Powin Energy hones in on battery technology

The renewable energy-focused unit also took credit for securing revenues for a sister subsidiary — Quality Bending and Fabrication — of about $259,000.

Company officials said 79 percent of the Powin Energy's total revenues for 2011 were earned in the fourth quarter.

The uptick in sales, which appears to be carrying over into the first quarter, officials say, comes from an emphasis on energy storage as Powin Energy narrows its focus to its battery products.

The company still manufactures fluorescent lighting and wind energy components but has recently honed in on its line of lithium-ion batteries and aggressively marketed the scalable technology.

Powin Energy has not posted a profit yet, and has been a drag on parent company Powin Corp., which manufactures a range of products from gun safes to fitness equipment. But Powin Energy officials say its backing by the 20-year-old global manufacturer and access to Powin Corp. production facilities on three continents is giving the subsidiary an ability to move quickly into energy storage.

Leveraging a partnership with Shandong RealForce Enterprises Co. Ltd, which supplies battery cells, Powin Energy has marketed the technology paired with its own software.

The units range from a 2-kilowatt-hour capacity battery to full utility-scale storage and Powin Energy's software provides an interface to control the battery systems via the web. The systems are targeted for use in the electric vehicle sector, in solar and wind energy storage, in energy storage for telecommunications and in power stations.

"There is an opportunity now in the energy storage business to be a leader," said Mike Morse, vice president of operations for Powin Energy. "The window is now and we are trying to market ourselves as one of the industry leaders in scalable energy storage."

Morse said the company will make a strong showing in the first quarter of 2012 with an announcement of its first major energy storage project pending.

"We are close to signing an agreement to provide energy storage solutions to a major university research department" in Australia, he said.

Powin Energy is also scheduled to receive grant money in February to produce five batteries for buses for a consultant to a major transit provider in the United States, a project that is generating interest from other transit providers.

"We think that the transit industry is really going to be a good market for us," said Morse. "We think once there is success with this first one, the others that are waiting will be a pretty good windfall."

The 2011 revenues celebrated at Powin did not reach the 10 percent projections officials estimated Powin Energy could add to Powin Corp's annual revenue this year, or about $4.8 million. Powin Corp. reported a sharp drop in first-half profits last year as investments in Powin Energy and other new business drove expenses.

Sewer nightmare for Tyrone home-owners

They have discovered that the newly built homes they bought and paid for were never connected to a proper sewer system and never received building approval.

They have now been given 14 days by the local council to sort the matter out or face possible legal action.

The problem began after they purchased the houses.

The builder went bankrupt having just completed a dozen homes. It had been planned to build more than 100 houses and apartments.

What none of the home-owners realised at the time was that a proper sewer system had never been built.

The road to their homes is a no-man's land as it hasn't been finished, with manhole covers sticking far above the surface.

They have no street lighting and the water supply for some homes comes from a neighbour's outside tap.

When the builder went bust, the residents were left with no-one to seek legal redress from. To sort the problem out they also need access to land that is now in the hands of a receiver.

Francie Molloy, Sinn Fein assembly member for the area, said the residents simply could not afford to solve the problem.

"A sewer system and a treatment works are required. It needs a pumping station that costs a lot of money and it's in the ground of the receiver, so it's not actually on the residents' property.

"So they can do absolutely nothing as far as that goes. But the problem is that as the sewerage builds up, it backs up towards their houses and it could create a massive problem for them."

At this stage the residents can't see a way forward. For Joe O'Neill and his family, this was their first home.

"For your first house you have an ideal image of what it would be like, that everything would be OK. Obviously it's not and it's been a nightmare," Mr O'Neill said.

"Who does the buck stop with and who is going to solve this problem? That is the big question."

Custom kitchen designer Gail Drury, CMKBD, answered that question with an emphatic yes. Winning first place in the large kitchenand large bath categories, two very different design visions come together to compliment this Burr Ridge, Illinois home's architecture.

White cabinets surround a walnut-stained island, balancing simple lines with rich details. An intricate tile design incorporates a mix of stainless steel tiles, marble tiles and metal liner strips for a stunning result.

Challenged to fit a myriad of appliances and upgrade storage while staying within the existing kitchen's footprint, intelligent design solutions define the space. A furniture-like island divides the kitchen space from the living area for a better traffic flow. A Lutron lighting system conceals all electrical outlets.

Creating a calming retreat with a luxurious, spa-type feeling was the main objective for the master bath design.

