I had a lovely phone chat last evening with a young lady, a high school senior who was working on a paper for school and wanted to ask a few questions about solar energy.  In particular, she wanted to know the cost of  converting her entire town (Arcadia, CA — 56,000 people, let’s say 20,000 households) to 100% solar.

Understandably, she hadn’t thought through some of the implications.  E.g., you’re contemplating cutting these homes off from the grid and replacing that service (the cost of which is quite low, as it’s shared across literally millions of homes) with the cost of individual PV arrays and battery storage that would provide each of these 20,000 homes with reliable power.

“OK,” I suggested, “Let’s do the math and answer your question.  Let’s assume these are your typically 2000 square foot homes; I would guess that the per-home cost for PV with full storage/back-up would be about $20,000. Times 20,000 homes is $400 million. That’s a lot of money for one small community.  Who’s going to pay for that?”

This is what you’d be forced to do  if you were building a house in the middle of nowhere, with no access to an electrical utility.  But since each of these houses is already grid-connected, a less radical approach would be adding PV for daytime use, selling excess power back to the grid, and using the grid for power at night.

I went on to explain that I view renewable energy as the “next best thing.”  The very best thing is not using the energy in the first place.  A staggering amount of electrical energy would be saved if everyone living in each of those 20,000 houses would wear sweaters in the winter instead of cranking up the heat, open the windows in the summer instead of blasting the air-conditioning, replace incandescent lights with CFLs (and turn them off when not in use), insulate pipes, ceilings and walls, etc.

She seemed to be absorbing this nicely.  I hope she did well on her paper.

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Swap your old appliances for newer ones that have an Energy Star rating. Energy Star appliances are guaranteed to use less energy than those made previously. For refrigerators and freezers, the rating promises 20% less energy used, for dishwashers 40% less energy used, and for washing machines at least 50% less energy used!

Those looking to reduce their energy consumption would be wise to make their own ice. Though automatic ice makers may seem convenient, they often break a lot and waste a lot of energy. Additionally, seals that leak are another common complaint with these devices, and this can lead to a general rise in temperature within the freezer. If you make your own ice, you won’t have these problems.

Thawing frozen foods in your refrigerator is a good way to conserve energy. This is a safe way for thawing food that reduces energy consumption of the refrigerator.

A good benchmark to use when determining how much power a new solar system is likely to generate is the number of hours of sunlight in the winter. This will prevent any unpleasant surprises during the winter months, while leaving you safely ahead of your needs during the summer. Be sure to get a net-usage plan with the energy company so that you can get money from them when you put the surplus energy onto their grid.

Use a solar water heat system to lower water and heating costs. Both natural gas and electricity are inefficient heating methods, while solar water heaters use the sun to constantly heat your water. Even though these upgrades can involve considerable expense, some of them might qualify as green energy tax savings.

Use the light in your oven to conserve energy. Using your oven light instead of opening up your oven to check on your food can save a great deal of energy, as a lot of heat escapes every time you open your oven.

Be sure to learn more about passive and active solar power. Active power is power that is stored to be used for a later time, while passive power doesn’t require power storage cells. Active solar power requires solar panels, cells, and mechanical systems. Passive solar power is simply making use of the sun to keep thermal energy in your walls so you can heat your home.

Try cutting energy usage in your business, as well as your home. Solar arrays can be a great addition to your business plan, while also offering a boost to your marketing strategy by entering the green business arena. Many people choose to support businesses that use green technology to help our environment. Over an extended period of time, the cost of obtaining the solar panels you’ve invested in will pay for itself.

It does not have to be all that complicated to go green. As you have learned from this article there are a lot of ways you can green up your life for the better. Remember to use what you have read here today. It won’t be nearly as hard as you thought, and it will produce some very positive effects.

Information Gathered From Blog Earth 4 Energy

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Traditional methods of generating energy are giving way to new environmentally-friendly ideas. Instead of stripping the land for coal mining and clearing miles of land for oil fields or natural gas pipelines, the concept of renewable energy is evolving. The term “renewable energy” is an often-used buzzword, but how does using green energy affect animals in their native habitat?

