Happy New Year To All
May there be many successes in all areas of alternative energy in the coming new year.
We need to reduce our consumption of oil and gasoline.
Obama needs to be known as the Alternative Energy President. He could go into the history books as the leader of the world of alternative energy.
Send emails to the prez and congress, tell them you want more done with alternative energy.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Please Use LED Christmas Light Bulbs
You can go crazy with the new LED Christmas Llight bulbs. String your house, yard and tree with a million lights and they won't use as much electric as your incandesant bulbs of years ago.
The electric they use is much less, so you won't need to put them on a higher amp. circuit.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate Jesus' Birthday!
Happy New Year to everyone.
The electric they use is much less, so you won't need to put them on a higher amp. circuit.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate Jesus' Birthday!
Happy New Year to everyone.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Santa Will Continue To Use Alternative Fuel For Sleigh
Santa Will Continue To Use Alternative Fuel This Year (reindeers)
(North Pole) Word is he might switch to wind powered generator for heating the sleigh. The elves intalled solar panels on top of his workshop. It should reduce the electric bill at the North Pole. More news about this as we hear it.
Happy Holidays to everyone from all of us at USAALTERNATIVEENERGYUSA!
(North Pole) Word is he might switch to wind powered generator for heating the sleigh. The elves intalled solar panels on top of his workshop. It should reduce the electric bill at the North Pole. More news about this as we hear it.
Happy Holidays to everyone from all of us at USAALTERNATIVEENERGYUSA!
Friday, December 4, 2009
BP Deals With 2nd Alaskan Pipeline Spill In A Week
BP deals with 2nd Alaskan pipeline spill in a week12.04.09, 12:19 PM EST
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec 4 (Reuters) - British oil giant BP ( BP - news - people ) has begun cleaning up a second pipeline leak at its Prudhoe Bay operations in Alaska this week, after fluid spilled from a flow line Wednesday.
The incident did not impact oil production in Prudhoe Bay, the largest U.S. oilfield complex, a BP spokesman said Friday.
The leak in the 34-inch (86-cm) diameter flow line, which was discovered Wednesday, spilled about 7,140 gallons f a watery mixture known as produced water into an operational building and an outdoor gravel area, Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation said in a situation report late Thursday.
The spill was the second pipeline incident to affect BP's Alaska operations in less than a week, after the company found crude, gas and produced water leaking from another of its Alaskan pipelines on Sunday.
Produced water is not crude, but the often salty and oil-laced fluid can be harmful, especially if it penetrates into Alaska's fragile tundra surface.
print
reprint
newsletter
comments
share
del.icio.us
Digg It!
yahoo
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
rss
Yahoo! Buzz
Link to: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/12/04/2009-12-04T171931Z_01_N04498701_RTRIDST_0_BP-ALASKA-PIPELINE-UPDATE1.html
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenrgynow.blogspot.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec 4 (Reuters) - British oil giant BP ( BP - news - people ) has begun cleaning up a second pipeline leak at its Prudhoe Bay operations in Alaska this week, after fluid spilled from a flow line Wednesday.
The incident did not impact oil production in Prudhoe Bay, the largest U.S. oilfield complex, a BP spokesman said Friday.
The leak in the 34-inch (86-cm) diameter flow line, which was discovered Wednesday, spilled about 7,140 gallons f a watery mixture known as produced water into an operational building and an outdoor gravel area, Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation said in a situation report late Thursday.
The spill was the second pipeline incident to affect BP's Alaska operations in less than a week, after the company found crude, gas and produced water leaking from another of its Alaskan pipelines on Sunday.
Produced water is not crude, but the often salty and oil-laced fluid can be harmful, especially if it penetrates into Alaska's fragile tundra surface.
reprint
newsletter
comments
share
del.icio.us
Digg It!
yahoo
rss
Yahoo! Buzz
Link to: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/12/04/2009-12-04T171931Z_01_N04498701_RTRIDST_0_BP-ALASKA-PIPELINE-UPDATE1.html
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenrgynow.blogspot.com
Buying USA MADE Saves Energy
Buying USA MADE Saves Energy
If all of us in the USA would make the extra effort to buy USA made products we could save alot of energy. Transporting products farther than needed wastes energy. If we can reduce our oil and coal consumption we would not need to fight in wars to keep the oil flowing plentiful and freely and at a reasonable cost.
WIGWAM Clothes Made In USA
Below is a comment I made on the WIGWAM Clothes Website Blog.
"I just bought five pair of your socks. They are great. They are high quality. Made in USA is important to me. I am concerned about energy conservation and alternative energy. I'm glad to see the energy conservation and alternative energy your company has done. I will put a link to your company in my blog" at: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Posted by: Bill Gee on 10/29/2009 at 10:18 PM
WIGWAM INSTALLS SOLAR PANELS
Wigwam installed an array of 27- 4’x10’ solar thermal collectors on the roof of its plant in Sheboygan. The system will generate enough solar energy to reduce 2,815 therms of natural gas combustion. By eliminating the consumption of natural gas, the system will result in the reduction of 15.5 tons of green house gases per year. The system is used for pre-heating water that is converted to steam for processing goods in the dye house and humidifying the plant. The solar system is estimated to provide 45 percent of the heat required for this process on an annual basis. The percentage takes into account seasonal variations in temperature and weather. “Though there is a payback on the system and cost savings in the first eight to nine years, that was not our primary driver to install the system,” said Chesebro. “We made the upgrade because we knew that it was the right thing to do.”
http://www.wigwam.com/Community/News_ent_2008124_wigwam-installs-solar-panels.aspx
Back to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
If all of us in the USA would make the extra effort to buy USA made products we could save alot of energy. Transporting products farther than needed wastes energy. If we can reduce our oil and coal consumption we would not need to fight in wars to keep the oil flowing plentiful and freely and at a reasonable cost.
WIGWAM Clothes Made In USA
Below is a comment I made on the WIGWAM Clothes Website Blog.
"I just bought five pair of your socks. They are great. They are high quality. Made in USA is important to me. I am concerned about energy conservation and alternative energy. I'm glad to see the energy conservation and alternative energy your company has done. I will put a link to your company in my blog" at: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Posted by: Bill Gee on 10/29/2009 at 10:18 PM
WIGWAM INSTALLS SOLAR PANELS
Wigwam installed an array of 27- 4’x10’ solar thermal collectors on the roof of its plant in Sheboygan. The system will generate enough solar energy to reduce 2,815 therms of natural gas combustion. By eliminating the consumption of natural gas, the system will result in the reduction of 15.5 tons of green house gases per year. The system is used for pre-heating water that is converted to steam for processing goods in the dye house and humidifying the plant. The solar system is estimated to provide 45 percent of the heat required for this process on an annual basis. The percentage takes into account seasonal variations in temperature and weather. “Though there is a payback on the system and cost savings in the first eight to nine years, that was not our primary driver to install the system,” said Chesebro. “We made the upgrade because we knew that it was the right thing to do.”
http://www.wigwam.com/Community/News_ent_2008124_wigwam-installs-solar-panels.aspx
Back to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Time To Be Thankful
Thanksgiving is almost here. In America and other wealthy nations it's a time to reflect on our lives and give thanks, even if we only have two quaters to rub together. There are those in this world that don't have enough food, or clothes, or medical care. Pray that there are enough generous people who will come to their aid in any way they can, with money or volunteering.
Click on the Worthwhile Causes link.
Thank You
Click on the Worthwhile Causes link.
Thank You
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Our Choice - Book By Al Gore
Our Choice" Book - by Al Gore
A Plan To Solve The Climate Crisis (Paperback)
A Plan To Solve The Climate Crisis (Paperback)
A well done book. Recommeded by USA alternative energy NOW
Saturday, November 14, 2009
America Recycles Day - Montgomery County, MD
Celebrate America Recycles Day!
Paper Shredding/Recycling & Clothing and Household Goods Donation Drop-off!
Saturday, November 14 from 10am to 2pm
Upcounty Regional Services Center
12900 Middlebrook Road
Germantown, MD 20874
And
Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center
3300 Briggs Channey Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Sunday, November 15
from 8am to 12pm
John F. Kennedy High School
1901 Randolph Road
Silver Spring, MD 20902
from 1pm to 5pm
Walt Whitman High School
7100 Whittier Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20817
Link to: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/recycling
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Paper Shredding/Recycling & Clothing and Household Goods Donation Drop-off!
Saturday, November 14 from 10am to 2pm
Upcounty Regional Services Center
12900 Middlebrook Road
Germantown, MD 20874
And
Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center
3300 Briggs Channey Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Sunday, November 15
from 8am to 12pm
John F. Kennedy High School
1901 Randolph Road
Silver Spring, MD 20902
from 1pm to 5pm
Walt Whitman High School
7100 Whittier Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20817
Link to: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/recycling
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Bloomberg Oil Prices 13 November 2009
Bloomberg Oil Prices
Link to: http://www.bloomberg.com
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Link to: http://www.bloomberg.com
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Harnessing Irish Wave Power
The Atlantic coast of Ireland has some of the highest concentrations of wave power in the world. If this power is harnessed, it can be turned into electricity. So since 2005, the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC) in Cork has been working with industry (Ocean Energy Limited) to develop a prototype wave-power electric generator. The aim is to produce 500 megawatts of electricity from ocean energy by 2020.
Says Tony Lewis, the director of the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre at University College Cork (UCC) “The smallest scale that we use is this one-to-fifty scale which gives us an idea of how the concept will work, and when we get that then we scale up further to this one-to-fifteen scale model which then allows us to simulate, in a much more realistic way. The principle that it operates on is that there is a large ducting, or chamber, inside this device which is open to the sea at the rear and inside the chamber there is an air volume. That air volume is compressed by the waves and as the waves go by that compressed air is forced through the turbine which spins to generate electricity.”
After three years of experiments in the wave tank, a larger quarter-scale test device was moored one and a half miles off the coast of Galway on Ireland’s west coast. For the engineers on the project, designing a platform that could survive the harsh seas of the north Atlantic was the biggest challenge.
Says Richard Toll, research professor Economic and Social Research Institute in the Irish capital Dublin, “‘The reason why wave power is so expensive is two fold – first, very few people live in the ocean, it’s simply a long way away from where we need the electricity and that increases its cost and the second reason is that the environment is so hostile.”
But while wave power is expensive compared to other renewable such as wind, those costs should come down as the industry is scaled up. The future for wave power could still be bright.
Copyright © 2009 euronews
Link to: http://www.euronews.net/2009/10/28/harnessing-irish-wave-power/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Says Tony Lewis, the director of the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre at University College Cork (UCC) “The smallest scale that we use is this one-to-fifty scale which gives us an idea of how the concept will work, and when we get that then we scale up further to this one-to-fifteen scale model which then allows us to simulate, in a much more realistic way. The principle that it operates on is that there is a large ducting, or chamber, inside this device which is open to the sea at the rear and inside the chamber there is an air volume. That air volume is compressed by the waves and as the waves go by that compressed air is forced through the turbine which spins to generate electricity.”
After three years of experiments in the wave tank, a larger quarter-scale test device was moored one and a half miles off the coast of Galway on Ireland’s west coast. For the engineers on the project, designing a platform that could survive the harsh seas of the north Atlantic was the biggest challenge.
Says Richard Toll, research professor Economic and Social Research Institute in the Irish capital Dublin, “‘The reason why wave power is so expensive is two fold – first, very few people live in the ocean, it’s simply a long way away from where we need the electricity and that increases its cost and the second reason is that the environment is so hostile.”
But while wave power is expensive compared to other renewable such as wind, those costs should come down as the industry is scaled up. The future for wave power could still be bright.
Copyright © 2009 euronews
Link to: http://www.euronews.net/2009/10/28/harnessing-irish-wave-power/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Army Turns To Solar
Army turns to solar for mission power and more
Submitted by SHNS on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 14:26
By DAVID DANELSKI, The Press-Enterprise
national
ShareThis
The U.S. Army, joining the push to turn Mojave Desert sunshine into electricity, plans to blanket as much as 21 square miles at Fort Irwin with solar mirrors and panels.
Generating solar electricity inside the gates of the Fort Irwin National Training Center near Barstow will allow the military to end its reliance on the potentially uncertain California power grid, Brig. Gen. Robert Abrams said during a recent briefing.
