 17 inch infotainment touchscreen

Radon: 2nd Leading Cause of Lung Cancer

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | Comments Off

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Although testing for radon is easy and inexpensive, 80 percent of the homes in the U.S. have not been tested. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that EPA has reported as causing 20,000 lung cancer deaths nationwide every year.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking. January is the best time to test for radon now that doors and windows are all tightly closed. Now is the time to test and if needed, reduce your exposure to radon. That’s why EPA designated January ‘radon action month.’

High radon levels have been found throughout EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, which includes Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon is to test your home for radon or have it tested by a certified professional radon tester. For do-it-yourselfers, radon kits can be purchased for $25 at building supply, hardware and general merchandise stores. A basic test takes 10 minutes to set up and when complete is mailed to a lab for analysis.

If test results are above the EPA recommended action level you need to have the radon level reduced by a certified radon ‘mitigator.’ Reducing radon is not technically difficult and costs approximately $800 – $2,500.

To locate professional radon testers and certified radon ‘mitigators’ near you by look on the web at either the “National Environmental Health Association” or “National Radon Safety Board” sites. Be sure to ask to see their credentials.

Radon is a radioactive gas produced from the uranium which is in the geological formation under the soil. The amount or radon gas varies depending on the amount of uranium in the formation. The type of soil under the house, the design of the house and the life style or the family living in the house all affect the amount of radon gas that enters a home.

For more info on radon:

· EPA’s National Radon Hotline, 1-800-438-2474
· For lists of certified testers and mitigators use the web to search for the “National
· EPA’s radon website http://www.epa.gov/radon/radontest.html.Environmental Health Association” and/or “National Radon Safety Board”.
· EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, 1-800-438-2474
· The National Environmental Publications Center, 1-800-490-9198 or http://www.epa.gov/cinc. They have “Citizens Guide to Radon” and “Home Buyers and Sellers Guide”

Editor’s Note: See EPA’s website for free, publically-available graphics about radon and public Service announcements for print, television, and radio at http://www.epa.gov/radon.

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