News release from the U.S. Dept. of Energy:
http://energy.gov/articles/obama-administration-releases-roadmap-solar-energy-development-public-lands
Showing posts with label public. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
IBM Smarter Cities Challenge Team Proposes Strategy For Safer, More Efficient and Convenient Public Transport in Greater Rabat
News release:
IBM Smarter Cities Challenge Team Proposes Strategy For Safer, More Efficient and Convenient Public Transport in Greater Rabat
Rabat, Morocco - 11 Jun 2012: A team of IBM (NYSE:IBM) experts funded by an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant, has provided government leaders with initial recommendations for a more effective and efficient public transport system in Rabat and nearby Sale and Temara, by 2020.
The transport system of the greater metropolitan area of Rabat is facing critical issues, such as population growth from (1.77 million today to an anticipated 2.7 million in 2025) which will lead to greater traffic congestion, increased urbanization, and the disparate use of technology with disintegrated, disconnected, and often manual operations.
Rabat applied for, and won, a Smarter Cities Challenge grant from IBM, which sent some of its top employees to work and live in Rabat for three weeks. There, they studied the area's transportation opportunities and created a plan to address three aspects of an improved urban public transport system.
The first aspect addressed in IBM's plan involves how the efforts of multiple agencies might be coordinated, particularly with the creation of a transportation authority. With both an integrated budget and plan, the operation and growth of public transportation can be managed more efficiently and cost effectively.
A second aspect addresses how the system might be made safer and more convenient and attractive for commuters. To do so, the transportation authority could consider publishing realistic and constantly updated arrival schedules, a common ticketing system across buses and trams, restricting auto traffic during rush hours, and certifying private bus and taxi drivers.
Since effectiveness and efficiency relate directly to the people who operate the transportation system, the third facet focuses on how to ensure employees remain well trained, supported, focused and motivated. In this realm, successful strategies of other transport systems would be studied and adopted; staffing levels would be monitored; and employees would be recognized and rewarded for high performance.
“With its Smarter Cities Program, IBM is enabling new approaches to urban infrastructure services, by harnessing technology to solve transportation issues," said Abdallah Rachidi, Country General Manager of IBM Morocco. "The Cities of Rabat, Salé, and Temara will be able to predict and respond flexibly in all situations, by using data to drive intelligent responses and planning. This is a concrete example of how we can leverage technology to help improve urban mobility."
Technologies complementary to this blueprint include the use of global positioning data for tracking and mobilizing buses, and the use of video feeds and cameras to ensure passenger and staff safety. The concepts and ideas proposed in the plan are compatible with current Government initiatives, and borrow strategies used successfully in other cities around the world.
"The IBM team's findings and recommendations will help transform these cities as part of a greater Urban Mobility Upgrade Plan, in which Rabat, the "Green City" will be a pilot and a reference for public transportation system reform", said the Mayor of Rabat, Mr Fathallah Oualalou. "In October 2013, Rabat will host the United Cities and Local Government World Congress and this will be the opportunity for Rabat officials to present the findings and expected progress for our transportation management system."
Smarter Cites Challenge
Rabat bested 140 other cities around the world to become one of IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge winners this year. IBM selected 33 cities worldwide to receive Smarter Cities challenge grants in 2012 and Rabat was selected along with three other African cities.
Launched in 2011, the IBM initiative is a three-year, 100-city US$50 million competitive grant program and is IBM's single-largest philanthropic initiative. Winning cities get the benefit of some of IBM's most talented employees who examine critical, top-priority urban issues such as transportation, health, housing, economic development and public safety. The IBM team then creates a comprehensive plan of creative solutions which they present to the city's leadership addressing each top priority issue.
Rabat applied for, and won, a Smarter Cities Challenge grant from IBM, which sent some of its top employees to work and live in Rabat for three weeks. There, they studied the area's transportation opportunities and created a plan to address three aspects of an improved urban public transport system.
The first aspect addressed in IBM's plan involves how the efforts of multiple agencies might be coordinated, particularly with the creation of a transportation authority. With both an integrated budget and plan, the operation and growth of public transportation can be managed more efficiently and cost effectively.