Saying “No” to Fossil Fuels

Global warming is the biggest threat facing the planet today but sustainable energy is a cleaner and safer way to generate needed power. Everyone has seen the sad images of birds living near the ocean with their feathers matted with slick black oil after an oil spill, or thousands of dead fish washed up on the shore because of water pollution. The use of renewable energy from the sun and wind gives animals a second chance at life.

The use of fossil fuels directly affects the ecosystem and all animals worldwide, from birds, frogs and fish to bats, bears and alligators. Over a one-year period the typical fossil-fueled coal plant generates:

• 193,000 tons of sludge and 125,000 tons of ash from its smokestack scrubber
• 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide
• 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide
• 720 tons of carbon monoxide
• 500 tons of small particles
• 220 tons of hydrocarbons
• 225 pounds of arsenic
• 170 pounds of mercury
• 114 pounds of lead
• 4 pounds of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals

The environmental impact of the carbon dioxide generated from a coal powered plant – 3.7 million tons – is equal to cutting down 100 million trees. By comparison, renewable energy has a minimal impact on wildlife.

For a Cleaner, Safer Environment

Harnessing the wind is one example of sustainable energy. In 2010 an environmental group advising the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service drafted recommendations on the best sites for wind turbines. The turbines would be strategically placed in locations to lower the chances of birds and bats flying into them and being killed. The group’s efforts were part of a larger movement to protect the environment.

“Wind energy is an important part of our clean energy future, but for it to be truly successful, we need thoughtful long-term planning that takes wildlife and habitat conservation into consideration,” said Aimee Delach, a member of the advisory committee and a wind energy and wildlife expert. “These draft guidelines will go a long way toward ensuring that future wind energy development is compatible with birds, bats and other wildlife, and we urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to adopt them.”

Truly forward-thinking green energy projects are subject to comprehensive environmental reviews and they are located near large metropolitan areas. They are designed to give first priority to existing transmission lines, rather than laying all new grid works. Instead of deforesting large areas of woodlands where animals live, these types of projects are built in areas such as abandoned agricultural areas or former industrial sites.

On May 7, Salazar took another step towards a greener environment when he approved the opening of Silver State North, a 50-megawatt solar power plant built near Las Vegas. The plant was built on public land only after it had undergone an extensive environmental analysis. An advantage of such a solar plant is the lack of harmful emissions. Also, the energy generated is 100 percent renewable.

Thus far there has been no ship strong enough to prevent an oil spill and no manufacturing plant that is completely emission-free. There probably never will be. In order to preserve the environment, the next logical step in generating energy should be in a new direction.

Douglas Santos is a conservation writer who works with NRDC and other organizations to protect our health and environment. He often urges people to stand up and be more vocal in the effort to save the wolves.

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Here’s a good article on the solar photovoltaics industry by consulting giant McKinsey and Company. Not to give anything away, but they share my belief that the PV industry is in a momentary lull, not a swan song. Best of all, they defend this belief in an extremely cogent and well-reasoned way. I hope you’ll check it out.

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Here’s a press release (dressed as a news article) from Aerovironment, a company with a division that makes electric vehicle chargers. And here’s a line from it that reminds me of the adage: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”:

The consumer is just looking for something that works and allows them to charge fast.

Wrong.

The consumer is looking for a reasonable business proposition in terms of price and range. He won’t pay twice as much for a car, only to be limited, inconvenienced, and fearful that he’s investing in a dead-end technology.

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You can see lots of attention is focused towards alternative and renewable energy systems. This is due to the soaring energy costs and the need to decrease the climate change effects over earth. Though these solutions may seem complicated for the homeowners in their daily chores, however, the fact is that they are now becoming more accessible to common man. There are number of options available for homeowners which can prove pretty affordable financial investment. Also, by treading these paths, you can benefit from state and federal tax and avail the utility rebates and incentives. The below are the top seven ways which the home owners can heat and power their homes via renewable energy systems.

1) Solar panels

These are generally installed over the roof at any home or simply at some large size backyard area. The cost may range around 10, 000 -20,000 dollars. If you install these solar panels at your place, you become eligible to benefit from most of the state and federal utility tax incentives and credits. This can therefore help you in reducing the cost up to 50 percent. It can be a good choice due to lots of flexibility attached in it.

