Organic Valley announced in late October that it would be transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy by 2019 – an announcement that is significant not only for the dairy co-op but also for trends in growing renewable energy nationwide.

The company’s solar solution is the result of several years of work, beginning with the installation of a five-megawatt wind farm in the Wisconsin, where the co-op is headquartered, back in 2012.

While this farm was originally intended to help Organic Valley reach 100 percent renewable energy right off the bat, the co-op grew to such an extent between the planning and the construction phases that the farm was only able to account for a percentage of its energy use. The Organic Valley team knew that it would need to make a bigger investment if it hoped to reach 100 percent renewable energy while continuing to grow its business.

The company thus decided to collaborate with OneEnergy Renewables, a developer of community-and utility-scale solar energy projects, to meet its goal. Together with Upper Midwest Municipal Energy Group, the companies created a partnership to develop new solar facilities in Wisconsin and bring total new installations to about 29 MW – more than twice what Organic Valley actually needed to reach its 100 percent renewable energy goal.

“There’s demand from the utilities within our region for up to 30 megawatts worth of electricity from solar, and our need is a little under 13 megawatts,” explains Jonathan Reinbold, Sustainability, Research & Grants Manager at Organic Valley.

In other words, Organic Valley is not actually building new solar facilities, but rather committing to a regular renewable energy purchase, thus encouraging the construction of such facilities by third party builders.

“In order to make it financially viable for the project owner, there needs to be some additional financial incentive,” explains Reinbold. “That’s where we come in, as an anchor buyer of electricity.”

Thanks to this project, then, not only will Organic Valley be transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy, but it will also be providing renewable energy credits to the state, lowering the cost of power for Wisconsin residents and increasing the state’s overall solar energy use by 15 percent.

“There’s an argument to be made that without Organic Valley, these Wisconsin utilities never would have been able to attract the necessary capital investments to add solar to their grids,” explains New Food Economy.

Organic Valley joins the likes of Whole Foods, Lego, and Google in making such a commitment. If it succeeds, it will be the largest food company in the world to do so, according to Rocky Mountain Institute, becoming an important role model for other companies looking to help normalize renewable energy in the U.S.

And the buck doesn’t stop here for Organic Valley.

While this commitment pertains only to the co-op’s office buildings, processing facilities, and distribution centers, Organic Valley is also helping its 2,000 farms, present in 36 states, to transition to renewable energy. Some 220 of the co-ops farms have already installed solar panels, and Organic Valley is working not only to increase that number to 50 percent in the next few years, but also to encourage farmers to take other steps towards reducing their fossil fuel impact, by producing biofuel on-site, for example.

“It’s part of our mission as an organization,” says Reinbold – and it’s one more reason to support this pioneer of organic, grass-fed dairy in the United States.

Related on EcoSalon
The City of Angels Launches Largest Solar Energy Rooftop Program (And it Pays)
9 Clean Energy Infographics That Prove Solar & Wind Are the Future
Alternative Energy on the Rise: Solar Power Workers Now Outnumber Coal Miners

The post How Organic Valley is Growing the U.S. Market for Renewable Energy appeared first on EcoSalon.

It used to be that if you opted for a solar roof for your home, it was an eco-conscious but not a particularly aesthetic choice. But all that changed in October, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced a new solar roof that is as beautiful as it is green.

“If you install our solar roof on your house, you’re going to want to call your neighbors over and say ‘check out the sweet roof!’” Musk said at the October presentation.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the look of the new roof tiles is how well they blend into a traditional roof. The four distinct styles of product are made from quartz glass, which is transparent to solar but appears opaque when viewed from an angle, and even resembling traditional materials, from slate to terra cotta. This even means that you could add solar tiles to just part of the roof.

“We need to make solar panels as appealing as electric cars have become,” Musk said. “It needs to be beautiful, affordable, and seamlessly integrated. If all of those things are true, why would you go any other direction?”

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, the solar tiles are also quite durable, built to last about two or three times longer than asphalt tiles.

“They should last longer than the house,” said Musk.

