“It’s especially gratifying to Bamboo Living that this structure will be used to teach young people building skills, including how to use sustainable materials like bamboo,” said David Sands, the architect who co-founded Bamboo Living, the world’s first and only internationally code certified (ICC-ES) bamboo building company.

The 1,200-square foot school building will be used to teach industrial arts to high school students attending the Hana Elementary and High School, K-12, located on Maui, Hawaii. According to Rick Rutiz, the executive director of Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike (In Working, One Learns), the non-profit that runs the program, “Bamboo Living supplied the design for the school building and all of the bamboo building materials. They were the ‘brains’ of the project.”

Like all of the bamboo used in Bamboo Living’s building projects worldwide, the bamboo used at the school features twice the compression strength of concrete and a greater strength-to-weight ratio than steel.

Bamboo’s environmental benefits include the ability to produce greater biomass and 30% more oxygen than a hardwood forest on the same area. “Bamboo is the most renewable building resource on earth,” explained Sands.”It grows at a rate three and a half times faster than the fastest-growing trees. Bamboo is structurally mature in just three years!”

Renovation-Nation250
Watch this clip from Renovation Nation

Two homes in two days from Bamboo Living

Sands said that his vision for Bamboo Living is to promote the use of bamboo as a building material to help reverse global warming, restore the world’s native forests, protect our watersheds, stop topsoil erosion, and raise communities out of poverty. (A goal of the Hana school project is to provide a generation of islanders with the skills their rural community needs to sustain multiple generations.)

“Whether a rural school, a growing family in the Midwest, or a retirement community in the Southeast, choosing a bamboo home over a conventional one enables you to make a significant difference to you, your loved ones, and to the earth,” advised Sands. “Bamboo Living helps you live in your values.”

About Bamboo Living®

Bamboo Living offers bamboo home building options to suit every budget and lifestyle. They range from the Bamboo Commons Collection (starting at $60 per square foot), to the Sands Signature Collection (from $80 per square foot), to the Custom Bamboodist (starting at $100 per square foot) and Eco Villages, for multi-dwelling communities. The collections were designed by architect and company co-founder David Sands, AIA, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED-AP).

For further information, visit Bamboo Living’s new website www.bambooliving.com, follow David Sands AIA on Twitter, or see Bamboo Living Homes on Facebook.

Note: Viewers can find the nearest channel by visiting the channel finder on the Planet Green Network website, www.planetgreen.discovery.com

From: Bamboo Living® (www.bambooliving.com)
Contact: Sue McGovern, 781-648-7157, sue@mcgov.com

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“We’re very interested in testing electric vehicles from manufacturers like Phoenix Motorcars to use electricity generated by renewable resources during off-peak hours, and to determine whether electric vehicles can efficiently store that power and return it to the grid when there’s high demand,” said Ed Reinhardt, president of Maui Electric, in a statement.

Gov Lingle also recently signed another agreement with Better Place to bring a plug-in-network to Hawaii and electric cars by 2012.

Sources: Better Place | PBN

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Sadly, Hawaii is also one of the most petroleum dependent states for about 85% – 90% of its primary energy.

Gov. Lingle announced a goal earlier this year of at least 70 percent renewable energy use in Hawaii by the year 2030.

Geothermal

Geothermal uses the heat generated by the volcanic activities and turns the hot water and steam generated deep underground and converts it to power on the surface. On the Big Island of Hawaii geothermal provides 20% of the Big Islands power. Geothermal exploration started as early as 1960 and has grown into it’s present day supplier of a fifth of the islands needs, with the potential to provide much more.

The Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) power plant is located in Pahoa, Hawaii. PGV accounts for about 30 percent of the state’s alternative energy resources, which is more than wind and solar combined. The water is reinjected into the earth so the plant has near zero emissions.

Biomass

Biomass is the largest source of renewable fuel in Hawaii. A 180 MW biomass plant began full-scale operations on September 1, 1992. In 1992 biomass produced about 8.2 percent of the State’s total electricity. Consisting mainly from bagasse the waste from sugarcane. Sugar mills use bagasse from sugarcane to provide thermal power and electricity for sale to utility grids. The decline in the sugar industry over the past couple of decades has slowed this renewable source down to the point that some of the plants had to turn to burning coal and petroleum fuels to produce power.

A partnership of Wind developers from Kaui and Maui are trying to secure the rights to 20,000 acres of eucalyptus trees grown along the Hamakua coast to burn in a biomass combustion power plant. The 30-megawatt power plant hopes to be completed sometime in the second half of 2010.

The power plant will be located in Paauilo and produce enough energy to power 30,000 homes. The plant could generate 30 megawatts of power, but would normally generate 25 megawatts of firm power during peak times and 15 megawatts at other times.

Hydro Power

Hydro power harness the energy of moving water to produce electricity. There are several small hydroelectric plants on the islands of Hawaii. Although these are deamed as being intermittent and not stable power they do produce enough power to power various sugar mills and plantations. Most are owned by the sugar mills themselves. There are a total of 20 Hydropower plants that produce .2 MW or greater. Maui has 4 hydro power plants, Kauai has seven and the Big Island has 9 plants.

Solar Power

Hawaii is the state with the nation’s highest per capita installation of Solar Water Heaters. In a recent post I told you about the states new law requiring all new construction of homes to include a Solar Water Heater. An estimated 80,000 homes have solar heaters installed and an estimated 1,500 or more residential and commercial solar installations are in use throughout the state.