The buyers get the choice of storing the produced electricity in batteries or selling it back to any utility company. You can therefore always remain connected to the grid at your home and at the same time have a backup for several days of high energy use. Hence when there is any power failure or shutdown from the utility company, you have sufficient power to use at home. Hence no more worries about the any rolling blackouts and severe winter storms. Generally, you will find the solar panels with ten year warranty and within that amount of time, you can recover easily your initial investment through the utility bill savings.

2) Solar hot water system

These systems are competent to render radiant heat in your home and cost wise, the solar hot water system can range around 7,000 to 15,00o dollars. It can save around 60 percent of your hot water heating costs on an annual basis. The federal, state and utility tax incentives and credits can help you in saving 50 percent of the total cost on energy consumption. You can use this system at different places like spas, pools and for your home heating. Also, the hot water heaters can be fueled using the solar energy via this system.

3) Wind turbines

By installing wind turbines you can save up to 15 percent in your utility bills. Any smaller wind turbines can range around 1000 to 5000 dollars and can benefit for federal, state and utility incentives and tax credits. In order to install the wind turbines for your home, you should be based at a proper location along with having right wind conditions and lastly, it must accommodate in your home owners association.

4) The hydrogen gas fuel cells

The hydrogen gas can easily be extracted through the natural gas coming at your home via a gas line. This extracted hydrogen gas can be then used to power the hydrogen gas fuel cells to create electricity, water and oxygen. By generating electricity via this system you are able to harness heat, water and oxygen. In this way you get three things at the same time with one system. You can use the heat at your place along with getting electricity. To run this system, you simply need a natural gas line at your home. The cost of Hydrogen gas fuel cells system start from 20,000 dollars and is eligible for the federal, state and utility incentives and tax credits.

5) Geothermal heating and cooling systems

In this system a liquid tube is drilled 400 feet inside the earth surface near your home. This liquid tube is meant to pump the cooling or heat from the earth in your house which helps in maintaining the temperature inside your place. The geothermal heating and cooling systems decrease cooling and heating cost to around 50 percent and the cost may range around 10,000 to 20,000 cost dollars. The geothermal heating and cooling systems is eligible for the federal, state and utility incentives and tax credits.

6) Biomass combustion boilers

The number of waste wood and other kind of biomass stuffs can be used to generate steam and electricity with the help of running the generator or turbines. The kind of biomass you select would determine the emissions produced. By converting the biomass into a gas before the combustion procedure can help you in harnessing cleaner burning and find low level emissions. This can be obtained by simply decaying biomass into the methane gas. Generally, this system is used by farmers and people who keep live stock.

7) Micro hydro energy systems

This system utilizes reaction or impulse turbine generator along with stable water supply to produce electricity. This option can only availed by people who live nearby any stream, river or at places receiving steady kind of rainfall. Hence places where you can see water funneling on a consistent basis can benefit from the micro hydro energy systems. If water utility can supply you water then with proper piping mechanism, you can get power from this system. The micro hydro energy systems can range around 1000 to 15,000 dollars. If you plan to have this system at home, you have to check whether its installation is eligible for the federal, state and utility incentives and tax credits.

By generating your own energy can be both environment friendly and money saving exercise. Also, you can benefit from the state and federal financial incentives by treading any of the method discussed above in the article.

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology, health and parenting. Beside this she is fond of games and gadgets. These days she is busy in writing articles on her sites diyhealth and automotto.

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Adjust the settings on the thermostat to reflect the various seasonal temperatures. Keep the house at a slightly lower temperature in winter and raise the temperature slightly in the summer. In addition to doing this, try wearing less or more clothing (depending on the weather), and reduce energy usage in your home and keep your temperature reasonable.

Decorate with brighter wall colors to save electricity. If your walls feature darker colors, you’ll need more electricity to make your space as bright as you want it. With lighter colors in place, you will find the need for illumination is decreased. The house will have a lighter feel and look, as you save money.

Turn the heat down in your house. If you find the air a little chilly, put on a sweater or an extra pair of socks. You waste a lot of energy if you put the heat on higher than necessary.

You can improve your home’s energy efficiency by being responsible with your lights. In the months with more sunshine and longer days, try not to turn on lights until it is past a certain hour. You can also install dimmer switches, timers and sensors to help with energy savings.

