Posts filed under 'Solar Power'
Technology Update – Southern California Edition July 22, 2009
It is good to see that good ole California is getting some positive news at least on the building and technology fronts!
First some good news on the water recycling front. Both California and Oregon are both relaxing the rules surround the use of gray water. The full story is here at Green Tech Gazette (http://www.greentechgazette.com/index.php/water-conservation/california-and-oregon-to-ease-gray-water-laws/) but as soon as Aug. 1 2009 in California we can start putting in systems that could save an average household 25% of its daily usage. Truly an important move here in the overpopulated desert!
Next I am glad to report that we have figured out that lighting up our parks can reduce crime! Who would have thought it? The article on Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/to-fight-street-gangs-los-angeles-just-adds-summer-night-lights.php?dcitc=th_rss_design) is all about how the city has raised private money to fund the extra expense, but does give hope and a tech tie in with the city’s five year plan for LED streetlights.
Southern California GAS, our local natural gas utility is making news by installing small or at least building sized solar thermal units. they are installing these units made by Honolulu base Sopogy on the building that is to house their R&D and green showcase. The story on Earth2TEch (http://earth2tech.com/2009/07/21/photos-sopogys-small-scale-solar-thermal-at-socal-gas/) highlights this very cool technology!
Lastly tonight we have Orange County , CA getting a 21st century high speed rail station. The story on Inhabitat (http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/07/21/21st-century-rail-station-for-orange-county/) shows us a very neat looking structure that is obviously for sometime in the future as the high speed trains haven’t even been begun yet. Still the design is curious as it is a greenhouse like structure in sunny Southern California!
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Add comment July 22, 2009
Green Cooling Stratagies for July 5, 2009
It has started getting up there in temperature, at least in Southern California and it has got me wondering what improvements there might be on the cooling front.
In my searches I found several things for architectural solutions to technology. It seems I am not alone in wondering how to keep cool and do it in a sustainable and less expensive way. Here is one architect’s working vision via Green Building Elements (http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/06/21/california-architect-thinks-about-white-roofs/). It is a beautiful house and I like many of the thoughts, I just wish I could afford it.
Next we have another architect’s vision and it looks into our future and is trying to come up sith methods to deal with a generally hotter climate that we may all be facing. The story is via Green Building Elements again (http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/06/25/a-roof-designed-for-our-hotter-future/) and it is certainly the most practical vision I have seen. By simply building and additional roof structure over even an existing house you could attain significant benefits! If you considered all of the ideas and built a complete structure from scratch the end result is even better. It is ideas like this that give me hope that technology may still be the answer to the global warming crisis.
On the technology front we have two different takes on air conditioning. The first is what is actually asmall chiller type unit called the Ice Bear (http://www.impactlab.com/2009/05/22/ice-bear-can-reduce-air-conditioning-energy-demand-by-95/). This is an add on system that simply allows you to store cooling using off peak electricity by creating a large block of ice that is then used to chill the refrigerant in your conventional system instead of the compressor. A good idea overall as this is simply scaling exisitng technology and it can easily be retrofitted on many types of systems.
Lastly we go for one that is somewhat more of an evolution from SolCool (http://www.solcool.net/solcool.htm). The Millennial 1.5 Ton unit has the capability to be wired to standard US, EU power or to direct power that might be supplied by a solar array! There is also a version that is portable with onboard batteries that can be run up to 12 hours between charges. Forget about remote, that option will allow you to run it overnight while the sun is down!
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
1 comment July 5, 2009
Building Technology Update for July 1, 2009
I have a very wide ranging collection of technological improvements for you tonight, everything from new materials for sidewalks to new safety equipment to help you find your way out in a fire!
On the recycle and reuse front we have a couple of items that help divert waste from our landfills. The first is Rubber sidewalks (http://www.rubbersidewalks.com/rubbersidewalkskeepstrees.asp) where this product reuses a discarded tire for every 1 square foot of product! Imagine a sidewalk you could remove and reinstall in a single day to fix sewer problems, not to mention the injury savings from not having raised areas by tree roots.
