Georgia Green Loans, a non-profit organization that works to help grow eco-friendly small businesses, products and services, is launching the Save & Sustain program, designed to help small businesses with energy costs.
Energy costs represent a significant percentage of revenue for small businesses–in some sectors as high as 20 percent. But through the Save & Sustain program qualified businesses will receive a grant toward an energy assessment and a low interest loan to make improvements to facilities and equipment. The program is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 in cooperation with the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA).
“Any small business in the state of Georgia looking to reduce their energy consumption can apply to be part of the program,” Matt Ryder, vice president of programs for Georgia Green Loans said. “We’re ready to help businesses reduce their overall cost of operations while doing their part to protect our planet.” Ryder, a veteran of the operations consulting industry, has an extensive background in helping businesses trim operating costs. As part of Save & Sustain, Ryder will help businesses calculate savings and return on investment for energy efficiency projects.
Innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Georgia received $10 million in competitive grant funds through the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Competitive Grant Program administered by GEFA. The program, which was launched in July 2009, funded 16 projects as a result of the ARRA, including the Save & Sustain program.
The definition of small business follows U.S. Small Business Administration guidelines, generally under 500 employees. Loans for up to $50,000 are available.
To contact Matt Ryder, call 404.863.3510 or e-mail him at ryder@georgiagreenloans.org.
About Georgia Green Loans (www.georgiagreenloans.org)
Redbird LED Offers LED Retrofits at Lower Pricing
The energy savings numbers of using LED lights has been obvious for a number of years but the initial costs have hindered the growth of the LED Retrofit market. That has changed with a new line up of LED Tube Lights from Atlanta based Redbird LED. They have carefully designed and manufactured a superior quality lights that are priced lower than most competitors. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website.
LED Lighting Retrofits
A good practice for businesses looking to reduce energy expenses is to consider an LED lighting retrofit. Lighting retrofits replace lighting with newer technology such as LED linear lighting to save on energy costs and maintenance costs. Many building experts recommend a lighting retrofit as the first step to reducing energy costs. Redbird LED is an Atlanta based manufacturer and designer of Premium LED lights at value price points. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website or call ( 678)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Investors Bullish on LED Lighting
The incandescent light bulb has had the global lighting market in its grip for more than 130 years, building into a more than $100 billion industry. But green concerns about efficiency spell an end to the era, and the U.S. technology capital sees light-emitting diodes, or LED Lighting, as the new king.
"Lighting is going to completely change over the course of this decade," said Alan Salzman, chief executive of Silicon Valley-based venture fund VantagePoint Venture Partners.
His firm has $4.5 billion in committed capital in startups across different sectors, but lighting is an area he is very bullish on.
"The largest sector in terms of companies in our portfolio is lighting," Salzman said.
While many love the look of the light cast by incandescent bulbs, none like the high energy bills. Nations around the world, including the United States, are phasing in efficiency standards that will eliminate the incandescents if no major energy improvements happen.
Investors are betting on other technologies taking hold.
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs so far have been the only real alternative to conventional bulbs but they contain mercury and many don't like the quality of the light.
LED lights, on the other hand, contain no mercury, have a long life and are very energy efficient.
LEDs, made of diodes or chips, have come a long way since the first practical LED was a developed in 1962. Its sole color was red. Now developers produce light colors across the spectrum.
They consume only about 20 percent of the energy used by incandescent bulbs. With about 20 percent of the world's electricity used for lighting, switching to LEDs would generate significant energy savings and cut greenhouse gas emissions while nations debate how to price carbon dioxide pollution.
COST CHALLENGE
There is one major hurdle for mass adoption of LEDs -- they cost too much. Experts say that for the market to take off, good quality LED lights need to available under $10. Current bulbs cost many times that.
Investors are betting heavily the cost will fall quickly as LED start-ups achieve scale and the technology advances.
"The market really started shifting in the last 12 months," said Warner Philips, co-founder of LED start-up Lemnis Lighting and great grandson of the founder of Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics.
Lemnis introduced its first LED bulb, called Pharox, that can go into a standard light socket about four years ago. The latest version can last around 25 years, based on four hours of daily operation, but it costs $25.
The price has halved in a short time. Lemnis had been selling LED bulbs around $50 only about six months ago and Philips expects the price to fall below the crucial $10 level soon.
"That will be probably be in the first half of next year," he said.
