Green means wait

The concept of "going green" has been in the lexicon for a few years now, leading to an increased awareness among individuals, and somewhat of an increase in action. Everyone seems to know what "green" means, but most businesses are still figuring out how to fit it into their everyday operations.

It's not that the research isn't being done. The University is on the "leading edge" of environmental reasearch, according to Robert Bruck, professor of plant pathology and environmental technology.

"It is home to the only environmental technology department of its kind, and many of the colleges and departments are working together on environmental projects," he said.

And green changes in business surged in the last year, as more technology developed.

“A year ago, environmental sustainability was number one on a lot of agendas,” Bruck said. But because of the recession, "it has dropped substantially."

"Environmental issues tend to drop to the back burner when financial times are tough," Bruck said, but, “even in a tough environment we can advance these issues. The economy will recover. ... Making investments today will pay off.”

The country isn't yet at the point where every household and business has solar water-heaters, but governments, like North Carolina's, are trying to make that day come soon.

In August of 2007, North Carolina adopted the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) —- the first state to do so in the southeast. This law requires investor-owned utilities to meet up to 12.5 percent of their energy needs through renewable energy resources or energy efficiency measures. Rural electric cooperatives and municipal electric suppliers are subject to a 10 percent REPS requirement.

In order to comply with this new law, Raleigh company Progress Energy organized three contracts to purchase energy from three one-megawatt sized solar photovoltaic plants, one of which went online last December at software company SAS headquarters in Cary.

The plant spans five acres and features SunPower Tracker solar tracking systems. The Tracker increases energy capture by up to 25 percent because of its ability to tilt toward the sun as it moves through the sky. It is estimated to generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours per year, while reducing carbon dioxide emission by over 1,600 tons annually.

“[Solar electricity] is a technology that almost everybody likes,” Progress Energy’s Mike Hughes said. “It does not require a separate fuel source, it's clean and it provides no emissions.”

Though solar power is a cleaner alternative to energy, there are some drawbacks.

“Solar power only produces energy when the sun shines,” Hughes said. “But people use [energy] when it’s cloudy, when the sun is out, at night time, etc.”

There is ongoing research in the field of storage, but no technology has been developed yet -- a big marketing problem for solar power.

Solar also has a greater expense than conventional energy sources, while not being nearly as productive.

“Currently solar power is about five times as expensive as, say, a nuclear power plant,” Hughes said. “It produces energy 16-20 percent of the time.”

Progress Energy’s Harris Nuclear Power Plant produces 900 megawatts and is producing energy almost 100 percent of the time.

“You can’t replace a megawatt of nuclear energy with solar energy,” Hughes said.

Bruck agrees that building solar arrays is out of reach for most businesses, but said he supports SAS's decision to invest in the technology.

“SAS can make that kind of investment —- it costs billions to do that. I’m glad they did that because it’s [a good example],” he said.

Other means of creating renewable energy are in limited practice as well.

Progress Energy is also moving forward on alternative energy resources such as biofuels, plants and wind power through a specific tri-fold strategy.

“Our strategy for providing future energy needs is using renewable resources, state of the art plants, technology and utilizing energy efficiency,” Hughes said. “The balance of all three is absolutely critical."

However, renewable power still has a long way to go before it's cost-effective enough for smaller companies to join in. Bruck said to promote costlier green technologies, there has to be an incentive.

Former President Jimmy Carter created the first environmental incentives back in the 1970s. Taxpayers who installed solar technology in their houses received a 50 percent tax write-off.

President Barack Obama's administration is likely to do the same sort of thing, depending, of course, on the economy. Bruck said most people need Obama's administration to create an incentive plan before they can afford to really go green.

When that day comes, the University will have a lot to offer.

The University has moved energy conservation to the forefront over the past year, dubbing 2008 as the 'Year of Energy' and making many advancements toward more environmentally friendly programs and projects.

"Energy is a major emphasis on this campus -- coming up with alternative forms of energy and green energy such as solar, wind and fuel cell technology.”

Chris Hopkins, doctoral student in forestry, has been working on an alternative energy source project for nearly three years. His project takes woodchips from forest harvestings and heats them in a low oxygen environment where they stay for eight minutes. This process makes the wood more fragile so it acts like coal.

Hopkins said the process will help the forestry industry be more profitable. “We’re taking a waste product and giving it value,” Hopkins said. “We take a product and make a market for it."

He expects to license the technology sometime this month.

Hopkins' method will be only one of hundreds of environmental technologies available for use by businesses and homeowners. But people aren't dropping everything and switching.

“When you talk about energy efficiency, you are talking about changing people’s behaviors with energy and that takes time,” Hughes said. “We have to help our customers be more efficient, we have to plan for the future energy needs and we have to pursue [renewable energy] aggressively but responsibly.”

For now, only the innovative and money-swollen businesses can afford to use alternative methods.

McDonald's has added an entire section to their website dedicated to promoting the company's environmental concern. It boasts of a "sustainable supply chain" and "green restaurant design" among other things. In fact, the new McDonald's building on Western Boulevard is one of those "green" buildings.

Walmart is also trying to create a green image by cutting down on packaging, according to Bruck.

But even these "early adapters" aren't really doing what they should.

“Mcdonalds is the poster child of how not to be green,” Bruck said. “When you put that Big Mac in your mouth, it represents like 300,000 miles of traveling —- plus those plastic containers that they put the damn thing in.”

Bruck said more of the things they use can be found locally instead of shipping from foreign countries.

“There is no reason why my pickle had to be raised in Mexico, we have them here,” Bruck said.