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Source: Environmental Expert.com

Breakthrough should eliminate need for anti-reflection layer, cutting costs

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have produced solar cells using nanotechnology techniques at an efficiency – 18.2% — that is competitive. The breakthrough should be a major step toward helping lower the cost of solar energy.

NREL tailored a nanostructured surface while ensuring that the light-generated electricity can still be collected efficiently from the solar cell. The researchers made nano-islands of silver on a silicon wafer and immersed it briefly in liquids to make billions of nano-sized holes in each square-inch of the silicon wafer surface. The holes and silicon walls are smaller than the light wavelengths hitting them, so the light doesn’t recognize any sudden change in density at the surface and, thus, don’t reflect back into the atmosphere as wasted energy. The researchers controlled the nanoshapes and the chemical composition of the surface to reach record solar cell efficiencies for this ‘black silicon’ material.

The paper, “An 18.2%-efficient black-silicon solar cell achieved through control of carrier recombination in nanostructures” by NREL’s Jihun Oh, Hao-Chih Yuan, and Howard Branz, currently appears on Nature Nanotechnology’s website.
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Source: Environmental Expert.com

The long awaited revisions of the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s ‘green guide’ were released last week in a move designed to help marketers ensure that the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are truthful and non-deceptive.

The revisions reflect a wide range of public input, including hundreds of consumer and industry comments on previously proposed revisions. They include updates to the existing Guides, as well as new sections on the use of carbon offsets, ‘green’ certifications and seals, and renewable energyand renewable materials claims.

‘The introduction of environmentally friendly products into the marketplace is a win for consumers who want to purchase greener products and producers who want to sell them,’ said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.
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Dear WaterSense Stakeholder,

WaterSense is announcing its intent to update its specifications covering certification programs for irrigation professionals as well as the WaterSense irrigation professional partnership. With this notice of intent (NOI), WaterSense outlines several important changes under consideration that would foster program growth and expand the benefits of WaterSense irrigation partnership to more professionals.

The program changes outlined in the NOI are two-fold:

1. WaterSense is proposing to restructure its current specifications for professional certification programs by creating a consolidated and common set of general requirements that would apply to all professional certifying organizations (PCOs). WaterSense will continue to create individual specifications for requirements specific to particular types of certification programs.

2. WaterSense is considering expanding the benefits of partnership to all professionals certified by WaterSense labeled programs and, in doing so, remove the individual partnership designation.

To learn more about these changes, WaterSense encourages interested partners and stakeholders to review the NOI and participate in one of two listening sessions:

• In person: Tuesday, November 6, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the 2012 Irrigation Show and Education Conference in Orlando, Florida. Orange County Convention Center, Room W104A.
• Online: Via WaterSense Webinar: Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 1:00 PM EST. Click here to register.

WaterSense also welcomes written feedback and questions on all concepts and topics included in this NOI. Interested parties should submit these by email to watersense-programs@erg.com.

If you have general questions regarding the WaterSense program, please contact the WaterSense Helpline at (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) or email watersense@epa.gov.

Sincerely,

The WaterSense Team

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced e-NEPA, a new online system that allows federal agencies to submit environmental impact statements (EISs) electronically. Traditionally, EISs have been submitted to EPA in hard copy. e-NEPA eliminates the need to mail or deliver copies of EISs to EPA headquarters, reducing printing, shipping, and delivery costs. It also saves time through electronic filing and e-confirmation and improves transparency, allowing EPA to post EIS documents to EPA’s website.

“The release of e-NEPA is an important step forward in advancing the President’s commitment to streamline the federal environmental review process,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Through electronic filing, we are making it easier for federal agencies to submit environmental impact statements, allowing them to save time and reduce costs, while making the process more transparent for the public.”

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate environmental considerations into their decision-making processes by identifying the environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to their proposed actions. To meet NEPA requirements federal agencies prepare detailed analyses known as EISs. EPA reviews, provides comments, and maintains a national filing system for EISs.

Beginning on October 1, 2012, all agencies are required to use the e-NEPA filing system.

More information about e-NEPA: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/submiteis/index.html

More information about NEPA: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/index.html

More information about how to file an EIS electronically: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/submiteis/guide-to-e-nepa-electronic-submittal-of-eis.pdf

Source: HealthCare Design Magazine

News of the recent introduction of the Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act (S.3535) by two members of the U.S. Senate, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Hoeven, R-N.D., may not have received nationwide coverage, but it was warmly welcomed by nonprofit organizations and facilities that are sometimes struggling to walk the fine line of being cost effectively energy efficient and helping people. In particular, it would a step in the right direction for hospitals if the bill should pass.

As hospitals struggle to provide quality care to the many patients who pass through their doors, while having to work with less dollars and rising costs, there is the added burden of their physical structures that need continuous updating or overhauling.

The Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act, to be managed by the U.S. Department of Energy, would provide grants to nonprofit organizations, including hospitals that seek to retrofit their buildings to be more energy efficient. From HVAC systems to windows and doors, hospitals would be able to offset a portion of their energy efficiency costs.

There is no denying that hospitals are one of the largest consumers of energy in the country. According to ENERGY STAR, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, almost $8.8 billion is spent in energy in the healthcare sector. Nonprofit hospitals can increase their revenue on operating margins by approximately $20 for every dollar saved on energy.

As more hospitals initiate smaller renovation or replacement projects for old healthcare buildings with tighter budget constraints and more details like technology to include in the design, the legislation would be a boon to the nonprofit facilities.

Track the bill at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s3535