Carbon Trader

Income from recycling

marcashton — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:58:50 +0000

I’m interested in looking at business opportunities within the recycling sector in South Africa and I’m interested to know what programmes are available for a small scale startup and what successes South Africans have had with these programmes.

Any suggestions that I could look at?

Recycling, carbon friendly businesses are likely to become increasingly important in South Africa and I’d be interested to look at the sector as both a commercial venture as well as putting something back into the environment.

Any suggestions?

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Avaya Launches Energy Saving Calculator

marcashton — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:19:49 +0000

Avaya, a leading global provider of business communications software, systems and services, today launched an online energy saving calculator to help companies determine how much energy they can save by using flexible working practices.

Martyn Lambert, vice president, marketing, Europe Middle-East and Africa, Avaya, said, “We know that smarter working practices are good for the bottom line and good for the environment generally. The Avaya energy saving calculator helps companies quantify the impact their actions have both on their business and the planet.”

The Avaya energy saving calculator determines how many kilowatts of energy, tons of carbon and litres of petrol/diesel can be saved annually based on the number of home working days a company permits its staff. The results include the amount of energy saved by reductions in heating and lighting at office locations and by staff not travelling back and forth to work on a daily basis.

The calculator also suggests a range of Unified Communications solutions that can help companies achieve their flexible working and business productivity goals.

The Avaya energy saving calculator is available at: http://www.avaya.com/campaigns/usa/Green/index.html

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Barack Obama and the impact on the carbon market

marcashton — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:51:09 +0000

Attended an interesting presentation today around the global investment climate and the topic came to how Barack Obama was going to change the US (and ultimately the US investment climate) .

One of the topics that came up is that Barack Obama is likely to introduce a higher level of social responsibility type investment.

The presenter said that he expects that Obama will also see that the US becomes a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol which may in the near term provide increased demand for carbon credits…

Will be interesting to see how that plays out..

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Morangaphanda Technologies

marcashton — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:06:07 +0000

I came across this company and thought it would be good to highlight it so readers can check out some neat SA technology:

Morangaphanda Technologies (Moratech), based in South Africa, is a leading developer of new Renewable Energy technologies. The company was founded by Wessel Roux and Daniel Mogano in 2007.

www.moratech.co.za

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Anglo backs GCCSI

marcashton — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:04:52 +0000

Resources group Anglo American (AGL) on Tuesday said it was throwing its weight behind the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI), which was launched this week.

Read the full article here.

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SAS named NC Green Company of the Year

marcashton — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:46:25 +0000

North Carolina Technology Association recognises SAS for solar farm, sustainable construction and SAS® for Sustainability Management software

SAS, the leader in business analytics, has been named Green Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association. The award, presented Nov. 13 at the association’s annual banquet held in Cary, NC, recognised SAS for its sustainability activities undertaken in 2008.

“This is the first year that NCTA has given an award for Green Company of the Year,” said Brooks Raiford, NCTA President and CEO. “Nominees must have developed a green technology or have implemented a sustainable plan to be more environmentally conscious. While it’s fair to say that all of this year’s nominees for this category have made remarkable efforts, SAS has certainly set the standard when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint.”

“We’re very pleased to be honoured for our green efforts,” said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight, “but we’re even happier that this category has been created. It’s the right thing to do for our future, and in many ways, companies can see a bottom-line benefit from adopting sustainability principles.”

In April the company launched SAS for Sustainability Management, a solution that helps organisations accurately measure and manage their environmental impact. SAS for Sustainability Management introduces the first decision-support software platform for proactively identifying innovative strategies that effectively address complex environmental, social and economic situations while achieving stakeholder objectives.

This year SAS also constructed a 1-megawatt photovoltaic solar array on the SAS headquarters campus in Cary. Scheduled for completion in December, the array will provide sustainably sourced power to the Progress Energy public grid. SAS’ solar farm is estimated to generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 1,600 tons annually. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of more than 167,000 gallons of gasoline.