Wind Power

Wind power ranks third in Hawaii’s renewable energy resources with wind generation providing 1.3% of Hawaii’s power. There are several wind farms in Hawaii with Maui and the Big Island having the largest wind farms. The Parker Ranch solar / wind hybrid power plant on the Big Island in Hawaii is the world’s largest hybrid solar / wind energy project.

Renewable Energy for the Homeowner

The homeowner in Hawaii has a couple of choices for setting up and using Renewable energy in their home. Solar is the obvious first choice and wind power makes a good match to solar because of the trade winds we have and the wind during storms when the sun isn’t shining as bright.

The state provides homeowners with various tax credits as does the federal government for installing either Solar and Wind systems or both.

Since the Pu’u O’o vent opened up the Vog is affecting the Kona side of the big Island, Solar output of solar panels has been reduced by as much as 50% in some locations, so be sure you check with a reputable dealer when making your solar decisions and discuss the area you live in and the possible impact of the vog on your solar system.

Homeowner Renewable Resources:

Maui Koa Solar
Attn: Christopher Cookman
P.O. Box 791278
Paia, HI 96779
Tel: (808) 573-6657
Fax: (808) 573-6657
E-mail: cookman2@gmail.com

Maui Energy Co.
Attn: Leo Caires
1188 E. Kuaha Rd.
Haiku, HI 96708
Tel: (866) 629-5756
E-mail: info@mauienergycompany.com
Web Site: http://www.mauienergycompany.com

Solarman
Attn: Paul MooreP.O. Box 10689
Hilo, HI 96721
Tel: (808) 982-5708
Fax: (808) 982-7526
E-mail: solarpaul@yahoo.com

Kevin Donnelly
P.O. Box 20
Maunaloa, Molokai, HI 96770
Tel: (808) 552-2222
Fax: (808) 552-0055
E-mail: kevin@mymolokai.net

The Alternate Source / JBT Ltd.
Attn: Ted Walls
27-2111 Mamalahoa Hwy
Papaikou, HI 96781
Tel: (808) 964-3500
Fax: (808) 964-3511
E-mail: fotovolt@gte.net

Jim Anderson
P.O. Box 741
Naalehu, HI 96772
Tel: (808) 929-4463

Pacific Energy Strategies LLC
Attn: Steven Olsen
94-1093 Hanauna Street, Ste.102
Waipahu, HI 96797
Tel: (808) 671-5566
Fax: (808) 678-1475
E-mail: pacificenergy@hawaii.rr.com
Web Site: http://www.pacific-energy.com

Kohala Sun & Wind
Attn: Karl ToubmanP.O. Box 1556
Kapa’au, HI 96755
Tel: (808) 895-1911
Fax: (808) 885-4228
E-mail: karltoub@hawaiiantel.net

I am sure there are a lot more Solar and Wind power dealers I didn’t include here. Check your local phone books and also search Google for more.

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According to their report Honolulu Hawaii generates the least amount of carbon dioxide pollution among the top 100 U.S. metropolitan areas.

The report says that Honolulu, Hawaii produced only about 1.36 metric tons of carbon emissions per person in 2005. Lexington, Kentucky the highest emitter on the list produced about 3.5 metric tons.

Emissions measured in the report were from transportation and buildings. Te report did not include commercial buildings, gasoline burned while vehicles are stuck in traffic, industry emissions or aircraft.

Emissions on the West Coast of the USA tend to be lower because the weather is more favorable and electricity and gas prices are higher.

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The police chief wants to purchase a seven-car test fleet of hybrids, including six sedans and one sport utility vehicle like a Ford Escape Hybrid. It has two power plants, a 4-cylinder gas engine for high-speed driving, which recharges batteries for an electric motor for stop-and-go traffic. To make the purchase the department will turn seized gold, property and jewelery into green.

New York tested an Escape under police conditions and it got 38 miles to the gallon. With mileage like this the department could save taxpayers $2 million a year.

“Conceptually it’s going to be a vast improvement, but we want to see what the real world results are,” said Bill Wiltshire of Honolulu Ford.

“In a lot of ways a hybrid is an ideal police vehicle because police officers spend a lot of time stopped, and in this vehicle when you stop, you stop using gas,” HPD’s finance chief Maj. Mark Nakagawa said.

Police also want to know if it can accommodate the extra electrical needs like running laptop computers and sitting for long periods of time with the lights flashing.

The chief said he is not too worried about the hybrids speed because the department thinks high-speed chases are too dangerous, anyway.

Where are they going to go anyway… hey, it’s an island! We go ’round in circles lala lala….

Posts of Interest

• Museums on the Big Island of Hawaii
• Bruddah Iz – Hawaii Aloha
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Earlier this year Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle announced a goal of at least 70 percent renewable energy use in Hawaii by the year 2030. “Achieving this goal is nearly impossible without widespread use of solar water heaters,” says Hawaii Sierra Club Director Jeff Mikulina “The solar roofs bill is smart policy, sensibly crafted to smooth a transition toward zero-energy homes of the future.”

Solar water heaters shave 30 to 40 percent off a home’s electricity bill and greatly reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions. Advocates say the policy comes none too soon, as Hawaii faces the priciest power in the nation and threats from climate change.

Hawaii ranks number one in the nation when it comes to using energy from the sun to heat water. It’s a great way to use the sun’s energy!

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