photo: First Solar

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A group of six developers — ABCDW LLC, Torrey Pines Development LLC, Riggs/Queen Creek 480 LLC, Ellsworth Road 160 LLC and Vanderbilt Farms LLC — represented by Rose Law Group PC is bringing the proposed plant to the commission for a series of approvals, including changes in zoning allowances and the county’s general approval of the development.

By today’s standards, the 40-megawatt facility would be the largest in North America and eighth-largest worldwide in terms of total megawatt capacity, although several larger projects, including a giant 5,000-megawatt farm in central California, have been proposed both stateside and around the globe. A 2,000-megawatt facility is slated for completion in the Mongolian desert in China by 2019, with Tempe-based First Solar holding that production contract.

Florence, Arizona.

According to the 2006 US Census Bureau’s estimates, the sunniest cities with over 440,000 people in the United States are as follows:
1. Phoenix, AZ – 85% (% sunshine) – 211 (clear days)
2. Las Vegas, NV – 85% – 210
3. Tucson, AZ – 85% – 193
4. El Paso, TX – 84% -193

As of last year, Arcadia, Florida built the largest solar power plant in the nation at 25-megawatt. The 40-megawatt solar power plant in Florence, Arizona would be able to power an estimated 30,000 – 40,000 homes. Now that a context has been established, it makes logical sense to build solar power plants in regions where it’s the sunniest. Sure the initial cost may deter investors away, but consider the passive yet active application of solar. Passive, in that the panels soak up solar energy without moving. One does not have to harvest energy via digging, drilling, etc. Active in that solar energy powers homes with electricity. These are indeed exciting times we live in.

Let there be night!

“Not only will you attract more potential buyers and get a quicker sale (not to mention being the envy of your neighbours) you’ll probably get a welcome boost in your sale price. Spending 5% of the value of your home on landscaping, and you might get back as much as 150% of your money back. If your landscaping is on the low end for the area, bringing it up to par with your neighbours could increase the value of your property by as much as 15%. And academic studies are proving the point. One university study found that consumers valued a landscaped home up to 11.3 percent higher than its base price. Another consumer survey in Ireland found that hedges raised property value by 3.6 percent, a landscaped kerb by 4% and a landscaped patio by a staggering 12.4%” – Article Source

Buying a home is an investment. As such, with any investment, one wishes to achieve the maximum return value on that investment. Our last DIY topic lauded the value of energy efficient, shielded outdoor lamps and the ‘ambiance’ it creates. This particular DIY article will focus more on larger outdoor lights found on homes. Have any outdoor lights barely hanging on? Been meaning to update them to reflect your style? Looking for something less obstructive but more welcoming? Take a look at the image at the beginning of the article. It possesses an old fashion yet contemporary look, it’s stylish and guess what, it’s 100% night sky friendly. Significant strides have been made in lighting technology, to provide numerous styles for demanding consumers. Rustic, classic, contemporary or a fusion of them all, Starry Night Lights delivers.

The walkway lights are fine since they’re shielded, but the glare emanating off the lights, accentuating the trees, is simply unacceptable.
Read on to find out why.
Image source – Trussum Pond Lawn Irrigation

For those of us in the North Hemisphere, Winter’s grasp loosens as Spring’s renewal blossoms. With the snow and cold weather beginning to subside, plans are certainly afoot – especially in households. All kinds of foliage will start to grow, wanted or unwanted, across yards and one will certainly want to deal with this accordingly as they see fit. If you value the ambiance lighting can add to any yard, read on.

Scenario: You’ve decided to have a BBQ party to celebrate the new weather in a few weeks. The snow has finally melted and foliage is beginning to grow once again. You diligently eradicate weeds that would otherwise ruin your motif. You check to make sure your irrigation and lighting switches are working properly. It turns out, you need to replace your lights. But here’s the thing: Do you pick up replacement light bulbs? Should you use more energy efficient light bulbs? How’s the lighting ambiance been in the past? Should I add more or remove some (pre)existing lights? All of these questions are great questions to ask.

Ideally, there would be no light. But of course, that doesn’t reflect reality. Here are some rudimentary outdoor lighting tips: For starters, shielded lighting directs the light where it is needed: downward. As a corollary, less wattage/more energy efficient light bulbs are required to light the small area. Landscape lighting, in principle, is to illuminate outdoor features at night. Certainly, one can utilize a floodlight to illuminate their entire backyard. Yet the majority of people don’t. Why is that? Ambiance. Regarding lights in outdoor spaces, the adage ‘too much of a good thing is a bad thing’ comes to mind. In addition, too much light is highly intrusive to others. If you remember these easy, helpful tips, you shouldn’t have a problem when faced with the task of ‘what is proper lighting’ and finding that balance between darkness and light.

