Alternative Energy News - October 24, 2006

• Days Inns - Canada is the first mid-scale hotel chain to participate in the HAC Green Key Eco-Rating Program administered by the Hotel Association of Canada. Through the HAC Green Key Eco-Rating Program, Days Inn's 87 locations across Canada are committed to maximizing efficiency by enhancing energy performance while also reducing operating costs.
• The Pantry, Inc., an independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., has opened the first convenience store in the U.S. to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
• Baltimore has signed a $14 million contract with a Milwaukee-based company to generate electricity from the methane produced by the city's Back River sewage treatment plant - a project officials say they expect to save the city $1.4 million a year in energy costs while also improving air quality.
• New Resource Bank, a newly launched bank focusing on eco-entrepreneurs and clean technology, has launched one-step financing to allow customers to more easily finance residential solar energy installations.