"This is absolute insurance that we will be able to continue our mission to prepare and train forces for deployment," said Abrams, the base commander.
The state power grid could get knocked out by war or terrorism, but the more likely scenarios would be loss of electricity during storms or in blackouts caused by too much demand during hot weather, Fort Irwin spokesman Kenneth Drylie said.
The endeavor is the largest solar energy project within the Defense Department and part of an overall effort to develop secure and alternative energy sources for the military, a defense official said.
Army and Defense Department officials say they will work out long-term leases with two companies to develop solar power at five locations that aren't suitable for training missions on the 1,100-square-mile base. Electricity could begin flowing as early as 2012.
Clark Energy Group of Arlington, Va., and Acciona Solar Power, an affiliate of Acciona SA Corporation in Madrid, plan to produce as much as 500 megawatts of power.
Fort Irwin consumes at most 28 megawatts in the heat of August, Abrams said. The remainder, enough for about 290,000 homes, would be sold to utility companies.
The base, which has a daily population of nearly 23,000 troops, civilians and families, often is the last training stop for soldiers, sailors and Marines before they are deployed to overseas conflicts such as the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Abrams said. The focus is on live-ammunition training with tanks and troops in desert terrain and simulated Middle Eastern communities.
The companies expect to invest $2 billion over 13 years, said Laurence Greene, development director for Acciona Solar Power, which has offices in Henderson, Nev.
To pay for the leases, the solar energy firms would bear the cost of building roads, installing utilities and developing amenities needed at the military training center, said Jerry Hansen, an acting assistant secretary of the Army.
Fort Irwin's territory includes habitat for desert tortoises, a species threatened with extinction. Protecting tortoises is one of the issues that will be examined in environmental reviews that are required before construction can begin. The reviews are expected to take two to three years to complete.
Greene said the first power could be generated by 2012, and all 500 megawatts could be online by 2022.
The developers plan to use a combination of thermal concentration, in which a heated fluid is used to generate steam, and photovoltaic panels, which directly convert sunlight to electricity.
The Fort Irwin solar project is proceeding at the same time state and federal officials are encouraging stepped-up solar and wind development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ease the nation's reliance on foreign fuels.
Earlier his month, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the opening of a special renewable-energy office in Palm Springs to swiftly review applications for wind, solar and geothermal projects in territory controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.
(E-mail David Danelski at ddanelski(at)PE.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
Submitted by SHNS on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 14:26
By DAVID DANELSKI, The Press-Enterprise
national
ShareThis
The U.S. Army, joining the push to turn Mojave Desert sunshine into electricity, plans to blanket as much as 21 square miles at Fort Irwin with solar mirrors and panels.
Generating solar electricity inside the gates of the Fort Irwin National Training Center near Barstow will allow the military to end its reliance on the potentially uncertain California power grid, Brig. Gen. Robert Abrams said during a recent briefing.
"This is absolute insurance that we will be able to continue our mission to prepare and train forces for deployment," said Abrams, the base commander.
The state power grid could get knocked out by war or terrorism, but the more likely scenarios would be loss of electricity during storms or in blackouts caused by too much demand during hot weather, Fort Irwin spokesman Kenneth Drylie said.
The endeavor is the largest solar energy project within the Defense Department and part of an overall effort to develop secure and alternative energy sources for the military, a defense official said.
Army and Defense Department officials say they will work out long-term leases with two companies to develop solar power at five locations that aren't suitable for training missions on the 1,100-square-mile base. Electricity could begin flowing as early as 2012.
Clark Energy Group of Arlington, Va., and Acciona Solar Power, an affiliate of Acciona SA Corporation in Madrid, plan to produce as much as 500 megawatts of power.
Fort Irwin consumes at most 28 megawatts in the heat of August, Abrams said. The remainder, enough for about 290,000 homes, would be sold to utility companies.
The base, which has a daily population of nearly 23,000 troops, civilians and families, often is the last training stop for soldiers, sailors and Marines before they are deployed to overseas conflicts such as the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Abrams said. The focus is on live-ammunition training with tanks and troops in desert terrain and simulated Middle Eastern communities.
The companies expect to invest $2 billion over 13 years, said Laurence Greene, development director for Acciona Solar Power, which has offices in Henderson, Nev.
To pay for the leases, the solar energy firms would bear the cost of building roads, installing utilities and developing amenities needed at the military training center, said Jerry Hansen, an acting assistant secretary of the Army.
Fort Irwin's territory includes habitat for desert tortoises, a species threatened with extinction. Protecting tortoises is one of the issues that will be examined in environmental reviews that are required before construction can begin. The reviews are expected to take two to three years to complete.
Greene said the first power could be generated by 2012, and all 500 megawatts could be online by 2022.
The developers plan to use a combination of thermal concentration, in which a heated fluid is used to generate steam, and photovoltaic panels, which directly convert sunlight to electricity.
The Fort Irwin solar project is proceeding at the same time state and federal officials are encouraging stepped-up solar and wind development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ease the nation's reliance on foreign fuels.
Earlier his month, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the opening of a special renewable-energy office in Palm Springs to swiftly review applications for wind, solar and geothermal projects in territory controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.
(E-mail David Danelski at ddanelski(at)PE.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
Environmental Media Awards
Environmental Media Association Gives Out Awards
20th Anniversary Awards
HonoringSir Richard Branson, Centropolis Entertainment,National Geographic Society & Jason Mraz
October 25, 2009 – 6:30pmHollywood, CA
The Environmental Media Awards honor film and television productions and individuals that increase public awareness of environmental issues and inspire personal action on these issues.
Produced by Scott Mauro EntertainmentScott Mauro, Executive Producer
Link to: http://www.ema-online.org/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow,blogspot.com
20th Anniversary Awards
HonoringSir Richard Branson, Centropolis Entertainment,National Geographic Society & Jason Mraz
October 25, 2009 – 6:30pmHollywood, CA
The Environmental Media Awards honor film and television productions and individuals that increase public awareness of environmental issues and inspire personal action on these issues.
Produced by Scott Mauro EntertainmentScott Mauro, Executive Producer
Link to: http://www.ema-online.org/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow,blogspot.com
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
OBAMA TO VISIT DESOTO SOLAR CENTER IN FLORIDA TODAY
Arcadia, Florida - Rural DeSoto County is mostly known for cattle and orange groves, but now power is putting it on the map.
"This is the largest one in the country," says Eric Silagy of Florida Power & Light, while standing in the middle of a field filled with solar panels.
FPL's giant DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center officially starts producing electricity Tuesday and workers are spiffing up the place for a presidential visit.
While the solar center is the focus of Barack Obama's stop in DeSoto County, in nearby Arcadia, the owner of a new restaurant hopes the historic small town will also get a spot in the sun.
"So we're glad that he's coming," says Dennis Tyson of Mary Margaret's Tea & Biscuit. "He'll make people know where we are."
President Obama will use the solar center as a backdrop for an energy announcement. He's expected to announce plans to invest stimulus funds into clean energy and smart grid technology.
As for FPL officials, they say the president's stop here could energize the production of solar power. "It shows a recognition that Florida is on the right track," says Silagy of the attention from Obama.
The acres of solar panels will generate electricity for some 3,000 homes, but the facility cost $150 million to build. Cost is the big drawback for solar centers. They're more expensive to build than traditional power plants using coal or natural gas.
But Silagy says there are also benefits. "Remember, the fuel is always free. We're also producing no pollution at all-no emission."
And that's why FPL officials like Silagy believe solar power has a future in this state. "Absolutely, it doesn't say Sunshine State on the [license] plate for no reason."
10 Connects News
"This is the largest one in the country," says Eric Silagy of Florida Power & Light, while standing in the middle of a field filled with solar panels.
FPL's giant DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center officially starts producing electricity Tuesday and workers are spiffing up the place for a presidential visit.
While the solar center is the focus of Barack Obama's stop in DeSoto County, in nearby Arcadia, the owner of a new restaurant hopes the historic small town will also get a spot in the sun.
"So we're glad that he's coming," says Dennis Tyson of Mary Margaret's Tea & Biscuit. "He'll make people know where we are."
President Obama will use the solar center as a backdrop for an energy announcement. He's expected to announce plans to invest stimulus funds into clean energy and smart grid technology.
As for FPL officials, they say the president's stop here could energize the production of solar power. "It shows a recognition that Florida is on the right track," says Silagy of the attention from Obama.
The acres of solar panels will generate electricity for some 3,000 homes, but the facility cost $150 million to build. Cost is the big drawback for solar centers. They're more expensive to build than traditional power plants using coal or natural gas.
But Silagy says there are also benefits. "Remember, the fuel is always free. We're also producing no pollution at all-no emission."
And that's why FPL officials like Silagy believe solar power has a future in this state. "Absolutely, it doesn't say Sunshine State on the [license] plate for no reason."
10 Connects News
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.com/
Monday, October 19, 2009
Germany Wins Solar Decathlon On National Mall October 2009
AND THE WINNER IS............
GERMANY - Second time in a row
Overall Standings
The current team standings and scores for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 are shown in the chart below. See scores by team, scores by contest, and scores by day by clicking the tabs below. You may also click any of the links within the chart to see scoring details.
Day 9 - October 16. Last Updated: 09:02 AM (EDT)
Overall Standings Scores by Team Scores by Contest Scores by Day
1.
Team Germany
908.297
2.
Illinois
897.300
3.
Team California
863.089
4.
Team Ontario/BC
849.816
5.
Minnesota
838.544
6.
Team Alberta
769.410
7.
Cornell
764.237
8.
Rice
750.236
9.
Kentucky
732.152
10.
Ohio State
729.932
11.
Team Missouri
719.530
12.
Iowa State
714.609
13.
Virginia Tech
704.628
14.
Team Spain
669.565
15.
Team Boston
665.596
16.
Penn State
625.995
17.
Puerto Rico
617.569
18.
Arizona
610.339
19.
Univ. of Louisiana
603.882
20.
WI-Milwaukee
542.074
Architecture Market Viability Engineering Lighting Design Communications
Comfort Zone Hot Water Appliances Home Entertainment Net Metering
Scores are subject to change due to corrections throughout the competition period. Overall scores reflect penalties, but individual contest scores do not. Therefore, the total score presented may not match the sum of contest scores.Advanced Scoring
The advanced scoring search tool allows you to search Solar Decathlon 2009 scores by combinations of team, contests, and days. --->
Printable Version
Next on to Madrid,
for the 2010 Europe Solar Decathlon Link to: http://www.sdeurope.org/ Use Google to translate their webpage.
Link to Solar Decathlon: http://www.solardecathlon.org/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
GERMANY - Second time in a row
Overall Standings
The current team standings and scores for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 are shown in the chart below. See scores by team, scores by contest, and scores by day by clicking the tabs below. You may also click any of the links within the chart to see scoring details.
Day 9 - October 16. Last Updated: 09:02 AM (EDT)
Overall Standings Scores by Team Scores by Contest Scores by Day
1.
Team Germany
908.297
2.
Illinois
897.300
3.
Team California
863.089
4.
Team Ontario/BC
849.816
5.
Minnesota
838.544
6.
Team Alberta
769.410
7.
Cornell
764.237
8.
Rice
750.236
9.
Kentucky
732.152
10.
Ohio State
729.932
11.
Team Missouri
719.530
12.
Iowa State
714.609
13.
Virginia Tech
704.628
14.
Team Spain
669.565
15.
Team Boston
665.596
16.
Penn State
625.995
17.
Puerto Rico
617.569
18.
Arizona
610.339
19.
Univ. of Louisiana
603.882
20.
WI-Milwaukee
542.074
Architecture Market Viability Engineering Lighting Design Communications
Comfort Zone Hot Water Appliances Home Entertainment Net Metering
Scores are subject to change due to corrections throughout the competition period. Overall scores reflect penalties, but individual contest scores do not. Therefore, the total score presented may not match the sum of contest scores.Advanced Scoring
The advanced scoring search tool allows you to search Solar Decathlon 2009 scores by combinations of team, contests, and days. --->
Printable Version
Next on to Madrid,
for the 2010 Europe Solar Decathlon Link to: http://www.sdeurope.org/ Use Google to translate their webpage.
Link to Solar Decathlon: http://www.solardecathlon.org/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Bloomberg Oil Prices October 2009
Bloomberg Oil Prices October 2009
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
Gov. Schwarzenegger - Expedite Renewable Energy
Gov. Schwarzenegger and Secretary Salazar Sign MOU to Expedite Renewable Energy Development in Calif.
by Valerie Gotten published Mon, 12 Oct 2009 – 19:28:12 -0700 PDTNo Comment
SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — Further laying the groundwork for California to reach its environmental goals, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in order to expedite the siting of California renewable energy projects. California is the first state to sign an MOU with the Department of the Interior (DOI) to cooperatively develop long-term renewable energy plans and to sheppard eligible projects through state and federal permitting processes that can receive 30 percent federal tax credits under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Recovery Act).
“California is showing the world how to protect the economy, environment and habitat all at the same time,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “We know our future is in clean power, clean energy and clean technology, and we are taking action so California will be able to meet its ambitious renewable energy and environmental goals. Today’s first-of-its-kind agreement with our federal partners will also create jobs and get projects moving while maintaining high environmental standards.”
The MOU commits the federal government to work with California on a science-based process for reviewing, approving and permitting renewable energy applications in California, which will greatly help the state achieve its goal of reaching 33 percent renewable energy by 2020. The DOI and California Natural Resources Agency will develop detailed maps of the best areas for development and conservation – allowing for expedited project siting and habitat protection. The agreement also facilitates the identification of transmission corridors by December 2010 and includes the Department of Defense (DOD) in the process because some transmission lines may need to cross DOD lands.
“With coordinated environmental studies, good land-use planning and zoning and priority processing, we can accelerate responsible renewable energy production on U.S. public lands in California,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Together we can strengthen our nation’s and California’s energy security, protect our environment and help lay the foundation for a clean-energy economy for the 21st century.”
In addition to a broad commitment to work together, the parties of the MOU also agree to expedite projects that are on track to break ground by the end of 2010 and become eligible for more than $15 billion in Recovery Act funding. The Recovery Act specifically directs economic stimulus funding to qualified projects that begin construction by December 1, 2010. At the direction of the MOU, the Renewable Energy Policy Group will review a list of projects to be identified for this stimulus funding that if constructed, could add up to over 7,000 megawatts of new wind, solar and geothermal energy in California.
Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s leadership, California has led the nation and the world in establishing laws and policies aimed at promoting renewable energy and helping to fight global warming. Just last month, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order directing the California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations increasing California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 33 percent by 2020 – a goal that was first established by the Governor’s directive last year. The order will ensure California will have the flexibility needed to use renewable energy sources for 33 percent of our energy consumption by 2020 and places the highest priority on renewable resources that will provide the greatest environmental benefits that can be developed quickly and support reliable, efficient and cost-effective electricity system operations including resources and facilities located throughout the Western Interconnection.
Other accomplishments cementing California as a great leader on protecting the environment include:•In 2008, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed AB 1451, AB 2466 and AB 2267 to build on California’s commitment to increase renewable energy use. AB 1451 builds on the state’s solar power usage by continuing a property tax exclusion for projects that utilize solar panel energy and expanding the exclusion to builder-installed solar energy systems in new homes. AB 2267 builds on the state’s green economy by requiring the California Public Utilities Commission to grant incentives to eligible California-technology manufacturers. This bill also requires the CEC to give priority to California-based companies when granting awards and will not only create jobs for hardworking Californians but will attract more clean-tech and green-tech companies to the state. AB 2466 will increase energy efficiency and help protect the environment by authorizing local governments to receive a utility bill credit for surplus renewable electricity generated at one site against the electricity consumption at other sites.
•In 2006, the Governor signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California’s landmark bill that established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by the year 2020. AB 32 requires CARB to develop regulations and market mechanisms that will ultimately reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. Mandatory caps will begin in 2012 for significant sources and ratchet down to meet the 2020 goals. The Governor has also called for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.
•In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger furthered his historic leadership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower California’s reliance on foreign oil by signing Executive Order S-01-07 that established the world’s first Low Carbon Fuel Standard for transportation fuels sold in California. The standard will reduce carbon content in all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California by at least 10 percent by 2020 and more thereafter.
•In 2008, the Governor announced the adoption of the country’s first statewide Green Building Standards Code by the California Building Standards Commission that went into effect on August 1, 2009. It is currently a voluntary standard and will become mandatory in the 2010 code. The International Code Council announced last month it is developing a new code for commercial buildings entitled the International Green Construction Code, and will use the current California Green Building Standards Code as a key reference document.
•In 2006, the Governor announced his Million Solar Roofs Plan to provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gases by three million tons, equivalent to taking one million cars off the road. Now known as the California Solar Initiative, the $3.3 billion incentive plan for homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems will lead to one million solar roofs in California by 2017.
•The Governor announced as a component of the California Solar Initiative in 2007, the New Solar Homes Partnership (NHSP) aimed to help create a self-sustaining market for solar homes and gain builder commitment to install solar energy systems. A new home that qualifies for the NSHP is at least 15 percent more efficient than the current building standards.
California’s leadership in pushing to fight global warming and increase renewable energy will help boost our economy. According to an economic study by the University of California at Berkeley and Next 10, California’s policies will create as many as 403,000 jobs in the next 12 years and household incomes will increase by $48 billion.
AKPC_IDS += "5651,";
About the Author: Valerie Gotten (aka Valerie G) is an abstract painter, former movie stand-in, and volunteers for "green events" to help raise awareness about global warming, and help preserve California's wilderness and natural beauty. All content is Copr. © 2009 by California Newswire®, and Neotrope® News Network, USA. www.neotrope.net - all rights reserved. Sphere: Related Content
yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "Gov. Schwarzenegger and Secretary Salazar Sign MOU to Expedite Renewable Energy Development in Calif.";
yahooBuzzArticleType = "text";
yahooBuzzArticleId = window.location.href;
Buzz up!on Yahoo!
Permalink: http://californianewswire.com/2009/10/12/CNW5651_192812.php
by Valerie Gotten published Mon, 12 Oct 2009 – 19:28:12 -0700 PDTNo Comment
SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — Further laying the groundwork for California to reach its environmental goals, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in order to expedite the siting of California renewable energy projects. California is the first state to sign an MOU with the Department of the Interior (DOI) to cooperatively develop long-term renewable energy plans and to sheppard eligible projects through state and federal permitting processes that can receive 30 percent federal tax credits under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Recovery Act).
“California is showing the world how to protect the economy, environment and habitat all at the same time,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “We know our future is in clean power, clean energy and clean technology, and we are taking action so California will be able to meet its ambitious renewable energy and environmental goals. Today’s first-of-its-kind agreement with our federal partners will also create jobs and get projects moving while maintaining high environmental standards.”
The MOU commits the federal government to work with California on a science-based process for reviewing, approving and permitting renewable energy applications in California, which will greatly help the state achieve its goal of reaching 33 percent renewable energy by 2020. The DOI and California Natural Resources Agency will develop detailed maps of the best areas for development and conservation – allowing for expedited project siting and habitat protection. The agreement also facilitates the identification of transmission corridors by December 2010 and includes the Department of Defense (DOD) in the process because some transmission lines may need to cross DOD lands.
“With coordinated environmental studies, good land-use planning and zoning and priority processing, we can accelerate responsible renewable energy production on U.S. public lands in California,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Together we can strengthen our nation’s and California’s energy security, protect our environment and help lay the foundation for a clean-energy economy for the 21st century.”
In addition to a broad commitment to work together, the parties of the MOU also agree to expedite projects that are on track to break ground by the end of 2010 and become eligible for more than $15 billion in Recovery Act funding. The Recovery Act specifically directs economic stimulus funding to qualified projects that begin construction by December 1, 2010. At the direction of the MOU, the Renewable Energy Policy Group will review a list of projects to be identified for this stimulus funding that if constructed, could add up to over 7,000 megawatts of new wind, solar and geothermal energy in California.
Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s leadership, California has led the nation and the world in establishing laws and policies aimed at promoting renewable energy and helping to fight global warming. Just last month, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order directing the California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations increasing California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 33 percent by 2020 – a goal that was first established by the Governor’s directive last year. The order will ensure California will have the flexibility needed to use renewable energy sources for 33 percent of our energy consumption by 2020 and places the highest priority on renewable resources that will provide the greatest environmental benefits that can be developed quickly and support reliable, efficient and cost-effective electricity system operations including resources and facilities located throughout the Western Interconnection.
Other accomplishments cementing California as a great leader on protecting the environment include:•In 2008, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed AB 1451, AB 2466 and AB 2267 to build on California’s commitment to increase renewable energy use. AB 1451 builds on the state’s solar power usage by continuing a property tax exclusion for projects that utilize solar panel energy and expanding the exclusion to builder-installed solar energy systems in new homes. AB 2267 builds on the state’s green economy by requiring the California Public Utilities Commission to grant incentives to eligible California-technology manufacturers. This bill also requires the CEC to give priority to California-based companies when granting awards and will not only create jobs for hardworking Californians but will attract more clean-tech and green-tech companies to the state. AB 2466 will increase energy efficiency and help protect the environment by authorizing local governments to receive a utility bill credit for surplus renewable electricity generated at one site against the electricity consumption at other sites.
•In 2006, the Governor signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California’s landmark bill that established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by the year 2020. AB 32 requires CARB to develop regulations and market mechanisms that will ultimately reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. Mandatory caps will begin in 2012 for significant sources and ratchet down to meet the 2020 goals. The Governor has also called for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.
•In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger furthered his historic leadership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower California’s reliance on foreign oil by signing Executive Order S-01-07 that established the world’s first Low Carbon Fuel Standard for transportation fuels sold in California. The standard will reduce carbon content in all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California by at least 10 percent by 2020 and more thereafter.
•In 2008, the Governor announced the adoption of the country’s first statewide Green Building Standards Code by the California Building Standards Commission that went into effect on August 1, 2009. It is currently a voluntary standard and will become mandatory in the 2010 code. The International Code Council announced last month it is developing a new code for commercial buildings entitled the International Green Construction Code, and will use the current California Green Building Standards Code as a key reference document.
•In 2006, the Governor announced his Million Solar Roofs Plan to provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gases by three million tons, equivalent to taking one million cars off the road. Now known as the California Solar Initiative, the $3.3 billion incentive plan for homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems will lead to one million solar roofs in California by 2017.
•The Governor announced as a component of the California Solar Initiative in 2007, the New Solar Homes Partnership (NHSP) aimed to help create a self-sustaining market for solar homes and gain builder commitment to install solar energy systems. A new home that qualifies for the NSHP is at least 15 percent more efficient than the current building standards.
California’s leadership in pushing to fight global warming and increase renewable energy will help boost our economy. According to an economic study by the University of California at Berkeley and Next 10, California’s policies will create as many as 403,000 jobs in the next 12 years and household incomes will increase by $48 billion.
AKPC_IDS += "5651,";
About the Author: Valerie Gotten (aka Valerie G) is an abstract painter, former movie stand-in, and volunteers for "green events" to help raise awareness about global warming, and help preserve California's wilderness and natural beauty. All content is Copr. © 2009 by California Newswire®, and Neotrope® News Network, USA. www.neotrope.net - all rights reserved. Sphere: Related Content
yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "Gov. Schwarzenegger and Secretary Salazar Sign MOU to Expedite Renewable Energy Development in Calif.";
yahooBuzzArticleType = "text";
yahooBuzzArticleId = window.location.href;
Buzz up!on Yahoo!
Permalink: http://californianewswire.com/2009/10/12/CNW5651_192812.php
Solar Home Tours Sweep United States TODAY!by Kevin Gardner, 10/03/09
Imagine 3,000 communities and 10,000 volunteers across the country in a one-day celebration of solar power. That’s why we are reminding you that the American Solar Energy Society kicks off their 14th Annual National Solar Tour TODAY in collaboration with more than 240 local groups as part of National Energy Awareness Month. Participants can take a peek at their neighbors’ homes and buildings using solar energy and other sustainable technologies, and see for themselves how to save money and the environment. See our previous post for more information.