And there’s another very good reason to opt for these panels over traditional roofing materials: these solar panels generate enough energy to fully power a household, even on a shady day; the Tesla solar roof will be sold in tandem with Tesla Powerwall battery units, developed with an essential new element of solar power – electricity storage.

Electricity storage is already common in solar-heavy regions, where the solar energy produced in the middle of the day can be stored and used at night.

“The future is going to overwhelmingly be solar plus battery,” Musk said. “They go together like peanut butter and jelly.”

By designing the solar roofs to work hand-in-hand with Powerwall, Tesla has created an all-in-one system with units that can store 15kWh of energy, enough to power a four-bedroom house for a day.

“In order to make his vision move forward, Musk is using design with a big D,” Andy Ogden, Chair of the Industrial Design Department at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, told Wired. “He’s thinking about an overall strategy, in how these things interact and support each other, so there’s some synergy.”

Tesla is partnering with SolarCity on the new products; Tesla will likely merge with the company, run by his cousins, depending on the November 17 decision of the shareholders.

While pricing information and availability remain to be addressed — Brian Cinnamon of Green Tech Media guesses that the Tesla solar roof will cost about $15,000 for a set that is capable of producing 9,000 kilowatt-hours per year — keep an eye out for these new panels in time for summer 2017, if the merger goes according to plan.

Related on EcoSalon
French Law to Require Green Roofs or Solar Panels on New Commercial Buildings
Switching to Home Solar Power is Already the Story of the Year
Dirty Tactics Try to Block Residential Solar Panels

The post Your Solar Roof is Arriving in Style Thanks to Tesla appeared first on EcoSalon.

A new campaign by Minnesota-based non-profit Fresh Energy is addressing two major issues facing environmentalists today: alternative energy and pollinator habitats – and it’s actually kind of genius.

The campaign is the very definition of a win-win situation. By encouraging utility-scale solar developers to plant wildflowers and native grasses on their land, the campaign encourages the return of our pollinator friends, honeybees and monarch butterflies, and draws even more attention to solar power.

This project comes not a moment too soon, as 2,500 of acres of ground-mounted solar are on the brink of being installed in Minnesota over the next two years. This is the prime opportunity to change the way developers think about solar power moving forward.

“Most developers are used to building solar farms in California and Arizona (desert ground cover),” the campaign explains. “In most cases, shipping in gravel is more expensive than dense beds deep-rooted pollinator plants. Native grasses planted under solar arrays won’t only benefit the pollinators we rely on for our food supply, they also help keep water clean by serving as a natural filter for the water in our ecosystem.”

Minnesota’s neighboring North Dakota has seen its honey quotient drop considerably over the past few years, even as it remains the top honey producer in the U.S. North Dakota is responsible for about 23.2 percent of the nation’s total honey production, however, 17,000 colonies were lost in the state between January and March 2016, as compared to 620 for the same period in 2015.

“It’s gotten really hard to keep bees alive,” fourth-generation North Dakota beekeeper John Miller told National Geographic. “On a bad year, we might lose up to 40 percent.”

This widespread loss in North Dakota is attributed in large part to the loss of land that had been set aside for beekeeping since 2006. This land, which belonged to private owners, was left unplowed in exchange for payments for pollinator conservation; now farmers have opted instead to plant lucrative corn and soybean crops for biofuels, leaving bees with nowhere to go.

A 2015 IndieGogo campaign enlisted the help of Dr. Marla Spivak of the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Karen Oberhauser, Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota, to raise $5,646 – 101 percent of its goal – to increase visibility for the project through marketing and advertising.

So far, developers seem to be fairly receptive to this idea, and other states – like North Carolina and Massachusetts – have been targeted to expand the project.

“We see this is a huge opportunity to get people to like solar a little more,” Rob Davis, director of strategic communications for Fresh Energy, told GreenBiz.

We’re still looking for a downside to this. (Yeah, there isn’t one.)

Related on EcoSalon
Alternative Energy on the Rise: Solar Power Workers Now Outnumber Coal Miners
What Can We Learn from British Columbia’s Green Energy Program?
Erykah Badu Loves Bees as Much as You

Honeybee image via Shutterstock

The post The Sweet Spot Where Pollinator Habitats and Green Energy Meet appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sexy solar energy fields from around the world.