If you’re considering procuring new lighting fixtures to retrofit your outdoor space, congratulations and welcome to the site! Starry Night Lights is a small family business dedicated to eradicating light pollution through education, superior products and customer satisfaction. Starry Night Lights offers a dedicated section to landscape lighting, with Deck lights starting at $25.90, pathway lights starting at $14.97, and recessed lights starting at $68.50.

Let there be night!

In the quiet of the night, Pearson International reduces lighting levels significantly.
SUPPLIED PICTURE

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“For example, in the service level of Terminal 1, a pretty large area (for staff), we have achieved a 75 per cent lighting reduction between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m and between Midnight and 5 a.m. in the Terminal 1 baggage claim area we have about a 40 per cent lighting reduction. If you’re in Terminal 1 after 12:30 or so you will see a lot of lighting turned off.”
“We’ve been involved with Earth Hour since the beginning, in 2008; a direct result of that involvement was the decision to turn off 50 per cent of the fluorescent lighting inside Terminal 1, permanently. We essentially turned off two of the four lamps in every light — no one has even noticed. Thanks to Earth Hour, when you drive up to Terminal 1 on the departure level, the architectural lights to light up the front of the terminal, we shut them all off, permanently.” – Craig Rock, the Greater Toronto Airport Authority’s manager of energy management

“Fact: With no artificial light pollution the human eye can see about 3,500 stars in the night sky. But with the light pollution in Toronto, the number of visible stars dwindles to a few dozen.”

International airports operate 24/7 to cater to inbound and outbound flights. Obviously, airports cater to more travelers during the day time. As such, it dawned on Craig Rock, that perhaps he and his team could reduce the airport’s energy footprint. Aside from the lighting reduction strategies mentioned above, Mr. Rock has implemented escalator motion sensors as well as heating and cooling standby modes. Mr. Rock’s commitment to implementing energy efficient methods should be lauded. Why use electricity when no one is around to actually use it? Furthermore, even if the building you manage doesn’t possess all of the most energy efficient lighting solutions, there’s still no excuse for excess energy. There are alternative methods to ensure maximum efficiency, even if your equipment isn’t efficient. As Mr. Rock put it, “We’ve been learning how to use the building correctly.”

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“This will be the largest scale introduction of this type of street lighting technology ever seen in Britain and meets with our aim to make Surrey one of the best places in the world to live.” – Dr Andrew Pove, Surrey County Council leader

“The new energy efficient technology is expected to save more than 60,000 tons of carbon emissions over the next 25 years. It is also set to save Surrey taxpayers at least £12 million over the same period due to lower energy bills and a better contract deal. There will also be a reduction in light pollution because the new lights direct their beam downwards. The individual lights can be remotely controlled from a control centre in Merrow, Guildford. At present, Surrey’s street lights are programmed to come on and go off at set times in the day, with little opportunity to make energy savings. But under the new system, lighting will be increased most where it is needed and reduced where it is not.

Congratulations Surry!

Thanks to a “Private Finance Initiative grant worth £73.9 million from central government”, construction has begun to replace Surry’s 89,000 old streetlights with new environmentally sound lighting solutions. The old Orange light high pressurized sodium lights are being replaced by shielded, remotely controlled lights a part of an electronic grid that notifies technicians if a light needs replacement. The entire construction process will take five years to upgrade the preexisting lights, 70,000 of which will be replaced, whereas 19,000 will be refurbished. Public investment into programmes such as this one, allow future generations to see untainted skies as well as increased energy savings. Whilst the initial upfront cost may deter weary adopters, it’s a long-term investment for the future with substantial monetary savings. An added boon of this lighting overhaul programme lies in the increased standard of living. How? The city becomes marketable as a ‘dark-sky’ city, where tourists and residents reap the benefits of pristine night skies. Whilst it may not seem most people care about the night sky, I guarantee that if you show someone a pristine night sky, they’ll remember it. Perhaps they’ll even yearn for it again. Nonetheless, Starry Night Lights wishes to once again congratulate Surry on securing funding to retrofit all their ever increasing anachronistic lighting solutions.

Image Credit

“Penny pinching and energy saving are both extremely fashionable at the moment, and when the two areas collide you can be sure there’ll be some political reaction, which is why street lighting has come under government review recently.”

Article source

“These unusual looking bits of street furniture will apparently adapt to the environment as they mimic the behaviour of a flower by opening and closing to gather energy. By collecting energy from the sun and wind, the Sustainable City Lights are self powering, but also possess the ability to give back to the grid if it overproduces to help feed other items draining power. They’re also far more energy efficient than regular lights as they use LEDs.