Comments RSS Comments RSS
digg_url = 'http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/03/solar-tours-sweep-united-states/';
digg_title = 'Solar Home Tours Sweep United States TODAY!';
digg_skin = 'compact';
email this
tweetmeme_url = "http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/03/solar-tours-sweep-united-states/";
tweetmeme_style = "compact";
facebook this
Imagine 3,000 communities and 10,000 volunteers across the country in a one-day celebration of solar power. That’s why we are reminding you that the American Solar Energy Society kicks off their 14th Annual National Solar Tour TODAY in collaboration with more than 240 local groups as part of National Energy Awareness Month. Participants can take a peek at their neighbors’ homes and buildings using solar energy and other sustainable technologies, and see for themselves how to save money and the environment. See our previous post for more information.
Comments RSS Comments RSS
digg_url = 'http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/03/solar-tours-sweep-united-states/';
digg_title = 'Solar Home Tours Sweep United States TODAY!';
digg_skin = 'compact';
email this
tweetmeme_url = "http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/03/solar-tours-sweep-united-states/";
tweetmeme_style = "compact";
facebook this
Solar Decathlon on The National Mall - Homes Now Open
The Solar Decathlon on The National Mall
I just went to see the Hi-Tech houses on The Mall. They are built by college students from around the world. They are built with the latest technologies. They are beautiful!
I like the one from Iowa, Germany, Spain, Virginia Tech,......Well, I like them all. Each one has a couple things that make each one special.
Plan to see them before they close the event 18 Oct. 09. Houses will be closed to the public for one day the 14th Oct.
I just went to see the Hi-Tech houses on The Mall. They are built by college students from around the world. They are built with the latest technologies. They are beautiful!
I like the one from Iowa, Germany, Spain, Virginia Tech,......Well, I like them all. Each one has a couple things that make each one special.
Plan to see them before they close the event 18 Oct. 09. Houses will be closed to the public for one day the 14th Oct.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Bloomberg Oil Prices 09 October 2009
Energy Prices
PETROLEUM ($/bbl)
PRICE*CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Crude Future
71.77 .08 .11 10/09
Dated Brent Spot
69.88 .98 1.42 10/09
WTI Cushing Spot
71.77 .08 .11 10/09
PETROLEUM (¢/gal)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future
185.28 .59 .32 10/09
Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future
176.80 -1.17 -.66 10/09
NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future
4.77 -.19 -3.89 10/09
Henry Hub Spot
3.94 -.31 -7.29 10/09
New York City Gate Spot
4.22 -.37 -8.06 10/09
ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot
41.03 1.43 3.61 10/09
Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot
37.86 -2.02 -5.07 10/09
BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON
33.89 -2.51 -6.90 10/09
*Commodity futures and energy prices are in U.S. dollars.
Link to: http://www.bloomberg.com/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
PETROLEUM ($/bbl)
PRICE*CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Crude Future
71.77 .08 .11 10/09
Dated Brent Spot
69.88 .98 1.42 10/09
WTI Cushing Spot
71.77 .08 .11 10/09
PETROLEUM (¢/gal)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future
185.28 .59 .32 10/09
Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future
176.80 -1.17 -.66 10/09
NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future
4.77 -.19 -3.89 10/09
Henry Hub Spot
3.94 -.31 -7.29 10/09
New York City Gate Spot
4.22 -.37 -8.06 10/09
ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot
41.03 1.43 3.61 10/09
Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot
37.86 -2.02 -5.07 10/09
BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON
33.89 -2.51 -6.90 10/09
*Commodity futures and energy prices are in U.S. dollars.
Link to: http://www.bloomberg.com/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Fox Business Talks With T Boone Pickens - Pickens Plan
Fox Business Talks With T Boone Pickens About The Pickens Plan
See the video from Fox Business.
Natural Gas Vs. Diesel for new production vehicles class 5 thru 8.
Link to video: http://glickreport.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/10/07/t-boone-pickens-natural-gas-to-hit-7-next-year/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
See the video from Fox Business.
Natural Gas Vs. Diesel for new production vehicles class 5 thru 8.
Link to video: http://glickreport.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/10/07/t-boone-pickens-natural-gas-to-hit-7-next-year/
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sunpowered Lawnmower
Automower for the elite class to keep their lawns green and trim
Though a lush green lawn is everyone's dream, the task of trimming a lawn is not believed to be the most favored chore. But you can cut your lawn chores down to one step with a fully automatic, solar powered robotic lawn mower, the Automower. Touted to be the best user friendly, green mower, it is designed to move about freely on a pre-wired green lawn. This will help to keep the robotic mower in check and ensure about the specification of area of grass to be cut. Programmed to give the lawn an even result and a carpet-like finish, even 'Islands' can be created by laying the wire around plants and flower beds. Leaving no carbon footprints behind with its zero-emission feature, this solar powered mover from Husqvarna also promises negligible noise pollution. For about 3,100 the Automower also boasts of being pet-friendly and kids-friendly too.
http://www.luxurylaunches.com/gadgets/automower_for_the_elite_class_to_keep_their_lawns_green_and_trim.php
Though a lush green lawn is everyone's dream, the task of trimming a lawn is not believed to be the most favored chore. But you can cut your lawn chores down to one step with a fully automatic, solar powered robotic lawn mower, the Automower. Touted to be the best user friendly, green mower, it is designed to move about freely on a pre-wired green lawn. This will help to keep the robotic mower in check and ensure about the specification of area of grass to be cut. Programmed to give the lawn an even result and a carpet-like finish, even 'Islands' can be created by laying the wire around plants and flower beds. Leaving no carbon footprints behind with its zero-emission feature, this solar powered mover from Husqvarna also promises negligible noise pollution. For about 3,100 the Automower also boasts of being pet-friendly and kids-friendly too.
http://www.luxurylaunches.com/gadgets/automower_for_the_elite_class_to_keep_their_lawns_green_and_trim.php
Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Donut Shaped Wind Energizer Improves Turbine Efficiency
Donut-Shaped Wind Energizer Improves Wind Turbine Efficiency, Also Helps Soothe Wind Turbine Hemorrhoids
By Andrew Liszewski
A company called Leviathan Energy has come up with a clever way to improve the efficiency of wind turbines, without making any modifications to the turbines or propellers themselves. Using aerodynamic modeling, Leviathan designed a special plastic and metal skirt structure that wraps around the base of the wind turbine and directs the flow of the air to the critical areas of the blades. The system is guaranteed to increase the power output of a wind turbine by at least 15-30%, and at lower wind speeds (0-6 meters per second) the gains can be as high as 150%.
Now the Wind Energizer system isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Each skirt has to be custom designed and built based on the height of the wind turbine, the length of the blades and the wind conditions where it’s installed, but Leviathan Energy claims the estimated period of return on the investment is just 4-5 years.
[ Leviathan Energy Wind Energizer ] VIA [ CleanTechnica ]
http://www.ohgizmo.com/2009/05/04/donut-shaped-wind-energizer-improves-wind-turbine-efficiency-also-helps-sooth-wind-turbine-hemorrhoids/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
By Andrew Liszewski
A company called Leviathan Energy has come up with a clever way to improve the efficiency of wind turbines, without making any modifications to the turbines or propellers themselves. Using aerodynamic modeling, Leviathan designed a special plastic and metal skirt structure that wraps around the base of the wind turbine and directs the flow of the air to the critical areas of the blades. The system is guaranteed to increase the power output of a wind turbine by at least 15-30%, and at lower wind speeds (0-6 meters per second) the gains can be as high as 150%.
Now the Wind Energizer system isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Each skirt has to be custom designed and built based on the height of the wind turbine, the length of the blades and the wind conditions where it’s installed, but Leviathan Energy claims the estimated period of return on the investment is just 4-5 years.
[ Leviathan Energy Wind Energizer ] VIA [ CleanTechnica ]
http://www.ohgizmo.com/2009/05/04/donut-shaped-wind-energizer-improves-wind-turbine-efficiency-also-helps-sooth-wind-turbine-hemorrhoids/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Africa's Solar Cell Phone
Meet Africa's solar cell phone
Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:03PM EDT
See Comments (8)
Buzz up!6 votes
YAHOO.util.Event.addListener( window, "load", function() { setTimeout(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}}); }, 15); });
Finding reliable power in Africa isn't quite the same as we have it here in the U.S., where we have an outlet available on every corner and get upset if there aren't two.
As such, gadgetry in Africa has had a halting evolution. In Kenya, for example, where virtually all of the country's power comes from hydroelectric sources, electricity is rationed to its citizens, who have to make do with a couple of days of power each week -- or have to travel to remote locations and pay to use a charging station.
Result: A whole lot of innovation when it comes to making do with limited resources. While Kenya may not have a lot of traditional power, it does have a lot of one thing: Sun. And solar power offers immense promise for Kenyans who want to keep battery-powered devices charged in the absence of a working outlet.
The latest innovation: A cell phone designed for the African market with solar charging features built right into the handset. Sure, you can find external solar charging devices like the Solio on the market, but the "Solar ya Simu" is apparently the first cell phone with a solar panel built into the case. When the phone runs out of juice, the user can just leave it in the sun for a few hours: One hour of full sun offers up to 15 minutes of talk time, and a full day in the sun can charge the phone completely.
Kenyans can buy the phone for the Kenyan equivalent of about US$40.
And you know what -- as great as this is for Africa, how about one for the rest of us? Just turn the back of every phone into a solar panel and free us all from the horrors of the grid for good. I'd even settle for a solar-ized iPhone sleeve as an aftermarket product.
Either way: All you'd need is a sun-lit window and your phone stays topped up. Sorry, Seattle!
Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:03PM EDT
See Comments (8)
Buzz up!6 votes
YAHOO.util.Event.addListener( window, "load", function() { setTimeout(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}}); }, 15); });
Finding reliable power in Africa isn't quite the same as we have it here in the U.S., where we have an outlet available on every corner and get upset if there aren't two.
As such, gadgetry in Africa has had a halting evolution. In Kenya, for example, where virtually all of the country's power comes from hydroelectric sources, electricity is rationed to its citizens, who have to make do with a couple of days of power each week -- or have to travel to remote locations and pay to use a charging station.
Result: A whole lot of innovation when it comes to making do with limited resources. While Kenya may not have a lot of traditional power, it does have a lot of one thing: Sun. And solar power offers immense promise for Kenyans who want to keep battery-powered devices charged in the absence of a working outlet.
The latest innovation: A cell phone designed for the African market with solar charging features built right into the handset. Sure, you can find external solar charging devices like the Solio on the market, but the "Solar ya Simu" is apparently the first cell phone with a solar panel built into the case. When the phone runs out of juice, the user can just leave it in the sun for a few hours: One hour of full sun offers up to 15 minutes of talk time, and a full day in the sun can charge the phone completely.
Kenyans can buy the phone for the Kenyan equivalent of about US$40.
And you know what -- as great as this is for Africa, how about one for the rest of us? Just turn the back of every phone into a solar panel and free us all from the horrors of the grid for good. I'd even settle for a solar-ized iPhone sleeve as an aftermarket product.
Either way: All you'd need is a sun-lit window and your phone stays topped up. Sorry, Seattle!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
France, Kazakhs Ink Military Transit, Energy Deals
France, Kazakhs ink military transit, energy deals
if(!YAHOO){var YAHOO = {};}
YAHOO.BuzzWidgetTries = 0;
(function(){
if(YAHOO && YAHOO.util && YAHOO.util.Event && YAHOO.Media && YAHOO.Media.Buzz){
(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-bottom","countPosition":"after","fetchCount":false,"loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}});buzz.onSuccess.subscribe(function(){ if(YAHOO.Updates){ YAHOO.Updates.Disclosure.showDialog({"container":"yup-container","source":"buzz","type":"buzzUp","lang":"en-US"}); } }); })();(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-bottom",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","fetchCount":true,"loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}});buzz.onSuccess.subscribe(function(){ if(YAHOO.Updates){ YAHOO.Updates.Disclosure.showDialog({"container":"yup-container","source":"buzz","type":"buzzUp","lang":"en-US"}); } }); })();
} else if(YAHOO.BuzzWidgetTries
Buzz up!0 votes
Send
Email
IM
Share
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Fark
Newsvine
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Technorati
Twitter
Yahoo! Bookmarks
Print
AP – Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, left, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy speak during …
Related Quotes
Symbol
Price
Change
GSZ
0.00
0.00
^GSPC
1,054.72
+14.26
^IXIC
2,103.57
+35.42
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();
window.yzq_d['WmqUB0WTSS4-']='&U=12a7io6qo%2fN%3dWmqUB0WTSS4-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dFB%2fB%3d-1%2fV%3d0';
By PETER LEONARD, Associated Press Writer Peter Leonard, Associated Press Writer – Tue Oct 6, 12:04 pm ET
ASTANA, Kazakhstan – French President Nicolas Sarkozy scored a diplomatic coup Tuesday during a visit to energy-rich Kazakhstan, overseeing an agreement to allow military hardware for French forces fighting in Afghanistan to pass through Kazakh territory and clinching a raft of lucrative energy deals.
