LaserMotive is the first team to take home the first level challenge for driving a vehicle using power beaming to a height of 1 km at more than 2 m/s! Their prize $900,000!
A giant step has been made in what will be the world’s largest renewable energy project. While previously just a grand vision for the production of clean energy in the Saharan desert, the project now has a core group of backers and a signed agreement between 12 companies wanting to move forward with the $555 billion renewable energy belt. The 12 collaborators signed articles of association last week for the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative (DII), which will work to bring more companies and groups on board as well as focus on regulations and conditions to get the project successfully completed and generating pure power from the sun.
(Meinhold, B., 2009, November 3, par.1)
The Solar Energy Foundation won the 2009 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjhwRHi51Rg
The Solar Energy Foundation won the 2009... more
SolarInsure, a green energy insurance brokerage in Southern California, has created a comprehensive solar calculator that allows industry specialists and customers the ability to calculate the cost of going solar in a matter of minutes. For the first time, an individual has the ability to evaluate not only the cost, but also the governmental benefits provided by both federal and state governments, and local utility companies and municipalities for installing solar panels.
The solar calculator is a simple web applet that can be shared across the internet. Written in JavaScript, any solar panel installer can add it to their site by simply copy and pasting a line of code. Customers can then use the calculator by entering their zip code, choosing their electric company and entering their average monthly electric bill. The resulting information is the cost of installation followed by all the benefits provided in their area.
These benefits, also called solar incentives, are provided by the government to promote the use of alternative energies. The federal government provides tax incentives, while some state and utility companies provide cash rebates. For instance, in California there is $3 billion in incentives for solar-energy projects with the objective of providing 3,000 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity by 2016.
The solar calculator is located on SolarInsure's website at www.solarinsure.com/solar-energy-calculator. The calculator is readily available to the public and is free of cost. SolarInsure is one of the first and largest alternative energy insurance brokerages in the United States.http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/solarinsure-inc-/news/article/2009/11/s... more
If all goes well, this 25-megawatt solar plant in Florida won't be America's largest for long, but it's not like we'd pass up the opportunity to let this $150 million facility bask in its own glory (and the sun, if we're being thorough) while it can.If all goes well, this 25-megawatt solar plant in Florida won't be America's largest... more
My solar backpack with three different solar light systems that I use for riding my bike at night. I've used it for four or five years and it hasn't failed me yet. Total cost of about $60.My solar backpack with three different solar light systems that I use for riding my... more
Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future of Florida's renewable energy plans begin: Acres of open land filled with solar panels that will soon power thousands of homes and business.
For nearly a year, construction workers and engineers in this sleepy Florida town of citrus trees and cattle farms have been building the nation's largest solar panel energy plant. Testing will soon be complete, and the facility will begin directly converting sunlight into energy, giving Florida a momentary spot in the solar energy limelight.
The Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will power a small fraction of Florida Power & Light's 4-million plus customer base; nevertheless, at 25 megawatts, it will generate nearly twice as much energy as the second-largest photovoltaic facility in the U.S.
The White House said President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the facility Tuesday, when it officially goes online and begins producing power for the electric grid.
As demand grows and more states create mandates requiring a certain percentage of their energy come from renewable sources, the size of the plants is increasing. The southwest Florida facility will soon be eclipsed by larger projects announced in Nevada and California.
"We took a chance at it and it worked out," said Bove, construction manager at the project, set on about 180 acres of land 80 miles southeast of Tampa. "There's a lot of backyard projects, there's a lot of rooftop projects, post offices and stores. Really this is one of the first times where we've taken a technology and upsized it."
Despite its nickname, the Sunshine State hasn't been at the forefront of solar power. Less than 4 percent of Florida's energy has come from renewable sources in recent years. And unlike California and many other states, Florida lawmakers haven't agreed to setting clean energy quotas for electric companies to reach in the years ahead.
California, New Jersey and Colorado have led the country in installing photovoltaic systems; now Florida is set to jump closer to the top with the nation's largest plant yet.
The Desoto facility and two other solar projects Florida Power & Light is spearheading will generate 110 megawatts of power, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons. Combined, that's the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road each year, according to figures cited by the company.
The investment isn't cheap: The Desoto project cost $150 million to build and the power it supplies to some 3,000 homes and businesses will represent just a sliver of the 4 million-plus accounts served by the state's largest electric utility.
