Enerit has created its software for large energy users to implement the ISO 50001 international standard in energy management.

ISO 50001 is an international standard that enables organisations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption.

Enerit is also part of the EU FP7 CASCADE project for energy-efficient airports.

Led by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, CASCADE is aiming to give European airports a clean-tech sweep, and help them streamline their energy costs. CASCADE is developing facility-specific operational guidelines for the reduction of energy consumption by 20pc and of CO2 emissions by 20pc at EU-27 airports.

CASCADE team members from across the EU

_{Partners in the European research project CASCADE. (Front row, from left) Mike Brogan (Enerit); Sanja Vranes (Institut Mihaijlo Pupin); Marcella Scuccimarra (Società per azioni Esercizi Aeroportuali SEA Spa); Michela Meloni (Aeroporti di Roma Spa); Nicolas Réhault (Fraunhofer ISE); Thomas Messervey (D´Appolonia S.p.A.); and Marcus Keane (NUIG). (Back row, from left) Nikola Batic (Institut Mihajlo Pupin); Paul Monaghan (Enerit); Felix Ohr (Fraunhofer ISE); Frank Luginsland (PSE AG); Francesco Cara (SENSUS Mi Italia S.r.l); Sebastian Zehnle (Fraunhofer ISE); Clemente Fuggini (D´Appolonia S.p.A.); Werner Warmuth (PSE AG); Ignacio Torrens (NUIG); and Andrea Costa (NUIG)}

CASCADE is looking at technology-based solutions for airports to reduce energy use in systems such as refrigeration, lighting and under-floor heating.

The CASCADE group has been developing what it calls "measurement-based, technology-neutral, fault-detection approaches" for the development of ICT solutions that can integrate with existing building automation and management systems.

In 2011, Apple commissioned the North Carolina data centre, which already has taken on some energy efficiencies, such as a white cool-roof that was designed to provide maximum solar reflectivity.

The Facilities Report is one of the first times that Apple has given some definitive statistics on how it powers up its data centres.

In early February, Greenpeace omitted Apple from its Cool IT Leaderboard, which pitches IT giants against each other for how they are using their IT prowess to tackle climate change and influence the push toward clean-energy solutions. Apple and Facebook were not included in the leaderboard. Greenpeace said at the time that Apple was not included because its efforts did not meet the leaderboard criteria.

Incidentally, Google came out tops in the Greenpeace Leaderboard based on its clean-energy leadership, followed by Cisco and Ericsson.

Apple's energy revelations

Now Apple has revealed that "as much as 98pc of our total emissions comes from the greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted from the production, transport, use, and recycling of products".

Apple also said corporate facilities represent 2pc of its total GHG emissions.

In the report, Apple said it has set itself a "net zero goal" for its corporate facilities. At its Cupertino, California, site, for instance, Apple has already installed a 500-kilowatt biogas-powered fuel-cell project to supply cleaner electricity to the site.

100-acre solar array

Regarding the solar farm planned for North Carolina, Apple said it is building the "nation's largest end-user-owned, on-site solar array" on the land surrounding the data centre.

When the solar farm is up and running, Apple said the 20-megawatt facility will supply 42m kWh of clean, renewable energy annually.

Biogas-powered facility

Apple claimed the fuel cell installation it is building at the site will be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country when it goes line later in the year.

The five-megawatt facility will be based directly beside the data centre. It will be powered by 100pc biogas, said Apple, which is aiming to supply more than 40m kWh of 24 x 7 baseload renewable energy each year from the facility.

In the report, Apple also claims it has been purchasing renewable energy for its facilities all over the world for over 10 years.

Facilities in Cork, Ireland, Munich, Germany, Austin, Texas and Elk Grove, California, are now using "100pc renewable energy resources".

Apple's Cork site

In Cork, for instance, Apple said a solar thermal water heater "displaces" almost 100pc of water-heating needs for the staff canteen there.

"Because of this project's success, we are evaluating the applicability of this type of on-site renewable energy use at other Apple facilities," Apple adds.

Energy strategies

In its sustainability report, Apple said the first aim is to make sure its facilities are as energy efficient as possible. The second part of its energy strategy, said Apple, is to focus on generating its own clean, renewable energy on-site at its facilities.

"To date, our renewable energy generation has focused on using photovoltaics, fuel cells, and other appropriate technologies," said the company in the report.

And the third element of Apple's energy strategy is to "meet our remaining energy needs with clean, renewable energy generated offsite", according to the report.
 
“The benefits of supporting off-site generation include renewable energy development in locations where renewable resources are plentiful (for example, wind corridors, solar hot spots) and expanding the renewable energy available from local energy suppliers," said Apple.

South African Ambassador to Ireland A J D Ndou this morning launched the School in a Box innovation in Dublin.

Researchers at IADT in Dún Laoghaire developed School in a Box.

According to the researchers, the School in a Box is highly reinforced, but takes on the size and appearance of an average carry-on wheelie case.

The case itself contains a solar panel and battery that can charge an iPad 2 that's pre-loaded with a locally customised curriculum. The School in a Box also contains a projector and speakers. The solar panel weighs just more than 2kg and folds down to the size of a sheet of A4 paper, they said.

The aim is to bring classrooms in sub-Saharan Africa into the digital age, said the students at IADT this morning.

So what's the plan for School in a Box? Fifteen units will initially be deployed for three rural schools in South Africa by the Cape Peninsula Institute of Technology (CPUT). The order will be shipped from Ireland next week.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between IADT and CPUT. This MoU will provide for back-up training and development for each location that uses the School in a Box. Irish company BPI Telecom has also reached a global distribution agreement for School in a Box.

The IADT researchers themselves are currently engaged in the institute's FÍS programme for schools, community and development, based on the power of digital storytelling.

The double-hulled boat is circumnavigating the globe under a Swiss flag and measures close to 102 feet in length and 50 feet in width. Its four-man crew is aiming to demonstrate that high-performance solar mobility on water is possible.

The full name of the boat is TÛRANOR PlanetSolar, with TÛRANOR deriving from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It translates as 'the power of the sun' and 'victory'.

PlanetSolar first set off on its solar challenge in September 2010 when it departed Monaco. Since then, it has already crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal, the Pacific Ocean, docking in cities such as Miami, Cancun, Manila, Brisbane and Hong Kong, as well as Tonga, New Caledonia and the Galapagos Islands.

After stopping off for a few days in Doha, Qatar, for Christmas, the crew crossed the Persian Gulf and reached Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates just in time for the World Future Energy Summit. Their ultimate aim is to reach Monte Carlo sometime this spring, likely in late April.



_{TÛRANOR PlanetSolar pictured docked in Abu Dhabi. Image courtesy of PlanetSolar}

Since leaving Abu Dhabi, the crew have decided not to log their whereabouts for security reasons. PlanetSolar is aiming to reach the Red Sea at the start of March.

Gulf of Aden and sea piracy

The Gulf of Aden is an extension of the Indian Ocean. Located between Africa and Asia, it forms the natural separation between the countries of Somalia and Yemen. Gulf of Aden waters flow into the Red Sea through the Bab el Mandeb Strait. As the Gulf provides an outlet to the west for Persian Gulf oil, it's now one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, making piracy a problem especially for sailing boats and yachts.

