News Updates for the Week of August 6

1.      U.S. Added 163K Jobs in July; Jobless Rate Rises - Promising rise in job gains after three months of disappointing results is offset by slight increase in the unemployment rate, from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent.  The broadest measures of the U.S. employment situation show continuing difficulties in the job market.  More people, for example, left the labor force, either retiring or giving up the search for work. Of those people remaining in the civilian labor force, a slightly larger portion are unable to find work - hence the uptick in the unemployment rate.  About 12.8 million people in the U.S. are unemployed.  8/3 Washington Post

2.      Recycling of LEDs - LEDs are environmentally friendly during their lifespan, but can be even more beneficial to the environment if recycled. Over 95% of an LED bulb is recyclable and there are waste management companies that will collect and recycle LEDs for a small fee.  As LEDs do not contain significant amounts of any harmful components, they are classed as RoHS compliant. RoHS stands for the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, which came into effect in the UK on 1^st July 2006. These restrictions prevent the sale of equipment containing harmful levels of mercury, lead, cadmium, PBB, PBDE and hexavalent chromium. Due to this compliance, LEDs can be disposed of and recycled in the same way as an ordinary light bulb. http://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=249

3.      Design and Fashion Will Drive LED Market - Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will soon dominate the lighting market. Few (if any) market watchers would disagree with that statement. In fact, analysts at A.T. Kearney predict that LEDs could capture as much as 90% of the lighting market by 2020. If energy efficiency does not drive the LED market, what will? “It will be the flexibility for lighting designers to light objects and space in a unique way,” Dorsheimer and Baribeau write. The paper, A Light Read, was published by Canaccord Genuity http://www.canaccordgenuity.com/  an institutional investment banking firm based in Boston. http://www.forbes.com

4.      DOE Considering Changes to LED Lighting Facts Program - The U.S. Department of Energy’s solid-state lighting group has been working on the further development of its LED Lighting Facts program, which created a standardized graphic that specifies certain performance characteristics of LED lighting products as a way to help consumers and designers understand how a particular product compares with more traditional lighting products. In an e-mail message sent today, the group said it is making some changes to the data available on the LED Lighting Facts label and has considered additional steps to require retesting of the products, but has decided to delay some of those new rules to find a way to avoid piling yet another costly testing requirement on solid-state lighting (SSL) manufacturers. The DOE also said the LED Lighting Facts program will be combined with its CALiPER program for testing SSL performance. http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/

5.      CFLs: A Buck a Bulb in South Dakota - A partnership between Xcel Energy, a South Dakota utility company and home improvement retailers will offer CFLs for as little as a dollar each. The program, announced on July 23, is designed to help residents save energy and money. Participating retailers include Nyberg’s Ace Hardware, Robson True Value, Home Depot, Menards and Tea Ace Hardware. Xcel Energy, which operates in eight states, also offers $10 off certain LED bulbs as part of the program. 7/26 HCN

6.      Cree Raises Industry Standard with New 170 Lumen-Per-Watt Prototype LED Light Bulb - Less than one year after showcasing the 152 lumens-per-watt concept LED bulb, Cree, Inc. delivers a new performance benchmark with the 170 lumens-per-watt (LPW) prototype LED light bulb. LED lighting at this level of performance is only made possible by advancements across all elements of the LED lighting system – lighting-class LEDs, optics, drivers and thermal management. LEDs based on Cree’s SC³ Technology Platform enable this industry-leading R&D lighting result. The SC³ Technology Platform is built upon Cree’s advanced silicon carbide technology and features advancements in the LED chip architecture and phosphor. http://www.cree.com/news-and-events/cree-news/press-releases/2012/july/170-lpw