But there are some economic benefits: It created 400 jobs for draftsmen, carpenters and others whose work dried up as the southwest Florida housing boom came to a closure and the recession set in. Once running, it will require few full-time employees.
Mike Taylor, director of research and education at the nonprofit Solar Electric Power Association in Washington, said the project puts Florida "on the map."
"It's currently the largest," Taylor said of the Desoto photovoltaic plant. "But it certainly won't be the last."Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future... more
The largest residential solar system in NYC is located just a few blocks away from NNEC's office in the heart of Manhattan.
We decided to take a short walk over to Kips Bay Towers, a residential complex with over 1,000 units, where the 55 kW solar system is now producing five percent of the building's electric demand.
Check out this story and learn why New York is a key location for the development of solar power.The largest residential solar system in NYC is located just a few blocks away from... more
The Thermeleon won first place in MIT’s Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest. It is a tile that changes color like a chameleon, turning white in hot weather to reflect heat and black in cold temperatures to absorb the sun’s energy. Heat-reflecting roofs along with lighter colored road surfaces could reduce the heat in urban areas as much as 8 degrees and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 44 billion metric tons.
Duke Energy has committed to investing as much as $35 million dollars into an offshore wind farm on the North Carolina coast. This pilot program itself would be able to answer other questions such as how wind turbines would survive tropical storms and how they would affect the ecology of the site.
The Microsoft ecosystem is made up of local companies that develop and or sell products that run with or on Microsoft software. These companies may also service or distribute the products. This makes Microsoft a critical economic catalyst in every country where it operates. More than $535 billion in revenues will be generated by the companies within the ecosystem, with the money remaining in local economies.
The Kyoto Box, a $6 solar cooker made from cardboard, has won the Financial Times-sponsored Climate Change Challenge contest for innovative ways to decrease the human impact on the environment.
ItThe Kyoto Box, a $6 solar cooker made from cardboard, has won the Financial... more
University of Illinois Takes 2nd Place; Team California Takes 3rd Place
Team Germany has won the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Team Germany won top honors by designing, building, and operating the most attractive and efficient solar-powered home. The University of Illinois came in second, and Team California came in third.
Over the past two weeks, the 2009 Solar Decathlon challenged twenty university-led teams from the United States and as far away as Spain, Germany, and Canada to compete in ten contests, ranging from subjective elements such as architecture, market viability, communications, lighting design, and engineering, to objective elements which measured how well the homes provided energy for space heating and cooling, hot water, home entertainment, appliances, and net metering.
For more information about individual contest winners and teams, visit:
Solar energy technology is enjoying its day in the sun with the advent of innovations from flexible photovoltaic (PV) materials to thermal power plants that concentrate the sun’s heat to drive turbines. But even the best system converts only about 30 percent of received solar energy into electricity—making solar more expensive than burning coal or oil. That will change if Lonnie Johnson’s invention works. The Atlanta-based independent inventor of the Super Soaker squirt gun (a true technological milestone) says he can achieve a conversion efficiency rate that tops 60 percent with a new solid-state heat engine. It represents a breakthrough new way to turn heat into power.Solar energy technology is enjoying its day in the sun with the advent of innovations... more
The Solar Decathlon is bolder, brighter, and more efficient than ever! 20 university teams from around the world have designed and built their ultimate solar home on the National Mall in Washington, DC. We're taking a look at a team from each participating country.
This video is about Team Puerto Rico, who try to address the the public taboo that solar power is unrealistic.
Follow the filmmakers on Twitter: Brandon Bloch (@bloch_party) and Steven Greenstreet (@MiddleofMayhem)The Solar Decathlon is bolder, brighter, and more efficient than ever! 20 university... more
Now Hiring: Green-Collar Workers
The federal government is poised to pump billions into clean energy projects that could create as many as 1.5 million new green jobs www.USAgreenjobsnow.org
A GREEN RECOVERY?
"It's inevitable, as the money really starts to flow into infrastructure programs, particularly green projects, there will be job growth here over the next year," says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement company based in Chicago.
The Obama Administration is looking to health care and green jobs to help drive the job recovery. According to the Pew study, green jobs grew by 9.1% from 1998 to 2007, nearly two and a half times faster than the overall job market. And the growth will likely accelerate because of growing consumer demand, venture capital infusions, and government reforms, the report concluded.
