Conservation | Across The Board

It is a false premise or presumption that the basic principle of conservation is exclusive to any one of the different types of environments in which we function on a daily basis.

The effectiveness or lack thereof of how this universal principle is applied in one environment impacts all others.

Financial Conservation/Solar Energy is just one example.

Imagine, Financial Conservation/U.S. Government or Financial Conservation/Wall Street?

The Perfect Marriage

The Perfect Marriage
How much can you save? Click

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

San Diego Zoo Goes Solar

"It's kind of a no-brainer.  What took you so long?"
"The parking lot at the San Diego Zoo has been converted into a showcase for solar energy technology.

Unveiled on Tuesday, an overhead canopy of solar panels allows zoo visitors to charge five electric vehicles at a time. Cantilevering out across 50 parking spots, the tree-like installation also stores electricity overnight in highly efficient lithium-polimer batteries and can feed power to the local San Diego grid on demand."

Solar Power | Not All Roofs Are Equal

Southern-facing surfaces are prime in
the northern hemisphere.  
The Five Basics:

  • Orientation
  • Age
  • Space
  • Obstructions
  • Shade


GetSolar.com

Sunday, December 2, 2012

The Few and The Proud Go Solar

"The United States Marines are already using solar panels to reduce their reliance on fuel generators, but by 2025, the few and proud hope eliminate the diesel-chugging monstrosities entirely. The Office of Naval Research has announced new partnerships with Raytheon, Battelle and Emcore to develop a transportable hybrid system that would leverage solar energy, heat and biofuel to power a Marine outpost for up to 15 days. Not only would these systems run much quieter, but they'd also reduce the need for fuel supply convoys, which are prime targets for attack in battle settings."

engadget

More Warehouses Switch to Solar

Your Local Walmart
"Just about any property is the United States would benefit from a solar energy installation, and that is especially true for warehouses considering how much energy an average facility uses. According to the utility company Madison Gas and Electric, the average U.S. warehouse requires approximately 7.6 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to run, with energy costs typically responsible for about 15 percent of a warehouse's yearly budget. To reduce yearly electricity bills, warehouse operators across the country have adopted photovoltaic modules to power their facilities."


Solar Energy | Servicing Rural Communities in Haiti

"The program entailed the installation of solar electric systems at 20 schools, a fish farm and a drip irrigation system supporting agricultural production throughout Haiti’s Central Plateau region, through collaboration with the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a nonprofit organization.

This project helps to improve the quality of education for more than 6,000 Haitian students by providing the electricity needed to power lights, communication systems, laptop computers and other school equipment in a remote area of the country."


Haiti Libre


OPEC'S Worst Nightmare: The Sun Plus Modern Technology


Dependence 
Independence











       
     


"Qatar aims to raise the share of solar power in electricity generation to 16 percent by 2018, an official said on Saturday in a rare example of an OPEC nation embracing renewable energy.

Qatar, the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas, has the world's highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Like other OPEC nations, it has been wary of a global shift to renewable energy, fearing it will hit demand for oil and gas."

FC Note: The fast-rising adaptation of solar energy as highlighted throughout this blog is the game-changer that will help to relieve all consumers of a dependent, 100-year-old way of supplying energy, maintained by what is now outdated, inefficient technology. 


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Solar LA - 1.5 Mil Rooftops Doubling as Generators of Clean Energy


The Perfect Marriage: Environmental Plus Financial Conservation


"Close to 1.5 million rooftops throughout Los Angeles County could potentially be doubled as renewable energy generators. That's according to a report released last week by UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation. The Los Angeles Solar Atlas contains over 40 maps breaking down potential solar density in cities, utility jurisdictions and political areas like the 15 L.A. city council districts. All told, there is enough plausible rooftop space, mostly on single family homes, to spawn over 19,000 megawatts."


KCET - Solar Focus

Monday, November 26, 2012

Strange Solar Bedfellows -- Why?


"Once billed as the odd couple when it came to energy policy, Ted Turner and a subsidiary of Southern Co. have been making headlines by investing in large solar projects over the past few years.

In this case, the anomaly is not that Turner, a longtime environmentalist and philanthropist, and Southern, owner of the nation’s three largest greenhouse gas-contributing coal plants, are working together. It’s that all but one of these solar projects are in the Southwest, far away from Georgia and the Southeast where Atlanta-based Southern’s utilities operate.

This means Georgians won’t benefit directly from Southern’s investments in solar, a non-polluting source of electricity that is fast becoming cost-competitive with traditional sources of fuel such as coal and natural gas. Southern-owned Georgia Power has slowly shifted away from using coal to provide electricity, but environmentalists say the use of cleaner, renewable sources of fuel such as solar remain a long way off in this state because of legislative and regulatory boundaries."


Funneling Solar Energy

"The concept is a simple one, borrowing from some very elementary principles. For instance, everyone knows the best way to capture and contain the most of an element or substance is with a funnel.  These cones make it easier to put oil in our cars or fill small glass shakers from a larger bag of sugar.

Now, some MIT engineers have worked out a computational model which shows how solar energy can be more or less funneled before it’s captured, ensuring an efficient and effective solar energy capturing mechanism."