7.      GE Lighting Introduces Fully Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Bulb - General Electric Lighting introduced a dimmable compact fluorescent bulb on Thursday that mimics the performance of old incandescent bulbs. The bulb, with a re-engineered ballast, can be dimmed smoothly to 5 percent of its full power and light, just as the old incandescent bulbs do. The CFL spiral is available in 14-watt and 26-watt versions, producing the light of 60-watt and 100-watt incandescent bulbs, respectively, and rated to last 10,000 hours. The bulb is also available as a dimmable reflector flood light in 15-watt and 26-watt versions, rated to last 8,000 hours. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/08/ge_lighting_introduces_fully_d.html

8.      DTE Energy to Expand Lighting Retrofit Special Incentive Program -  Due to strong demand for its limited-time incentive offer on fluorescent lighting retrofits, DTE Energy  has announced that it is expanding its program and extending the deadline to apply.In an effort to meet the demand of business owners investing in newer energy-efficient technology, DTE Energy is offering increased cash incentives on additional lighting measures through August 31, 2012. The incentive bonus is an element of DTE Energy's Energy Efficiency Program for Business, a program designed to help DTE Energy Commercial and Industrial customers improve the energy efficiency of their businesses. Originally introduced in May, the increased incentives are available for retrofitting T12 fluorescent lamps to higher efficiency T8 systems. www.dteenergy/saveenergy/ 8/2 PRNewswire via COMTEX

9.      PA DEP Offers Grants to Small Businesses to Reduce Energy Costs - Small-business owners in Pennsylvania working to prevent pollution and save money may now apply for a Small Business Advantage Grant through the Department of Environmental Protection. Businesses can apply for 50-percent matching funds of up to $9,500 to adopt or acquire energy-efficient or pollution-prevention equipment or procedures. The grant-supported project must be in a Pennsylvania facility owned by the applicant and must save the business at least 25 percent, plus $750 annually in energy or pollution-related expenses. Applicants may be manufacturers, retailers, service providers, mining operators or agricultural businesses. Eligible projects include HVAC and boiler upgrades, high-efficiency lighting, solvent recovery systems, waste recycling systems and auxiliary power units deployed as anti-idling technology for trucks. The application deadline is Sept. 26. Visit www.dep.state.pa.us and click on the "Small Business Advantage Grant" button.

10.  Japan Puts Green Growth at Heart of Economic Recovery Plan - The Japanese government has today confirmed it will put green growth at the center of plans to revive the country's flagging economy over the next eight years, after formally approving a new growth strategy. The document, which updates a previous growth plan approved in 2010, sets a goal of delivering three per cent a year nominal economic growth, equating to two per cent a year real growth through to 2020. In order to deliver on the new growth target, the government is promising an increased focus on fast-growth sectors, including renewable energy, green vehicles, farming and healthcare. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2195510/japan-puts-green-growth-at-heart-of-economic-recovery-plan

11.  NTL Electronics Announces One-Year Sales of 3 Million LED Retrofit Lamps in India - Typically replacing incandescent and compact-fluorescent lamps (CFLs), NTL Electronics India Ltd has revealed that it sold 3 million LED retrofit lamps between the beginning of July 2011 and the end of June 2012. NTL Electronics is a major Indian lighting vendor with the equivalent of more than $110 million in sales and that is pushing to expand its presence in the solid-state lighting (SSL) market. NTL Electronics put its recent performance in perspective by noting that Strategies Unlimited (a sister business within PennWell Corp. to LEDs Magazine) estimated the global sales of retrofit lamps in 2011 to be just under 40 million. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/9/7/23

12.  2nd Day of Power Failures Cripples Wide Swath of India - On Tuesday 7/31, India suffered the largest electrical blackout in history, affecting an area encompassing about 670 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the world’s population. Three of the country’s interconnected northern power grids collapsed for several hours, as blackouts extended almost 2,000 miles, from India’s eastern border with Myanmar to its western border with Pakistan. The failure of supply and distribution of power to keep up with India’s rapid economic growth as perhaps the most important reason for the power failure. India's power supply has been fully restored after a two-day blackout. 7/31 NY Times