What are "Sustainable Building Solutions"?

Sustainable Building Solutions negatively impact the planet, people, plants and the climate. 

Did you know that buildings are the number source of all greenhouse gas emissions?!? 

Sustainable Building Solutions' homes and buildings are designed to last up to 10 times longer than traditional buildings and homes, use 60% to 75% less energy, as compared to traditional homes and commercial buildings. We believe "the future belongs to the sustainable" and why we believe that the "Net Zero Energy Home" and "Net Zero Energy Building" will soon be the norm.   

Sustainable Building Solutions homes and buildings are virtually:

*  Sustainable, and built to last over 300 years! 
*  Use about 60% to 75% less energy than typical homes or buildings and are also "Net Zero Energy" compliant, which
    means that the electricity not used by the building is sold & exported to the electric grid.
*  Fire-proof
*  Mold-proof
*  Termite-proof
*  Storm-resistant 
*  Conserve our natural resources and forests as we Use NO wood, and have high insulation
    value.

Sustainable Building Solutions
www.SustainableBuildingSolutions.com

The Best Site Available for Sustainable Building Solutions!

Sustainable Building Solutions
www.SustainableBuildingSolutions.com

The Best Site Available for Sustainable Building Solutions

Advertise Your  Product, Company or Service at the BEST 
website address for Sustainable Building Solutions!

www.SustainableBuildingSolutions.com

Advertising inquiries may be directed to
The Renewable Energy Institute

info@SustainableBuildingSolutions.com

What is Sustainable Urban Living?

To provide an answer to what is Sustainable Urban Living, first requires that we understand the definition of what is the meaning of the word "sustainable" and what is the meaning of "sustainable development."

To be "sustainable" means that we provide for today's societal needs and requirements without taking away resources from future generations.  Much like the national debt of several trillion dollars - that keeps growing every year - that is never repaid, and that we are leaving behind for our children, and grandchildren - we need to be mindful of the resources we are consuming today, and do so in a way that does not take away from our children and grandchildren.

"Sustainable Development" seeks to integrate two important themes: that environmental protection does not preclude economic development and that economic development must be ecologically viable now and in the long run. Common use of the term "sustainability" began with the 1987 publication of the World Commission on Environment and Development report, Our Common Future. Also known as the Brundtland Report, this document defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This concept of sustainability encompasses ideas, aspirations and values that continue to inspire public and private organizations to become better stewards of the environment and that promote positive economic growth and social objectives. The principles of sustainability can stimulate technological innovation, advance competitiveness, and improve our quality of life.

Sustainable Urban Living integrates Mixed use Developments as a part of a community's Real Estate Master Plan, with an integrated transport system which uses buses, light rail, and with biking & hiking trails.  

Sustainable Urban Living plans for schools, parks and gardens, as well as alleviates problems associated with buildings that are not sustainable and prone to; fires, flooding earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, termites and high energy costs. 

Sustainable Urban Living communities are power and energy independent by utilizing Renewable Energy Technologies such as anaerobic digesters, biomethane, biomass gasification plants, net zero energy, solar energy systems, solar power parks, wind power generation and recycling operations.  

A Sustainable Urban Living also seeks to integrate multi-generations that keep families intact by employing the use of "back-homes," granny-flats, casitas, and ohanas, as a small home in the back yard of the main home, where the grandfather and grandmother might someday retire to, and be near their children and grandchildren. Finally, Sustainable Urban Living communities seek to maximize both economic and environmental benefits that flow from these initiatives. 

The Goals of  our "Sustainable Urban Living" or "Sustainable Urbanization" business models and real estate developments include:

Cities have moved to the forefront of global socio-economic change, with half of the world’s population now living in urban areas and the other half increasingly dependent upon cities for their economic, social and political progress. Factors such as globalization and democratization have increased the importance of cities for sustainable development. 

Accordingly it is generally accepted that cities not only pose potential threats to sustainable development but also hold promising opportunities for social and economic advancement and for environmental improvements at local, national, and global levels. 

The Following Article, "The Six C's of Sustainable Urbanization" is by Gary Pivo, 
who is the Chair of the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington. 

The Six C’s of Sustainable Urbanization

Cascadia's bustling Mainstreet; New approaches to urbanization can save region's high quality of life

There are 7 million residents stretched along 'Mainstreet Cascadia,' the I-5 corridor between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B. C. Millions more are coming — the Puget Sound alone area will absorb 1.2 million more people in the next 20 years. Those who live in this vital region are beginning to wonder what it will take to sustain our quality of life. Is there such a thing as sustainable urbanization, and, if so, what are its principles?

The latest Puget Sound growth boom requires us to examine what's happening with growth in our region.

Before the next governor is seated four years from now, our region will experience some of the fastest growth since World War II. Unless the growth is carefully managed using principals of sustainable urbanization, it will be impossible to maintain our region's high qualtiy of life.

By our region, I mean the corridor along Interstate 5 from Eugene, Ore., into Vancouver, British Columbia — a route named by some planners and researchers "Mainstreet Cascadia."

While some politicians and lobbyists work to weaken our state's Growth Management Act, we would be wise to remember what it takes to sustain our region's high quality of life and what occurs when communities succumb to unplanned development.

In the cities and counties stretched along Mainstreet Cascadia live over seven million people. Three-quarters of them live in the urban areas that center on Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C. All three of these centers have experienced tremendous population growth over the past few decades.

The numbers show that the population of both greater Vancouver and Metropolitan Portland doubled between 1960 and 1990. Population in the Puget Sound region grew by over 80 percent. These are some of the highest metropolitan growth rates in North America.

The next four years should bring Washington's fastest growth rate in 50 years and planners expect population growth to remain heavy for the foreseeable future. They project that by 2020, the Puget Sound area will absorb 1.2 million more people. The same numbers are projected to be added in Greater Vancouver. Metropolitan Portland is expected to add 700,000 newcomers. Growth is being generated by births exceeding deaths in the region, by domestic (U.S.) migration, and by migration from overseas - with migration playing a somewhat larger role than local births.

As populations grow, indications are that people all along Mainstreet Cascadia are deeply concerned about the direction of greater urbanization. A survey done in 1992 by the Oregon Business Council found that the biggest fears of Oregon's citizens were overpopulation, environmental destruction, the loss of forests, and uncontrolled growth. At that point in time, growth was a bigger worry than either crime or the economy. A survey in British Columbia (Ministry of Municipal Affairs, 1994) found that more than half the people questioned felt that growth was negatively affecting their quality of life. In 1993, a survey of citizens in the four-county area around Seattle showed growth and traffic as among top citizen worries.

People are reacting to situations like these:

• In the relatively small university town of Eugene, at least half the local residents find that roads are congested at various times during the day, and the vast majority of residents find them congested during rush hours.

• In the Greater Vancouver area, with its superior transit service, there was a 1985-1992 aggregate decline of about 12 percent in the share of all trips made by transit, and an increase of about 5 percent in the share of drivers driving alone (despite the fact that in certain Sky Train-served areas of Vancouver, transit managed to hold its own).

• In agricultural areas around Greater Vancouver that are part of an official agricultural preservation program, 8.5 percent of the farmland was still lost to urban uses between 1973 and 1990. This was over 20 times the rate of transformation in more remote areas of British Columbia.

• Urban growth has outpaced infrastructure capacity. Water facilities in the Portland area, for example, will need to be greatly expanded to accommodate the growth anticipated there.

These examples of urban growth trends - more auto congestion, a decline in transit and carpooling, the consumption of land for building more subdivisions at the expense of preserving agricultural and forest lands — and many others, such as loss of wetlands and water pollution from urban runoff and construction activities, have planners increasingly concerned with the issue of sustainability. Is there such a thing as sustainable urbanization, and, if so, what are its principles?

Sustainable development has been defined as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Only in recent years has the concept of sustainable development begun to be applied to the field of urban planning. Government agencies at all levels are adopting plans to make urban growth more sustainable. A close examination of such plans shows six basic principles derived from research -we might call them the six C's — being applied.

1. Compactness. The first principle is that more compact, densely developed cities are less auto dependent, less expensive to serve with infrastructure, and put less pressure on nearby farm, forest, and environmentally sensitive areas. One of my own studies has shown that the percentage of people who bus to work increases as the population density rises in the city where they live. A1994 report on growth options for King County concluded that an urban containment strategy would save taxpayers money over the long run. In Oregon, research has shown that farms and forests are more effectively sustained when urban growth is more compact.

2. Completeness. A second principle of sustainable urbanization is that communities should be made more complete. A complete community is one in which the segregation of urban activities has been reduced. The residents of a complete community have the opportunity to work and shop in close proximity to their homes. The elimination of long commutes reduces traffic congestion, air pollution, energy use, and water pollution — to say nothing of psychic stress.

3. Conservation. A third principle of sustainable urbanization — conservation — involves the use of a number of tools (in addition to development regulations) to protect environmentally sensitive areas. Such tools may include tax incentives, fee-simple and less-than-fee-simple land acquisition, cluster development, and the use of transferable development rights, to name just a few. In the category of development regulations, we know that the elimination of free or abundant parking promotes alternatives to single-occupancy driving, thereby saving energy, reducing air pollution, and helping to control the buildup of greenhouse gases.

4-6. Comfort, coordination and collaboration. Comfort takes note of the fact that it is important to create public spaces and routes that are pleasant for pedestrians and for non-auto users, such as bicyclists. A study in Portland found that more people walk when there are continuous sidewalks, streets are easy to cross and not confusing, and the topography is conducive to walking.

Coordination involves joint planning by numerous jurisdictions. One example is creating a land use and transportation plan for Oregon's Willamette Valley from Portland to Eugene. The same project — Partnership for the Willamette Valley's Future - illustrates the principle of collaboration. Funded by the state of Oregon, federal agencies and private foundations, this effort is bringing together Oregon community leaders from many interest sectors in order to establish ongoing dialogue about issues of common concern in the Willamette Valley.

If we view the principles above in the light of trends, we see that, over the past few decades, Mainstreet Cascadia's "average citizen" has experienced less compactness (and slightly more completeness). The development of many new low-density settlements on the urban fringe has offset increasing density in some older communities and has consumed amounts of land at rates two to three times the rate of population growth.

Not only are many people living in non-compact communities, but the density at which they are living is generally too low to be effectively served by public transportation.

My own studies have shown that, in 1970, about one in three people in Washington was living at densities high enough to support public transit. By 1990, only one person in five was living in such places. In addition, job growth in suburbs and along freeway corridors has reduced the relevance of commuting into the central city. In Greater Vancouver, for example, downtown Vancouver's share of its region's jobs fell from 51 percent in 1971 to only 39 percent in 1991.

Despite these trends, some towns and cities can be studied as models for other communities to follow in seeking to achieve greater sustainability.

Seattle, already Washington's most compact and complete community along Mainstreet Cascadia, has adopted a policy of putting people in compact villages served by public transit. Across Lake Washington, the city of Kirkland is unusual for the number of residents who also work in Kirkland (about 23 percent) and use bus transit to get to work (about 12 percent). It's the most compact and complete suburb in Washington.

In order to assist political and other leaders in developing policy directions, work has been done to locate other "low-impact cities" in the region under discussion. Communities were rated for housing density, job density, jobs and housing in proximity, and housing and shopping/service opportunities in proximity.

The "winners" turned out to represent a variety of community types, from a large city like Seattle or Vancouver, B.C., to a small town like Bothell or a rural center like St. Helens, Ore., (population 7,500). Research showed that for the most compact and complete communities, a median of nearly 30 percent of workers work near where they live, compared to under 10 percent in other communities. Other studies have shown that there is an unmet demand for housing close to where people work. Public policies are needed that enable potential housing sites that are close to jobs to compete for development with sites in more remote locations.

While increasing housing density has been controver­sial policy, various demographic trends and new research suggest that there is room for progress toward more compact communities. We know that shifts are occurring in the average age of populations and in household structures. People are getting older and households are getting smaller. This is causing an increase in demand for smaller housing units and for attached types of housing.

In addition, design studies have reached two conclusions:

• One is that traditional, single-family housing can be built at densities much higher than those currently being achieved that still provide the privacy, open space, and other features associated with single-family living. For instance, Kirkland has used half as much land as other King County cities for each new single-family lot it created between the mid-'80s and '90s.

• The other design conclusion is that the perception of density and actual density are two very different things. People perceive a place to be lower in density if there is greater building articulation, less "facade" area, and smaller, "house-like" dwellings.

Of this we can be certain: Unless we work to incorporate principles of sustainability into our planning, we face a future of more traffic, more environmental loss and pollution, and increasingly deficient infrastructures. Past and current patterns of urban growth cannot sustain the high quality of life that we associate with Mainstreet Cascadia.

What is a Comprehensive Master Plan?

A city or county's Comprehensive Master Plan or "CMP" is best described as a vision of what the city or county will look like over the next 20 to 50 years. The Comprehensive Master Plan is an ever-evolving document that establishes a common vision for what the city or county will look like in the future.  The CMP provides guidance for a variety of issues that directly affect the quality of life for the citizens and residents of the city or county and includes the creation of a sense of community in existing and new developments, provisions for services, growth management, open space protection, environmental protection, transportation and water, and ever-increasing needs for including sustainable growth and how to become a more sustainable city or county. The community vision contained in the Comprehensive Master Plan guides decision makers and helps to prioritize community values goals and objectives.

How a Comprehensive Master Plan Provides Vision for a Community

The Comprehensive Master Plan should be used as a guide for future growth and help improve the quality of life as well as all quality of life issues.

Open spaces and view corridors are of primary importance to the many communities. While showing concern for a community's unique and natural surroundings, the Comprehensive Master Plan must also ensure a balance within the community and its' businesses and residential tax base. Rural and urban growth issues should be a constant and ongoing dialogue in the community. The general background of the residents is such that transportation, communication and cultural facilities are increasingly important and need to be integrated into the evolving planning process.

To achieve such balance in a community's Comprehensive Master Plan, sensitivity to the real carrying capacity of the land in the community is critical. This sensitivity involves constant oversight, through application of Comprehensive Master Plan policies, in the following areas:

Water quality and supply 
Power and Energy supply
Wildlife habitat and movement corridors 
Open space and view corridors 
A healthy balance between urban, agricultural and rural lifestyles 
Adequate infrastructure
Affordable housing mix
Sustainability
Adequate and alternative modes of transportation and sufficient road development 
Preservation and recognition of pre-historic and recorded community history 

Conclusion

Every community whether a city or a county, should have a Comprehensive Master Plan - or, be improving on the existing one.  We can help your city or county update, complete or develop a Comprehensive Master Plan. Contact us at (832) 1758 - 00272 an initial no-cost evaluation and to learn more about how we may be able to assist you and your community with a Comprehensive Master Plan that meets your community's goals and objectives - and makes it a better place for all.

We believe "the future belongs to the sustainable."  In fact, we believe our future depends on sustainability.  

What is a Real Estate Master Plan?

A real estate master plan is a roadmap to the future with respect to a specific real estate location or parcel. 

There are many different definitions for describing a Real Estate Master Plan. A well-thought-out Real Estate Master Plan should provide the client with:

* A detailed, short-term, medium-term and long-range plan that determines how the specific real estate parcel will provide services to the community in the coming years and plan for future growth.

* Identify all positive and negative features and attributes of the specific parcel and how it best fits into the needs and requirements of the community. 

* The economics, and feasibility of the proposed real estate master plan. 

* Address issues such as environmental, physical facilities/city services, which will be required during the coming years. i.e. water, wastewater treatment, fire, police, environmental studies/impact of subject parcel, present and future regulatory requirements, and project funding.

* Review and analyze a city's existing planning and zoning laws/regulations that impact, or may affect the specific parcel. 

A Real Estate Master Plan is a written and a schematic drawing depicting your present real estate site and any buildings and facilities, as well as parking, trees, topography, creeks/water features, overhead power lines, easements, streets, and any other environmental features, and the owner's "vision" or future plans for expansions, utilities, streets and buildings are overlaid. The plan also shows phasing of future expansion, for example: when the worship attendance reaches 400, expand the sanctuary and add classrooms. 

The Real Estate Master Plan is, as previously mentioned, a road map to the client's future and vision of the real estate, beginning with where "we" are now, where we've been, and how we achieve the desired dreams and goals of the owner. The Real Estate Master Plan includes specific recommendations, implementation strategies, and the vision of the owner with his/her/their goals and objectives. 

Why you need a Real Estate Master Plan

The most important aspect of master planning is for us to professionally interpret the owner's vision and dream into a " road map" for the future for their property. Any property owner that is considering a new site should have a feasibility site study completed.

Many times, a buyer will ask us to perform a feasibility study, which is the first step to a more formal Real Estate Master Plan, and they think they have a great price on a parcel or tract. Without our expertise, the buyer may have actually overpaid for the parcel due to the environmental, planning/zoning, or other unknown variables, and in reality the buyer thinking he was getting a great bargain on 40 acres for the price of 10, was only able to use 5 acres out of the 40 acres, for a real price 60 acres! Our feasibility studies identify these hidden problems and negative attributes of specific parcels, and helps the buyer discover the true value of the site as well as its' future potential.

Every site should be planned before ANY construction begins. Our goal is to help the owner produce an economically viable and profitable project without negatively impacting the opportunities for future development. Excellent master planning avoids costly mistakes and problems in the future. 

What's involved in updating the Real Estate Master Plan?

A Real Estate Master Plan may be updated every five to ten years for reasons that include:

* Growth, development and changes in the size of the community.
* Requirements to expand and upgrade facilities.
* To comply with new regulations.
* To prepare for future, planned growth as well as future financial planning and budgets.

How We Create a Real Estate Master Plan

We believe that the creation of a Real Estate Master Plan is a collaborative process. Depending on the size of the project, expert consultants may be required to evaluate a variety of potential technical solutions and develop recommendations. Just as importantly, a stakeholder's outreach program may be required. A stakeholder is anyone that may be positively or negatively impacted as a result of the new Real Estate Master Plan. Workshops, or a number of "charette's" may be provided for stakeholders to discuss and comment on issues including local/regional planning and zoning, streets, utilities, water quality, air quality, regulatory compliance, wastewater, taxes, and city services, including police/fire/library services.

A real estate master plan can be a quick " sketch" or more formal feasibility study to help a buyer decide if a yet unpurchased piece of land is feasible. It can also be a formal, colored site plan used for presentations and fund raisers. However, a master plan is not an attempt to generate a floor plan for every future building.

How Often Should a Site be Master Planned?

A site should be reviewed before each phase of construction. Businesses, communities, ministries and zoning requirements change over time. Therefore, the long range goals of the site will also change. A master plan is nothing more than a snapshot in time of current conditions and ministries. As times change, so do goals for the site. Hence why exact buildings plans during a master plan are not feasible.

How We Develop a Real Estate Master Plan

First a topographic survey of the property is obtained. Next the overall land is analyzed with respect to streets, easements, buffers, zoning, setbacks, flood plains and natural features. The land remaining is the actual usable acreage.

