Solar City?

In Florida, a developer and utility are claiming to build the first solar powered city.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Florida utility and a real estate developer are aiming to bring the country's first solar-powered city to the Sunshine State.

FPL Group Inc's utility Florida Power & Light is working with the realty group Kitson & Partners to construct what the utility says will be the world's largest photovoltaic solar plant in a planned, environmentally friendly city near Fort Myers in southwestern Florida.

Called Babcock Ranch, the city will aim to build 19,500 houses and about 6 million square feet of retail, light industrial, and office space when it is completed, the developers said.

It will have a photovoltaic solar plant. So, it will use power from somewhere else at night.

Alternate Fuel

From beer waste at my favorite brewery. This is awesome!

E-Fuel said Tuesday it reached an agreement with the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to create high-grade ethanol fuel from discarded beer yeast.

Los Gatos-based E-Fuel, the inventor of the world’s first home ethanol system -- the Efuel100 MicroFueler -- and Sierra Nevada have agreed to house MicroFuelers at the brewery in Chico, enabling Sierra Nevada to manufacture its own ethanol using waste from its brewing process.

Testing will begin in the second quarter with a goal of achieving full-scale ethanol production in the third quarter, E-Fuel said.

On average, Sierra Nevada resells 1.6 million gallons of unusable “bottom of the barrel” beer yeast waste to farmers each year. Containing 5 percent to 8 percent alcohol content, the waste includes enough yeast and nutrients to enable the MicroFueler to raise that level to 15 percent alcohol, allowing for an increased ethanol yield.

Change we can believe in.

Moving Forward

But are we moving forward fast enough?

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States overtook Germany as the biggest producer of wind power last year, new figures showed, and will likely take the lead in solar power this year, analysts said on Monday.

Even before an expected "Obama bounce" from a new President who has vowed to boost clean energy, U.S. wind power capacity surged 50 percent last year to 25 gigwatts (GW) -- enough to power more than five million homes.

Political and business leaders worldwide have urged "green growth" spending on clean energy to fight both recession and climate change.

German wind power capacity reached nearly 24 GW, placing it second ahead of Spain and fourth-placed China, which doubled its installed wind power for the forth year running, said the Brussels-based Global Wind Energy Council.

"Governments must send a strong and unequivocal signal that the age of fossil fuels is over," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of GWEC.

There is no reason at this point to build another coal or nuclear plant in this country. We can meet all new demands with renewable energy sources and start to phase out coal.

We Must Move Faster

It is time to increase spending on renewable energy.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Clean energy investment needs to more than triple to $515 billion a year to stop planet-warming emissions reaching levels deemed unsustainable by scientists, the World Economic Forum said in a report on Thursday.

The hefty investments required in renewable energy sectors such as solar and wind energy need to be made between now and 2030, the report, which was co-written by research group New Energy Finance, said.

"Clean energy opportunities have the potential to generate significant economic returns," the World Economic Forum said in a statement accompanying the report.

Clean energy investments were $155 billion last year, up from $30 billion in 2004 but still far below the $515 billion the report's authors say is needed to combat climate change.

We need to convince the Democratic majority in congress that it is necessary to move now. Republicons are be lead by the drug addled delusions of Rush Limbaugh. Republicons are the problem. They should not be consulted for a solution.

Toyota Solar Cars

pv_prius, originally uploaded by bredlo.

It seems Toyota is spreading rumors that they have been working on a solar powered car.

Toyota Motor Corp is secretly developing a solar powered green car, the Nikkei reports.The electric vehicle is expected to get some of its power from solar cells on the vehicle and can be recharged with electricity generated from solar panels on home roofs. Eventually, the automaker hopes to develop a model totally powered by solar cells.

Despite the skepticism at Wired, I think they are going to build a solar car. I do not think it will run only on it's own solar panels. Like the Prius pictured above it will have solar panels that will add to its electric range. It will charge in the sun, even when not plugged in. At least someone is pushing the envelope. The big three are still denying global warming and are dragging their feet when it comes to fuel efficiency.

Ezra Says

it's "illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles."

Solar Power Glut

energy forever, clouds reflected in solar panels, originally uploaded by mikeporcenaluk.

Next year production of solar panels my exceed demand.

POZNAN, Poland (Reuters) - The solar power sector will produce an over supply of solar panels in 2009, said Zhengrong Shi, chief executive of the world's biggest module manufacturer Suntech.

"We expect definitely an over supply of modules next year," he told Reuters in an interview, adding Suntech expected its euro-denominated prices to fall by 10-15 percent next year, by 25-30 percent in dollars, compared to the third quarter of 2008.

"The financial crisis has accelerated that situation," Shi said. The entire sector could halve the cost of solar power before 2012, he added, assuming companies cooperated on cutting prices across the supply chain.

The price of solar coming down is great news. The cheaper the panels, the faster the payback.

No Clean Coal

This a tour of the clean coal technology in action. There are no prototypes working. There is no actual technology. There is an idea that co2 emissions can be captured and stored. This is called carbon capture and storage. No one is currently doing this. The coal industry does have a large advertising campaign touting clean coal. If it is repeated often enough people will believe!