On 3 February last the crew posted their last log on why they are staying silent for the next while: "We have always updated our log book on a regular basis, but for the first time since 27 September 2010, we will have to remain silent and stay out of sight as much as possible for our own sake and the sake of our solar adventure. Hence, starting tomorrow, there will be no daily blog post and PlanetSolar's location will not be displayed on our website anymore until further notice. We will see again at the beginning of March when we will be back in safe seas: in the warm waters of the Red Sea. We will then have many adventures and memories to tell and to share with you!"



_{TÛRANOR PlanetSolar crew members rest aboard the solar powered boat, after it reached Hong Kong on 15 August 2011. Image courtesy of PlanetSolar}

The Planet Solar boat is entirely dependent on the sun's energy to power the boat, so the crew has to constantly aim to optimise the ship's route and speed in light of to sunshine duration and weather forecasts.

• On its deck, the boat features solar panels from Solon AG in Berlin. They were installed using solar cells, supplied by the Californian solar energy giant SunPower. A total of 825 modules, equipped with 38,000 individual photovoltaic cells, cover a surface area of 537 sq metres (including side riggers and rear wings) on the deck.
• These solar cells capture energy, which is then stored in six blocks containing 12 batteries each - 648 cells use maintenance-free lithium-ion technology from GAIA in Nordhausen. Each of the six blocks weighs less than two tonnes.
• The boat is driven by two contra-rotating carbon propellers.
• To help with navigation, the crew is using a "sun route software and forecast system", which gives them information on the expected weather, wave height, clouds and sun intensity.

The charge points have been installed at Iarnród Éireann train station car parks in Drogheda, Newbridge, Sligo, Thurles and Kildare, while Luas Park & Ride facilities in Carrickmines, Stillorgan, Sandyford and Red Cow also now have electric-vehicle charging stations.

Frank Allen, the Railway Procurement Agency's chief executive, said Luas had already made a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions and that this initiative was "a welcome move" towards making things easier for electric car users.

"Train travel is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel and commuting has just got greener with the provision of charge points at a number of stations for electric-car users," said Iarnród Éireann's chief executive Dick Fearn.

ESB ecars is also rolling out public charge points in city centre car parks, shopping centres, leisure facilities and tourist attractions. It has already installed 550 charge points in public locations, service stations, commercial premises and in homes across Ireland.

The year 2012 looks set to be a pivotal one when it comes to clean energy and the world economy. The UN has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. The aim? To tie in with the UN's efforts on accelerating the pace of global action on three areas by 2030: universal access to modern energy services; better rates of energy efficiency; and expanded use of renewable energy sources.

Against that global sustainability drive, 2012 is also the 25th anniversary of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin. Pioneered to put Ireland on the global map for financial services, the IFSC has now added a new wing: the Green IFSC initiative. The Green IFSC is aiming to position Ireland right at the epicentre of financing the future green economy. That's according to Stephen Nolan, its executive co-ordinator.

What is the Green IFSC?

So what exactly is the Green IFSC? It is a public/private initiative of the IFSC Clearing House Group, led by the Department of An Taoiseach. It was set up to target environmentally related financial services with the goal of spinning out new jobs in the area and to generate revenue growth in and for Ireland. The Green IFSC steering group members come from Arthur Cox, Bank of Ireland, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Financial Services Ireland (FSI).

However, Ireland is already on the map for green finance. Assets in green investment funds managed out of Ireland have more than doubled in the past two years to reach €2.3bn, according to recent PwC research. And there are currently 24 asset managers based out of Dublin who are managing more than 30 international green funds, from water to wind energy.

Last year was one of consolidation for the Green IFSC initiative, explains Nolan. "We laid down three foundations across three pillars of the initiative: green finance, carbon management, and education and talent.

"We've really looked at the whole area of where the opportunities for Ireland are across insurance, fund management and asset management. The facts behind that are now in place."

And after two Finance Bills, there have been six Green IFSC-assisted tax changes to help spur on green projects.

"Then you've got our existing green economy sector and pioneers such as Mainstream Renewable Power (MRP), NTR, Airtricity and Gaelectric. If you bring all of those together, it's a very positive pool of expertise that exists in Ireland to credibly promote and position Ireland as a leading green financial services centre."

Irish utility NTR, for instance, has been diversifying its wind energy portfolio in the US via its subsidiary Wind Capital Group. It also has a US subsidiary in the ethanol sector - Green Plains Renewable Energy. And, in late November, NTR signed an agreement with the global asset management firm BlackRock to form a new renewable power investment group, whose head office is now based in Dublin.

Then you have Irish renewable energy developer MRP. Just back in November, a consortium led by MRP won a contract with the Department of Energy in South Africa to have 138MW of wind energy and 100MW of solar PV into commercial operation by 2014. The award was made under the first round of the South African Government's Renewable Energy Procurement Programme.

You also have emerging clean-tech companies, such as OpenHydro, which has pioneered innovative tidal turbine technology; Imperative Energy, which supplies purpose-built biomass plants; and Treemetrics, the Cork start-up that's fast making waves in the global forestry industry.

Forestry sector

Around since 2003, Treemetrics has developed a cloud-based platform, with the aim to be the Google for forestry data and help foresters around the globe manage their carbon footprint. Just two weeks ago, the Irish technology entrepreneur Dylan Collins became chairman of Treemetrics. Then, with the release of Finance Bill 2012 last week, Ireland became one of the first countries in the world to recognise forest carbon credits in tax legislation.

The creation of the new forestry tax credit would appear to be a timely move from the Irish Government. According to the UN, 20pc of the world's carbon emissions arise from forests.

The Green IFSC steering group says the bill changes will likely boost green finance business in the forestry sector.

"You also need to have a sound and solid domestic green economy space and Treemetrics is an example of that," explains Nolan.

So what has been happening in the area of accelerating the pace of educating people around the areas of green finance and sustainability?

In 2011, the Green IFSC teamed up with the Summit Finuas Network (the internal financial services sector's training body) to earmark €600,000 to invest in sustainable finance education.

The vision is to broaden Ireland's talent base both to grow green finance business and to attract companies to Ireland that operate in the sector.

Nolan says that half of that €600,000 comes from Summit Finuas, while the other half is provided by companies that are sending staff members on courses.

In September 2011, Dublin City University (DCU) announced Ireland's first post-graduate course in sustainable finance. Then, in January, University College Dublin launched a master's degree in energy and environmental finance. The Institute of Bankers has also created a new diploma in green energy management and finance.

The aim is to upskill people in green finance and also to target graduates who want to delve into the whole clean-tech area.

"That talent base we have across all those different sectors in the IFSC can be fully geared towards meeting the future demands of the green economy. We're trying to supplement that talent base with specific green finance and carbon management education. What's interesting is that these courses are driven by industry."

FSI is also working with the Green IFSC to identify the future talent needs to allow the green finance and carbon management sector to grow in Ireland.

Nolan says the DCU post-graduate course is not just attracting finance professionals, but also people in clean-tech companies.

