The U.S. Department of Energy’s worldwide competition to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes will move to Orange County in 2013. The biennial Solar Decathlon had been held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., since its inception in 2002. “We wanted to find a way to extend the competition’s reach beyond D.C. and showcase energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies across the country,” DOE spokeswoman Jen Stutsman said. By moving it to Orange County Great Park, in Irvine, “we’ll be able to reach millions of Southern Californians and demonstrate for a new audience the benefits that come with energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.” The DOE selected Orange County Great Park through a national competition. The site was chosen for its ability to accommodate 20 houses, its visitor parking and easy freeway access, as well as favorable weather conditions. For the Solar Decathlon, 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and the world spend two years designing, constructing and testing home designs that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. [Read this article]

While national governments grapple with economic issues and policy gridlocks, pushing sustainability measures to the side, cities are picking up the mantle. Some of the world’s largest cities are emerging as laboratories of innovative technologies, business models, and efficiency measures, many of them with salutary environmental and social outcomes. To the extent that the green economy flourishes, it is becoming clearer that it will likely be a bottom-up, grassroots evolution. It makes sense. Cities are where more than half the global population lives. During 2011, the role of cities in sustainability became increasingly evident. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton merged their respective sustainable city initiatives to create the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of large cities around the world committed to implementing climate-related actions at the local level. The combined group, in turn, formed a partnership with the World Bank to help cities accelerate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [Read this article]

Which California city currently has more solar power installations within its boundaries and generates more solar energy than any other? Here’s a hint: it’s not Los Angeles. San Diego is the California leader when it comes to solar power, according to a new statewide analysis that will be unveiled by the Environment California Research and Policy Center. In 2011, San Diego had 4,507 solar power installations, generating almost 36.7 megawatts of power from the sun. To put that in perspective, Environment California said that would be enough to rank San Diego among the top 25 nations in the world. Los Angeles was second in the rankings, with 4,018 installations and a little less than 36.2 megawatts. San Jose was third, with more than 2,700 installations and 31MW. The report focuses on solar photovoltaic installations that are mostly owned by ratepayers or by third-party financing companies, as opposed to electric utilities. The report highlights just how far the state has come in utilizing the sun’s energy, but it also warns that it has much farther to go. [Read this article]

In New York City, a conflict has long been perceived between historic preservation and urban sustainability goals. Older buildings are often seen as outdated energy hogs that can’t pull their weight, efficiency-wise. About 55 percent of the city’s 838,337 buildings were constructed before 1940, half a century before the notion of green LEED building certification was even dreamed up. Estimating that the building sector is responsible for 75 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, PlaNYC 2030, Mayor Bloomberg’s sustainability plan, made improving the performance of older buildings a top priority. To help get the process started, the Municipal Art Society announced last week that it is working on a “greening” manual for owners of historic buildings protected by landmark status. Despite prevailing conceptions, said Lisa Kersavage, the senior director for preservation and sustainability at the society, many historic buildings actually already incorporate energy-efficient design features – a legacy of having been built before the advent of cheap energy and modern mechanical systems. In those days, natural ventilation and light and the collection of water in cisterns were standard in quality construction. [Read this article]