Facing criticism over its human rights record, Kazakhstan won a measure of support from Sarkozy, who said he discussed the issue with President Nursultan Nazarbayev but did not come to "give lessons."
France is among several Western nations courting Kazakhstan, a large ex-Soviet republic with rich oil and gas resources and a strategic location bordering China and Russia — long the dominant regional force — north of Afghanistan.
Nazarbayev said the transit agreement signed Tuesday governs the movement of military hardware and personnel to supply French forces serving with NATO in nearby Afghanistan.
"We need Kazakhstan to resolve the crisis in Afghanistan and in Iran, and to establish new relations with our friends in Russia in the fight against extremism," Sarkozy said.
The military transit deal had been under discussion for two years and covers both air transit and train transit of French military personnel and equipment via Kazakhstan, according to a French Foreign Ministry spokesman. He said train traffic could then go through neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan where France already has a military presence. The spokesman was not authorized to be named according to ministry policy.
The United States earlier struck a similar deal to ship supplies by rail through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to troops fighting in Afghanistan.
These agreements provide NATO with an important alternative to Pakistan, where supply convoys heading by road to Afghanistan have been hit by insurgent attacks.
The U.S. also reached an agreement earlier this year with neighboring Kyrgyzstan to continue using the Manas air base, crucial to military operations against the Taliban. France and Spain are trying to win similar agreements to use Manas, while the French military also use an air field in Tajikistan.
The French-Kazakh energy deal, worth an estimated euro1 billion ($1.46 billion), was signed to formalize the acquisition by French companies Total and GDF Suez of a 25 percent stake in the Khvalynskoye offshore natural gas field project in the Caspian Sea.
The field is now being developed by Russian oil giant, Lukoil, and is expected to start operations in 2016. It could produce up to 3 trillion cubic feet (9 billion cubic meters) of gas per year, by some estimates.
The deal will see an increase in Total's role in Kazakhstan, where it already controls a 16.8 percent stake in the vast Kashagan oil field project.
Kazakhstan also awarded a consortium of French companies a deal to take part in building a crucial $2 billion oil pipeline linking the vast Kashagan field to the Caspian. Energy supplies through the route will be transported across the inland sea by tanker to Azerbaijan and pumped by pipeline westward to Europe, circumventing Russia.
Both Western and Central Asian nations are eager to decrease Russia's control over oil and gas export routes from the region.
"This is an extremely important project that will become the main artery to transport Kazakh oil to Europe," Nazarbayev told reporters.
Kashagan has been hit by delays and soaring development costs and is not expected to begin production until 2012.
Other commercial accords included an agreement to create a joint venture between the two countries' state-owned nuclear power companies to produce and market fuel for nuclear power plants.
Kazakhstan is on the cusp of becoming the world's largest supplier of uranium, but it has in recent years reached out to commercial partners in Russia, Japan and China in a bid to ensure in can take part in all stages of the nuclear fuel production cycle.
France's Thales signed a euro100 million ($150 million) contract to supply radios to the Kazakh army. The company hopes the deal will lead to a bigger, euro2 billion ($3 billion) contract to supply communications equipment to the Kazakh military — a market dominated by Russian suppliers.
Sarkozy's visit came as Kazakhstan faced mounting criticism over its human rights record ahead of its 2010 chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a leading trans-Atlantic security and democracy body.
Human Rights Watch said this week that Kazakhstan has repeatedly flouted basic democratic freedoms and has been slow to implement reforms in line with its commitments to the OSCE.
But Sarkozy, the first French leader to visit Kazakhstan nation since 1993, mounted a robust defense of its upcoming OSCE chairmanship.
"When you come to this part of the world, you cannot make presuppositions, but you should try to understand what is happening," Sarkozy said. "The optimal way of solving problems — and there are problems, which I have discussed with the president — is not necessarily to come and give lessons."
Nazarbayev said that his government was willing to accept constructive criticism of its conduct, but said criticism of his country's record on human rights and democracy was ill-informed.
"During our chairmanship of the OSCE, our main goal will be rapprochement with Europe," he said, pledging to gradually adopt "all the values of freedom and democracy that exist in the Western world."
____
Associated Press Writer Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.
Link to:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_re_as/as_kazakhstan_france_4
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
if(!YAHOO){var YAHOO = {};}
YAHOO.BuzzWidgetTries = 0;
(function(){
if(YAHOO && YAHOO.util && YAHOO.util.Event && YAHOO.Media && YAHOO.Media.Buzz){
(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-bottom","countPosition":"after","fetchCount":false,"loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}});buzz.onSuccess.subscribe(function(){ if(YAHOO.Updates){ YAHOO.Updates.Disclosure.showDialog({"container":"yup-container","source":"buzz","type":"buzzUp","lang":"en-US"}); } }); })();(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-bottom",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","fetchCount":true,"loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}});buzz.onSuccess.subscribe(function(){ if(YAHOO.Updates){ YAHOO.Updates.Disclosure.showDialog({"container":"yup-container","source":"buzz","type":"buzzUp","lang":"en-US"}); } }); })();
} else if(YAHOO.BuzzWidgetTries
Buzz up!0 votes
Send
IM
Share
Delicious
Digg
Fark
Newsvine
StumbleUpon
Technorati
Yahoo! Bookmarks
AP – Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, left, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy speak during …
Related Quotes
Symbol
Price
Change
GSZ
0.00
0.00
^GSPC
1,054.72
+14.26
^IXIC
2,103.57
+35.42
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();
window.yzq_d['WmqUB0WTSS4-']='&U=12a7io6qo%2fN%3dWmqUB0WTSS4-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dFB%2fB%3d-1%2fV%3d0';
By PETER LEONARD, Associated Press Writer Peter Leonard, Associated Press Writer – Tue Oct 6, 12:04 pm ET
ASTANA, Kazakhstan – French President Nicolas Sarkozy scored a diplomatic coup Tuesday during a visit to energy-rich Kazakhstan, overseeing an agreement to allow military hardware for French forces fighting in Afghanistan to pass through Kazakh territory and clinching a raft of lucrative energy deals.
Facing criticism over its human rights record, Kazakhstan won a measure of support from Sarkozy, who said he discussed the issue with President Nursultan Nazarbayev but did not come to "give lessons."
France is among several Western nations courting Kazakhstan, a large ex-Soviet republic with rich oil and gas resources and a strategic location bordering China and Russia — long the dominant regional force — north of Afghanistan.
Nazarbayev said the transit agreement signed Tuesday governs the movement of military hardware and personnel to supply French forces serving with NATO in nearby Afghanistan.
"We need Kazakhstan to resolve the crisis in Afghanistan and in Iran, and to establish new relations with our friends in Russia in the fight against extremism," Sarkozy said.
The military transit deal had been under discussion for two years and covers both air transit and train transit of French military personnel and equipment via Kazakhstan, according to a French Foreign Ministry spokesman. He said train traffic could then go through neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan where France already has a military presence. The spokesman was not authorized to be named according to ministry policy.
The United States earlier struck a similar deal to ship supplies by rail through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to troops fighting in Afghanistan.
These agreements provide NATO with an important alternative to Pakistan, where supply convoys heading by road to Afghanistan have been hit by insurgent attacks.
The U.S. also reached an agreement earlier this year with neighboring Kyrgyzstan to continue using the Manas air base, crucial to military operations against the Taliban. France and Spain are trying to win similar agreements to use Manas, while the French military also use an air field in Tajikistan.
The French-Kazakh energy deal, worth an estimated euro1 billion ($1.46 billion), was signed to formalize the acquisition by French companies Total and GDF Suez of a 25 percent stake in the Khvalynskoye offshore natural gas field project in the Caspian Sea.
The field is now being developed by Russian oil giant, Lukoil, and is expected to start operations in 2016. It could produce up to 3 trillion cubic feet (9 billion cubic meters) of gas per year, by some estimates.
The deal will see an increase in Total's role in Kazakhstan, where it already controls a 16.8 percent stake in the vast Kashagan oil field project.
Kazakhstan also awarded a consortium of French companies a deal to take part in building a crucial $2 billion oil pipeline linking the vast Kashagan field to the Caspian. Energy supplies through the route will be transported across the inland sea by tanker to Azerbaijan and pumped by pipeline westward to Europe, circumventing Russia.
Both Western and Central Asian nations are eager to decrease Russia's control over oil and gas export routes from the region.
"This is an extremely important project that will become the main artery to transport Kazakh oil to Europe," Nazarbayev told reporters.
Kashagan has been hit by delays and soaring development costs and is not expected to begin production until 2012.
Other commercial accords included an agreement to create a joint venture between the two countries' state-owned nuclear power companies to produce and market fuel for nuclear power plants.
Kazakhstan is on the cusp of becoming the world's largest supplier of uranium, but it has in recent years reached out to commercial partners in Russia, Japan and China in a bid to ensure in can take part in all stages of the nuclear fuel production cycle.
France's Thales signed a euro100 million ($150 million) contract to supply radios to the Kazakh army. The company hopes the deal will lead to a bigger, euro2 billion ($3 billion) contract to supply communications equipment to the Kazakh military — a market dominated by Russian suppliers.
Sarkozy's visit came as Kazakhstan faced mounting criticism over its human rights record ahead of its 2010 chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a leading trans-Atlantic security and democracy body.
Human Rights Watch said this week that Kazakhstan has repeatedly flouted basic democratic freedoms and has been slow to implement reforms in line with its commitments to the OSCE.
But Sarkozy, the first French leader to visit Kazakhstan nation since 1993, mounted a robust defense of its upcoming OSCE chairmanship.
"When you come to this part of the world, you cannot make presuppositions, but you should try to understand what is happening," Sarkozy said. "The optimal way of solving problems — and there are problems, which I have discussed with the president — is not necessarily to come and give lessons."
Nazarbayev said that his government was willing to accept constructive criticism of its conduct, but said criticism of his country's record on human rights and democracy was ill-informed.
"During our chairmanship of the OSCE, our main goal will be rapprochement with Europe," he said, pledging to gradually adopt "all the values of freedom and democracy that exist in the Western world."
____
Associated Press Writer Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.
Link to:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_re_as/as_kazakhstan_france_4
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Alt-Energy Cell Phones Eschew The Power Grid
Alt-energy cell phones eschew the power grid
Tue Oct 6, 2009 1:54PM EDT
By Christopher Null: The Working Guy
See Comments (1)
Buzz up!0 votes
YAHOO.util.Event.addListener( window, "load", function() { setTimeout(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}}); }, 15); });
Last month I wrote about a cell phone designed for electricity-starved Africa which could be powered completely by the sun. But solar energy is only one way to get a gadget off the grid, and enterprising inventors are now turning to other alternative means to liberate phones from the cruelty of the power cord.
First, a prototype phone from a company known as TCL is looking to perhaps the oldest of old-school power generators for electrical needs: The human muscle.
By slapping a hand-crank wheel on the back of the phone, TCL lets users simply wind up the phone by hand whenever they need to make a call. A minute of cranking offers about four minutes of talk time, and long-winded chatterers can always crank further for an extension. The TCL phone, known tentatively as the Ventus, can also be charged via a small solar panel when the user is just too tired.
As the linked Telegraph story notes, aftermarket cell phone chargers with hand cranks attached have long been on the market, but this is the first known example of a cell phone with the crank baked right in.
For a higher-tech approach, Japanese cell carrier KDDI is looking to fuel cells to eliminate the need for a wall socket. Fuel cells, a long-promised chemical savior which could someday eliminate batteries from consumer electronics and even automobiles, haven't really made much impact in recent years, though companies continue to demonstrate advances in fuel cell technology on a prototype basis.
