Yahoo’s Chill Chicken Coop

Years ago as a camp counselor in upstate New York, I slept in a converted chicken coop. Boy, was it cold at night–and this was during the summer.

I was reminded of my chilly time at camp by this announcement from Yahoo!:

Yahoo! also announced that it would build a state-of-the-art data center near Buffalo, N.Y. — beating out sites in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — that would take advantage of the region’s hydropower and climate. Among other things, the data center will operate without any chillers, utilizing a natural cooling system supplied entirely by the cool air coming off Lake Erie. Chillers are among the most energy-intensive parts of a data center.

The Buffalo center has been dubbed the Yahoo Computing Coop, because “it looks like something chickens live in,” says Filo.

Data centers can get very hot, and it’s great to see Yahoo! using natural cool air flow, rather than an air conditioning system that would produce high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Coming Efficiency Boom

The New York Times has a great piece on the billions of federal stimulus energy efficiency funding that soon will be pouring into state, city and local government coffers:

At least $20 billion in the stimulus bill was earmarked for programs like improving the efficiency of government buildings and the homes of poor people, and trying to find better ways to save energy. That is far more, advocates say, than any bill in history. Within a few months, the money is likely to start landing in the bank accounts of thinly staffed state and city agencies that are accustomed to scraping for a dime here, a dollar there. …

The package contains $5 billion to weatherize low-income homes through the Department of Energy, enough to give the state programs that manage that work 10 to 30 times the money they received last year, said Christina Kielich, a department spokeswoman.

For advocates of this relatively obscure program, “it’s like they finally got to the other side of the desert and it’s pouring rain,” said Seth Kaplan, a vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental group.

Governments are already preparing to expand their staffs:

Utah expects that its state energy office will receive $40 million for energy efficiency, renewable energy and related programs — 123 times the size of the office’s current budget, said Jason Berry, who manages the four-person unit. He is about to go on a hiring spree.

It looks like the golden age for LEED professionals is upon us.

Obama Reads My Blog!

Well, ok, he probably doesn’t have my blog bookmarked on his Blackberry, but we have the same feelings about those who think energy efficiency upgrades are ‘wasteful‘:

This is another concern that I’ve had in some of the arguments that I’m hearing. When people suggest that, “What a waste of money to make federal buildings more energy-efficient.” Why would that be a waste of money?

We’re creating jobs immediately by retrofitting these buildings or weatherizing 2 million Americans’ homes, as was called for in the package, so that right there creates economic stimulus.

And we are saving taxpayers when it comes to federal buildings potentially $2 billion. In the case of homeowners, they will see more money in their pockets. And we’re reducing our dependence on foreign oil in the Middle East.

Why wouldn’t we want to make that kind of investment?

Good question, President Obama. And thanks for being a fan!

Who Wants to Be an Energy Efficient City?

The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance has launched a $500,000 contest, with the grand prize going to the southeastern city with the most effective energy efficiency program. Via E&E:

The contest asks local governments to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce electricity use by between 20 percent and 40 percent over a period of up to seven years. That means city halls and county boards will have to build partnerships with utilities, which generally drive efficiency programs by adding small surcharges to customers’ bills.

The rules also require local leaders to “emphatically sponsor and market the program,” by reducing power at schools, hospitals and water facilities, and by pledging to obtain advertising to educate the public. Power reduction targets and projected budgets must be included in the plan.

Some are already throwing out some serious trash talk:

“The smart money is on Asheville winning,” declared Brownie Newman, a city councilor in the North Carolina town, population 72,000. “I don’t think there’s much question that we’re going to win.”

Personally I’m pulling for the ATL to pull out an upset victory, but something tells me Asheville’s got something up its sleeve.

Saving Energy is Somehow Wasteful

Yesterday, the House GOP released a long list of provisions in the stimulus package that they claim are “wasteful,” including funding for Amtrak, sewers, and fire departments.

But one item in particular struck me as undeserving of ridicule:

$6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings.

Not only will it save the government money in the long run by cutting heating and electricity costs, it will provide work for companies that install the energy efficiency upgrades.

Government spending that saves taxpayer money and creates jobs? Sounds pretty efficient to me.

Lead-Acid Batteries Go Back to the Future

Most of the buzz surrounding battery technology these days focuses on lithium ion or nickel hydride batteries. But battery researchers are starting to juice up old-fashioned lead-acid batteries with carbon. And firms such as Pittsburgh’s Axion Power are looking to make what is old new again. From The Economist:

A conventional lead-acid battery is a simple affair, made up of a series of cells each containing a positive electrode made of lead dioxide and a negative electrode of metallic lead. These are immersed in an electrolyte of dilute sulphuric acid. …

In Axion’s battery the negative electrode is replaced with one made from activated carbon, a material used in supercapacitors. Normal capacitors—those that power the flashguns in cameras for instance—can be charged and discharged rapidly, but cannot store much energy. Supercapacitors are meatier versions that are able to hold a reasonable amount of energy as well as taking it in and releasing it quickly. Some, indeed, are already used in tandem with the lithium-ion batteries in electric cars to boost acceleration and recapture energy during so-called “regenerative” braking. Axion’s plan, therefore, is to have the best of both worlds by building a lead-acid/carbon hybrid, or PbC.

The carbon in the hybrid, which is protected within a sandwich of other materials, is more effective than metallic lead at releasing and absorbing protons to and from the acid during charging and discharging. In tests, Axion says, its PbCs have withstood more than 1,600 charges and deep discharges before they failed, which is three times better than standard lead-acid batteries specifically designed for such deep cycles.

The lead-acid carbon batteries could be used in both hybrid vehicles and in mobile energy storage systems. The best part? An infrastructure for lead-acid battery production has existed for decades, and it wouldn’t take long to scale up production of a new and improved version.

Improved Energy Efficiency: The First Plank of Obama’s Stimulus Plan

Grist’s Kate Speppard reports:

In his Democratic radio address today, President-elect Barack Obama laid out the first three steps of his economic recovery plan – the first of which, he said, will be making public buildings more efficient.

“First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world,” said Obama. “We need to change that.”

“We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs,” he continued. “That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.”

Like, California’s WAAAY Efficient, Dude

California’s been pushing strict energy efficiency standards for decades…and it’s paid off:

California’s energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000, according to a study to be released Monday.

The study, conducted by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, found that while the state’s policies lowered employee compensation in the electric power industry by an estimated $1.6 billion over that period, it improved compensation in the state over all by $44.6 billion.

Energy Efficiency: A Sure Investment in Turbulent Times

A picture’s worth a thousand words. The return on investment for energy efficiency upgrades is clear—higher than stocks during the booming 90s. Plus, there’s no volatility like we’ve seen in the stock market lately. Energy efficiency’s one of the surest bets out there:

Gossip Girl Goes Green?

I hate to admit it, but I’ve seen more than my fair share of Gossip Girl episodes. I can’t say that I like the show.

But this is kind of cool: