Had it with the mainstream news agenda? Let’s make our own news.
“Smart Grid. Dumb Idea” is only the second episode from Off-Grid News. Its about the lobbying campaign by corporations like GE and IBM to persuade the nation to spend $2 TRILLION to boost the existing grid, instead of investing it in locally produced energy.…
Sounds like something that should be discussed during October, it is scary, but not in a paranormal way…. a phantom load is simply electricity that is being used when an electrical appliance is turned off but still plugged in. These are thieves, they use up or steal electricity but don’t give anything in return. Much like vampires, they may look cool but don’t do anything good for us in the long run.…
Electrical blackouts that cause disruption to millions are a looming threat to society, argue Hugh Byrd and Steve Matthewman
Hugh Byrd is a professor of architecture at the University of Lincoln, UK. Steve Matthewman is an associate professor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. This is adapted from their paper in the journal Social Space:
ON 14 August 2003, the north-eastern US and Ontario, Canada, were crippled by an enormous electrical blackout that affected 50 million people. Commuters struggled to get to work, ATMs failed, 36 car manufacturing plants were closed and hundreds of flights were cancelled, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in economic losses. The cause was later found to be a software bug in a control room in Ohio.…
Off-grid energy company Knoydart Renewables in Scotland is one of several projects to benefit from a new GBP1m Highland Sustainable Fund.
It will receive GBP75,000 (100% match funding) to refurbish and increase the capacity of an essential hydro electric scheme which is the only energy supply to the off-grid community of Knoydart.
The community of Knoydart is often referred to as ‘Scotland’s last wilderness’. Only accessible by boat, or by a 16-mile hike, it is not connected to the UK road system or the national power grid network.…
Normally we do not like solar farms – they are usually built to feedinto the Grid – but not this one.
The army just kicked off a solar farm in Arizona that will be the Department of Defense’s largest solar installation. And the entire energy output will be used at the base.
The 155-acre project announced at Fort Huachuca, leverages private financing and is expected to exceed 18-megawatts of clean power and provide 25 percent of the military base’s power. Officials kicked off the project with a groundbreaking ceremony at the base where construction is set to begin in the next few days.…
For some politicians it is a badge of honor to come out in favor of wind farms. It allows them to suck up to green voters, while at the same time keeping in with big energy producers.
At www.off-grid.net we like wind turbines and solar panels, but we oppose large arrays of them. We believe in distributed power – consumed at the place of production.
Big wind farms attract big government subsidies, paid for out of taxes. Spending large amounts of public money adds to politicians sense of self-importance but in the case of solar or wind farms this money goes straight into the coffers of large companies,…
Today was the first full day on the new batteries, we had everything hooked up to them, including the new chest freezer to refrigerator conversion, about a month (or so) ago our old one smoked on us, fortunately it happened during the day and I was there to catch it, it might not have gone any further, but as far as I’m concerned, when you see smoke, fire usually comes next. I’ll do another writeup on the new fridge very soon, until then you can read about how I DIY’d the conversion here and here.
Our previous batteries were marine type deep cycle batteries, I’ve been told on more than one occasion that those types of batteries aren’t true deep cycle batteries, in fact the newer ones being sold have cold cranking ratings on them instead of amp hours, and that has little (or nothing) to do with being deep cycle, that has to do with starting motors and such. Those are a hybrid of regular and deep cycle batteries, more robust than a standard car or truck battery but not as heavy duty as a true deep cycle battery.…
The owners of Direct Energy – one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers with more than 5 million residential and commercial customers, has been accused of paying staff bonuses to inflate customers’ bills by up to 60 per cent.
British company Centrica is already known for playing hardball. Its boss Sam Laidlaw has long been one of the highest paid energy bosses in the UK, and unashamedly gouges the British consumer.
When the British Government regulator announced an enquiry into the running of the energy market last month, Laidlaw responded by threatening to cut investment in the UK.
Now a whistleblower has claimed that his British Gas subsidiary is paying staff bonuses to inflate customers’ bills by up to 60 per cent.…
Forget plugs – you can now charge your mobile with a portable WIND TURBINE:the Trinity propeller harnesses breezes to power up a phone and other USB devices.
Created by American electricians Einar Agustsson and Agust Agustsson, the power station folds into a 12-inch cylinder when not in use.…
A while back my current deep cycle batteries began to get weak, they would charge up quickly and not hold much of a charge, unfortunately the batteries are the part of the off-grid system that need to be replaced on a semi-regular basis. I am hard on my batteries, that has never been a secret. This next week I plan on buying four 6-volt deep cycle golf cart batteries. In the past I have used marine type deep cycle batteries, they are more heavy duty than regular automotive batteries, but aren’t near as hearty as golf cart batteries.
As my current batteries began getting weaker and weaker, it began creating problems with my inverter, causing it to go into fault mode for a few seconds, meaning it would cut off the power during that time, it only did it during the day when the batteries were charging or fully charged, never at night, it took me a while to figure out where the problem was.…
Recent research just released from Zaragoza University, Spain, by VerticalNews show that battery life, crucial to the economics of off-grid energy – can easily exceed or heavily undershoot the manufacturers estimates.
It all depends on how well you maintain your batteries. IF you baby them along, never falling below 50% power and charnging the regularly, then you can double the life expectancy.…
Economist newspaper runs a story today on off-grid power – saying its the future and the old utility model is dying.
Utilities’ profits are under threat as never before says The Economist – bible of the financial community in London and New York.
“Who needs the power grid when you can generate and store your own electricity cheaply and reliably?”
General Electric has recently opened an off-grid division bringing together parts of its transport, aviation and engines divisions, to meet what it calls a “$100 billion opportunity”. GE recently installed 24 lorry-engine power generators in Algeria, providing 30MW of power. It took six months, “but we could have done it in ten days,” claimed Lorraine Bolsinger, the corporate bullshit artist who heads GE’s new division.
Morgan Stanley predicts that ever-cheaper solar and other renewable-energy sources, combined with better and more plentiful batteries, will allow businesses and homes to cut out the middle man — the electricity providers.…
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