New Coating For Solar Panels

This could be big, if it reduces the amount of time it takes to "pay back" a solar panel.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new type of reflective coating can make solar panels far more efficient, soaking up nearly all available sunlight from nearly any angle, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Current solar panels -- which convert energy from the sun into electricity -- absorb only about two-thirds of available sunlight.

But surfaces treated with a coating developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, can harvest 96.2 percent of sunlight.

By pay back, I mean the amount of time it takes a solar panel to create an amount of electricity equal to the price of the panel based on your local utility's electrical rate. Essentially when buying a solar panel you are buying your electricity up front before you use it. Any electricity created after the pay back period is free!

Obama's Got

Green cred. I do not think he will be bullied by the press into being the next Hoover. He knows we must spend money to get the economy back on track.

Obama told Time Magazine this month that with the economy flagging he wanted to launch an "Apollo project" to build an alternative energy economy.

Because "there is no better potential driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy ... That's going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office."

And in his "closing argument" ahead of next Tuesday's election, Obama told an Ohio rally that his energy plan would create jobs while freeing America from Middle Eastern oil.

"And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid..." he said.

The press does not complain about the 10+ billion a month we spend in Iraq. Just watch when Obama proposes some project, they will scream bloody murder about the cost. Largest deficits in history no problem, under Bush. But they will be all over Obama for any spending. The media is inherently conservative.

Hawaii To Ban New Coal

Hawaii looks like it is getting serious about alternative energy. Almost 90% of electricity comes from imported fuel. That makes renewables a whole lot more attractive.

Though Hawaii announced its goal of producing 70% of its total energy needs from renewable sources by 2030 back in January, the program got further support yesterday with the announcement that a “historic accord” has been reached between the current state government and the Hawaiian Electric Company.

Though the details of many of the agreements points have yet to be worked out, what is planned is certainly a step in the right direction. Here they are:

Ban on Coal Plants, Increased RPS, Feed-in-Tariff Creation, Biofuels
The current Renewable Portfolio Standard for electricity is doubled to 40% by 2030.

A new feed-in-tariff system will be created to encourage renewable energy installation. Details on how much different renewable energy technologies will be receiving have not been disclosed.

Hawaii already requires solar hot water heaters on new construction. The feed in tariff is a big boost to renewables. I wish the feds would require that of all utilities.

Cow Power!

Chicago - MSI - Poop to Power (1689), originally uploaded by psuhockeychick.

The Forest Service in Vermont is joining the Cow Power program.

RUTLAND, VT, Oct 20, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- The U.S. Forest Service, seeking to reduce its environmental impact, has enrolled its Rutland headquarters in CVPS Cow Power(TM) , the nation's first manure-based farm-to-consumer energy program.

"We work hard to improve the environment every day, so it's natural that we'd want to lessen our environmental impact through Cow Power," said Forest Supervisor Meg Mitchell. "As we looked at ways to reduce the impact of our energy usage, enrolling in CVPS Cow Power(TM) had a great impact. We are supporting a working landscape, helping to improve water quality and removing methane from the atmosphere."

Central Vermont Public Service President Bob Young praised the Forest Service, which will pay approximately $2,100 more for electricity per year due to its enrollment. The funds, paid through a 4-cent premium on 25 percent of the Forest Service's electrical usage, will go to farm-producers who supply renewable energy, other renewable products, or incentives to help more farms get into the energy business.

Good for the Forest Service.

ABC Has Banned This Ad

The ad from http://www.wecansolveit.org/ is not at all controversial. Please go over to their website and sign the petition to make ABC play it. There is no doubt ABC has taken much money from the gas and coal companies. They do not want to loose the polluter's money.

Biofuels Are Not The Way To Go

They take too much land from food production.

ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - The Western world needs to rethink its rush to biofuels, which has done more harm pushing up food prices than it has good by reducing greenhouse gases, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said policies encouraging biofuel production and use in Europe and the United States was likely to maintain pressure on food prices but have little impact on weaning car users away from oil.

"The report finds that while biofuels will offset only a modest share of fossil energy use over the next decade they will have much bigger impacts on agriculture and food security," it said in its annual State of Food and Agriculture report.

Post consumer biofuels are OK though.

Deepwater On A Roll

Deepwater wind is winning contracts.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey utility regulators picked a joint venture between a Public Service Enterprise Group Inc subsidiary and Deepwater Wind to develop a $1 billion, 350-megawatt offshore wind farm, the state and companies said Friday.

This is a second win for Deepwater over the last 10 days. Last week, Rhode Island selected Deepwater to develop a $1 billion wind farm off its coast.

Garden State Offshore Energy, the venture, proposed to build 96 wind turbines 16 to 20 miles off the coast of Cape May and Atlantic counties in South Jersey, a distance that should be barely visible from the shore, the companies said.

The project could power about 125,000 homes and generate electricity at market rates, according to the state Board of Public Utilities.

No More Splash And Dash

The Bailout bill ended the biofuel splash and dash loop hole.

