Carbon Dioxide emissions in the states are down. The government estimates that between 2007 and 2009, carbon emissions will be down by a whopping nine percent. This is the equivalent of shutting down 400 coal plants for a year. This is good news and it’s real. Now the bad news. The reason for the decline [...]
Archive for the ‘solar’ Category
Greenhouse Gases Dive in US
Posted in Clean Vehicles, Energy Solutions, Sustainability, Wave Energy, biodiesel, biomass, ethanol, hydrogen, solar, wind on November 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS CLEANING UP
Posted in Clean Vehicles, Sustainability, biodiesel, hydrogen, solar on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Lynx bus service is available from the Orlando Airport. It was very convenient for me when I arrived back in Orlando because the 41 bus travels right up route 436 to Altamonte Springs. I had a three block walk and the trip cost me a dollar. Lynx is going to be a cleaner ride soon [...]
OUC Seeks Applicants for 10 MW PV Power Purchase Agreements
Posted in Energy Solutions, Sustainability, solar on July 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
This is the first PPA request I have heard about in Florida. Applicants begin the process by submitting a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) to OUC. You can get applications and details at the Orlando Utilities Website here. The deadline is September 3, 2009.
Applicant teams must have participated in an aggregate of at least one megawatt [...]
Solar Center Offers Zero Energy Home Webinar
Posted in Energy Solutions, Sustainability, solar on May 9, 2009 | 7 Comments »
This on-line twelve-session course appears to cover every aspect of pushing home energy consumption down to zero: efficient walls and windows, solar hot water, attics, appliances, solar PV, etc. If you have thought about building or retrofitting a home for net zero energy, this sounds like where you should be.
The sessions begin June 3rd and [...]
Sarasota County Solar Advisory Plan Rejected
Posted in Energy Solutions, solar on April 23, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Following up on my previous blog, I listened to the Solar Advisory Committee report and the commissioners’ response. The commissioners had evidently previously charged the Committee to develop a bold plan to implement solar hot water in Sarasota county. Larry Altman, the committee chairman, said “a public utility is the only way to make a [...]
A GOVERNMENT RUN SOLAR HOT WATER HEATING UTILITY
Posted in solar on April 6, 2009 | 1 Comment »
How can you convince people to heat their water with solar energy? Aren’t people busy trying to keep their jobs and paying their mortgages; finding some kind of transportion to get to work? There is a lot going on in our lives besides thinking about having a solar hot water heater installed. Now, one county [...]
Florida Legislators Confused about Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy
Posted in Energy Solutions, Sustainability, Wave Energy, biomass, hydrogen, solar, wind on March 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
While state legislators wonder whether to call nuclear power clean or renewable the old issues that have kept the industry shut down for thirty years are still unresolved: nuclear proliferation, waste, sabotage and safety. Just last year, the safety issue was raised again at the FPL Turkey Point plant. The top nuclear operator there accused [...]
Nuclear Plants Divert Scarce Water
Posted in solar, wind on December 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Have you noticed that nuclear plants are always built near a water source? Along a river or beside a lake or the ocean, nuke plants require great amounts of H2O to cool them down. This water then is “diverted” from other uses, e.g. sustaining marine life and, oh yes, drinking water for humans. When water [...]
Electric Utiities see Business Rooftops for Solar
Posted in solar on November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Rooftops are the most reasonable surfaces for solar photovoltaic panels. They are the most efficient locations; line losses are virtually zero and no environmental impact statements are necessary. No fields or forests need be cleared. Many homes in suburban areas do not have shade trees and can take advantage of full sun. If the question [...]
High Cost of Waiting For Solar
Posted in solar on October 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Whenever I read critics who are concerned that the cost of transitioning to renewable energy will place an unfair financial burden on consumers (See Mike Thomas) I look for their references to the source of the costs. The mining, transporting and processing costs of natural gas, coal, oil and uranium plus the market speculating and [...]
