Large Muni Solar Power Array Switched On

September 30, 2010 by James  
Filed under Featured

Share AKRON METRO REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY UNVEILS STATES LARGEST ROOFTOP SOLAR ARRAY 2000 Sharp Solar Panels Used In Project Designed and Installed By Third Sun Solar AKRON, OH September 30, 2010 The Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority (RTA) today unveils the largest solar rooftop array in the state of Ohio. The solar rooftop of the RTA bus garages at METRO’s headquarters is rated at 488 kilowatts DC, and is expected to produce around 486,760 kilowatt hours of solar power a year. Third Sun Solar of Ohio installed the system, which is comprised of 2076 of Sharp 235-watt solar modules. The clean energy produced will prevent the emission of 350 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, an amount equal to the use of 39,322 gallons of gasoline (source: www.epa.gov). The $2.5 million project — the largest rooftop solar array in Ohio — was funded in part through a state grant with funds provided by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read more on Large Muni Solar Power Array Switched On… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Large Muni Solar Power Array Switched On

Solar Power Homes – Build Your Own Residential Solar Panels

September 30, 2010 by admin  
Filed under alternative energy

Anthony Dempster asked: Solar power homes are popping up in many different places around the world. While some people have a large amount of money to spend on getting these systems setup, not everyone does. So if you’re wanting to generate your own green energy for either monetary or environmental reasons, how can you go about it without spending a fortune? The easiest solution is to build your own residential solar panels. Just a couple of years ago such an idea would have seemed crazy.The notion that people would be taking control of their home energy needs by generating their own solar power electricity seemed like something reserved for hippies. The world has changed rapidly over the last few years – thanks to the likes of Al Gore people are now much more aware of the effect that their energy usage has on the environment. On top of that, energy prices have skyrocketed and the world economy is looking shaky, forcing many people to save money while they can. If you want to build your own residential soar panels the good news is that it’s actually quite easy. By purchasing the necessary components through the internet or at local hardware stores you can get your own solar panel system constructed for $200 or less. The kind of stuff you’ll need to purchase includes : – small solar cells – a backing board made of wood or plastic – wiring and batteries to store the electricity – some DIY equipment The process is quite simple. You affix all the solar cells to the piece of wood or plastic. You wire up all the solar cells together and with that step you have created your own solar panel. You then place the solar panel in a sunny location and wire it up so that your house can benefit from the electricity. Water 4 Gas Read more on Solar Power Homes – Build Your Own Residential Solar Panels… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Solar Power Homes Build Your Own Residential Solar Panels

Solar Industry Still Growing in 2011?

September 30, 2010 by James  
Filed under alternative energy

September 30, 2010Despite extreme shifts in pricing, demand and governmental subsidies, the global photovoltaic market in 2011 will experience robust growth, with installations rising by 42.3 percent for the year, according to the market research firm iSuppli Corp.

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Solar Industry Still Growing in 2011?

Home Solar Systems: Should You Use Them?

September 30, 2010 by admin  
Filed under alternative energy

There are a lot of various uses for solar panels for homes . Solar panels for household applications can be in two different types, those that use photovoltaic cells to absorb the sun’s rays for electrical purposes, and those that are used to heat water. Both solar systems can save you some money rather quickly as well as in the future. Solar electrical power systems have a number of positive things. They are capable of alleviating some pressure off of using your regular power supply, saving you lots of money when the sun is out. With the proper battery back-up, you could even have power after the sunset, or when the regular power supply is down. Some people use solar electricity to completely meet power requirements for their entire estate, completely relying on renewable energy. Solar panels for home use can also heat up your water supply, thus saving you your hard-earned dollars. In colder locations, where the temperature of the water table is less than 60 degrees, using solar can heat up water to a higher ambient temperature. This could result in alleviating some pressure on hot water heaters, because it shouldn’t require much time to make water very warm. For ambient temperatures above 60 degrees, and where there is much sunlight, you should be able to get rid of your boiler completely. Even if you only heat up the surrounding water, this can reduce your heating expenses by 40-60%. Instead of solar panels having a photovoltaic cell array, you can apply those that have pipes running inside the body. When the water passes through, the sun’s rays heat up the water (to a greater or lesser degree depending on the kind of piping). If this water is pumping through consistently before it goes into the hot water intake, it will be warmer. Home solar panels are capable of doing a lot more than just heat up your water supply and generate electric power. Solar panels help us save the environment. First of all, they utilize energy that is never-ending, renewable, and totally free. Producing electric power from the sun doesn’t require the use of our natural resources, and these systems don’t give off any bad emanations. Regardless of whether you are still hooked up to the external power network, or fully meet your own power consumption requirements, using solar panels can help reduce overall energy usage. This will decrease the load on heat and power plants, many of which still burn fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum products to create electrical power. With the appropriate solar panel power system in place, not only will it pay for itself in a short amount of time, but it will indeed make you money. How will it do that? If your panel is hooked up to your grid still, and you generate more electric power than you can store and use, the surplus goes directly back into to the grid. You essentially become a small-size power plant, and according to the law, utility companies have to purchase this unused power from you. You shall make necessary arrangements first, but even twenty dollars per week is better than nothing at all. Some users who use solar panels for homes will stay hooked up to the main power network just to make some money. In closing, not only can solar panels be utilized to save you hard-earned cash when paying your bills, but can also be turned into an additional source of income. Read more on Home Solar Systems: Should You Use Them?… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Home Solar Systems: Should You Use Them?