A concept Sketch is first derived by assessing the long range goals of the site and the vision of the buyer/owner. The required parking and building sizes are then estimated and ready for placement on the site. Parking should typically encircle the buildings and not be to one side, aiding in exterior circulation. Interior circulation should be reviewed and building entry points determined.

Grades are reviewed for multiple story facility use. Finally, site amenities such as green space, walking trails, gazebos, playgrounds, gardens, etc. are added in the remaining areas.

The concept is then refined into the final product. Many projects use this final drawing for a marketing or fundraising tool. It is important to remember that while building masses are shown with some detail for visual character, changes to the building shape and overall layout are to expected when each phase is completed.

Conclusion

Every site should have a Real Estate Master Plan before it is purchased and before every phase of construction. 

Contact us at (832) 1758 - 00272 an initial no-cost evaluation and to learn more about how we may be able to assist you with your new project - and help you avoid costly mistakes or purchasing an inadequate site that cannot meet your goals and objectives.  

A effective Real Estate Master Plan provides for the physical, social, and economic development of a site or project that provides the highest and best use as well as meeting the local codes of the community as may be found within that community's Planning and Zoning Department. The plan is to be comprehensive and developed in the context of meeting the customer's objectives. It will include action recommendations to guide the responsible township and county agencies in the plan's implementation.

A Real Estate Master Plan is a written and a schematic drawing depicting your current site and facilities, parking, trees, etc. and showing the location of future expansions. The plan also shows phasing of future expansion, for example: when the worship attendance reaches 400, expand the sanctuary and add classrooms.

A Real Estate Master Plan permits our customers to maximize the utilization of their site, save time and money, and it gives them a tool to use for annual planning, fund raising, and raising capital, etc.

We receive many calls from clients who are now "land locked", and who may have had enough property before building, but because they did not have a Master Plan, the original building was placed in such a way on the site that additions are difficult or impossible. Also, costly demolition may have to be done in order to accommodate an addition that was not considered in a Master Plan before construction began.

Our company offers "Sustainable Urban Living" products and services that include: Mixed Use Developments, Sustainable Architectural Designs for Buildings of the Future which will all be "Net Zero Energy."  We provide master planning services for creating "Traditional Neighborhood Development" communities.  We also offer Sustainable, Real Estate Master Planning and Real Estate Development services that incorporate our Sustainable Building Solutions through our turnkey Sustainable Building Technologies.

What is Traditional Neighborhood Development?

A Traditional Neighborhood Development  (TND) is a human scale, walkable community with moderate to high residential densities and a mixed use core. Compared with conventional suburban developments, TNDs have a higher potential to increase modal split by encouraging and accommodating alternate transportation modes. Traditional Neighborhood Developments also have a higher potential for capturing internal trips, thus reducing vehicle miles traveled. 

A dense network of narrow streets with reduced curb radii is fundamental to Traditional Neighborhood Development design. This network of streets serves to both slow and disperse vehicular traffic and provide a pedestrian friendly atmosphere. The overall function, comfort and safety of a multipurpose or “shared” street are more important than its vehicular efficiency alone.

Traditional Neighborhood Developments have a high proportion of interconnected streets, sidewalks and paths. Streets and rights of ways are shared between vehicles (moving and parked), bicycles and pedestrians. The dense network of TND streets functions in an interdependent manner, providing continuous routes that enhance non-vehicular travel. Most Traditional Neighborhood Development streets are designed to minimize through traffic by the design of the street and the location of land uses. Streets are designed to only be as wide as needed to accommodate the usual vehicular mix for that street while providing adequate access for moving vans, garbage trucks, fire engines and school buses.

The Intent of the Traditional Neighborhood Development is that the development encourage walking and biking, enhance transit service opportunities, and improve traffic safety through promoting low speed, cautious driving while fully accommodating the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists.

That such developments should have the potential to reduce the number of external vehicle trips, and thus vehicle miles traveled, by 15% or more through provision of commercial, recreational and other resident-oriented destinations within a walkable community. That traffic impacts, both on-site and off-site, should be minimized.

Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) seeks to remedy the most pressing problems associated with recent suburban expansion - low-density, auto-oriented development, single-use developments lacking in context and distinction as a unique community.

Automobile dependence results from the segmentation of residential, commercial, and industrial uses as is often required in modern zoning. This design practice results in the loss of community vitality and makes neighborhoods unwelcoming to pedestrians and bicyclists. It also increases traffic. However zoning utilizing TND development that mixes uses in a compact area and forms can achieve a high quality neighborhood.

Through form-based zoning and other standard bylaws, zoning can be an extremely effective tool that communities can use to implement Traditional Neighborhood Development. 

Traditional Neighborhood Development can guide new development patterns that are civic-oriented, pedestrian-friendly, economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable, and evoke a unique sense of place. However, certain principles that have been applied to New Urbanist developments across the United States - such as Kentlands, Maryland; Celebration and Seaside, Florida; and Stapleton, Colorado - will not meet the needs of most communities in Massachusetts without modification. New England communities have a long history that has already defined the form and fabric of neighborhoods in important ways. 

Introduction to Traditional Neighborhood Development

Traditional Neighborhood Development helps to create vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods with higher densities and a range of complementary uses. TND is characterized by compact, pedestrian-oriented developments that provide a variety of uses, diverse housing types, and are anchored by a central public space and civic activity. 

Traditional Neighborhood Development is based on the principle that neighborhoods should be walkable, affordable, accessible, distinctive, and in Massachusetts, true to the significant historic context of each community.

The following are commonly found in Traditional Neighborhood Development:

• Parks, schools, civic buildings, and commercial establishments located within walking distance of homes

• Residences with narrow front setbacks, front porches, and detached rear garages or alley-loaded parking

• Network of streets and paths suitable for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles

• Narrower streets with crosswalks, streetscaping, and other traffic-calming measures

• In-scale development that fits the local context

• Buildings oriented to the street with parking behind

Traditional Neighborhood Development can be used to revitalize existing town centers and neighborhoods or build new ones at transit nodes and in other locations. Current and future public transit stops are important places to consider during the planning stages to maximize access to alternatives forms of transport (see Transit Oriented Development). However, TND must be distinguished from Transit Oriented Development - TND need not focus as close on transportation areas and parking as components of urban design.

Traditional Neighborhood Development will not be appropriate for all neighborhoods in all contexts, though. Many of the design criteria and standards of TND can be applied to other development projects. However, not every neighborhood is suitable for the density required for a mixed-use TND development to succeed. While auto-oriented strip malls and large-lot developments are fundamentally incompatible with TND in their present condition. These types of locations represent prime opportunities for conversion to Traditional Neighborhood Development over the long term. Communities need to carefully consider local real estate markets in order identify the most viable locations for TND development.

Success

While Traditional Neighborhood Development is defined by certain development patterns, TND's success is marked by its ability to blend into and enhance the unique spaces that it inhabits. This criteria of success becomes especially important in New England, where towns and cities have a strong sense of place. 

TND in New England must be customized to each place so that the rich character of towns and cities is strengthened, not fabricated, by Traditional Neighborhood Development.

Traditional Neighborhood Development in Massachusetts

What makes a traditional New England village?

As the birthplace of the nation, the New England village is a physical and historic representation of community.  Anchored by a village center, the New England village is walkable, provides a strong mix of uses, conveys a distinct sense of place, provides housing for residents at all income levels, and is accessible. Classic New England villages have retained their strong identities through time, resisting change and the impulse to completely replace old with new.  Each village’s character is informed by local history and geography and coastal, riverfront, highlands, and farming communities each convey a very different sense of place. 

More than historic relics, successful New England villages remain living, active places. The modern village integrates contemporary uses into the historic fabric of each community, with new residential and commercial developments built around the historic village district. The modern New England village is oriented to a quality of life associated with current conveniences, integrated with historic buildings, roads and open spaces, and designed for the unique character of the location.  As a result, the modern New England village can be any number of configurations. The richness of Massachusetts ’s landscape, history, and local culture provide a variety of ways for Traditional Neighborhood Development to be implemented in this state. 

What are the basic Traditional Neighborhood Development guidelines?

Generally, Traditional Neighborhood Development is neighborhood in scale, 10 to 15 acres in area based on the geometry of a 1/4–mile maximum walking distance. Open space is typically 10% to 20% of the area, and about 70%-80% of the area is devoted to residential blocks, with the remainder (approximately 10%) as mixed use with a focus on viable commercial space and civic functions. Traditional Neighborhood Development requires dense (e.g. quarter-acre and smaller lots) residential blocks in order to create an internally-oriented neighborhood with enough people to help support the commercial and civic functions.

However, a larger market area is often necessary to support businesses and provide outside job opportunities for residents. Consequently, access is provided in multiple ways to provide that choice and opportunity. The regional transportation systems; trains, buses, and highways, are also connected to facilitate mobility.

Beyond these basic requirements, Traditional Neighborhood Development principles can be modified to fit unique circumstances in each community.

How and where is Traditional Neighborhood Development working in Massachusetts ?

Here are some ways that TND is actually working in Massachusetts at very different scales and situations:

Large scale / Urban - Urban areas are usually characterized by a high degree of existing build-out, which makes it difficult to assemble raw land on which to build a new full-scale traditional neighborhood. However, some districts within the city, such as disinvested downtown neighborhoods and neighborhood surrounding academic institutions, can offer promising potential for TND. TND principles are also especially applicable to the development and redevelopment of large-scale housing projects (public and market-rate), mixed-use complexes, and failed shopping malls. Within suburban areas, large-scale vacancies – often caused by military base, airport, or strip mall closures – present great opportunities in which to introduce a Traditional Neighborhood Development. The greatest potential for TND in Massachusetts is in the repair of existing urban fabric. Infill and redevelopment of obsolete buildings present tremendous TND possibility

Examples of Large-scale / Urban Projects – In Massachusetts , many large-scale projects have been able combine TND and land use principles into economically successful developments. Marina Bay in Quincy has an active commercial boardwalk and provides housing for residents at all age and income levels, from seniors to single families.  Hingham Shipyard in Hingham will convert 130 underutilized acres of property into a new mixed-use development project with nearby MBTA access. Redevelopment of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station in Weymouth will create multiple new neighborhoods, provide new jobs, and increase connectivity to commuter rail and the regional highway system. Assembly Square in Somerville connects urban-scale commercial and residential uses to transit, highways, and riverfront open space.  The Fan Pier Plan in Boston is a nine-block, mixed-use, waterfront redevelopment in a dense urban setting.

Mid-scale / Suburban – Traditional Neighborhood Development is an alternative to and a means of combating the problems associated with suburban development.  The suburbs are growing at a significantly faster pace than urban and rural areas, and this growth offers ample opportunity in which to apply TND. Important elements of local character or history in established residential or commercial areas should be incorporated into the TND to distinguish the location. 

Examples of Mid-scale / Suburban Projects – Medium-scale projects that may have a more limited mix of uses can still fulfill many of the principles of Traditional Neighborhood Development.  Woodbourne in Boston , an historic district built between 1911 and 1945, has housing and civic uses that are closely oriented to the residents and create a sense of neighborhood. Although now located within a major metropolitan city, Woodbourne still provides the unique sense of place for its residents. Mashpee Commons in Mashpee developed a vibrant commercial center with a traditional main street on the site of a vacant shopping mall. Surrounded by significant residential and resort development, Mashpee Commons has established an updated community commercial center of regional significance.

Small-scale / Rural – Traditional suburban development patterns have migrated into rural areas and TND is as applicable in smaller towns as it is in suburban cities.  Development on greenfield sites located in rural areas can be guided by Traditional Neighborhood Development principles in order to minimize environmental impacts associated with new development. A more apt use of TND may be to re-establish or expand existing village centers as centers of community life.

Examples of Small-scale / Rural Projects - Village Commons in South Hadley is one of the smallest projects that effectively uses design to integrate a new commercial center into the fabric and life of a college neighborhood. At about 80,000 square feet of commercial space, it works in similar function as Mashpee Commons does in supporting the surrounding college and community residents. Dennis Village Center in Cape Cod utilizes the traditional Cape Cod building design in the existing village center and has generated reinvestment. By utilizing graphics to help residents visualize the changes, the town was successful in rezoning the area to meet the goals of TND, on a local scale.

What should your town look for to create a Traditional Neighborhood Development project?

Project Sites – TND’s are usually about 10 to 15 acres in size when done on a town scale. However, the incorporation of existing residential or commercial blocks into a TND means a project does not require a wholly undeveloped site, and the projects do not have to be completed by a single entity. The key is designing the new elements to fully connect with the old. Valuable TND projects may be infill development projects within existing downtown or neighborhood areas.

Comprehensive Design Standards – Traditional Neighborhood Development neighborhoods are carefully designed to function in ways that provide a high quality of life. It is therefore important that local governments have the authority to regulate many design aspects and aesthetics. TND often involves local regulations govering a wide range of urban design choices – from façade and paving materials, to geometry and dimensions, to specific organization of uses. These should be specific to the community based on local design principles. The local history should be an important consideration in the design of TND projects as the resulting community–oriented design and complementary architecture will then provide for a strong sense of place.

Diversity in Housing - The variety of types of housing units typical of Traditional Neighborhood Development gives people and households at all stages of life housing alternatives suited to their needs, thus providing stability to a community. The proper density of housing (typically very high) will also support the commercial and civic functions at the TND.

Accessibility and Mobility – TND’s require local connectivity and access to all areas, but cannot stand alone. Consequently, along with bicycling, walking, and vehicle access, TND’s should provide additional access with choices including public transit. Trains and buses provide transit options, but must be considered along with regional highway access.

Zoning Creation Process for Traditional Neighborhood Development

Because of the complexity of these projects, the recommendation is to follow three steps in the creation of the TND zoning:

1. Establish the design principles from the criteria included in this module, and essentially create a first draft of the zoning code;

2. Complete a charrette process where those design principles are used to develop potential projects and then review the results. This will help people to understand the potential outcome from the use of these design principles; and then,

3. Complete the drafting of the zoning bylaws.

The recommended first step in crafting Traditional Neighborhood Development regulations is to define the community's approach through the adoption of principles and objectives for TND. The Traditional Neighborhood Development principles and objectives of particular importance are:

• Sustainability

• Compact Development

• Mix of Uses

• Accessibility and Transportation

• Cultural and Environmental Context

More on these design principles can be found within the Model Bylaw.

The purpose of a charrette is to solve a design-related problem facing a community. The public is invited to attend and participate and the charrette process is best if facilitated by trained individuals.

The typical agenda of the charrette is to first educate participants on the process, and then incorporate their contributions in order to verify decisions. A charrette usually lasts a few hours or even several days and culminates with the presentation of a final plan, which is a compilation of the best ideas offered during the charrette. The results of this process should then inform the drafting of the bylaws.

The Traditional Neighborhood Development zoning bylaws may include three different types of regulatory standards to accomplish the design principles; Performance Standards, Design Guidelines, and Form-based standards.

Unlike prescriptive standards, Performance Standards present a specific statement of intent and the development must show how it meets that standard. These are typically used for environmental and management and mitigation of land use impacts. Design Guidelines can specify allowable architectural styles, building materials, colors, building heights, landscaping, and can also require diversity in the styles, including architectural and landscape design. Form-based zoning refers to the idea of identifying the form of the built environment based on the context of the physical surroundings or district, but not strictly regulating the allowed uses, which may otherwise be defined in the underlying zoning.

Form-based zoning creates the physical context, Design Guidelines allow for more granular control of the built elements, and Performance Standards ensure the best management of the land and built environment. However, in many cases traditional dimensional and prescriptive standards may be used in place of these newer types of regulations, as local preference requires.

Traditional Neighborhood Development advances several of the Patrick Administration's Sustainable Development Principles, including:

• Concentrate Development and Mix Uses: Traditional Neighborhood Development increases development densities within the village or town center to promote the ability to work, shop, and live in one neighborhood and provides economical opportunities for mixed use redevelopment of existing properties. In addition, TND is compact, encourages reuse and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, conserves land, integrates uses, and fosters a sense of place. It creates walkable districts mixing commercial, civic, cultural, educational and recreational activities with open space and housing for diverse communities.

• Protect Land and Ecosystems: Traditional Neighborhood Development protects land in two ways; first by providing development opportunities that do not impact "greenfields" and second by providing economical redevelopment that allows for the correction of existing site deficiencies. TND increases the quantity, quality, and accessibility of open space, expands land and water conservation and promotes development that respects and enhances the region's natural resources.

• Use Natural Resources Wisely: Traditional Neighborhood Development encourages efficient use of land and promotes buildings and infrastructure that uses land, energy, water and materials efficiently.

• Expand Housing Opportunities: By linking commercial development in the district to the provision of rental and affordable housing opportunities, Traditional Neighborhood Development supports the construction and rehabilitation of housing to meet the needs of people of all abilities, income levels and household types. TND coordinates the provision of housing with the location of jobs, transit and services and fosters the development of housing, particularly multifamily, that is compatible with a community's character and vision.

• Provide Transportation Choice: By improving pedestrian facilities in the village and increasing the viability of transit by increasing residential density, TND maintains and expands transportation options, in all communities, including land- and water-based public transit, bicycling, and walking.

• Increase Job and Business Opportunities: By providing for increased intensities of development and encouraging the creation of new jobs in the village center, Traditional Neighborhood Development attracts businesses with good jobs to locations near housing, infrastructure, water, and transportation options and supports the growth of new and existing local businesses. TND strengthens the growth of local businesses, in addition to supporting economic development in industry clusters, which are consistent with regional and local character.

• Plan Regionally: By implementing recommendations found in the Town's Comprehensive Plan and the Regional Policy Plan, TND supports the development and implementation of local and regional plans that have broad public support and are consistent with sustainability principles. It also fosters development projects; land and water conservation, transportation and housing that have a regional or multi-community benefit.

Benefits to Community

By promoting development in existing neighborhoods and village areas using Traditional Neighborhood Development, municipalities can take advantage of existing infrastructure instead of building new. Within greenfield projects, the very compact nature of a TND also reduces infrastructure costs.

Mixed-use projects reduce the need for total vehicle trips. In addition, residents within these projects are able to reduce households expenses associated with car trips. The normal level of constant activity associated with mixed-use projects also improves the sense of security.

By adopting design guidelines or form-based codes as a part of a Traditional Neighborhood Development overlay zone instead of the conventional zoning standards, municipalities can more closely regulate the design and character of development. The result can be better utilization of land area, improved tax benefits, and lower capital costs. When correctly designed, the costs to the developers are returned with higher value projects.

By specifying design standards to the developers who are financing the Traditional Neighborhood Developments, municipalities can use the project investment to create safer streets and public open spaces. By capitalizing on the strength of the local housing market and broader economic and market trends which are favoring TND, municipalities can build on the demand for New Urbanist, village style development.

