There are a lot of cool gadgets out there, but there’s a fine line between what’s cool and what’s useful. This is a green list of gadgets that are useful, but boast the extra-cool factor of using renewable energy. No batteries required!

10. The Ship has Landed

The lightship is a solar-powered LED mounted on suction cups. Result: a portable, hands-free, solar light. It’s even weather proof and weighs a slim 8oz. For under $15, this is the best 8 hours of clean light I can think of, and I might just get one for my car/camping trips/travels.

9. High-tech pool toy? (more…)

Big money is backing wind power, and the number of investors ready to step up to the plate continues to grow. But according to an article in Renewable Energy World, that growth is hampered by a lack of a nationwide “electronic transmission superhighway”.

In the sixties America created the interstate superhighways that now crisscross our nation. Now, our country’s energy security depends on a new interstate initiative. Will the U.S. government step up to the plate?

“Across the country, hundreds of wind projects comprising tens of thousands of wind turbines are on hold because no one wants to step forward and pay for upgrades that will primarily benefit others. The obvious solution to this problem is a policy framework that will allow firms interested in building new transmission to collect the costs of the infrastructure investment from those who will benefit from it.”

Richard Sergel, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and Kevin Kolevar, DOE’s assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, have pointed out in recent testimony before Congress that all low-carbon technologies, from large-scale wind projects to concentrated solar power, and even nuclear and “clean coal” technologies, require an updated electric grid because they are most often located in remote areas. The map above shows the Transmission Superhighway Vision put forth by the American Wind Energy Association and American Electric Power, an investor-owned utility that spans 11 states.

Photo Credit: AWEA

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When you think of the future of solar power, you normally envision flat panels out in some massive field, blinding the sheep for miles around, or even the small panel up on your roof. What you’re unlikely to imagine is a bloody great big tower in the middle of nowhere.

A not so new energy concept has been unveiled by EnviroMission Limited in South Melbourne, Australia, and it harkens back to an idea demonstrated more than 20 years ago. It is basically small amount of panels on the ground, centering around a massive tower. The collectors warm the air near the surface, and then channel it up the tower. Turbines placed at the bottom make electricity created by the updraft.

“It’s a combination chimney, windmill, greenhouse,” said Kim Forté of EnviroMission Limited, who have designed a kilometer-high tower, and now are hoping to build it somewhere in southwestern USA.

This is basically an improved and improvised version of a solar chimney, a centuries old technique for providing ventilation throughout a home, using an updraft to move air throughout a home. EnviroMission are hoping though, to build much larger structures, in both width and height. The width is obvious, as the more solar panels there are the more chance there is of generating the heat at ground level. But the taller the tower is, the more powerful the suction is going up the chimney.

EnviroMission are looking at building a tower that would reach 800 to 1000 meters in to the sky. It would be surrounded by a greenhouse canopy some 2.5 kilometers in radius. “It is a sizeable footprint [on the land], but with the rising cost of carbon fuels, it’s becoming more commercial,” Forté said.

The advantage of a solar tower over normal solar cells is definitely not efficiency, as a tower is only a tenth that efficient as cells. But on the other hand, a tower is much less expensive to build. A 200-megawatt tower such as described above would cost upwards of a billion dollars. But according to a 2005 industry report, this would imply a 10 cent per kilowatt-hour charge, which equals out to be roughly a third of the cost of electricity generated from solar cells.

Solar power is definitely one aspect of our power generation future. But whether we will look towards efficiency or cost is yet to be determined.

Source

Photo Credit: EnviroMission Ltd.

I ran across this article at The Oil Drum and thought it was too tasty to pass up. It describes a new design to help concentrated solar power (CSP) increase efficiency and reduce cost.

Here’s the problem: solar thermal collectors focus the sun’s heat onto a clear tube of fluid (see: Intro to Solar Thermal). The collectors generate the most energy when the sun’s rays are parallel with the tube of fluid. Since the sun moves across the sky throughout the days and seasons, it only reaches this “sweet spot” certain hours each day. But, if the solar collectors could move to track the sun, their power output could increase dramatically. Keep in mind that CSP is one of the most efficient forms of solar power. (more…)

Xtreme Concentrated Solar Power: if a magnifying glass is like lightning to ants, this would be their atomic bomb.

We already know that concentrated solar power (CSP) is shaking things up in the solar industry. A subset within the industry is turning up the heat. “Extreme” Concentrated solar magnifies intense sunlight onto a solar cell, at temperatures that could melt it, to boost efficiency for less money.

The holy grail of renewable energy is not just efficiency but competitive pricing. Most consumers don’t want to wait 5-10+ years to earn back their investment in energy savings, assuming that they can afford solar. Never mind the added value of generating some of your own energy. Utility-scale facilities hinge not only on cost, but infrastructure. If you build your solar/wind farm in the desert, transmission lines may not come out to meet you. So when someone claims to have a cheap, efficient solar technology, people pay attention.

Extreme Concentrated Solar stands out because it claims to be affordable and very efficient. Unlike solar-thermal (CSP), which utilizes the heat of the sun, this technology still converts light into power (photo voltaic). So many solar companies have attempted to reduce cost by rising to industrial scale, but this method takes the opposite approach. XCPV (extreme concentrated photo voltaic) uses very small solar panels combined into a module design, and modules are infinitely scalable. (more…)

In 2007, an enjoyable summer and fall pastime for me was sitting, newspaper in hand, on the bank of New York City’s East River in Brooklyn, looking out over the water and staring awestruck at the Manhattan cityscape. Never did I imagine that spinning somewhere in the water were hydroelectric turbines generating enough tidal energy to supply nearly a third of the power needed to run a parking garage and supermarket on Roosevelt Island. I found out about this project in a February 11 Wall Street Journal article entitled Nine Cities, Nine Ideas.

