By Roy L Hales
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has just released two reports for the first four months of 2014. US Renewables & emissions both increased.
Continue reading US Renewables & Emissions Both IncreaseTag Archives: Cleantech
Washington’s EV Development is Ready to Move Forward
By Roy L Hales
The 2009 “Green Highways bill” (HB 1481) opened the door for Washington state’s EV infrastructure. With the help of funding through the Federal Recovery Act, Governor Chris Gregoire announced construction of “the nation’s first true electrified highway” in June 2010. It was to stretch out along the 276 miles of the I-5, which connects to Oregon and Canada. None of this would have come into being if it were not for an active EV community. Yet in 2013 – the year there were more Teslas sold in Washington than any other state in America – things started stalling. The good news is that Washington’s EV development is ready to move forward. Will the state legislators make this possible?
Unako: A House of their own
By Roy L Hales
Kevin Edgecombe’s passion was enflamed ed during a trip to Nepal in 2009. His wife, Linda, was one of the Directors of IWEN (Intercultural Women’s Educational Network), a charity that rescues females from bonded labour and provides meaning to their lives through education. After seeing the extent to which the program liberated young women, he decided to get more involved. A builder by trade, it is only natural that he would come up with a program like “Classrooms for a Cause.” In 2012 he led a team of volunteers that built two classrooms at the Chainpur School in Godhawa, Nepal. Now he is building a 4,000 square foot multi-functional facility, called Unako House, in the Dang region of Nepal. The name Unako means “it’s hers” in Nepalese. The building will hold a community center, classroom, workshop, kitchen, large meeting room, two retail outlets and living quarters for a caretaker. Though the grid is very intermittent, there are excellent solar conditions. The building will be solar powered and truly Unako: a house of their own.
Continue reading Unako: A House of their own
Possibly the First Passive House on Vancouver Island
By Roy L Hales
Winters can be deceptively cold on the West Coast of British Columbia (BC). People from Fort McMurray Alberta – where temperatures often drop to minus 40 – tell me they did not feel the chill back home. It’s the damp cold that soaks into your bones. Hearing this, some of you may be surprised to find that the house pictured above was heated by two little 500 watt heaters through the coldest part of winter. Rob Bernhardt says, “It is the first building Vancouver Island home targeting certification under the international Passive House standard.” (That’s quite a mouthful!) I would phrase that a little differently, it is possibly the first passive house on Vancouver Island.
Coloradans Can Choose Where They Obtain Their Electricity
By Roy L Hales
As Boulder prepares to set up its own power distribution system, local Coloradans and The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) are making sure that other municipalities are aware they can choose to break free of Xcel energy’s monopoly. Coloradans can choose where they obtain their electricity.