Energy

Energy

Smart Grid – the pain begins

Only the rich will be able to afford energy for heating/cooling when the Smart Grid goes nationwide. At least, that is the logical conclusion to be drawn from an early example of the Smart Grid – in Colorado, where the budget has tripled in two years.

Xcel Energy has begun charging customers across the state to recoup some of the skyrocketing costs the company has incurred building its smart grid project in Boulder,according to local media. …

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Energy

More cash for Big Power

At  last – the UK energy regulators have woken up to what everyone else has been saying for months – Britain’s energy infrastructure is crumbling – and massive price rises, plus probable power outages, face the British consumer for the next five years.
The electricity industry is delighted at the announcement – they expect the result will be more subsidies to build a bigger and more wasteful energy infrastructure.  They are already demanding cash for the so-called smart grid.  Now companies like EDF, the French nuclear giant, want an increase in subsidies for “clean“ energy such as nuclear, so it can get increased payments for more nuclear reactors
According to Dow Jones ”U.K. utilities welcomed proposals from gas and electricity regulator Ofgem  for a radical shakeup in regulations…

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Energy

UK low carbon winners

M2 Presswire – LONDON – Twelve communities from across the UK are today celebrating after winning up to GBP500,000 each to help install new green technologies such as solar panels, hydro turbines and energy saving insulation.

The grant money, awarded through the Government’s Low Carbon Community Challenge, will be spent on a range of green measures which will helpthemove to a low-carbon society, save money on energy bills, and could even see some communities make cash from generating their own energy.…

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Energy

Fight to stop the new Super-Grid


Actor and broadcaster, Griff Rhys Jones has joined the battle against the Grid. He opposes the new electricity towers,or “Super pylons,” which are supposedly needed as part of the coming “Smart Grid.” Here is Griff’s manifesto against the new Super-Grid:

“We live in perplexing times for rationalists. The people of Suffolk have recently been presented with a “choice” by National Grid, the largest electricity provider. You may recognise the proposal from the school playground: “What do you want, a punch or a slap?”

The “punch” is a new length of super pylons across an exquisitely beautiful landscape …

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Solar for Haiti

Solar-powered equipment for water, lighting, and communications is being sent to Haiti as part of the reconstruction efforts following last week’s devastating earthquake.

Solar manufacturer Sol on Tuesday said it shipped 15 of its solar streetlights to Haiti as part of an aid mission. With hospitals operating without power, the lighting can be used to extend the time that doctors can treat the wounded, company executives told WPTV.…

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Energy

New wind power for ships

The world’s first cargo ship to be powered with high altitude kite-like sails tethered on lines 100 metres in the air was “Theseus,” last year.

SkySails cannot power a ship unaided, but it can reduce the amount of power needed by up to 80 percent, without any additional crew or technology.

The “Theseus” is one of three new Rhine class ships being built for Wessels at the Komarno shipyard in Slovakia. It is 90 meters long, has a capacity of some 3,700 dwt and a MaK main engine that produces 1,500 kW of power. A 160 m² SkySails propulsion system works to relieve the main engine of the “Theseus” the same way it does on board the “Michael A.”…

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Slow spread of 1BoG


Anyone considering solar power probably has a green outlook. If the deal you do is good for the planet yet not so good for your pocket book, will that slow the spread of green homepower?

Companies like solar-installation organizer One Block Off the Grid (1BoG), aggregates the buying power of consumers to get the best deal, but that is not necessarily the cheapest deal. 1BoG arrives in an area and offers to install a minimumof 100 solar households, at a cost 10-20%  below the rate you would pay on your own, and it makes sure you are hooked up with a reputable supplier.

At the moment the business is active in Arizona,Colorado and California, from where the example prices below are sourced. A house with a power bill of $150 per month that installs a 3 kilowatt system (a common size) will spend $9,639 –says 1BoG – after state and federal subsidies are subtracted — to install it, and save $97 a month under current pricing.…

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Electric filling station

electron filling stationNew York’s first solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station is open for business.

It is the first in New York State and one of few world-wide. The charging station was built by Beautiful Earth Group, a New York-based sustainable energy company,and sits on an industrial lot near the company’s headquarters in Red Hook, Brooklyn, overlooking New York Harbor and downtown Manhattan.

Designed and built by BE, the station is off-grid, modular, constructed with recycled, decommissioned steel shipping containers and entirely powered by state-of-the-art Sharp 235 watt photovoltaic panels.…

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Community

Off-Grid update

Winter RoadWhat a great early Christmas gift, I know that to those who get snow every winter, it’s not that exciting, but for those of us that live in places with little to no snowfall, it transforms everything into a winter wonderland.…

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