Research the different energy sources available in your community. Look into the cost of operating your home with each of your options, keeping in mind any recent changes to legislation about energy costs. You may choose, for example, to go from electric to natural gas for heating, or using a well instead of city water.

Think about getting solar powered lamps for outdoor lighting. Solar lamps are relatively inexpensive and can save you a great deal on wiring and electricity expenses. You save a lot of energy in the process. It means that there is no need to run wires outside to hook up lights.

On-demand water heaters are great energy savers. The old-fashioned water heaters run constantly, even running when not needed and that wastes energy. The water heaters that heat on-demand only heat water that is immediatly needed and save a lot on energy costs.

If your feeling industrious, you can produce your very own renewable energy. This will help reduce energy costs and pollution, and you’ll be on your way to becoming energy-independent. Using renewable energy is the best energy source, and now that it has become popular, it is affordable.

Energy efficient appliances will feature the bright Energy Star sticker. The ENERGY STAR guidelines are set by the U.S.
Department of Energy and those of the Environmental Protection Agency. These appliances are usually the only ones that can be used for tax rebates.

What is the best way to use green energy in your home? You now have an arsenal of tips at your disposal! Once you get started, you will be simply delighted and amazed with what happens!

Information Gathered From Blog Earth 4 Energy

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A reader from the San Francisco Bay Area sent me this article, which he said, “was buried within an article on other SF subjects. Thought you might be interested.”

Green vs. green: San Franciscans’ enthusiasm for going green with “clean energy” in their own homes appears to be about as flat as the economy.

A recent poll of 3,500 residents by the city’s Public Utilities Commission found that 52 percent would probably stay with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. That’s just 3 percentage points more than in a similar poll taken last year.

Those willing to pay “a little bit more” for clean wind and solar power declined to 37 percent, from 45 percent the year before.

And that’s after the estimated increase was dropped by more than half – from $14 more a month to just $6.

“There is a certain group of people who will buy organic or buy green, and others that don’t have an interest,” said PUC chief Ed Harrington. “We never thought it would be overwhelming, but there is a market.”

The poll was conducted to test the market for the city’s program. The Board of Supervisors is considering spending $19.5 million in startup funds on the project.

The plan calls for the city to contract with Shell Energy to buy the power, then deliver it through regular utility lines.

Yes, that is interesting. Thanks. I suppose it’s to be expected, though, as:

1) When people – any people – feel themselves to be under financial pressure, they can be counted on to be less generous, and

2) Americans put an extremely low importance on environmental issues. When we go to the polls this November, our concerns for the environment will be #16 in our priorities. As I wrote last week, Americans’ apathy towards the environment stands in stark contrast to the Europeans, who place this topic at the top of their lists.

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Each week I receive several emails requesting my advice on career paths within the clean energy space. I thought I’d take a few minutes and jot down a few of the ideas that I normally try to express in response.

First, I congratulate people who want to work in this industry, especially if their interest is rooted in a love of the natural environment and perhaps a sense of duty, or at least a wish, to do something good for mankind and the other 8.7 million species of life forms here on our home planet. But regardless of motive, clean energy is one of few arenas in which there exists a beautiful confluence of the profitable and the philanthropic; we’re helping mankind whether that’s our aim or not.

It’s a shame that there are so few such opportunities, but that does seem to be the case. We tend to think that we either fight hard to protect the jobs we have, as much as we may detest them — jobs that create pollution, addictions, obesity, junky products designed to be obsolete — or we risk starvation in order to pursue our dreams. For once, good opportunities and good citizenship are running together; let’s begin by noting that.

Next, I point out that picking an exact discipline within the realm of clean energy is tough, for many reasons. For instance, there are dozens of  different clean energy technologies, and it’s hard to know at this point which ones will come to dominate the landscape of tomorrow.

Complicating matters further, we’ve all seen instances in which an inferior product came to lead the market. If you doubt this, you need look no further than the computer you’re reading this piece on, which, in all likelihood, runs a Microsoft operating system. Computer experts in the 1990s (when I was paying closer attention to this subject) described Windows as an “abomination”; some referred to it as “the equivalent of cancer for a computer” — yet it came to command the marketplace.

