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Decentralised solar energy for use by USA soldiers

U.S. Army tests renewable energy systems for soldiers in the field GizMag, By Antonio Pasolini, May 16, 2012   In a bid to mitigate the risks associated with fuel transportation and to make soldiers’ work less technically complex, U.S. military scientists have started to test microgrids that would provide clean energy to soldiers in the field. Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Walmart’s considerable solar energy achievement

And The Solar Lights All Went On In Massachusetts* (Walmarts) Renewable Energy News 16 MAY, 2012 |  by Energy Matters Various sources are reporting the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, will be partially powering half of its Massachusetts stores with solar energy very soon.

27 of its Massachusetts stores will have solar panel arrays installed by 2014, representing a total capacity of 10 megawatts. Walmart director of energy, David Ozment, said he expects the solar power systems to produce enough electricity to provide 10-15 percent of each store’s energy requirements….  The systems add to Walmart’s already significant on-site renewable energy portfolio. As of last month, the company had 115 rooftop solar arrays in seven countries, collectively generating 71 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Renewables on the rise, as King Coal dethroned

King coal dethroned, CLIMATE SPECTATOR, Peter Newman & Ray Wills, 15 May 2012 “King coal still reigns” was the headline emblazoned  across a full page article in The Weekend Australian on the 28-29 April 2012, by environment editor Graham Lloyd. The article’s subtitle was, “The world is in the grip of a fossil fuel boom that shows no sign of fading.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. The latest data on global investment in new power production shows the dramatic decline in fossil fuel investment, and an astonishing increase in renewables investment. Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, ENERGY | Leave a comment

Germany to be nuclear free within 10 years

 includes VIDEO  http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/210528/288/Germany-plans-to-go-nuclear-free-within-a-decade   Germany plans to go nuclear free within a decade, May 10, 2012  “…. Protest against nuclear energy in Germany began shortly after the Fukushima disaster in 2011 and Berlin reacted. After a safety review Angela Merkel’s government decided to shut down eight of Germany’s 17 reactors immediately and abandon nuclear energy altogether by 2022. She says, “We want to make sure that our power supply is safe,” Merkel said. “But at the same time it must be reliable.”

Germany’s answer is renewables! Aside from solar power, the country embarked on an ambitious quest to build dozens of off shore wind parks with thousands of turbines in the North and Baltic Seas. Most of the assembly happens in the northern town of Bremerhaven and local officials say the rush into renewables has led to an economic boom here. Nils Schnorrenberger says, “We had an unemployment rate of 25 per cent six years ago. Now it is 14 per cent and the companies gave 2000 people jobs just here in Bremerhaven.”..

. Ever since the Chernobyl disaster, Germans have had a troubled relationship with
nuclear energy with regular protests against new plants and nuclear waste transports. Since Fukushima, however, the country’s decision to quit atomic power seems irreversible, even in the face of challenges and uncertainties ahead. http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/210528/288/Germany-plans-to-go-nuclear-free-within-a-decade

May 11, 2012 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Saudi Arabia’s $109 billion solar energy plan

Saudi Arabia Plans $109 Billion Boost for Solar Power Bloomberg, By Wael Mahdi and Marc Roca – May 10, 2012  Saudi Arabia  is seeking investors for a $109 billion plan to create a solar industry that generates a third of the nation’s electricity by 2032, according to officials at the agency developing the plan….

“We are not only looking for building solar plants,” al- Odan said in an interview in Riyadh yesterday. “We want to run a sustainable solar energy sector that will become a driver for the domestic energy for years to come.”…

May 11, 2012 Posted by | renewable, Saudi Arabia | Leave a comment

Renewable energy chosen by island nations

Climate Conversations – Island nations commit to renewable energy Alert Net By Veerle Vandeweerd, 11 May 12,  Jamaica is a nation on a mission for sustainable energy for all. The government spent $2.2 billion – or 40 percent – of its foreign exchange earnings on
importing fossil fuels in 2011. So they decided to make a change.