Finally it looks like things might be progressing to the point where fuel cells might be getting portable and reliable enough to make an entrance into real consumer products. For the first time, a company has built a fuel cell directly into a phone; previous prototypes have required bulky and impractical external power packs to work.
The advantages of fuel cells are many: They're more efficient than batteries and offer a longer running time for the gadget involved, and they can be recharged by simply "topping off" the reservoir with a little methanol, no need for a connection to the grid. Naturally there are problems with this approach -- who wants to carry a vial of methanol around? and what about traveling on airplanes? or spillage? -- but for some scenarios, particularly ones where power outlets are rarely available, a fuel cell phone might make for an excellent alternative to the usual way of the world.
Personally I'm holding out for a phone that can be recharged just by the energy collected from bouncing around in your pocket all day.
Link to: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/152432
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Tue Oct 6, 2009 1:54PM EDT
By Christopher Null: The Working Guy
See Comments (1)
Buzz up!0 votes
YAHOO.util.Event.addListener( window, "load", function() { setTimeout(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}}); }, 15); });
Last month I wrote about a cell phone designed for electricity-starved Africa which could be powered completely by the sun. But solar energy is only one way to get a gadget off the grid, and enterprising inventors are now turning to other alternative means to liberate phones from the cruelty of the power cord.
First, a prototype phone from a company known as TCL is looking to perhaps the oldest of old-school power generators for electrical needs: The human muscle.
By slapping a hand-crank wheel on the back of the phone, TCL lets users simply wind up the phone by hand whenever they need to make a call. A minute of cranking offers about four minutes of talk time, and long-winded chatterers can always crank further for an extension. The TCL phone, known tentatively as the Ventus, can also be charged via a small solar panel when the user is just too tired.
As the linked Telegraph story notes, aftermarket cell phone chargers with hand cranks attached have long been on the market, but this is the first known example of a cell phone with the crank baked right in.
For a higher-tech approach, Japanese cell carrier KDDI is looking to fuel cells to eliminate the need for a wall socket. Fuel cells, a long-promised chemical savior which could someday eliminate batteries from consumer electronics and even automobiles, haven't really made much impact in recent years, though companies continue to demonstrate advances in fuel cell technology on a prototype basis.
Finally it looks like things might be progressing to the point where fuel cells might be getting portable and reliable enough to make an entrance into real consumer products. For the first time, a company has built a fuel cell directly into a phone; previous prototypes have required bulky and impractical external power packs to work.
The advantages of fuel cells are many: They're more efficient than batteries and offer a longer running time for the gadget involved, and they can be recharged by simply "topping off" the reservoir with a little methanol, no need for a connection to the grid. Naturally there are problems with this approach -- who wants to carry a vial of methanol around? and what about traveling on airplanes? or spillage? -- but for some scenarios, particularly ones where power outlets are rarely available, a fuel cell phone might make for an excellent alternative to the usual way of the world.
Personally I'm holding out for a phone that can be recharged just by the energy collected from bouncing around in your pocket all day.
Link to: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/152432
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
State Environmental Protection Website Links
Links to Canada's Environmental Websites:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cepaRegistry/
http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=FD9B0E51-1
USA
Links to California's Environmental Websites:
http://www.calepa.ca.gov/
Links to New Mexico's Environmental Websites:
http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/
Links to New York City's Environmental Websites:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/home/home.shtml
Links to Virginia's Environmental Websites:
http://www.deq.state.va.us/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.com/
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cepaRegistry/
http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=FD9B0E51-1
USA
Links to California's Environmental Websites:
http://www.calepa.ca.gov/
Links to New Mexico's Environmental Websites:
http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/
Links to New York City's Environmental Websites:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/home/home.shtml
Links to Virginia's Environmental Websites:
http://www.deq.state.va.us/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.com/
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Bloomberg Oil Prices 02 October 2009
Energy Prices
PETROLEUM ($/bbl)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Crude Future
69.95 -.87 -1.23 10/02
Dated Brent Spot
67.14 -.93 -1.37 10/02
WTI Cushing Spot
69.95 -.87 -1.23 10/02
PETROLEUM (¢/gal)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future
179.68 -3.06 -1.67 10/02
Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future
174.09 -1.70 -.97 10/02
NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future
4.72 .25 5.64 10/02
Henry Hub Spot
2.32 -.60 -20.55 10/02
New York City Gate Spot
2.53 -.57 -18.39 10/02
ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot
34.12 -2.56 -6.98 10/02
Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot
26.10 -3.64 -12.24 10/02
BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON
30.16 .69 2.34 10/02
*Commodity futures and energy prices are in U.S. dollars.
Link to: http://www.bloomberg.com/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
PETROLEUM ($/bbl)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Crude Future
69.95 -.87 -1.23 10/02
Dated Brent Spot
67.14 -.93 -1.37 10/02
WTI Cushing Spot
69.95 -.87 -1.23 10/02
PETROLEUM (¢/gal)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future
179.68 -3.06 -1.67 10/02
Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future
174.09 -1.70 -.97 10/02
NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future
4.72 .25 5.64 10/02
Henry Hub Spot
2.32 -.60 -20.55 10/02
New York City Gate Spot
2.53 -.57 -18.39 10/02
ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot
34.12 -2.56 -6.98 10/02
Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot
26.10 -3.64 -12.24 10/02
BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON
30.16 .69 2.34 10/02
*Commodity futures and energy prices are in U.S. dollars.
Link to: http://www.bloomberg.com/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Green Festival in Washington DC
Green Festival in Washington, DC
Oct 10-11, 2009
125 Speakers - 350 Exhibitors
A joint project of Global Exchange and Green America (formerly Co-Op America)
Washington Convention Center
Free bike valet
Link to: http://www.greenfestivals.org
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Oct 10-11, 2009
125 Speakers - 350 Exhibitors
A joint project of Global Exchange and Green America (formerly Co-Op America)
Washington Convention Center
Free bike valet
Link to: http://www.greenfestivals.org
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Public Transportation uses more Renewable Energy
Public Transportation uses more Renewable Energy
By John Addison (9/29/09). More Americans ride on public transit than any time in the past 50 years as more live in cities and most watch their transportation costs. Remarkably, transit operators are moving more people, yet reducing our dependency on oil and generating less carbon emissions. Increased use of solar, other renewables, vehicle electrification, and low-carbon fuels are all part of solution.
New Jersey Transit is preparing for a future where parked cars can be charged with sunlight while people use public transportation. New Jersey Transit is installing 402 kW solar canopies on the rooftops of two large parking garages at the Trenton Amtrak Transit center.
These parking structures are also equipped with 110v charging stations for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Participating in the opening ceremony was the Mid-Atlantic Grid Interactive Cars (MAGIC) consortium, which includes the University of Delaware, Pepco Holdings, PJM Interconnect, Comverge, AC Propulsion, and the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, created to further develop, test, and demonstrate vehicle-to-grid technology.
A few years ago, Los Angeles Metro invested $5 million to install 2MW of solar power as part of a three-year plan to install solar panels on every Metro Bus and Rail facility within its Los Angeles County service area. For example, the solar panels installed on Metro Bus Division 18’s maintenance building rooftop and shading parking structures consist of about 1,600 solar panels that generate 417 kilowatts of electricity, enough power pay for itself in 10 to 11 years.Now LA Metro will receive $4,466,000 to make its rail system more energy efficient. Red Line Westlake Rail Wayside Energy Storage System: Install wayside energy storage substation (WESS) at Westlake passenger station is at-grade level on the high-speed heavy rail subway Red Line. The nearby traction power substation will be switched off when the WESS is operating. The WESS flywheel technology captures regenerative braking energy when trains slow or stop and transfer back to same train or another train when it starts or accelerates, reducing energy demand and peak power requirements.
This month, the federal administration announced $100 million in Economic Recovery Act funding for 43 transit agencies that are pursuing cutting-edge renewable energy and efficiency technologies to help reduce global warming, lessen America’s dependence on oil, and create green jobs. The 43 winning proposals were submitted by transit agencies from across the country as part of a nationwide competition for $100 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds. Selection criteria included a project’s ability to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and also to provide a return on the investment. The Federal Transit Administration reviewed more than $2 billion in applications for these funds.
AC Transit in Oakland, California, is awarded $6,400,000 to increase photovoltaic capacity to generate “green” hydrogen: Install multiple PV modules at its Central Maintenance Facility in Hayward. Combined with AC Transit’s already-installed solar capacity, this solar installation will produce the renewable electricity equivalent to what will be required to produce 180 kg/day of “green” hydrogen for 12 buses carrying up to 5,000 riders daily, for the current 3 zero-emission buses that carry about 1,000 riders daily.
VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio, Texas, was awarded $5,000,000 to replace conventional diesel transit buses with 35-ft composite body electric transit buses. The project includes quick-charging stations at this terminal layover in route to recharge bus batteries. Grid sourced electrical energy used to recharge the bus batteries will be augmented with solar energy collected with panels procured and installed under this project.
The nation is becoming less dependent on oil as record numbers escape solo driving in gridlock and increasingly use public transit. Electrification of light-rail and buses coupled with renewable energy makes this transportation greener.
Public Transit Renewable Energy ERA Awards
California: City of Santa Clarita, $4,620,000. Photovoltaic Modules on Transit Maintenance Facility: Add photovoltaic (PV) modules to the Transit Maintenance Facility (TMF) to generate electricity to offset the electric power consumed at the TMF site. The PV modules will be placed on top of canopies that will generate electricity while providing shade for full-size inter-city and commuter buses.
California: North County Transit District (North San Diego, headquarters in Oceanside), $2,000,000. PV Solar Implementation at facilities: Install PV solar in a variety of facilities.
Colorado: Denver Regional Transportation District (Aurora, headquarters in Denver), $770,000. Heating upgrades at East Metro bus maintenance facility: To improve the heating system at its East Metro bus maintenance facility located in Aurora, CO. This project will replace the three existing boilers with three new 15-psi, 20-ppm NOx boilers with Advanced Hawk Integrated Control Systems. The advanced control system will operate the boilers based on load demand as opposed to outside temperature.
Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Transportation (statewide) $7,000,000. Stationary Fuel Cells and Hybrid Transit Buses Incremental Costs: The purchase of diesel-electric hybrid transit buses and stationary fuel cells for use in the statewide bus system in Connecticut. This grant would allow ConnDOT to upgrade the upcoming purchases of buses and would fund the incremental cost of a hybrid bus compared to a conventional bus. It would also fund stationary fuel cells to provide primary and emergency back-up power for the bus maintenance and storage facilities.
Delaware: Delaware Transit Corporation (statewide), $1,500,000. Solar Panel Installations at DTC facilities: Retrofits Delaware Transit Corporation facilities with solar panels, which will generate cost savings through fossil fuel energy reductions.
Georgia: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, $10,800,000. Shade structures with integrated, grid tied photovoltaic cells will be erected on a bus storage lot, generating renewable electricity while reducing heat islands. This will be the largest PV installation in Georgia.
Illinois: Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago), $1,500,000. North Park Electrification – Electric Power Delivery System for Outdoor Bus Parking: Construct electrified stalls that will deliver electrical power for up to 80 vehicles and provide services such as heating and air-conditioning to vehicles that would otherwise be left idling during overnight cleaning and prior to morning pullout.
Illinois: Rock Island Metro (Rock Island), $600,000. Solar Thermal System: A solar thermal system on the building roof will provide hot water for the operations building and the maintenance building. This is a solar thermal project not based on PV-based solar.
Illinois: Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District – CUMTD (Champaign-Urbana), $450,000. Facility upgrade with Geothermal Heat Pump System: CUMTD will replace the existing conventional HVAC system with an efficient geothermal HVAC system.
Indiana: Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation (Lafayette), $2,180,000. GLPTC will reduce its electrical energy usage by installing wind power at its facility for use by its garage and maintenance facilities.
Massachusetts: Lowell Regional Transit Authority (Lowell), $1,500,000. Hale Street Solar Photovoltaic system: The installation of a photovoltaic panel array on the roof of the Hale Street garage facility owned by the LRTA. The facility is used by the LRTA to store, fuel, maintain, and repair transportation vehicles (buses, vans, tow trucks etc.) as well as administrative and dispatch services. The facility is a 70,000 square foot building located in an industrial zone in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston), $2,500,000. Renewable Wind Energy: MBTA will design and construct wind energy generation turbines in eastern Massachusetts (from among Kingston, Newburyport, and Bridgewater).
