sean's blog

Stephen Del Percio at the Green Real Estate Law Journal wrote an interesting article about environmental objective clauses in leasing agreements. I know what many of you are pondering.  What exactly is an "environmental objective clause?"  Environmental objective clauses are clauses that require both landlord and tenant to operate the demised premises pursuant to a set of very general, aspirational green building objectives.  In essence, these are obligations that both a landlord and new tenant voluntarily become subject to in an effort to aid the environment.

The obligations contained within these new type of agreements cover such areas as (i) direct and indirect energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; (ii) water consumption; (iii) the amount of material entering the waste stream; (iv) negative impacts upon the indoor air quality of the Building and the Premises. 

The problem that Mr. Del Percio finds with these agreement is that the vague nature of the language leaves landlords open to possible unexpected liability.  What exactly is excessive water consumption?  If this is not clearly outlined that the tenant may have a suit against a landlord because of using too much water on landscaping.  Or what is an excessive amount of material entering the waste stream?  Will this also cover other tenant lodgings on the same property?

I have to agree that the general nature of these clauses could be a problem, but is not insurmountable.  For example, how many contracts include definitions?  Nearly all.  So, why can't an inclusion of definitions work in this case?  It can.  Also, landlords can use limitation of liability clauses to prevent being overexposed for any litigation from tenants.  This seems to remedy the problems and allow for the continued use of environmental objective clauses.

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For the past thirty-seven years, a non-profit organization sought to bring sustainable gardening to the San Francisco Bay Area one sale, one class, one gardener at a time. This non-profit is Common Ground, a loved pillar in the green community of Palo Alto, CA. Common Ground is actually an offshoot of another non-profit organization, Ecology Action. Ecology Action was founded in 1972 to research and develop a high-yielding, sustainable agricultural system that emphasizes local food production and is based historically on intensive gardening systems. The system is called GROW BIOINTENSIVE. Ecology Action needed to promote this "new" system of agriculture and chose to use education and training as the avenue. Common Ground sprung forth as a store-front dedicated to providing all the needed materials for the GROW BIOINTENSIVE system and train individuals in sustainable gardening and land use processes.

Today, Common Ground is run by center director, Patricia Becker. This enthusiastic woman manages the actual store, coordinates classes, edits a newsletter, and runs a demonstration garden at the same time. Not a small list of things to do.

I visited the storefront last weekend and was impressed by what I found. The actual storefront itself is small but clean. Everything is there for the novice gardener or the experienced horticulturist. Tools, seeds, soil amends, plants, and so much more may be found there. All of the profit goes simply in sustaining Common Ground and their demonstration garden. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful to all that walk in. Do not worry if you do not know anything about gardening or if that green thumb actually seems to be black. Just step right in and ask any of their helpful staff, such as Don Lawson, for some great quick tips.

What if you need more than quick tips? Well, Common Ground has multiple levels of gardening education for you. First, Common Grounds has a small but complete selection of literature of gardening for sale. Most important in their library is How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine, the primer on sustainable Biointensive Mini-Farming by John Jeavons. Next, Common Ground has a multitude of classes at very reasonable rates. The classes range in topics from yoga for gardeners, growing biointesive composting, to rainwater harvesting. If you can think of the gardening topic it is most likely being taught in one of their two hour classes. The price is very reasonable at thirty dollars. Finally, if you still aren't sure about striking out on your own into the sustainable gardening model then Common Ground provides a number of business affiliates in the area who are familiar with sustainable gardening and the methods used at Common Ground.... read more

Last night I was given the opportunity to listen to Dr. Richard Swanson, President, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of SunPower Corporation, at an event held by the Common Wealth Club of Silicon Valley.  Dr. Swanson touched on a number of different topics ranging from the founding and success of SunPower as a global photovoltaic powerhouse to the future of the global solar industry.  Filled with memorable lines, the loosely structured talk gave great insight into the man and how SunPower Corporation is structuring itself for future challenges. 

In ways of introduction, Dr. Richard Swanson is the man who saw the future of photovoltaics when many didn't.  Originally obtaining a Ph.D. from Stanford University in electrical engineering and becoming a professor there, Dr. Swanson began to target his research to unlocking the potential energy of the sun.  It was from this research that the backside contact solar cell was invented.  A backside contact solar cell is simply a rear-contact design which eliminates front-side metalization and redundant wires, maximizes the working cell area and makes automated production easier.  This design creates a marked improvement in energy producing efficiency.  This new technology became the basis for Dr. Swanson founding SunPower Corporation in 1985. 

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Last week I had the opportunity to interview Dr. David Lee, Chief Executive Officer of BioSolar.  Dr. David Lee founded BioSolar in 2006 in an effort to make renewable materials for the packaging of photovoltaic cell converters.  Dr. Lee holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.  It was a wonderful interview that provides insight into the company's mission, research and commercialization. 

I am going to start off by asking about your previous work experience.  You have worked for Applied Reasoning Systems Corporation and RF-Link Technology, Inc.  Both of those did not have anything to do with solar industry.  One was an Internet software company and the other a wireless technology corporation.  What made you take the leap into solar technology?

Actually, it is not a long story.  I majored in electrical engineering for my bachelors, masters & Ph.D.  One of my hobby projects was solar technology, especially the material science side of it.  Even though I ended up getting a Ph.D in communications science, my interest level has always been there.  

My first job was at a defense contractor where we designed satellite communication systems for the U.S. government.  I was a systems engineer.  The job of the systems engineer is to oversee the entire project.  That involves many different disciplines, not just communication systems disciplines but also different sub-systems that constitute the entire project.  My background was much more broad than what most people think.

You mentioned my experience in RF Technology.  It was a wireless technology company that dealt with both terrestrial and wireless communication devices.  Applied Reasoning was a software development company.  It also had a lot of space technology related implications in its application. 

I did not simply start the idea of a solar company all of a sudden.  I always had the dream of making solar technology something we can all take advantage of. 

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A recent survey conducted by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association shows that Japan is turning increasingly to solar.  During the period of April to June 2009 Japan produced  83,260 kilowatts through solar power.  To put this record in context, this is an 82.5 percent increase of power produced by solar cells compared to the same quarter last year.

The Japanese family is the largest adopter of this new technology, with over 90 percent of the solar cells shipped during the quarter were for individual household use. This adds up to an increase of over 20,000 homes producing solar power compared to the same quarter last year.... read more