Albertans are passionate about balancing the development of this province’s rich resources with environmental stewardship. The Emerald Awards recognize and reward the excellent environmental initiatives undertaken each year by large and small corporations, individuals, not-for-profit associations, community groups and governments.

You can submit your nominations BEFORE Feb. 24th, 2012 by visiting http://emeraldfoundation.ca/emerald-awards/nominations/

Each year the Foundation receives nominations in ten established categories. Nominations open in November and close at the end of February.
A panel of knowledgeable judges, with cross-sectoral experience, carry out an independent evaluation based on criteria outlined in the nominations package and select the finalists and recipients.

In June each year, about 500 guests gather in Edmonton or Calgary to celebrate environmental excellence in Alberta and provide recognition to those individuals and organizations whose commitment to our environment truly demonstrates leadership. Because of their ingenuity, dedication and hard work, …

Although an energy audit is an extremely useful tool in the sustainability toolbox, it is also usually a labor- and cost-intensive process. But these four firms are helping to make them affordable for any company.

Clearly undeterred by the GOP’s ongoing effort to cut federal support for clean energy, the Obama Administration has just announced a new $150 million round of funding for cutting-edge research into solar, wind, geothermal, bio-based energy and ocean power along with dozens of other categories related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. The funds are coming through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an agency modeled after DARPA, the legendary Department of Defense research program that developed the Internet. If ARPA-E can come anywhere near that accomplishment, it looks like the U.S. is in for more than a little change in the fossil fuel status quo. New clean energy tech trumps fossil fuel era ARPA-E’s funding announcement is still in the draft stage but ...

For a long time ‘clean’ and ‘green’ marked the forward trend in the energy industry. Then came the quest for ‘smart’ energy. And now ‘innovation’ is the buzzword. It’s easy to see why. As Americans, we believe our ability to innovate sets us apart in today’s international market. Sure China can manufacture computers and cell phones more quickly and cheaply, but we came up with Google and iPhones in the first place. The energy industry offers a lot of opportunity for US innovators, given our aging grid, quest for alternatives to fossil fuels, and our glimpse into the possibilities of a virtual, democratized grid that gives consumers more control over their energy use and production. But will energy innovation help the US job market? Or will the products be conceived here but be manufactured elsewhere? Siemens ...

Yesterday, I focused a bit small-scale or medium-scale solar (in the US & UK) here on CleanTechnica. On the flip side, news today from Solarbuzz is that utility-scale photovoltaic solar is growing fast in North America and looking for 2012 to be its top year yet.

Q4 2011 Saw Record Installations “Sharp reductions in market prices combined with the impact of regional and national policies pushed the North American photovoltaic market to a new quarterly peak with 0.93 GW installed in Q4’11, according  to the latest North American PV Markets Quarterly report issued by NPD Solarbuzz, “the solar market research and analysis company notes. “The solar incentive policy mix in both the United States and Canadian markets drove up demand in large-scale ground-mount systems, which was 59% of this total. Regionally, the New Jersey, California, ...

Everyone is excited about the new Nest thermostat, which learns your habits to save energy -- well, everyone except Honeywell.

Stanford University researchers this week announced they have designed a road-based, high-efficiency wireless charging system for electric vehicles. In theory, the system could help create a network of all-electric highways that charge electric cars and trucks while they drive, reduce the need for point-specific charging infrastructure, and eliminate range anxiety. The power transfer system is based on a technology called magnetic resonance coupling. This technology creates a magnetic field between the road and vehicle to transfer electric currents to the vehicle’s battery. Copper coils, placed under the road surface at regular intervals, are tuned to resonate at the same frequency. When an electric current is introduced, it creates a magnetic field between the coils that can then transfer energy to a receiving coil in passing electric vehicles. Can it work? While the theory may sound far-fetched, it was demonstrated ...

Greentech Media recently reported that Southern California electric vehicle startup Coda Automotive (Coda) launched a battery business called Coda Energy, which will enter the grid-scale energy storage market. Coda’s patent portfolio offers a window into the battery technology that might be part of the new business. Coda owns at least half a dozen U.S. patent applications relating to energy storage technologies, including U.S. Patent Application Publications Nos. 2011/0256431 (’631 Application), 2011/0256432 (’632 Application), 2011/0281145 (’145 Application), 2011/0304202 (’202 Application), 2011/0304298 (’298 Application, and 2012/0015242 (’242 Application). A search in Cleantech PatentEdge™ yields an additional international application, Publication No. WO 2011/060074 (’074 Application), entitled “Battery thermal management systems and methods,” which is the international, or PCT, filing of the ’145 Application. The ’431 and ’432 Applications were filed based upon the same provisional patent ...

U.S. researchers have designed a wireless charging system for electric vehicles they say could ultimately lead to all-electric highways capable of charging cars and trucks as they drive down the road. The system, developed by a team at Stanford University, uses magnetic fields to transmit large electric currents between metal coils embedded a few feet apart under the surface of the road. Based on magnetic resonance coupling technology, the process involves one coil that is connected to an electric current, which generates a magnetic field that causes the second coil to resonate, triggering an invisible transfer of electrical energy. The developers say there is a potential to eventually create a wireless network across highway systems, a step that would drastically increase the range of electric vehicles since they would theoretically never have to plug into a charging ...

 

SDTC is accepting Statements of Interest from February 22nd to April 18th, 2012
SDTC invests in late-stage development and pre-commercial demonstration of clean technologies by Canadian companies in a range of innovative solutions across all industries that address Climate Change, Clean Air, Water and Soil.
CONNECT with SDTC Applications:
Applications@sdtc.ca & www.sdtc.ca/applications
JOIN one of their upcoming Statement of Interest Webinar Workshops: www.sdtc.ca/workshops
•         SDTC Investment Priorities webinar will take place February 17th 11:00am – 1:00pm EST.

•         Additional webinars related to preparing a Statement of Interest application to follow in February and March (dates to be confirmed).