Green Power

Profiled in last week's small business report in Crain's, Ardour Capital is a five-year-old investment bank that focuses exclusively on renewable energy and sustainable technology. Notwithstanding the persisting gloom on Wall Street (more on that in the context of green later this week), the firm expects revenues this year to top $10 million and double by 2009, up from $3.9 million in 2006. According to managing partner and co-founder Brian Greenstein, "[t]here's a recognition that this sector is going to be one of the ones that grow." Ardour's 25 staffers review companies across the green power sector and then distill the technologies down for potential investors. Since opening its doors, Ardour has helped raised over $1 billion for 30 companies; earlier this year, it worked with California-based eco-friendly printer Colorep, Inc. in securing a $24 million private investment.

• Ardour Capital
• Colorep, Inc.

Calling itself in the "small wind" business as opposed to large-scale, utility-grade wind farms, Chautauqua Wind Energy plans to move into the fledgling market for smaller scale, residential wind turbines beginning this fall. Based in Chautauqua County, New York, the green energy company will focus on installing and servicing 5 to 10 kilowatt wind turbines. The company will act as a dealer and carry turbines from different manufacturers, including Bergey, Windterra, and Helix Wind. Chautauqua will also act as a consultant to determine the optimal installation for each of its customers.

As part of Major League Baseball’s efforts to green this year’s All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium (which the American League won last night in 15 innings), the red carpet that covered 95,000 square feet of Sixth Avenue yesterday from 40th through 58th Streets during the All-Star Red Carpet Parade was manufactured by Bentley Prince Street from 100 percent recycled fiber content. Bentley, whose California manufacturing facility holds a LEED-EB rating from USGBC, used 100 percent renewable electricity to manufacture the carpet through its on-site solar array, coupled with the purchase of Green-e-certified RECs. According to Bentley, its carpet manufacturing process avoids the use of 300 pounds of petroleum-based fiber and 162,000 gallons of water. The company also bought 480,000 pounds of verified carbon emissions reduction credits from aggregators that include Native Energy, Blue Source, and 3 Degrees. Bentley will now recycle all 45,000 pounds of the carpet in connection with its ReEntry 2.0 reclamation program.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard's Perry Building will be home to art restoration firm SurroundArt once it opens up this summer. Interiors for the 89,000-square-foot space, which is aiming for a LEED Silver under USGBC's Core and Shell program, were designed by Steven Kratchman Architect, while the exterior of the building is being executed by Stantec. (Check out our previous posts on the Perry Building for more details on both the project and SurroundArt.) Last week, though, Stantec announced some details on the project's renewable energy features, which will include a photovoltaic and wind power pilot program. The firm is partnering with National Grid Energy Services in order to install a number of solar panels and wind turbines on the Perry Building's roof. The system will- at least initially- serve just the Perry Building and be tied to its main electrical equipment.