A second aspect addresses how the system might be made safer and more convenient and attractive for commuters. To do so, the transportation authority could consider publishing realistic and constantly updated arrival schedules, a common ticketing system across buses and trams, restricting auto traffic during rush hours, and certifying private bus and taxi drivers.
Since effectiveness and efficiency relate directly to the people who operate the transportation system, the third facet focuses on how to ensure employees remain well trained, supported, focused and motivated. In this realm, successful strategies of other transport systems would be studied and adopted; staffing levels would be monitored; and employees would be recognized and rewarded for high performance.
“With its Smarter Cities Program, IBM is enabling new approaches to urban infrastructure services, by harnessing technology to solve transportation issues," said Abdallah Rachidi, Country General Manager of IBM Morocco. "The Cities of Rabat, Salé, and Temara will be able to predict and respond flexibly in all situations, by using data to drive intelligent responses and planning. This is a concrete example of how we can leverage technology to help improve urban mobility."
Technologies complementary to this blueprint include the use of global positioning data for tracking and mobilizing buses, and the use of video feeds and cameras to ensure passenger and staff safety. The concepts and ideas proposed in the plan are compatible with current Government initiatives, and borrow strategies used successfully in other cities around the world.
"The IBM team's findings and recommendations will help transform these cities as part of a greater Urban Mobility Upgrade Plan, in which Rabat, the "Green City" will be a pilot and a reference for public transportation system reform", said the Mayor of Rabat, Mr Fathallah Oualalou. "In October 2013, Rabat will host the United Cities and Local Government World Congress and this will be the opportunity for Rabat officials to present the findings and expected progress for our transportation management system."
Smarter Cites Challenge
Rabat bested 140 other cities around the world to become one of IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge winners this year. IBM selected 33 cities worldwide to receive Smarter Cities challenge grants in 2012 and Rabat was selected along with three other African cities.
Launched in 2011, the IBM initiative is a three-year, 100-city US$50 million competitive grant program and is IBM's single-largest philanthropic initiative. Winning cities get the benefit of some of IBM's most talented employees who examine critical, top-priority urban issues such as transportation, health, housing, economic development and public safety. The IBM team then creates a comprehensive plan of creative solutions which they present to the city's leadership addressing each top priority issue.
To find out more about IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants, please visithttp://smartercitieschallenge.org/.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Walking's Urban Potential
Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Denver Pedestrians Promote Walking’s Urban Potential
By KIRK JOHNSON DENVER — Quite a few of the frighteningly fit live around here. On a balmy Saturday, or for that matter a frigid winter weekday before dawn, an army of them emerges to run and bike. And in their intimidating long strides and whirring spokes, they underscore why Colorado is the least obese state in the nation.
But walking to get somewhere? Different story.
People like Gosia Kung and Dr. Andrew M. Freeman are trying to change that. In very different ways and for different reasons — she is an architect, he a cardiologist — they are trying to reincorporate physical activity into the sinews of a place that, despite its fantastic body mass index, lost touch like most American cities with the idea of walking as transportation.
Last year, Ms. Kung co-founded a nonprofit group called Walk Denver, which is trying to get the city certified as a “Walk Friendly Community.” It is also an advocate for a previously voiceless group, the ordinary walker — whispering into the ears of city planners, or nagging if need be, and preaching to the public.
It is the physical space of a city, Ms. Kung said on a recent walk through downtown, that creates a pedestrian’s view of the world. Ample sidewalks are crucial, she said, but they provide only the means of access to an environment that must then reward walkers through attractions like shopping and entertainment that cater specifically to foot traffic.
More walkers, whether strolling or striding, in turn reinforce an old idea that Ms. Kung said many cities have forgotten: better public health and improved economic life go together.
“I’ve always been interested in urban design — how we interact with built environments and how it affects us,” said Ms. Kung, who grew up in Krakow, Poland, and never got over the example of its dense and tangled medieval walking streets. Her experience in America, in turn, was immediately intertwined with the downside of the car culture.
