How we make and use energy will pretty much determine our collective future.  

For many building owners, capital costs are a barrier to investing in building retrofits. Using energy performance contracting (EPC), a building retrofit generates guaranteed energy savings that, over a number of years, can be equal to the cost of the project including financing costs. Typically, owners can keep these savings or apply them toward the debt repayment on the project.

The work includes several types of energy efficiency technologies including high-efficiency window glass replacement, redesigned heating and cooling systems and controls, lighting improvements, and radiative barriers. The project also incorporates behavior changes including management and operations updates and tenant engagement. Together these steps cost-effectively could reduce energy use by 38 percent and save 105,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 15 years.  

Agree. Ethonomic sustainability is the only future. Check out the many great things happening in the world:

http://www.fastcompany.com/topics/ethonomics

hope they build green with their billion dollar pit in The black holes of North Dakota to find dark matter. We can eat that in 20 years right ?

What to believe-Thailand Energy Policy?

Alternative energy plan gathers pace

Published on May 22, 2009

The Energy Ministry is transforming the 15-year alternative-energy master plan into an action plan in order to offer a clear scenario for potential investors.

Energy Minister Wannarat Charnnukul yesterday said the action plan should be completed by the end of year, with the target to raise renewable energy from the current 6.4 per cent of energy consumption to 14.1 per cent in 2022.

Meanwhile, the alternative-energy ratio would be raised from 7.3 per cent to 20.3 per cent.

The master plan, covering 2008-22, was recently approved by the Cabinet.

"With clarity in the master and action plans, the Energy Ministry looks set to be the unit for promoting investor confidence. This should assist investors' decision-making," he said.

To achieve a sustainable reduction of fossil-fuel consumption, Wannarat said the ministry's work would be based on five major pillars: securing energy resources; putting renewable energy - ethanol-based oil, biodiesel, natural gas for vehicles, wind, solar, biomass and waste energy - on the national agenda; encouraging energy conservation; ensuring appropriate prices and energy stability; and preserving the environment amid energy development and consumption.

On renewable and alternative energy, the ministry will support investors with research papers, investment grants, low-interest loans, venture-capital funding and special "adder" tariffs.

"If things go as planned, this should attract investment of about Bt380 billion and create employment for about 40,000 people during the period," the minister said.

The investment would also save fuel imports worth Bt460 billion, and if there were revenue from carbon-credit trading, this would create an additional gain of Bt14 billion.

In total, it would reduce the need to construct conventional power plants with combined capacity of 3,000 megawatts, equal to a saving of Bt1 trillion, said Wannarat.

The ministry today will host an international conference on "Opportunities with Alternative Energy", at which local and foreign experts will share their views.

Wannarat will join energy specialists from Shell in London and the CLP Group Asia to speak at the conference, which will be attended by about 400 business leaders, policy-makers and academics.

The event, being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok, is co-hosted by the Energy Ministry and the Energy Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University and co-sponsored by Banpu, Petro Green, Sammitr Green Power, Sharp and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

Twarath Sutabutr, director of the Energy Ministry's Policy and Strategy Coordination Office, said the recent low level of oil prices should not deter businesses from looking ahead.

"It's better to start thinking now than to react when oil prices go up again," Twarath said.

Among the topics up for discussion at the conference are the next generation of cars, wind and solar technologies and nuclear and synthetic fuel.

The international conference will pave the way for business leaders and policy-makers to frame future strategies and policies better, said Twarath, adding that while businesses looked for opportunities and cost competitiveness, it was the task of the government to secure sustainable plans.

Then from Green Peace:

Greenpeace calls for coal plant rethink

By: YUTHANA PRAIWAN

Published: 24/06/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: Business

Greenpeace and its allies are calling on Thai energy policymakers to rethink building coal-fired power plants in a bid to cut carbon emissions, said Witoon Permpongsacharoen, director of Mekong Energy and Ecology Network.

They want the government to review the demand projection, the proportion of renewable energy used and the use of imported coal to fuel the power plant.

Coal-fired power plants also have social costs because they emit pollution and greenhouse gases, affecting the health of local people.

Greenpeace estimates the cost of power production from coal to be 2.75 baht per kilowatt/hour (unit), 0.78 baht for natural gas and 2.67 baht for oil. The figures include the costs of pollution control, greenhouse gas emission, health impacts and accidents in coal mines.

Power demand has sunk since 2007 and capacity utilisation of power plants stands at only 66% or 22,044 megawatts of a total capacity of 31,000 MW. The country will add another 12,000 MW from small and very small power producers in the next few years, he said.

The coal-fired power plants in Thailand will be built by National Power Supply Co and Gheco-One Co, with a total capacity of 1,000 MW. They are expected to emit 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Four other coal-fired plants producing 2,800 MW will be built by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) for operation between 2015 and 2017.

Mr Witoon also expressed concern over the environmental standards of the coal-fired Hongsa Lignite project in Laos. As the plant is near the Thai border, Egat, as the only buyer of the plant's output, should be concerned about its production quality, he said.

"There are no environmental standards or health protection laws in Laos, and if the plant emits pollution, it will affect Thai villagers nearby," he said.

Environmentalists also don't believe advanced technology is a solution. Wanun Permpibul, a representative from the Thai Working Group for Climate Justice, said it was impossible for a carbon capture and storage system (CCS) to be commercially viable. He added the technology would never materialise as its cost is too high for the business sector.

Carbon capture costs in research projects in Norway and Algeria were reported at US$15-75 per tonne, with another $8 for transport. Carbon storage is $5-8 per tonne for onshore location and $5-30 per tonne for offshore.

Instead of putting effort and capital into developing CCS, global energy leaders should focus on supporting energy-saving equipment and new technologies for renewable energy, he said.

I'd like to add that energy can be saved for an average cost of 0.5 Baht per Watt.

Also, Thailand generates 0.3MW of Geo-Thermal power. The Philippines generates more than 1,500MW of Geo-Thermal electricity. Thai experts at Chiang Mai Unv. say there are huge Geo-Thermal resources in North Thailand. Go Figure?

ive just invested in a Company called Theodoma that are testing their energy recycling equipment in the Lisbon Marriott as we speak with a view to installing it across the entire hotel chain.....hoping to make some money from this investment!!