The next item along this same tack is a roofing single product made from recycled palstic and rubber. The article on Cleantechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/06/28/roof-shingles-made-from-recycled-plastic-and-rubber/) speaks of the product Enviroshake that is very durable but at a significant price point increase. Still it may be worthwhile if you are in need of some LEED ponts.
Another old is new technology is a design we all may be needing as our climate heats up is the second roof as is shown in this great post on Green Building Elements (http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/06/25/a-roof-designed-for-our-hotter-future/). This scenario presents a low tech very sutainable solution for making your house much more efficient in all types of climate situations.
One of the neatest items I have seen lately is this Halo light concept. It would provide a ring of light in a smokey environment providing much better direction and visibility in an emergency situation. The story is here on DVICE (http://dvice.com/archives/2008/10/halo_light_cuts.php).
Lastly we have a solar plus LED parking lot light solution from Visiable Light Solar. The story on Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/visible-light-solar-combines-solar-with-leds-for-big-savings.php) makes a great point that these very functional applications of exterior lighting makes great sense from a return on investment perspective.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
3 comments July 1, 2009
Green Power Technology Update for June 23, 2009
Just when you think that the various green, alternative power types are getting going we have a whole slew of bad news. There are serious potential issues affecting both wind and solar power’s affordability and overall return on investment.
The easiest to fix is the problem built into California’s net metering law that sunsets it once the amount being generated from alternative sources reaches 2.5% of the system peak grid load. The story on Cleantechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/06/23/sunset-clause-to-dim-solar-in-california/) makes the point that we are already alomost there and we are just getting started. This problem is easily fixed but will probably get lost in my state’s annual budget fiasco.
Excerpt: “One of the key ways that solar is economical is through net metering. Because our utilities pay more for afternoon electrons, you can send electricity to the grid that sells for 40 cents in the afternoon, and use that generation as a credit towards the electricity you get back from the grid for 11 cents at night.
This lowering of utility bills is key to increasing home values. If a home saves $1,000 in a year with solar then the value of the home goes up $20,000. This improvement is essential to getting mortgage financing for solar; so it’s all circular. Net metering down; savings down; bankers frown = energy brown.”
Next we have an unusual enemy for solar power, at least the solar tower/ heliostat type, the US Air Force. Apparently these folks are not in favor of large areas near there installations that can potentially blind their pilots. The story is on Ecogeek (http://ecogeek.org/solar-power/2820-new-enemy-for-solar-tower-plants-the-air-force) has what details have been realeased.
Excerpt: “The Air Force, in fact, is not saying precisely why they don’t want the power plant. They say it could interfere with radar systems, but, more importantly, there are other reasons…all of which are classified. Col. Howard D. Belote, installation commander at Nellis said, ”Because of the sensitivity [of information], I can’t tell them why. Unfortunately for them and us, there’s stuff on the Nevada testing range we don’t tell anyone about.”
We assume it has something to do with the aliens.“
Too bad as this is prime area for installations such as these…..
Next there is concern over the problems Spain is having regarding wind power that might tarnish the technology’s reputation for affordability. Some think that the country’s investments in wind generation are causing potential insolvency issues. The story is on Leonardo Energy (http://www.leonardo-energy.org/wind-energy-really-affordable) is from mu perspective brings up some very valid points.
Lastly tonight we have a little good news, if tightening or belts can be called that. A new report put forth by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) says that by reducing unnecessary demand by up to 20% through demand use technologies. The story is on Sustainable Business (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/18422) and it has all of the details if you are interested.
Personally I am more interested in continued development of alternative power generation as a means to get us out of our current mess, but I suppose that efficiency will always have its place.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
1 comment June 23, 2009
Solar Power News for May 24, 2009
It seems that we are back on the solar band wagon just in time for the official start of summer, Memorial Day (at least here in California!). There are new records, interesting items and construction news so let’s get started.
First here is a device to keep your other devices charged while you are enjoying the outdoors, the powwerbrella (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-gadgets-powerbrella-charges-portable-devices-with-solar-electricity/) via the good folks at Ecofriend.