“When I moved from Poland to the U.S. in 1997, I got my driver’s license and I gained 20 pounds,” she said.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Denver Pedestrians Promote Walking’s Urban Potential
By KIRK JOHNSON DENVER — Quite a few of the frighteningly fit live around here. On a balmy Saturday, or for that matter a frigid winter weekday before dawn, an army of them emerges to run and bike. And in their intimidating long strides and whirring spokes, they underscore why Colorado is the least obese state in the nation.
But walking to get somewhere? Different story.
People like Gosia Kung and Dr. Andrew M. Freeman are trying to change that. In very different ways and for different reasons — she is an architect, he a cardiologist — they are trying to reincorporate physical activity into the sinews of a place that, despite its fantastic body mass index, lost touch like most American cities with the idea of walking as transportation.
Last year, Ms. Kung co-founded a nonprofit group called Walk Denver, which is trying to get the city certified as a “Walk Friendly Community.” It is also an advocate for a previously voiceless group, the ordinary walker — whispering into the ears of city planners, or nagging if need be, and preaching to the public.
It is the physical space of a city, Ms. Kung said on a recent walk through downtown, that creates a pedestrian’s view of the world. Ample sidewalks are crucial, she said, but they provide only the means of access to an environment that must then reward walkers through attractions like shopping and entertainment that cater specifically to foot traffic.
More walkers, whether strolling or striding, in turn reinforce an old idea that Ms. Kung said many cities have forgotten: better public health and improved economic life go together.
“I’ve always been interested in urban design — how we interact with built environments and how it affects us,” said Ms. Kung, who grew up in Krakow, Poland, and never got over the example of its dense and tangled medieval walking streets. Her experience in America, in turn, was immediately intertwined with the downside of the car culture.
“When I moved from Poland to the U.S. in 1997, I got my driver’s license and I gained 20 pounds,” she said.
Monday, January 30, 2012
NREL & Gamesa to Collaborate on R&D Project
NREL, Gamesa to Collaborate on R&D ProjectVenture serves to help develop next generation of wind turbinesFriday, January 27, 2012Golden, Colo., Jan. 27, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Gamesa Technology Corp., Inc. will study and test a variety of components and systems that will guide development of the next generation of wind turbines designed specifically for the U.S. marketplace. The public-private partnership expects to focus on innovations that will enhance the capabilities and performance of advanced wind systems in tapping the vast potential of this renewable energy resource and ultimately bring the nation closer to 20 percent wind energy by 2030. NREL and Gamesa will collaborate on work in three key areas: developing new wind turbine components and rotors for the U.S. market; researching and testing the performance of new control strategies; and devising models that will help advance the development of offshore wind in U.S. coastal waters. "We are pleased to have Gamesa working with NREL as an R&D partner," Dana Christensen, NREL's Deputy Laboratory Director for Science and Technology, said. "These types of collaborations demonstrate a commitment to crucial technology development and the public-private partnerships necessary to ensure the continued momentum of the wind power industry. Our role with the Department of Energy is to help reduce technical risks and thereby help accelerate next generation technology into the marketplace. NREL is proud to be at the forefront of this important work." Gamesa, already has installed and commissioned a G97 Class IIIA 2.0 MW test wind turbine at NREL's National Wind Technology Center near Boulder, Colo. NREL's wind technology center is the most extensive wind-turbine testing facility in the nation. "Wind energy is going to continue to play a key role in creating a stronger and more sustainable American economy," said Dr. Miguel Angel Gonzalez-Posada, Vice President of Technology for Gamesa North America. "This partnership is an exciting venture that showcases Gamesa's commitment to enhanced clean energy development, as well as our drive to deliver reliable, efficient and cost-effective wind turbine technologies to the U.S. marketplace." Since being introduced last year, Gamesa's G9X-2.0 MW turbine platform has gained recognition for its advanced blade design, updated nacelle, enhanced control systems and other features that increase energy output substantially. The G97 Class IIIA 2.0 MW model, which will serve as the test platform with NREL, is designed specifically for low-wind sites, a segment from which Gamesa expects more than half of all future on-shore demand. Using Gamesa's turbine platform as a laboratory, researchers will study the behavior of systems and how new designs, products or equipment can affect performance. Full project testing on the entire slate of programs is set to begin this month. The core provisions of the public-private partnership run through 2013, with options for two additional years of collaboration. NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. ### Visit NREL online at www.nrel.gov |
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Houston Joins Better Buildings Challenge
U.S. Dept. of Energy News Release:
City of Houston Joins Better Buildings Challenge, Partners with Energy Department to Reduce Energy Waste and Boost Efficiency
January 26, 2012
Washington, D.C. — Building on President Obama’s call in the State of the Union address earlier this week for a new era for American energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu joined with Houston Mayor Annise Parker today to announce that Houston, Texas is joining the Better Buildings Challenge. Houston is the latest community to join the Challenge, a public-private partnership that seeks to improve energy efficiency 20 percent by 2020 in commercial, government, and school buildings across the country. As the newest Challenge community partner, the City of Houston is committing to improve energy efficiency across 30 million square feet of public and private buildings throughout the city.
