Solar San Diego

Sahara Power Source, No It's Not Oil

The Sahara Desert could be a major source energy through concentrated solar power, the Guardian Weekly out of the UK writes. 

"...In the Sahara desert is a vast source of energy that can promise a carbon-free, nuclear-free electrical future for all Europe, if not the world.

We are not talking about the vast oil and gas deposits beneath Algeria and Libya, or uranium for nuclear plants, but something far simpler - the sun. Every year it pours down the equivalent of 1.5m barrels of oil of energy for every square kilometre.

Most people think of solar power as a few panels on the roof of a house producing hot water or a bit of electricity. But according to two reports prepared for the German government, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa should be building vast solar farms in North Africa's deserts using a simple technology that more resembles using a magnifying glass to burn a hole in a piece of paper than any space age technology..."

  According to two German scientists cited in the article, "''covering just 0.5% of the world's hot deserts with a technology called concentrated solar power (CSP) would provide the world's entire electricity needs, with desalinated water for desert regions as a valuable byproduct, as well as air-conditioning for nearby cities...."  These scientists are not the only ones who believe in the potential of what also has been called centralized solar power, which was recently touted by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. 

SunEdison goes East, Suntech Goes West, Sign Multi-Year Supply Deal

        

Suntech Power Holdings Ltd. announced that it had entered into a multi-year agreement to supply solar modules to Sun Edison, the Baltimore solar contractor.  According to the company press release, the "...The total value of the contract ranges from approximately $50 million to $90 million over the term of the contract.  The contract is structured in a similar manner as Suntech's long-term silicon supply agreement in order to enhance steady operating results..."   Sounds like the deal is a win, win deal for both companies with the only losers being the competitors of each. 

Solar Enertech Roles Out Modules

Solar Enertech Corp., the Shanghai China company with a marketing arm in Silicon Valley, announced that it rolled out its frst solar modules on November 23.  Each module has 170 watts of generating capacity. 

"...Company COO Jack Yin stated, "Each cell is carefully tested for conversion rate and durability before they are mounted to a module panel. Then testing occurs a second time by a specialized unit that automatically tests and exports product data to a software program that records, analyzes, and outputs the critical specifications of that particular module prior to packaging and shipment. Using these methods, we can confidently guarantee delivery of a high-quality product as a commitment to our customers...."

The modules and other products will be sold under the name "SolarE."  Read the entire press release here. 

Big Ideas for Clean Renewable Energy

Fortune Small Business, by way of the CNNMoney.com site, has an article about the "10 Big Ideas for 2007."  A few of these ideas fit squarely in the arena of clean renewable energy and caring for the environment:

Ocean Power Technologies
Wave Energy

"Starting in 2007, massive, predictable waves off the coast of Oregon will help light homes and businesses along the West Coast, thanks to an entrepreneur named George Taylor. A former surfer who grew up in Australia, Taylor, now 72, studied electrical engineering and spent the past 40 years as a small-business owner in the U.S. His most recent invention is a buoy that can convert a wave's up-and-down motion into electricity, which can be carried ashore by undersea cables and fed into the national power grid...

Verdant Power
Tide Power

"In the race to find alternative power sources, a startup plans to draw power from rivers. Like water-based windmills, small turbines will begin generating power this winter from tidal flows in New York City's East River..."

AbTech Industries
Rainwater Filters

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered that all cities with populations of more than 10,000 must stop grease- and oil-contaminated stormwater from running into lakes, rivers and other waterways by 2008. To combat such pollution, cities such as Chicago are already spending as much as $3 billion to build huge underground reservoirs and tunnels where rainwater can be treated. But in early 2007 a Scottsdale startup will begin selling a more cost-effective solution, one that easily fits into a city's existing sewer system."

These are certainly promising technologies that one hopes are exploited.  You can read the entire article here. 

Sister(s) Act(ing) For the Environment

The Kansas City Star has a piece on an order of Catholic sisters in Clyde, Missouri, the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, who live a life of treading as softly as they can on the Earth. 

"...At a century-old monastery atop a ridge in northwest Missouri, Sister Sean Douglas contemplates ground-source heat pumps. To retrofit the thick-walled home and chapel of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration for a geothermal system would be costly, she knows. But the existing radiator heat, fueled by propane, is so …

“Awful,” Douglas said.