Excerpt: “Designed for use at outdoor venues such as cafés and restaurants, hotel and resort swimming pools and outdoor lounges, the Powerbrella incorporates the Power Plastic on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella. Testing for the Powerbrella has been done in 2008 at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando. Physics students at Lake Highland checked the effectiveness of the Powerbrella to withstand the elements, its ability to generate clean green energy and the amount of resulting power that could be stored in batteries for reuse.“
It also looks like our friends in the Congress are doing what they can to stimulate the alternative energy industries with the “American Climate and Energy Security Act” . There is a great story here on Clean Beta (http://cleantechlawandbusiness.com/cleanbeta/index.php/3731/us-house-puts-revolutionary-climateenergy-bill-in-play/) and for those of you into such things here is the link to the legislation (http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1630:energy-and-commerce-committee-passes-comprehensive-clean-energy-legislation&catid=122:media-advisories&Itemid=55).
Along this same line, the Chinese solar manufacturer, Suntech is planning a second public offering. The story can be found here also on Clean Beta (http://cleantechlawandbusiness.com/cleanbeta/index.php/3740/suntech-plans-follow-on-public-offering/).
On the construction news front we have Lockheed going to build a very large solar thermal plany in the Arizona desert (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-tech-lockheed-martin-to-build-solar-thermal-plant-in-arizona/) and the folks at Budweiser in Contra Costa County have installed solar to help offset the power consumption needs of their cold storage building (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/05/22/budweiser-cold-beer-storage-building-installs-solar/).
Also the modular housing folks are finally getting firmly on the bandwagon with their i-House (why does all of this stuff have to sound like it is manufactured by Apple?). Anyway the story is here on Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-homes-clayton-homes-introduces-solar-powered-modular-i-house/).
Next we have a story via Ecogeek that really interests me (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2762/). It is all about taking the street lighting off the grid via solar and wind power options. It always gets me angry when I see these lights on during the day and I also have a really good idea of what they consume power wise during the dark hours.
Excerpt: “French company Windela has created a street lighting system that works without any connection to the grid. The Windelux is powered by both a small vertical wind turbine and a solar PV panel.The lamp is comprised of 84 LEDs and automatically switches on when a photosensitive cell detects that it’s dark. A built-in control system stops the wind generator if the wind speed is too high and also allows the pole to act as a Wi-Fi relay.“
Well we also have a new solar panel efficiency record courtesy of Sanyo. The new record is less than 1% better than the previous one and still only gets us to 23%, sigh….Anyway the story is here on Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-tech-sanyo-develops-world-s-most-efficient-silicon-solar-cells/).
In the design and wouldn’t be nice section we have a concept of the busstop of the future via Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/solar-powered-bus-stop.php). The stop has a lot of good features that all require the connection ot the internet and of course power. However it doesn’t seem to provide any more protection from the elements that the traditional ones do, leading to a less that wonderful experience in certain parts of the country. Also I can’t wait to see what the taggers and other vandals will do to something like this.
Excerpt: “Riders can plan a bus trip on an interactive map, surf the Web, monitor their real-time exposure to pollutants and use their mobile devices as an interface with the bus shelter. They can also post ads and community announcements to an electronic bulletin board at the bus stop, enhancing the EyeStop’s functionality as a community gathering space.“
To go along with the theme of transportation we have some Welsh folks talking about a solar powered car that can achieve 100 mph! The story on Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-cars-welsh-solar-car-reduces-emissions-not-the-thrill/) is unfortunately short on a couple of details that I am curious about, especially what the range of the vehicle drops down to when you are attaining those speeds?
Lastly today we have an attempt to make solar panels prettier to please all of those pesky home owner associations. The story on Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/solar-trees-camouflage-about-as-well-as-cell-phone-towers.php) has an obvious opinion I can agree with. The company mentioned, Solar Botanicals is trying to disguise a solar power set up as a tree or grove of trees. I can only imagine what this is going to look like and with the technological hurdles facing them as well as the complex city planning and zoning issues surrounding such a product. I wish them all the luck in the world but I think we are a long way from seeing anything here that is going to be pleasing to the eye or fool anyone into thinking it is anything other than a attempt to hide something.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
2 comments May 24, 2009
Solar Gadgets
There has been quite a crop of solar powered gadgets and equipment in the news lately and here is the best to the silliest.
