http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/index.cfm WRRC pulls P2 headlines from national and regional media and provides links to the full text of the stories. http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=315 By switching to more efficient lighting, a University of Central Florida parking garage will see savings of $42,000 a year. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=314 Building owners can get the most out of their LEED status by focusing on energy efficiency over other LEED aspects, according to research conducted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT). CNTs research and findings are part of the recently released Year 1 Final Report of the Regional Green Building Case Study Project: a Post-Occupancy Study of LEED Projects in Illinois (PDF), published by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)  Chicago Chapter in collaboration with CNT and other regional partners. The study is based on a review of 25 Illinois commercial projects that received LEED certification. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=313 Solar advocates in California say that a recent move by Pacific Gas & Electric to expand net metering will encourage adoption of more rooftop solar. Earlier this week Governor Schwarzenegger convinced PG&E to up the amount of net metering allowed in its territory from 2.5 percent of peak demand to 3.5 percent, according to a press release. Net metering is the policy backbone of a strong rooftop solar market in California. This commitment provides a critical near-term solution for the looming net metering program cap, said Sara Birmingham, Solar Alliance lead for California. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=311 To reduce environmental impacts at its manufacturing facilities and distribution centers, Mattel has implemented several projects aimed at reducing energy and water use, shrinking product packaging, and reducing waste, according to the firms 2009 Global Citizen Report (PDF). Energy-saving projects at its manufacturing facilities include the installation of an evaporative air cooler on a painting line, which saves more then 130,000 kilowatt hours per year, and energy-saving lighting units, saving 20 percent on electricity costs. The company also replaced hydraulic injection molding machines with electrical machines, saving 40 percent on electricity costs, and installed more efficient molding process, saving more than $100,000 annually in energy costs. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=310 Carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects face a high risk of failure due to their high costs and should be applied across many sectors to ensure success, according to an audit of the worlds CCS projects aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, reports Reuters. The audit, conducted by Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, found (PDF) 213 active or planned projects with 101 at commercial scale. Of these, 62 are fully integrated, commercial-scale projects across every stage of the CCS process chain of CO2 capture, transport and storage. Seven of these projects are already operating and 55 are at various stages of progress making them potential candidates for contributing to the G8 objective to deploy at least 20 commercial-scale CCS projects globally by 2020, according to the audit. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=308 Eli Lilly, a global pharmaceutical company, has reached its energy goal two years early, improving its energy intensity (energy used per dollar of sales) by more than 35 percent and cutting its absolute energy use by 5.8 percent from 2004 to 2008. Over the same period, the company also cut its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 4.4 percent. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=307 Green building currently accounts for five to nine percent of the retrofit and renovation market activity by value, which equates to a $2 billion to $4 billion marketplace for major projects, according to a new report from McGraw-Hill Construction. By 2014, this share is projected to grow to 20-30 percent, making it a $10 billion to $15 billion market for major retrofit projects, according to the SmartMarket Report. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=306 As more details about the Senates version of the climate bill become available, its becoming clear that Congress will do all it can to appease the business sector. In addition to granting billions of dollars of free emissions permits to companies, forthcoming legislation likely will set a floor and ceiling on the price of offsets, according to the New York Times. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=305 A new manufacturing plant for Owens Corning uses 100 percent renewable energy. The Gresham, Ore., plant has a solar photovoltaic system installed by Sun Edison, reports Greenjobs. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=304 Foodservice distribution giant Sysco Corp. is considering using natural gas to power its trucking fleet. For a truck that averages 50,000 miles traveled each year, going to natural gas will reduce particulate emissions by 400 pounds, according to the Deseret News. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=303 Fiber-based packaging firms are attempting to highlight sustainable aspects of their products via a new campaign, The Responsible Package. Meanwhile, a toy company has been honored for its corrugated box packaging. The Responsible Package campaign is being funded by the Paperboard Packaging Alliance and the Corrugated Packaging Alliance. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=302 The industrial sectors energy savings have remained untapped by many existing publicly-funded energy efficiency programs, according to a new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Energy efficiency in the industrial sector represents a low-cost resource compared with other sectors, but operating successful programs requires different approaches than are traditionally used in other sectors, according to the study. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=301 Energy-efficiency improvements at Frankston Packaging Co., a manufacturer of cartons, displays, boxes and transparency films, have resulted in 21 percent lower energy use per unit of production compared to four years ago. The improvements also have yielded significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=300 Goldman Sachs marketed $12 million worth of carbon offsets to CE2 Carbon Capital in what Goldman Sachs is calling the largest publicly announced U.S. offset deal so far, reports Reuters.CE2 Carbon Capital is a U.S. investor and owner of carbon-based assets and commodities. Goldman Sachs sold the offsets on behalf of Blue Source, a company that generated the offsets from projects aimed at preventing forests from being cut down, as well as carbon capture projects at landfills and coal mines. Goldman Sachs is a minority partner in Blue Source. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST http://wrrc.p2pays.org/News/NewsItem.cfm?ID=299 Improvements at the data center for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. should help decrease emissions and energy use, according to a press release. Toyota is working with IBM and Southern California Edison on the project. Over a five-month period, IBM put its Measurement and Management Technologies tools to use in the project, trying to assess thermal readings from floor to ceiling. The tools helped create a 3-D chart to pinpoint power and cooling inefficiencies. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:00 CST