More importantly, however, they have the intelligence to turn down the wick when they are not needed, thanks to proximity sensors that will only activate when a person comes suitably close to require the lighting. This not only makes them more energy efficient, but also reduces light pollution — something the BAA will no doubt strongly approve of.”

Philips has the right idea: energy efficient, self-powering lighting solutions with proximity sensors. Whilst I find the overall concept neat, I fear these lights may give off the same amount of glare found in ‘unshielded’ lighting solutions. Shielding is a very important aspect of any lighting solution. Shielding directs and concentrates the light downward instead of upward. One could have the most energy efficient and high lumen bulb on the planet, but it’s worthless without proper shielding. In essence, shielding is the most important component in reducing light pollution. Perhaps I’m jumping the gun on this concept sketch, but the far right photo worries me. Hopefully, this concept will come to light with 100% shielding and our towns, cities and metropolises will reap the benefits.

NASA

North America from Space; NASA

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Maps of brightness illustrate light pollution and energy waste. The blazing lights our satellites photograph while whizzing above us in their orbits, well, that’s light that’s serving no useful purpose (unless you want to think of our glowing cities as a form of art meant for distant eyes). Light seen from space is bouncing off illuminated surfaces, or being shone directly from bulbs aimed up. Neither is helping us on the ground [to] see our cities better. – Alex Steffen

From the pictures above, it’s palpable that the African countries lack an illuminated sky compared to their more industrialized counterparts. Whilst most of Africa remains underdeveloped by industrial Western standards, Africa leads the world in the population density per wasted lumens. Have we, as industrial civilizations, truly progressed or have we truly regressed? Have we lost so fundamentally human that we’ve lost ourselves? I imagine residents of many African nations can enjoy pristine night skies, yet at what cost? Political instability? Social unrest? Famine? Genocide? Nonetheless, Africa is something to think about. Africa has untainted night skies, something even industrialized nations across the globe do not possess. I wonder, if all nations around the globe eliminated light pollution today, how the world would be for the future? Ubiquitously, there would be tremendous Energy savings. This could translate into increased environmental, educational and health funds. Everyone, from children to the elderly, could enjoy the heavens above. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part, I’ll admit, but once you’ve seen a pristine night sky, you yearn for its return. Developed nations have and have had the technology to eradicate light pollution forever. Yet developed nations continue to use dated, inefficient means to achieve a bright, undesired end.

Image source: Flickr shor, uploaded on February 1, 2008 by seen_it_

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“There is a role — and savings — for individuals as well. When retrofitting, purchase fully shielded lights. Install motion detectors. When swapping out lights (such as to CFLs), energy efficiency isn’t the only consideration. If it were, you’d merely be highly efficient with your ongoing light pollution.

Instead, consider lessening the light output, or lumens, of your new light bulbs. (Comparing lumens on the box of light bulbs is like comparing grams of sugar on the sides of cereal boxes.) Aim your lights down. Or simply turn them off.

Four hundred years ago, Galileo peered into the darkness as others had not. Equally important, he did something about it. That’s where we are today. Like Galileo, we have looked up at night and have seen that something is amiss. Now we need to change our way of thinking, for the old way of lighting up the night sky indiscriminately no longer works. Much is at risk.”

Consider the following hypothetical thought experiment:

The year is 2060. Light pollution is still considered a non-issue. Current lighting trends from 2010 have continued to brighten our streets, roadways and cities. Light pollution has engulfed the sky. Day and Night are no longer mutually exclusive. For those who have seen the stars, we now represent the elderly population. Several generations of children have grown up and for many of them, they’ve never seen the night sky and have only heard stories or old photographs of such a sight. Turtle and nocturnal creature populations have declined to severely critical levels or have become extinct. It’s possible a cure for breast cancer may of been found, but one of its catalysts remains. Our bodies yearn for darkness, to help align our circadian rhythm once again.

Now it’s time to separate fact from fiction.

Facts:

Light pollution adversely affects all creatures with circadian rhythms.

Light pollution is 100% irreversible.

Light pollution will engulf the sky if action is not taken.

Take action for your lighting needs. Tell your city council members, senators and leaders about your light pollution plight and let them know that light pollution is a real blight to everyone. Lets have darker skies!

Image credit: http://philgamer.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/dark_alley.jpg

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HEADLINE:  “OLYMPIA – Downtown business leaders and the city have joined forces to clean and light another alley, reducing both grime and crime, they say.”

“Dirty alleys encourage rodent infestation, standing water and impediments to emergency vehicles.

