Attorney General's 2009 green calendar unveiled

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office unveils its 2009 green calendar online here.

The calendar features 12 months of helpful tips and information on issues such as: energy audits and weatherization, energy efficiency and seasonal tips, re-using and recycling, environmental health, and transportation alternatives.

The AGO also recently launched a new Web site section dedicated to Energy & Utilities, as a part of the office’s ongoing efforts to provide consumers with the tools and information to control their energy use.

Printed calendars here are available in limited quantities. The AGO will supply a maximum of two calendars per consumer request, and a maximum of 10 calendars for requests made on behalf of an agency or organization. To request a calendar, please email your name and mailing address to agoweb@state.ma.us.

MIT students harness smokestack heat

GMZ Energy, a company formed by researchers from BC and MIT, are hoping to harness clean energy from a very unlikely place: commercial smokestacks and furnaces.

"Eventually, we're going to see a tremendous amount of waste heat recovery applications, but that's 5 to 10 years off," Mike Clary, the company’s CEO, said to CNET News. "We have to get to that 10 percent efficiency threshold to start making it viable."

It works by converting exhaust heat, or waste heat, into electricity instead of releasing that heat into the air. The company claims that at ten percent efficiency, the average home could power itself by keeping the heat on.

Car companies such as BMW are also trying to develop similar technology. They plan to create attachments that will harness power that would otherwise be lost through the exhaust pipe.

The major appeal of this technology is that this energy already exists, but it is not being utilized. As a result, scientists only need to capture it effectively as opposed to developing any new methods for producing energy.

A senior vice president at Recycled Energy Development, Dick Munson, said to CNET News that the amount of energy wasted by the creation of exhaust heat is “a problem and an embarrassment.”

The Boston-based team at GMZ Energy is hoping to make that a thing of the past. To read the full text, click here.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

Corporate giants go solar for savings

The biggest store chains in the U.S. are now seeing solar panels as a huge way to save energy and money.

According to The New York Times article, Stores such as Wal Mart, Kohls, Safeway and Wholefoods Market have installed solar panels on their roofs to generate electricity.

At this point, around 10 percent of each chain has solar coverage, but a large increase can be expected. There is a race in place, to beat the Dec. 31 deadline to gain tax advantages for these projects. Although coal is less expensive, companies believe they can save money by economies of scale.

Cutting back on coal and going solar will save these companies a lot of money and help the environment by using renewable resources.

"It's very clear that green energy is now front and center in the minds of the business sector," says Daniel M. Kammen, an energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley. "Not only will you see panels on the roofs of your local stores, but I suspect very soon retailers will have stickers in their windows saying, "This is a green energy store."

Most companies buy their own solar power systems up front, which may cost between $4 and $6 million dollars for a large store. Agreements can be made as well, where the utility company pays the up-front costs and gives stores a break on the high solar power bills.

Corporations are also looking to other forms of renewable energy, such as wind turbines, sky lights and white roofs that help to save money on cooling. Bernard Sosnick, an analyst with Gilford Securities believes, “It’s not as over the horizon as it might seem."

Click here for the complete article.