But even in a perfect world, picking winners is tricky business, because of the huge variety of factors that influence the outcome. As an example, will solar thermal receive the support it needs from the public and private sector such that sufficient R&D will be focused on lowering costs and boosting efficiencies?  Right now, it’s an open question, but it’s a critical one.  If the answer is yes, most observers believe there exists huge potential here; but if the answer is no, it’s essentially doomed to remain a non-event in the energy world.

Then there is the issue of breadth. The science, i.e., the physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and so forth, is just one aspect to the successful implementation of clean energy. Think of the sheer number of disciplines that are required if we are to make the migration from fossil fuels. Here’s a partial list:

Education, Marketing, Sales, and Public Relations: Someone needs to enlighten a population of people who are currently being told that they should support the “drill baby drill” policy; the world (at least the United States) is being force-fed utter lies about the legitimacy of the oil and coal companies — erroneous beliefs that someone must set right.  We have a very long road ahead of us here — which is sad in a way, though it opens up significant career opportunities.

Manufacturing and Construction: I conducted the first interview in my most recent book, “Is Renewable Really Doable?” with Robert Pollin, Ph.D.,  Professor of Economics and Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Dr. Pollin also functions as a consultant to the Energy Department on implementing the Obama Administration’s stimulus program.

Here’s part of what he told me re: job growth in the energy efficiency sector:

My own estimates are in the range of $800 billion worth of work if you retrofitted basically the entire existing building stock to the level necessary, which of course is not going to happen, but at least analytically, there’s no reason for it not to happen because it does save people money. So that is a big project, and think about it, there’s no way this is importing competition; it has to be done in local communities.

And it’s relatively labor intensive; it offers opportunities for people with relatively low credentials. To retrofit an average project if you spend $1 million, you’ll get about eight jobs directly, and another eight jobs either indirectly—meaning jobs for the suppliers—or jobs created through a multiplier effect, through people having more money because they have jobs and then they’re spending the money. So you’ll get between 16 to 17 jobs per million-dollar expenditure in retrofit projects. Which is good. It’s not the best, but it’s certainly the best in the area of energy.

This is a project that could go on for 20 years and could make everybody save money – and I mean everybody. There are subsidies out there, but the market really hasn’t taken off yet.

Let’s compare spending money on green energy versus fossil fuels. You’re going to get about three times more jobs per dollar of expenditure through clean energy, and here I’m referring both to efficiency and renewable investments. Three to one.

Now yes, part of that is because the pay level and the skill requirements for the clean energy jobs tend to be lower. I don’t see that as necessarily so bad because it creates more entry-level jobs. Some of them have decent job ladders, and the other thing is because you’re creating three times more jobs overall, in absolute terms you’re going to have more jobs of all types, of all quality levels, of all pay levels. That’s something else that I’ve shown.

So yes, proportionately, dollar for dollar you get higher quality, more skill and education requirements through spending in the fossil fuel economy, but that does not compensate for the fact that dollar for dollar you get three times more jobs overall in clean energy; you get more jobs at all levels through the clean energy economy.

Law: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)  bills itself as the nation’s most effective environmental action group, combining the grassroots power of 1.3 million members and online activists with the courtroom clout and expertise of more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals.

At the end of the day, this breadth is a good thing. What it means is that there are tons of different ways of approaching the subject and involving oneself within it.

As I like to say when I’m asked this question on radio or television interviews: with the possible exception of Scottish Folk Tunes, every single subject that one can take in college has bearing in one way or another on the migration to clean energy.

Think about it: in addition to the science/technological side, we have:

• Sociology – How do groups of people think and act with respect to social and anti-social behavior?

• Anthropology – How has mankind evolved to deal with the long-range planning that is so essential to our survival at this point?

• Psychology – At an individual level, how do people react to the challenge of doing the right thing, even if it’s a bit more expensive?

• Economics – Who will bear the cost of renewable energy and cleantech?

• Political science – How should our elected leaders help to make this happen?

• Philosophy – What are our rights as they relate to common property like the oceans and skies? Our moral obligations?

I suppose I would simply remind career-minded people who are looking into clean energy to choose a discipline that they actually enjoy. Not everyone likes to sell, just as not everyone’s good at thermodynamics. But everyone likes something, and in this case that’s all that matters. My advice:  just pick a “something” that you like – and then get damn good at it.

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