By improving the potential for development in the existing village and town centers and adjoining sites, not only can municipalities capitalize on the existing infrastructure, they can also benefit from the tax returns to the community as a whole form a reinvigorated commercial center.

What is Urban Land Use Planning?

There are many definitions for Urban Land Use Planning. One that we like is by the Canadian Institute of Planners which defines Urban Land Use Planning as "the scientific, aesthetic, and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban and rural communities"

The purpose of Urban Land Use Planning is to help insure and optimize the social and environmental aspects of land-use. Urban Land Use Planning at the city and local levels is committed to the various public and private interests and based on the principle of the public interest.

Glossary

A

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU): A self-contained housing unit incorporated within a single-family dwelling (not within accessory structures, except with a Special Permit) that is clearly a subordinate part of the single-family dwelling.

Adequate Public Facilities: Adequate public facilities ordinances prevent new construction until municipal services, including water, sewer, roads, and schools, are available to serve that development.

Agricultural Districts/Preservation Areas: Areas designed to keep land in agriculture that are legally recognized. Landowners may voluntarily enroll in programs and may receive special benefits and protection from regulation.

Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program (APR): A voluntary program which is intended to offer a non-development alternative to farmers and other owners or "prime" and "state important" agricultural land who are faced with a decision regarding future use and disposition of their farms. Towards this end, the program offers to pay farmers the difference between the "fair market value" and the "agricultural value" of their farmland in exchange for a permanent deed restriction which precludes any use of the property that will have a negative impact on its agricultural viability.

Agricultural Zoning: Agricultural zoning, including forestry zoning, restricts land uses to farming and livestock, other kinds of open-space activities and limited home building. It is sometimes used in tandem with urban growth restrictions.

Annexation: A change in existing community boundaries resulting from the incorporation of additional land.

Aquifer: A water-bearing geologic formation, sometimes confined between clay layers and sometimes on the surface. The source of ground water for drinking and irrigation.

B

Biodiesel: Biodiesel is diesel fuel combined with a certain percentage of vegetable oil. B5 refers to a blend of diesel with 5% vegetable oil. Many diesel engines can run on blends up to B20 without modifications.

Biodiversity: The variety and essential interdependence of all living things; it includes the variety of living organisms, the genetic differences among them, the communities and ecosystems in which they occur, and the ecological and evolutionary processes that keep them functioning.

Biomass: Energy produced from organic matter: plants, food waste, manure, wood, and agricultural crops that can be burned or converted to gas for power generation. Biomass can be used to produce electricity, transportation fuels, or chemicals.

Bioretention System: The bioretention system (also referred to as a "rain garden" or a "biofilter") is a stormwater management practice to manage and treat stormwater runoff using a conditioned planting soil bed and planting materials to filter runoff stored within a shallow depression. The method combines physical filtering and adsorption with bio-geochemical processes to remove pollutants. The system consists of an inflow component, a pretreatment element, an overflow structure, a shallow ponding area (less than 9" deep), a surface organic layer of mulch, a planting soil bed, plant materials, and an underdrain system to convey treated runoff to a downstream facility.

Blight: Physical and economic conditions within an area that cause a reduction of or lack of proper utilization of that area. A blighted area is one that has deteriorated or has been arrested in its development by physical, economic, or social forces.

BMP: Best Management Practice; refers to the practice considered most effective to achieve a specific desired result for protection of water, air and land and to control the release of toxins.

Brownfields: Sites that are underutilized or not in active use, on land that is either contaminated or perceived as contaminated.

Buffer Zone: A strip of land created to separate and protect one type of land use from another; for example, as a screen of planting or fencing to insulate the surroundings from the noise, smoke, or visual aspects of an industrial zone or junkyard.

Built Environment: The urban environment consisting of buildings, roads, fixtures, parks, and all other improvements that form the physical character of a city.

C

Carrying Capacity: The level of land use or human activity that can be permanently accommodated without an irreversible change in the quality of air, water, land, or plant and animal habitats. In human settlements, this term also refers to the upper limits beyond which the quality of life, community character, or human health, welfare, and safety, will be impaired, such as the estimated maximum number of persons that can be served by existing and planned infrastructure systems, or the maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated on a roadway.

Catch Basin: A conventional structure for the capture of stormwater utilized in streets and parking areas. It includes an inlet, sump, and outlet and provides minimal removal of suspended solids. In most cases a hood also is included to separate oil and grease from stormwater. Catch basins are differentiated from drainage "inlets", which do not contain sumps or hoods.

Central Business District (CBD): The downtown retail trade and commercial area of a city or town, or an area of very high land valuation, traffic flow, and concentration of retail business offices, theaters, hotels and services.

Charrette: A Charrette is a planning session in which participants brainstorm and visualize solutions to a design issue. Charrettes provide a forum for ideas and offer the unique advantage of giving immediate feedback to designers while giving mutual authorship to the plan by all those who participate. The term "charrette" comes from the French term for "little cart" and refers to the final intense work effort expended by architects to meet a project deadline. At the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris during the 19th century, proctors circulated with little carts to collect final drawings, and students would jump on the charrette to put finishing touches on their presentations minutes before their deadlines.

Climate Action Plan: A description of the policies and measures that a local government will take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve its emissions reduction targets. Most plans include a timeline, a description of financing mechanisms, and an assignment of responsibility to departments and staff. In addition to direct greenhouse gas reduction measures, most plans also incorporate public awareness and education efforts.

Climate Change: Any long-term significant change in the weather patterns of an area, which can occur naturally or by changes people have made to the land or atmosphere.

Cluster Development: A pattern of development in which industrial and commercial facilities, and homes are grouped together on parcels of land in order to leave parts of the land undeveloped. Cluster development is often used in areas that require large lot sizes, and typically involves density transfer. Zoning ordinances permit cluster development by allowing smaller lot sizes when part of the land is left as open space.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP): Also called cogeneration, CHP is the use of the waste heat generated by an engine or power station to produce useful heat, typically for heating of a building.

Compact Building Design: Refers to the act of constructing buildings vertically rather than horizontally, and configuring them on a block or neighborhood scale that makes efficient use of land and resources, and is consistent with neighborhood character and scale. Compact building design reduces the footprint of new construction, thus preserving greenspace to absorb and filter rain water, reduce flooding and stormwater drainage needs, and lower the amount of pollution washing into our streams, rivers and lakes. Compact building design is necessary to sustain transit ridership at levels necessary to make public transit a viable transportation option.

Comprehensive Plan: Regional, state, or local documents that describe community visions for future growth. Comprehensive plans describe general plans and policies for how communities will grow and the tools that are used to guide land use decisions, and give general, long-range recommendations for community growth. Typical elements include, land use, housing, transportation, environment, economic development, and community facilities.

Conservation Areas: Environmentally sensitive and valuable lands protected from any activity that would significantly alter their ecological integrity, balance, or character, except in cases of overriding public interest.

Conservation Easements: Conservation easements are voluntary, legally binding agreements for landowners that limit parcels of land or pieces of property to certain uses. Land under conservation easements remains privately owned, and most easements are permanent.

Context Sensitive Design (CSD): A collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that involves all stakeholders to develop a facility that fits its physical setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, historic, and environmental resources. CSD is an approach that considers the total context within which a project will exist.

 CZMA (Coastal Zone Management Act): National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides funding for implementation and sets standards (including prevention of non-point source pollution) for states to comply with when they develop a plan to protect their coastal areas.

D

Deed Restriction: A legally binding restriction on the use, activity, and/or limitation of property rights, recorded at the registry of deeds.

Density: The average number of people, families, or housing units on one unit of land. Density is also expressed as dwelling units per acre.

Density bonus: Allows developers to build in specified areas densities that are higher than normally allowed.

Design Standards: Design standards or guidelines can serve as a community's desire to control its appearance, from within and without, through a series of standards that govern site planning policies, densities, building heights, traffic and lighting.

Detention Ponds: (Extended Detention Basins) An area surrounded by an embarkment, or an excavated pit, designed to temporarily hold stormwater long enough to allow settling of solids and reduce local and downstream flooding.

Development Rights: Development rights give property owners the right to develop land in ways that comply with local land use regulation.

Distributed Generation: The generation of power from many small sources, such as windmills or solar panels, instead of large power plants.

District Energy: A district energy system consists of a central plant that produces steam, hot water, or chilled water, to provide space heating, domestic hot water heating, and air conditioning. The water or steam is delivered through a network of pre-insulated buried pipes to a clustered community of commercial, industrial, and/or residential customers. As a result, individual buildings don't need their own boilers, furnaces, and cooling systems saving money and energy. When designed with a combined heat and power plant the system can also provide electricity.

District Improvement Financing (DIF): Economic tool that promotes redevelopment by channeling dollars into targeted redevelopment districts.

Downzoning: A change in zoning classification to less intensive use and/or development.

E

Ecological Footprint: The impact of humans on ecosystems created by their use of land, water, and other natural resources. Ecological footprint used as a complex sustainability indicator that answers the question: How much of the Earth's resources does your lifestyle require?

Economic Opportunity Area (EOA): An area or several areas within a designated Massachusetts Environmental Target Area of particular need and priority for economic development.

Ecosystem: The species and natural communities of a specific location interacting with one another and with the physical environment.

Electrical Load: The amount of electrical demand on a particular circuit or of a particular use or facility.

Energy Efficiency: Using less energy to achieve the same outcome. For example, better insulation would enable a home to stay warm utilizing less energy.

Energy Service Company (ESCO): A company that offers to reduce a client's energy costs by capitalizing the upfront expenditures and sharing the resulting future cost savings with the client. This is typically accomplished through the use of an energy-performance contract (EPC) or a shared-savings agreement.

Environmental Justice: Is based on the principle that all people have a right to be protected from environmental pollution and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful environment. Environmental justice is the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies and the equitable distribution of environmental benefits.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency): The federal body charged with responsibility for natural resource protection and oversight of the release of toxins and other threats to the environment.

ERI (Environmental Resource Inventory): A listing and description of natural resources and general environmental characteristics of a given geographic area.

Eminent Domain: The legal right of government to take private property for public use, provided the owner is offered just compensation for the taking of property.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): A comprehensive study of likely environmental impacts resulting from major federally-assisted projects; statements are required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Endangered: Species that are in danger of extinction. It also is a category that denotes protection under federal law (Endangered Species Act).

Estuary: A water body where salt and fresh water meet resulting in brackish water. These areas usually have associated marshlands and are critical nursery and feeding habitat for a variety of marine species.

Eutrophication: The natural aging process of water bodies, by siltation and organic decomposition, which reduces both water volume and oxygen levels. Surface run-off or airborne deposition of nitrogen and phosphorus accelerate this.

F

Fair Market Value: The price an owner willing, but not under compulsion, to sell, ought to receive from a buyer willing but not under compulsion to buy.

Federal Tax Incentives: The federal government offers financial and tax incentives to individuals and business that install renewable energy systems at their homes or offices. This section provides a summary of these incentives and who to contact for more information.

Fiscal Impact Analysis: The analysis of the estimated taxes that a development project would generate in comparison to the cost of providing municipal services demanded by that project.

Flood Hazard Area: Total stream and adjacent area periodically covered by overflow from the stream channel containing 1) the floodway which is the channel itself and portions of the immediately adjacent overbank that carry the major portion of flood flow, and 2) the flood fringe beyond it which is inundated to a lesser degree.

Flood Plain: The land adjacent to a water body ? stream, river, lake or ocean - that experiences occasional flooding.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR): A measure of development intensity. FAR is the ratio of the amount of floor area of a building to the amount of area of its site. For instance, a one-story building that covers an entire lot has an FAR of 1. Similarly, a one-story building that covers 1/2 of a lot has an FAR of 0.5.

Frontage: The continuous linear distance along any approved way, measured on the street line, between the side lot lines.

Fuel Cells: Electro-chemical devices (similar to batteries) that use a continuous supply of hydrogen to produce electricity.

G

Generation: The electricity generated by a system as recorded by a KWH meter, recorded in KWH or MWH.

GIS (Graphic Information Systems): GIS technology is used to develop maps that depict resources or features such as soil types, population densities, land uses, transportation corridors, waterways, etc. GIS computer programs link features commonly seen on maps (such as roads, town boundaries, water bodies) with related information not usually presented on maps, such as type of road surface, population, type of agriculture, type of vegetation, or water quality information. A GIS is a unique information system in which individual observations can be spatially referenced to each other.

Global Warming: An ongoing increase in the average temperature of the Earth? s surface in recent decades resulting primarily from human activities, principally the burning of fossil fuels, that release greenhouse gases. An increase in global temperatures is expected to raise sea levels, increase the frequency and intensity of storms, and alter the amount and pattern of precipitation and agricultural yields, among other effects.

Green Building or Green Design: Building design that yields environmental benefits, such as savings in energy, building materials, and water consumption, or reduced waste generation.

Greenfields: Newly developed commercial real estate on what was previously undeveloped open space.

Greenhouse Gas: Some greenhouse gases, which contribute to the greenhouse effect, occur naturally in the atmosphere while others result from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

Greenway: A linear open space; a corridor composed of natural vegetation. Greenways can be used to create connected networks of open space that include traditional parks and natural areas.

Groundwater: All water below the surface of the land. It is water found in the pore spaces of bedrock or soil, and it reaches the land surface through springs or it can be pumped using wells.

Growth Management: A term that encompasses a whole range of policies designed to control, guide, or mitigate the effects of growth.

H

Habitat: Living environment of a species, that provides whatever that species needs for its survival, such as nutrients, water and living space.

Habitat Fragmentation: Division of large tracts of natural habitat into smaller, disjunct parcels.

Housing Element: A comprehensive assessment of current and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community. It sets forth local housing policies and programs to implement those policies.

Historic Area: An area or building in which historic events occurred, or one which has special value due to architectural or cultural features relating to the heritage of the community. Elements in historic areas have significance that necessitates preservation or conservation.

HVAC: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

Hydropower: The force of flowing water moving downstream creates energy that can be harnessed and turned into electricity. This is called hydroelectric power or hydropower. Hydropower is produced for mechanical power or electricity generation. Often stored and controlled by dams, hydropower is created when the kinetic energy of moving water (rivers, waterfalls) is converted by turbines and generators into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical grid to be accessed by homes, businesses, and industry.

I

Impact Fees: Costs imposed on new development to fund public facility improvements required by new development and ease fiscal burdens on localities.

Imperviousness Overlay Zoning: One form of the overlay zoning process. Environmental aspects of future imperviousness are estimated based on the future zoning build-out conditions. Estimated impacts are compared with environmental protection goals to determine the limit for total impervious surfaces in the watershed. Imperviousness overlay zoning areas are then used to define subdivision layout options that conform to the total imperviousness limit.

Impervious Surface: Any surface through which rainfall cannot pass or be effectively absorbed. (Roads, buildings, paved parking lots, sidewalks etc.)

Incentive Zoning: Provides for give and take compromise on zoning restrictions, allowing for more flexibility to provide environmental protection. Incentive zoning allows a developer to exceed a zoning ordinance's limitations if the developer agrees to fulfill conditions specified in the ordinance. The developer may be allowed to exceed height limits by a specified amount in exchange for providing open spaces or plazas adjacent to the building.

Inclusionary zoning: A system that requires a minimum percentage of lower and moderate income housing to be provided in new developments. Inclusionary programs are based on mandatory requirements or development incentives, such as density bonuses.

Infill Development: Infill projects use vacant or underutilized land in previously developed areas for buildings, parking, and other uses.

Infrastructure: Water and sewer lines, roads, urban transit lines, schools and other public facilities needed to support developed areas.

Intermodal: Those issues or activities which involve or affect more than one mode of transportation, including transportation connections, choices, cooperation and coordination of various modes. Also known as "multimodal."

ISTEA/TEA-21 (Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century): Federal legislation that encompasses all transportation regulation and funding (Inter-modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act was the original title).

J

Jitney: Privately-owned, small or medium-sized vehicle usually operated on a fixed route but not on a fixed schedule.

K

Kilowatt (KW): A measure of instantaneous electric power consumption or production. Equal to one thousand watts.

Kinetic Energy: The energy of motion, or the amount of work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its current velocity. For example, wind carries kinetic energy that is captured by wind turbines to generate electricity.

L

Landfill Gas: Methane gas that forms in landfills from the decay of organic materials. The gas can be collected and used for power generation.

Land Trusts: Nonprofit organizations interested in the protection of natural resources and historic areas. Activities include public education, purchase and coordination of conservation easements, and planning services.

Land Use: The manner in which a parcel of land is used or occupied.

Leapfrog Development: Development that occurs beyond the limits of existing development and creates areas of vacant land between areas of developed land.

LED: Light-emitting diode. This very energy efficient lighting technology uses 80 to 90% less energy than conventional lights.

LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. Administered by the U.S. Green Building Council LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

LEED "Plus": Created by the Massachusetts Sustainable Design Roundtable to address shortcomings with standard LEED certification these standards apply to construction of state facilities. This standard specifically mandates certain LEED points for energy performance, building commissioning, achievement of smart growth objectives, and water conservation.

Level of Service (LOS): A qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream in terms of speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort and convenience, and safety. Level A denotes the best traffic conditions while Level F indicates gridlock. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a development proposal evaluates the impact the development will have on the LOS standards for police, fire, utilities, parks, schools and traffic in the effected area.

Location Efficient Mortgage: A lending program that allows homebuyers to borrow more money based on the transportation cost savings of living near mass transit.

Lot Area: area is the total square footage of horizontal area included within the property lines. Zoning ordinances typically set a minimum required lot area for building in a particular zoning district.

Low Impact Development (LID): An approach to environmentally friendly land use planning. It includes a suite of landscaping and design techniques that attempt to maintain the natural, pre-developed ability of a site to manage rainfall. LID techniques capture water on site, filter it through vegetation, and let it soak into the ground where it can recharge the local water table rather than being lost as surface runoff. An important LID principle includes the idea that stormwater is not merely a waste product to be disposed of, but rather that rainwater is a resource.

Low-e windows: Low-emittance (Low-E) refers to very thin coatings on a window primarily used to reduce heat flow through the window.

M

MassGIS: The Commonwealth's Office of Geographic and Environmental Information, within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA). Through MassGIS, the Commonwealth has created a comprehensive, statewide database of spatial information for environmental planning and management.

Massachusetts Sustainable Design Roundtable: Created by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Division of Capital Asset Management the Roundtable explores ways in which the state can actively promote sustainable design practices in public building projects and projects receiving state aid or oversight.

Master Plan: A statement, through text, maps, illustrations or other forms of communication, that is designed to provide a basis for decision making regarding the long term physical development of the municipality.

Megawatt (MW): A measure of instantaneous electric power consumption or production. Equal to one thousand KW.

Mitigation: Process or projects replacing lost or degraded resources, such as wetlands or habitat, at another location.

Mixed Use Development: Development that is created in response to patterns of separate uses that are typical in suburban areas necessitating reliance on cars. Mixed use developments include residential, commercial, and business accommodations in one area.

