Zak Kennedy's winning "Green Idea" and other entries are on display through May 16 at PiES, in South Main Square Business Center, 442 S. Main St.

Four projects by students from area high schools earned honors – and scholarships for their creators – at the first Green Idea Factory Competition April 14 at the Davidson-based Project for Innovation, Energy & Sustainability (PiES). Topping the list was a “solar composter” by W.A. Hough High School freshman Zachary Kennedy. Read the full story

A new high school competition that aims to promote a better understanding of sustainability is scheduled in Davidson this weekend as part of the 2012 North Carolina Science Festival. Teams from area schools will square off in the first Green Idea Factory Competition on Saturday, at The Business Center, in South Main Square. Read the full story

The charger at South Main Square will be free at first, then for a fee once prices are worked out. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Electric vehicles could become a viable option for motorists in the coming years, but not without a place to charge up. Add South Main Square to the list of places to plug in. Thanks to a federal stimulus grant awarded through the state of North Carolina, the South Main Street shopping center is getting one of the region’s first electric vehicle charging stations.
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Davidson’s “green” business incubator – the Project for Innovation, Energy and Sustainability – said it has added three more names to its roster of early-stage environmental and energy-related companies. The new companies are Energy River,  Eco-Revolution and Climate Control Systems of the Carolinas.

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Davidson’s Town Board meets Tuesday night, with an agenda that includes a public hearing and vote on a proposed change in use from commercial to residential at Davidson Commons East, off Griffith Street. The board also will hear updates on the MI-Connection cable system and PIES business incubator. And it will conduct public hearing and votes on an affordable housing ordinance amendment, and on the rules of procedure for the Design Review Board/ Historic Preservation Commission.

The board also plans a closed session to discuss “personnel matters.” The meeting begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 216 S. Main St. Here’s an annotated agenda with links to documents: Read the full story

The Project for Innovation, Energy & Sustainability (PiES) and the Business Center @ South Main Square will host the next in a series of free seminars for start-up companies on Friday, Oct. 22, on the prospects for expanding the use of LEDs in lighting. Meanwhile, PiES will be the topic of the Lake Norman Chamber’s Friday Focus this week. Also, news about an open house for Deborah Young Studio and Consign on a Dime in Cornelius, a “Ladies Night In” at Homewood Suites, and business events in on Catawba Ave. in Cornelius.

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A third start-up company has joined Davidson’s “green” business incubator, the Project for Innovation, Energy and Sustainability, on South Main Street. Sustainable Energy Community Development Corp. (SECDC) has two employees and provides financing for solar and other sustainable energy installations in rural and low-income communities around the state.
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Focal Point Energy has developed a solar heat generating system.

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson’s new green business incubator is taking on its first two start-up companies – a solar energy firm and a company that converts commercial vehicles to electric power. Meanwhile, two more companies are waiting in the wings to join the Project for Innovation, Energy and Sustainability (PiES), which offers green startups advice, technical assistance and office space in The Business Center @ South Main Square, 442 S. Main St.

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