New super thin solar cells absorb ten times the amount of light

September 29, 2010 by James  
Filed under Featured

Stanford University researchers have just announced that they have developed a new type of ultra-thin solar cell, and that it could absorb up to 10 times the amount of sunlight that current solar cells absorb. The new cells consist of several layers of organic polymer – each layer is actually thinner than the wavelength Related posts: New coating helps solar panels absorb more sunlight Light pipes can double the efficiency of organic solar cells PETE solar cells generate electricity from both light and heat

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New super thin solar cells absorb ten times the amount of light

Geothermal Power

September 28, 2010 by admin  
Filed under Featured

Mikhail Janowski asked: The earth contains a lot of energy in the form of heat. This energy is called geothermal energy, “geo” meaning earth and “thermal” meaning heat. People should be looking for more renewable energy resources throughout the world because of the shortage of fossil fuels and the harm these fuels do to the environment. Geothermal power is the biggest clean and renewable energy resource on earth. It does not cause pollution because no fuel is burned and no harmful chemicals are released into the environment. The amount of energy stored as geothermal energy in the earth is so huge that humans can not possibly use it up – not even in millions of years. Even if this energy resource were to get depleted the suns energy that always shines on the earth just gets absorbed through the ground and replaces it. At the moment we even have a bit too much heat due to global warming so it might be quite a good idea to use some of it. People have been using geothermal?power for almost 100 years now. The first geothermal power plant was in Italy and soon others were built in countries like Iceland, Turkey New Zealand and the United States. At present only a small percentage of electricity is derived from geothermal energy (5% in the US and even less worldwide). The countries that produce the highest percentage of geothermal?power are Iceland and EL Salvador with an average of 25%. There is huge potential in many countries to use more geothermal energy. Especially Australia, there are plans to build geothermal power plants in Australia. There are three main types of geothermal power plants all of which use steam to drive turbans. As technology progresses, it will become easier and more cost effective for governments to install geothermal power plants. According to a 2005 ENEL report, geothermal?power supplies 8900 MW to 24 countries worldwide. Geothermal?power today meets the total electricity needs of some 60 million people worldwide – roughly the population of the United Kingdom. Since 2000, geothermal generation has tripled in France, Russia, and Kenya. Three new countries-Austria, Germany, and Papua New Guinea-have been added to the list of those producing power. Countries as diverse as the Philippines, Iceland, and El Salvador generate an average of 25 percent of their electricity from geothermal sources, and geothermal serves 30 percent of Tibet’s energy needs. The United States continues to produce more geothermal electricity than any other country, comprising some 32 percent of the world total. In 2005, 72 countries reported utilizing geothermal?power for direct uses, providing over 16,000 MW of geothermal power. Geothermal?power is used directly for a variety of purposes, including space heating, snow melting, aquaculture, greenhouse production, and more. Solar Power for homes Read more on Geothermal Power… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Geothermal Power

Geothermal Renewable Energy Does Not Cause Any Harmful Effects

September 28, 2010 by James  
Filed under alternative energy

Dane Bergen asked: Geothermal Renewable Energy is a harmless one that is made from the heat of the earth. It does not produce any greenhouse gases. Underground water near volcanoes gets heated and even boiled at high temperatures and produce steam. These are found at a depth of 3000m. the water is collected by drilling wells. The steam and hot water is separated. Steam is purified and used in power plants to generate energy. Water is used in reservoirs to produce more steam. This is an outline that explains generation of geothermal energy. Establishment of a geothermal plant has to face many challenges as it requires an appropriate location. