Posts Tagged: climate-change

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4
Aug 10

Why not spend $21 billion on solar power from space?

The Japanese government is prepared to spend some 2 trillion yen on a one-gigawatt orbiting solar power station—and this week Mitsubishi and other Japanese companies have signed on to boost the effort.

…The benefit? Constant solar energy production as the space-based power plant never passes out of sunlight. The downsides? Only enough power for roughly 300,000 Japanese homes at a price tag of $21 billion, according to Japan’s science ministry (about 127 million people live in Japan in some 47 million households, according to Wikipedia and the CIA’s World Factbook). The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aims to have a system in space by 2030….

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Why not spend $21 billion on solar power from space?

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3
Aug 10

New Project to Deliver Solar Power After the Sun Goes Down

The holy grail of renewable energy is a solar power plant that continues producing electricity after the sun goes down. A California company has taken a step toward that.

…s license application.
So-called dispatchable solar farms would in theory allow utilities to avoid spending billions of dollars building fossil fuel power plants that are fired up only a few times a year when electricity demand spikes, like on a hot day.

SolarReserve is literally run by rocket scientists, many of whom formerly worked at Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of the technology giant United Technologies. Rocketdyne developed the solar salt technology, which was proven viable at the 10-megawatt Solar Two demonstration project near Barstow, Calif., in the 1990s.
United Technologies has licensed the technology to SolarReserve and will guarantee its performance a crucial advantage for the startup when it seeks financing from skittish bankers to build the Rice solar farm.
As many as 17,500 large mirrors each one 24 feet by 28 feet will be attached to 12-foot pedestals. The mirrors, called heliostats, will be arrayed in a circle around a 538-foot concrete tower.
Atop the tower will sit a 100-foot receiver…

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New Project to Deliver Solar Power After the Sun Goes Down

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24
Jul 10

Earth Focus Interview: Glenn Baker

More at www.linktv.org In Glenn Baker’s new film, “Easy Like Water,” Bangladeshis are adapting to climate change by keeping their children learning, despite rising waters, on solar-powered boats. Earth Focus correspondent Miles Benson interviews Baker, an award-winning filmmaker, about the subject of the film, an architect named Mohamed Rezwan who is following the biblical example of Noah and transcending the climate challenges facing his community.

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20
Jun 10

Entire State of Texas Could be Powered by Solar

148,000 megawatts of power could be generated by just one form of solar, and there are many that could be used.

…The point of building these solar plants is to make Texas a self sufficient state that has a clean burning, permanent way to provide energy to its resident. I do not know much about the Texan geology but I have never heard about Texas being abundant in Uranium or other nuclear fuels. One thing that Texas does have is plenty of sunshine. Texas using solar power is pretty much the same as the great plain states using wind turbines. While the initial cost is a lot to ask for, it is for the long term. The cost over the period of time should be reasonably low as long as the plants do not get into disrepair. In addition, using the solar energy does not leave any waste behind. While the waste may not initially be a big deal, it will accumulate over the years and eventually turn into a big deal. While 11 900 square miles is very big, Texas is also a very big state. Texas is over 250,000 square miles which means 11,000 square miles is not really a big deal. Plus, since the whole state receives pretty much the same…

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Entire State of Texas Could be Powered by Solar

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3
Jun 10

South Korean Village Runs On 100% Solar Power

The village’s forty houses and the school all have large solar panels covering their roofs. A typical roof will have a two kilowatt solar installation.

…Solar System Powers Donggwang Green Village on Semi-Tropical Jeju Island
Donggwang is on the western half of Jeju-do, the largest of South Korea’s semi-tropical southern islands. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.
Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.

On the roof of each of the 40 houses in Donggwang lies a large beds of solar panels. Even the small, local elementary school runs on free electric energy from the sun. The photovoltaic panels produce enough energy to power the entire area. Amidst cattle and fields, Donggwang is a state-of-the-art renewable energy village.
I spoke with Choo Chan Lee, who lives in Donggwang. Mr. Lee, a Seoul native, retired to Donggwang green village after operating a successful grocery store in New York for many years. He and his wife invited me…

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South Korean Village Runs On 100% Solar Power

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23
May 10

Dundee connection in the solar power revolution - Part 6 - Steve Reynolds 26th April

Steve Reynolds from the University of Dundee led Aprils Cafe Science Dundee at Chambers Coffee House and Restaurant. Steve discussed how Dundee scientists pioneered the development of the first thin-film silicon solar cells in the 1970s, leading to solar panels able to convert energy from the Sun into electricity. Today they work closely with international partners on the next generation of solar materials based on nanocrystals and polymers. Steve discussed some of his latest research towards the development of cheaper more efficient solar cells and panels. These advances in technology are central to a reduction in carbon emissions, and solar electricity will be required to provide a significant fraction of the Worlds energy needs in the future. This is part 6 of a 6 part series.

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10
May 10

Chicago Gets First Solar Powered Plugin Station

The Solar Plug-In Stations will be used daily by the City of Chicago Department of Fleet Management to power the city’s electric cars.

…Ben nice job on resorting to name calling
I will agree with you that it would be handy to be able to recharge when you are out and about in your volt. Lets talk about other pure EVs though. Now you have a 100 mile range. That seems to be the minimum most companies are shooting for. Now the need to recharge when you are out is even less. How often do most Americans drive more than more than 75 miles a day? Cell phones have all day batteries. People use them all day then plug them in when they get home. The same will be true for the cars they are driving.
If you are worried about using purely green energy lets concentrate on doing it at the power plant level. One large solar grid will be much easier and cost effective to maintain than hundreds of little solar charging stations. If you want to plug in while your out (and I don’t see it being very useful for most people) then companies could stick an outlet on the light pole in the parking lot….

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Chicago Gets First Solar Powered Plugin Station

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4
May 10

Solar Power From Outer Space Could Reduce Fossil Fuel Depend

Rising fuel costs have spurred some pretty wacky ideas. One that maybe isn’t so crazy is harvesting solar power from space

…I have been up on power sats since 1975 when the just formed L5 Society presented the concept at the Limits to Growth Conference near Huston.
In those days we were expecting to get around the high cost of lifting power sat parts to orbit by using materials from the moon. Didn’t work out partly because the price of oil went down for a few decades. Now that it is back up, people are starting to look again.
If you work through the numbers, you can make dollar a gallon liquid fuels with penny a kWh power. The cost of power is at least 5 times too high. Penny a kWh is physically possible if you can get the cost of lifting power sat parts into GEO down to $100 a kg.
Does such a low price violate physical laws? No. The cost in energy is only 15 kWh/kg, $1.50 for average consumer power in the US. If we had cable strong enough (and we might get it) a $100 billion moving cable space elevator written off over ten years would get the cost down to $10/kg.
The best price expected out of rockets is around $500/kg.
If you…

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Solar Power From Outer Space Could Reduce Fossil Fuel Depend

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20
Apr 10

The Energy Report - 4/19/10

Susan McGinnis anchors this afternoon’s Clean Skies News Energy Report from Washington, DC. On the program: -The Major Economies Forum is underway in Washington with delegates hoping to bridge gaps on climate change. -Saying Copenhagen didn’t do enough for emerging nations, Bolivia hosts talks on global warming and its impact on some of the worlds poorest people. - Energy ministers from the countries that produce most of the world’s natural gas meet to seek ways to boost and stabilize export prices. -Matinee Energy is teaming up with Hyundai and LG to build 240 megawatts of solar power in the southwest. www.cleanskies.com

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3
Apr 10

Oregon Launching First Solar Highway in the US

In Oregon, road side solar panels will power the highway it sits next to.

…Ariel Schwartz, this article would be much better if it was written for people who don’t know about this project, rather than those who do. We have to make assumptions as to what powering the project’s location means, explaining acronyms PGE and anwering the other questions already listed in this blog. It is also unclear what this system does during the day and night in working with PGE. It would also be helpful to know if all that is going into this project really is efficient generation of electricity. Good start at presenting an interesting idea. Thanks anyway!…

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Oregon Launching First Solar Highway in the US

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