Anagha Speaks

In my explorations of San Francisco, I came across a very innovative architectural exhibition. This was organized by American Institute for Architects, SF Chapter. The idea of the exhibition was to commend six architectural not-for-profit organizations and their contributions to Social Architecture. These visionaries have shaped the urban landscape by designing affordable housing for the poorest San Franciscans (Asian Neighborhood Design); rebuilt Sri Lankan villages devastated by tsunamis (Architecture for Humanity); challenged our assumptions about the use of urban parking spaces (Rebar); plowed up urban sidewalks and created wildflower gardens (PlantSF); educated kids about careers in architecture (Architectural Foundation of San Francisco); and reshaped the possibilities of pro bono (voluntary without pay) service in the architecture profession (Public Architecture). The innovative designs were amazing to see. The most simple one that I liked and I feel made a difference in our eve...

San Fransisco, a leader in sustainable city development, commissioned a Solar Energy Project five years ago. The idea simply was a public-private partnership (PPP), where the private player (Recurrent Energy) would finance, construct, own, operate and maintain a solar PV plant on rooftops of public buildings. The public entity (SF City) would buy the energy generated, thereby producing a pool of green energy units available to the consumers. After 7 years or at 15 years, the City would buy the project at fair market value or $33 million, whichever is greater. The solar PV installations are designed to generate 5MW power, enough to power 1500 homes. The PPP initiative is amongst the various targets the city of SF has set for itself, which is to generate 50MW of Renewable Energy in the city by 2012. Currently, 7.24 MW of Solar Energy is being generated in SF, with city owned installations amounting to 2MW. The city generates 150MW hydro power, which is, of course, not a part of the renew...