Green ROI

Wisconsin wind blade facility to create 600 jobs

From Green Right Now Reports

While Washington leaders debate whether the stimulus money has done enough for the economy, Wisconsin has latched onto money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to kick start a wind turbine blade manufacturing plant in Wisconsin Rapids, a small city in the center of the state. The new factory is expected to be the most advanced in North America and employ more than 600 people.

The Energy Composites Corp. (ECC) facility will be built with the help of $238 million in municipal tax-free bonds from a pool of money (the state’s Recovery Zone Facility pool) created with federal stimulus dollars.

While the financial arrangements took several steps, including new legislation introduced by Sen. Julie Lass, D-Stevens Point, and supported by several other state legislators — the desired outcome is a straightforward effort by the state to capture manufacturing for the fast growing commercial wind energy sector.

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China Power Equipment reports dramatically higher revenues and net income

(Photo: China Power Equipment, Inc.)

China Power Equipment, Inc., the manufacturer of energy saving electric transformers and transformer cores in the People’s Republic of China, reported dramatically higher revenues and net income for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2009.

Third Quarter 2009 Highlights:

• Net revenues increased 252 percent to $7.89 million in the third quarter 2009 from $2.24 million in the third quarter 2008.
• Gross profit increased 280 percent to $1.96 million in the third quarter 2009 from $0.52 million in the third quarter 2008.
• Net income increased 516 percent to $1.41 million in the third quarter 2009 from $0.23 million in the third quarter 2008.
• Diluted earnings per share increased 350 percent to $ 0.09 per share in the third quarter 2009 from $ 0.02 per share in the third quarter 2008.

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Report says green construction creates jobs

By Ashley Phillips

Over the last eight years, green construction has created 2.4 million jobs and contributed $173 billion to the US economy. It is estimated that in the next four years, despite an unstable economy, both numbers will more than triple, according to a new study from the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton.

The study reports that green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs, adding $554 billion into the American economy, including $396 billion in wages.

“The study demonstrates that investing in green buildings contributes significantly to our nation’s wealth while creating jobs in a range of occupations, from carpenters to cost estimators,” said Gary Rahl, Officer, Global Government Market, Booz Allen Hamilton.

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Brad Pitt and Make It Right show the world that going green is Big Easy

By Barbara Kessler

The US Green Building Council has pronounced New Orleans home to the biggest green neighborhood in the world, thanks to the efforts of Brad Pitt and the group Make It Right who have built 13 LEED Platinum certified, storm-resistant homes and are planning another 150 more in the Lower 9th Ward .

The neighborhood, already impoverished, was among those hardest hit by post-Katrina flooding when New Orleans levees failed after the 2005 hurricane.

Pitt and Make It Right Executive Director Tom Darden accepted an award for their rebuilding accomplishments at the Clinton Global Iniative meeting in New York on Thursday.

“In transforming the Lower 9th Ward, Make It Right is showing us how we can transform those parts of our nation that have fallen behind the most, whether through neglect, poverty or disaster,” said President Clinton.

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With GamesThatGive, fun meets philanthropy

By Tom Kessler

Adam Archer thinks the world would be a much better place if people would only spend more time playing games on their computers and mobile phones. And he may just be right.

Archer, the founder and CEO of GamesThatGive, has a simple but compelling proposition: You sign on to play casual games on the site, designate a charity you want to support, and then sit back and have 70 percent of the revenue from advertising on those games go to your charity.

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Frito-Lay plant in Connecticut gets off the grid

Frito-Lay’s manufacturing plant in Killingly, Conn., today inaugurated a new co-generation system that will generate almost 100 percent of the facility’s electrical requirements, company officials said.

The facility will utilize waste heat generated to produce steam to help with the manufacturing of snack products made there. Frito-Lay said the new system will not only reduce the plant’s environmental footprint, but also will help alleviate the significant load on the heavily congested northeast power grid.

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Dell says its energy-saving initiatives have cut costs by $5.8 million

For those who view corporate green initiatives as being more about building image than building profits, Dell has a reminder that “green” is also the color of money.

The Round Rock, Texas, company says its expects to save an estimated $5.8 million a year as a result of power-saving projects and building upgrades in its facilities worldwide. The company, which sources more than 25 percent of its global energy needs from renewable sources, is also piloting solar projects on select campuses to incorporate even more renewable energy in its operations.

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