"It's really important that the finance people understand the needs of the clean-tech people and vice-versa. It's important to have that type of groupings in the same room because it's building out a talent pool."

Clean-tech climate for start-ups

Looking to the climate for clean-tech start-ups in Ireland, Dr Tom Kelly, Enterprise Ireland's divisional manager for clean-tech, industrial services and life sciences, points to the areas that offer growth potential.

"Areas that look particularly promising include renewables, waste to energy, energy efficiency, remote monitoring and data collection and analysis, smart grid development and water and water treatment," he says.

Enterprise Ireland's High Potential Start Up unit supports between 80 to 100 new start-ups each year, with clean-tech companies accounting for about a third of these new start-ups over the past few years.

Kelly says the challenge for the SME community in this space is to develop effective partnership and joint venture opportunities, so they can rapidly establish their presence in the marketplace.

"Companies have to be well financed and committed to driving the sales of their products and services in their chosen markets.

"We currently have some companies that are leading the way in their respective fields. The emergence of companies such as C & F Green Energy and Kingspan in the area of micro-generation is especially noteworthy and in the areas of energy efficiency companies like Nualight, Kingspan and Selc are establishing very strong niches in global markets."

The collaborative project is developing a real-time emissions and transport information tool aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, with the aim of influencing more sustainable travel patterns.

EcoNav, which stands for Ecological Aware Navigation - Usable Persuasive Trip Advisor for Reducing CO2 consumption, is being led by the independent Austrian research institute CURE, the Center for Usability Research & Engineering.

Eight entities are involved, including CURE, TCD, TomTom International, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Fluidtime Data Services GmbH, Telematix Software, ICCS - National Technical University of Athens and ITS Vienna Region.

Eco driving

The EcoNav project is working towards providing travellers with personalised mobile and web tools to help people plan more environmentally friendly trips.

TCD's Dr Brian Caulfield is leading the research and the university's research team will develop the real-time emissions model and manage field trials in Dublin, Vienna and the Netherlands.

Caulfield said Trinity would be playing a "pivotal role" in the EcoNav project.

"The results from TomTom trial of 2,000 users in the Netherlands will be analysed by the Trinity research team. This trial is one of the largest international trials conducted to examine the benefits of eco-driving," he said.

Tesla unveiled the Model X prototype yesterday at its design studios in Southern California. According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the vehicle will enter production in late 2013. Speaking to media, Musk described the Model X as being more suitable for families and said it would have "more utility than a minivan" and better performance than an SUV. The vehicle will be able to seat seven people.

The Model X SUV will be the third all-electric vehicle type to be spawned by the Palo Alto, California, company.

Set up in 2003, so far Tesla has pioneered the all-electric Roadster (pictured), which hit the streets in 2008. Now there's 1,800 Roadsters whizzing around in 32 countries. In 2008, the first Roadster arrived in Ireland after it was purchased by a couple in Co Cork.

The Model S, Tesla's foray into the all-electric premium sedan marketplace, will start deliveries in mid-2012. Musk is aiming to deliver 20,000 of its Model S sedan by the end of 2013. Last year, Tesla said the car would have a base price of US$49,900, which would include a US$7,500 federal tax credit.



_{Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is also venturing into space via his company SpaceX}

Tesla also announced it is revamping the Roadster with new innovations. However, the updated Roadster will only be available in Europe, Asia and Australia. For those in a position to fork out for the latest Roaster, you'll now be able to choose from some new colours, including cosmic black, galactic gray and magma orange. The updated Roadster will also feature Xenon headlamps, which Tesla said will make the car more suited for night driving in rural areas.

Tesla went public in 2010. The company has yet to make a profit, however.

In the summer of 2011, Tesla signed a US$100m deal to build the powertrain for Toyota's electric Rav4, which Toyota plans to bring to market in 2012. In 2010, Toyota made a US$50m investment in Tesla.

Yesterday's announcement about Finance Bill 2012 will extend the range of carbon offsets that an investment company can acquire, to explicitly include forest carbon credits. A consequential amendment to the Stamp Duty Consolidation Act is also being made to facilitate this measure.

The Green IFSC says the bill changes will likely boost green finance business in the forestry sector.

Forests and carbon footprint

As regards forests and the race to reduce the planet's carbon footprint, UN statistics have revealed that 20pc of the world's carbon emissions come from forests.

The UN's REDD programme, which has been set up to help keep the developing world's forests intact, is estimated to be valued at US$50bn over the next few years.

Paul Harris, member of the Green IFSC Steering Group, pointed to how the new provision in Irish tax legislation will serve to help the UN reach its targets as he said it would assist investors operating through the UN programme in the monetisation of forest carbon credits.

"The change is an important contribution to the emergence of the forest carbon bond market as it provides, for the first time, a cost-efficient structure for the monetisation of forest carbon credits which should prompt issuers and investors to engage with this element of the developing global low carbon economy," explained Harris.

Dublin's potential to be a hub for green financial business to transact

He said that the changes should also help entice the financial markets to look "favourably" upon Dublin's credentials as a location for listing of green and environmental bonds. According to Harris, the Bill changes around clean tech also reflect the commitment and expertise of the various Green IFSC working groups who understand the regulatory changes that are needed to make Ireland a pivotal location for green financial business to transact.

_{A 3D photo scanner pioneered by Irish company Treemetrics. The scanner helps foresters determine width, height, volume of trees, as well as wood quality}

Irish clean-tech player Treemetrics

One Irish start-up that has been steadily channeling its energies in the forestry clean-tech space is Cork-based Treemetrics. The company was co-founded by agricultural science graduates Enda Keane and Garret Mullooly back in 2005. It is aiming to revolutionise the forestry industry via its cloud-based platform that also harnesses Google Earth. Keane and Mullooly say the aim is to bring foresters around the globe into the digital century using cloud computing.

An Enterprise Ireland HPSU, Treemetrics is fast making waves in the forestry industry. Recently, the company secured contracts with some of the planet's most prominent state forest owners, including the British Forestry Commission, Forestry South Australia and the state forest owner in Finland - Metsahallitus.

Treemetrics is also seeking to double its workforce to 20 this year.

Speaking about the changes to yesterday's Bill around forests, Treemetrics CEO Enda Keane said that this new tax change would give the company, as well as Ireland, a competitive advantage.

"If we can get our forests back on track and run more efficiently that would obviously go a long way to reducing the world's carbon footprint. Anything which validates forest carbon and helps encourage growth in investing in forests is very welcome," said Keane.

He said that the real benefit of such a move as that in the Finance Bill would be seen in the years to come, especially as Ireland had one of the lowest forestation levels in the world - up from 1pc at the foundation of the State in 1922 to 10pc today. Keane said it meant Ireland is in an ideal neutral position to be seen as a world authority in carbon validation and trading in the sector to help tackle deforestation globally.

Just last week, Taoiseach Enda Kenny visited Treemetric's facility down in Cork when it was announced that serial games entrepreneur and tech investor Dylan Collins had become chairman of Treemetrics. Collins is currently also start-up ambassador for Enterprise Ireland.

Ireland's green economy push

But back to the Finance Bill and the Government's push to focus on propelling Ireland's green economy.

