Kim Cook
Archive for the ‘Green News’ Category
Halco Lighting names Kim Cook president
Ford goes all-in on LEDs for 2013 Fusion
A report at www.dailytech.com says Ford told attendees at a recent event on the “lightscaping” of its newest models that the 2013 Fusion will use LEDs for all interior lighting, in addition to the LEDs that have become commonplace for headlights and tail-lights. The report said Osram Sylvania is providing the LEDs for the Fusion’s interior lighting.
NanoSolar gets $20 million cash infusion
Thin-film solar manufacturer Nanosolar Inc., San Jose, Calif., has an additional $20 million in funds to continue its expansion, thanks to a cash infusion by current investors Mohr Davidow Ventures and OnPoint Technologies, Inc., and new investor Aeris Capital.
Nanosolar made headlines several years ago when it first announced its unique technology of printing CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium) and nanoparticle inks onto flexible substrates and a blue-chip roster of investors, which includes high-profile investment companies and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The company recently announced that Eugenia Corrales would be taking over at CEO for Geoff Tate, who retired after two years at the company. A company release said that for the past 18 months Corrales has managed all operations, as well as engineering, purchasing and planning.
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Interesting post at Forbes.com on LEDs
Bill Watkins, the CEO of LED manufacturer Bridgelux, speaks out at Forbes.com on “The 5 Myths of LEDs.”
Van Meter opens green branch in Iowa City
Van Meter Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, opened a new location in Iowa City, Iowa, this week that has a number of unique features, including an indoor drive-thru that customers can use to pick up call-ahead orders without having to exit their vehicle and endure weather conditions, a high-tech training center; and a large customer service sales counter. The new branch has also allowed Van Meter to expand its local inventory levels by over 30 percent. Van Meter had outgrown its previous Iowa City location and broke ground on the new 22,840-square-foot facility in July 2011.
The building also acts as a showcase for the company’s energy-efficient products and is in the process to become LEED-certified. It features LED lighting and controls; a geothermal heating and cooling system; electric-vehicle charging stations; and a 14 kW solar system. The building’s performance will be monitored and measured so performance can be viewed and controlled remotely. The building consumes 57 percent less energy than a building of similar size built to current state energy and building codes, translating to an annual savings of approximately $17,504. The remaining energy consumption is significantly offset with solar energy.
One customer said in the press release announcing the opening of the new facility that he is impressed with several of the design features. “We’ve been doing business with Van Meter since the early 1990s,” said Carl Stieglitz, who works in the Utilities and Energy Management area for the University of Iowa. “The new facility will offer up an extended inventory of the products we use. And the drive-thru is a novel idea. Working with energy, it’s great to see other companies embracing sustainability.”
Toshiba now selling outdoor LED lighting fixtures
Houston-based Toshiba International Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of the giant Japanese conglomerate, is now marketing LED outdoor lighting fixtures for roadway, area, and high- and low-bay lighting applications. The company recently entered into an agreement with San Antonio, Texas-based GreenStar Products, Inc. to produce the LED luminaires, and Toshiba is now marketing, selling and distributing these products in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Toshiba said the luminaires have a rated life of 60,000 hours or 12 to 14 years, six times as long as metal-halide and twice as long as high-pressure sodium products.
Cooper Industries buys Canadian lighting controls company
Cooper Industries, Houston, has acquired Fifth Light Technology Ltd., a privately owned lighting controls company based in Oakville, Ontario, that specializes in the design, sale and implementation of digitally addressable lighting interface (DALI) solutions and a suite of centralized building management software applications. According to a press release announcing the acquisition, over the past several years, Fifth Light has installed over 100,000 control devices throughout North America. Fifth Light will become part of the Cooper Controls business unit within Cooper Lighting. Details
Bulbrite launches new products at Dallas Lighting Show
Bulbrite, Moonachie, N.J., had a busy five days at the Dallas International Lighting Show last month. The company announced the winners of its 2011 sales rep awards and launched several new products. The rep winners are:
2011 Most Improved Agency: Larry Braunstein Sales (FL), Larry Braunstein
2011 Territory Penetration Award: Katona Sales (OH, WV, KY), Dean Katona.
2011 Best New Agency: The Lakewood Group (GA, AL), Arno Hardtke.
2011 Agency of the Year: Decor Lighting (MN, KS, MO, IA, NE), Todd Bierowski.
2011 Be Brite Customer Award: Leslie Killingsworth, Progressive Lighting, in Atlanta.
Bulbrite’s new product launches at the Dallas Lighting Show included including its comprehensive Nostalgic collection, which features lamps created specifically to enhance the authenticity of heirloom-style fixtures with unique filament styles; its f EcoHalogen lamps family, which comply with EISA, the Energy Independence and Security Act requiring general service light bulbs to operate up to 30 percent more efficiently than current standards; and its LED Dimmable Chandelier lamp, whose super high power chip provides the brightest LED light, 360 degrees of illumination and smooth dimming.
Ameren Missouri files plan to increase utility rebates
Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corp., filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) a three-year plan that includes a portfolio of energy efficiency programs that it says will make it the largest such plan in the state of Missouri. The expenditures for the new programs will be approximately twice the size of the utility company’s previous energy efficiency programs.
The programs include energy-efficiency investments of approximately $145 million over three years, beginning early Jan. 2013. These investments are expected to result in approximately $500 million in total customer benefits over the next 20 years. Annual energy savings are expected to be nearly 800 million kilowatt-hours, which is equal to the energy consumption of more than 60,000 average Missouri homes annually.
The utility’s current Business Energy Efficiency Incentive Program is effective Jan. 3-May 31, and provides incentives for the purchase and installation of energy-efficient equipment such as compact fluorescent lamps, LED exit signs, occupancy sensors and T8 lamps. The program has a limited energy savings goal and once the goal has been met, the program will stop taking applications.
Steve Barker, vice president of sales, Villa Lighting Supply Inc., said in a press release about the new program that his company has had success working with Ameren’s previous energy programs. “”Villa Lighting had great success in utilizing Ameren Missouri’s program,” he said. “Through the program, we were able to work with many customers to install hundreds of thousands of dollars of lighting upgrades, many of which enabled customers to reduce their lighting-related energy consumption by as much as 40 percent.”
A fuel-cell powered car in your garage by 2015?
According to this article posted at www.seekingalpha.com, R&D for fuel cells is ahead of schedule at some auto manufacturers, but they still have miles to go before they can mass produce new cars powered by fuel cells. Most major auto manufacturers reportedly want to launch fuel cell-powered cars by 2015. Honda, one of the early leaders in fuel cell development for automobiles, launched its FCX Clarity FCEV
(pictured here) for commercial use on a limited basis in Southern California in 2008. The car, which has a driving range of approximately 240 miles, was designed from the ground up to be a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle that runs on electricity and emits only water vapor and heat into the air.