Tag: technology

Roll out of smart meters hits snag in British Columbia, Canada

Justine Hunter writes in the Globe and Mail about the problems that B.C. Hydro is having in providing smart meters to all customers.  While the problem appears to be the fault of the current government, it shows that one cannot take the consumer for granted.  Now the energy company is busily trying to explain to … Continue reading Roll out of smart meters hits snag in British Columbia, Canada →

The growing popularity of LED lighting in the US

Diane Cardwell writes in the New York Times about the growing interest in LED lighting as we see true market transformation taking place in the lighting sector.   LEDs Emerge as a Popular ‘Green’ Lighting The lighting industry has finally come up with an energy-efficient replacement for the standard incandescent bulb that people actually seem … Continue reading The growing popularity of LED lighting in the US →

News from the IEA – Powering down to save energy need not be a turn-off

After success of its 1-watt initiative, IEA turns to “smart” appliances’ power consumption in network standby Less than a decade ago, televisions in homes around the world consumed significant electricity whether they were turned on or off. But in 1999 the IEA spearheaded the  “1-watt” initiative that led to the average new television’s standby consumption … Continue reading News from the IEA – Powering down to save energy need not be a turn-off →

Vestas looks to build world’s largest offshore wind turbine

With the help of the Japanese machinery maker Mitsubish, Vestas Wind Systems hopes to build the world's largest offshore wind turbine that would have a capacity of 8 megawatts – 30 percent more powerful than the largest turbine currently available, Bloomberg reported. Vestas is the world's largest maker of wind turbines, the article stated, and … Continue reading Vestas looks to build world’s largest offshore wind turbine →

Re-thinking energy efficiency strategies

James Murray has an excellent blog in Green Business.  While the example is about the UK, there are lessons for all of Europe.  Murray raises the issue of why politicians are so reluctant to support standards-based policies such as minimum energy performance standards and labelling.  Unfortunately, he does not mention that most of those standards … Continue reading Re-thinking energy efficiency strategies →

Health effects from wind farms

Andrew Gilligan of The Telegraph writes about the first peer-reviewed scientific study on the health effects from the noise of wind farms. Wind farm noise does harm sleep and health, say scientists American and British researchers compared two groups of residents in the US state of Maine. One group lived within a mile of a … Continue reading Health effects from wind farms →

Inside the Brussels beltway

Here are updates on some of the on-going issues in Brussels. Ecodesign For those interested in Ecodesign and products, the 2012-2014 Working Plan, which was to have been published already, is still not available. In May EiD was told that it was still in inter-service consultation and it had been hoped it would have been … Continue reading Inside the Brussels beltway →