To my mind the best of these is the solar powered air conditioning unit cover by Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-gadgets-solar-powered-ac-aims-to-slash-summer-electricity-bills/). Its a great idea that will be best suited to certain areas of the planet, but it is certainly a start!
Excerpt: “The systems will carry PV and solar thermal technology to harvest sunlight and waste heat to cool down the interiors. While conventional solar cells convert 23% light energy into electricity, this new system will boast an efficiency of over 75%. Measuring 3m X 1.3m, the system will carry mirrors, receivers, a concentrator and silicon-based solar cells. The solar cells used in the AC will use 95% less silicon than a conventional solar panel with the same power rating.“
Also pretty amazing is the story of the solar powered car that has broken the distance record and traveled over 12,000 miles. The story is via Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/solar-car-xof1-power-of-one-world-distance-record.php).
Excerpt: “The Power of One journey symbolically began 12 June 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Seneca College—one of the project’s greatest supporters. The actual drive began in Buffalo, NY. The original plan was to drive the solar car from Buffalo, NY to Inuvik, NT and back to Buffalo, NY. However, according to the project website, communities in Alaska and Washington invited the solar car to visit them and so it did.
In its journey to Los Angeles, it crossed the continental divide 8 times, traveled more than 1,200 miles on gravel roads, took on snow, ice, and the low angle of the Northern hemisphere during the wettest summer of the past 30 years.“
Next we have a review and comparison of solar charging flashlights via Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/seattle-sports-solar-chargingcranking-flashlight-review.php). Good useful information!
It is certainly a good week for reviews as Treehugger also looked at solar charging or crank charging radios (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/seattle-sports-active-traxx-solar-radiospeaker-comparison.php).
Lastly we have a just silly solar power adaptation with the landing peg of a birdhouse being lit up. I would think that the birds living might complain! The story and images are on Inhabitat (http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/03/21/questionable-solar-bird-house/).
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
1 comment March 23, 2009
Solar Power Update for March 22, 2009
There has been quite a few stories on the subject of solar power over the past few days ranging from the momentous to the inconsequential.
So to start us in the momentous category we have a story on Cleantechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/21/fremonts-solyndra-wins-first-doe-funding/) covering the granting of loan guarantees through the US Dept. of Energy.
Excerpt: “Energy Secretary Steven Chu today offered a $535 million loan guarantee for Solyndra, Inc.deploying its solar panels across the U.S. and around the world. to support the company’s construction of a commercial-scale manufacturing plant for its proprietary cylindrical solar photovoltaic panels. The company expects to create thousands of new jobs in the U.S. while “
Next we have a stroy via Earth2Tech on the dropping prices of solar grade silicon (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/19/solar-silicon-prices-dropping-new-energy-finance-says/).
Excerpt: “Solar-grade silicon prices are falling — at least according to the latest New Energy Financein August, the London-based research firm forecast that prices would fall in 2009, and Jenny Chase, a senior associate at the firm, tells us that the prediction appears to be coming true. The conclusion is the opposite of one that another research company, Photon Consulting, presented earlier this month forecasting that prices will rise this year. “
Greener solar panels is the thust of our next story via Greenbang (http://www.greenbang.com/scientists-find-greener-recipe-for-photovoltaics/). Scientists have come up with a less toxic material to replace toxic lead sulfide.
Excerpt: “Unlike lead sulfide, zinc oxide is a benign inorganic compound used in products like sunscreen and baby powder. Zinc oxide also offers the benefits of low-cost production, a high ability to detect light and convert it to energy, mechanical flexibility and the ability to “tune” photoconducting materials to absorb a preferred range of the solar spectrum.“
Next we enter our general good news and update section. First via Cleantechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/20/new-thin-film-process-takes-solar-another-step-to-affordability/) is news about improvements in thin film solar. I hope the improvements continue and accelerate!