“As President Obama made clear in this week’s State of the Union address, one of the easiest ways for businesses to save money and improve their competitiveness is to reduce energy waste in their buildings and factories,” said Secretary Chu. “Through the Better Buildings Challenge, the city of Houston is helping to boost manufacturing, create U.S. jobs, reduce pollution, and build an American economy that lasts.”
“I am committed to sustainability,” said Mayor Parker. “It’s not only helps our environment, it also saves taxpayer dollars. The city and its local corporate partners in the BBC have already taken numerous steps to make buildings and other facilities more energy efficient and more efficiencies will follow. We are leading by example.”
Through its participation in the Better Buildings Challenge, the City of Houston works with local partners to implement initiatives that reduce emissions, protect air quality and save taxpayers money. The city becomes the most recent community partner to join the Challenge since President Obama announced last month nearly $4 billion in combined federal and private sector funding for building energy upgrades over the next two years. To date, more than 60 companies, cities, universities, hospitals, and other partners throughout the U.S. have committed to upgrading more than 1.6 billion square feet of building space nationwide.
About the Better Buildings Challenge
The Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative that calls on corporate chief executive officers, university presidents and state and local leaders to make a significant commitment to energy efficiency. These leaders are recognized for the innovative work they are doing, the results they are achieving and the leadership role they provide for other organizations to follow. The goal of the Better Buildings Challenge is to create jobs, eliminate waste, and save money by making the nation’s commercial and industrial buildings 20 percent more efficient by 2020. The Challenge is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
“As President Obama made clear in this week’s State of the Union address, one of the easiest ways for businesses to save money and improve their competitiveness is to reduce energy waste in their buildings and factories,” said Secretary Chu. “Through the Better Buildings Challenge, the city of Houston is helping to boost manufacturing, create U.S. jobs, reduce pollution, and build an American economy that lasts.”
“I am committed to sustainability,” said Mayor Parker. “It’s not only helps our environment, it also saves taxpayer dollars. The city and its local corporate partners in the BBC have already taken numerous steps to make buildings and other facilities more energy efficient and more efficiencies will follow. We are leading by example.”
Through its participation in the Better Buildings Challenge, the City of Houston works with local partners to implement initiatives that reduce emissions, protect air quality and save taxpayers money. The city becomes the most recent community partner to join the Challenge since President Obama announced last month nearly $4 billion in combined federal and private sector funding for building energy upgrades over the next two years. To date, more than 60 companies, cities, universities, hospitals, and other partners throughout the U.S. have committed to upgrading more than 1.6 billion square feet of building space nationwide.
About the Better Buildings Challenge
The Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative that calls on corporate chief executive officers, university presidents and state and local leaders to make a significant commitment to energy efficiency. These leaders are recognized for the innovative work they are doing, the results they are achieving and the leadership role they provide for other organizations to follow. The goal of the Better Buildings Challenge is to create jobs, eliminate waste, and save money by making the nation’s commercial and industrial buildings 20 percent more efficient by 2020. The Challenge is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
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