Here's what Taoiseach Enda Kenny had to say about the clean-tech element of the Bill changes yesterday: "This provision in the Finance Bill is the latest in a series of developments by the Irish Government to ensure Ireland is in the best possible position to capitalize on the financing needs of the future green economy - and attract new business and jobs to our shores as well as give a competitive advantage to indigenous companies operating in this space."

The IFSC Clearing House Group and the Department of an Taoiseach set up the Green IFSC initiative to capitalise on the growing area of green finance. Global investment in clean energy reached US$260bn in 2011, up 5pc on 2010 and almost five times the total of US$53.6bn in 2004, so it a strong focal point for investors right now.

In the past two years collaboratve efforts between the Green IFSC, the Irish Government and the private sector has resulted in a number of additional tax changes in the area of green finance in a bid to grow business and jobs in the sector.

Other recent tax changes assisted by the Green IFSC, include:

• The inclusion of carbon offsets within the existing structured finance regime (S110, TCA 1997)
• Relief from stamp duty on transfers of greenhouse gas emissions allowances (S90A SDCA 1999)
• Extension of corporation tax relief for investments made in renewable energy projects up to 31 December 2014 (S486B TCA 1997)
• Inclusion of companies involved in production of energy from renewable sources within Income Tax Relief Scheme for Investment in Corporate Trades - Employment and Investment Incentive (S488 TCA 1997).

Cork-based Ocean Energy has confirmed it expects to deploy its first full-scale device, costing €9m, at Wave Hub off the north coast of Cornwall by the end of this year.

The Wave Hub, an electrical "socket" for testing wave-energy machines, was put on the seabed off Hayle, Cornwall, in 2010.

For three years now, Ocean Energy has been testing a quarter scale prototype of its buoy in Galway Bay.

Ocean Energy's buoy uses the oscillating water column principle. As waves enter a subsea chamber they force air through a turbine on the surface, generating electricity. As the waves recede they cause a vacuum, drawing air back through the turbine.

Together with its technology partner Dresser-Rand, with which it has signed an MOU, Ocean Energy was one of a number of companies competing for the opportunity to win the Wave Hub contract. The full-scale unit, when installed, will have the capacity to generate sustainable energy to power up to 1,200 homes.

Wave Hub said it will fund Ocean Energy's deployment costs up to a maximum of £1m (€1.2m). This will include the cost of securing a marine licence and installation of moorings and deployment, it confirmed today.

Speaking this afternoon, John McCarthy, chief executive and co-founder of Ocean Energy, said the contract win was a major achievement for Irish technology that has been developed with the assistance of Irish Government funding and expertise at the UCC Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre.

"It is also an endorsement of the technology development path adopted by Ocean Energy," he said.

McCarthy said the "rigorous testing" and "proven survivability" of Ocean Energy's technology was a key driver in winning the contract for its device.

"Ireland, with its resources and technical capabilities, has the potential to become the world leader in wave energy and Ocean Energy plans to play its part in making this a reality," he said.

"Ocean Energy has completed three years of prototype testing in energetic sea conditions and is ready to make the next step to Wave Hub with a full-scale device. If the testing goes well we expect to see Ocean Energy deploy an array of devices," said Wave Hub's general manager Claire Gibson.

Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland recently released statistics, which pointed to how the Irish wave-energy industry has the potential to employ 50,000 people by 2030 and could generate more than four times Ireland's current installed capacity or 30,000MW of power.

The Cool IT Leaderboard was released today in New Delhi, India.

So why did Google take the top spot? Google aced the table for its support of stronger US clean-energy policy and the strengthening of the EU's current 20pc greenhouse gas target of 30pc by 2020, said Greenpeace today.

However, Japanese telecommunications company Softbank achieved the leaderboard's highest political advocacy score ever for its post-Fukushima nuclear disaster demand for a "rapid shift" towards renewable energy and away from nuclear power, Greenpeace confirmed.

Greenpeace said Google, Cisco, and Dell all stand out for sourcing more than 20pc renewable energy globally for each company's infrastructures. 

Oracle received the lowest ranking overall due to failing to disclose either renewable or dirty energy use.

Interestingly, Apple and Facebook were not included in this year's leaderboard. Greenpeace said Apple was not included because its efforts do not meet the leaderboard criteria.

Greenpeace said Apple "has not demonstrated leadership or elected to pursue market opportunities to drive IT energy solutions that many of its competitors have, despite record profits and large cash reserves".

Facebook was not included in the previous leaderboard for similar reasons, said Greenpeace. Back in December Greenpeace ended its 'Unfriend Coal' attack on Facebook, with the duo instead declaring their mission to launch a clean-energy drive. Greenpeace said today that Facebook had recently changed its policies and committed to a "renewably powered Facebook", announcing its partnership with Opower to use the Facebook platform to help its users compare their energy usage. 

Six telecommunications companies were added since the last leaderboard. These were: AT&T, Telefónica, Vodafone, Softbank, Alcatel-Lucent, and NTT.

Major IT software and equipment brands from India and Japan - HCL, TCS and NEC - were also included in the Greenpeace evaluation.

_{Greenpeace Cool IT Leaderboard (5th edition) Summary Table. Image courtesy of Greenpeace. Click here for more information}

Is the IT sector keeping too quiet on dirty data?

"Technology giants have a real opportunity to use their power and influence to change how we produce and use energy - Google tops the table because it's putting its money where its mouth is by pumping investment into renewable energy," said Greenpeace International IT analyst Gary Cook. "The IT sector might like to consider itself forward thinking, but it is keeping far too quiet while the dirty energy industry continues to exert undue influence on both the political process and financial markets."

According to Greenpeace, the rapid expansion of global telecom infrastructure and data centres that power the cloud is driving significant energy demand in many sectors, much of it from dirty sources, such as coal and diesel. 

The energy used to power data centres, such as those operated by Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, IBM and other major IT companies that deliver online services, comprises more than 2pc of US electricity demand, and is projected to grow 12pc or more per year. 

Dropoff in advocacy leadership

And while the Greenpeace ranking found a steady increase in the quantity and strength of renewable energy solutions from many companies such as Cisco, IBM, Ericsson and Fujitsu, it also found a significant dropoff in policy advocacy leadership by IT companies.

"The IT industry must use its influence, innovative spirit and technological know-how to overcome the dirty energy companies who are holding onto the status quo, and holding us back from a transition to a renewable energy economy," said Cook. "What we're seeing is a lot of talk from companies about moving toward clean energy, but so far, not much of action."

In April, Greenpeace will bring out its second How Dirty is Your Data report, which will look at the impact of the sector's rapidly growing infrastructure. Facebook and Apple will be included in that report, Greenpeace has confirmed.

Capitalising on Ireland's pharma industry explosion, German company Waldner GmbH recently expanded its lab furniture offering to set up an Irish base. It was a joint venture between Waldner GmbH and Noel Hodgins, managing director, Waldner Ireland, with both Hodgins and the parent company investing €300,000 to launch the new company in Ireland.

The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association has indicated that Ireland's pharmaceutical industry generates more than 50pc of the country's exports, making Ireland the second-largest net exporter of medicines in the world. And right now 13 of the top 15 pharma companies in the world have operations in Ireland.