Excerpt: “A new piece of thin film manufacturing equipment with the unlikely name of Viper (TM)solar energy could help bring to the masses. Viper (TM) was developed by Sencera, a North Carolina company that got its start supplying thin film hardware for manufacturing transistors and integrated circuits.“
On Earth2Tech (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/20/first-solar-cranks-out-a-good-gigawatt-of-thin-film-solar/) we hear how First Solar has cranked production up another notch to a mile stone of 1 gigwat of total production!
Lastly tonight we have some speculation on CleanTechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/19/solar-is-the-czech-republic-the-next-spain/) as to whether the Czech Republic can replicate Spain’s recent performance in the solar power arena.
More solar power updates tomorrow night!
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
1 comment March 22, 2009
Solar Power Update for March 18, 2009
Hope that you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day wherever you are. Tonight we have a interesting selection of articles from around the web on our favorite subject, Solar Power!
Our first story is a recap of the 2008 results that show that installations were up 110% for the year! The story on Environmental Leader (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/03/18/photovoltaic-solar-installations-up-110-in-2008/).
Excerpt: ” A record 5.95 gigawatts in solar photovoltaic panels were installed last year, up from 2.83 GW in 2007.“
The next three stories talk about the current state of the industry. First we have a story from Earth2Tech (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/18/solar-consolidation-continues-recurrent-energy-buys-assets-of-upc-solar/) covering the ongoing consolidation of the industry. However even with consolidation, Dupont is counting on solar adding to its bottom line (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/18/dupont-banking-on-solar-to-boost-its-bottom-line/).
Excerpt: “The company cited industry estimates that project the overall solar market to grow from $30 billion to $70 billion in 2013. DuPont has expanded production of several films and pastes used in solar manufacturing to help meet this demand, officials said. The company expects thin film solar demand to far outpace the demand for crystalline silicon cells.
The growth would be welcome news for DuPont, which as Forbes.com points out, has had a rough go of it lately. Weakening demand for chemicals led to double-digit drops is sales for most business units in the fourth quarter of 2008 and Chief Executive Ellen Kullman said 2009 would be “challenging.”“
Even more depressing is the announcement from Royal Dutch Shell that it is pulling it investments out of alternative energy and concentrating on biofuels and similar technologies (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/03/18/shell-scales-back-renewable-energy-investments/).
Excerpt: “Shell’s CEO said the company was planning to drop all new investment in wind, solar and hydrogen energy, and instead would focus its renewable energy investments on biofuels, according to the U.K. Times. Shell also said that it will maintain its spending on carbon capture and storage projects in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Australia and America.“
However there is still good news to be had with a story on Environmental Leader about a beverage distributer getting 100% of its power via solar (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/03/18/beverage-distributor-installs-500-kw-solar-system/). This is hopeful as it shows that businesses are still willing to invest when it makes financial sense.
Next we have a story in the me to gadget sector of solar powered cell phones and accessories. The item is the solCHAT bluetooth speaker phone via a story on Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-gadgets-go-green-with-solar-powered-solchat-bluetooth-speakerphone/). I like the trend but it seems a little like a small bandwagon that too many people are trying to jump on.
Lastly is a story about a plan to circumnavigate the globe in a solar powered boat via Greenbang (http://www.greenbang.com/ship-designers-plan-solar-powered-circumnavigation/). While still in the design stages the project is certainly possible and pretty exciting.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
1 comment March 18, 2009
Solar Power Update for March 4, 2009
Lots of interesting solar news around the web today from acquisitions to the solar panel aesthtic.
First from the folks at Greenbang.com comes a story predicting that Spain’s largest solar provider is set to take a similar position here in the US (http://www.greenbang.com/spanish-firm-to-become-us-solar-power-leader/).
Excerpt: “One of Spain’s largest solar power companies is on track to achieve similar status in the US now that it’s agreed to a major purchase of solar energy facilities there.“
Next we have a story on Earth First (http://earthfirst.com/new-generation-of-solar-cells-inspired-by-plants/) about how the next generation solar cells are going to operate in many ways similar to the leaves of a tree.