Bridgelux markets latest generation LED arrays

Bridgelux has announced the commercial availability of its latest generation of industry-leading LS, ES, and award-winning RS product families.

They deliver an increase in efficacy of up to 30% and a reduction of up to 30% in cost per lumen compared to previous product generations.

Featuring a large portfolio of LED arrays in the lighting industry, Bridgelux offers products for lighting applications ranging from the light output equivalent of a 20 W decorative lamp to that of a 300 W high intensity discharge (HID) city streetlight.

Bridgelux's latest generation of LED arrays offer optical and mechanical compatibility with previous product generations, allowing customers to easily incorporate all performance enhancements with a simple upgrade path, minimising design efforts.

What's more, these new arrays offer greater system design flexibility to achieve Energy Star, Title 24, Part L and other global energy efficiency standards. All Bridgelux arrays are configured to align with industry standard drive currents to simplify the electronic driver selection process for new lamp and luminaire product development, enabling accelerated time to market.

"Bridgelux's commitment to rapid technology innovation while maintaining the product design characteristics of their LED arrays dramatically reduces our development risk, and ensures an easy design-in process," said Jeff Spencer, director of product management - commercial for Juno Lighting Group by Schneider Electric.

"We are very excited to be using their latest generation of arrays in the new Indy Performance Series LED downlights that we are launching later this month. As LED technology continues to rapidly evolve, Bridgelux has been a terrific strategic partner because they understand that by providing platform stability with the LED array products we can easily adopt the latest technology improvements and rapidly pass these innovations on to our customers without significant product redesigns."

Bridgelux arrays are available in a broad range of colour temperatures ranging from 2700K to 5600K with 3 SDCM colour control options to enable clean and consistent lighting installations. Multiple colour rendering index (CRI) options are available, providing increased design flexibility for lamp and luminaire manufacturers.

Trends: Scentsicles bring freshly cut pine smells to artificial trees

Hollywood celebrities often wear extensions in their hair but have you ever heard of twig extensions for your Christmas tree?

Scentsicles are twigs with hooks that you can hang along side the limbs of your artificial Christmas tree.

In addition to making your tree look fuller, Scentsicles are scented ornaments that are infused with the pure fragrance of freshly-cut fir, pine and spruce.

"A lot of people who have artificial Christmas trees miss the smell of a freshly-cut evergreen," Lowes Home Improvement store manager Tom Ramold explained. "Scentsicles provide that fresh scent for up to 30 days."

Scentsicles, available at Lowes among other retailers, are made of natural fibers from sustainable resource. This makes them safe for your pets as well as for your kids.

According to Ramold, Scentsicles -- available since 2010 -- are just one of the ways to bring the smells of Christmas into your home.

"There are so many more scented candles, wickless candles or room fresheners on the market that there's no excuse why your house shouldn't be filled with the aromas of Christmas," he said.

Ramold can fill your home with aroma but Christmas is also about spectacle.

"Christmas is one of the few times of the year where you're allowed to go big with the decorations," he explained, pointing to a large assortment of Santa and snowman inflatables, huge banks of LED lights and even a contraption called Mr. Christmas.

"Mr. Christmas allows you to synchronize your light patterns and  inflatables to the sounds of holiday music," Ramold said while adjusting the volume of songs from a shoebox-sized control panel. "These are great to have for holiday parties."

As he walk through Lowes' department of Christmas decorations, Ramold said he anticipates a solid sales season.

"I think the Missouri River floodings in the summer may actually help us out," he said. "There were quite a few people who lost cherished Christmas decorations after evacuating their homes. Now, there looking for replacements."

Additionally, Ramold said more people are staying home and looking for ways to add a dramatic impact at a low cost.

"You really don't have to spend an arm and a leg getting your home ready for Christmas," he allowed.

This is certainly true of the Scentsicles, which come in boxes of six and retail for less than $10.

"Scentsicles are a great way to infuse your home with a seasonal smell." Ramold said, hanging a few of the twigs in back of an artificial tree. "It's often the little things that make a big impression."

Details of $211,000 improvements at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids

An overhaul of downtown's bustling Rosa Parks Circle is expected to make the urban park less maintenance-intensive while preserving the look world-renowned artist Maya Lin intended when she designed it.

Crews contracted by Twin Lakes Nursery have spent the past few weeks removing the loose, gray gravel that made up paths within the park and replacing it with a similar-looking porous concrete material that will result in less dust and gravel migrating around the park and less maintenance to keep the paths groomed.