Modal Split: A term that describes how many people use alternative forms of transportation. Frequently used to describe the percentage of people using private automobiles as opposed to the percentage using public transportation.

MTC (Massachusetts Technology Collaborative): MTC is the state's quasi-public development agency for renewable energy and the innovation economy, which is responsible for one-quarter of all jobs in the state. MTC administers the John Adams Innovation Institute and the Renewable Energy Trust.

N

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): A comprehensive federal law requiring analysis of the environmental impacts of federal actions such as the approval of grants; also requiring preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for every major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

Neo-Traditional Development: A traditional neighborhood, where a mix of different types of residential and commercial developments form a tightly knit unit. Residents can walk or bike to more of the places they need to go and municipal services costs are lower due to the close proximity of residences. A more compact development also reduces the amount of rural land that must be converted to serve urban needs.

New Urbanism: Neighborhood design trend used to promote community and livability. Characteristics include narrow streets, wide sidewalks, porches, and homes located closer together than typical suburban designs.

NIMBY ("Not In My Backyard"): NIMBY is an acronym for the "Not in my backyard" sentiment that exists among some people who do not want any type of change in their neighborhood.

Non-Point Source Pollution (NPS): Pollution that cannot be identified as coming from a specific source and thus cannot be controlled through the issuing of permits. Storm water runoff and some deposits from the air fall into this category.

O

Open Space: Used to describe undeveloped land or land that is used for recreation. Farmland as well as all natural habitats (forests, fields, wetlands etc.) is lumped in this category.

Open Space Residential Design (OSRD): A form of residential subdivision that maximizes resource protection and conservation of natural areas through the use of design strategies that result in permanent open space preservation.

Overlay Districts: Zoning districts in which additional regulatory standards are superimposed on existing zoning. Overlay districts provide a method of placing special restrictions in addition to those required by basic zoning ordinances.

P

Performance Zoning: Establishes minimum criteria to be used when assessing whether a particular project is appropriate for a certain area; ensures that the end result adheres to an acceptable level of performance or compatibility. This type of zoning provides flexibility with the well-defined goals and rules found in conventional zoning.

Photovoltaic (PV): Literally, "light" (photo) and "electricity" (voltaic). The class of equipment used to generate electricity directly from sunlight.

Plan: A statement of policies, including text and diagrams, setting forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals for the future physical development of the city or county.

Planning: The process of setting development goals and policy, gathering and evaluating information, and developing alternatives for future actions based on the evaluation of the information.

Planned Unit Development (PUD): PUDs are areas that are planned and developed as one entity, by a single group. Planned unit developments usually include a variety of uses, including different housing types of varying densities, open space, and commercial uses. Project planning and density is calculated for the entire development rather than individual lots.

Purchase of Development Rights: Programs through which local governments may purchase development rights and dedicate the land for conservation easements, protecting it as open space or agricultural areas.

Q

Quality of Life: Those aspects of the economic, social and physical environment that make a community a desirable place in which to live or do business. Quality of life factors include those such as climate and natural features, access to schools, housing, employment opportunities, medical facilities, cultural and recreational amenities, and public services.

R

Receiving District: An overlay zoning district established by the Town Meeting/ Town Council upon recommendation from the Planning Board as an area suitable to receive transferred development rights.

Recharge: Water that infiltrates into the ground, usually from above, that replenishes groundwater reserves, provides soil moisture, and affords evapotranspiration.

Rehabilitation: In communities with a large stock of older housing or other structures that could lend themselves more easily to conversion into residential units, rehabilitation can be a very affordable and environmentally-friendly way to provide more housing, commercial areas, and offices.

Renewable Energy: Generation of power from naturally replenished resources such as sunlight, wind, and tides. Renewable energy technologies include solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power, geothermal, and biomass.

Renewable Energy Certificate (REC): A tradable certificate representing the generation attributes of energy derived from a qualified renewable energy source. In the U.S., formal markets for RECs are established in New England and Texas, and are developing elsewhere. Informal and voluntary markets are active or emerging in several other U.S. regions. RECs are also called renewable energy certificates, tradable renewable certificates (TRCs), "green tags", and other names.

Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS): Development rules (disseminated by DCA) that delineate infrastructure requirements for new residential areas. (Road widths, sidewalks, type of materials used, etc.)

Riparian Area: Vegetated ecosystems along a waterbody through which energy, materials, and water pass. Riparian areas characteristically have a high water table and are subject to periodic flooding.

Runoff: The water that flows off the surface of the land, ultimately into our streams and water bodies, without being absorbed into the soil.

S

Sending District: An overlay zoning district established by the Town Meeting/Town Council upon recommendation from the Planning Board as an area in which use or development rights should be restricted and from which development rights may be transferred to a Receiving District.

Siltation: Process by which loose soil is transferred and builds up in streams, rivers, and lakes, causing changes in stream channels and in depth. It may result in filling in an area and/or causing flooding.

Site Plan: A scaled plan showing proposed uses and structures for a parcel of land. A site plan could also show the location of lot lines, the layout of buildings, open space, parking areas, landscape features, and utility lines.

Smart Energy: Is the use of renewable resources to create electricity and to heat and cool buildings, as well as more efficient use of energy through conservation and high efficiency technologies.

Smart Growth: Well-planned development that protects open space and farmland, revitalizes communities, keeps housing affordable and provides more transportation choices.

Solar Power (or Energy): Use of sunlight, or solar energy, to heat and light buildings, generate electricity (using solar photovoltaic systems - PV cells/panels), heat hot water, and for a variety of commercial and industrial uses.

Special Districts: Geographic areas in which fees or taxes are collected to fund investments or services benefiting properties within the district.

Special Permit: A use that would not be appropriate generally, or without restriction through the zoning district but which, if controlled as to number, area, location, or relation to the neighborhood, would promote the public health, safety, welfare, order, comfort, convenience, appearance, prosperity or general welfare. Such uses may be permitted in such zoning districts as special permits, where specific provision for such special permits is made in a Town zoning bylaw or City zoning ordinance.

Sprawl: Development patterns where rural land is converted to urban/suburban uses more quickly than needed to house new residents and support new businesses, and people become more dependent on automobiles. Sprawl defines patterns of urban growth that includes large acreage of low-density residential development, rigid separation between residential and commercial uses, residential and commercial development in rural areas away from urban centers, minimal support for non-motorized transportation methods, and a lack of integrated transportation and land use planning.

State Tax Incentives: Massachusetts offers tax incentives to individuals and business that install renewable energy systems at their homes or offices. This section provides a summary of these incentives and who to contact for more information.

Stream Corridor: The area (containing wetlands, flood plains, woodlands, unique habitats, and steep slopes) which lies between relatively level uplands and stream banks and through which water, draining from the uplands, flows and is naturally cleansed and stored. Base flow for streams comes from ground water as springs and seeps.

Streetscape: The space between the buildings on either side of a street that defines its character. The elements of a streetscape include: building frontage/façade; landscaping (trees, yards, bushes, plantings, etc.); sidewalks; street paving; street furniture (benches, kiosks, trash receptacles, fountains, etc.); signs; awnings; and street lighting.

Sustainable Development: Development with the goal of preserving environmental quality, natural resources and livability for present and future generations. Sustainable initiatives work to ensure efficient use of resources.

Subdivision: A subdivision occurs as the result of dividing land into lots for sale or development.

Subdivision Rules and Regulations: Procedures, requirements, and provisions governing the subdivision of land that is specified in formal Rules and Regulations promulgated by a city or town under the authority vested in the Planning Board by section 81-Q of Chapter 41 of the General Laws of Massachusetts.

SWAP (Source Water Assessment Plan): A requirement of the 1996 amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act that an assessment and protection plan be developed for each surface water source used for drinking water.

T

Taking: A taking occurs when a government action violates the 5th Amendment property rights of a landowner by taking a piece of property without offering fair compensation. "Takings" include physical acquisitions of land, and may include regulations that unduly deprive landowners of certain uses of their property or have the effect of diminishing the value of property.

Tax Increment Financing: A program designed to leverage private investment for economic development projects in a manner that enhances the benefits accrued to the public interest.

TEA-21 (Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century): Federal legislation that encompasses all transportation regulation and funding (Inter-modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act was the original title).

Traditional Neighborhoods: Traditional neighborhood development emphasizes two broad goals: to reduce the destruction of habitat and natural resources, and to reduce dependency on automobiles and their associated impacts; and to reduce polluting emissions, excessive use of energy and fragmentation of the landscape. Traditional neighborhood design is a development approach that reflects historic settlement patterns and town planning concepts such as gridded, narrow streets, reduced front and side setbacks, and an orientation of streets and neighborhoods around a pedestrian oriented "town center." Such an approach usually requires modifications to zoning and subdivision regulations.

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR): A system that assigns development rights to parcels of land and gives landowners the option of using those rights to develop or to sell their land. TDRs are used to promote conservation and protection of land by giving landowners the right to transfer the development rights of one parcel to another parcel. By selling development rights, a landowner gives up the right to develop his/her property, but the buyer could use the rights to develop another piece of land at a greater intensity than would otherwise be permitted.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): The development of housing, commercial space, services, and job opportunities in close proximity to public transportation. Reduces dependency on cars and time spent in traffic, which protects the environment and can ease traffic congestion, as well as increasing opportunity by linking residents to jobs and services.

Transit Nodes: Stops along a public transportation route where people board and disembark, often where one or more routes intersect with each other. These sites can provide ideal locations for mixed-use development as well as transit-oriented development.

Transportation demand management strategies (TDM): TDM is a general term for strategies that result in more efficient use of transportation resources, including incentives to reduce driving, use alternative options, and improve transit.

U

Upzone: To change the zoning of a tract or parcel of land from a lesser to greater intensity of usage. An example would be a change in zoning from single family to multi-family or mixed use.

USGS (United States Geological Survey): A federal agency which provides mapping of topography, aquifer levels, and areas where aquifers are recharged.

Urban Growth Boundary: A line drawn around a city that prohibits development outside that boundary. Designed to slow or prevent sprawl, UGBs are designed to accommodate growth for a designated period of time and are used to guide infrastructure development. Portland , Oregon is the most commonly cited example of an urban growth boundary.

Use Value Taxation: Land assessments according to the value of the present use rather than the speculative value.

V

Variance: The relaxation of requirements of a zoning district for a specific parcel or tract of land. Variances are often issued to avoid unnecessary hardships to a landowner.

W

Watershed: The geographic area which drains into a specific body of water. A watershed may contain several sub-watersheds.

Wetlands: Area having specific hydric soil and water table characteristics supporting or capable of supporting wetlands vegetation.

Wind Farm: A collection of wind turbines in the same location (on or off-shore) utilized to generate wind powered electricity.

Wind Power: Harnessing the wind to generate electricity. Wind turbines produce electricity when wind turns blades that are connected to a shaft that drives a generator.

Wind Turbine: A machine that converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. If the resulting energy is used directly by machinery, such as a pump, the machine is usually called a windmill. If the energy is converted to electricity, the machine is called a wind generator.

X

Y

Z

Zero-lot-line Development: A development option where side yard restrictions are reduced and the building abuts a side lot line. Overall unit-lot densities are therefore increased. Zero-lot-line development can result in increased protection of natural resources.

Zoning: Classification of land in a community into different areas and districts. Zoning is a legislative process that regulates building dimensions, density, design, placement and use within each district.

Livable Neighborhoods
www.LivableNeighborhoods.com

Creating and Developing "Livable Neighborhoods" Since 1985

What Are Livable Neighborhoods?

EPA Grant Helps Create "Livable Neighborhoods" in Philadelphia

Release date: 11/7/2002

PHILADELPHIA – Community action efforts here got a boost today with a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA’s mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator, Donald S. Welsh, presented a check for $50,000 to City Managing Director Estelle Richman to assist in the City’s Livable Neighborhood program at a ceremony this morning at the Nicetown Community Development Corporation in the Nicetown neighborhood. Community leaders, block captains and neighbors attended along with Pennsylvania State Sen.Shirley M. Kitchen, State Representative Jewell Williams, and David Gershon, director of the Empowerment Institute.

“The Livable Neighborhood program is a shining example of how local communities and government agencies can be partners in creating and keeping healthy and vibrant neighborhoods,” said Welsh.

“Imagine how different our world would be if we all helped to keep the environment clean and safe for each new generation. We can make these images a reality in the communities that we live in by working together, neighbor with neighbor, with the Livable Neighborhood program," said Sen. Kitchen.

The Livable Neighborhood program promotes conservation and quality of life in neighborhoods by improving health and safety through lead poisoning education, reducing home and garden toxic chemicals use, energy conservation, and creating personal and neighborhood emergency preparedness plans. The program also includes greening and beautification – tree planting, neighborhood gardens, and street and alley cleanups. An easy to use book help guide the teams.

All of these activities help in building stronger neighborhoods by having neighbors assess what they want and accomplishing it together. The Livable Neighborhood program has a relationship with city services, so if a car is abandoned and needs to be removed, or trees need trimming, the city responds. At other times, teams may receive needed services donated from the private sector.

“The Livable Neighborhood program matches existing City services with those aspirations of citizens working together,” said Managing Director Richman. “Government can only work, if it works with people."

Teams form crime watches to make their neighborhoods safer. Some set up car-pools, while others have created local food cooperatives or invested in community supported agriculture. Neighborhood welcome wagons for new residents and annual block parties are also ways in which teams keep neighbors in touch.

The Livable Neighborhood program evolved from the Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign, which was launched in Philadelphia in 2000. EPA was a founding partner in that effort with
Sen. Kitchen, who spearheaded its creation. The Livable Neighborhood program was introduced in 2001. EPA continues to be a major supporter of the program and is a funding partner with the City of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the University of Pennsylvania.

There are currently 26 Livable Neighborhood program teams in eight different areas of the city, including Nicetown; West Philadelphia; Germantown; North Philadelphia; West Oak Lane; Olney; South Philadelphia; and Haddington. Funds from this grant will help in developing 10 additional teams. The goal is to create a total of 60 neighborhood teams by 2004.

Philadelphia is one of four municipalities that have embraced the Livable Neighborhood program. The other municipalities are: Kansas City, Missouri; Madison, Wisconsin; and Highland, New York.

Net Zero Energy
www.NetZeroEnergy.com

What is "Net Zero Energy?"

Net Zero Energy - when applied to a home or commercial building, simply means that they generate as much power and energy as they consume, when measured on a monthly or annual basis.

What is a Net Zero Energy Building^sm?

A Net Zero Energy Building^sm produces as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. Net Zero Energy Buildings^sm are very energy efficient. The remaining low energy needs are typically met with on-site renewable energy. 

First of all, understand that there is no such thing as a "zero energy building!" EVERY building uses energy, or you may as well be in a cave!  

The important considerations are, 

1.  How efficient is the building?  

2.  How much energy does the building use, and how efficiently is it used?  

3.  How much "carbon free energy" or "pollution free power" is generated by the buildings' own onsite renewable energy system?

4.  What are the utility company's prices for the excess power generated and sent to the grid? 
(see: Net Energy Metering)

5.  How difficult is it to interconnect the renewable energy system of the building with the utility company's powerlines/electric grid?   

At the heart of a Net Zero Energy Building^sm is the idea that any building can meet its energy requirements from low-cost, locally available, nonpolluting, renewable sources, like our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy Systems. Our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy Systems are the idea whose time has come, to make Net Zero Energy Buildings^sm commonplace.

Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy Systems Provide All of the Cooling, Heating & Power, for Any Size Building, with only the Energy of the Sun. Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy Systems Provide Simultaneous  Cooling, Heating & Power whether it is 12 Noon, or 12 Midnight,  and can do so, WITHOUT Connection to the electric grid!

The Department of Energy developed the Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) and is pursuing the goal of marketable Net Zero Energy Buildings through research and partnerships. 

The DOE's CBI has developed tools and resources to help the commercial buildings industry improve energy efficiency at various levels of energy savings.

The Diagram Below Shows How Our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy System Works, 
for Heating and Cooling a Building (next to the Solar Thermal Collectors, are the PV Panels, that generate the Electricity).

Our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy System
provides "Cooling, Heating & Power" for your business,
or home with the free energy of the sun!

Strategic Partners and Architectural Firms Invited 
To Join Us As We Expand our Net Zero Energy Building ^sm 
Program Across the U.S. and Canada:

Our Strategic Partners to be Featured with us at the 
Leading Resource for Net Zero Energy Building ^sm

To advertise your company's  Net Zero Energy Building ^sm
products or services here, call/email for rates:

Email:  info@NetZeroEnergyBuilding.com

Our company offers "Sustainable Urban Living" products and services that include: Mixed Use Developments, Sustainable Architectural Designs for Homes of the Future, and Buildings of the Future.  We provide master planning services for creating "Traditional Neighborhood Design" communities.  We also offer Sustainable, Real Estate Master Planning and Real Estate Development services that incorporate our Sustainable Building Solutions through our turnkey Sustainable Building Technologies.

We believe "the future belongs to the sustainable."  In fact, we believe our future depends on sustainability.  

Question:  Do you know how many trees were "harvested" (destroyed) 
to build this one new house (below)?

Answer: At approximately 3,400 square feet, this new house required 40 mature, full-growth trees, that were previously growing on 2 acres of mature forests, to build this one new house.


BUILDING HOMES LIKE THIS IS
NOT SUSTAINABLE!

Our "sustainable" homes and commercial buildings use 95% - 100% less wood and timber products, and use 75% to 100% less energy compared to non-sustainable homes and commercial buildings!

Our company is one of the leading companies that promotes and provides sustainable building design and planning solutions that absolutely minimizes the environmental impact for our new homes, commercial buildings and real estate developments. Companies and homeowners that adapt Sustainable Building Solutions, Sustainable Building Technologies, and Sustainable Architecture, are truly serving their client's, families and our nation's future. 

There is a finite amount of natural resources, and as the supplies are reduced, their prices go up. Just look at the price of energy.  Our country is in a precarious position as more than 50% of our nation's oil is imported. We have reached "peak oil" production, and as a result, the price of oil, as well as other energy substitutes such as natural gas - have sky-rocketed in the past 2-3 years. Since much of our electricity in the U.S. is made through simple-cycle and combined cycle power plants, that are fueled by natural gas, electricity prices have also sky-rocketed in deregulated states. Similarly, as a result of last year's hurricanes, particularly Katrina and Rita, the price of building materials (plywood, 2 x 4's, sheetrock, etc.) have markedly increased the past 12 months as well.  

