Zeno Swijtink
07-27-2008, 08:47 PM
Sustainable Practices 2008
Innovations, Technologies and Products
Coming Soon to a World Near You
July 25, 2008
German Insurer Allianz Extends Home Rebuilding Coverage to USGBC Criteria. A U.S. unit of German insurer Allianz SE will begin offering homeowners’ protection next month in California designed to cover the cost of rebuilding houses to criteria set by the US Green Building Council. The green policies offered by Fireman’s Fund Insurance extend to replacing home appliances covered by a claim with energy-efficient models. Older heating and air conditioning units could be swapped for newer types that reduce a home’s carbon footprint while plumbing fixtures could be updated with water-saving models. The coverage extends to wood used for rebuilding, allowing lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council to be used. Green home insurance costs roughly $70 per $1 million in home value and is offset by the average 30% reduction in annual energy costs in homes rebuilt to green standards. (https://www.allianz.com/en/allianz_group/press_center/news/business_news/insurance/news _2008-07-08.html?hits=green+home)
World Bank Signs its First Carbon Finance Agreement on Waste Composting. The World Bank signed its first greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction purchase agreement in Egypt for a municipal solid waste-composting project. The Cairo Southern Zone Composting Project will avoid the generation of GHGs associated with landfilling. Under the agreement the Egyptians will sell 325,480 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent GHG emission reductions to the Carbon Fund for Europe, managed by the World Bank. The Cairo facility uses aerobic composting of organic waste that reduces the amount of methane and other GHGs that would otherwise be created by landfilling. In addition, compost generated by the project will be available for sale to agricultural and horticultural buyers within 90 days after the project’s late 2008 start of operations. (The World Bank, 2008, https://newsletters.worldbnk.org/external/default/main?contentMDK=21826656&theSitePK= 442942&pagePK=64109805&piPK=64106905)
enXco Unveils Nation’s Largest Customer-Driven Solar Electric System. An EDF Energies Nouvelle Company, enXco, has unveiled a 1.2 MW photovoltaic array near Sacramento. It was developed and built for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). enXco will sell the energy under long-term contract to SMUD who will then deliver it to customers singed up under its SolarShares Program. This customer-driven PV project is the first of its kind and the nation’s largest solar plant built to serve customers enrolled in a voluntary green pricing program. The 8.5-acre project uses some 17,000 solar panels, all of which were made in the United States. Already customers are clamoring to get their “share” of the system. (PV-Tech, July 16, 2008, https://www.pv-tech.org/lib/printable/1477) Sustainable Practices 2008 is a weekly information service that has been highlighting innovations in technology, social and governance models and sustainable best practices since 2000. It is compiled from publicly available sources and is provided by David Schaller, 520-665-1767, [email protected].)
Innovations, Technologies and Products
Coming Soon to a World Near You
July 25, 2008
German Insurer Allianz Extends Home Rebuilding Coverage to USGBC Criteria. A U.S. unit of German insurer Allianz SE will begin offering homeowners’ protection next month in California designed to cover the cost of rebuilding houses to criteria set by the US Green Building Council. The green policies offered by Fireman’s Fund Insurance extend to replacing home appliances covered by a claim with energy-efficient models. Older heating and air conditioning units could be swapped for newer types that reduce a home’s carbon footprint while plumbing fixtures could be updated with water-saving models. The coverage extends to wood used for rebuilding, allowing lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council to be used. Green home insurance costs roughly $70 per $1 million in home value and is offset by the average 30% reduction in annual energy costs in homes rebuilt to green standards. (https://www.allianz.com/en/allianz_group/press_center/news/business_news/insurance/news _2008-07-08.html?hits=green+home)
World Bank Signs its First Carbon Finance Agreement on Waste Composting. The World Bank signed its first greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction purchase agreement in Egypt for a municipal solid waste-composting project. The Cairo Southern Zone Composting Project will avoid the generation of GHGs associated with landfilling. Under the agreement the Egyptians will sell 325,480 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent GHG emission reductions to the Carbon Fund for Europe, managed by the World Bank. The Cairo facility uses aerobic composting of organic waste that reduces the amount of methane and other GHGs that would otherwise be created by landfilling. In addition, compost generated by the project will be available for sale to agricultural and horticultural buyers within 90 days after the project’s late 2008 start of operations. (The World Bank, 2008, https://newsletters.worldbnk.org/external/default/main?contentMDK=21826656&theSitePK= 442942&pagePK=64109805&piPK=64106905)
enXco Unveils Nation’s Largest Customer-Driven Solar Electric System. An EDF Energies Nouvelle Company, enXco, has unveiled a 1.2 MW photovoltaic array near Sacramento. It was developed and built for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). enXco will sell the energy under long-term contract to SMUD who will then deliver it to customers singed up under its SolarShares Program. This customer-driven PV project is the first of its kind and the nation’s largest solar plant built to serve customers enrolled in a voluntary green pricing program. The 8.5-acre project uses some 17,000 solar panels, all of which were made in the United States. Already customers are clamoring to get their “share” of the system. (PV-Tech, July 16, 2008, https://www.pv-tech.org/lib/printable/1477) Sustainable Practices 2008 is a weekly information service that has been highlighting innovations in technology, social and governance models and sustainable best practices since 2000. It is compiled from publicly available sources and is provided by David Schaller, 520-665-1767, [email protected].)