Mister Bloomberg helped jumpstart this “green” project on June 11, 2007 in an effort to move forward in his goal of cutting Gotham’s green-house-gas emissions by 30%. This goal is part of a larger list of goals outlined in PLANYC 2030, a most ambitious plan to change the city’s urban environment in some big ways. (more…)

By Arlie Krigel

Wind power is one of the cleanest—yet oldest—forms of energy. Once only found on rural farms, wind turbines are making their way into backyards, modern landscapes, and many, many, business plans. How wind power became one of the fastest growing energies in the world, and where it goes in the future has a lot to do with its historical roots, complicated mechanics, and consumer interest from people like you.

Wind Power History

The history of wind power began in 500 BCE, with wind-powered sail boats along the Nile River. From there, wind power history progressed to China and then Persia, where farmers used windmills to pump water in 200 BCE.

As the technology improved over time, so did windmill applications and fame. By the 12th century, European crusaders had brought wind power technology back home, creating wheat and corn-grinding windmills. These lasted for many years, until Danish scientists created a rudimentary electric version in 1890. These wind turbines were used extensively in the US frontier and other rural country sides, until oil shortage created a new surge of interest in the 1970s. With the government help and consumer interest, modern wind turbines have been spinning ever since.

How does wind power work?

Wind turbines use wind to make electricity. Wind propels the blades, which rotate a shaft, which attaches to a generator to create the power. Size does matter for wind turbines too: in general, the bigger the wind turbine, the more efficient it is. Many commercial wind turbines are often grouped together in patches, called wind farms. But how is a homeowner supposed to install a bunch of giant wind turbines? The answer is small wind.

Wind power for your home

Small wind is the industry name for 100 kilowatt capacity turbines and below. Smaller in both size and capacity, they’re perfect for homeowners and businesses looking to cut bills or become energy independent. Small wind turbines do require sufficient wind speeds and space, however, so they’re not ideal for everyone. You can read more about residential wind power at Renewzle with our articles on Top Five Small Home Wind Turbines and Home Wind Power Options.

Future of Wind Power

The wind industry is going to continue expanding: oil tycoon T. Boon Pickens recently announced a plan to invest $10 billion in the world’s largest wind farm, located in Texas, cities are changing zoning laws to allow wind turbines within city limits, many states are expanding their wind power capacity, and new technology is being developed like a new invention called the Windbelt, which will hopefully create a wind machine ten to thirty times more efficient the ones we have now. There’s never been a more exciting time in wind power history.

Also, ask your congressperson to extend the Renewable Energy Tax Credit, the main federal tax credit supporting wind power generation.

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Renewzle plans to expand its calculator functionality to small wind, to continue to help consumers like you become energy efficient and independent. To find out when Renewzle enters other renewable fields like small wind, join our mailing list.

Utility-scale windpower is an important and growing part of the US energy portfolio. Farms ranging in size from dozens to hundreds of turbines can produce in excess of 60 megawatts of power. Plans for gigawatts of wind power are being proposed all over the globe, and new wind farms are regularly being proposed that outstrip one another to be the largest in their respective locations, or in the world. At the far end of the scale, the largest size wind turbines have a rotor diameter of 126 meters (413 feet), and are estimated to be capable of producing 20,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually (enough to power as many as 5000 European homes). Since the power generated by a turbine increases exponentially as it gets larger, new turbines will continue to grow in size.

But small-scale turbines are perhaps a more exciting realm of development. The standard, propeller-style turbine is well established, and there are many suppliers for this kind of generator in a range of sizes. In 2007, Home Power Magazine had a roundup of more than a dozen small wind turbines ranging from 8 feet to 56 feet in diameter (the latter of which is far larger than even a large, inefficient household would need for their power requirements). Green Building Elements had a review of this article last year.
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Residential applications for solar panels have been making news for several years. But as rising fuel prices spur consumers to look for alternate energy sources, another clean power source is beginning to get attention: wind energy.

Even though the residential wind power sector has seen tremendous growth over the last decade, an article in The Arizona Republic estimates that there are still only 4,000 residential wind turbines nationwide. The primary reason that wind energy has been slow to take hold is that wind turbines are fairly visible, and therefore highly controversial, installations. According to the American Wind Energy Association, small wind systems (100 kilowatts or less) need to be at least 30 feet above barriers which might break the force of the air currents reaching the turbine. Right now, the industry recommends wind turbines only for sites that are at least one 1 acre in size. Consequently, wind turbines in urban areas are still quite rare. (In a September 2007 post, earth2tech featured a San Francisco home which sports a turbine, and pointed out that this may be the first urban wind turbine in the country.)

Unfortunately, individual efforts to experiment with wind power, even in outlying areas, have encountered a lot of roadblocks. Proposed turbine installations are usually evaluated by local governments on a case by case basis, since most city zoning laws have height restrictions which would implicitly prohibit turbines. Oftentimes, even if permission is granted and a turbine is erected, neighbors unite to fight the decision. (For individual turbine projects that have made news for seeking exceptions to local codes, see these articles on Wayne, New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia). (more…)

Although they sound like they are different terms for the same thing, geothermal energy and ground source heat pumps are two different systems, with little in common other than that they are making use of what lies below the surface of the Earth. They do it in very different ways, however.

A geothermal energy system uses heat from below the surface of the earth as an energy source, much like solar panels capture sunlight and convert it into useful energy (electricity or hot water). A geoexchange system with a ground source heat pump (GSHP) is more akin to a hybrid automobile. It is not a method for generating energy, but a method for more efficiently using energy. It still takes energy input to operate a GSHP system, but a GSHP can be as much as 300% to 400% more efficient when compared to highly efficient furnaces, which are typically in the high 90s for efficiency percentage.

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