The need for smart energy is high on the list of global priorities–up there with water and our waste issues. Pumping fossil fuel has gone on for far too long. Around the world, countries are addressing the need for alternative energy sources, and using smart renewable alternatives like our sun, which produces a ton of energy if you are in the right place. It is estimated that over a 12-hour time period, useable, solar energy can amount to 438,000 watt-hours per square foot per year in one location.

Regions around the world are taking the initiative to shift from fossil fuel energy sources to solar. For example, recently Los Angeles launched the largest solar energy rooftop program in the world. Many of these solar field projects are a fusion of impeccable design aesthetic and sharp scientific consideration. Here’s a round up of beautiful and impressive solar energy fields from around the world. Who every said energy wasn’t sexy?

1. Olmedilla de Alarcón, Spain

2. Ivanpah, Dry Lake, California

3. Ocean Vodka Farm, Hawaii

4. Baltimore Solar Array, on GM plant rooftop, Baltimore

5. Les Mees Solar Field, France

6. Waldpolenz Solar Park, Germany

7. Kaohsiung Stadium, China

8. Gotham Greens, Brooklyn, New York

See Also:

10 Infographics on Energy 

3 Trendy Brands Embracing Clean Energy in a Big Way

5 Cool Gadgets that Help You Save Energy & Help You Create Your Own Electricity 

9 Clean Energy Infographics That Prove Solar & Wind are the Future

Image: brightsource, nobesol, Ivanpah, oceanvodka, General Motors, efinity, wikicommons, Gotham Greens

The post 8 Impressive Solar Energy Fields Around the World appeared first on EcoSalon.

 A new construction project is underway at the White House, and it’s not a new bedroom for dignitaries or improvements to the bowling alley. It’s a fresh new set of solar panels. It’s unclear how much power the new array will actually produce, but for many, the act delivers more than electricity.

Despite the fact that it took Obama three years to fulfill his promise to restore the array, the seemingly small move is a big step, and says a lot about where we’re headed as a nation.

Nothing New Under The Sun

I often feel bad for former President Jimmy Carter. He’s always the butt of jokes, especially from conservatives, and criticized for his passive demeanor. Yet more than 30 years ago, Carter was championing solar power, and encouraging Americans to abandon fossil fuels for the promise of renewable energy. He walked the talk, putting 32 solar panels on the roof of the White House way back in 1979. What a different America–no, world–we’d be living in now if we’d only taken the hint and put our weight behind the solar energy industry back then.

But we didn’t. Instead, the oil lobby put its weight into our politicians, and in 1986, then-President Reagan had the panels removed. George Charles Szego, the engineer who persuaded Carter to install the solar panels, reportedly claimed that Reagan Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan “felt that the equipment was just a joke, and he had it taken down.”

Well, it wasn’t a joke. And now solar energy (along with wind and geothermal) represents one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States. Too bad we had to force the planet way over the C02 threshold and into human-accelerated climate change before we were willing to give it a chance.

Turning Up The Heat On Fossil Fuels

In 2010, President Obama pledged to install solar panels on his official residence as a sign of his commitment to renewable energy, and environmentalists were thrilled. According to the Washington Post, “at the time of the 2010 announcement, then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu and White House Council on Environmental Quality chair Nancy Sutley said the administration would conduct a competitive bidding process to buy between 20 and 50 solar panels.” The upgrade, “which will help demonstrate that historic buildings can incorporate solar energy and energy efficiency upgrades, is estimated to pay for itself in energy savings over the next eight years,” Sutley continued.

Now, several years later, the promise is bearing fruit. The Obama’s may not be touting it as an official signal that fossil fuels are on their way out, but there’s no denying it’s one of solar power’s biggest endorsements to date.

“No one should ever have taken down the panels Jimmy Carter put on the roof,” 350.org founder Bill McKibben said in an emailed press statement. “But it’s very good to know that once again the country’s most powerful address will be drawing some of that power from the sun.”