The city’s long-term goal is turning the alleys into a work of art. Eventually, murals would be added to the backs of buildings. That cuts down on graffiti” – Downtown code-enforcement officer Ruthie Snyder

When one thinks of an alleyway in a city, one does not think of it as a place of safe refuge. Often, an alleyway carries a negative connotation and paints a picture of homelessness, graffiti and crime. Rather than passively accepting alleyways for what they are, enter the city of Olympia and its fairly new city initiative to turn alleyways into “clean, well-lit spaces with lights and murals.” Work has already been done on “a block of alleys between Fourth and State avenues and Jefferson and Cherry streets” and between “Fourth and Fifth avenues and Washington and Franklin streets” so far. The city initiative’s  choice of lighting is also laudable:

“The lights that are installed are “dark sky” lights that are shielded and point down so they don’t create light pollution that muddies the sky with a yellow glow at night.”

Shielded lighting works. Period. One can achieve the same amount of brightness found in a regular high pressure sodium light yet save tremendously on energy costs and clearer night skies. I am curious to see if the city initiative would consider and test out motion sensing lights as part of their plan. Starry Night Lights carries a variety of shielded lighting and motion sensing products for all your needs.

BRIGHT LIGHTS: Pittsburgh officials worry that a total switch to LED streetlights will make the streets too bright after dark. (Photo: caseywest/Flickr)

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Admonished by University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Pittsburgh, Penn., may replace its high-pressure sodium lights to light-emitting-diode (LED) lamps this upcoming summer. The University found that LED lamps rank substantially higher in longevity than high-pressure sodium lamps. In addition, LED lamps offer a more environmentally solution to lighting due to their higher watt per lumens ratio. Therefore, considering the overall lifespan of an LED lamp, the LED lamp is clearly the superior choice. The University estimated an annual savings of “$1 million annually in energy costs and $700,000 in maintenance fees” and a C02 emissions cut of approximately “6,818 metric tons per year,” if the city switched to LED lamps. Of course, three caveats emerge: blue tint, light pollution and poor heat dissipation.

First, the article states that concentrated light emitted from LED lamps manifests as a blue-tinted light. These concerns are partially true, although I find it prudent to crush these half-truths. It’s true, some LED lamps produce a blue tint. The concern with the blue tint lies in its colour wavelength it emits: blue is a from High-energy visible light (HEV). Most LED lamps are blue / white ‘cool’ LED lights calibrated to emit ‘white’ light – hence the blue tint. Presently, blue ‘cool’ LED lights rank the highest on the energy efficient scale. True ‘white’ warm LED lamps have been an obstacle to match the efficiency of ‘cool’ LED lights but significant strides have been made to make it a reality.

Second, the article states that that concentrated light emitted from LED lamps may produce light pollution. Following the Rayleigh scattering principle, the scattering of electromagnetic radiation by particles with dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation, resulting in angular separation of colors and responsible for the reddish color of sunset and the blue of the sky, light emitted by blue / white ‘cool’ LED lights would emit more light pollution due the shortened wavelength and higher frequency of blue on the ROYGBIV or electromagnetic spectrum. Scientifically, it’s absolutely correct. Although there is a way to drastically or eliminate light pollution all together: direct the light downward.

Third, the article states that that concentrated light emitted from LED lamps have poor heat dissipation. Poor heat dissipation is a ubiquitous fact for all high-pressure sodium lights; they waste energy and decrease the lifespan of the bulb. This once shortcoming for high-pressure sodium lights, has now become a laudable advantage. Why? An article back in December of last year mentioned how a town switched to Blue / White cool LED lamps for their traffic lights and found that the lamps can not melt snow due to its cool operating temperature. Fortunately, no drivers were harmed. Perhaps when warm LED lights can match the efficiency of cool LED lights, the public will see quite the contrary.

I’ll admit, LED has its limitations. It’s a burgeoning technology that offers tremendous energy savings and advantages over high-pressure sodium lights once the technology matures.

As of now, Pittsburgh, Penn., is one of the few nationwide cities that does not have a lighting code whatsoever.

“Several subcommittees of the Pittsburgh City Council will develop a better streetlight network and, as the city is one of the few nationwide without a lighting code, will propose a Pittsburgh lighting code. Once these analyses and codes are in place, the city will make a final decision regarding the switch. At any rate, Pittsburgh hopes the research study and task force studies will serve as “a standard tool for municipalities worldwide to evaluate streetlight technologies.” The city hopes to begin installation of new lights later this summer.”

At the very least, Pittsburgh will have a lighting code and given their concern for light pollution and safety, their heart is certainly in the right place.