Cleantech News

India’s Renewable Energy Certificate Program Crosses 3 GW: “The accredited generation capacity under the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) scheme has now crossed 3,000 MW.”

SunEdison Launches “Eradication of Darkness” Program in India: SunEdison has launched “a rural electrification program called Eradication of Darkness” that in which the company “will design, install and manage distributed-generation solar power plants, to provide energy to Indian villages that have never before had access to electricity.”

Vivint Solar Expands Residential Solar Service into Hawaii: “Power prices in Hawaii have risen 17.8 percent during the last 10 years according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Vivint Solar customers save money on energy through the company’s power purchase agreement (PPA), in which customers agree to purchase the power their solar panels generate at a cost significantly less than a typical power bill. In exchange, Vivint designs, installs and maintains the system with no out-of-pocket costs. This allows customers to enjoy the benefits of renewable solar energy without a large, up-front investment.”

25.5-MW Solar Thermal Project Headed to Cyprus: “Infinia Corp., a developer of power systems that convert solar heat to electricity, said it won a contract to supply equipment to a 114 million-euro ($143 million) project in Cyprus,” Bloomberg reports. “The U.S. company will provide so-called Stirling engines to a 25.5-megawatt plant on the east Mediterranean island, David Townley, vice president in charge of business development, said by telephone from Nicosia on May 25.”

Global Offshore Wind Market to Reach 89 GW of Installed Capacity by 2025: “Offshore wind finds itself in a ‘make or break’ period up to 2015, by when the industry will either have positioned itself for sustained build-out, or rapidly decline as a non-competitive technology. Interest in the offshore sector continues to grow, with investor commitments, policy support, and technological innovations – the global offshore market is expected to reach 89 GW of installed wind energy capacity by 2025. However, costs remain high and financial backing for capital intensive projects is needed as the next generation of offshore projects heads for unchartered territory.”

Empire State Building Saves Millions of Dollars in 1st Year of Energy Efficiency Plan: “One year after an innovative building retrofit project, the Empire State Building is ahead of plan and has exceeded its year one energy-efficiency guarantee by five percent, saving $2.4 million and establishing a commercial real estate model for reducing costs, maximizing return on investment, increasing real estate value, and protecting the environment.”

Albeo Technologies Winning Awards Left & Right: We mentioned one of Albeo’s awards a couple weeks ago, but apparently the company has been collecting quite a few lately: “Albeo Technologies Inc., a leader in solid-state industrial and commercial LED lighting, announced that its H-Series High Bay LED fixture won three prestigious awards at Lightfair International 2012; two 2012 Architectural SSL Magazine Product Innovation Awards (PIA) and one from The Next Generation Luminaires (NGL) Solid State Lighting Design Competition. All three spotlight the innovative H-Series High Bay LED light fixture as a significant industry achievement. The H-Series is the only LED fixture of its kind to scale from one to 12 LED light bars, while providing the largest lumen range in the industry of 6,500 to 77,000 within the same platform. This is equivalent in light output to arrays of two fluorescent bulbs to 1500 Watt HID.”

Authentic French cuisine in Saigon

French cuisine seems very popular in Ho Chi Minh City judging from the many restaurants that are constantly springing up.

But to enjoy authentic French food in a luxurious setting, gourmets should look no further than L'Olivier Restaurant at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon Hotel, District 1, which deservedly enjoys the reputation of being among the best in town.

L'Olivier has rustic limestone walls, a modern lighting system, and, redolent of southern France and the Mediterranean many trees, some as tall as three meters.

The restaurant is divided into four parts: the main dining area, a terrace for those who enjoy eating outdoors, a spacious and well-lit garden, and two private dining areas for business meetings and family get-togethers.

The restaurant has brought together many outstanding chefs from Europe, especially France, including executive chef Tjaco van Eijken, who has been working in the food industry for more than 18 years.

He began as a junior sous chef at the 2-Michelin-star “La Rive” Restaurant in the Netherlands. Then, he joined Sofitel Demeure Hotel Castille in Paris where he became chef de cuisine at its Michelin-star fine dining restaurant Il Cortile.