Pushing Americans to become more energy efficient has been a major focus of Obama’s Department of Energy, and there’s comfort to be found in an Administration that practices it what it preaches. But putting solar panels on the White House is the easy part. Changing deep-rooted policies that have favored fossil fuels for decades, that’s where the real work–and reward–is waiting.

Image: Francisco Diez

The post The White House Gets Solar Panels (Again): Will America Follow Suit? appeared first on EcoSalon.

As if Los Angeles needed another reason for bragging. It’s now home to the nation’s largest urban rooftop solar energy program, and it could make you money while helping to support clean energy initiatives in the state.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the program, called Clean L.A. Solar, makes it possible for Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power to now pay its customers if they generate solar energy via rooftop solar panels.

The Los Angeles Business Council is the driving force behind the program, and hopes that it will generate 150 megawatts of solar energy, “enough to power about 30,000 homes,” reports the Times. “The council hopes to attract investments totaling $500 million from a growing list of companies that want to invest in L.A.’s push to go green by setting up large clusters of rooftop solar panels.” And the solar energy program hopes to expand, rapidly. “Clean L.A. Solar proponents have their sights set high, aiming to expand the initial 150-megawatt goal over the next several years to 600 megawatts.”

The move comes as a result of the state’s mandate to generate 33 percent of its electricity through renewable resources by 2020. If everything goes smoothly, the Clean L.A. Solar program should help the city reach 25 percent of that goal by 2016. As well, the program will create more than 4,000 jobs for Angelinos.

Another benefit of the program is that it could also be extremely helpful to the city’s lower income neighborhoods. Some of the city’s poorest areas also have the highest amount of light available, making homes in those neighborhoods prime candidates for solar rooftops.

The program will pay 17 cents per kilowatt-hour initially, decreasing to 14 cents, according to the Times.

Related articles

3 Mega Tech Companies Building Super Green Headquarters

Solar Impulse Plane Completes First Cross-Country Trip Powered by the Sun

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: hsld

The post The City of Angels Launches Largest Solar Energy Rooftop Program (And it Pays) appeared first on EcoSalon.

A discussion on alternative energy can often lead to eye rolls from conservatives who seem to think that wind turbines and solar panels are powered by naked people eating granola. But regardless of whether or not you might think of alternative energy models as hippie-powered, new reports find there are now more solar jobs in the U.S. than those being provided by the nation’s coal miners. 

According to the Solar Foundation’s new interactive map, you can view state by state just exactly where the solar jobs are (more than 43,000 in California!). The map states that nearly 120,000 jobs can now be credited to solar energy—a growth of more than 13 percent last year. CNN reports “there are more solar energy workers in Texas than there are ranchers. In California, they outnumber actors, and nationwide, America has more solar workers than coal miners.”

Even less sunny states, including New Jersey and Michigan are now reporting an increase in the number of solar jobs. The Solar Foundation reports that even though the states may be lacking in the sunshine department on par with states like California and Arizona, the fact that they have favorable tax and regulatory policies make them appealing locations for solar developers.

Solar workers are being paid better than the average national wage, too, reports the Solar Foundation. A solar worker can earn nearly $38,000 a year, which is slightly more than what the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as the national average wage of $34,750.

The benefits to solar power are numerous, most notably that the sun is a sustainable resource unlike our dependence on limited resources of fossil fuels. Solar creates less pollution (as does wind-power) than conventional energy procurement methods.

Another notable benefit to solar is that virtually any structure can be outfitted to generate its own solar power. This can help to take pressure off the nation’s power grids, decrease utility bills and provide clean energy at the same time.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: Wayne National Forest

The post Alternative Energy on the Rise: Solar Power Workers Now Outnumber Coal Miners appeared first on EcoSalon.

The power of transformation, this week at EcoSalon.

