Category Archives: Renewable Energy

Energy Produced from Footsteps: New Innovation Of Pavegen Floor Tiles

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pavegen tileIf you have ever seen those street scenes of New York City in the movies, you can really see how a product such as Pavegen, a simple rubber tile with a spring-like action which generates energy when stepped on, is a brilliant concept when it comes to harnessing human energy power.  Just imagine all the different places that could take advantage of people walking, jumping, dancing or just waiting in line, to harvest the kinetic energy generated by their stepping on Pavegen tiles.  These are the innovations that are possible for the future of sustainability energy solutions.

Affordable

The creation of these energy producing rubber tiles is affordable to begin with but with more large scale, and attention grabbing installations, the cost will continue to be attractive.  As people become familiar with the product and understand how much potential there is for application in business environments, the mass-production and subsequent drop in cost is inevitable.

Interactive

The initial applications were in schools where foot traffic throughout the day is fairly constant.  After all, these kids of today are our energy consumers of tomorrow.  They embraced the technology and even had fun with the interactive aspects of the product.  People really responded to the way the tiles light up.  In fact, they went out of their way to take time to generate power through play as seen in this video.

Applications

The goal is to create clean and pavegen conceptreliable off-grid energy that can be used to power various applications such as charging stations or lighting solutions. With enough power generated you could feasibly power an entire building. In an airport, for example, the heavy foot traffic could generate enough energy to power all the electric signage in the area.

Clean Energy

Kinetic energy is totally clean and sustainable and with new technology it has meant that the power generated can be used immediately stored in batteries.  In this way the energy can be more directly focused for optimum usage.

Green building options continue to be forefront in planning as we move into the future.  The Pavegen floor tile is an exciting solution that is worth watching as the site installations continue to grow and produce.  It is definitely one of the more exciting products we have seen recently.

Carbon Nation: A movie on Renewable Energy

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A movie that came out late 2010, Carbon Nation, discusses the role American can have in the renewable energy sector to reduce the carbon footprint. Whether you are believer in man induced global warming or not, it makes a compelling case for why renewable energy is a good move for the United States to invest in.

This non-partisan documentary provides compelling evidence that dealing with climate change can boost the economy, increase national & energy security and promote health and a clean environment.

The movie can be purchased via DVD or downloaded through all the various online movie retailers.

Other short videos and movies on renewabale energy that are also recommended;

Sustainable Innovation

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YERT – Your Environmental Road Trip, is a film that entailed a year long road trip in the U.S. showing  unique and innovate ways to approach environmental sustainability. The film features some incredible innovations.  Check out this short preview of some of the innovations.

One of the more practical and large scale ideas is the Solar Roadways project that is working to pave roads with solar panels that you can drive on. Check out this short four minute video on their idea to increase solar energy and guarantee power to outlying areas in our country.

Wind Energy: New Report by NREL

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According to a recent 2010 report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the electricity generating potential of offshore wind resources in the U.S. is 4,150 gigawatts (GW) based on offshore resources from 26 coastal states and the Great Lakes, according to the report entitled “Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Resources for the U.S.”.

NREL says the nation’s total electric generating capacity from all sources was 1,010 GW in 2008. And based on their key findings they indicate that onshore U.S. wind resources could generate nearly 37,000,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, more than nine times current total U.S. electricity consumption.

This is good news for wind energy and the type of energy consumption it could generate for the U.S.  For more information on wind energy research, visit the NREL site on Wind Research.  The University of Massachusetts also has a Wind Energy Center with very good information.

Consider Purchasing Carbon Offsets for Work Travel

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Starting to wonder how much impact all that work travel is having?  The average American commutes 20 miles a day, that’s about 5,000 miles a year, resulting in just over 2 tons of CO2.
Consider purchasing carbon offsets to counteract the carbon dioxide emissions of driving or flying home to meetings and conferences.  A carbon offset for the entire year’s worth of commuting emissions could cost as little as $45. According to the Colorado Carbon Fund, a Carbon Offset means “neutralize,” “balance,” or “cancel out.” Carbon offsets counteract these activities by funding projects to compensate for CO2 emissions occurring at another source.  These offsets help fund projects that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Though there are many organizations that offer Carbon Offsets, the Colorado Carbon Fund and Aspen’s Canary Tags are two great providers that use the proceeds for projects in Colorado.

For more ideas on how to reduce environmental impact with business travel, see the article entitled What you Must Know about Flying Green by Patti Prairie CEO of Brighter Planet.