In the case of energy resources, once a new home or building is built, the owner of the new home, is essentially, "locked-in" and "captive" to the building's energy systems for the life-cycle of their new home or building. And so is that home or building's future owners. For example, a homeowner that built a new home just 10 years ago in Dallas, Texas, may have installed natural gas for the home's water heating, space heating, cooking, and clothes dryer.  The rest of the home used electricity for all other energy requirements including air-conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, etc. But in the last 4 years, natural gas prices have increased from about $4.00/mmbtu (industrial price) $6.00/mmbtu (retail price) to over $12.00/mmbtu, with spot prices spiking to almost $20.00/mmbtu. And electric rates have nearly doubled in much of Texas.  From January 2002 to January 2007, and after Texas' electric rates and utilities became "deregulated," TXU has raised their electric rates an incredible 82%! Texas now has some of the most expensive electric rates, with the "price to beat" in TXU areas (north Texas, which includes Dallas and Fort Worth) for residential customers at $0.15/kWh. 

For these reasons, we incorporate Solar Cogeneration and Solar Trigeneration power and energy systems in our Net Zero Energy Buildings and Net Zero Energy Houses.

Our Sustainable Building Technologies conserve and preserve our environment by using up to 95% less timber, 50% to 70% less energy, and conserve natural resources, through sustainable design and construction technologies as compared to traditional homes and commercial buildings. 

At the heart of our Sustainable Building Solutions homes and commercial buildings are; sustainable architecture designs and Structural Insulating Panels or Insulating Concrete Forms. Our Net Zero Energy Buildings and Net Zero Energy Houses made from our SIPs that are virtually:

*  Permanent and built to last over 100 years! 
*  50% to 100% more efficient than typical homes or buildings. (This translates into monthly
    electric expenses of up to 100% less than what you are paying now - that's right, complete
    elimination of monthly electric expenses!) 
*  Fire-proof
*  Mold-proof
*  Termite-proof
*  Storm-resistant 
*  Wood-free except for doors, cabinets and trim

Sustainable Architecture, Building Design and New Home and Commercial Building Construction Practices

Our own definition of "sustainable architecture" is: "Environmentally-friendly houses and commercial buildings, designed and built using sustainable building technologies, materials, and sustainable energy systems, which will not burden future generations with environmental and financial debts."

Why we need Sustainable Architecture as a Foundation for Building our New Homes and Commercial Buildings 

The idea of sustainable architecture is not new. Countless numbers of homes and buildings that were built 200, 300 and even 500 years ago throughout much of Europe.  They were built to last.  They're cool in the summer and warm in the winter, without consuming massive amounts of electricity and energy. 

The non-sustainable "cheap" homes and buildings that are now built, have significant and costly repercussions in terms of the home or commercial building's life-cycle costs. Our nation's demand for cheap, non-sustainable architecture, instead of utilizing sustainable architecture -  is both the fault and responsibility of the architect customer. 

The price of our past failures are now readily apparent, and it is time to create solutions!

The Cost to our Nation of NON-Sustainable Architecture

NON-sustainable architecture, like our country's national debt, has provided our country with cheap homes and commercial buildings that threaten our nation's safety, security, health and finances.  They also consume and waste huge amounts of resources.  From Florida to Louisiana, from New Hampshire to Oklahoma, and from California to Cancun, we have seen the results of our failure to design in a sustainable manner using sustainable methods and materials

Non-sustainable buildings (built in the standard, non-sustainable architectural and engineering methods) of the world presently consume about: 

According to the National American Homebuilder's Association, a typical, (non-sustainable) "stick-built" or wood-frame home was 2,085 square feet and required more than one acre of trees/forest! And the waste created during the construction of this typical home averages between 3 tons to 7 tons, for EVERY new house built!

In addition, this typical, non-sustainable home uses the following resources:

• 13,127 board feet of lumber 
• 6,212 square feet of sheathing 
• 2,085 square feet of flooring
• 14 tons of concrete
• 2,325 square feet of exterior siding 
• 3,100 square feet of roofing material
• 3,061 square feet of insulation
• 6,144 square feet of interior wall material 
• 120 linear feet of ducting
• 15 windows
• 13 kitchen cabinets and 2 other cabinets
• 1 kitchen sink
• 12 interior doors, 7 closet doors, 2 exterior doors, 1 patio door, 2 garage doors
• 1 fireplace 
• 3 toilets
• 2 bathtubs; 1 shower stall
• 3 bathroom sinks
• 68 gallons of paint and coatings

Sadly, the majority of new real estate developments (subdivisions) in United States are built on “greenfield” sites/land.  Greenfields are land that was not previously developed or built on. Every new subdivision or real estate development displaces otherwise pristine and limited natural resources in the form of forests, grasslands, farms, pastures.  

What are Green Buildings, Net Zero Energy Buildings and Net Zero Energy Houses?

“Green buildings," like our Net Zero Energy Buildings and Net Zero Energy Houses are an environmentally-friendly way of designing, constructing, and operating homes and buildings that increases a building's performance, minimize environmental impact on our natural resources, and maximize the experience for people who work, live and play in these homes and commercial buildings.

Green buildings (Net Zero Energy Buildings and Net Zero Energy Houses) compared to Traditional "stick-built Buildings and Houses:

     *  Are Sustainable
     *  Reduce energy consumption from the electric grid and natural gas utilities
     *  Save and may actually produce more green power and energy than they consume
     *  Minimize environmental-impact
     *  Minimize waste 
     *  Reduce building materials and incorporate low-impact materials
     *  Protect the site and surrounding eco-system 
     *  Save water
     *  Are healthier to live in 
     *  Recycle existing building materials

The term "green buildings" are often used interchangeably with "sustainable," "high performance," and "healthy buildings and houses."  Eco-housing, green development, sustainable design, sustainable architecture, sustainable building solutions,  Net Zero Energy Buildings, Net Zero Energy Houses environmentally sound housing, and green buildings are all terms and definitions that seek to achieve similar goals. The Rocky Mountain Institute, in its "Primer on Sustainable Building", flexibly describes this sustainable architecture as "taking less from the Earth and giving more to people." In practice, "green" housing varies widely. It can range from being energy efficient and using nontoxic interior finishes to being constructed of recycled materials and completely powered by Solar Energy Systems such as photovoltaic systems, solar thermal collectors that include very efficient evacuated tube collectors, and Solar Cogeneration and Solar Trigeneration power and energy systems.  

Green buildings and sustainable development practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally sound and resource-efficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design, planning and construction. Green building and sustainable development promote resource conservation of our limited natural resources which includes energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation. Green building and sustainable development  considers the environmental impact on every new house or commercial building and also considers the life-cycle costs and environmental impact of the new house or commercial building for its entire "life-cycle."  Therefore. waste minimization is also an important consideration.  Ultimately,  green buildings and sustainable development practices create a healthy and comfortable building and environment; reduces operation and maintenance costs over the life-cycle of the building, conserves our limited natural resources, considers access to public transportation and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life cycle of the building and its components are considered, as well as the economic and environmental impact and performance.

We develop renewable energy projects, and specialize in solar power and energy project development. Our company provides the total, turnkey solar energy system "in-house."  This means our capabilities and core competencies include solar project:

Our company provides the total, turnkey solar energy system design/engineering through installation, "in-house."  This means we provide the following; 

• project identification

• project analysis

• design/engineering

• finance (through investors and joint venture partners)

• installation or construction

• ownership (with PPA)

• operations

• maintenance and service or our solar energy systems

Our solar power and energy project development services and capabilities include multiple solar technologies, including;

• Concentrating Solar Power 

• Concentrating Photovoltaic 

• High Concentration Photovoltaic

for utility scale solar power plant applications.

And our Super High Efficiency Solar Cogeneration & Solar Trigeneration Energy Systems:

• Solar Cogeneration Energy Systems  

• Solar Trigeneration Energy Systems

for commercial, government, industrial and municipal clients. 

What are "renewable energy resources?"

"Renewable energy resources" include; 

• Biomethane  

• B100 Biodiesel

• E100 Ethanol

• Hydrogen Fuel

• Solar Power & Energy (for homes and businesses)

• Synthesis Gas

• Utility Scale Solar Power Plants

• Wind Power Generation

What is "carbon free energy?"

"Carbon free energy" is energy that is produced or generated without producing any carbon dioxide emissions.  

Even nuclear power plants generate "carbon free energy."

Renewable energy technologies that are used in the production and generation of carbon free energy include;

• Anaerobic Digesters

• Biogas Plants

• Biodiesel Refineries

• Biomass Gasification

• Concentrating Photovoltaic

• Concentrating Solar Power

• Decentralized Energy

• Dispersed Generation

• Distributed Generation

• Distributed PV

• EcoGeneration

• Evacuated Tube Collectors

• High Concentration Photovoltaic

• High Voltage Direct Curent

• Hydrogen Fuel Cells

• Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells

• Net Zero Energy

• Net Zero Energy Buildings

• Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells

• Plasma Gasification

• Solar Absorption Cooling

• Solar Cogeneration  

• Solar Desalination (Clean Water and Clean Power!)

• Solar Electric Power Systems

• Solar Energy Systems

• Solar Heating And Cooling

• Solar Power And Energy

• Solar Thermal Collectors

• Solar Trigeneration

• Thin Film Photovoltaics

• Trigeneration

• Waste To Energy 

• Waste to Fuel 

Energy Efficiency Measures and Energy Conservation Measures such as Automated Demand Response and Demand Side Management and Energy Efficient Lighting, while not "generating" carbon free energy, provides significant increases in efficiencies, thereby reducing the overall need for energy, which may come from central power plants that are very inefficient and generate significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.

Even nuclear power plants generate "carbon free energy."   These are just some examples of carbon-free renewable energy. The purpose of all these methods is to combat the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our impact on the environment as a whole.

What is a Power Purchase Agreement? 

A Power Purchase Agreement is a legal agreement wherein our clients agree to buy either the power (electricity) or the power and energy (hot water, steam and/or chilled water for air-conditioning) - or both - directly from us, for a term of 10 to 20 years, where we have installed, own and operate our solar energy systems. 

In nearly every case, once we have installed our solar energy systems at our client's facility, we can immediately reduce our (commercial) client's electricity expenses by 10% over what they were paying for their power electricity from their electric utility.

The right Power Purchase Agreement, solar cogeneration or solar trigeneration energy solution, may save your company hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions of dollars over the term of the agreement.  

Simultaneously, having the wrong or poorly drafted PPA can cost your company thousands or millions of dollars.  You wouldn't consult a brain surgeon to treat your child's broken bone!  Selecting the wrong attorneys, law firm or team to promulgate or re-negotiate your Power Purchase Agreement can leave you "powerless" and penniless - and still requiring the skills and expertise of competent and qualified professionals to resolve the situation.     

Because a Power Purchase Agreement is at the "heart" and underlying foundation of our projects, we can help your business with the selection and oversight of PPA's. 

We can help your city or community create a Municipal Utility District or Public Utility District that may then qualify for our very competitively priced energy and electricity rates. Now is the time for cities, municipal and governmental clients to consider having our company install one of our renewable power and energy systems that will generate "clean" power and energy, lower costs, and avoid the coming electricity shortages and grid congestion problems!  

Products and services provided by us include the following power and energy project development services: 

• Project Engineering Feasibility & Economic Analysis Studies  

• Engineering, Procurement and Construction

• Environmental Engineering & Permitting 

• Project Funding & Financing Options; including Equity Investment, Debt Financing, Lease and Municipal Lease

• Shared/Guaranteed Savings Program with No Capital Investment from Qualified Clients 

• Project Commissioning 

• 3rd Party Ownership and Project Development

• Long-term Service Agreements

• Operations & Maintenance 

• Green Tag (Renewable Energy Credit, Carbon Dioxide Credits, Emission Reduction Credits) Brokerage Services; Application and Permitting

What Is a Solar Power Purchase Agreement (SPPA)?

A Solar Power Purchase Agreement (SPPA) is a financial arrangement in which a third-party developer owns, operates, and maintains the photovoltaic (PV) system, and a host customer agrees to site the system on its roof or elsewhere on its property and purchases the system’s electric output from the solar services provider for a predetermined period. This financial arrangement allows the host customer to receive stable, and sometimes lower cost electricity, while the solar services provider or another party acquires valuable financial benefits such as tax credits and income generated from the sale of electricity to the host customer.

With this business model, the host customer buys the services produced by the PV system rather than the PV system itself. This framework is referred to as the “solar services” model, and the developers who offer Solar Power Purchase Agreements are known as solar services providers. Solar Power Purchase Agreement arrangements enable the host customer to avoid many of the traditional barriers to adoption for organizations looking to install solar systems: high up-front capital costs; system performance risk; and complex design and permitting processes. In addition, Solar Power Purchase Agreement arrangements can be cash flow positive for the host customer from the day the system is commissioned.

How do Solar Power Purchase Agreements Work?

Figure 1 below illustrates the roles of all participants in a Solar Power Purchase Agreement.

A host customer agrees to have solar panels installed on its property, typically its roof, and signs a long-term contract with the solar services provider to purchase the generated power. The host property can be either owned or leased (note that for leased properties, solar financing works best for customers that have a long-term lease). The purchase price of the generated electricity is typically at or slightly below the retail electric rate the host customer would pay its utility service provider. 

Solar Power Purchase Agreement rates can be fixed, but they often contain an annual price escalator in the range of one to five percent to account for system efficiency decreases as the system ages and inflation-related costs increases for system operation, monitoring, maintenance, and anticipated increases in the price of grid-delivered electricity. A Solar Power Purchase Agreement is a performance-based arrangement in which the host customer pays only for what the system produces. The term length of most Solar Power Purchase Agreements can range from six years (i.e., the time by which available tax benefits are fully realized) to as long as 25 years.

The solar services provider functions as the project coordinator, arranging the financing, design, permitting, and construction of the system. The solar services provider purchases the solar panels for the project from a PV manufacturer, who provides warranties for system equipment.

The installer will design the system, specify the appropriate system components, and may perform the follow-up maintenance over the life of the PV system. To install the system, the solar services provider might use an in-house team of installers or have a contractual relationship with an independent installer. Once the Solar Power Purchase Agreement contract is signed, a typical installation can usually be completed in three to six months.

An investor provides equity financing and receives the federal and state tax benefits for which the system is eligible. Under certain circumstances, the investor and the solar services provider may together form a special purpose entity for the project to function as the legal entity that receives and distributes to the investor payments from the sale of the systems kWh output and tax benefits.

The utility serving the host customer provides an interconnection from the PV system to the grid, and continues its electric service with the host customer to cover the periods during which the system is producing less than the site’s electric demand. Certain states have net metering requirements in place that provide a method of crediting customers who produce electricity on-site for generation in excess of their own electricity consumption. In most states, the utility will credit excess electricity produced from the PV system, although the compensation varies significantly depending on state polices.

Some of the above information from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency with permission.

More about Power Purchase Agreements

A Power Purchase Agreement is "behind" almost every power plant.  A PPA is a contract involving the generation and sales of electricity - which is normally developed between the owner of a power plant generating the electricity, and the buyer of the electricity. PPA's can be quite lengthy agreements that may exceed 100 pages in length and take several months to even 1-2 years to finalize.  

The basic information contained in a Power Purchase Agreement include the following items:

          * Definitions
          * Purchase and Sale of Contracted Capacity and Energy (such as steam, hot
             water and/or chilled water in the case of cogeneration and trigeneration
             plants
          * Operation of the Power Plant
          * Financing of the Power Plant
          * Guarantees of Performance
          * Penalties
          * Payments
          * Force Majeure
          * Default and Early Termination
          * Miscellaneous
          * T&C's

For more information about Power Purchase Agreements, call or e-mail us today. 
Tel. (832) 758 - 0027.

Solar Trigeneration^sm
www.SolarTrigeneration.com

We Do Solar Right ^sm

We install our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy Systems, for qualified commercial businesses, as well as  cities, schools and government facilities with our Zero Up-front Cost program.

For some customers - based on their present location, utility company and electric rate - we are able to reduce their electric rate by 10%. Even more for other customers.  Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy System!

We provide the answers to your questions about solar power and energy!

Does your; business, city, school, or electric utility want a more sustainable solar power and energy solution?

Are you interested in transforming your facility, campus or building(s) to "Net Zero Energy"™ buildings?

Does your city or school have a problem with rising electricity and energy expenses, but not have the financial resources to provide the necessary updates and upgrades to make your buildings more efficient?

Maybe you have already decided to go solar, but you have a lot of questions, and don't know where to start.  Call us, we have the answers to your solar questions.

What is the optimum solar solution?  There are hundreds of companies in the solar power and energy industry.....  Who do you call to help you with these questions to help you make the right decisions?

There's still more questions, that you may not have thought about..... which solar technology do you go with, and what is the return on investment? 

Are there any solar rebates, refunds, tax credits or other incentives available?

What about investors that might be interested in owning/operating and maintaining our solar energy system under a Power Purchase Agreement?

You have numerous questions and need the answers to help in the decision-making process regarding the solar power and energy system you want to install.  These decisions will have a long-lasting impact as the solar energy system that you install at your business or facility will probably be generating clean power for the next 40 to 50 years, if not longer!  So, the decisions that you need to make now regarding your solar energy system will be a decision that will be either a long-term asset or a liability, depending on the equipment you select and who you choose to install it. 

We can help cities, schools and commercial (and large residential) customers make the switch to solar!

And now, with our no up-front cost for our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy System, we can also transform your building(s) to a "Net Zero Energy Building"™ and many times, actually REDUCE your present energy expenses by 10%, and possibly more!

Examples of buildings/facilities where our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy Systems would benefit, include; universities, churches, data centers, shopping centers, schools, radio/television stations, food processing, warehouses, new real estate developments and subdivisions, and electric utilities - practically any commercial facility can be upgraded to one of our "pollution free power" systems featuring one of our solar energy systems,  including our Solar Trigeneration^sm system!

Call or email us, we can provide these answers. We are focused on providing the optimum solar energy systems for our clients. This begins with an initial review of your past 12 months energy/electrical bills. The next step would include a site visit which may include a Demand Side Management study and/or a Solar Feasibility Study which determines the optimum solar energy system for your facility or location.  Once the optimum solar solution(s) are determined, we then have a blueprint to proceed that could include our installing one of our Solar Cogeneration™ or Solar Trigeneration^sm energy systems.  Or for a city, real estate development or subdivision, or an electric utility, one of our utility scale power plants which might be a Concentrating Photovoltaic, Concentrating Solar Power or High Concentration Photovoltaic power plants.

What is "Net Zero Energy^sm?"

Net Zero Energy^sm - when applied to a home or commercial building, simply means that the home or buildings generates as much power and energy as they consume, when measured on a monthly or annual basis, and with an onsite, renewable energy system, such as our Solar Trigeneration^sm Energy System. 

What is Net Energy Metering?

Net energy metering is used to measure a customer's total electric consumption against that customer's total on-site electric generation.  When a customer's onsite generation of power exceeds the amount that they use, the customer's solar energy system (or other renewable energy system) exports the extra electricity to the grid.  When the power requirements of the customer exceeds their onsite generation of power, the customer imports the electricity they need from electric grid. The customer pays the electric company for any extra power they use over the amount they generate - OR -  the customer receives a credit or refund from the electric company if they exported more power to the grid, than what they consumed.  