This week, we loved seeing how…

• Kale (described by Organic Authority as “the new beef” because of its rich nutritional value) can be turned into crunchy, tasty kale chips.
• Heather Ross can turn print design into an entirely new philosophy on DIY creativity.
• Solar panels don’t have to be ugly, clunky eyesores, as these 5 entirely natural-looking designs demonstrate.
• A brown paper bag could be transformed into a $290 “fashion statement.“
• The staple elements of your favorite dishes can be creatively swapped-out with some of the unlikeliest ingredients  lurking at the back of your pantry.

The post The Friday 5: From This Into That Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Alternative energy never looked so natural.

Solar energy is clearly part of the solution to the problem of dwindling fossil-fuel reserves. It’s increasingly cheap, it’s the target of huge quantities of investment and entrepreneurship, thanks to innovations like CSP (Concentrating Solar Power). But if you flinch at the idea of a world dominated by flat panels and vaguely sinister solar receiver towers, take heart: many designers are looking at the natural world for inspiration. Here are 5 gorgeous examples of that ethos at work.

1. Light Bird: inspired by birds fanning their wings to catch the sun’s warmth, the Light Bird opens its panels during the day and clams shut when the sun goes down to light the way, LED style. Currently a prototype; we hope it takes flight.

2. Solar Tree. No need to wonder what inspired this design. It’s already installed at St. John’s Square, London, and it features a computer intelligence that can judge exactly how much light to emit after dark based on its battery levels and surrounding light levels.

3. Spherical Collector. The eye is an extremely efficient collector of light – and this ball lens design follows its example by focusing light on a collector with a 35% efficiency improvement over traditional photovoltaic designs.

4. Corona Solar Light. There are two ways you can go with solar energy collection: a small number of huge panels or a huge number of small ones. The Corona is designed to cover your garden like an invasion of funghi, and since it requires no batteries or wires, it can go anywhere.

5. Solar Ivy. But as a demonstration of the “small & more” philosophy at work, it’s hard to beat Solar Ivy – an array of tiny panels designed to look like they’re crawling up the side of your house!

Images: Solar Ivy; Apartment Therapy; designboom (1) (2); Yanko Design.

The post 5 Futuristic Solar Panels Inspired By Nature appeared first on EcoSalon.

I’m just a wee bit crazy for all my electronic devices, but all the expensive power they use? Not so much. Solar-powered gadgets are the perfect answer, sucking energy from the sun instead of money from my pocketbook. Here are five of my favorites:

YAYA Power Solar Portable Charger

Perfect for charging cell phones, iPods, video games, and other electronic devices, this baby is definitely something you want to keep in your handbag for emergency charges. It has its own solar panel to draw juice from the sun, but on cloudy days you can can still recharge devices with it via your car’s cigarette lighter or a USB port on your computer.

Ripe Radish Solar Energy Lawn Lamp

How cool is this? Forget those boring black, plastic solar pathway lights. Nab a batch of these solar lamps that collect power during the day and glow red an night The center is a hollow flowerpot perfect for holding young radish plants. If there’s a cuter way to light your lawn, I haven’t seen it.

Solar LED Address Numbers

These nifty address numbers attach to the front of your home and glow for eight to ten hours each night after collecting energy from the sun. Two LED backlight the number cutouts so they’re easy to read, and the entire affair is made from weather-resistant anodized aluminum so it will last a long time. This gizmo beat numbers glued to a mailbox, hands down.

Voltaic Generator Solar Laptop Charger Bag

I’m in love with this bag. Made from recycled soda bottles, this laptop charger doubles as a computer tote. Solar panels on the outside generate enough power to charge the custom-designed battery pack in only five hours. It includes adapters for laptops, phones and other handheld devices, and can even be configured to adapt to the unique MagSafe port on a MacBook. The charger bag may not be much to look at, but functionality, it is to die for.

Solar Bluetooth Car Speaker

Forget fiddling with those goofy-looking Bluetooth cell phone ear pieces, slap this puppy on your windshield and chat on speakerphone. This car kit features call waiting, voice dialing, redial, and more. It stores 200 phone numbers and has a built-in rechargeable battery that provides up to 14 hours of talk time – perfect for those extra long car trips.

Image: david.nikonvscanon

The post 5 Solar-Powered Gadgets We Love appeared first on EcoSalon.