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Larry Hagman - Real Life Trumps Fiction


"Larry Hagman may have played television’s most famous evil oil baron, J.R. Ewing, but in real life the “Dallas” actor was a fierce proponent of solar energy.

The actor had already installed the world’s largest residential solar array, a 94-kilowatt system, on his estate in Ojai, Calif., and served on the board of the Solar Electric Light Fund, a non-profit that brings solar systems to the developing world.

He struck a deal with German solar manufacturer SolarWorld to shoot the commercial in exchange for a donation of photovoltaic panels to the Haiti relief effort following the devastating 2010 earthquake.

'The thing is, these solar panels are manufactured domestically and can provide a lot of jobs for soldiers returning from all those wars we have fought.'"

Forbes

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Land of the Rising Sun Goes Solar


"According to a new report from the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association, domestic shipments of solar cells and modules have risen by 80% in the July-September quarter of this year. This is on the heels of the Japanese government enacting an ambitious solar energy incentive initiative, a feed-in tariff (known as net energy metering in California) that aims to help support the adoption of solar energy throughout the country.

The feed-in tariff was introduced in the wake of the Fukushima disaster of 2011, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear crisis in Northern Japan. After the disaster, the government made moves to abandon nuclear power. While moving away from nuclear energy has proven to be a slow and laborious process, the country has been keen to aggressively replace nuclear with other forms of alternative energy that are considered safer. Solar energy has, thus far, become one of the country’s most favored forms of alternative energy for this purpose."

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Solar Innovation in Arizona

Concentrating Solar Power Technology with Storage

"The technology generates power from sunlight by focusing energy from a field of sun-tracking mirrors called heliostats onto a central receiver. Liquid salt, which flows similar to water when melted, is circulated through the receiver, collecting the energy gathered from the sun. The heated salt is then routed to an insulated storage tank where it is stored with minimal energy losses. When electricity is to be generated, the hot salt is routed to heat exchangers to produce steam used to generate electricity in a conventional steam turbine cycle. The salt is then sent to the cold salt storage tank, ready to be reheated by the sun and reused the following day. The salt storage technology was demonstrated successfully at the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored 10-MW Solar Two project near Barstow, California.

The Crossroads Solar Energy Project will:

  • Help meet growing demand for clean, renewable energy sources.
  • Incorporate energy storage, which provides operating stability for the electricity grid and a cost effective way to meet Arizona’s peak electricity demand profile.
  • Deliver up to 150 MW net nominal output, producing approximately 450,000 MWh annually.
  • Boost the local economy by creating up to 450 construction jobs at peak and about 45 permanent operating jobs, and also significant property tax revenues that will benefit the local community and region"

California's Current Power Mix























FC Note:

Electricity diminishes as it travels thus it is notably expensive that California currently imports from out of state as much as 29% of what it needs to keep the lights on for a population of over 37 million.

Califorina ISO

Google Green


Greening our power

Currently, very little of the world's power is from renewables like wind and solar.  We're working on changing that by buying electricity directly from wind farms near our data centers.  We get clean energy at competitive prices, the wind farm owners get the money they need to finance new clean energy facilities and together we make the grid a little bit greener.

The Big Picture - Google


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Solar Leaders Pull Away From The Pack


"As system installed costs become competitive with retail electricity rates and new markets develop, these companies may be well positioned for more sustainable and profitable growth.  As we watch this industry evolve, we believe the PV Sustainable Growth Index will continue to shed light not only on the most successful players, but on the fundamental changes that emanate within this maturing market."


2012 PV Sustainable Growth Index 
Rank
Name
Country
Score
2011
Rank
2011-2012 Change
1
First Solar
US
56.5
2
 Up 1
2
Trina Solar
CN
61.5
1
Down 1
3
Trony Solar
CN
72.0
New
4
JinkoSolar
CN
74.5
10
Up 6
5
Yingli Green Energy
CN
79.0
6
Up 1
6
Canadian Solar
CN
82.5
15
Up 9
7
Suntech
CN
88.5
12
Up 5
8
JA Solar
CN
89.0
5
Down 3
9
REC ASA
NO
96.5
9
Same
10
ReneSola
CN
100.5
2
Down 8
11
SunPower
US
107.5
14
Up 3
12
Hanwha SolarOne
CN
120.0
13
Up 1
13
Neo Solar Power
TW
126.5
11
Down 2
14
SolarWorld AG
DE
127.5
17
Up 3
15
Motech Industries
TW
129.0
8
Down 7
16
Risen Energy
CN
132.5
New
17
LDK Solar
CN
133.0
2
Down 15
18
Green Energy Tech
TW
141.0
19
Up 1
19
aleo solar AG
DE
142.0
16
Down 3
20
Gintech Energy
TW
150.0
7
Down 13
21
Centrosolar AG
DE
158.5
22
Up 1
22
Conergy AG
DE
160.5
22
Same
23
China Sunergy
CN
164.0
18
Down 5
24
Delsolar
TW
183.0
21
Down 3
25
E-Ton Solar Tech
TW
187.0
24
Down 1