On the jobs front, Waldner Ireland is aiming to take on 16 new hires in 2012, as it anticipates an €8m turnover. Waldner already supplies lab spaces to companies in Ireland such as Genzyme, Pfizer and ISPEN and to academic institutions such as University College Cork and Dublin City University.

Plug and Play lab experience

Yesterday, Waldner held what it called a 'plug and play' laboratory experience at the lab, which is based at the company's Ballycoolin base in Blanchardstown, Co Dublin. At the open day, representatives from Irish universities and pharmaceutical companies tested out the energy-efficient scientific research laboratory for themselves.

Some of the sustainability-driven aspects of the lab Waldner has pioneered include a real-time dashboard or laboratory touch interface that monitors energy consumption of lab fittings and linked-up heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

The lab aims to encourage user interaction as opposed to direct analysis, with the goal of reducing energy output by 40pc, explained Christian Meichsner, laboratory carbon emissions expert and head of Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning solutions at Waldner.

Meichsner said visitors to the lab could interact with the interface, as well as viewing the fume cupboards.

User interaction

Waldner is liaising with University of Bradford to research the most effective ways of encouraging user interaction.

"Interestingly, users respond optimally to smiley faces on the communication interface. By plugging in information, for example, if the user is away from the lab the system will then decide and respond by dimming the lights and switching the heating off and automatically adjusting the laboratory ventilation," explained Meichsner.

'Pharmaceutical centre' of the world

Also speaking yesterday was Waldner Ireland managing director Noel Hodgins, who described Ireland as being "the pharmaceutical centre" of the world.

"Universities have placed a huge emphasis on improving lab facilities as more and more students enrol in science-related courses and they are becoming higher-profile, industry-linked facilities. The mass migration of pharmaceutical companies to Ireland has also seen a concentration on lab work. We have worked to provide a product that is both safety conscious, sustainable and energy efficient," added Hodgins.

The report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance has revealed that clean energy investments in India hit US$10.3bn in 2011, a 52pc increase on the US$6.8bn invested in 2010. This was the highest-growth figure of any significant economy in the world, according to the report. And, in 2011, India also accounted for 4pc of global investment in clean energy.

Asset financing for utility-scale projects continue to be the main type of clean-energy investment in India, with US$9.5bn in 2011.

Bloomberg attests that the clean-tech upsurge has been propelled by a seven-fold increase in funding for grid-connected solar projects - from US$0.6bn in 2010 to US$4.2bn in 2011.

Solar almost reached the same level of investments as wind, which totalled US$4.6bn, according to the report.

'Record year' for India and clean tech

Ashish Sethia, head of India research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said there had been concerns at the start of the year that higher lending rates might have impacted investment. However, he said policy measures like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, and renewable energy's increasing cost competitiveness, have made this a "record year" for India in terms of its clean-tech investment climate.

The Bloomberg report pointed to how venture capital and private equity investment also made a strong comeback in India, as $425m was invested in 2011, more than four times the 2010 figure.

Wind and solar project developers such as Mytrah Energy India and Kiran Energy Solar Power were successful in carrying out deals.

India's wind sector added 2,827MW of capacity in 2011 compared with 2,140MW in 2010. This capacity placed India third in the global rankings for new wind energy installations, trailing behind China and the US.

And Bloomberg New Energy Finance is predicting that around 2,500MW to 3,200MW of wind capacity could be added in 2012.

Explained Sethia: "The surge in installation of renewable energy shows that it is becoming cost competitive and scalable, at a time when India is struggling to meet its targets for conventional power capacity."

He said that federal and state governments in India would have to ensure four elements if India's renewables focus is to stay apace.

"First, that transmission lines are available for projects; second, that the grid can handle an increased flow of renewable energy; third, that renewable purchase obligations are enforced; and, fourth, that project developers are paid on time for the power they produce," said Sethia.

Enterprise Ireland-supported Irish clean-tech firm TreeMetrics, led by two young former foresters (Enda Keane and Garret Mullooly) also supported by IBM and Coillte,aims to revolutionise the forestry industry, making it cleaner, more CO2-friendly, and ultimately helping foresters increase their bottom line, while protecting the environment as best they can.

The company, which was formed in 2005, is understood to be doubling its workforce to 20 this year.

The company has pioneered a unique cloud-based platform that also harnesses Google Earth, to bring foresters into the digital century using cloud computing. It has recently secured contracts with some of the planet's most prominent state forest owners, including the British Forestry Commission, Forestry South Australia and the state forest owner in Finland - Metsahallitus.

Dylan Collins’ story has been inspirational. While at Trinity College, Collins built and sold his first company, a mobile software venture. After graduating he began building his second company - Demonware - which developed the software that allowed the world's top-grossing console games like Call of Duty to be played over the internet.

When Collins was 26, Activision, the world's biggest games publisher, acquired the company for US$15m. Following the acquisition, Collins realised a new major shift was occurring in the games business - the move to browser-based gaming - and went to work on a new venture, Jolt. GameStop - a retail giant employing 48,000 people worldwide in 6,700 stores - made a major undisclosed investment in Jolt two years ago to capitalise on the obvious opportunities in advertising and micropayments.

As well as Jolt, Collins has been working away on a group e-commerce site for consumer electronics called Gruupy.com.

In April last year Collins announced today that he was leaving Jolt Online Gaming and GameStop and is understood to have been based mainly in London since then. He says his primary activity is executive chairman of an exciting new venture called Fight My Monster.

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said yesterday that federal environmental reviews had been completed for wind-energy areas off Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.

He also indicated that the federal government had concluded that wind-energy projects off the mid-Atlantic coastline would cause no significant environmental damage.

The American Bird Conservancy has had concerns about bird deaths as a result of wind turbines.

Salazar said he hopes to issue long-term wind-energy leases later this year. He also alluded to reporters yesterday that wind-farm developers should not have to wait "nine to 10 years to get a lease".

In the past five years, wind power has been growing exponentially in the US – up 33pc each year in each of the past five years. However, all of that wind-farm growth has been onshore.

While offshore projects have been proposed, none are in construction yet. This is in stark contrast to Europe, which currently has 53 offshore wind projects. According to the European Wind Energy Association's latest offshore statistics, 1,371 turbines are installed and grid connected, totalling 3,813 MW in 53 wind farms in 10 European countries. This is up from 1,136 turbines, totalling 2,946 MW in 45 wind farms in nine European countries at the end of 2010.

Cape Wind is aiming to be the first offshore wind farm in the US. If the project goes ahead, it will be based on Nantucket Sound in Cape Cod, which is in Massachusetts. Salazar approved the project in 2010.

Once offshore wind developers secure leases this year, the next step will be overcoming the financial hurdle to hurl the projects into the construction phase.

Motorcheck.ie carried out the study by looking at new car registrations for 2011. The study analysed the official CO2 output for more than 89,000 individual cars registered new in 2011.

Motorcheck.ie's managing director Shane Teskey said MINI topped the poll due to its average CO2 of 117.12 grammes per kilometre.

The MINI was followed closely by manufacturers Fiat and Seat, with 118.83 and 119.78 respectively, he said.

