The Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Damien English, T.D., has called on the construction industry to be prepared for the revised building regulations that apply to all new dwellings commencing construction from 1st November 2019 subject to transitional arrangements. The new regulations aim to make all new residential dwellings 70% more energy efficient and emit 70% less carbon dioxide than the performance requirements in 2005.
NZEB goals assisting the rise of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics
While building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has been commercially available for use since the 1990s, we are finally seeing them playing a larger role in the construction business. Evolving regulations in leading jurisdictions like California and Germany are driving the BIPV. Incorporating solar generation in commercial building materials may finally become a mainstream practice, with both solar windows and solar panels used to create net-zero buildings.
Carbon capture and storage to be key in achieving net-zero carbon goals
Almost all our remaining carbon budget as defined by the Paris Agreement will be depleted by emissions from current, under construction and operational infrastructure. It doesn’t take into account – new industrial & power infrastructure and growing urbanization and population. Hence, while continuing to build out clean and renewable sources of energy at even greater speed, the commercialization of clean energy technologies, particularly carbon capture and storage (CCS), will be key to significantly and quickly reduce emissions from hard-to-abate industrial sectors and power plants.
Low embodied carbon alternatives for building materials
A building’s overall embodied carbon is inextricably linked to the composition of the products from which it is built. Manufacturing of materials like steel, concrete, aluminum, and glass for use in building construction accounts for 11% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The following products feature admirably carbon smart formulations that are largely available in the market today.
Respirer Living Sciences helping in understanding the air you breathe
Respirer Living Sciences, a startup founded in Mumbai, has built a real-time IoT-based air quality monitoring device that can measure particulate matter, temperature, and humidity. Monitoring the air quality helps in identifying the trouble spots and assists in identifying the correct measures to be taken to rectify it.
Tesla is focusing on solar and energy storage
With the ramp up in the production of Model 3 resulting in Tesla posting quarterly profits again, Elon Musk hinted at ramping up the solar and energy storage business of Tesla. He has claimed that Tesla Energy will be a huge part of Tesla’s activity in the future.
Circulytics – the new digital tool that all companies need
Circulytics is a digital measuring tool which gives companies a fully comprehensive picture of their circularity across all operations. At a time when companies around the globe are adopting the circular economy as an opportunity to create thriving businesses that meet the challenges of global issues such as climate change and pollution, Circulytics provides quick understanding for those actively moving away from the current ‘take, make, waste’ linear economy.
Amazon making the right moves to fight climate change
Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. It is now committing to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030 on its path to net zero carbon by 2040. Also, Amazon is launching the Right Now Climate Fund, committing $100 million to restore and protect forests, wetlands, and peatlands around the world in partnership with The Nature Conservancy.
Nexity announces its first Green Bond
Nexity, a French company that focuses on real estate development and the provision of related services, announced the issuance of its first green bond worth €240 million to qualified investors. This Green Bond fits within the Group’s CSR policy, the fight against global warming and the contribution to the transition to a low-carbon economy, in line with Nexity’s ambitious target of a 30% reduction in tonnes of CO2 eq. per home delivered by 2030.
There’s a net-zero energy building in every climatic zone today!
The World Economic Forum notes that net-zero energy buildings are quickly becoming mainstream, with NZEBs already operational in each climate zone found in the world! So, while University of Hawaii’s Maui College demonstrates NZE strategies in a tropical setting, Norway’s Powerhouse Brattorkaia shows the way forward for achieving NZE in continental climates. These model NZEBs are only growing, with a study reporting 950 organizations across 20 countries that are planning on building atleast one NZEB in this decade.
Net zero energy community in Pontardawe
Neath Port Talbot council approved Sero Homes to provide ecological support for their proposal to build 35 Zero carbon homes at Parc Hadau, Pontardawe. The two-, three- and four-bedroom homes will be equipped with solar panels and energy-storing batteries, ground-source heat pumps and innovative ventilation systems.
Amazon India Introducing Electric Delivery Rickshaws
Amazon India is launching a new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws in India. This year itself, Amazon India will operate its electric vehicle delivery fleet in in over 20 cities in the country, including major cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Nagpur, and Pune. They have announced that there will be 10,000 such EVs in India by 2025. The move comes as part of the company’s global Climate Pledge, as announced in September 2019.