After that he was executive chef for the Hotel InterContinental in Hongkong and the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise. After discovering an interest in Asian cuisine, he found Vietnam to be the place to undertake his new culinary adventure.

At L'Olivier he has designed a new à la carte menu with a Mediterranean touch featuring a selection of dishes to accommodate both the fast-paced business crowd and relaxed leisure guests.

The menu consists of authentic Mediterranean cuisines such as French, Italian, Spanish, and Moroccan.

It features starters like ravioli of crab and arugula, crispy vegetables, mixed herbs; custard of Parisian mushrooms served with watercress jus; and fried frog legs with snail butter. Then there is the irresistible roasted green asparagus with aged Parmesan cheese and balsamic reduction, supposed to be a delicacy in the new menu.

For the main course, the chef offers many different dishes to please all palates - such as tajine of poultry, green olives and lemon confit with couscous garnish from Morocco and roasted fillet of veal with creamy bacon, porcini, and potato gnocchi from Italy. The slow-cooked beef cheek, Provencal jus, and waffle potatoes comes highly recommended.

Last but not least is the array of mouth-watering desserts like cheeses, fruits, and chocolates. Customers are recommended to try some signature dishes such as exotic fruit with shiso jelly, yoghurt waffle potatoes sorbet, and crispy mango; and caramelized raspberries and strawberries, white chocolate dome, and orange sorbet.

It has had more than 12 Michelin Star chefs so far, including Jean-Baptiste Natali from Hostellerie de la Montagne Restaurant in Colombey les deux Eglises (Champagne), Ulrich Heimann from Le Ciel in Berchtesgaden (Germany), and, most recently, Gilles Reinhardt from Maison Paul Bocuse in Collonges (Lyon).

Bowtech Products Ltd. to exhibit at Seawork International 2012

Bowtech Products Ltd. (‘Bowtech’), a market leading manufacturer and supplier of cameras, LED lighting, connectors, fiber optic multiplexers and slip rings for use in underwater or hazardous area applications, to any ocean depth, has announced that they will be exhibiting at the Seawork International 2012, held from the 22nd to the 24th of May, at the Canary Islands Fruit Terminal in Southampton, England. Seawork International, now in its 15th successful year, is the largest and fastest growing commercial marine and workboat event to be held in a European working port.

Bowtech will be showcasing their latest range of underwater LED diver lights - the LED G Series, the MCVIS-I, Mini Compact Video Inspection System, as well as their upgraded L3C, LCC and Divecam diving camera ranges, at Stand DS21, in the DiveWork Pavilion. Please visit them at the stand and be the first to see their latest products and how they operate.

Bowtech’s MCVIS-I, Mini Compact Video Inspection System, is their smallest portable splash proof control station, which incorporates the latest camera and LED technology, for operation, viewing and recording of colour or monochrome video cameras, together with audio input and intensity control of a lamp.

The MCVIS-1 comprises of a digital hard disk recorder with 32GB SD Card drive. This produces noiseless digital images, even when playback is frozen. There is time and date overlay provided; a 7” high resolution, daylight readable colour LCD monitor; audio input; a dimmer circuit; video and audio output to enable connection straight into a separate monitor.

The LED-G-Series of diver inspection lamps are available with either 800, 1000 or 1600 lumens output and various colour temperature options. The 800 lumen model is designed to operate in wet and dry conditions. Rated to operate at 300 metres ocean depth, the lamps are manufactured with anodised aluminium housing, which offers proven corrosive resistance. The 85° diagonal wide angle beam of light produced is ideal for colour video inspection or viewing tasks especially for diving and inspection ROV applications.

Bowtech’s range of tooling and diving cameras have been recently upgraded by 100 TV Lines. The range includes the monochrome LCC-700, the colour L3C-650 and the Divecam range (rated to 100 or 300 metres), available in both colour and monochrome, with either aluminium or acrylic housing.

The new and upgraded product ranges demonstrate Bowtech’s ability to deliver the most up-to-date and reliable camera, lighting and video inspection technology to the market.

LG ties BMW, Audi to Osram row

Two key affiliates of LG Group ― LG Electronics and LG Innotek ― have formed a united front in a legal move to block sales of all BMW and Audi cars as the patent battle between German-based Osram and LG shifts up a gear.

