September 2008
Monthly Archive
Renewables account for more than 10% of US energy use
Posted by admin on 30 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Biofuel, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydro, Solar, Wind
According to a report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable sources make up more than 10% of the energy used in the first half of 2008.
For the period Jan. 1 — June 30, 2008, the United States consumed 50.673 quadrillion Btus (quads) of energy — of which 34.162 quads was from domestic sources and 16.511 quads was imported.
Domestically-produced renewable energy (biomass/biofuels, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 3.606 quads — an amount equal to 10.56 percent of U.S. energy consumption that is domestically-produced.
Hospitals powered by solar in Madagascar
Posted by admin on 30 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Much of rural Madagascar is still not connected to the national grid. Now, with help from the World Bank, some rural hospitals are being powered by solar energy.
With the help of financing from the World Bank, FID decided to launch a new wave of solar installations in 27 health centres at the cost of 1.3 billion ariary (739,000 dollars, 520,000 euros).
Solar-powered water heaters a hit in Burkina Faso
Posted by admin on 29 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Switzerland’s Albert Schweitzer Ecological Centre (CEAS) is training residents of Burkina Faso in solar energy equipment.
The centre taught him to build water heaters, dryers and pumps, among other things. Porgo said he sold about 50 dryers and water heaters, earning him about 22 million CFA francs (33,500 euros, 47,000 dollars) in 10 years.
Solar-thermal-electricity plant generating power in Spain
Posted by admin on 28 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Europe’s first commercial solar-thermal-electricity plant, located in Seville, Spain, can generate enough energy to power 5500 homes.
The moving mirrors reflect sunbeams onto a 115-metre-high white tower that uses the concentrated heat to boil water, making steam that spins an electric turbine 97 times a second. This is Europe’s first commercial solar-thermal-electricity plant, at the forefront of a growing movement for green power.
Jewel-Osco to open LEED store in Chicago
Posted by admin on 28 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: LEED
Jewel-Osco opened its first LEED-certified store in Chicago on September 26th.
Among the special design elements:
– A highly reflective and heat emissive LiveRoof system, incorporating vegetation, which will reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling.
– Use of building materials with recycled content, obtained within a 500-mile radius in order to reduce transportation needs.
– Energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, including temperature monitors that sense the need for more heating or cooling based on the number of people in the store.
– Strict attention to the recycling of 98 percent of construction debris.
– Water-saving fixtures, energy-efficient lighting, use of non ozone-depleting refrigerants in cooling equipment, and refrigerant leak detection monitors.
Bicycle provides solar-powered assistance
Posted by admin on 27 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
The Cycle Sol is similar to an electric bike, but it has a canopy lined with solar cells that power a motor on the back wheel.
Mr Miljevic, a London-based designer, says the motor can be fully charged while the bike is chained up outside on a sunny day. When the sun is not shining, the bike can be charged by mains electricity.
Nevada to host world’s largest geothermal conference
Posted by admin on 27 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Geothermal
The world’s largest geothermal conference will be held October 5th through 8th in Reno, Nevada.
The 2008 Geothermal Energy Conference & Expo will be held in Reno, Nevada – with hundreds of geothermal experts and businesses expected to attend from all around the world.
The annual event, which was formerly called the GEA Trade Show and GRC Annual Meeting, will play host to a wide range of companies from the US and abroad within the geothermal power industry.
US first installation of bi-directional solar trackers completed
Posted by admin on 26 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Premier Power has announced the completion of the United States’ first and largest bi-directional solar trackers in Delano, California.
The first two trackers engineered by Premier Power, each span 45 feet, include 915 square feet of solar panels, and are indicative of the fact that solar tracker solutions are evolving on a utility scale.” The state-of-the-art, dual-axis solar trackers permit increasing photovoltaic solar energy production by more than 35% when compared to fixed installations.
Ocean buoys can produce 10% of US energy
Posted by admin on 26 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Ocean Energy
An ocean buoy developed by New Jersey’s Ocean Power Technologies is generating energy from waves, laying the groundwork for future development of wave farms.
Roger Bedard, the EPR institute’s ocean energy expert, believes that the potential for hydro electricity generation is “significant.” In fact, he believes it could generate up to 10% of America’s power needs, accounting all current inefficiencies and practicalities. Perhaps, in the future, that 10% could grow as power grids change and adapt to handle the sometimes irregular influx of power generated from wind, solar and water
Green energy to create 20 million jobs
Posted by admin on 25 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Jobs & Careers
The United Nations released a report saying 20 million jobs will be created worldwide by 2030 from the development of alternative energy sources.
Manufacturing, installing, and maintaining solar panels should add 6.3 million jobs by 2030 while wind power should add more than 2 million jobs. Even more jobs could be created in the building, recycling, clean vehicle manufacturing sectors, the report said.