Awful, she means, because it’s a nonrenewable resource.

In large and small ways, the community of 75 Catholic sisters is going green, from driving hybrid cars to using biodegradable corn starch pellets to ship the altar bread they make..."

Read about how the sisters are contributing, to helping end global warming, both on and off the monastery here.

Kyocera Solar Goes South of the Border

Mexico's President Vicente Fox at the Valle Las Misiones dedication
ceremony, Kyocera's solar home project in Baja California, Mexico.
Courtesy of Kyocera Solar.

Kyocera Solar, Inc., the Scottsdale, Arizona based supplier of photovoltaic modules and subsidiary of Kyocera Corporation, has participated in a 220 home housing developent in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. 

"MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO (November 27, 2006) – Kyocera Solar, Inc. is proud to announce the inauguration of a 220 home housing development located in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.  The Valle Las Misiones low income housing development, funded by Mexican State and Federal Governments, features Kyocera solar electric systems on each of the 220 homes within the development.  Each homes photovoltaic (PV) array consists of 12 Kyocera KC85T solar electric modules, for a total of 320 kilowatts project wide.

Located on the rooftop of every home in Valle Las Misiones, each one kilowatt Kyocera solar system connects to the utility grid, providing electricity to the grid in off peak hours and reducing power taken from the grid during peak hours.   High temperatures in the area contribute to a high demand of electricity for the homes.  The Mexican government subsidized the solar electric systems for the 220 home development, turning to solar energy for a more efficient and sustainable way to power each home..."

The installation should help the homeowners in this subsidized development by lowering their electrical costs and is an interesting step toward renewables just south of the border. Read the entire Kyocera Solar press release here.

Turning To The Earth for Clean Energy in Indonesia

The Associated Press has an interesting article about the promise of geothermal energy in Indonesia as well as the numerous roadblocks to full utilization of this resource that could end all oil imports by the archipelago nation.      

The Answer (or one of them), My Friend, is Blowing in the Wind

Bob Dylan wasn't singing about clean renewable energy when he first sang the song "Blowin' In The Wind," but the one answer to stopping global warming and lessening our dependence on fossile fuels may indeed be blowing in the wind that will be harnessed by windpower. The Utne Reader, the alternative media magazine, has a piece in its November/December 2006 issue about windpower and it's application in the urban environment. 

"...Towering masts and propellers don't always fit in dense metropolitan areas, much less in backyards, so developers are pursuing everything from "micro windmills" that can be retrofitted onto existing homes and businesses to wind-harnessing "energy skin" for building exteriors."

Getting mention in the article are projects large and small.  It encouraging to see that windpower in the city is being added to the quiver of those who want to build a greener and cleaner planet.

Truckee Residents Slam Utility's Coal Play

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that a 50 year contract that a local utility company is about to sign with a Utah coal-fired plant has some residents angry because of the affect of coal buring on the environment.  Apparently the utility is hoping to sign this contract with the coal plant before the new state law banning utilities from entering into "...any agreement for coal-fired power that is longer than five years..."   It is encouraging to see that folks in Truckee join in with other people in California in recognizing what a danger burning coal, as it is currently done, is to our environment and instead calling for clean renewable energy.  The Truckee utility should not take the easy way out in opting for supposed cheap, dirty, energy and instead follow the example of albeit larger utilities in saying no to coal. 

Crist All Mighty! Will Charlie Become Florida's Version of Governor Sunbeam?

Will Florida Governor-elect Charlie Crist (right), shown here on the campaign trail,
step up and become a foe of global warming?

Florida Today has an opinion piece entitled Think Clean Energy wherein the Melbourne based publication writes that Governor-elect Charlie Crist, already an advocate of protecting natural resources, should now become a proponent for the fight against global warming.  The publication, citing Governor Arnold Scwartzenegger's leadership in fighting global warming, believes that Crist should, unlike his predecessor Jeb Bush who was "...beholden to the utility industry..." and "ignored this critical issue for too long...," follow Governor Sunbeam's example.   I cannot agree any stronger with this piece.  Crist, who incidentally ran as "...the best person to uphold Jeb Bush's legacy," should cast aside slogans , step up and show that he is interested in taking the next step to set himself apart from the current national adminstration by speaking up against global warming and for clean renewable energy.  Crist will be helping Floridians, Americans and all citizens of Earth, by making this bold move.