They turned to the nature around them – the sunshine, waterfalls and rivers – investing in renewable energy. By 2030, 30 percent of Jamaica’s energy will come from renewables. Continue reading →

May 11, 2012 Posted by | OCEANIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Japan moves toward renewable energy, as nuclear lobby’s influence wanes

 “We have the technological know-how. Japan can do anything that Germany can.”

the heavy political influence once exerted by the country’s “nuclear village” of power companies and regulators is waning, experts say.

above – wind turbines, Japan

Crisis-hit Japan mulls shift to renewable energy, Knox News,  By Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press  May 6, 2012  “……..To offset the energy shortfall, utilities have ramped up oil- and gas-based generation, giving resource-poor Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, its biggest annual trade deficit ever last fiscal year. That $100 million-plus a day extra cost, worries over the risks of nuclear power and concern over carbon emissions are leading many decision-makers to view renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro and wind more positively. Continue reading →

May 7, 2012 Posted by | Japan, renewable | 1 Comment

Solar powered boat completes round the world trip

PlanetSolar – she’s arrived! First around the world on solar energy   Sail World, 6 May 12, On Friday 4th May, after precisely 32,401nm, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar arrived back into the Hercule Harbour in Monaco, thereby achieving the first around-the-world voyage with solar energy!    It was probably not planned, but appropriate, that the vast-decked, strange-looking craft arrived back at its point of departure the day before Connect-the-Dots Day , a consciousness-raising day in search of world unity on the necessity for discarding fossil fuels.   A large crowd turned out to welcome them. The 115ft catamaran – the largest solar-powered boat ever built – crossed the finish line at 2.12pm local time.

The leader of the PlanetSolar expedition, Raphaël Domjan predictably told waiting reporters: ‘We are extremely happy to have achieved this first world tour with solar energy!

‘We have shown that we have the technologies as well as the knowledge to become sustainable and safeguard our blue planet.’

In her journey around the globe, PlanetSolar visited 28 countries and travelled 585 days without using a drop of fuel. ….  http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/PlanetSolar—shes-arrived!-First-around-the-world-on-solar-energy/96885

May 7, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Massachusetts project the national leader in solar energy

The Westford facility is unique in that all of the project’s key players — from the developer and its financiers to the operator and its utility partner — are Massachusetts companies. 

Solar park set to warm region Boston Globe, By Brenda J. Buote Globe Correspondent / May 6, 2012“………Through successful public-private partnerships, the amount of solar installed in Massachusetts has soared from 3.5 megawatts in 2007 to more than 92 megawatts, according to Richard K. Sullivan Jr., secretary of the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The Westford project is one of several large-scale renewable energy developments spurred by the Massachusetts Green Communities Act, which was signed into law by Patrick in 2008 to support renewable energy and efficiency projects. Continue reading →

May 7, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

UK govt betrays its promises by cutting solar energy funding

Mr Cameron told a conference in London of energy ministers from 23 countries that Britain would deliver on its renewable energy commitments.

Thousands of jobs at risk after PM abandons solar subsidies Senior figures in the industry say they face a bleak future as demand for panels collapses INDEPENDENT UK NIGEL MORRIS    07 MAY 2012  NEW MOVES TO REDUCE SUBSIDIES FOR FITTING SOLAR PANELS ON HOMES ARE JEOPARDISING BRITAIN’S HOPES OF HITTING RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS AND THREATENING THOUSANDS OF JOBS, DAVID CAMERON WAS WARNED LAST NIGHT.

Some 400 senior figures in the solar energy industry said demand for panels has collapsed since the Government started slashing financial incentives for families that want to go green. Continue reading →

May 7, 2012 Posted by | politics, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

New and cheaper concentrated solar power

Breakthrough in concentrated solar power from partnership between 3M and Gossamer Space Frames THE FUEL OF TOMORROW REPORTED TODAY BY ANGIE BERGENSON– MAY 6, 2012    New solar collector could unlock great potential for solar energy

Solar thermal energy has taken a large step forward due to a new partnership between 3M’s Renewable Energy Division and Gossamer Space Frames, a developer of solar energy technologies. This week, the two companies revealed a new solar energy collection system that is designed specifically to reduce the cost of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems. CSP is a type of solar energy system in which sunlight is concentrated and directed at solar panels. These systems create a large amount of heat, which can be converted into electricity, thus making them powerful energy generation systems…….   the companies believe that CSP systems may soon enter into a veritable “golden age,” bringing the rest of the solar energy industry with them.   http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/breakthrough-in-concentrated-solar-power-from-partnership-between-3m-and-gossamer-space-frames/853465/