"When we began this analysis, we had no idea which individual brand would come out on top. The level of technology being embraced by car manufacturers to reduce the carbon footprint of their vehicles is staggering," said Teskey.

Of late, car manufacturers around the globe have been vying to come up with the cleanest technologies, ramping up their hybrid and electric car portfolios in order to stay apace with cutting CO2 emissions and also due to rising fuel prices as a result of issues such as energy security.

Top 10 Cleanest Cars - Motorcheck.ie

Motorcheck.ie itself provides vehicle history information for any vehicle registered in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK.



_{Morris Mini-Minor 1959. "621 AOK" was the first Mini off the production line to be badged Morris. It was never sold, and is now kept at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, UK}

The Ernst & Young LLP analysis was based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource. In the US, VC investment was down 4.5pc in terms of capital invested compared to 2010.

However, Jay Spencer, Ernst & Young's Americas Cleantech director, said the 2011 VC investment represented a 29pc increase from the US$3.8bn raised in 2009. And in Q4 2011, VC investment in clean tech reached US$940.5m with 70 rounds of financing, said Spencer. This was a decrease of 41pc compared to the US$1.6bn raised in Q4 2010.

Clean-tech IPOs

Spencer said growth in the US clean-tech market in 2011 was supported by five clean-tech IPOs - compared to three in 2010.
Three of the 2011 deals were completed by companies focused on biofuels: Solazyme, Gevo and KiOR.

Two more IPOs were completed in Q4 2011, one by Intermolecular, a San Jose-based R&D company for the semiconductor and clean energy sectors. Intermolecular raised US$96.5m. Meanwhile, Rentech, a Los Angeles-based provider of clean-energy solutions, raised US$136.8m. 

"There's a strong appetite among clean-tech companies to go public and we see tremendous opportunity as this industry continues to mature," said Spencer. He said the growing IPO pipeline shows "viable, long-term potential."

Solar gleans highest investments

Spencer said the solar sub-segment received the lion's share of capital in Q4 2011 with US$284.5m. This figure accounted for 91pc of the sector's total investment of US$312.9m.

He said the top solar deal for Q4 was completed by Stion Corp, a San Jose, California-based manufacturer of thin-film solar panels. The firm raised US$130m.

Industry products and services

The industry products and services segment raised the second-largest amount in 2011, at $1.0bn, down 34pc from 2010. In Q4 2011, the segment raised $256.2m. The largest deal was for the quarter was completed by Better Place, a Palo Alto, California-based provider of electric car networks, which raised US$201m.

Energy storage

The energy storage segment ranked third in terms of total amount invested in 2011, with US$932.6m invested. The batteries sub-segment led the sector in Q4. Spencer said VIA Motors, a Utah-based electric vehicle development and manufacturing company, secured the largest battery transaction in Q4 2011.

Companies in the energy-efficiency segment attracted $646.9m in 2011, a 29pc decrease from 2010.

Corporate activity

According to the E&Y analysis, corporate activity was especially focused in two areas: solar and wind.

In the solar market, Google and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) invested US$189m in four California solar farms, totalling 88MW of capacity. In addition, NRG Energy acquired solar-power developer Solar Power Partners.

In the wind-energy area, MidAmerican Energy bought 49pc of the US$1.8bn 290 MW Agua Caliente project based in Yuma County, Arizona, which is being developed by NRG Energy.

Duke Energy and American Transmission bought a power line project to bring wind energy from Wyoming to the US southwest. 

Then, in Iowa, MidAmerican Energy acquired three wind power projects with a combined capacity of 404.8MW.

Clean-tech partnerships

In terms of clean-tech industry alliances in the US, some examples include Vestas, which is teaming with IBM to use its BigInsights analytics software and an IBM Firestorm supercomputer.

As well as this, Honeywell is teaming up with AliphaJet to help it with the development and commercialisation of renewable jet fuels from plant and animal matter.

California state takes the investment lead

In terms of the US, California led clean-tech investment in 2011, with the state raising US$2.8bn. Massachusetts raised the second-highest level of annual investments with US$465.1m. This was a 63pc increase from last year, said Spencer. Colorado came third in 2011, with investments in the state reaching US$363.3m.

"Clean tech is still in the early stages of a long-term journey," said Spencer. "We've reached a point where new products and services are ready to be launched, and as these products come to market, we're seeing renewed interest, innovation and opportunity in clean tech."

Cylon Active Energy itself is the energy management division of Cylon Group, an Irish provider of energy management services.

Via the new contract with North Carolina's Raleigh Convention Center, Cylon will centrally monitor and analyse the energy consumption of the centre remotely from its Dublin-based 'Energy Bureau' in Clonshaugh.

Cloud technologies

Sean Giblin, managing director, Cylon Group, said the company's engineers will also use their cloud-based information to determine the efficiency of the building, identify areas for improvement and make recommendations on elevating energy efficiency and delivering energy savings for Raleigh Convention Center.

Giblin said the company is excited about the contract win, as it is starting to ramp up its US focus. He spoke about how the company is capitalising on the cloud to "monitor, analyse and manage the energy consumption of buildings regardless of geographical location".

Seeking tech partners in the US

Parent company Cylon Group has had a presence in the US market for more than 15 years with its building control systems but Giblin asserted there has been little focus on energy management and conservation in the US market up to now.

"This is rapidly changing through increasing cost and regulatory pressures and we believe our unparallelled expertise and unique technology puts us in an ideal position to become a leader in this field in the US, as well as in our other core markets in Europe," said Giblin.  

Giblin said that following this new contract win, Cylon Active Energy will be "actively" seeking technology partners in the US in order to progress its growth plans.

Cylon Active Energy already supplies its energy management services to large corporations and SMEs in the UK, Ireland and across Europe. Last month, the company was awarded the Sustainable Energy Innovation Award at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland 2011 Annual Awards.

Giblin also indicated that Cylon Group will be looking to open an office in the US in 2012. Cylon Group already has offices in the UK, Europe and China.

With the issue of energy security having come to the fore as a major global challenge, a key element of the research at the IERC will involve linking up knowledge-intensive international and Irish companies with leading researchers to develop innovative energy solutions for global markets. That was according to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, TD, and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD, who both jointly announced the IERC funding yesterday.

The two ministers also announced the approval of the first two projects as part of the IERC. In all, €1m in funding will be provided via Enterprise Ireland.

Key research areas

Some of the main research areas that will be pioneered at the IERC include:

• Energy storage in commercial buildings. In particular, such research will look at using wireless networks to control and manage heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
• Redesigning and developing storage heating solutions.

The IERC itself is operating as a type of 'virtual' research centre, with the researchers meeting at Tyndall National Institute in Cork. It is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources working with a co-ordinated agency project team comprising IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Four higher education institutions have also backed the IERC. Contracts have been signed with NUI Galway, University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology and Dublin Institute of Technology.

The energy research agenda of the IERC is also industry led, with global companies in Ireland collaborating on it. Such firms include United Technologies, Bell Labs, HSG Zander and IBM. Irish unities Bord Gáis Energy and Bord Gáis Networks are also involved.