The bill would end the practice of shipping biodiesel through the United States to collect the credit, said a Senate Finance Committee spokeswoman, adding "it will be the end of splash and dash as we know it."

In "splash and dash," tankers loaded with foreign-made biodiesel stop at U.S. ports to pick up enough conventional diesel fuel to qualify for the biodiesel credit before sailing for a final destination.

The addition of 9,000 gallons of conventional diesel would be enough for a 9 million-gallon tanker to collect the credit on its entire cargo, according to one description.

For every gallon of biodiesel the subsidy was one dollar. We were subsidizing European biodiesel to the tune of 300 million dollars a year.

Clean Energy 2030

Google has a plan. They also have a lot of money to help make the plan move forward.

Right now we have a real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy. Technologies and know-how to accomplish this are either available today or are under development. We can build whole new industries and create millions of new jobs. We can cut energy costs, both at the gas pump and at home. We can improve our national security. And we can put a big dent in climate change. With strong leadership we could be moving forward on an aggressive but realistic time-line and an approach that offsets costs with real economic gains.

The energy team at Google has been analyzing how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030. Our proposal - "Clean Energy 2030" - provides a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 (with some remaining use of natural gas as well as nuclear), and cutting oil use for cars by 38%. Al Gore has issued a challenge that is even more ambitious - getting us to carbon-free electricity even sooner - and we hope the American public pushes our leaders to embrace it. T. Boone Pickens has weighed in with an interesting plan of his own to massively deploy wind energy, among other things. Other plans have also been developed in recent years that merit attention.

Our goal in presenting this first iteration of the Clean Energy 2030 proposal is to stimulate debate and we invite you to take a look and comment - or offer an alternative approach if you disagree. With a new Administration and Congress - and multiple energy-related imperatives - this is an opportune, perhaps unprecedented, moment to move from plan to action.

Check the whole thing out. Its doable with a little help and right leadership.

Wind Farms OK For Birds

Wind farms do not harm birds.

LONDON (Reuters) - Wind turbines do not drive birds from surrounding areas, British researchers said on Wednesday, in findings which could make it easier to build more wind farms.

Conservation groups have raised fears that large birds could get caught in the turbines and that the structures could disturb other species.

But scientists found only one of the 23 species studied, the pheasant, was affected during their survey of two wind farms in eastern England.

Greening The White House

Reuters has an article on which candidate is better for the environment. I will not quote the parts where the article says the are almost the same. I will not quote the lies about how John McCain is different from the other republicans. I will quote the last graph, the one about their actual voting record.

Contrasting with McCain's vice presidential pick, Obama's running mate is Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, whose rating by the League of Conservation Voters is identical to Obama's: both voted for the environment 67 percent of the time in 2007. McCain's rating by the league is zero for last year.

You have to be careful with the mainstream media. The answer partly in the article but not till the last graph. I think the biggest omission was the renewable energy tax credits votes this year. Obama and Biden voted for them all 8 times. McCain did not vote period all 8 times. Including the time it missed by one vote. So when McCain says he is for all energy sources he is lying. He is opposed to wind, solar, and geothermal.

Solar Is Heating Up

Salt, water, and hydrogen. Concentrated solar power, using the sun rays to heat something to move turbines and create electricity.

As the first commercial “concentrating solar power” or CSP plant built in 17 years, Nevada Solar One marks the reemergence and updating of a decades-old technology that could play a large new role in US power production, many observers say.

“Concentrating solar is pretty hot right now,” says Mark Mehos, program manager for CSP at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Co. “Costs look pretty good compared to natural gas [power]. Public policy, climate concern, and new technology are driving it, too.”

Spread in military rows across 300 acres of sun-baked earth, Nevada Solar One's trough-shaped parabolic mirrors are the core of this CSP plant – also called a “solar thermal” plant. The mirrors focus sunlight onto receiver tubes, heating a fluid that, at 735 degrees F., flows through a heat exchanger to a steam generator that supplies 64 megawatts of electricity to 14,000 Las Vegas homes.

Today there are just 420 megawatts of csp but it could be as much as 4,500 in the near future.

Desert land lures developers In fact, there's a land rush at the federal Bureau of Land Management. As of July, the BLM reported more than 125 applications to build solar power on about 1 million acres of desert, up from just a handful of proposals a few years ago.

“We think there's a good market there,” says Travis Bradford, an expert at the Prometheus Institute, a Boston-based solar-energy market research firm. His firm sees 12,000 megawatts (12 gigawatts) of solar thermal installed by 2020 and maybe 20 times that in coming decades.

With natural gas prices high CSP is competitive but it still needs tax credits.

To stimulate development, Spain has deployed hefty, long-term feed-in tariffs. But in the US market, solar thermal is hanging by a thread. The investment tax credit, which covers 30 percent of a CSP facility's cost, will expire at year's end unless renewed by Congress. But bills to renew the ITC have been blocked eight times this year by Senate Republicans.

In case you were wondering, Obama voted for them and McCain did not vote any of the eight times. Including the time it had 59 votes but needed 60 to break a republican filibuster. So when you see those adds where he is in front of wind mills, know he is lying.