In a July 15 column in The Seattle Times, Van Jones, special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, identified some green projects getting stimulus funding, starting with a $5 billion investment to make America's homes more energy-efficient. Among the other projects: $44 million to extend light rail from Seattle's downtown to the University of Washington, energy-efficient renovations to four public housing high-rises in Minneapolis, and hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in clean energy generation and conservation at veterans hospitals.
INCENTIVES FOR GROWTH
William Bogart, economics professor and dean of academic affairs at York College of Pennsylvania, is skeptical of the plan. He doesn't doubt that it will create jobs, but he's concerned that it isn't an efficient way to spend money and that government's decisions on which companies get funding could be influenced by politics, especially since the definition of a "green job" is subjectiveNow Hiring: Green-Collar Workers
The federal government is poised to pump billions... more
The 2009 Solar Decathlon is bolder, brighter, and more efficient than ever! 20 university teams from around the world have designed and built their ultimate solar home on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
We're taking a look at a team from each participating country. This video is about Team Germany from Technische Universität Darmstadt. They won the Solar Decathlon in 2007, and this year they're back with a super-powered solar design that generates enough energy for two houses.The 2009 Solar Decathlon is bolder, brighter, and more efficient than ever! 20... more
A truck tire supporting a 36,300-kilogram load repeatedly traverses an 18-meter stretch of road, day in and day out, rolling up 483,000 kilometers on the odometer at the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DoT) testing facility in Virginia. The goal is to thoroughly challenge any new paving techniques and see how the road surface holds up. Now imagine putting a solar panel under there.
U.S. roads paved with glass panels encasing photovoltaics and LEDs would double as national gridA truck tire supporting a 36,300-kilogram load repeatedly traverses an 18-meter... more
It’s always a pleasure to see a stunning home with sustainable features, but isn’t pretentious about it. This beautiful residence in Atherton in the Bay Area is such a house – gorgeous, with an obvious connection to the outdoors and sustainable features that could go undetected by the casual observer’s eye. Featuring many green design elements, this home designed by SF-based Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects, includes solar power, environmentally friendly materials and passive heating and cooling.
(Meinhold, B., 2009, October 2, par.1)
The original 1950s Bay Area home on the lot was torn down due to structural problems. In its place, this structure was erected around the site’s existing pond. To take advantage of the scenic views of water, the home was built as four buildings, the main house, study, pool house and garage, that all come right up against the water’s edge. Large sliding glass doors from the buildings open up towards the pond, providing an immediate connection with nature as well as a good dose of natural ventilation.
(Meinhold, B., 2009, October 2, par.2)
Beyond the stunning exteriors and clean and simple interior, the home is greener than it appears. On the roof, solar photovoltaic panels and a solar hot water system give the home some green cred. An effective combination of stone floors and a radiant floor heating system provide heating during those cooler months in the Bay Area. Additionally, the home utilizes high fly-ash concrete, formaldehyde-free casework and denim insulation. And despite the warm temperatures during the summer on the South part of the peninsula, the home has no air conditioning and relies on natural ventilation from operable windows and doors, shading from the large roof overhangs and the versatile stone floors to help keep things cool.
(Meinhold, B., 2009, October 2, par.3)
Even though the home is built just outside of San Francisco, it design helps it feel as though it were in a secluded location — providing a relaxing getaway for both the owners and their guests. With eco features and an interior that opens up and blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor, this beautiful home breezily achieves a sustainable elegance that is simply stated and integrated with sophistication.
(Meinhold, B., 2009, October 2, par.4)
[many photos at the link....]It’s always a pleasure to see a stunning home with sustainable features, but isn’t... more
Magnetocaloric cooling, a process in which a material is introduced to a magnetic field, and cools by absorbing the heat from the air around the material once removed from the magnetic field. Use of this in house-hold refrigerators would cut the cooling cost in half and is safer for the environment.
Clairvoyant Energy and Extreme Power are converting a closed down Ford auto plant into a renewable energy park. Complete with solar panels and wind power turbines, the $700 million investment is said to start in 2011. This means jobs and of course a greener planet.
Ovonics, manufactures thin solar laments ideally suited for cost-effective solutions for roofing and direct integration with building materials.
Many issue must be resolved prior to May 2011 launch date. Such as, how robots will overcome Noon temperature? At noon the equator is hotter than boiling water: 270 degrees F?Many issue must be resolved prior to May 2011 launch date. Such as, how robots will... more