_{Powering the green economy via targeted research that can be commercialised}

Global clean-tech focus

Rabbitte said the Government's strategy is to position Ireland as a leading-edge location for such energy research developed for global markets.

He said the research carried out at the IERC will complement existing energy research activities in Ireland, including the smart grid and renewable energy integration research at the UCD Electricity Research Centre, where the researchers work in partnership with global companies, as well as EirGrid and ESB Networks.  

"Energy is of fundamental strategic importance to the economy and it is essential that we continue to invest in research to develop energy efficiency technologies which will underpin the Government's energy efficiency objectives and support economic growth in the clean technology sector," said Rabbitte.

Job creation and the green economy

Bruton pointed to how, in getting "out of this crisis" and getting jobs and growth back in the economy, that the focus will have to be on sectors where Ireland as a country has "distinct" advantages.

“The green economy clearly is one of these sectors, as not only do we have unrivalled natural resources in the area, but we have also built up a base of excellent research strength over the past decade."

From research to commercialisation

Bruton said the challenge for Ireland now is to make sure that research is channelled and targeted at commercialisation.

“That is why this centre is led by top-end global and Irish companies operating in the energy field, and will enable them to collaborate with world-leading researchers and institutions in developing cutting-edge solutions."

He said that in the coming weeks, the Government's Action Plan for Jobs will target the green economy.

Bruton pointed to how the clean-tech focus will "build on this good news with further changes to the Irish research sector to create more good ideas and ultimately, good jobs."  

Based at NovaUCD, Wattics has also just been announced as a finalist in the 2012 Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards. The company has been shortlisted in the Innovation in the Application of R&D category along with Cellix and X-Bolt Orthopaedics.

Founded by Dr Antonio Ruzzelli, Anthony Schoofs and Alex Sintoni as a spin-out from UCD's School of Computer Science and Informatics and the CLARITY Centre for Web Sensor Technologies, Wattics is currently fundraising and is also planning to employ between 15 and 25 people within the next two to three years. The company has been self-funded to date.

Schoofs already came under the global innovation radar in 2011 when he won the Globe Sustainability Research Award 2011 in recognition of his contribution to sustainability research via his PhD, which focused on appliance load monitoring systems for commercial and office buildings.

Ruzzelli, Schoofs and Sintoni have created a software solution targeted at businesses so they can manage their energy consumption via a single metering sensor 'clipped' onto a main electricity switchboard.

The trio says the system provides businesses with insights into their energy usage down to an individual appliance or machine level.

Using the data, businesses can identify energy inefficiencies and take action to significantly reduce the charges on their electricity bills, said Ruzzelli.

Already the company has gleaned such clients as Jurys Hotel Group, KPMG, the Office of Public Works, Norfish Ltd and Mandat International in Geneva.

Speaking about being nominated for the Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards, Ruzzelli said it was a validation of the hard work and dedication of everyone associated with the setting up of Wattics.

Plans to take the system global

He said he felt Wattics is a "game changer" in the energy-management market. Now the team has ambitious plans to roll the system out globally.

Ruzzelli added that the system requires no complex retrofitting, no appliance sub-metering and no wiring.

Last year, Celtic Catalysts, the UCD life-sciences spin-out company, was the overall winner of the Application of R&D Category at the Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards.

As reported in The Irish Times today, the aim is to generate enough cleaner electricity to power 2.8m homes, by harnessing the energy from these renewables.

Industry giants Siemens, Alstom and ABB have reportedly backed the Isles project.

It is planning to divine into the €4.6bn fund that the European Investment Bank will be making available, plus the €9.1bn that will be available from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility for the investment in trans-European energy infrastructure.

The survey also shows that 28pc of companies surveyed are in the planning phase, but 24pc still have not started adopting any smart-grid technology. However, 63pc of survey participants expect their budgets for these technologies to increase over the next two or three years.

The survey polled 216 professionals within electric, gas and water utility industries around the world and highlights the challenges utilities face as they move from planning to actual smart-grid implementation.

Nearly 20pc of the companies surveyed said technical issues kept them from moving forward, which was a larger group than in last year’s survey.

“This year’s survey shows that more and more utilities companies are adding new devices to the grid and incorporating new data sets into their operational capabilities,” said Jon C Arnold, managing director for the Worldwide Power and Utilities Industry at Microsoft and a member of the Smart Grid Advisory Committee to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“However, many of these same organisations are encountering significant interoperability and integration challenges."

The survey also indicated that 72pc of respondents do not have an enterprise-wide scalable architecture in place to support current and future smart-grid deployments.

Enterprise Ireland's R&D Fund partly financed the development of the vessel.

Arklow Marine Services is now building another catamaran, which is due for delivery in July 2012, and also destined for the export offshore wind market.

The company itself has a colourful history as it is a fifth-generation family business that was established in Arklow in 1864. Today, it is led by directors Billy Tyrrell, a naval architect, and John Tyrrell, a marine engineer.   

Arklow Marine Services' core business is the design and construction of aluminum and steel boats, such as passenger ferries and trawlers.

The company set its sights on the offshore wind marketplace when it secured a contract with UK-based Gardline Shipping after it detected a gap in the marketplace for a new generation of vessels for offshore wind farms.

Back in 2010, nine offshore wind farm sites were announced for UK coastal waters in January 2010. The UK itself is planning to invest more than stg£160bn over the next 30 years in developing its offshore wind energy resources.

Industry sources have also predicted that up to €30bn of investment in Irish offshore wind farms could also be a possibility in sparking new commercial opportunities for companies such as Arklow Marine Services to diversify their portfolios.

Billy Tyrrell said the building of the new vessel required the development of new ship-building processes at the firm. "Building this vessel has taken our business to a new level," he said.

Tom Kelly, head of Cleantech with Enterprise Ireland, spoke today about how innovation will be central to the future international competitiveness of Irish firms.   

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) are the three utilities behind energy data initiative, which will reach out to more than 10m customers during 2012.

Those who use Green Button via the three utilities will be able to download the past 13 months of their energy data, so they can analyse their energy usage. The move by the California utilities is a first of its kind in the US, with PG&E and SDG&E already providing Green Button data to about 6m consumers in California and SCE planning to roll out the button to its 4m customers later this year. Consumers will be able to upload their data on GreenButtonConnect.com for analysis.

Opportunities for green app developers

The technology itself uses a cloud platform that has been developed by a Colorado-based company called Tendril.

The utilities also believe there will be opportunities for developers in the energy app marketplace to create tools to help people control their home energy use, cut waste and lower their bills.

Smart grid

It was just this past September that the Obama Administration's chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra made a Green Button challenge in a blog about the start grid. At the time, Chopra wrote: "Why can't the same common-sense concept be applied to the energy industry with a 'Green Button'? Consumers should have access to their energy usage information. It should be easily downloadable and in an easy-to-read format offered by their utility or retail energy service provider."

Speaking yesterday, Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck said the company's cloud-based platform was designed to connect utilities and energy service providers, consumers and app developers to achieve smarter energy usage.

Social energy app

The Californian-based online gaming platform Simple Energy has already integrated with Green Button. Simple Energy has developed a social energy application to allow customers to compete for energy savings to win prizes. The application is now available to over 15 million homes in California and Texas and is available as a web app, by email and on Facebook. A mobile app will also go live this month, said Simple Energy CEO Yoav Lurie today.