BULLISH GROWTH PROJECTIONS
LEDs by 2020 will account for nearly half of the $4.4 billion U.S. market for lamps in the commercial, industrial and outdoor stationary sectors, predicted Pike Research, which tracks the market.
Even at the current high price, some commercial establishments and retailers are switching.
Late last year, retail giant Wal-Mart said it would install LEDs in 650 of its stores and picked Cree Inc, one of the few public companies in this space, to supply the lights.
Other companies switching to LEDs include coffee retailer Starbucks Corp, Red Robin restaurants and Yum! Brands Inc.
Cree's shares hit an all-time high of $83.38 this April, rising almost 49 percent from the start of the year, partly due to bullish expectations on the LED market. The global economic slowdown has ratcheted back expectations, though, and sent shares down toward $65.
In the first quarter of 2010, venture capitalists invested $100 million in 14 LED lighting companies, up from $14 million in the same quarter a year ago, according to Cleantech Group.
California's Bridgelux, which makes high-power LED chips specifically for the lighting industry, is in the process of opening a Silicon Valley plant and investors are eager to join in.
Bridgelux raised $80 million earlier this year and turned away some would-be investors.
"We had a lot of people pounding on our doors," said Chief Executive Bill Watkins.
(Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Anthony Barker)
Redbird LED Offers LED Retrofits at Lower Pricing
The energy savings numbers of using LED lights has been obvious for a number of years but the initial costs have hindered the growth of the LED Retrofit market. That has changed with a new line up of LED Tube Lights from Atlanta based Redbird LED. They have carefully designed and manufactured a superior quality lights that are priced lower than most competitors. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website.
"Lighting is going to completely change over the course of this decade," said Alan Salzman, chief executive of Silicon Valley-based venture fund VantagePoint Venture Partners.
His firm has $4.5 billion in committed capital in startups across different sectors, but lighting is an area he is very bullish on.
"The largest sector in terms of companies in our portfolio is lighting," Salzman said.
While many love the look of the light cast by incandescent bulbs, none like the high energy bills. Nations around the world, including the United States, are phasing in efficiency standards that will eliminate the incandescents if no major energy improvements happen.
Investors are betting on other technologies taking hold.
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs so far have been the only real alternative to conventional bulbs but they contain mercury and many don't like the quality of the light.
LED lights, on the other hand, contain no mercury, have a long life and are very energy efficient.
LEDs, made of diodes or chips, have come a long way since the first practical LED was a developed in 1962. Its sole color was red. Now developers produce light colors across the spectrum.
They consume only about 20 percent of the energy used by incandescent bulbs. With about 20 percent of the world's electricity used for lighting, switching to LEDs would generate significant energy savings and cut greenhouse gas emissions while nations debate how to price carbon dioxide pollution.
COST CHALLENGE
There is one major hurdle for mass adoption of LEDs -- they cost too much. Experts say that for the market to take off, good quality LED lights need to available under $10. Current bulbs cost many times that.
Investors are betting heavily the cost will fall quickly as LED start-ups achieve scale and the technology advances.
"The market really started shifting in the last 12 months," said Warner Philips, co-founder of LED start-up Lemnis Lighting and great grandson of the founder of Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics.
Lemnis introduced its first LED bulb, called Pharox, that can go into a standard light socket about four years ago. The latest version can last around 25 years, based on four hours of daily operation, but it costs $25.
The price has halved in a short time. Lemnis had been selling LED bulbs around $50 only about six months ago and Philips expects the price to fall below the crucial $10 level soon.
"That will be probably be in the first half of next year," he said.
BULLISH GROWTH PROJECTIONS
LEDs by 2020 will account for nearly half of the $4.4 billion U.S. market for lamps in the commercial, industrial and outdoor stationary sectors, predicted Pike Research, which tracks the market.
Even at the current high price, some commercial establishments and retailers are switching.
Late last year, retail giant Wal-Mart said it would install LEDs in 650 of its stores and picked Cree Inc, one of the few public companies in this space, to supply the lights.
Other companies switching to LEDs include coffee retailer Starbucks Corp, Red Robin restaurants and Yum! Brands Inc.
Cree's shares hit an all-time high of $83.38 this April, rising almost 49 percent from the start of the year, partly due to bullish expectations on the LED market. The global economic slowdown has ratcheted back expectations, though, and sent shares down toward $65.
In the first quarter of 2010, venture capitalists invested $100 million in 14 LED lighting companies, up from $14 million in the same quarter a year ago, according to Cleantech Group.
