Monthly Archives: February 2021

An Improved Way to Recycle Silicon in Solar Panels

Solar panels to generate electricity or hot water is increasing in popularity. It is now becoming economically viable as the cost to make solar panels have dropped in recent years, incentive programs are reducing projects’ costs, and concern over and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are growing again. However, one concern that may hurt the solar panel industry is a potential future shortage of silicon and the resulting high cost in the future.

One future source of solar for the increasing market for panels is old panels themselves. Solar panels tend to undergo a reduction in their efficiency in producing electricity over time, making it economically feasible at a certain point (usually 25 to 30 years) to take down operating panels and replace them with new, more modern, and efficient ones. However, silicon waste management is a controversial issue. Can silicon be retrieved from old, degraded panels and recycled and re-used again to replenish the supply and control costs?

Scientists at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow have developed a methodology to convert silicon into silicon oxide nanoparticles, which can then more easily be recycled and avoiding significant waste. Their findings were published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

Bulk silicon from used panels is converted into nanoparticles using hydrothermal synthesis in an aqueous (ammonia) environment in a relatively simple, controllable, and inexpensive process. Temperature and hydrolysis time to form the nanoparticles are the key parameters of the method.

This research, which the researchers believe can be operational by the end of this decade, allows the elimination of a controversial waste management of silicon by developing an environmentally safe recycling of silicon and creating silicon oxide nanoparticles which can be used to create new, effective solar panels or other uses.

CCES has the experts to help you assess whether renewable power is cost-effective and a plus for your company and project manage the implementation of whatever strategy you choose to ensure you get good workmanship and the full energy benefits of the technology. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

New Commercial Designs In Response To COVID-19

Of course, we all know that “necessity is the mother of invention.” COVID-19 has certainly caused a need for new or redeveloped commercial space that reduces the transmission and health risks of COVID-19 and potential future viruses and bacteria. In addition, with the realization during the pandemic that people can work as effectively remotely, commercial building owners must be able to demonstrate why a centralized office setting is still critical for growth. Therefore, several New York City developers are currently addressing these issues with newly constructed or redeveloped spaces or buildings soon to hit the market.

One example is combining buildings to give tenants more space to spread staff out to allow social distancing. This example will also invest in enlarging elevator banks and elevators, as that is seen as a bottleneck in terms of office employees getting to their desks. Traditionally-sized elevators can be ideal for virus/bacteria transmission, so larger ones are needed. Additional changes being implemented include larger stairwells, individual washrooms, and outdoor terraces.

Another example is the renovation of an old retail store to an office complex that will host a school to train young people in the high-tech skills of the tenants elsewhere in the building. Staff can assist in training without leaving the building. Entering this building will be a touchless experience with personal phone apps signaling the elevators needed to get to the right location.

Another item that developers are considering and instituting is additional bicycle parking and showers, anticipating the biking trend will continue after the return to “normal”.

Another item being instituted is the return to something seen in old buildings and that is every floor having and operating its own heating and air conditioning system so that no air is circulated with other floors to temper spread of viruses. The trend of the last few decades of centralized air circulation may be ending. Each tenant is free to add MERV filters or a bipolar ionization system if they wish.

Another potential trend is the “groundscaper”, a low-to-the-ground building that stretches an entire block to minimize time in elevators and spread staff out on the same floor for easier communication.

CCES is not an architectural firm or construction contractor, but we have the experts to help your firm assess the climate change and sustainability factors and optimize them for your benefit, including reducing your carbon footprint and improving worker satisfaction and productivity. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Follow The Money To Reach Climate Change Goals

2021 ushers in a new Administration in the US, whose leader declared on his first day in office the importance of Climate Change and that the US will quickly re-enter the Paris Accords and attempt to be a leader in the movement. Perhaps an even stronger movement for addressing Climate Change has happened gradually over the last couple of years, the movement of major corporations and money managers to understand the business risks of Climate Change and the need to address the issue. Laurence Fink, the head of the major global money management firm, BlackRock, which manages about $9 trillion, wrote letters to the world’s C.E.O.s with the urgent message that Climate Change will be “a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects.” And “We are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

The letter had a quick impact, as a number of major firms developed and communicated strong Climate Change goals within months, such as Microsoft becoming carbon negative by 2030 and Delta Air Lines, impacted greatly like the whole airline industry by the pandemic, announcing its goal to be carbon neutral in 10 years even though they believe this to be a $1 billion effort.

