Pushing the Green Button for Energy Savings

By JIM WITKIN

The White House hopes that someday soon everyone will be able to monitor and control their home energy usage, and lower their monthly utility bills, with a few swipes on a smartphone app. At least that’s the vision of the Green Button initiative, a recent White House effort to bring together the nation’s utilities, energy consumers and private industry to develop Internet and mobile phone-style technologies and business models aimed at reducing energy consumption.

Boston Citizens Connect Update

I received an e-mail with a tracking number for my request. I'm pretty impressed.

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting the Mayor's Hotline about sidewalk repair. Your service request, opened on 11/8/11 at 2:33 PM, is case number 101000352062.

Our Public Works Department responds immediately to public safety issues in order to make them safe, typically with a temporary asphalt patch.

If there is additional work needed, the department will schedule permanent repair to be completed within a year to eighteen months.  Please note that major sidewalk and roadway reconstruction may be deemed a capital repair and require engineering and budget review.

Boston Citizens Connect

I was walking a stroller in Chinatown when used the sidewalk overlooking the Pike on Shawmut Ave from Marginal Rd to Herald St. The condition of the road and sidewalk made me cringe so I reported it on Citizens Connect Live Chat. 

 Metal plates covering holes in the asphalt which are directly over train tracks.

Q-Cells Builds Superlative Photovoltaic Power Plant

Q-Cells Builds Superlative Photovoltaic Power Plant

Category: Press release Q-Cells SE, Bitterfeld-Wolfen

• Q-Cells signs contracts for mega-project with investors LUXCARA and MCG
• Brandenburg-Briest solar park is Europe’s largest photovoltaic generating plant at 91 megawatts (MW)
• Completion planned in record time of eight weeks by 2011 year end

Bitterfeld-Wolfen, 3 November 2011 – Q-Cells SE, one of the leading photovoltaic companies in the world, is building Europe’s largest solar park and continuing its 2011 success story in the large-scale photovoltaic applications business. The solar park being built in Brandenburg-Briest will have a capacity of 91 MW. A total of around 22,500 households will be supplied with renewable energy from the solar park, avoiding CO₂ emissions of approximately

Solar Panel Equipment Ordered

I just paid for the solar panel equipment with Sungevity using a credit card. It came down to just under $3K because of introductory pricing on the east coast and I will never have to pay anything else to them.

There was a $1,000 cash reward which will be sent after solar panels are installed.
I will also receive an iPad2 once its completed but their app is still under development which will allow monitoring.

Get your free quote for solar panels.