May 2011 Posts (16)

Deadline: 6/20/11

Agency: USDA

Program: Rural Energy for America Program

Description:  Energy audits and renewable energy development assistance will allow agriculture producers and rural small businesses to become more energy efficient and use renewable technologies. For all projects, the system must be located in a rural area, must be technically feasible, and must be owned by the applicant

Award Amount: $100,000…

Repost from UNC School of Government:

The following is taken from James Svara’s introduction to an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) survey regarding local government efforts to promote sustainability.

The 2010 survey, the first of its kind, undertaken by ICMA in cooperation with the Alliance for Innovation and supported by the Global Institute on Sustainability at Arizona State University, measures how and to what extent local governments are acting to…

ASHEVILLE — The city has joined 373 other towns worldwide, 87 of them in the U.S., as a recognized “transition town.”

The official designation, from the international Transition Initiative, acknowledges local activists’ efforts to plan a sustainable …

The Land-of-Sky Regional Council is currently seeking nominations for the 34th Annual Friends of the River awards.  The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals, private organizations, civic groups, and/or public agencies that have made a significant contribution toward the restoration and enhancement of the…

Free workshops to provide training on North Carolina’s new energy conservation code and the importance of energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings, will be held around North Carolina in June. These presentations will provide the current NC energy code requirements and will include critical information for builders and designers, along with mechanical, insulation and other contractors. Workshops…

On Wednesday June 15th, from 3-5 PM, the NC Biofuels Center will be hosting a discussion forum on the status of biofuels in WNC. Specifically, this discussion with regional partners will focus on:

∙          Status Report:  North Carolina’s Biofuels Endeavor Statewide

∙          At Hand in Western North Carolina:  Activities and Possibilities

∙          2011 and Beyond: Strengthening Regional Biofuels

The NC Biofuels Center is a…

The UNC Environmental Finance Center is hosting a free webinar series on local government clean energy finance. The series will consist of three webinars highlighting different local government roles involving clean energy finance. The series will be of interest to local government officials, utility managers, municipal finance directors, real-estate agents, and anyone else interested in clean energy finance. The series is sponsored by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and the U.S.…

FHA PowerSaver Program to offer low-cost financing to credit-worthy borrowers

WASHINGTON - Eighteen national, regional and local lenders will participate in a new two-year pilot program that will offer qualified borrowers living in certain parts of the country low-cost loans to make energy-saving improvements to their homes. Backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), these new PowerSaver loans will offer homeowners up to $25,000 to make…

USDA Renewable energy, $500,000 ceiling.

I am looking for a building with a flat roof to partner with on an integrated solar roofing product (no penetrations) to propose for this grant.

Rural areas and farms, public or private.

see installation video here:

http://lumetasolar.com/ResourceCenter.aspx

WCQS's Morning Edition host Duncan McFadyen explores the use of hempcrete as an innovative building material, and the United States' first hempcrete built home- which is in WNC!

To listen to his exposition, go…

Strata Solar, a Chapel Hill solar energy developer, is proposing a 4.5 megawatt solar farm in Kings Mountain, according to an application filed today with the N.C. Utilities Commission. Building the project will cost nearly $22 million and require nearly 22,000 solar panels.If approved by the utilities commission, it would be the second-largest solar farm in the state, after a 15.5 megawatt project in Davidson County that feeds into Duke Energy's power grid. Strata Solar plans to sell the…

On May 6, 2011, President Obama visited a manufacturing facility in Indiana, where Allison Transmission has been making transmissions for hybrid vehicles. On Allison Transmissions, Obama said, "This is the kind of company that will make sure that America remains the most prosperous nation in the world.  See, other countries understand this.  We’re in a competition all around the world, and other countries -- Germany, China, South Korea -- they know that clean energy technology is what is…

There aren’t many initiatives that Republicans and Democrats can quickly agree upon, but deployment of electric cars is one of them. Both sides of the aisle support a strong EV future in the United States, as a strategy for job creation and reducing dependence on oil.

Continue article…

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

YADKINVILLE --

Unifi Inc. hopes that its new $8 million Repreve recycling center will not only help sustain the company's return to…

Advanced Energy has just released their “Charging Station Installation Handbook for Electrical Contractors and Inspectors.”  This best practices guide includes overviews, guidelines and checklists that will help contractors and inspectors deal with the expected influx of requests for electric vehicle charging station installations.  You can download your copy of the handbook from the…