SAS also broke ground this year on a new office building and Executive Briefing Center built with sustainable construction methods that encourage recycling of materials. It will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for water and energy conservation, and include features such as solar-thermal water heating and regenerative drive elevators.

According to the association, the NCTA 21 Awards celebrate innovation and high-tech excellence in North Carolina and honour companies and individuals who represent the best and brightest in technology and have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation.

About NCTA
The North Carolina Technology Association’s mission is “Making North Carolina Number One in Technology and Technology Number One in North Carolina.” For more information, visit www.nctechnology.org.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. With innovative business applications supported by an enterprise intelligence platform SAS helps customers at 44,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®. www.sas.com and www.sas.com/sa

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IPS to supply control technology to world’s first hydrogen power plant

marcashton — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:45:10 +0000

Invensys Process Systems (IPS), a global technology, software and consulting firm, today announced that it has been selected by Enel to supply control and automation technology for the world’s first hydrogen-fuelled power plant, to be constructed in Fusina, near Venice in the Veneto region of Italy. Enel is Italy’s largest power company with more than 50 million power and gas customers and a presence in 21 countries.

The new facility, which places Enel and Italy at the forefront of technological innovation for environmentally compatible energy development, is part of the “Environment and Innovation Project,” which envisages investments of €7.4 billion by 2012. The €40 million plant will be built next to Enel’s existing coal-fired power station in Fusina and is being supported with €4 million from the local Veneto region, which is keen to establish a dedicated “hydrogen district” in the area.

“IPS is proud to be a partner in this historic, future-looking project. Our process and energy industry know-how, coupled with IPS technology and support services, allows us to help our clients deliver energy from renewable and environmentally friendly resources,” said Paulett Eberhart, President and Chief Executive Officer of IPS. “We are confident that our unique service offerings and technical expertise will help Enel provide long-term benefits to the people and environment of Italy.”

IPS fought off stiff competition from within the power market to land this prestigious contract. As part of the deal, the company will supply I/A Series® automation and Triconex® triple modular redundant safety controllers, as well as instrumentation and other site services.

“Enel have found in IPS a technical partner that is dedicated to providing the services and solutions not only to generate electricity, but also to reduce CO2 emissions,” said Vittorio Panzeri, Operations Director of IPS Italy. “Our flexible approach and industry expertise played a significant role in the award of this project.”

In the first phase of the project, a demonstration was conducted to verify that the 12 megawatt gas turbine would operate correctly with pure hydrogen as a fuel. The demonstration also provided data on the safety aspects and control technologies required for the efficient combustion of the gas. The goal of the second phase of the programme is to optimise combustion technology, paying particular attention to nitrogen oxide emissions.

The final design of the plant has been completed, public and statutory permission for construction has been obtained and the gas turbine has been chosen and ordered. The plant is expected to begin producing energy and be completely online by June 2010, serving 20,000 households.

Source: SanePR

http://www.ips.invensys.com

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MyCO2Print

marcashton — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:23:51 +0000

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has launched an easy-to-use carbon footprint calculator for cellphones in partnership with BULKSMS.com - the first of its kind in South Africa.

Read the complete article here

http://www.treevolution.co.za/?p=1469

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Frost & Sullivan Praises Range Fuels for Technological Leadership and Green Excellence

marcashton — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:47:47 +0000

/PRZOOM - Newswire/ - Range Fuels recognized for progressive ethanol-creation technology that can significantly reduce greenhouse gases.

Mountain View, CA, United States, 10/06/2008 – Based on its recent analysis of the alternative fuels technology innovation market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Range Fuels, Inc. with the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation Green Excellence of the Year for developing a sustainable, clean technology platform to remedy the country’s tenuous reliance on oil imports.

Range Fuels is driving ethanol innovation through its K2 ethanol production technique, which can convert a variety of biomass feedstocks into ethanol. This process produces a renewable, environmentally-friendly fuel and offers affordability and widespread availability in a breadth of geographic locations. The process’ ability to convert a variety of feedstocks eliminates reliance on a single source of feedstock or limited geographic regions for its feedstock, imparting greater stability to ethanol availability and pricing when compared to other transportation fuels.