Renewable Energy Is Necessary for Net Zero Energy Buildings

Much focus is placed on energy efficiency as the most cost-effective way to reduce energy use in commercial buildings. However, consumption can be reduced only so much. There is a point at which the cost of adding efficiency measures is higher than that of using renewable energy such as thin film photovoltaics and other solar energy systems. 

Aggressive energy efficiency strategies can reduce a building's energy consumption by 50% to 70%. Renewable energy technologies must be used to reach the goal of a net-zero energy building (NZEB).

Supply-Side Technologies

Various supply-side renewable energy technologies are available for Net Zero Energy Buildings. Supply-side technologies, often called energy producers, collect natural energy and transform it into a useful form. Examples of these technologies include PV, solar hot water, wind, hydroelectric, and biofuels.

Ranking of Energy Options

All renewable sources are favorable over conventional energy sources such as coal and natural gas; however, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends the following ranking for these options (the lower numbers are preferable):

This hierarchy is weighted toward renewable technologies within the building footprint and site. Rooftop PV and solar water heating are the most applicable supply-side technologies for Net Zero Energy Buildings. Other supply-side technologies such as parking lot-based wind or solar energy systems may be available.

The goal in developing the ranking was to encourage technologies that:

• Minimize overall environmental impact by encouraging energy-efficient building designs and reducing transportation and conversion losses

• Will be available over the lifetime of the building

• Are widely available and have high replication potential for future Net Zero Energy Buildings.

Solar Trigeneration^sm
www.SolarTrigeneration.com

Now, Your Business Can Have Our Solar Trigeneration™ 
Energy System, installed for No Up-Front Costs!

Through an affiliated partner company, we are now installing our Solar Trigeneration™ Energy Systems, for qualified commercial businesses, nationwide, with Zero up-front costs.

Some customers may even see a decrease in their energy expenses by as much as 10% to 20% with our Zero up-front cost Solar Trigeneration™ Energy System!

To qualify for our no up-front cost Solar Trigeneration Energy Systems, businesses must:

• Have a good credit rating

• Agree to buy all of the energy generated from the Solar Trigeneration™ Energy System through a 20 year Power Purchase Agreement

• Other conditions may apply, depending on location, state or utility company you are presently buying power from.

We expect ALL of our customers will be very happy knowing that the clean, green, renewable power they are using is: 

• More reliable than the electricity from the power company.

• Saving the environment by reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and helping reverse Climate Change and Global Warming.

• Generated from their own reliable Solar Power System on their roofs.

• Saving Money!  At today's published electric rates at Southern California Edison, TXU, Reliant and Centerpoint, most of our customers will also enjoy a SAVINGS on their present electric bills by as much as 10% from what they are now paying for their electricity from the electric utility.

• Under warranty.

• At the end of the Power Purchase Agreement, the Solar Trigeneration™ Energy System is then offered for sale to our customers, for $1.00.  And then their energy savings really start to add up as the power and electricity generated from their Solar Trigeneration™ Energy System is free!

Our "Solar Trigeneration^sm" Power and Energy Systems
Generate Carbon Free Energy and Pollution Free Power
Which is Sustainable, Clean, Renewable and Affordable

Solar Energy Systems provides cooler, cleaner, greener power and energy project development services.  Our Solar Energy Systems are an environmentally-friendly and economically-superior choice to expensive natural gas and electricity. Additionally, our renewable energy technologies generate "green tags" or a Renewable Energy Credit.  

We provide Solar Power and Energy systems that we refer to as "EcoGeneration" solutions that produce cooler, cleaner, greener power and energy for our customers and our environment. Unlike most companies, we are equipment supplier/vendor neutral. This means we help our clients select the best equipment for their specific application. This approach provides our customers with superior performance, decreased operating expenses and increased return on investment. 

Our company provides turn-key project solutions that include all or part of the following: 

• Engineering and Economic Feasibility Studies 

• Project Design, Engineering & Permitting

• Project Construction

• Project Funding & Financing Options

• Shared/Guaranteed Savings program with no capital requirements. 

• Project Commissioning 

• Operations & Maintenance 

• Green Tag/Renewable Energy Credit Application, and Marketing

Net Zero Energy Buildings ^sm
www.NetZeroEnergyBuildings.com

The Audubon Nature Center Installs Solar Trigeneration  System
Making this one of the World's First "Net Zero Energy Buildings"
at Their New Facility in Los Angeles, California

GRID-FREE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM....
NO CONNECTION TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY!

The Solar Trigeneration  Provides All of their Facility's (5000 sq.ft.)
Cooling, Heating and Power Requirements - at 12 noon or 12 midnite,
WITHOUT ANY CONNECTION to the Electric Utility
with our Solar Trigeneration Energy System!  

The Sun Powers the Audubon Nature Center's Solar Trigeneration  
System at Debs Park in Los Angeles. The Audubon Nature Center's 
building is one of the world's first "Net Zero Energy Buildings." 
The Solar Trigeneration System Consists of a 10 Ton "Solar 
Absorption Cooling" System Matched with a Solar Electric 
Power System and a Solar Water Heating System

By:  Monty Goodell, MBA
www.SolarTrigeneration.com
Los Angeles, California

There is now a better, more efficient, “pollution free power” and "carbon free energy" solution for cooling, heating and powering homes and commercial buildings where solar energy is available. It's called Solar Trigeneration.

Solar Trigeneration is defined as the simultaneous generation of cooling, heating and power with only the free solar energy from the sun providing the "fuel". 

Solar Trigeneration is now a reality at the Audubon Center at Debs Park several miles from downtown Los Angeles and is one of the world's first "Net Zero Energy Buildings." Net Zero Energy Buildings." Net Zero Energy Buildings."

The Audubon Nature Center is totally powered by the sun’s energy and our Solar Trigeneration energy system!

The 5,300 square foot building operates entirely “grid-free” and without any electric connections to the electric grid, or natural gas connections – a truly sustainable power and energy solution. 

Best of all, the Audubon Center doesn’t rely on the over-burdened electric grid or even natural gas.  Therefore, the Audubon Nature Center NEVER receives an electric bill or natural gas bill.... ever!

The Audubon Nature Center's 5,000 square foot office and conference facility is powered by a Solar Trigeneration system that features a 25-kilowatt solar electric power system where the energy is stored in a bank of batteries. The Center is cooled by a 10-ton solar absorption cooling system powered by an array of very efficient solar heat pipe vacuum tube thermal collectors.  The collectors heat the water to temperatures of 200+ degree F stored in a 1,200 gallon insulated tank, another type of inexpensive battery. The Solar Trigeneration system at the Audubon not only provides the air-conditioning in the summer but also heats the building in the winter, and provides the hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms. 

Absorption chillers, and cooling with solar energy with an absorption chiller are not new technologies.  In fact, absorption chiller technology is over 70 years old.  The first refrigerators were powered by propane gas to run the absorption chillers that used ammonia as a refrigerant.  Electricity and the electric compression chiller gained popularity only because of the convenient “plug and play” appliance and relatively cheap electric rates.  Electricity is no longer economically, or environmentally “cheap.”

History of Cogeneration and Trigeneration

Few people realize that the world's first commercial power plant, designed and built by Thomas Edison, was a cogeneration power plant that was first opened on Pearl Street, in Lower Manhattan, New York.  That was in 1882!  Edison not only generated, and sold electricity in the several blocks surrounding his "Pearl Street Station" but he also sold the hot water that was also generated from the cogeneration plant. The fuel Edison used for generating the electricity and hot water (cogeneration) came from "pulverized coal." The Pearl Street Station provided 110 volts of "direct current" power to 59 customers in lower Manhattan, around his Pearl Street laboratory. 

Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of heat and power. 

Trigeneration is the simultaneous production of cooling, heating and power.

Our company, in partnership with the Renewable Energy Institute and our affiliated partners, have perfected "Solar Cogeneration" and "Solar Trigeneration" which are the "heart" of our Net Zero Energy Buildings.

Unlike traditional cogeneration and trigeneration power plants that are fueled by natural gas - and Thomas Edison's cogeneration plant, which was fueled with pulverized coal, our Solar Cogeneration and Solar Trigeneration energy systems are fueled with the energy of the sun!  And, while natural gas is a "cleaner" fuel, it still has its problems in that it is a limited resource and generates greenhouse gas emissions.  Natural gas also have had extreme price swings and has a history of price volatility.  Natural gas prices have gone from a high of $17.00/mmbtu to a recent low of under $3.00/mmbtu.  

Regarding pulverized coal, yes, it's cheap in terms of the cost of generating electricity, but too many people forget about the "externalities" of pulverized coal that is not reflected in the "cheap" costs of generating electricity from pulverized coal.  These costs not accounted for are the huge environmental cost relating to the use of pulverized coal.  Pound for pound, pulverized coal and coal fired power plants generate more greenhouse gas emissions than any other fossil fuel.  There are also the costs related to the health and safety issues of the miners that mine the coal.  And, the costs to the environment in terms of the ever-increasing amounts of mercury that are "dumped" into the environment from coal fired power plants, is also not reflected in the "cheap" price of generating power from pulverized coal.

Unlike the problems inherently found with the use of fossil fuels, Solar Cogeneration and Solar Trigeneration have no such problems. 

And talk about "cheap" costs of generating power and energy, there is nothing cheaper than free!!!!  

The owners of the Audubon Nature Center never receive any monthly natural gas or electric bills!

And the owners of the Audubon Nature Center will never have to account for their greenhouse gas emissions, or comply with the ever-increasing regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions and the pending Cap and Trade laws..... thanks to our  Solar Trigeneration energy system!

Solar Trigeneration is an EcoGeneration solution.  EcoGeneration refers to a power and energy system that uses the “natural” energy or fuel that is available for a specific site or location. Such energy or fuel includes, solar, wind, BioMethane, geothermal, and ocean power, including ocean tidal and ocean thermal energy conversion. For example, in the desert areas of the Southwestern U.S. , there is an abundance of solar energy. Therefore, home-owners and business owners in this part of the country should seriously consider an EcoGeneration system (“ecogen system”) that optimizes the opportunities available through solar energy

Today, the cause of the summer peak electric demand, electric supply problems, and black-outs, are the result of the energy crisis in California, primarily attributed to the air conditioning load. Over 40 percent of the electricity generated every day goes is used for air conditioning.  At this time of year, the electric utilities are forced to turn on all of their power plants to generate the “peak” demands required by the customers, primarily for air-conditioning.  This means that all of the efficient power plants, the inefficient power plants, along with all of the “peaking” power plants have to run to generate the electricity needed. The high cost of meeting the peak demand is passed on to the consumers with rates of $.20+ per kWh during the summer months. For fixed income seniors living in desert communities, they are already forced to conserve on energy, food, water, and other necessities of life. 

Greater Demands on California’s Limited Electric Supply, Lack of New Electric Power Supplies, and This Summer’s Heat Wave are Compounding the Problem Leading to the “Perfect Electric Storm”

Many people will remember the movie “The Perfect Storm” from several years ago, when several storms came together in the northeastern part of the U.S. to produce a deadly and catastrophic “perfect” storm. Today, a different type of “perfect storm” is brewing in California. The storm that’s looming on the horizon in California is a “perfect electric storm” wherein the supply of electricity from the electric utility company’s power plants are unable to keep-up with the demand – meaning a black-out, or loss of electricity, like the black-outs from previous years, and like the northeastern black-out from 2003.

The most likely time of year for a black-out in California, unfortunately, is the summer, when air-conditioners are running at the maximum, and placing the maximum load on California’s electricity supply.  Should such a black-out occur in the desert areas of California, where daily high temperatures routinely reach 110 degrees and higher, and where a significant percentage of the population is comprised of retired and senior citizens, and should the black-out be prolonged, a number of deaths will be the likely outcome. People, and especially the elderly, simply cannot tolerate prolonged high temperatures

How Do We Prevent the “Perfect Electric Storm” from Occurring in California and Other Regions in the U.S.?

Another major concern is how do we prevent the “Perfect Electric Storm” from happening, like the Northeast Blackout several summers ago, especially for people living in the desert?  California ’s energy authorities are warning of a possible energy crisis during the hot summer months, due to the excessive and prolonged summer temperatures where demand increases by over 40 percent.  Compounding the problem is the rising demand for electricity due to population growth and the limited transmission capacity in some areas in the region.  According to the California Energy Commission, the State must build three natural gas-fired 500-megawatt peaking power plants, every year, just to keep up with the growing demands of electricity. Failure to keep up with demand means The problem is getting worse due to the population growth in the Inland Empire , Coachella Valley and Antelope Valley. The projected power gap for the coming summers remains bleak.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s “Million Solar Roofs” program and the passage of the 2005 Federal Energy Act will be the foundation to create a “Perfect Solar Storm” to trigger the Solar Economy throughout California. 

With the threat of California’s seniors and elderly dying from heat exhaustion due to power outages, black-outs, rolling black-outs and the rising costs of electricity and natural gas, combined with the continuing impact of global warming, the perfect solution is to create a Solar Revolution by cooling, heating and powering the desert with solar energy and technologies like Solar Cogeneration or Solar Trigeneration.

For more information about Solar Energy Systems, such as Solar Cogeneration or Solar Trigeneration, call Monty Goodell at (832) 758 - 0027, or send an email to info@SolarTrigeneration.com.

The Audubon Center's new Solar Trigeneration power and energy system
makes this building a "Net Zero Energy Building"

The Audubon's Roof showing the Solar Thermal Collectors, part of the 
Solar Trigeneration power and energy system

The heart of the Audubon's Solar Trigeneration power and energy system
provides "free heating, cooling and domestic hot water," a "net zero energy building."

The hot water from the Solar Thermal Collectors on the roof of the Audubon is pumped here for producing the building's heating, cooling and domestic hot water.
Hot water is stored in the tank on the left for overnight.

_________________________________________________________________

Absorption Chillers 
&
Adsorption Chillers

For Solar Trigeneration Applications

What Absorption Chillers and How Does They Work?

Absorption chillers use heat instead of mechanical energy to provide cooling. A thermal compressor consists of an absorber, a generator, a pump, and a throttling device, and replaces the mechanical vapor compressor.

In the chiller, refrigerant vapor from the evaporator is absorbed by a solution mixture in the absorber. This solution is then pumped to the generator. There the refrigerant re-vaporizes using a waste steam heat source. The refrigerant-depleted solution then returns to the absorber via a throttling device. The two most common refrigerant/ absorbent mixtures used in absorption chillers are water/lithium bromide and ammonia/water.

Compared with mechanical chillers, absorption chillers have a low coefficient of performance (COP = chiller load/heat input). However, absorption chillers can substantially reduce operating costs because they are powered by low-grade waste heat. Vapor compression chillers, by contrast, must be motor- or engine-driven.

Low-pressure, steam-driven absorption chillers are available in capacities ranging from 100 to 1,500 tons. Absorption chillers come in two commercially available designs: single-effect and double-effect. Single-effect machines provide a thermal COP of 0.7 and require about 18 pounds of 15-pound-per-square-inch-gauge (psig) steam per ton-hour of cooling. Double-effect machines are about 40% more efficient, but require a higher grade of thermal input, using about 10 pounds of 100- to 150-psig steam per ton-hour.

In single-effect absorption chillers, all condensing heat cools and condenses in the condenser. From there it is released to the cooling water. A double-effect machine adopts a higher heat efficiency of condensation and divides the generator into a high-temperature and a low-temperature generator.

Actions You Can Take

Determine the cost-effectiveness of displacing a portion of your cooling load with a waste steam absorption chiller by taking the following steps:

• Conduct a plant survey to identify sources and availability of waste steam

• Determine cooling load requirements and the cost of meeting those requirements with existing mechanical chillers or new installations

• Obtain installed cost quotes for a waste steam absorption chiller

• Conduct a life cycle cost analysis to determine if the waste steam absorption chiller meets your company's cost-effectiveness criteria.

Absorption Chillers Refrigeration Cycle

The basic cooling cycle is the same for the absorption and electric chillers. Both systems use a low-temperature liquid refrigerant that absorbs heat from the water to be cooled and converts to a vapor phase (in the evaporator section). The refrigerant vapors are then compressed to a higher pressure (by a compressor or a generator), converted back into a liquid by rejecting heat to the external surroundings (in the condenser section), and then expanded to a low- pressure mixture of liquid and vapor (in the expander section) that goes back to the evaporator section and the cycle is repeated.

The basic difference between the electric chillers and absorption chillers is that an electric chiller uses an electric motor for operating a compressor used for raising the pressure of refrigerant vapors and absorption chillers use the heat for compressing refrigerant vapors to a high-pressure. The rejected heat from the power-generation equipment (e.g. turbines, microturbines, and engines) may be used with an absorption chiller to provide the cooling in a CHP system.

The basic absorption cycle employs two fluids, the absorbate or refrigerant, and the absorbent. The most commonly fluids are water as the refrigerant and lithium bromide as the absorbent. These fluids are separated and recombined in the absorption cycle. In the absorption cycle the low-pressure refrigerant vapor is absorbed into the absorbent releasing a large amount of heat. The liquid refrigerant/absorbent solution is pumped to a high-operating pressure generator using significantly less electricity than that for compressing the refrigerant for an electric chiller. Heat is added at the high-pressure generator from a gas burner, steam, hot water or hot gases. The added heat causes the refrigerant to desorb from the absorbent and vaporize. The vapors flow to a condenser, where heat is rejected and condense to a high-pressure liquid. The liquid is then throttled though an expansion valve to the lower pressure in the evaporator where it evaporates by absorbing heat and provides useful cooling. The remaining liquid absorbent, in the generator passes through a valve, where its pressure is reduced, and then is recombined with the low-pressure refrigerant vapors returning from the evaporator so the cycle can be repeated.

Absorption chillers are used to generate cold water (44°F) that is circulated to air handlers in the distribution system for air conditioning.

"Indirect-fired" absorption chillers use steam, hot water or hot gases steam from a boiler, turbine or engine generator, or fuel cell as their primary power input. Theses chillers can be well suited for integration into a CHP system for buildings by utilizing the rejected heat from the electric generation process, thereby providing high operating efficiencies through use of otherwise wasted energy.

"Direct-fired" systems contain natural gas burners; rejected heat from these chillers can be used to regenerate desiccant dehumidifiers or provide hot water.

Commercially, absorption chillers can be single-effect or multiple-effect. The above schematic refers to a single-effect absorption chiller. Multiple-effect absorption chillers are more efficient and discussed below.

Multiple-Effect Absorption Chillers

In single-effect absorption chillers, the heat released during the chemical process of absorbing refrigerant vapor into the liquid stream, rich in absorbent, is rejected to the environment. In a multiple-effect absorption chiller, some of this energy is used as the driving force to generate more refrigerant vapor. The more vapor generated per unit of heat or fuel input, the greater the cooling capacity and the higher the overall operating efficiency.

