Spotted: Awesome Brewery Container Garden | greenUPGRADER

Already used containers are a great way to reuse. Old milk containers, water bottles, and soup cans can be used as well when planting your garden. The reusable items can be painted to add a creative touch, doing this could cost more $ and may not be the greenest option. However, there are recycled paints that are sold for a cheap price at the Habitat ReStore. We have a very small yard so expanding to pots are needed. We have onion bulbs that need planting and searching for a reusable container will be beneficial for the limited yard space we have. This will help our family reuse and create a nice display for our plants.

 

A New York brewery and cafe is growing lots of its own of food in a discarded keg container garden.The Brooklyn brewery Sixpoint Craft Ales features damaged kegs and reclaimed bathtubs full of edibles like eggplants, strawberries,

via Spotted: Awesome Brewery Container Garden | greenUPGRADER.

Solar panels to be fitted in all Japan’s new homes and buildings by 2030

Japan is expected to announce plans to make it compulsory for all new buildings and homes to be fitted with solar panels by 2030.

Japan is expected to announce plans to make it compulsory for all new buildings and homes to be fitted with solar panels by 2030.

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo 1:53PM BST 24 May 2011

Naoto Kan, the prime minister, is expected to confirm the “Sunrise Plan” initiative in a statement on the nation’s energy policy at the forthcoming Group of Eight Summit opening this week in France.

Mr Kan is expected to tell other leaders that Japan will continue to use nuclear energy following industry-wide improvements on safety standards, according to Japanese media reports.

However, he is also expected to highlight the nation’s future efforts to boost the use of renewable energy sources, in particular solar power for which the nation is already among the world’s top users.

The exploration of alternative energy sources is timely, following the recent closure of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant due to its sensitive position on a fault line and the ongoing repair work at the tsunami- hit Fukushima plant.

The crisis resulted in Mr Kan recently announcing plans to halt the nation’s plans for nuclear expansion and redshift policy focus towards renewable energy sources.

The Sunrise Plan builds on earlier solar plan initiatives, including a target of using solar power energy in 12,000 schools as part of its School New Deal, with the company Kyocera Corporation already installing panels in over 1,200 establishments.

Millions have also been spent encouraging home solar power use on a domestic level, with one initiative involving utilities having to purchase excess solar power from homes and businesses for higher amounts than standard electricity rates.

Other energy sources being investigated by the government include geothermal, wind, biomass and hydropower, as the nation explores ways to increase its energy independence.

via Solar panels to be fitted in all Japan’s new homes and buildings by 2030 – Telegraph.

Google Has Now Invested Over $400M In Clean Power

Google Wind Power

  • World’s Largest Oregon Wind Farm: Google is investing $100 million in the world’s largest wind farm, the 845 MW Shepherds Flat project under construction in Oregon.
  • North Dakota Wind Farm: Google is investing $38.8 million into 169.5 megawatts worth of wind projects developed by NextEra Energy Resources in North Dakota.
  • East Coast Wind Farm Backbone: Google has invested part of the fund for an east coast transmission line that is meant to link offshore wind farms, and which recently got an approved rate of return for the project at 12.59 percent.
  • Wind Power from Iowa Wind Farm: Google’s first deal for its subsidiary Google Energy — which can buy and sell power on the wholesale electricity markets — plans to buy wind power from 114 MW of wind energy via a wind farm in Iowa owned by NextEra Energy Resources.
  • Wind Power from Oklahoma Wind Farm: Google’s second deal via its subsidiary Google Energy is to buy 100 MW of power from a wind farm that’s under construction in Oklahoma by NextEra Energy Resources.
  • BrightSource’s Solar Thermal Project: Google plans to invest $168 million into a solar thermal project being built by startup BrightSource Energy in California’s Mojave Desert.
  • Solar German Project: Google is investing €3.5 million ($5 million USD) into a solar photovoltaic farm in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, which is near Berlin.
  • Greentech Startups (these are small investments): Google (through a combo of Google Ventures and Google.org) has invested in at least nine “greentech” startups, including battery maker ActaCell, electric vehicle maker Aptera, efficient car maker Next Autoworks, geothermal company Alta Rock, neighbor-to-neighbor car sharing company RelayRides, weather insurance company WeatherBill, smart grid company Silver Spring Networks, biofuel maker Cool Planet Biofuels, and efficient power gear conversion tech startup Transphorm.

For More: Google Has Now Invested Over $400M In Clean Power: Cleantech News and Analysis «.