The new paths are part of a $211,000 renovation that also includes electrical improvements, new lighting posts and replacement of some damaged seatwalls. The work is being paid for out of an endowment fund set up when the park was renovated.

The improvements are slated to be completed in time for ice-skating season to begin along with the Dec. 2 lighting of the Christmas tree outside the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

For the holidays, thousands of LED lights are being hung on trees inside the park and at the nearby Louis Campau Promenade. The city's Downtown Development Authority recently agreed to pay Bazen Electric up to $22,262 for the purchase and installation of the lights, which have a "snowfall effect."

The lights are expected to last several years with future installations handled by the city's parks department.

Installation of the lights and modifications of the materials used on the park's paths required approval of Lin. Her design of the park, titled "Eclipic," was completed in 2001.

Celebrate Sunshine Coast Council's program of fun, family-friendly festive season activities and events.

Council starts the festive season by progressively flicking on the switches of 29 community Christmas trees as part of the annual Christmas Tree Trail.

The idea of the trail began more than two years ago when council began talking with communities across the region about how they celebrate Christmas and what they would like to see happen in their region to make this a special time of year in the future. Resoundingly, the answer was that locals wanted more lights and a signature tree of their own in a place where all could enjoy it.   

The festive tree in Pomona is a ficus fig tree.

The decorations installed include custom designed multicolour lit balls and small lit green spirals. The tree is crowned by a large lit white star at its peak and all the decorations have been designed and assembled in Queensland.

Environmentally friendly Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting features across all of the trees this year, keeping with council's vision for the Sunshine Coast to be Australia's most sustainable region - vibrant, green and diverse.

Council is using the latest in technology to enable residents to view the history of each community tree simply by using smart phone scan codes at each site.

The community also has the opportunity to find out about community festive season celebrations in their area and how they can join in, simply by clicking on the various trees online at council's website.

Progress Energy Florida 2012 Prices will Increase Three Percent

Today, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Progress Energy Florida's 2012 fuel costs - the final element of the total 2012 price.

The overall price for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month will be $123.19 beginning with January 2012 billing.  This change comes after two years of bill reductions and represents a 3 percent increase compared to $119.34 per 1,000 kWh per month currently charged.

The average commercial customer bill will increase 3 to 4 percent, and the average industrial customer bill will increase 4 to 5 percent.  New prices will take effect with the first billing cycle in January 2012.

"The 2012 price reflects our prior decision to reduce short-term spending on the proposed Levy County nuclear project and is offset by an increase in fuel costs due to the unavailability of the Crystal River Nuclear Plant," said Vincent Dolan, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida.  "We remain committed to return the Crystal River Nuclear Plant to service, as it is our lowest-cost generation unit and provides carbon-free electricity to the more than 1.6 million families and businesses that depend on us."

Previously, the PSC approved a nearly 50 percent reduction to the new nuclear generation charge, a slight reduction to the energy conservation charge and a modest increase to the environmental compliance charges.

The company's environmental compliance charges recover the costs of environmental investments required by state and federal law.  Environmental improvements at our two largest coal-fired units, Crystal River 4 and 5, now allow the company to use lower-cost coal while reducing the plant's average annual emissions by 80 percent (nitrogen oxides by approximately 93 percent and sulfur dioxide by approximately 97 percent).

The largest portion of the 3 percent increase is the fuel charge, which recovers the actual cost of fuel, mainly natural gas and coal, used to generate electricity.  Due to the extended outage at the company's Crystal River Nuclear Plant, Progress Energy Florida is using more natural gas, which is the lowest-possible-cost resource next to nuclear, to meet customer needs. 

In 2012, residential customers will pay about 6 cents more per 1,000-kWh for fuel due to the extended outage.  The company makes no profit from the fuel portion of the customer bill.  Progress Energy also received an increase to its purchased power charge in order to lock agreements for more natural gas-fired purchased power at today's very low natural gas prices.  Utilities routinely purchase power to ensure customers' energy needs are met in the most cost-effective manner possible.

The base rate portion of the customer bill will remain stable through 2012 following a 2010 agreement Progress Energy pursued with consumer advocate groups, the Florida Attorney General and the Office of Public Counsel.

Progress Energy encourages customers to learn all they can about using energy wisely – to save energy and money.  Customers can save up to 20 percent on their energy costs by making changes at home.  Adjusting the thermostat two or three degrees warmer in summer and cooler in winter, turning off computers, monitors and game systems when not in use, regularly changing air filters, replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact-fluorescent bulbs, and sealing windows and doors can result in significant savings.