The retaliation comes after lighting group Osram recently filed a complaint in Korea against LG, as well as Samsung, for patent violations ― a move it has already taken in four other countries including China and the United States.

"LG sued Osram at the Seoul Central District Court for purportedly infringing on LG-owned patents such as LED chips and packaging technologies that are widely used in LED light bulbs and cars," said Lim Young-min, a senior LG spokesman.

"Because local branches of BMW and Audi are using Osram's LED applications that infringe on LG patents, LG is seeking a complete ban on BMW and Audi car sales in South Korea," said the spokesman, Wednesday, adding Osram has infringed on seven LG patents.

In July, LG Electronics and LG Innotek separately filed with the South Korean trade commission to ban imports of LED products from Osram.

"Although BMW and Audi are LG's new targets, Osram is the company's top priority. LG will expand the ongoing court battles in other countries," said Lim.

In a statement, LG said LG Electronics and LG Innotek have collectively secured some 4,000 patents in LED applications globally.

Representatives of local BMW and Audi branches weren't available for comment, while Osram officials here declined to speak on the issue.

The formula is quite complex.

Osram has demanded LG continues paying the royalties that LG had rendered for several years. For Osram, the cash-flow was terminated with LG aggressively pushing its LED-related businesses.

For LG, paying heavy royalties is no longer necessary.

Important LED patents are held by many firms that engaged in research early on. Apart from Osram, companies include Nichia and Toyada Gosei of Japan, Philips Lumileds of the Netherlands and Cree of the United States.

LG is not among these firms, however, it needs this knowledge for its flat-screens.

"Because LG was quite late to the LED field, we had been paying sizable royalties to Osram in return for using some of its key patents, however, we no longer need to pay because situations are quite different," said a high-ranking LG executive familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified.

Viewpoint: Bicyclists share responsibilities like motorists

A few weeks ago, I was in my car, stopped at a red light at University Parks and I-35, when this guy on a bicycle sailed past me and went straight through the middle of the intersection while the light was still red.

I was extremely startled that he didn't seem to show any hesitation to riding through a red light at the intersection of a major highway's frontage road and a major Waco street.

Fortunately, there weren't any cars coming when the bicyclist went through the intersection, so he was fine. But when the light turned green, there was very nearly an accident because another car almost forgot to stop at its red light.

I couldn't help thinking. What if that car had actually run the light when the guy on the bicycle was in the intersection?

Since then, I've watched bicyclists at the stop signs on and around the Baylor campus, and I've come to a startling realization: most of them don't stop.

I don't get it. As a driver, you (hopefully) wouldn't run a four-way stop, and as a pedestrian, you wouldn't step out into a street with heavy traffic. So why would you do it on a bicycle?

Remember that driving handbook we all got from the DMV or when we took driver's education? I opened it up on the Internet and looked under the bicycles section. It reads as follows:

"At intersections, right-of-way rules apply equally to motor vehicles and bicycles."

"A bicycle is a vehicle and any person operating a bicycle has the rights and duties applicable to a driver operating a vehicle"

"A bicyclist should always obey all traffic laws, signs, and signals. Never ride opposite the flow of traffic. Stop at all stop signs and stop at red lights."

Don't think I'm hating on bicyclists. I ride my bike to class too. It's quicker than walking and much more convenient than driving, except in the rare cases of rainy, icy or snowy conditions. Not to mention it saves me about $250 by not buying a parking sticker. But just because it's easy, and tempting, to ride through stop signs and red lights when it looks like no one's coming doesn't mean we should.

We all need to be more attentive of our surroundings, motorists and bicyclists alike. I've already seen a handful of bike collisions and near-misses on campus, and it's rare not to see a report of a car accident somewhere on the evening news.

When I was 16, I caused an accident with my mother's car because I wasn't paying attention. I was lucky. No one was hurt and my parents didn't kill me.

But the accident and the ticket I received gave me the wake-up call I needed. Paying attention while you're driving, or biking, is not an option.

It's true that being on the road is a risk. In 2010 alone there were a reported 6 million car accidents in the U.S. But we are all capable of lessening that risk by being more aware of everyone on the road and obeying traffic laws whether we're on two wheels or four.