Energy

Retired Engineer pimps his RV

Thomas “Tim” Lemieux lives in an unlikely showcase for green energy: a 1997 Winnebago recreational vehicle.

Scale a narrow ladder up the side of the motorhome, and a compact rooftop solar farm comes into view. Photovoltaic panels adorn the top, and even the front hood.

They are linked to a series of batteries that help distill and cool water for drinking. Excess water and power feed an evaporative “swamp” cooler that keeps the cabin comfy.…

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The battle for DC power starts in Pittsburgh

2014 OCT 4 Investment Weekly News — PITTSBURGH-

Is Pittsburgh to be home of a second War of the Currents?

In the late 1880s, Pittsburgh native son George Westinghouse (using the work and genius of Nikola Tesla) won the campaign to base the United States’ electric power grid on alternating current (AC). Thomas Edison, a proponent of direct current (DC), tried to paint AC as dangerous, but as things stood at the time, an AC grid was cheaper and more efficient, could carry electricity over longer distances, and was easier to build-so it prevailed.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Bopaya Bidanda, John Camillus, and Gregory Reed think that it might be time to redirect our attention to direct current.…

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How to keep solar generators running at night

* Promises more effective thermal heat storage than current methods

* Company expects quick market penetration

* Says can match fossil fuel-fired power plants on price

NEGEV DESERT, Israel, Sept 22 (Reuters) – An Israeli solar power company, Brenmiller Energy, says it has developed a new, more efficient way to store heat from the sun that could give a boost to the thermal solar power industry by enabling plants to run at full capacity night and day.…

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Energy

National Grid condemns NY families to cold winter

ShiveringThe effects of the polar vortex last winter are still lingering in Upstate New York, where 24,000 households had their power shut off in June and July due to unpaid bills, reports Syracuse.com.

The utility National Grid terminated “more accounts in both June and July than it has in any month for at least nine years,” reports Syracuse.com. The recent spike in terminations comes as more people are unable to pay for gas and electricity this year in the wake of one of the coldest winters in recent memory. The electrical grid and gas pipeline system in New York and New England was on the verge of failing last winter due to frigid temperatures and inadequate pipeline infrastructure. Natural gas prices skyrocketed as there wasn’t enough pipeline capacity to get to fuel in the region. Syracuse.com reports that National Grid customers paid $316 million for power in March 2014, up from $203 million in Month 2013.…

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London party for Finding Infinity

Vivienne-Westwood-UK-in-France-via-Flickr-260x173London, 4 September 2014 – Fashion Designer Vivienne Westwood held the first of a series of solar-powered parties to promote the use of renewable energy.

The designer teamed with Ross Harding of a social enterprise that promotes renewable energy, Finding Infinity, and a U.K. crowdfunding platform, Trillion Fund, for a party called Off the Grid, which took place in east London at Snap Studios.…

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$700 energy gather and storage
Energy

Cheap portable solar power setup

The chatter about solar power and energy storage over the last few years, might make you come to the wrong conclusion that such systems are neither portable nor affordable.

But testing out an off-road, off-grid solar power setup, we recently came to some interesting conclusions. Like many who read this, we like the outdoors but our kids tend to destroy the calm with their demands for the comforts of home. To tell you the truth, I believe that every single camping trip I’ve ever been on has been in the rain, so I can understand why bringing along some of the comforts of home can be attractive. Unfortunately, those “comforts” might include things like the laptop, a television, or a refrigerator. Going beyond this, what happens when the comforts of home are taken away by power outage, whether by storm or blackout?

This tends to happen regularly at my place in the highlands of Majorca’s Tramuntana mountains, such as last night when we lost power for a few hours. Candles only go so far, and do nothing for the refrigerator, laptops for work, cell phones for communication (the local cell tower has backup power) or the electric shower. A cheap Chinese 800W generator is a little over $150, not to mention fuel costs. On the other hand, depending on how much power you need, a small solar power system and energy storage could be all that is required.…

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Harvesting Excess Man Made Energy

Albany NY designer, Manoocher Zarif is piloting a device that converts vibrations found in urban traffic into electricity.

The industrial design graduate came across the idea while he was experimenting with a Piezo device that converts pressure and movement into electricity, lighting up an LED lamp. He is in line for a JAmes Dyson award for his idea.…

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Platinum fuel cell trials in S Africa

Renewable Energy mag reports Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems and Anglo American Platinum, the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, have launched a field trial of a methanol-fueled fuel cell home generator system in an off-grid residential application in South Africa.

Rural field trial

Ballard and AA Platinum have partnered with South African power utility Eskom and the SA Department of Energy to conduct the 12-month field trial.…

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UK industry weaning itself from the grid

British business lobby group Confederation of British Industry says UK manufacturers are looking to generate their own power to sidestep fears of rising energy prices and threats to supply security.

Nicola Walker, director of business environment at the CBI said more and more firms are going off-grid, especially in energy intensive industries.

A CBI survey showed over half of businesses believed the UK’s energy security has declined over the past five years, reflecting a 2013 report by Ofgem that showed capacity margins would be at a historic low next winter.…

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Apple Corporation facilities are self powered - is 94% off-grid
Energy

Apple to leave the grid behind

Computer maker Apple has long been providing its own power at its HQ in Cupertino CA.

Now the company has announced it is extending the policy to its server farms and new campus in Research Triangle, North Carolina – a $55 million investment to build solar farms spanning over 100 acres of land.…

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Community

Spring in the Sky Castle

Sky CastleI do my best to see the bright side of life and everything in it, take winter for instance, the cold temps means there are no bugs or other creepy crawlies out and about, it’s nice to snuggle up next to the wood stove. Now spring hits, the warm weather is great, don’t have to worry about bundling up over night, but with the warmer temps comes the critters, snakes, squirrels, mice and bugs.…

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