Durham Named Top 10 Best Place to Live

U.S. News & World Report magazine named Durham one of this year's best places to live. The editors reviewed more than 2,000 locations nationwide, considering such factors as sales taxes, housing prices, average number of children per square mile, proximity to healthcare, and the availability of educational institutions.

Among the winners are (listed alphabetically): Albuquerque, NM; Auburn, AL; Austin, TX; Boise, ID; Durham, NC; La Crosse, WI; Loveland, CO; San Luis Obispo, CA; St. Augustine, FL; Upper St. Clair, PA.

If you need help finding a home in Durham, or anywhere in the Triangle for that matter, please contact me to get started.

Smart Grids Becoming Reality in NC

On March 9th, Duke Energy received approval from the NC Utilities Commision for a pilot project to establish a miniature “smart grid” involving 200 customers in south Charlotte. The initiative will combine 50 kilowatts of solar capacity, smart meters and storage batteries to determine how to use new technology in the most efficient and effective ways to save energy and improve service reliability. Participating customers will receive incentives of up to $10 on each monthly bill, in addition to any energy savings the program produces.

This week, Duke Energy announced it will be working with Cisco Systems to bring smart grid technology to its 11 million customers. The two companies have entered into a three-year partnership that will feature two-way digital communication to increase efficiency and use less energy. The companies are comparing their effort to an "energy internet" that will replace the current analog electric grid with advanced digital technology. The improvements will be added to the electric grid as well as to individual homes in five states.

To learn more about smart grids, check out GE's ecomagination Plug into the Smart Grid or Wikipedia.

Chapel Hill Joins Cree LED City® Program

Chapel Hill recently became one of the newest cities to join Cree's LED City® initiative, an international program to promote and deploy energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lighting.

The town has installed LED streetlights along the high-profile 100 block of Franklin Street. More specifically, ten high-pressure sodium streetlights have been replaced to evaluate the extension of LED street lighting. LED street lighting can reduce energy consumption by 50 percent or more. The town is soliciting feedback from residents about the quality of the lighting during the course of the 12-month pilot program.

Using LEDs for energy-efficient lighting is just one of the many steps Chapel Hill is taking in order to become a more environmentally-friendly community. The town has set an aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent below 2005 levels, by 2050. To support this objective, Chapel Hill is acting on a comprehensive plan that includes policies to promote compact, mixed-use development; alternative transportation; greenway developments and environmental protection. Since Chapel Hill Transit became fare free in 2001, it has become the second largest transit system in the state. This year it will respond to increased ridership with the addition of 11 new hybrid electric buses, part of a plan to green the municipal fleets. Other sustainable practices establish that all new town-owned facilities be built using sustainable practices as set by the LEED Silver certification program.

Chapel Hill joins a diverse community of progressive LED Cities that are evaluating and deploying LED lighting, including: Raleigh, NC; Ann Arbor, MI; Anchorage, AK; Austin, TX; Indian Wells, CA; Welland, Ontario; Tianjin, China; and Toronto.

To learn more about CREE's LED City program, visit http://www.ledcity.org/.

Governor Perdue Visits SAS Solar Farm

On Thursday, Gov. Perdue toured the SAS Solar Farm in Cary, which was completed last December. The farm's 5,040 solar panels, which swivel to track the sun across the sky, generate 1 megawatt of electric power at peak and is projected to produce 1.7 million KWH per year and eliminate 1,600 tons of carbon emissions annually.

The solar field occupies 4.8 acres of land, which also serves as a pasture for Dorper Sheep; they are shorter than other breeds and therefore able to graze beneath the panels. You can see them in the background of the photo below.

Gov. Perdue also took this opportunity to announce reforms to strengthen NC's green economy. According to a press release by her office, her energy plan refocuses state energy policymaking, makes strategic investments in North Carolina’s green economy and increases green-collar workforce development. More specifically, the governor said she plans to use about $35 million in federal stimulus funds to improve work force training in higher education, boost grants and create loans for small businesses in emerging green energy fields. Funds will also be used to improve energy efficiency in businesses, homes and other buildings.

Duke Energy Acquires its First Wind Farm in Eastern U.S.

Duke Energy took another step in expanding its renewable energy portfolio with the announcement that it is acquiring a 70-megawatt wind power project in Pennsylvania – the company's first in the eastern U.S.

Duke Energy has more than 500 MW of wind-powered generation in operation – a figure that will rise to more than 700 MW by the end of 2009. The company has an additional 5,000 MW in potential wind energy development projects. To read the complete press release, visit Duke Energy online.

DSIRE Launches New Solar Website

DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the NC Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The new DSIRE SOLAR site still has all the features of the DSIRE site, including the interactive map, but now displays solar incentives only. Users can specify whether they want PV or solar thermal (or both) incentives when using the state-by-state map.

4th Annual Green Home Tour Starts Tomorrow!

The 4th Annual Green Home Tour will be held on April 25 & 26 and May 2 & 3. This free, self-guided tour will include 36 green homes in Wake, Chatham, Durham, Orange, Granville, and Alamance Counties.

All homes are enrolled in the green-building certification program administered by the Green Home Builders of the Triangle. Each entry is required to achieve sufficient goals in all of the green building program areas and must conform to at least the bronze level of green certification.

You can pick up a free tour book at a number of local outlets during the week before the tour. Otherwise, visit www.TriangleGreenHomeTour.com for more detailed information.