The K2 process also results in minimal and manageable by-products, emits very low levels of greenhouse gases, and produces higher yields of clean ethanol.

“Range Fuels’ ethanol production modules are designed to bring the conversion process right to the biomass source, thereby reducing the energy expended with supplying the facility with feedstock,” said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Matt Scruggs. “The design also allows the addition of modules to better match available feedstock supplies, thereby better responding to increasing consumer needs for transportation fuels.”

Critics of ethanol have expressed concern that the conversion of forests and grasslands to fuel crop fields will actually yield an increase in net carbon dioxide emissions. The plant designed by Range Fuels, however, has been permitted as a minor source of emissions, and its close proximity to both wood supplies and ethanol markets will minimize energy expended in supplying the facility with feedstock and providing ethanol to consumer markets.

Through the use of the thermo-chemical conversion system, the K2 process even betters the traditional cellulosic systems, which reduce greenhouse gases by four times the amount of current corn-based ethanol primarily due to their lower power requirements. The K2 process uses less water, generates fewer by-products, and is more flexible concerning the type and quality of feedstocks it can use.

“This approach is environmentally friendly, highly adaptable, efficient, cost effective, and scalable,” notes Scruggs. “While development and production costs are, as of 2008, higher for cellulosic ethanol production systems, Frost & Sullivan believes that advances in thermo-chemical conversion processes, spurred by interest in its inherent advantages, will bring investment costs to competitive levels with sugar fermentation facilities within five years.”

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Green Excellence Awards to companies that have excelled in green product and technology innovation and service achievements that promote sustainability. These awards recognize groundbreaking ideas and innovations that originated from a firm sense of environmental responsibility across a multitude of disciplines. This Award signifies the company’s identification of a unique and revolutionary solution with significant environmental benefits, while presenting tremendous market potential. Moreover, the Award also acknowledges that the company’s overall business strategy is sound and poised for success.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Range Fuels
Range Fuels is focused on green energy and the production of cellulosic ethanol using plant matter (or biomass) that cannot be used for food, is sustainable, renewable and in excess supply. The company’s innovative technology converts renewable and sustainable biomass, such as wood chips, paper pulp, olive pits, and more, to ethanol. The company’s proprietary K2 system uses a two-step thermo-chemical conversion process. The first step converts the biomass to synthesis gas and the second step converts the gas to ethanol. The company’s business model is to design, build, own and operate its plants. The leadership team melds experience from Silicon Valley’s fast-paced, high-tech world, and the technologically intensive coal, coal gasification, power, and gas-to-liquids industries, the renewable fuel industry, and the pulp and paper industry. Range Fuels’ vision is to introduce the world to a fuel that’s renewable, sustainable, and eco-friendly.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company’s TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership™ empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents.

www.frost.com

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Energy Auditing Event

marcashton — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:33:02 +0000

Event Name : Energy Auditing
Event Dates : 27th & 28th November 2008
Venue : Johannesburg, South Africa

Contact : Joyce Ho
Email : joyce.h@unistrategic.com with subject code of “EA-MH”
Tel : 65 68259674
Web : http://www.unistrategic.com/index.php/component/option,com_eventlist/Itemid,4/did,128/func,details/

Event Brief : The Energy Auditing workshop presents a vital opportunity for professionals involved in Energy Management to learn effective and decisive ways to enhance and improvise the energy usage of buildings, plants and factories. This highly interactive workshop is a must to discover the latest practical approach and success stories for assessing energy end-use efficiency of all concerned systems and equipment. This advanced training course will offer practitioners the opportunity to learn more on the latest methods for improving efficiency, identifying promising new solutions and evaluating feasibility while estimating actual savings.

Should you have any questions in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me directly at joyce.h@unistrategic.com or at +65 6825 9674.

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