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How to Survive a Heat Wave
For those of us in the Northeast and Midwest, the summer of 2013 has been characterized by an unrelenting heat wave. As temperatures wavered near or topped the 100-degree mark from New York to Chicago to Boston day after day, utilities and power companies scrambled to keep the lights on and the air conditioners running.  | |
Ice not only cools our drinks on a hot summer day, it is a strategy for energy storage.
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As we survived the 7,700 brownouts in the New York City area (which were barely perceptible) and braced for blackouts which mercifully didn't occur, I thought about the fact that the electricity grid is the largest supply chain in the world (a $2 trillion per year industry) with practically no storage. A serious challenge and an incredible opportunity.
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Energy Storage: Another Opportunity Worth Billions
Until now, energy storage technologies have either been too expensive or too unsafe, or both, to deploy widely. Institutions and entrepreneurs across the globe are racing to devise safe and cost-effective solutions for a market opportunity that some predict could top $600 billion. One of the likely contenders for reaching the finish line is Eos Energy Storage, whose zinc-based battery solution is currently being tested by a number of utilities both here and in Europe. Eos's Steve Amendola co-founded the company in 2007 after inventing and patenting their rechargeable zinc battery technology.
Half the size of a refrigerator with targeted pricing at $160 per kilowatt hour, Eos's Aurora 2 battery has a storage capacity of 2 kilowatts of energy, enough to power a home for an afternoon. Additionally, the Aurora 1000, which fits in a 40-foot shipping container, provides 1 megawatt of power, enough to power a few hundred homes for an afternoon.
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The Eos Aurora 2 battery is the size of a washing machine and holds 2 kilowatts of energy.
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In addition to Eos's Aurora 2 battery, a variety of other energy storage technologies are being developed, tested and in some cases deployed by utilities and power companies all over the world. For more information on the global proliferation of grid-connected energy storage projects and the myriad technologies supporting them, take a look at this Department of Energy (DOE) web-based portal, which is currently being beta-tested. |
Innovation and Determination In All Shapes and Sizes
The U.S. projects referenced on the DOE site range from Duke Energy's lead acid energy storage batteries that are connected to the Notrees wind power project in West Texas and Ice Energy's Ice Bear thermal energy storage projects in Glendale, California, and Redding, Pennsylvania, to Amber Kinetic's flywheel mechanical battery storage demonstration project in Fremont, California, and the compressed air storage plant in McIntosh, Alabama, which stores compressed air in a solution-mined salt cavern.
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Duke Energy's Notrees Wind Farm in West Texas charges lead acid batteries with 36 megawatts of storage capacity.
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Helping us survive the increasing incidence of heat waves that are likely to occur as a result of climate change is a good reason to find viable energy storage solutions that can be deployed at both the utility and commercial scales, but there are more compelling reasons for sure. Reliable energy storage will reduce our dependency on fossil fuels by increasing the viability of intermittent renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind. It will also eliminate the need to build new fossil fuel-based power plants solely to meet ever increasing peak period energy demand levels. Stay tuned as we cheer on the energy storage contenders in this important race to another billion dollar finish line on the long march to reducing our global carbon footprint.
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The Ice Bear energy storage unit freezes 450 gallons of water at night to provide cooling during the day.
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We Look Forward to Hearing from You
If you have questions about anything you've read in this newsletter or if you are wondering how to meet your own green challenges, we'd love to hear from you.
greenedgellc.com 212 317 1131 
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 Hi everyone!
It's been a summer chock-full of new opportunities, one of which has been the graduate level course I am teaching at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate, on Green Building & Sustainable Development. It has been an honor to educate the future leaders of the real estate industry about the challenges and opportunities inherent in greening the built environment. I look forward to great achievement by each and every one of them.
On the client side, we have just completed the development of our proprietary Green Engagement Edge series of products. The Green Engagement Edge products enable our clients to maximize the financial and environmental returns on green building investments. Stay tuned for more information about this groundbreaking and transformational product that has received nothing but "high praise" from Green Edge clients.
As always, I welcome your input and look forward to working with you to make our world a greener place.
Stay Cool!
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United States Department of State Turns to Green Edge
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Ellen Sinreich of Green Edge with the Moldovan film crew.
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The U.S. Department of State and a film crew sponsored by the American Embassy to the Republic of Moldova met with Ellen Sinreich of Green Edge to learn more about how their country can implement carbon footprint reduction strategies that will have a positive effect on its economy.
The film crew interviewed Sinreich for a series of television programs they are developing on energy efficiency and renewable energy in the United States for public channel Moldova 1, regarded as one of the few politically balanced Moldovan media outlets.
Click here if you'd like to see the programs once they have been produced.
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The New and Improved
Energy Star Portfolio Manager
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that its popular online energy management and tracking tool Energy Star Portfolio Manager has been "turbo-charged."
According to the EPA, it is now easier to use, has enhanced data-sharing capabilities and can manage buildings throughout their lifecycle, from design through operation. Click here for more information.
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Green Edge Opportunity:
Greening Your Real Estate
 Don't miss out on the greatest business opportunity of our time ---- sustainability. Let Green Edge help you identify and leverage green building opportunities to transform your bottom line, strengthen brand reputation, attract positive media coverage, increase market share, reduce operating expenses and mitigate risk. Our services include:
- Energy Efficiency Retrofits & Financing
- Portfolio Enhancement Plans
- Benchmarking & Data Collection
- LEED Advisory Services
- Green Leases
- Regulatory Compliance
- Roadmaps for Improved Green Company Rankings
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Green Edge Newsletter
 If you'd like your company to be featured in one of the next issues of the Green Edge Newsletter, we'd love to hear from you. We are always looking for great green stories to share with our community of clients, colleagues and friends. If you missed our previous issues, link to our archives home page or our blog. The Green Edge Newsletter is published monthly by Green Edge, LLC. EDITOR: Ellen Sinreich DESIGN DIRECTOR: Sara Mears Copyright © 2013 Green Edge, LLC
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