California's Bridgelux, which makes high-power LED chips specifically for the lighting industry, is in the process of opening a Silicon Valley plant and investors are eager to join in.
Bridgelux raised $80 million earlier this year and turned away some would-be investors.
"We had a lot of people pounding on our doors," said Chief Executive Bill Watkins.
(Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Anthony Barker)
Redbird LED Offers LED Retrofits at Lower Pricing
The energy savings numbers of using LED lights has been obvious for a number of years but the initial costs have hindered the growth of the LED Retrofit market. That has changed with a new line up of LED Tube Lights from Atlanta based Redbird LED. They have carefully designed and manufactured a superior quality lights that are priced lower than most competitors. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website.
Kroger Saves Energy with LED Lights in Stores
Environmental Leader provided excellent coverage of the Recent Kroger Sustainability report.
The Kroger Co. has reduced energy consumption in its stores by more than 27 percent since 2000, according to the company’s 2010 Sustainability Report . The grocery retailer says that is enough electricity to power every single family home in Memphis, Tenn., for one year.Kroger has saved company wide more than 1.9 billion kilowatt hours, which equals 1.36 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The grocery retail chain says this equates to taking more than 260,000 cars off roads for one year.
Kroger’s 2010 goal is to reduce energy use in its stories by 30 percent from a baseline year of 2000. The company also set targets to reduce waste to landfills in manufacturing facilities by 50 percent, cut water use in manufacturing facilities by 10 percent, and recycle more than 25 million pounds of plastic in 2010.
Kroger’s new stores consume 25 percent less energy than a store built in 2000 thanks to several energy-efficiency measures including replacing lighting with LED fixtures, which use 75 percent less energy. By the end of 2010, LED lighting will be installed in nearly every Kroger store.
The grocery retailer also is installing motion sensors, skylights and control systems to monitor and control energy use in the store’s refrigeration, HVAC and lighting systems.
The company’s first store achieved the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification in 2009. The store has set a goal to recycle at least 70 percent of the store’s total waste, including paper, glass, plastic, cardboard and metal.
For complete article please visit-
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/06/28/kroger-sustainability-report-energy-use-down-27-since-2000/
LED Lighting Retrofits
A good practice for businesses looking to reduce energy expenses is to consider an LED lighting retrofit. Lighting retrofits replace lighting with newer technology such as LED linear lighting to save on energy costs and maintenance costs. Many building experts recommend a lighting retrofit as the first step to reducing energy costs. Redbird LED is an Atlanta based manufacturer and designer of Premium LED lights at value price points. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website or call ( 678) 733-2473
The Kroger Co. has reduced energy consumption in its stores by more than 27 percent since 2000, according to the company’s 2010 Sustainability Report . The grocery retailer says that is enough electricity to power every single family home in Memphis, Tenn., for one year.Kroger has saved company wide more than 1.9 billion kilowatt hours, which equals 1.36 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The grocery retail chain says this equates to taking more than 260,000 cars off roads for one year.
Kroger’s 2010 goal is to reduce energy use in its stories by 30 percent from a baseline year of 2000. The company also set targets to reduce waste to landfills in manufacturing facilities by 50 percent, cut water use in manufacturing facilities by 10 percent, and recycle more than 25 million pounds of plastic in 2010.
Kroger’s new stores consume 25 percent less energy than a store built in 2000 thanks to several energy-efficiency measures including replacing lighting with LED fixtures, which use 75 percent less energy. By the end of 2010, LED lighting will be installed in nearly every Kroger store.
The grocery retailer also is installing motion sensors, skylights and control systems to monitor and control energy use in the store’s refrigeration, HVAC and lighting systems.
The company’s first store achieved the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification in 2009. The store has set a goal to recycle at least 70 percent of the store’s total waste, including paper, glass, plastic, cardboard and metal.
For complete article please visit-
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/06/28/kroger-sustainability-report-energy-use-down-27-since-2000/
LED Lighting Retrofits
A good practice for businesses looking to reduce energy expenses is to consider an LED lighting retrofit. Lighting retrofits replace lighting with newer technology such as LED linear lighting to save on energy costs and maintenance costs. Many building experts recommend a lighting retrofit as the first step to reducing energy costs. Redbird LED is an Atlanta based manufacturer and designer of Premium LED lights at value price points. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website or call ( 678) 733-2473
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