Minnesota: Productive Alternatives/Transit Alternatives (Fergus Falls), $845,000. Energy Reduction Consolidated Projects: A variety of building energy-efficiency upgrades, hybrid vehicle upgrades, wind generator power systems, and the equipment needed to convert cooking oil to a blend with vehicle fuel to operate some of their buses.
Oregon: Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Portland), Pennsylvania: Red Rose Transit Authority – RRTA (Lancaster), $2,450,000 is awarded for energy efficiency and geothermal for heating and air conditioning. A green roof on the new office addition, and two waste oil burners to heat the vehicle storage building using waste oil generated by RRTA from the vehicle fleet.
Washington: Link Transit (Chelan-Wenatchee), $2,925,000. Battery Powered Zero Emission Circulator Buses: Innovative Quick Opportunity Charge, Lithium-Ion “Titanate” Battery Powered Community Bus program. This project replaces five diesel powered buses operating on high frequency circulator routes and will also create a “quick charge” automated opportunity charge station with two charging podiums at Link Transit’s Intermodal Transportation Center. An additional manual charging station would be installed at Operations Base.
Washington: Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area (Vancouver), $1,500,000. Facility Improvement Project: Improve various systems and install solar panels at several Clark County facilities. System improvements include high performance fluorescent lighting, LED exit signs, retrofitting existing pole lights; and installing occupancy sensors for private offices, conference rooms and bathrooms. HVAC upgrades include DDC control system covering all buildings, expanded control system with advanced control strategies. Solar PV system installations range from 5kW to 20kW.
Share and Enjoy:
By John Addison. John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report and speaks at conferences. He is the author of the new book - Save Gas, Save the Planet - now selling at Amazon and other booksellers.
Link to website:
http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/renewables/public-transportation-renewable-energy/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
By John Addison (9/29/09). More Americans ride on public transit than any time in the past 50 years as more live in cities and most watch their transportation costs. Remarkably, transit operators are moving more people, yet reducing our dependency on oil and generating less carbon emissions. Increased use of solar, other renewables, vehicle electrification, and low-carbon fuels are all part of solution.
New Jersey Transit is preparing for a future where parked cars can be charged with sunlight while people use public transportation. New Jersey Transit is installing 402 kW solar canopies on the rooftops of two large parking garages at the Trenton Amtrak Transit center.
These parking structures are also equipped with 110v charging stations for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Participating in the opening ceremony was the Mid-Atlantic Grid Interactive Cars (MAGIC) consortium, which includes the University of Delaware, Pepco Holdings, PJM Interconnect, Comverge, AC Propulsion, and the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, created to further develop, test, and demonstrate vehicle-to-grid technology.
A few years ago, Los Angeles Metro invested $5 million to install 2MW of solar power as part of a three-year plan to install solar panels on every Metro Bus and Rail facility within its Los Angeles County service area. For example, the solar panels installed on Metro Bus Division 18’s maintenance building rooftop and shading parking structures consist of about 1,600 solar panels that generate 417 kilowatts of electricity, enough power pay for itself in 10 to 11 years.Now LA Metro will receive $4,466,000 to make its rail system more energy efficient. Red Line Westlake Rail Wayside Energy Storage System: Install wayside energy storage substation (WESS) at Westlake passenger station is at-grade level on the high-speed heavy rail subway Red Line. The nearby traction power substation will be switched off when the WESS is operating. The WESS flywheel technology captures regenerative braking energy when trains slow or stop and transfer back to same train or another train when it starts or accelerates, reducing energy demand and peak power requirements.
This month, the federal administration announced $100 million in Economic Recovery Act funding for 43 transit agencies that are pursuing cutting-edge renewable energy and efficiency technologies to help reduce global warming, lessen America’s dependence on oil, and create green jobs. The 43 winning proposals were submitted by transit agencies from across the country as part of a nationwide competition for $100 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds. Selection criteria included a project’s ability to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and also to provide a return on the investment. The Federal Transit Administration reviewed more than $2 billion in applications for these funds.
AC Transit in Oakland, California, is awarded $6,400,000 to increase photovoltaic capacity to generate “green” hydrogen: Install multiple PV modules at its Central Maintenance Facility in Hayward. Combined with AC Transit’s already-installed solar capacity, this solar installation will produce the renewable electricity equivalent to what will be required to produce 180 kg/day of “green” hydrogen for 12 buses carrying up to 5,000 riders daily, for the current 3 zero-emission buses that carry about 1,000 riders daily.
VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio, Texas, was awarded $5,000,000 to replace conventional diesel transit buses with 35-ft composite body electric transit buses. The project includes quick-charging stations at this terminal layover in route to recharge bus batteries. Grid sourced electrical energy used to recharge the bus batteries will be augmented with solar energy collected with panels procured and installed under this project.
The nation is becoming less dependent on oil as record numbers escape solo driving in gridlock and increasingly use public transit. Electrification of light-rail and buses coupled with renewable energy makes this transportation greener.
Public Transit Renewable Energy ERA Awards
California: City of Santa Clarita, $4,620,000. Photovoltaic Modules on Transit Maintenance Facility: Add photovoltaic (PV) modules to the Transit Maintenance Facility (TMF) to generate electricity to offset the electric power consumed at the TMF site. The PV modules will be placed on top of canopies that will generate electricity while providing shade for full-size inter-city and commuter buses.
California: North County Transit District (North San Diego, headquarters in Oceanside), $2,000,000. PV Solar Implementation at facilities: Install PV solar in a variety of facilities.
Colorado: Denver Regional Transportation District (Aurora, headquarters in Denver), $770,000. Heating upgrades at East Metro bus maintenance facility: To improve the heating system at its East Metro bus maintenance facility located in Aurora, CO. This project will replace the three existing boilers with three new 15-psi, 20-ppm NOx boilers with Advanced Hawk Integrated Control Systems. The advanced control system will operate the boilers based on load demand as opposed to outside temperature.
Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Transportation (statewide) $7,000,000. Stationary Fuel Cells and Hybrid Transit Buses Incremental Costs: The purchase of diesel-electric hybrid transit buses and stationary fuel cells for use in the statewide bus system in Connecticut. This grant would allow ConnDOT to upgrade the upcoming purchases of buses and would fund the incremental cost of a hybrid bus compared to a conventional bus. It would also fund stationary fuel cells to provide primary and emergency back-up power for the bus maintenance and storage facilities.
Delaware: Delaware Transit Corporation (statewide), $1,500,000. Solar Panel Installations at DTC facilities: Retrofits Delaware Transit Corporation facilities with solar panels, which will generate cost savings through fossil fuel energy reductions.
Georgia: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, $10,800,000. Shade structures with integrated, grid tied photovoltaic cells will be erected on a bus storage lot, generating renewable electricity while reducing heat islands. This will be the largest PV installation in Georgia.
Illinois: Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago), $1,500,000. North Park Electrification – Electric Power Delivery System for Outdoor Bus Parking: Construct electrified stalls that will deliver electrical power for up to 80 vehicles and provide services such as heating and air-conditioning to vehicles that would otherwise be left idling during overnight cleaning and prior to morning pullout.
Illinois: Rock Island Metro (Rock Island), $600,000. Solar Thermal System: A solar thermal system on the building roof will provide hot water for the operations building and the maintenance building. This is a solar thermal project not based on PV-based solar.
Illinois: Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District – CUMTD (Champaign-Urbana), $450,000. Facility upgrade with Geothermal Heat Pump System: CUMTD will replace the existing conventional HVAC system with an efficient geothermal HVAC system.
Indiana: Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation (Lafayette), $2,180,000. GLPTC will reduce its electrical energy usage by installing wind power at its facility for use by its garage and maintenance facilities.
Massachusetts: Lowell Regional Transit Authority (Lowell), $1,500,000. Hale Street Solar Photovoltaic system: The installation of a photovoltaic panel array on the roof of the Hale Street garage facility owned by the LRTA. The facility is used by the LRTA to store, fuel, maintain, and repair transportation vehicles (buses, vans, tow trucks etc.) as well as administrative and dispatch services. The facility is a 70,000 square foot building located in an industrial zone in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston), $2,500,000. Renewable Wind Energy: MBTA will design and construct wind energy generation turbines in eastern Massachusetts (from among Kingston, Newburyport, and Bridgewater).
Minnesota: Productive Alternatives/Transit Alternatives (Fergus Falls), $845,000. Energy Reduction Consolidated Projects: A variety of building energy-efficiency upgrades, hybrid vehicle upgrades, wind generator power systems, and the equipment needed to convert cooking oil to a blend with vehicle fuel to operate some of their buses.
Oregon: Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Portland), Pennsylvania: Red Rose Transit Authority – RRTA (Lancaster), $2,450,000 is awarded for energy efficiency and geothermal for heating and air conditioning. A green roof on the new office addition, and two waste oil burners to heat the vehicle storage building using waste oil generated by RRTA from the vehicle fleet.
Washington: Link Transit (Chelan-Wenatchee), $2,925,000. Battery Powered Zero Emission Circulator Buses: Innovative Quick Opportunity Charge, Lithium-Ion “Titanate” Battery Powered Community Bus program. This project replaces five diesel powered buses operating on high frequency circulator routes and will also create a “quick charge” automated opportunity charge station with two charging podiums at Link Transit’s Intermodal Transportation Center. An additional manual charging station would be installed at Operations Base.
Washington: Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area (Vancouver), $1,500,000. Facility Improvement Project: Improve various systems and install solar panels at several Clark County facilities. System improvements include high performance fluorescent lighting, LED exit signs, retrofitting existing pole lights; and installing occupancy sensors for private offices, conference rooms and bathrooms. HVAC upgrades include DDC control system covering all buildings, expanded control system with advanced control strategies. Solar PV system installations range from 5kW to 20kW.
Share and Enjoy:
By John Addison. John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report and speaks at conferences. He is the author of the new book - Save Gas, Save the Planet - now selling at Amazon and other booksellers.
Link to website:
http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/renewables/public-transportation-renewable-energy/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Greenest Big Companies in America
The Greenest Big Companies in America
By Daniel McGinn NEWSWEEK
Published Sep 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Sep 28, 2009
Recommended (6)
Media: Is Ebony Magazine Up for Sale?
Why Esquire's Abortion Story Got It Wrong
Media: Magazines Aren't Dead Yet
NEWSWEEK Statement on Maziar Bahari
NEWSWEEK Issues Statement on Detained Journalist
NEWSWEEK Reporter Arrested Without Charge in Iran
See All
Share:
Facebook
Digg
Tweet
LinkedIn
newsweek:http://www.newsweek.com/id/215577
Buzz up! (7)
Tools:
17 Post Your Comment
Print
Email
NWK.widget.EmailArticle.init();
SPONSORED BY
placeAd2('printthis','88x31',false,'');
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
Your Email Address
Recipient's Email Address
Separate multiple addresses with commas
When David Roberts was growing up near the oilfields of West Texas in the early 1960s, it never got dark. Back then, oilfields were lit 24/7 by the gas flares used to burn off natural gas, a byproduct of oil drilling. The flares released massive amounts of CO2, and over time, oil companies halted that harmful practice in the U.S. But gas flares remain the norm in the developing world—and today Roberts oversees a team at Marathon Oil that's trying to end the practice. In 2007, Marathon opened a $1.5 billion liquid-natural-gas plant in Equatorial Guinea to capture the natural gas that once went up in smoke. The plant is one factor that helped Marathon, No. 100 in NEWSWEEK's Green Rankings, cut its CO2 emissions by 40 percent between 2004 and 2008—and the plant earns a profit.
var config = new Object();
config["divid"] = "brightcove215766";
config["type"] = "mini_lineup";
config["configpid"] = "452329876";
config["rsspid"] = "34421826001";
config["rsslid"] = "40749230001";
config["titleid"] = "40911762001";
config["numItems"] = "5";
config["lineupCollapse"] = "false";
config["lineupName"] = "MORE VIDEO";
config["videoPreview"] = "false";
config["autoStart"] = "false";
config["width"] = 260;
config["height"] = 320;
config["styleclass"] = "brightcove-mini-player";
config["activeTab"] = "video";
config["bgColor"] = "#ffffff";
config["url"] = "215766";
if (typeof(commercialNode) != 'undefined') config["commercialNode"] = commercialNode;
if (typeof(commercialNode) != 'undefined') placeAd2("video/"+commercialNode,'video',false,'');
bcFullscreenPlayer(config);
It's a small example of how the economic case for going green is becoming more compelling. Economists view environmental damage as a classic "externality"—a cost that impacts society but isn't imposed on producers or consumers. But with scientific consensus that carbon emissions threaten our climate, there's growing political will to curb them, particularly with the global powers set to meet in Copenhagen in December. The Obama administration is pushing for a cap-and-trade system that would turn companies' emissions into a bottom-line cost. Smart companies are working to better understand—and cut—those emissions ahead of new regulations.