Excerpt: “Scientists looking for the next big breakthrough in solar technology got their inspiration from a natural source: the process of photosynthesis in plants. New photovoltaic devices that mimic the way plants turn sunlight into energy have been developed at the University of Southampton, by a team led by Professor Pavlos Lagoudakis of the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. This new way of harnessing solar energy delivers unprecedented amounts of electrical current from light.“
Now we go to the acquisition section. There are three stories that I will simply list in quick succession. We have one on eSolar via Earth2Tech on a $30 million dollar deal in India (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/03/esolar-moves-into-indian-market-with-30m-deal/), another on Sixtron, where they are acquiring other coating systems for use in solar manufacturing (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/03/sixtron-targets-solar-makers-squeezed-by-silane-costs/) and lastly SunEdison again via Earth2Tech (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/03/sunedison-seals-20m-for-solar-farms-as-rivals-sell-their-assets/) completes an additional $20 million in financing.
An interesting story, also on Earth2Tech is about an Oakland startup who’s plan is to make solar power more of a design element (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/04/can-oakland-startup-veranda-solar-become-the-apple-of-solar/).
Excerpt: “How so? Instead of focusing on a new solar chemistry or production technology, the company hopes to differentiate itself with its aesthetics, appeal and ease of use, CEO Capra J’neva says. “We interact with real people to create our products, so we are reducing market risk by understanding the real needs of people who will buy [them],” she told us last week.“
Lastly today we have a good story on a solar car (http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/03/put-some-sunlight-in-your-tank/).
Excerpt: “Can a car run on solar? Yes —as long as you don’t need to fit a whole lot in your trunk. And as long as you don’t mind that it doesn’t actually have a trunk. The new solar car from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Solar Electric Vehicle Team might be small on size, but it’s big on ambitions.“
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Add comment March 4, 2009
Solar Power Update for Feb. 24, 2009
Lots of solar news this week, but these five stories are what caught my interest.
On the generation of power front we have the second large generation deal for the California desert in a short time. The story on Earth2 tech (http://earth2tech.com/2009/02/23/solar-thermal-heats-up-with-esolar-deal/) talks all about the eSolar deal.
Excerpt: “Yes, Virginia, there is a solar thermal market. NRG Energy and eSolar have signed an agreement to develop up to 500 megawatts of solar thermal projects in California and throughout the Southwest region of the U.S., the two said today, marking the industry’s second big deal this month.“
Our next story is about the falling price of solar power. According to the story the price has fallen 3 cents per watt in the last month alone. The story is also here on Earth2tech (http://earth2tech.com/2009/02/23/solar-prices-drop-deeper-discounts-expected/). If the prediction contained are true it sounds like a pretty rough time is in store for the solar power industry.
In the using different spaces section we have a couple of stories, the first being about how Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is thinking about buying a large parcel of land that had been intended for airport expansion to use as a solar thermal generation plant. The story is via Greenbang.com (http://www.greenbang.com/out-with-the-planes-in-with-the-solar-panels/) and the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-solar23-2009feb23,0,359744.story).
The other is an update to a story I first heard a while ago, using roadways to generate solar power. The idea is to create a very tough solar panel and use them to pave roads with. I personally have a hard time getting my head around this, however if they can make it work it certainly makes sense from a space utilization perspective. The story is on Green Tech Gazette (http://www.greentechgazette.com/index.php/solar-energy/solar-roadways-see-daylight-with-stimulus-package/).
Excerpt: “About a year ago, I talked about Solar Roadways and how they were going to revolutionize not only the solar panel industry but the road construction industry as well. The idea behind having solar roadways is to replace a portion of our existing 25,000 square miles of existing pavement with tough and efficient photovoltaic panels.“
Lastly tonight we have a story from the University of Central Florida about its upgrade of a plug in hybrid van to rund completely on solar power. The story is here on Treehugger.com (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/ucflorida-has-a-solar-powered-cars.php)
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2 comments February 23, 2009