The COVID-19 pandemic could have been an excuse to ignore these warnings about Climate Change and encouragement to be sustainable, but instead investment in companies perceived to be “green” or will help others be more sustainable grew, such as sustainability-oriented mutual funds. This is making “green” investing more profitable.

Mr. Fink went further, requesting companies develop specific plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions greatly and be more sustainable, hinting that BlackRock may shift investment monies or even request changes in leadership of companies that are not sufficiently engaged in the process.

BlackRock is looking to develop a metric for public equity and bond funds to evaluate their companies and whether they have feasible, explicit Climate Change goals and the degree funds invest their money in “green” or in fossil fuel enterprises. For example, a number of large pension funds have, in recent months, divested billions of dollars from fossil fuel-oriented assets.

Mr. Fink’s letters have encouraged companies to plan for and work toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While achieving net-zero is terrific, this cannot be achieved without purchasing carbon offsets, investing in greenhouse gas emission reductions elsewhere. Unfortunately, the carbon market system is currently sketchy with few reliable auditing programs to confirm whether the reduction was really achieved and will continue in the future. This needs to be addressed.

The BlackRock letters have been criticized as showcase marketing, a shield against future actions, and hypocritical (BlackRock still invests tens of billions of dollars in coal-related companies). However, they certainly have and will have the impact of changing the topic of conversation in major corporations to seriously discuss their sustainability and Climate Change programs with serious planning and execution. Certainly if “big money” joins the movement to be more sustainable and properly address Climate Change, this will have a major positive impact on the movement worldwide.

CCES has the experts to help your company assess its greenhouse gas emissions and develop strategies to not only lower your your “carbon footprint” economically, but incorporate other sustainability operations to further save costs, improve efficiency, and benefit the planet. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Air Pollution Recorded as Cause of Death in UK

The World Health Organization has estimated that 7 million people per year suffer a premature death due to some physical malady related to air pollution, such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Yet many are unmoved because the number is so large and does not have faces and names associated with it.

In December, a coroner in London ruled that a specific person’s death was directly linked to air pollution and had that written in the death certificate. A 9-year-old girl who suffered a fatal asthma attack became the first person in Great Britain to officially have air pollution listed as a cause of death.

This landmark ruling puts a face and a name on the problem of toxic air pollution which leads to the large global death toll. It is hoped that such associations will lead the public to demand more regulation and resources be put into reduction of air toxic emissions and to be able to monitor progress based on different strategies.

The girl, Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, lived near a major road in London and died in February 2013. She suffered numerous asthmatic seizures and had been taken to the hospital nearly 30 times in less than 3 years. Her mother, unaware of the link between air pollution and asthma, said that if she had known, the family would have moved.

In the ruling, London’s assistant coroner said that air pollution from heavy traffic near her home had significantly exacerbated Ella’s asthma, adding that monitors indicated she had been exposed to levels of NOx and particulates greater than WHO guidelines.

Numerous public health studies demonstrate that polluted air, whether caused by cars and trucks, power plants, or industrial sources, affects billions of people across the world. Studies of recent severe wildfires in California show health effects of air pollution exposure: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/26/climate/california-smoke-children-health.html. Other studies show potential development delays of children.

Legal and health experts hailed Wednesday’s ruling as a landmark because it directly linked air pollution to a specific death for the first time ever. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has made air pollution reduction a major goal. In October, his office stated that the number of Londoners living in areas exceeding the legal limit for NOx had fallen over 94% from 2016 to 2019. He stated that Ella’s death engendered a lot of knowledge and support to reduce urban air toxic emissions.

In addition, this could open a new door to lawsuits by pollution victims or their families.

CCES can help your company assess your toxic air pollution rates and – from a technical point of view – whether you comply with local, applicable air pollution rules. CCES experts can recommend cost-effective strategies to reduce emissions to potentially comply and reduce impacts on your workers and the neighboring community. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.