The inaugural NEWSWEEK Green Rankings recognizes those efforts. For more than a year, the magazine worked with leading environmental researchers KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com to rank the 500 largest U.S. companies based on their actual environmental performance, policies, and reputation.
Ranking companies based on sustainability is a huge challenge. That's largely because comparing environmental performance across industries is a bit like analyzing whether Tiger Woods or LeBron James is the world's greatest athlete—there's an inevitable apples-and-oranges element. Some industries are far dirtier than others: a typical financial-services company exacts a smaller environmental toll than even the best-run utility or mining company. Also, many corporations are secretive about key environmental data, if they track the numbers at all. Even among companies that do report green data, there's no uniform standard, so their numbers often aren't comparable.
The Greenest Big Companies in America
An exclusive ranking
Why Newsweek Produced the Green Rankings
Gordon Brown's Copenhagen Climate Plan
Greenwashing Corporate Reputations
Sum Total: Being Green Isn't New
Big Oil Goes Green for Real
placeAd2(commercialNode,'bigbox',false,'')
Despite those obstacles, we worked hard to design a ranking system that makes sense. More than half of companies' overall Green Scores are based on their environmental policies and reputation, industry-neutral metrics that help even the playing field for companies in carbon-intensive businesses. To overcome limited corporate emissions numbers, NEWSWEEK used data from Trucost, which has created a widely acclaimed system for estimating emissions of companies that fail to provide them. (Note, however, that among our Top 100 best-performing companies, 70 voluntarily disclosed the data.) Over time, we hope NEWSWEEK's rankings will become more precise as more companies begin to report their numbers. "One of the purposes of this is to improve the transparency of corporations…and encourage them to provide an even higher level of disclosure," says Thomas Kuh, KLD's managing director.
Many of the companies that finished in our Top 100 are recognized leaders in sustainability. Intel, No. 4 in NEWSWEEK's ranking, recently launched an initiative in which every employee's annual bonus is tied, in part, to how well the company does in meeting sustainability goals. Wal-Mart, No. 59, recently announced plans to create a Sustainability Index that will help consumers better understand which products sold in its stores are greener than others.
Rankings inevitably provoke controversy—and we welcome that. Our hope is to open a conversation on measuring environmental performance—an essential first step toward improving it. The NEWSWEEK Green Rankings for 2009 on the pages ahead provide a snapshot of companies poised at this most important starting line.
© 2009
Link to Newsweek:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/215577
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
By Daniel McGinn NEWSWEEK
Published Sep 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Sep 28, 2009
Recommended (6)
Media: Is Ebony Magazine Up for Sale?
Why Esquire's Abortion Story Got It Wrong
Media: Magazines Aren't Dead Yet
NEWSWEEK Statement on Maziar Bahari
NEWSWEEK Issues Statement on Detained Journalist
NEWSWEEK Reporter Arrested Without Charge in Iran
See All
Share:
Digg
Tweet
newsweek:http://www.newsweek.com/id/215577
Buzz up! (7)
Tools:
17 Post Your Comment
NWK.widget.EmailArticle.init();
SPONSORED BY
placeAd2('printthis','88x31',false,'');
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
Your Email Address
Recipient's Email Address
Separate multiple addresses with commas
When David Roberts was growing up near the oilfields of West Texas in the early 1960s, it never got dark. Back then, oilfields were lit 24/7 by the gas flares used to burn off natural gas, a byproduct of oil drilling. The flares released massive amounts of CO2, and over time, oil companies halted that harmful practice in the U.S. But gas flares remain the norm in the developing world—and today Roberts oversees a team at Marathon Oil that's trying to end the practice. In 2007, Marathon opened a $1.5 billion liquid-natural-gas plant in Equatorial Guinea to capture the natural gas that once went up in smoke. The plant is one factor that helped Marathon, No. 100 in NEWSWEEK's Green Rankings, cut its CO2 emissions by 40 percent between 2004 and 2008—and the plant earns a profit.
var config = new Object();
config["divid"] = "brightcove215766";
config["type"] = "mini_lineup";
config["configpid"] = "452329876";
config["rsspid"] = "34421826001";
config["rsslid"] = "40749230001";
config["titleid"] = "40911762001";
config["numItems"] = "5";
config["lineupCollapse"] = "false";
config["lineupName"] = "MORE VIDEO";
config["videoPreview"] = "false";
config["autoStart"] = "false";
config["width"] = 260;
config["height"] = 320;
config["styleclass"] = "brightcove-mini-player";
config["activeTab"] = "video";
config["bgColor"] = "#ffffff";
config["url"] = "215766";
if (typeof(commercialNode) != 'undefined') config["commercialNode"] = commercialNode;
if (typeof(commercialNode) != 'undefined') placeAd2("video/"+commercialNode,'video',false,'');
bcFullscreenPlayer(config);
It's a small example of how the economic case for going green is becoming more compelling. Economists view environmental damage as a classic "externality"—a cost that impacts society but isn't imposed on producers or consumers. But with scientific consensus that carbon emissions threaten our climate, there's growing political will to curb them, particularly with the global powers set to meet in Copenhagen in December. The Obama administration is pushing for a cap-and-trade system that would turn companies' emissions into a bottom-line cost. Smart companies are working to better understand—and cut—those emissions ahead of new regulations.
The inaugural NEWSWEEK Green Rankings recognizes those efforts. For more than a year, the magazine worked with leading environmental researchers KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com to rank the 500 largest U.S. companies based on their actual environmental performance, policies, and reputation.
Ranking companies based on sustainability is a huge challenge. That's largely because comparing environmental performance across industries is a bit like analyzing whether Tiger Woods or LeBron James is the world's greatest athlete—there's an inevitable apples-and-oranges element. Some industries are far dirtier than others: a typical financial-services company exacts a smaller environmental toll than even the best-run utility or mining company. Also, many corporations are secretive about key environmental data, if they track the numbers at all. Even among companies that do report green data, there's no uniform standard, so their numbers often aren't comparable.
The Greenest Big Companies in America
An exclusive ranking
Why Newsweek Produced the Green Rankings
Gordon Brown's Copenhagen Climate Plan
Greenwashing Corporate Reputations
Sum Total: Being Green Isn't New
Big Oil Goes Green for Real
placeAd2(commercialNode,'bigbox',false,'')
Despite those obstacles, we worked hard to design a ranking system that makes sense. More than half of companies' overall Green Scores are based on their environmental policies and reputation, industry-neutral metrics that help even the playing field for companies in carbon-intensive businesses. To overcome limited corporate emissions numbers, NEWSWEEK used data from Trucost, which has created a widely acclaimed system for estimating emissions of companies that fail to provide them. (Note, however, that among our Top 100 best-performing companies, 70 voluntarily disclosed the data.) Over time, we hope NEWSWEEK's rankings will become more precise as more companies begin to report their numbers. "One of the purposes of this is to improve the transparency of corporations…and encourage them to provide an even higher level of disclosure," says Thomas Kuh, KLD's managing director.
Many of the companies that finished in our Top 100 are recognized leaders in sustainability. Intel, No. 4 in NEWSWEEK's ranking, recently launched an initiative in which every employee's annual bonus is tied, in part, to how well the company does in meeting sustainability goals. Wal-Mart, No. 59, recently announced plans to create a Sustainability Index that will help consumers better understand which products sold in its stores are greener than others.
Rankings inevitably provoke controversy—and we welcome that. Our hope is to open a conversation on measuring environmental performance—an essential first step toward improving it. The NEWSWEEK Green Rankings for 2009 on the pages ahead provide a snapshot of companies poised at this most important starting line.
© 2009
Link to Newsweek:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/215577
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
DOE Solar Decathalon on National Mall
October 9-13 and 15-18, 2009
Plan to attend the Solar Decathalon on the national mall in Washington, DC.
About Solar Decathlon
For three weeks in October 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy will host the Solar Decathlon—a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.
Exact dates of the 2009 event are:
Oct. 1—Teams arrive at the National Mall and begin assembly of their houses-->
Oct. 8-16—Teams compete in 10 contests
Oct. 9-13—Houses are open to the public
Oct. 15-18—Houses are open to the public
Oct. 19-21—Teams disassemble their houses.
The Solar Decathlon houses will be open for public tours 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Please note that all homes will be closed Wed., Oct. 14.
The Solar Decathlon consists of three major phases:
Building: This is where most of the work—and the learning—happens. In addition to designing houses that use innovative, high-tech elements in ingenious ways, students have to raise funds, communicate team activities, collect supplies, and work with contractors. Although the Solar Decathlon competition receives the most attention, it's the hard work that students put in during the building phase that makes or breaks a team.
Moving to the Solar Village: When it's time for the Solar Decathlon, the teams transport their houses to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and rebuild them on site.
Competing: During the competition itself, the teams receive points for their performance in 10 contests and open their homes to the public.
Purpose
The Solar Decathlon brings attention to one of the biggest challenges we face—an ever-increasing need for energy. As an internationally recognized event, it offers powerful solutions—using energy more efficiently and using energy from renewable sources.
The Solar Decathlon has several goals:
To educate the student participants—the "Decathletes"—about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies. As the next generation of engineers, builders, and communicators, the Decathletes will be able to use this knowledge in their studies and their future careers.
To raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, and how solar energy technologies can reduce energy usage.
To help solar energy technologies enter the marketplace faster. This competition encourages the research and development of energy efficiency and energy production technologies.
To foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines—including engineering and architecture students, who rarely work together until they enter the workplace.
To promote an integrated or "whole building design" approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact.
To demonstrate to the public the potential of Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as they consume. Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption from the utility provider.
Link to the website:
http://www.solardecathlon.org/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Plan to attend the Solar Decathalon on the national mall in Washington, DC.
About Solar Decathlon
For three weeks in October 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy will host the Solar Decathlon—a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.
Exact dates of the 2009 event are:
Oct. 1—Teams arrive at the National Mall and begin assembly of their houses-->
Oct. 8-16—Teams compete in 10 contests
Oct. 9-13—Houses are open to the public
Oct. 15-18—Houses are open to the public
Oct. 19-21—Teams disassemble their houses.
The Solar Decathlon houses will be open for public tours 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Please note that all homes will be closed Wed., Oct. 14.
The Solar Decathlon consists of three major phases:
Building: This is where most of the work—and the learning—happens. In addition to designing houses that use innovative, high-tech elements in ingenious ways, students have to raise funds, communicate team activities, collect supplies, and work with contractors. Although the Solar Decathlon competition receives the most attention, it's the hard work that students put in during the building phase that makes or breaks a team.
Moving to the Solar Village: When it's time for the Solar Decathlon, the teams transport their houses to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and rebuild them on site.
Competing: During the competition itself, the teams receive points for their performance in 10 contests and open their homes to the public.
Purpose
The Solar Decathlon brings attention to one of the biggest challenges we face—an ever-increasing need for energy. As an internationally recognized event, it offers powerful solutions—using energy more efficiently and using energy from renewable sources.
The Solar Decathlon has several goals:
To educate the student participants—the "Decathletes"—about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies. As the next generation of engineers, builders, and communicators, the Decathletes will be able to use this knowledge in their studies and their future careers.
To raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, and how solar energy technologies can reduce energy usage.
To help solar energy technologies enter the marketplace faster. This competition encourages the research and development of energy efficiency and energy production technologies.
To foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines—including engineering and architecture students, who rarely work together until they enter the workplace.
To promote an integrated or "whole building design" approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact.
To demonstrate to the public the potential of Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as they consume. Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption from the utility provider.
Link to the website:
http://www.solardecathlon.org/
Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
