By: Johnny Hartsfield

So, after a few weeks off, I have returned from the land of Fire and Ice to share with you just a bit more on what makes Iceland a truly inspiring country.  Aside from the obvious natural beauty, Iceland is making great strides to becoming the world’s leader in clean energy technology and production.  While walking down the streets of Reykjavik, I ran into a couple of city workers that are paving the way for a new electric car charging station. 

According to the New York Times, at a Reykjavik conference this week, Driving Sustainability ‘08, Iceland announced plans to team up with Mitsubishi Motors to supply the country with a fleet of tiny i-MiEV electric cars (which have a range per charge of about 100 miles with lithium-ion batteries). Scheduled to go on sale in Japan in the summer of 2009, Iceland is likely to be the first European country to have i-MiEVs. 

This decision is in the wake of a hydrogen-based fuel conversation that has been loosing momentum since it began.  According to Iceland’s foreign minister, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gisladóttir, “We see Iceland as the world’s laboratory for a decarbonized future,”  She was talking about the country’s plan, announced in 1998, to become to the world’s first hydrogen-based energy economy.

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GREENFAB WILL BE TAKING A SHORT BREAK as I travel to Iceland for a two week photography trip with my dad.  This trip has been a dream of mine so when I RETURN THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15th I will be anxious to share with you all that I have learned from the land that produces 70% of the nation’s primary energy from renewable sources.

Iceland is an island of thundering waterfalls, barren highlands, smoldering volcanoes, gushing geysers, bubbling mudpots, soothing thermal pools, the largest icecap outside the poles and not to mention the coolest turf houses in the world.

Here are a few articles that help explain the major role Iceland will play in our global future as we try to understand and use energy responsibly and efficiently.

>> MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY ENERGY AND TOURISM SPEECH

>> ICELAND’S ENERGY ANSWER COMES NATURALLY

>> ICELAND’S HYDROGEN SHIP HERALDS FOSSIL-FREE FUTURE

Click here to see BEAUTIFUL IMAGES from all of Icelands landscapes

WE’LL BE BACK IN TWO WEEKS!

The image above is a manipulation of a Daniel Bergmann original photograph

By: Johnny Hartsfield

The team that brought us BedZED back in 2002 has released yet another zero carbon housing product called ruralZED earlier this year at EcoBuild in Earls Court, London.  The ZEDfactory installed their new affordable, zero carbon home in only 3 days.  ruralZED is a high quality housing system combining micro-generation and small biomass technologies that help achieve a Level 6 in England’s Code for Sustainable Homes.  What makes this product unique is that the ZEDfactory has built into their system the ability to upgrade from a Code 3 to a Code 6 for 70% of all UK building sites. 

ruralZED is made of a hybrid laminated timber frame flexible enough for a variety of master plan options at fixed prefabricated kit prices with volume discounts.  Minimizing its demand on resources, ruralZED catches sunlight, wind, fresh air and rain using tried and tested energy systems.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Dockside Green is a 15-acre master-planned waterfront community in Victoria B.C. consisting of three neighborhoods designed to create a sense of belonging and true environmental sustainability.  Targeted for LEED Platinum, Dockside Green’s principles of New Urbanism, smart growth, green building and sustainable community design are the driving forces behind this development project. 

Synergy, designed by Busby Perkins+Will, is the first phase of the overall Dockside Green development to be completed and includes 95 homes in two condo buildings, townhomes and commercial space.  Recently, Synergy achieved 63 points out of a possible 70 for a LEED Platinum certification.  To reach this highest LEED rating to-date, Synergy incorporated a number of innovative sustainable systems.  Read on to learn more.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Sited on a hillside overlooking Lake Sammamish and the Cascade Mountains near Seattle, the Zero Energy Idea House minimizes energy usage while maximizing comfort and style.  At only 1,700 square-feet, this two bedroom home combines solar power with the most efficient building products and appliances that result in a total energy bill of less than $500 per year.  Additional features include: SIPs (structural insulated panels), rainwater collection, salvaged wood flooring, efficient ventilation, green roof and a “living wall”  used for soil retention.

