Solar paneled parking on tap for former Ford site

Source: AJC

Soon, 30 acres of solar panels could greet drivers along I-75 and those flying above, as well as provide shade for cars stashed near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The panels -- essentially awnings -- would cover 4,000 surface parking spaces planned for the former Ford plant in Hapeville and near the new international terminal set to open next spring.

If built, the project would be the largest solar array in Georgia, said Walter Brown, who until recently chaired the board of the Georgia Solar Energy Association. “It’s the perfect place to do something like that,” he said, given the site's visibility near the world's busiest airport.

Solar advocates have long said Georgia lags in solar energy development, but recent tax incentives and a drive by Georgia Power to buy green energy have helped spur $40 million in new solar energy development the past few years, Brown said, and Jacoby's would be the largest.

Jacoby bought the 122-acre Ford plant in 2008 for $40.3 million. The recession slowed development of offices, residences and shops, but a parking facility always was the first order of business, said Scott Condra, senior vice president of development for Jacoby. The panels would generate about 10 megawatts of power, or enough to serve about a third of the airport’s needs, he said.

The firm still is negotiating a purchaser of the power, a potential parking operator, a solar panel installer, and potential bond and tax credits. But Condra expects to finalize terms in April and get the project started in June.

Brown said he believes people will pay a premium to park beneath shade producing solar energy. “The economics of a solar system like that really make sense, if you can charge a buck to $2 premium per day to park under a cover, and you are generating power."

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Changing from T12 to T8 is an insignificant savings and may not qualify you for the rebates and tax incentives that are available. Changing to the T8 requires that you change not only the bulbs but also the ballast and continues to tie you to the burden of periodically replacing the inefficient ballast. Changing to T5 technology will save as much as 79% on your lighting costs!

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Chick-fil-A testing green concepts in Texas

Source: AJC

Chick-fil-A says its newest restaurant in Texas is a laboratory for environmental innovations that could pop up in other locations.

The 4,617 square-foot restaurant in Fort Worth would be the first Chick-fil-A restaurant designed to the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Executives at the College Park fast food chain say they want the restaurant to be a testing ground for various sustainability efforts. The company plans to open more than 75 restaurants this year, but says it won't know which sustainability measures will appear in new restaurants until it observes the pilot project in Texas.

The Fort Worth restaurant has low-flow fixtures in restrooms and the kitchen. A cistern the size of a swimming pool will collect rainwater to irrigate plants and landscaping, a step Chick-fil-A says will cut water usage by 40 percent. Skylights and energy-efficient appliances are expected to slice energy usage by 14 percent.

About 20 percent of the restaurant’s building material budget was spent on products with recycled content, and more than half of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. The restaurant is projected to have 30 percent more fresh air than typical buildings.

The restaurant is about 15 percent more expensive to build than a standard unit, said David Farmer, vice president of innovation and service. The added expense should pay off in higher efficiency, he said.

"There's no question, this will change how we build stores going forward," Farmer said.

The company plans to send crews out to hundreds of restaurants to replace lighting and water fixtures with higher-efficiency models. That step could yield thousands of dollars in savings each year for operators, Farmer said. Chick-fil-A also is considering replacing its bleached-white napkins with brown versions that would require less processing and energy to make.

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Did you know As of July 2010, by mandate of the Dept. of Energy, the T12 ballast and bulbs can no longer be manufactured. This means that the estimated one billion T12 fixtures currently in use will have to be changed over to either T8 or T5.

Changing from T12 to T8 is an insignificant savings and may not qualify you for the rebates and tax incentives that are available. Changing to the T8 requires that you change not only the bulbs but also the ballast and continues to tie you to the burden of periodically replacing the inefficient ballast. Changing to T5 technology will save as much as 79% on your lighting costs!

Changing to the T5 technology will in almost every case qualify you for the available utility rebates and tax incentives. Using a T5 retrofit adapter is the least expensive, most efficient, and simplest method for you to change from your outdated lighting to the most efficient lighting solution available. The bottom line is that by simply upgrading your lights to be more energy efficient you can drastically increase YOUR company's bottom line!

Tesla to sell elecric car with 300-mile battery

Source: AJC

Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. plans to offer a limited-edition version of its model S sedan next year that will have a battery mighty enough to keep the car going for 300 miles on a single charge. That's much farther than the Nissan Leaf, which can go up to 100 miles on a charge. The Leaf went on sale late last year. Tesla VP for worldwide sales George Blankenship said in a Web posting Monday that Tesla plans to sell a Model S Signature Series with the 300-mile battery in North America starting in mid-2012. Tesla will sell versions of the all-electric Model S with 230-mile and 160-mile batteries later in 2012.