May 7, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Los Angeles – overwhelming call for more roodftop solar power

    New Poll: Angelenos Overwhelmingly Support More Local Rooftop Solar Power Environmental Expert,  City Council, LADWP Solar Action Puts L.A. on the Right Track in the Minds of Voters LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)-– A significant majority of voters in Los Angeles wants more local solar powering their city; in fact they want lots more. These are the findings of a new poll on L.A. attitudes toward renewable energy conducted by the public research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) for the Vote Solar Initiative.

Advocates are urging city and utility leaders to take note and keep taking bold steps to expand investment in a local solar power economy.

Key findings:

  • A large majority of voters want LADWP to use more electricity generated from renewable sources like solar (87 percent) and wind (79 percent).
  • Three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents specifically feel that LADWP should be doing more to expand the use of local rooftop solar in Los Angeles.
  • Four out of five (81 percent) support LADWP increasing its local solar goal to 1,200 megawatts, ten percent of Governor Brown’s goal for local clean power. Support for this goal remains strong across the political spectrum, with majorities of Democratic, Republican and Independent voters all expressing support.

A memo detailing the survey findings is available here:
http://votesolar.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Vot………  http://www.environmental-expert.com/news/new-poll-angelenos-overwhelmingly-support-more-local-rooftop-solar-power-292759

May 5, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Growth of renewable energy in USA

Who uses renewable power, in one map, Washington Post,  by , 05/02/2012  We keep hearing that renewable energy is booming in the United States, but where is it? Here’s a handy map from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showing how much electricity each state gets from wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal (but not hydropower):….

Why do some states do better than others? Policy helps. Some 30 states have laws that require utilities to get a certain portion of their power from renewable sources. (The Southeast is the big exception here.) The strictness of the laws varies from state to state, but by and large, states with stricter standards get more renewables. But simply having natural resources helps, too: Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota don’t have strict standards, but there’s so much wind up there that turbines are going up anyway….. Meanwhile, the EIA notes, if you include hydropower, some states in the Pacific Northwest look even better. Idaho gets 93 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric dams. Oregon gets 78 percent and Washington 82 percent….  The EIA has data on total renewable generation, not including hydropower, here (Excel file). The top states in 2012 on this metric were:

1. Texas
2. California
3. Iowa
4. Minnesota
5. Washington
6. Illinois     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/where-americas-renewable-energy-is-in-one-map/2012/05/02/gIQAHNpPwT_blog.html

May 3, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

The world watches as renewables succeed in Germany, as nuclear power fades

A vast majority of Germans have made up their minds on the need to phase out nuclear. And what happens in Germany will be a major indicator for other countries…..  The world is watching Germany’s Energiewende.”
 Germany: Fighting Climate Change And Phasing Out Nuclear Power Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin Think Progress,   Apr 27, 2012  by Arne Jungjohann Recently, the editorial board of the Washington Post asked if the world can fight global warming without nuclear power, looking to Germany and Japan for the answer.

Both countries are known for a nuclear shutdown path. In Japan, only one of the 54 nuclear reactors currently remains in operation. Germany has closed eights reactors following the nuclear catastrophe of Fukushima in March 2011 and the remaining nine are scheduled to be closed by 2022.

That obviously must lead to rising emissions, the Post claims. …. If you look at the most recent emissions data, however, the opposite is happening. Germany reduced its carbon emissions in 2011 by 2.1 percent despite the nuclear phase out. How can that be? Continue reading →

May 2, 2012 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Wind farms really do fight climate chnage

Wind Farms Fight Climate Change http://www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/wind-farms-fight-climate-change/1820 Wind Farms Falsely Linked to Climate Change. By Zoë Casey , May 1st, 2012 Media sources have today published reports claiming that wind farms can cause local temperature increases. The news, based on a study carried out on large wind farms in Texas, has been widely reported and, in some cases, falsely linked to global climate change. Continue reading →

May 2, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

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