For this project, the term “zero energy” does not actually mean that the house uses no energy.  The home actually combines on-site power generation with other efficiency measures to meet its own energy requirements.  So, the solar panels will meet electrical needs and heat hot water but the hydronic in-floor radiant heating system will be gas-powered. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Designer Charles Lee from the BIOS Design Collective has recently created a concept that facilitates bio-remediation through public art sculpture.  A series of photobioreactors, consisting of an aluminum carriage with a continuous spiraling tube cascading from the top, absorb light and nutrients to maximize algal biomass.  This semi-closed system uses pollutants and CO2 for nutrients and thus provides a form of bio-remediation and atmospheric greenhouse gas reduction. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Designed to replace the traditional solar roof, the Solar Tree makes alternative energy more profitable and sustainable.  Designed by Gurdeep Sandhu, the Solar Tree has adjustable and movable “solar wings” that allow the tree to draw maximum energy throughout the day.  Its ability to fold up reduces potential damage due to weather and makes it easy to move and store for different application.  Sandhu envisions his Solar Tree sitting in a garden or possibly on a roof. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Late last week, the Waterloo Regional Operations Centre in Cambridge, Ontario, launched a uniqe new public art sculpture that collects solar energy and promotes human interaction. Solar Collector is a collaboration between the community and the sun.  This unique artwork of 12 shafts “gathers human expression and solar energy during the day, then brings them together each night in a performance of flowing light.”

Each shaft is orientated to reflect the angles of the sun throughout the year.  “The tallest shaft is perpendicular to the sun at winter solstice, when the sun is low in the sky.  The flattest shaft faces the high sun at summer solstice.”  You can even interact with the Solar Collector from your own home via the web.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Imagine closing your curtains for shade on a hot summer day while producing electricity at the same time.  This is exactly what architect Sheila Kennedy imagined for her new prototype.  Kennedy, and her team at KVA Matx, have brilliantly integrated solar cell technology with architecture in their SOFT HOUSE - a home that produces nearly 16,000 watt-hours of electricity by transforming household curtains into flexible, semi-transparent, solar collectors.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

When we run across an artistic expression that changes the way we look at the world and inspires us to think more poetically, we feel compelled to share it with you.  This video is not about a new sustainable project or material, it is simply about the “Power of Wind”.

EPURON GmbH, a subsidiary of Conergy AG, won the top honor for best film advertising spot at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes in 2007. The company’s “Power of Wind” ad, created by Nordpol+ Hamburg, was recognized at the Festival as the most successful TV ad in Germany.

By: Johnny Hartsfield

A new solar-collection concept has emerged from a partnership between Buro North, an Australian design firm, and  Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL), to generate electricity and educate elementary school children.  The “Solar Shades” are designed  to provide a shaded gathering space for primary school yards while generating energy from a uni-directional solar panel surface.

Funded through a government initiative, these evocative cobra-like  interactive shades explore the visual connection between energy and the environment.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Using biomimmicry (designs based on natural systems), an Australian firm BioPower Systems has developed Biowave: an ocean power system that harnesses energy by using the motion of water to generate electricity.  The system mimics the oscillating motion of plants at the bottom of the sea caused by currents and wave energy. 

Connected together by a “root”, a system looking like three balloons generates electricity by swaying in the tide.  In case of strong wave action or currents, the device would simply lay flat on the ocean floor until the surge passes.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Glasgow-based ZM Architecture has just released a provocative new design concept that will place large rotating discs on the River Clyde to harness energy and help reduce the city’s carbon footprint.  The concept recently took 1st place in the International Design Awards (IDA) Land and Sea competition and hopes to develop into a small pilot project in conjunction with the Glasgow Science Centre.  The project proposes to stimulate river activity and change while sending electricity to the surrounding city grid. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Ten years in the making, Blue Water Entertainment and Open Pictures present Fields of Fuel, a Josh Tickell film that is more than just a film, it is a “catalyst in a social movement for clean, sustainable, localized energy production.  This film, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival 2008, cost less than 1 million to produce and will be on a 50-city nationwide tour to bring green energy to the cities and towns of America. 

Click on the video above to watch the trailor.

>> Fields of Fuel

By: Johnny Hartsfield

May is “Bike to Work Month” here in Seattle and thousands of people are strapping on helmets and pulling up their spandex to hit the streets for clean energy commuting.

This event is sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club, a non-profit organization serving 9,000 members and the Puget Sound bicycling community. Click here for a list of their events.

So, why is riding your bike good for you and the environment? There are actually a few good reasons.

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