Double-effect absorption chillers uses two generators paired with a single condenser, absorber, and evaporator. It requires a higher temperature heat input to operate and therefore they are limited in the type of electrical generation equipment they can be paired with when used in a CHP System.

Triple-effect absorption chillers can achieve even higher efficiencies than the double-effect chillers. These absorption chillers require still higher elevated operating temperatures that can limit choices in materials and refrigerant/absorbent pairs. Triple-effect chillers are under development by manufacturers working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy.

_______________________________________________________________________

What is "Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide?"

Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CuInSe2) is a material that provides an extremely high absorption of light ( 99%) to be absorbed in the first micron of the material. Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide is projected to be the revolutionary material that some are saying, could put typical "central" power plants and some electric utilities, out of business, as it will be much cheaper for customers to generate their own onsite power with Thin Film Photovoltaics made from these materials.   

When additional small amounts of Gallium is added to Copper Indium diSelenide, this increases its' light-absorbing band gap, thereby making the solar panel more closely match the solar spectrum of the sun.  This, in turn, increases the voltage and the efficiency of the Thin Film Photovoltaics solar panel. 

Solar panels produced with Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide cells have reached efficiencies of more than 20% - which is much higher than the other Thin Film Photovoltaics. 

Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide solar panels create more electricity from the same amount of sunlight than other Thin Film Photovoltaics panels.  This translates into a higher conversion efficiency. 

The conversion efficiency of Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide PV technologies is very stable over time, meaning its power output remains stable over many years, while the power output of many other PV materials can rapidly decline with time. 

What are "Building Integrated Photovoltaics?"

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) are solar energy systems that are integrated into a part of the building, that serve as the building's exterior or the building's skin. 

Commercial buildings and facilities (including houses) that integrate their own solar power systems into the building's exteriors, are referred to as "power buildings."

The technology that makes this possible is "Thin Film Photovoltaics."

What are Thin Film Photovoltaics?

Without a doubt, the most exciting technology in the solar power industry is "Thin Film Photovoltaics."  Thin Film Photovoltaics technology represents the next big thing in renewable energy and solar power as it integrates nanotechnologies into the production of solar photovoltaics. 

According to the Department of Energy, the recent technological advances in thin film photovoltaics make this a very exciting time to be in the solar energy industry.  These advances have led to many new developments in the components and manufacturing of thin film photovoltaics. This has made thin film photovoltaics cheaper to manufacture as they are also now easier to install since they are extremely versatile, flexible, bendable, and much lighter.

Thin film photovoltaics  have led many to believe that as much as 50% of our nation's future power will be generated by "power buildings" that integrate "building integrated photovoltaics" or "BIPV" into the building's skin or exterior surfaces, that convert sunlight into "pollution free power" for use in the building.  This also designates these buildings (and homes) as "Net Zero Energy Buildings" and make the option for going grid-free, or not connecting to the grid, a real possibility.

According to the Department of Energy, the market potential for printed electronics will grow into a $47 billion market by 2018.  Thin film photovoltaics represents a significant portion of this market - and based on this heavily researched solar technology, thin film photovoltaics now represents a $20 billion/year industry in the U.S.

The solar PV panels produced under the thin film photovoltaics umbrella have the potential to produce power significantly cheaper power than today’s typical silicon-based PV panels.  The panels are usually made in the form of a monolithic piece of glass, upon which various thin films are deposited, although a number of firms are working on depositing the materials on a substrate, such as stainless steel or plastic.

Types of Thin Film Photovoltaics – there are primarily three types of thin film photovoltaics and include:

1. Amorphous Silicon

2. Cadmium Telluride

3. Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide

Amorphous Silicon had the largest share of the thin film photovoltaics market through 2006. It has been researched for the longest period of time, may be the best understood material of the three and has been commercial for the longest. Cadmium Telluride has the remaining share and is growing. 

Thin Film Photovoltaics Advantages over Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics

• Lower cost of production of the 

• Lower production facility cost per watt - CapEx

• Uses as little as 1/500 of the amount used in standard silicon cells

• Lower energy payback – amount of time until the product produces more energy than was utilized in its manufacture.

• Produces more power/watt

• Superior performance in hot and cloudy climates

• Integrates seemlessly in homes and buildings – see Building Integrated Photovoltaics 

• Produces the lowest cost power

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About Us

We provide renewable energy engineering services and turnkey installations of our solar energy systems for commercial, municipal, government, schools and utility clients with projects located in the U.S., Canada Central America and the Caribbean. In many cases, we may also be able to provide project finance or investment. 

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Solar Electric Power Systems (PV)

Solar electric power systems transform sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is an abundant resource. Every minute the sun bathes the Earth in as much energy as the world consumes in an entire year. Solar cells employ special materials called semiconductors that create electricity when exposed to light. Solar electric systems are quiet and easy to use, and they require no fuel other than sunlight. Because they contain no moving parts, they are durable, reliable, and easy to maintain. How It Works Solar cells, also known as photovoltaic (PV) cells, do the work of making electricity. Several types of solar electric technology are under development, but four—crystalline silicon (a form of refined beach sand), thin films, concentrators, and thermophotovoltaics—are illustrative of the range of technologies. Solar cells are connected to a variety of other components to make a solar electric power system. Crystalline Silicon Crystalline silicon solar cells are used in more than half of all solar electric devices. Like most semiconductor devices, they include a positive layer (on the bottom) and a negative layer (on the top) that create an electrical field inside the cell. When a photon of light strikes a semiconductor, it releases electrons (see animation). The free electrons flow through the solar cell's bottom layer to a connecting wire as direct current (DC) electricity. Some solar cells are made from polycrystalline silicon, which consists of several small silicon crystals. Polycrystalline silicon solar cells are cheaper to produce but somewhat less efficient than single-crystal silicon. A simple silicon solar cell can power a watch or calculator. However, it produces only a tiny amount of electricity. Connected together, solar cells form modules that can generate substantial amounts of power. Modules are the building blocks of solar electric systems, which can produce enough power for a house, a rural medical clinic, or an entire village. Large arrays of solar electric modules can power satellites or provide electricity for utilities. Solar Electric Power System Components In addition to modules, several components are needed to complete a solar electric power system. Many systems include batteries, battery chargers, a backup generator, and a controller so that people in solar-powered homes and buildings can turn on the lights at night or run televisions or appliances on cloudy days. Grid-connected systems don't require batteries or backup generators because they use the grid for backup power. Some remote system applications, such as those used to pump water, do not require a backup power source. Components of a typical standalone PV system using crystalline silicon technology. (Source: Solar Electric Power Association) Solar electric power systems can incorporate inverters or power control units to transform the DC electricity produced by the solar cells into alternating current (AC) to run AC appliances or sell to a utility grid. Complete systems usually include safety disconnects, fuses, and a grounding circuit as well. Thin Films Solar electric thin films are lighter, more resilient, and easier to manufacture than crystalline silicon modules. The best-developed thin-film technology uses amorphous silicon, in which the atoms are not arranged in any particular order as they would be in a crystal. An amorphous silicon film only one micron thick can absorb 90% of the usable solar energy falling on it. Other thin-film materials include cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide. Substantial cost savings are possible with this technology because thin films require relatively little semiconductor materials. Thin films are produced as large, complete modules, not as individual cells that must be mounted in frames and wired together. They are manufactured by applying extremely thin layers of semiconductor material to a low-cost backing such as glass or plastic. Electrical contacts, antireflective coatings, and protective layers are also applied directly to the backing material. Thin films conform to the shape of the backing, a feature that allows them to be used in such innovative products as flexible solar electric roofing shingles. Concentrators Concentrators use optical lenses (similar to plastic magnifying glasses) or mirrors to concentrate the sunlight that falls on a solar cell. With a concentrator to magnify the light intensity, the solar cell produces more electricity. Today, most solar cells in concentrators are made from crystalline silicon. However, materials such as gallium arsenide and gallium indium phosphide are more efficient than silicon in solar electric concentrators and will likely see more use in the future. These materials are now used in communications satellites and other space applications. Concentrators produce more electricity using less of the expensive semiconductor material than other solar electric systems. A basic concentrator unit consists of a lens to focus the light, a solar cell assembly, a housing element, a secondary concentrator to reflect off-center light rays onto the cell, a mechanism to dissipate excess heat, and various contacts and adhesives. The basic unit can be combined into modules of varying sizes and shapes. Concentrators only work with direct sunlight and operate most effectively in sunny, dry climates. They must be used with tracking systems to keep them pointed toward the sun. Thermophotovoltaics Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices convert heat into electricity in much the same way that other PV devices convert light into electricity. The difference is that TPV technology uses semiconductors "tuned" to the longer-wavelength, invisible infrared radiation emitted by warm objects. This technology is cleaner, quieter, and simpler than conventional power generation using steam turbines and generators. TPV converters are relatively maintenance-free because they contain no moving parts. In addition to using solar energy, they can convert heat from any high-temperature heat source, including combustion of a fuel such as natural gas or propane, into electricity. TPV converters produce virtually no carbon monoxide and few emissions. They may be used in the future in gas furnaces that generate their own electricity for self-ignition (during power outages) and in portable generators and battery chargers. Advantages Solar electric systems offer many advantages. Standalone systems can eliminate the need to build expensive new power lines to remote locations. For rural and remote applications, solar electricity can cost less than any other means of producing electricity. Solar electric systems can also connect to existing power lines to boost electricity output during times of high demand such as on hot, sunny days when air conditioners are on. Solar electric systems are flexible. Solar electric modules can stand on the ground or be mounted on rooftops. They can also be built into glass skylights and walls. They can be made to look like roof shingles and can even come equipped with devices to turn their DC output into the same AC utilities deliver to wall sockets. These advances mean individual homeowners and businesses can relieve pressure on local utilities struggling to meet the increasing demand for electricity. More than 30 states offer grid-connected solar electric system owners the chance to save money on their energy bills by feeding any excess power their solar electric system produces into the utility grid—an arrangement called net metering. Solar power systems require minimal maintenance. They run quietly and efficiently without polluting. They are easy to combine with other types of electric generators such as wind, hydro, or natural gas turbines. They can charge batteries to make solar electricity continuously available. For utilities, large-scale solar electric power plants can help meet demand for new power generation, especially in distributed applications. A solar electric power plant is created from multiple arrays that are interconnected electronically. Solar electric plants are easier to site and are quicker to build than conventional power plants. They are also easy to expand incrementally—by adding more modules—as power demand increases. Solar electric power systems are good for the environment. When solar electric technologies displace fossil fuels for pumping water, lighting homes, or running appliances, they reduce the greenhouse gases and pollutants emitted into the atmosphere. The use of solar electric systems is particularly important in developing nations because it can help avert the expected increases in emissions of greenhouse gases caused by the growing demand for electricity in those countries. Solar electric technologies also benefit the U.S. economy by creating jobs in U.S. companies. Exporting solar electric technologies to developing nations expands U.S. markets while protecting the global environment. Disadvantages Although solar electric systems make financial sense in remote areas that lack access to power lines, they are usually more expensive than fossil fuels for grid-connected applications. This disadvantage is significant for utilities considering large-scale solar electric power plants. Although solar electricity costs considerably more than electricity generated by conventional plants, regulatory agencies often require utilities to supply electricity for the lowest cash cost. Utilities view solar electric power plants differently than they view conventional power plants. Solar electric modules produce electricity intermittently—only when the sun shines. Their output varies with the weather and disappears altogether at night. Integrating solar electricity into a utility system requires creative planning. Applications A combination of solar electric arrays and pool-heating solar collectors were used to provide power and heat to the Georgia Tech University Aquatic Center, site of the 1996 Olympic swimming competition. (Credit: Heliocol) Solar electricity has powered satellites since the dawn of the space program. It has run remote communications outposts high in the mountains and turned on the lights, kept medicines cold, and pumped water in rural areas for more than 30 years. Small solar cells are used to power wristwatches, calculators, and other electronic gadgets. More recently, solar electric systems have been used to provide supplemental power to homes and commercial buildings in cities. Solar electric technology has important roles to play in both the developing and developed worlds. From the farmer irrigating his crops in rural Mexico to an innovative lighting system for an Olympic sports arena, solar electric solutions abound. Electric utilities harness solar electricity for distributed applications—near substations or at the end of overloaded power lines, for example, to avoid or defer costly line upgrades. They use solar electricity during hot, sunny periods when the demand for air conditioning stretches conventional power generation to its limit. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, for example, uses large solar electric arrays as part of its power generation mix. Utilities also rely on solar electricity to power remote, standalone monitoring systems. Consumers and builders are integrating solar electric modules into their homes and offices. Innovative solar electric technologies can replace conventional roofing and facade materials in new buildings. Solar electric roofing shingles, for example, are being used in some new residences. In grid-connected applications, solar electricity supplies some of a consumer's energy needs; the local utility provides the rest. Standalone solar electric systems power a variety of applications far from the reaches of the power grid. These applications include remote communications systems such as television and radio transmitters and receivers, telephone systems, and microwave repeaters. Standalone solar electric power is also used to prevent corrosion of metal pipes, tanks, bridges, and buildings. Many remote residences worldwide use solar electricity as their source of power. For instance, more than 100,000 vacation homes in Scandinavia rely solely on solar electric technology to run lights and appliances. Villages around the world are building solar electric systems to bring electricity to their homes and local industries, often for the first time. To make the maximum use of available resources, village power is typically produced by a hybrid power system that combines solar electricity with diesel backup generators and sometimes another renewable energy technology such wind power. Villages also use standalone solar electric systems for pumping water—an application shared by rural farmers and ranchers in the United States.

How we make and distribute electricity is changing! 

The electric power generation, transmission and distribution system (the electric "grid") is changing and evolving from the electric grid of the 19th and 20th centuries, which was inefficient, highly-polluting, very expensive and “dumb.”  

The "old" way of generating and distributing energy resembles this slide:

How To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

You can easily and affordably reduce or eliminate your company's "carbon footprint." 

Did you know that the United States Congress will be passing the S. 2191 "Cap and Trade" Law in 2009?  Did you know that Supreme Court ruled in April (2008) that the EPA already has the authority to regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions?  Cap And Trade narrowly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is now in the U.S. Senate, who has threatened to make even greater reductions of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in their final Bill of the Cap And Trade legislation. 

Are you ready for these new regulations?  We can help you get ready!

According to Monty Goodell, the Founder and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Dioxide Emissions will be the world’s biggest commodity market and will probably soon be the world’s largest market, period." In fact,  Mr. Goodell anticipates that Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Dioxide Emissions will become one of the fasting-growing commodities and markets ever.

Every day, leading companies are spending millions of dollars going "GREEN" and reducing their Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Dioxide Emissions Market Potential is staggering!  According to a recent New York Times article, carbon trading is one of the “fastest-growing specialties in financial services.” 

Already, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading and International Carbon Trading markets are worth in excess of $50 billion/year. The United Nations expects this market to be valued in excess of $2 Trillion/year by 2012 and others are saying this could easily exceed $5 Trillion/year within the next several years!

DO THE MATH on the Carbon Dioxide Emissions market! 

You may be wondering, how can such a relatively new commodity grow so rapidly?  Here in the USA, 40 billion tons of Carbon Dioxide Emissions are produced every year. At the present price of $50 per ton of carbon dioxide, the Carbon Dioxide Emissions market is valued at $2.0 Trillion (40 billion tons of Carbon Dioxide Emissions x $50.00/ton).

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Carbon Emissions, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions can be reduced or completely eliminated with renewable energy technologies, such as our Solar Energy Systems - including our super high efficiency Solar Cogeneration and Solar Trigeneration energy systems.  Brown buildings can be upgraded in to green buildings and  "Net Zero Energy Buildings" through the products and services that we offer.  

Qualified commercial, government, industrial and municipal clients can affordably have one of our Solar Cogeneration and Solar Trigeneration energy systems installed, with ZERO up-front costs, with our Power Purchase Agreement.  Call (832) 758 - 0027 to learn more and find out if your business qualifies.

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Monty Goodell, Founder and President of the Renewable Energy Institute, along with the Renewable Energy Institute's Scientific Advisory Board, which is comprised of several of our nation's leading experts, engineers, attorneys, professors and universities, is calling for our nation and all 50 states to adopt a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) of at least 25% by 2025.

And even better than a Renewable Portfolio Standard, according to Mr. Goodell, is a "Feed In Tariff," which is the route Germany took, and why they have had such great success in their transition to a solar based economy. The fastest paths to jump-start the renewable energy industry, is through a "Feed In Tariff.

A Feed In Tariff is superior to a Renewable Portfolio Standard," according to Mr. Goodell.  "For example, look at Germany's success in their transition to an economy based on the installation of solar energy systems, they adopted a Feed In Tariff, are further north from the Equator than we are here in the U.S., and they are placing solar panels on every rooftop and wind turbine generators throughout their country. They are leading the world in renewable energy technologies, primarily due to their early adoption of a Feed In Tariff"

What is a Feed In Tariff? 

A Feed In Tariff is a utility rate that is established by a state or federal government, that requires a utility to pay higher electricity rates for green electricity generated by the owners of the solar energy systems, whether that is a homeowner or business owner. Feed In Tariffs shifts the expenses of subsidizing green energy from taxpayers, to electricity ratepayers. Feed In Tariffs also include guarantee that the Feed In Tariffs' artificially higher rates, will continue for periods as long as 25 years.  

Germany's great success for jump-starting the solar energy industry there, first established Feed In Tariffs in 1999.  Germany now has about five times as many solar photovoltaic panels installed as the United States - even though their total combined installations of PV panels  still only account for about 0.5% of the electricity generated there. 

"So, we go with a Feed In Tariff in lieu of a Renewable Portfolio Standard.  Simultaneously, we need to start re-building our national electric grid, and transforming it into 'Transmission Superhighway' or 'Unified Smart Grid' and dramatically increase the nation's power supply as well as implement greater use of 'Energy Efficiency Measures' - also referred to as Energy Conservation Measures.  And we need to implement "real" 'Demand Side Management' programs.  Failure to move in these areas and to do so immediately increases the risks to our country, our national security and the climate" according to Mr. Goodell. 

According to Mr. Goodell, our nation is at a crossroads and we have been 'over the Middle Eastern barrel of their fossil fuels' long enough. We must shift from energy dependence to energy independence and place significant emphasis and investments in our national energy security and lower greenhouse gas emissions.    

Renewable energy, and only renewable energy provides the significant economic and environmental dividends our country now needs.  Preferably, our fledgling renewable energy  industry in the U.S., will be "jump-started" with a Feed In Tariff.  

Some of the economic and environmental dividends that renewable energy will provide our country include:

• Creation of more than 3 million new jobs in the U.S..

