This week in energy efficiency news…
Philips signed a ten-year performance lighting contract with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to upgrade the lighting in 25 parking garages. The upgrade includes over 13,000 lighting fixtures that will be converted to a custom-designed LED lighting solution and will reduce energy usage by 68 percent or 15 million kilowatt hours per year while providing real-time energy consumption data. The Philips system is the first of its kind and will not only make the garages brighter and safer for WMATA’s 66,000 parking garage customers, it will remove over 11,000 metric tons of CO2 from the environment.
More about the Philips lighting contract with WMATA
The U.S. Department of Energy invested over $7 million to deploy tribal clean energy projects, which will help build stronger and more resilient communities that are better prepared for a changing climate. The Energy Department announced nine tribal clean energy projects during the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference, which will help American Indian and Alaska Native tribes deploy clean energy projects and create new job and business opportunities.
More on the Energy Department Tribal Clean Energy Program
Axion Power International announced that it has received a purchase order, along with a substantial down payment, for a PowerCube to be commissioned into a solar project on PJM’s grid in Pennsylvania. The PowerCube will provide energy storage created by the solar panel system and also service the frequency regulation market. The $320,000 purchase order includes batteries, racks, wiring, data communication system and electronics coordination.
More on Axion Power International’s PowerCube solar energy storage installation
Panasonic continues to advance with its Eco Solutions products in North America, recently announcing an expansion of its exclusive financing platform to include Ullico, a labor-owned insurance and investment company. Ullico has made a $50 million commitment in the form of sponsorship equity to the platform, further increasing Coronal’s capacity to provide takeout financing for new or operating solar projects. Coronal and Panasonic Eco Solutions North America have established a strategic relationship to deliver a comprehensive end-to-end solution to facilitate the development and commercialization of solar PV projects in the commercial, industrial, municipal and small utility markets from inception to commercial operation. Services include construction and equity financing, to engineering, procurement and construction and the operations and maintenance of the systems. As part of its continuing sustainability efforts, Panasonic Corporation of North America this year relocated its headquarters to a new facility built to meet LEED certification standards, adjacent to Newark Penn Station in Newark, NJ.
More on Panasonic Eco Solutions
Larson Electronics announced the release of its pedestal-mounted LED work light designed for use within locations deemed hazardous due to the presence of flammable vapors or gases. The EPL-BS-70LED-100 Portable Explosion Proof LED Light features a compact size, high output, as well as certification for use in Class 1 Division 1 and 2 rated environments. The LED light is a portable work light that provides 4,500 square feet of work area coverage with 5,800 lumens of intense light output. It lasts longer and produces nearly four times as much light as its 100-watt incandescent light counterpart.
More on Larson Electronics’ EPL-BS-70LED-100 Portable Explosion Proof LED Light
Tecogen announced that it has sold, in separate transactions of restricted common stock, an aggregate of $3,349,700 at $4.50 per share. Tecogen combined heat and power (CHP) systems offer facilities energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and the ability to meet today’s most stringent air quality requirements by virtually eliminating criteria pollutants using a two-stage emission system. A combination of microgrid capabilities, interconnection certifications, black-start ability, and high part-load efficiencies makes Tecogen systems a particularly attractive way to produce cleaner, more efficient energy.
More about Tecogen raising over $3.3 million.
Clevest Solutions announced that SaskPower, Saskatchewan’s electric utility, and SaskEnergy, the province’s gas utility, have launched its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) initiatives with Clevest’s Smart Meter Exchange solution. Both utilities engaged Grid One Solutions as its deployment vendor, which is using Clevest’s Smart Grid Mobile technology to improve control over the AMI program. Grid One Solutions is using the Clevest solution at SaskPower and SaskEnergy to manage the mass meter deployment process and to support regulatory reporting. With the solution, Grid One verifies that smart meters and retrofits are installed correctly, that meters are capturing, validating and sharing data as defined, and that, fundamentally, services are being delivered. Grid One is installing approximately 500,000 Sensus smart meters for SaskPower and retrofitting 450,000 conventional gas meters for SaskEnergy.
More about Clevest Solutions’ AMI installations at SaskPower and SaskEnergy
The U.S. General Services Administration Energy Division, operated by GSA, World Energy Solutions, and Leidos, won a 2013 Federal Energy and Water Management Award for its demand response auctions. In January 2012, the GSA Energy Division, World Energy and Leidos ran the first forward auctions for demand response services by a federal agency. The contracts awarded as a result of these auctions are expected to generate revenues of at least $1.5 million for the GSA and Department of Veterans Affairs, which can be re-invested into further energy efficiency and facility improvement projects. The Award specifically names GSA’s Linda Collins and Daniel Morrison, World Energy’s Luke McAuliffe, and Leidos’ Chris McCall for their work on the project.