The US Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced that the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy facility will be a renewable energy priority project for 2012.

It will be constructed south of Rawlins in Carbon County, Wyoming, covering nearly 222,689 acres of public land. The Power Company of Wyoming (PCW) said the wind farm could have as many as 1,000 turbines that would generate a combined 2,500 megawatts (MW) of cleaner electricity for about 30 years.

Analysts are predicting that the wind farm, set to be operational by 2015, could cost between €3.1bn and €4.7bn to construct, creating green jobs for the Wyoming region in the process.

PCW said the project would produce enough electricity to power between 600,000 and 800,000 homes per year.

Right now, the largest onshore wind farm in North America is in Roscoe, Texas.

In an interview with Reuters in India earlier today, Reji Kumar Pillai, general partner at Magnetar Venture, said the fund is planning to raise $20m in he first phase. He also indicated that the aim is to attract state-run firms in India as key investors.

Pillai, who was formerly vice-president of the energy and utilities industry at IBM's India/South Asia unit, is currently president of the India Smart Grid Forum.

Magnetar itself says the aim is to nurture innovation in clean-tech for sustainable development. 

It says it is seeking to invest in teams with "breakthrough technologies" in clean-tech domains that can significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Focus areas of the clean-tech venture capital fund include: renewable energy, energy storage technologies, advanced fuels, energy efficiency, smart grids, smarter appliances, electric and hybrid vehicles, water and waste management, next generation ICT and mobility solutions, surface transportation systems, logistics and supply chain optimisation.

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has confirmed the record, which saw First Solar achieve 14.4pc total area efficiency, bypassing the past record of 13.4pc, which was also set by the company.

First Solar's chief technology officer Dave Eaglesham made the announcement this morning in Abu Dhabi.

The company manufactures advanced thin-film modules using semiconductor technology. Via its manufacturing process First Solar is able to transform a sheet of glass into a complete solar module in less than 2.5 hours.

Six months ago First Solar bypassed the world record for CdTe solar cell efficiency with a mark of 17.3pc. Eaglesham said today that the cell and module record were both set at the company's Perrysburg, Ohio factory.

"These records also underscore the tremendous ongoing potential of CdTe compared to silicon-based technologies," he said this morning.


_{First Solar employees pictured holding the company's record-breaking 14.4pc efficient module, manufactured in Perrysburg, Ohio}

But what exactly are cell and module efficiencies? Cell efficiency measures the proportion of light converted to energy in a single solar cell. Meanwhile, total area module efficiency measures light conversion across a production-size, multi-cell solar module.

Eaglesham said module efficiency provides a more realistic assessment of real-world performance than cell or aperture-area efficiency.

The World Future Energy Summit itself started yesterday in Abu Dhabi and will run until 19 January. It will cover issues such as advancing future energy, energy efficiency and clean technologies by engaging business, industry, academic and finance leaders at the summit.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, TD, and Fergus O'Dowd, TD, the Minister of State with responsibility for the NewERA economic stimulus plan, have announced the details of the public consultation.

According to Hogan, the aim is to install 90pc of houses with smart meters by 2014, with the introduction of a universal water charge also on the cards by 2014.

Starting from today, members of the public can voice their views about the proposed water reforms in order to "improve" the implementation process, the Government has announced.

Some of the proposed reforms include:

• The setting up of a new public utility - Irish Water - to take over the responsibility for the delivery of water services from local authorities.
• Water charges based on metered usage, with the metering programme on track to start in the latter part of 2012.
• Independent economic regulation of the water sector under the Commission for Energy Regulation (ComReg). 

Under the proposals, the Government is aiming to create Irish Water as a State-led company that will take over the water investment and maintenance programmes of the 34 county and city councils.

Hogan indicated that the key aim of Irish Water would be to supervise and accelerate the "significant" investments needed to upgrade the State's water and sewerage networks. 

By setting up Irish Water, the Government also said such a public utility would create and sustain 2,000 construction jobs each year for the next three years. It also believed the initiative would attract foreign investment and job creation by funding the major investments water and sewage services needed to support new jobs, industries and businesses.

The Government said water meters will encourage water conservation.

It has also alluded to how it believes the full potential for industry-standard IT systems for the management of water services is not being exploited.

Hogan also asserted that unaccounted-for water is a significant problem, and well above international standards.

Figures released from the Government show that water services cost more than €1.2bn to run in 2010, of which operational costs amounted to some €715m, and capital costs of over €500m.

"We are the only country in the OECD where households do not pay directly for the water they use. Our current model of water provision, where unlimited quantities of an expensive product are provided at no charge, is simply not sustainable," said Hogan.

He added that households that source their water from private supplies will not pay charges," said Hogan.

A consultation paper on the water sector reform proposals, plus a copy of the independent assessment of the independent utility Irish Water, is available on Environ.ie.

The Government is seeking views between now and close of business on 24 February 2012.

The deal has just been announced today.
Güssing Renewable Energy is aiming to produce 50MW of energy generation from fuel cells in the Republic of Austria by 2020, so in the first phase of the US$500m agreement, ClearEdge Power will aim to deliver 8.5MW of clean energy over the next 36 months.

Speaking today, ClearEdge Power president and CEO, Russell Ford said the deal was a "significant milestone" for both the company and the stationary fuel cell market.

He spoke about the role that scalable, continuous onsite power systems can play in achieving environmental sustainability.

Güssing Renewable Energy itself is headquartered in Güssing, a town that has become renowned for being the first community in the European Union to produce 100pc of its energy from renewable resources. Not so long ago Güssing was known as one of the poorest areas in Austria, which relied heavily on agriculture. In the early Nineties a policy was proposed which called for a complete abandonment of fossil-fuel-based energy.

Güssing Renewable Energy offers what it calls carbon-neutral solutions, including anaerobic technology that converts organic mass into biogas that can be used to heat in fuel cells.

Under the agreement with ClearEdge Power, Güssing Renewable Energy has agreed to sell, install and service ClearEdge systems in Austria and the company is also planning to gain a foothold in other western European markets.

Güssing Renewable Energy also participated in the recent ClearEdge Power Series E US$73.5m financing round. The company has also recently secured a DOE grant to support the adoption of fuel cell technologies in different vertical markets.

The hour-long lecture, that will be held at the Science Gallery, will explore issues such as smart water metering and charges that Ireland is facing.

The event is part of Science Gallery's 'Surface Tension: The Future of Water' exhibition, which is running right now. It will be hosted by EPA director Micheal O'Cinneide and Duncan Stewart of Eco Eye.

Sinead O'Brien of SWAN (Sustainable Water Network) and Ciaran Fallon of Dublin City Council will also discuss possible directions that water resource management will take in Ireland in the future.

Right now, the average water usage per person in Ireland is around 150 litres. ``

The EU Water Framework Directive legislation requires governments to take a 'holistic' approach to managing their waters. It applies to rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters. Under the directive, EU member states must aim to achieve good status in all waters by 2015. See the Irish Water Framework Directive website for more information.