• Generate more than $1 trillion in economic impacts

• Eliminates or Reduces Carbon Emissions and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Significant reductions of oil imports

• Reduce energy prices and save consumers as much as $50 billion on their energy bills

• Elimination of billions of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions

• Stimulate rural economies

• Conserve natural gas supplies 

• Creates a clean, safe energy future

• Position the US as a world leader in renewable energy technologies

According to the Energy Information Administration, the total US primary energy consumption is expected to increase from 100 quadrillion Btu (quads) in 2005 to 131 quads in 2030. However, the renewable electricity generation remains at 9% while use of coal increases 50 percent in 2030 to 57%.  Ethanol use is expected to increase from 4 billion gallons in 2005 to 14.6 billion gallons in 2030, yet that is only about 8% of total gasoline consumption.

In January (2008) the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) blamed the burning of fossil fuels as a key contributor to global warming and accelerating climate change. The NCDC warned that the rate of the warming is accelerating and that the rise in temperatures over the past 9 years is “unprecedented in the historical record." This was underscored in February (2008) in the consensus report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that concluded with near certainty that human activity was the main contributor to global warming.

The renewable energy industry, single-handedly, provides a powerful argument and solutions for these problems. 

Global warming and climate change are symptoms of a sick planet and the results of unrestrained "dumping" of huge amounts of pollution - in the form of carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

The vast majority of carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gas emissions comes from "dirty" fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) used in making electricity at power plants and dirty fuels (gasoline and petroleum diesel) that run our internal combustion engines in our cars, trains, planes, and trucks. Our planet is home to millions and millions of internal combustion engines that run on dirty fossil fuels - whether they are fueled with gasoline for running our cars and lawnmowers or running on diesel fuel in the engines of trucks and ships like the very large crude carriers that transport the crude oil all around the world...... every internal combustion engine that is running on dirty fossil fuels is dumping millions and millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere - which is aggravating and exacerbating our sick planet - and making manmade climate change and global warming more difficult to resolve through manmade remedies and solutions.

"Finally, the fact that over 60% of the gasoline we use every day in our cars comes from foreign countries - should be the "clarion call" that jump-starts the renewable energy industry here in the U.S." said Mr. Goodell.

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Why We Need The "Unified Smart Grid" 
or "Transmission Superhighway"

According to Monty Goodell, the Chairman and Founder of the Renewable Energy Institute, "our country desperately needs to upgrade its' national electric grid.  The grid of today is a relic from the past, that is inefficient and costly.  Originally built in the 1930's, it is costing our nation approximately $120 billion every year due to its' outdated and out-lived existence.  The national power grid as designed and built in the 1930's does not have the efficiencies and capabilities to keep pace with the national power grid's demands of today." 

"What we need" according to Mr. Goodell, is what former Vice President Al Gore calls a "Unified Smart Grid" or what we prefer to call a "Transmission Superhighway."

A Transmission Superhighway would be buried underground and "wheels" or transmits the renewable power ("green electricity") from the wind farms of the midwest, and solar farms of the southwest, and geothermal farms of the west, to load centers throughout every corner of the U.S."

According to many estimates, the "Unified Smart Grid" or "Transmission Superhighway" could be built for about $400 billion.  Through its' increased efficiencies, savings and reliability improvements that it will provide, the nation's new "unified smart grid" will be paid in full, in less than 4 years. 

The carbon clock tracks total carbon dioxide emissions in metric tons since 1750.

Since 1750, humans have emitted over 5 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Roughly half of this has ended up in the oceans where it is beginning to damage the coral reefs. The other half is still in the atmosphere and causing global warming. Each pound of CO2 takes up as much space as a 500 pound person.

The formula (which should be good for a year or two) is:
C(t) = 2.58 ×1012 + 1240×t, where t is seconds since the start of 2007.

C is tonnes (metric tons) of carbon dioxide emissions.
2205 x C gives pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

That comes to over 43 billion tons/year or over 86 trillion pounds/year.

Carbon dioxide (2) = 1 carbon atom with 2 oxygen atoms.
Carbon has relative weight 12 and Oxygen 16.
So it takes only 12 pounds of carbon to make 12+16+16 = 44 pounds of CO2. 

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Linked to 
the Loss of a "Few" Polar Bears

Monty Goodell, MBA
Founder and Chairman
Renewable Energy Institute

The Renewable Energy Institute (REI) does not take a stand in the debate on global warming, and if there is global warming, is it "anthropogenic" or is it caused by the sun, or the sun's normal cycles.  Or, if there is " climate change," is it " global cooling" caused by the water vapor in the atmosphere?

At the Renewable Energy Institute, we are waiting for the "true" scientists who doing the real research, to provide us with the science and answers critically needed to formulate correct policy - and not the phony " scientists" who are following politically-motivated and profit-driven agendas of the United Nations and government leaders. These phony scientists are not interested in conducting real scientific research.  Their very livelihoods are dependent on the government grants to fund their phony research that have pre-determined conclusions before and "research" is conducted.  

Political-interference by governments, governmental agencies, and bureaucrats that hand out billions of tax-payers dollars to phony scientists to conduct "junk science" and research,  expect the conclusions that supports anthropogenic global warming, or climate change. 

When scientists conclude in their research that they find no evidence of anthropogenic climate change or global warming, they are summarily dismissed, and black-balled from their communities and colleagues, and never again receive funding or grants.  Grants and funding by government bureaucrats with politically-driven agendas to "scientists" expecting their pre-determined results and conclusions supporting anthropogenic global warming must stop.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2007

• the solar industry received $198 million in subsidies.

• the oil and natural gas industry collected $2.1 Billion in tax-payer subsidies.

• the coal industry coal received $3.2 Billion in tax-payer subsidies.

And since 1960:

• the nuclear industry has received nearly $70 billion in tax-payer incentives and tax-payer subsidies. 

Taxpayers have bankrolled the oil and gas industry, and the coal industry for 100 years now, and the nuclear industry for 50 years, to keep these dirty fuels and energy "cheap." Take away the tax-payer incentives and tax dollars, and we believe the real cost of gasoline, would be similar to the gasoline cost in Europe - $7.00 - $8.00/gallon!

In the meantime, our U.S. Military is spending billions of tax-payer dollars each year protecting the Straits of Hormuz where much of the world's crude oil is produced and shipped through the straits' international shipping lanes.  Each day, hundreds of "very large crude carriers" pass through the Straits of Hormuz carrying oil from OPEC and the Middle-East to the U.S. and many other countries. 

Isn't it time we take some of the tax-payer dollars supporting the nuclear, coal and oil and gas industries, and start incentivizing clean, renewable energy technologies that don't pollute or harm the environment in any way?  Isn't it time that America ends its reliance on non-sustainable energy sources and stop over $1 billion every day, to oil suppliers from foreign countries, and start putting this money in "solar on every rooftop?!?

Mercury Emissions from Coal Fired Power Plants Far More Harmful to the Planet and People than Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Regarding the harm being caused to our planet from energy use, far more harm is being done to the planet, as well as to people and plants and animals, particularly fish, from the mercury emissions from coal fired power plants than from the coal fired power plants' greenhouse gas emissions.  We surmise that if any polar bears have died as a result of an environmental problem, it was more likely from the high levels of mercury in their food chain, than from greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Renewable Energy Institute is supporting and advancing renewable energy technologies, as well as reducing and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and the fossil-fuel problems related to America's oil addiction and ending our dependence on foreign oil.  The renewable energy technologies we support are already deemed to be economic, viable and practical. Solutions such as Solar Trigeneration energy systems (see www.SolarTrigeneration.com for more information) for any kind of facility or building - office buildings, shopping centers, data centers, university campuses, etc. 

Since 2003, a Solar Trigeneration energy system has been providing 100% of the power and energy for a 5,300 sq. ft. office building near downtown Los Angeles, and doing so without any connection to the electric grid, whether its 12 noon or 12 midnite!  

The Renewable Energy Institute is also involved in research and advocacy of "Net Zero Energy" (see: www.NetZeroEnergy.com for more information) and "Net Zero Energy Buildings" (see:  www.NetZeroEnergyBuildings.com for more information).  Net Zero Energy Buildings generate as much (or more) energy than they use, and export their excess power to the grid, which we believe needs to be updated into a "Transmission Superhighway."

Climate Change, Global Warming or Global Cooling?

The past 10 years indicates the opposite of "global warming" has occurred - that the "Earths Fever" has and that global cooling has taken place. 

Weather, on a daily basis, or even an annual basis, is not climate, and climate is not weather. 

"Climate change" is always taking place, from one day to the next, and one week to the next, as well as one year to the next. The planet's climate is an ever-evolving, changing and dynamic process.  

Again, researchers and scientists need to refrain from being political, and stay out of politics, and politicians need to stay out of the way of the scientists and researchers, and let them do their work.  Politicians, government leaders and bureaucrats scientists need true and accurate data and climate research from scientists that do not have a political agenda.

In the meantime, as there may still be 30 years of research before there are conclusive answers concerning anthropogenic climate change, can we "risk" 30 years of our children and grand children's future, should there is a link between climate change and greenhouse gas emissions?  Should we not err on the side of caution?

Hubbert's Peak Oil Predictions Now Proving True?

Marion King Hubbert was a geologist and scientist who worked at Shell Oil company's research lab in Houston, Texas.  Hubbert made several important contributions to geology, geophysics and petroleum geology.  Hubbert is most recognized for the "Hubbert Curve" and " Hubbert Peak Theory" which is now referred to as " Peak Oil. 

Hubbert's life work determined that the world has a finite amount of petroleum that can be produced.  (Similarly, there is a finite amount of coal.) Many scientists and engineers believe we have reached Hubbert's "peak oil" limit.  Hubbert's espouses that when 50% of domestic crude oil production has been reached, that there will be such significant upward demand on prices of the limited supplies of oil production, that the U.S. economy will experience severe economic, social, and political turmoil.

Hubbert's Peak Oil predictions have proven to be true and this is validated as the U.S. in the early 1970's produced about 60% of its' oil demand and imported 40%.  That equation has flipped since then, because our domestic oil production has been on the decline since 1970, so now, due to our declining domestic oil production, we have to import 60% of our oil supplies, to meet our country's oil/energy demands.

The Next Oil Shock Could be the "mother" of All Oil Shocks

How severe our economic calamity and next "oil shock" will depend upon a number of factors, including when this occurs, as well as the following:

1.  the dependence of the individual country upon its own crude oil production to meet its energy needs and to subsidize consumer imports; 

2.  the rate of relative decline in crude oil production; 

3.  the degree of difficulty encountered in replacing missing energy inputs; 

4.  the degree to which our country had prepared in advance for this inevitable geological and economic calamity.

Examples of past "oil shocks" and the economic and political calamities that followed:

United States: Our peak crude oil production of domestic oil occurred in 1970; the first "oil shock" and oil crisis followed in 1973 with the Arab/OPEC Oil Embargo.

Iran: Their peak crude oil production occurred in 1974; They had their islamic revolution 1979 that overturned government and replaced it with radical islam.

Soviet Union: Their peak crude oil production was in 1989; what happened next? 
Their country disintegrated and the collapse of the Soviet Union followed in 1991. 

Indonesia: Their peak crude oil production was in 1991; their financial and government crisis followed in 1997.

Iraq: Iraq's crude oil production was in 1989; they then invaded Kuwait (for their oil) in 1991.

Using Mr. Hubbert's predictions, that beginning around 2000  we would see peak (global) oil production, then, if the country's not weaning themselves off of their oil addiction, and had not begun making the switch to renewable energy, that the negative economic and political calamities would soon follow, including ever-increasing prices of energy that is from fossil fuels. 

Now is the time to begin weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels and making the transition to and increasing the use of renewable energy. If you don't believe in climate change, or global warming, GREAT! Join us in the switch to renewable energy and a fossil-free economy!

America's "Clear and Present Danger"

America Has INCREASED its' Dependence on Foreign 
Sources of Energy by 50% Since 1973.

America is even more "addicted" to foreign oil today, than we were in 1973 - 1974 when OPEC, Saudi Arabia and other suppliers from the Middle-East  stopped selling us their fossil fuels, and created a significant blow to our economy.

This Means that 65% of America's Energy Supplies are Now Imported from Suppliers from Foreign Countries.  

Simply put, about 65% of the gasoline in your car's gas tank, comes from a foreign country.

EVERY day, the U.S. must IMPORT over 13 million bbls of oil from foreign countries and foreign suppliers to meet demand. 

At $80/barrel of oil, this also means that $1,040,000,000.00 American Dollars leave our country, EVERY DAY, to foreign countries/suppliers of our fossil fuels, to pay for the energy we need. 

That's $1 Billion EVERY day leaving our economy, and going to support a foreign country's economy. 

Talk about our foreign trade deficit..... nearly $400 Billion each year, leaves our country to pay for our oil addiction and the energy we need.  To be exact, that's $379,600,000,000.00 American Dollars.

This is NOT acceptable.

America needs to quickly transition to Energy Independence. 

Renewable Energy is the Only Way America Can Achieve Energy Independence. 

Millions of new and sustainable American jobs would be created here at home, if we would end our addiction to foreign fossil fuels, and quickly transition to an economy based on renewable energy and renewable fuels, produced here in the U.S.A. 

The good news is that today, America already has all of the Renewable Energy Resources and Renewable Energy Technologies needed to make American Energy Independence a reality. 

According to Monty Goodell, Founder and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute, "our increased dependence and reliance on foreign energy supplies represents a Clear and Present Danger to our national security, our economy, and the lives and livelihood of every American. Energy - including the energy we use from imported fossil fuels, is the very "lifeblood" of the American economy as it is for every industrialized country.  An economy dies without it's lifeblood of energy. This Clear and Present Danger we face is far more serious than the problems related to greenhouse gas emissions.  And while greenhouse gas emissions are very serious issue, in the long-term, pales in comparison to America's vital national security interests and America's economic stability in the short term.  For this reason alone, America needs to transition away from its addiction to foreign energy supplies. And America's abundant renewable energy resources such as the energy we receive from the sun, and renewable energy technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants - can supply 100% of America's power requirements with a concentrating solar power plant measuring 75 miles by 75 miles, located in the Southwest U.S.  By generating America's power from concentrating solar power plants, America resolves its' short-term Clear and Present Danger as it relates to importing its energy from foreign countries, and the long-term problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions."

Continuing, Mr. Goodell states that "too many Americans have forgotten what happened to us in 1973, when the Arabs and OPEC brought the United States economy to a screeching halt during the OPEC Oil Embargo.  This happened because they (mainly the country of Saudi Arabia) disagreed with our foreign policy and is the reason why they "turned off the tap" of our need for their oil supplies. When Saudi Arabia and OPEC stopped the vital flow of oil to our country in 1973, they caused an "oil shock" that severely and negatively impacted our economy. 

Mr. Goodell's question for us to ponder is, "do these countries who sell us 60% of our daily energy requirements, like us and our foreign policy, or might they leverage our addiction to their fossil fuels, and turn off the tap to make us adjust or revise our foreign policy??  Like any addict, America's foreign policy may be held hostage to its addiction, and in this case, our addiction to foreign oil, may over-ride our national interests."

Have American's forgotten the gas shortages and long lines at 
their gas stations to get gas during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973? 

"Apparently so."  Mr. Goodell states that "in 1973, America was 'addicted' and 'over the barrel' of foreign oil to the amount of 40%.  Forty percent of our energy 'needs' in 1973 came from countries - many of which didn't like us then, and I'm afraid, many of them still don't.  The difference between 1973 and today - is that today we receive 50% MORE foreign oil now than we did in 1973.  And now we know about the problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions that we didn't know then.  America needs to change course, and change course now, in terms of its' energy supplies and how we keep America's economy strong, without the threat of being held hostage to a middle-east tyrant or regime, that could once again, turn on us, and turn off our supply of foreign oil." 

Remember ????

" Sadly," Monty Goodell continues, " most Americans have forgotten the long lines of people waiting in their cars - lined up and waiting for gasoline at their nearby gas station, with lines that were many blocks long.  And, after waiting 4-5 hours, many even waiting overnight in many places, to finally take their turn to fill up their car with gasoline, only to find that the gas station had run out of gas." 

"Let me Repeat.... That was 1973 when we imported 40% of our daily energy requirements in the form of crude oil from overseas, and from foreign countries - and many of these from countries that don't like us.

Today, over 35 years later, America has yet to learn the lesson.  We cannot continue our reliance on energy from foreign countries that supply us with 60% of the crude oil that our refineries use as a feedstock for producing gasoline and diesel fuel for our cars and trucks comes from overseas. 

America is "over the barrel" and it's not our barrel, but the barrels of oil that we are addicted by and owned by other countries.  Why have we not learned the lessons we needed to learn in 1973 when we were cut-off from the vital energy supplies we need? 

Countries like China, are growing rapidly, and have an insatiable need for crude oil. China, with their booming economy, is increasingly growing in its clout and control over international supplies of crude oil - whether they do this through their ability to buy as much oil as they need on a daily basis, or whether they simply but American drilling rigs, technology, and explore and produce oil and gas from their own fields. China, is buying large amounts of oil for their country, and causing upward pricing on declining supplies. What happens if Russia, with all of their oil and natural gas, along with China and Venezuela, with or without the help of OPEC, decided to NOT sell oil to us????

To be sure, greenhouse gas emissions are a problem, and to some, greenhouse gas emissions are also a Clear and Present Danger, but not to the extent that it presents an imminent Clear and Present Danger. 

America's reliance for 60% of our energy "needs" coming from foreign suppliers is un-acceptable.

The "driver" to get America to begin reducing and eliminating fossil fuel use should be our nation's national security and the welfare and safety of its citizens. And this can all begin with developing and investing in our own renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies, let's start by putting solar on every rooftop that has a clear and unobstructed view of the Southern sky. See www.RooftopPV.com  or  www.DistributedPV.com  for more information.  Let's create incentives begin with adopting a national "Feed In Tariff" as Germany did in 1990. 

We simply do NOT have the luxury of time on our hands.  We need to end our dependence and reliance on foreign fossil fuels, especially from countries that don't like us! We need to rapidly begin expanding renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies from our vast and abundant renewable energy resources, such as; solar, solar energy systems, solar cogeneration, solar trigeneration, "solar on every roof," along with; Biomass Gasification, B100 Biodiesel, Biomethane, E100 Ethanol (from cellulosic, agricultural waste, sugar cane, etc., and NOT from corn), Geothermal Power Plants, Natural Wastewater Treatment, Synthesis Gas, Waste To Energy, Waste To Fuel and Wind Power Generation where it makes economic and environmental sense."   

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Are you doing your part to prevent Climate Change and End America's Reliance on Foreign Energy?

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Our solar energy systems and Solar Power Parks will;

* forever change the way energy is generated and used.

* eliminate or greatly reduce our customer's electric demand charges and electric expenses.

* slow, stop and eventually reverse climate change by reducing and then eliminating anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions - of which carbon dioxide emissions makes up 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

* reduce and eventually eliminate the use of coal and other fossil fuels.

* reduce the need for inefficient and expensive central power plants owned by utility companies. 

* promote energy independence.

* end America's dependence on oil from OPEC and other countries in the Middle-East, Venezuela and end our need for importing natural gas from Russia.

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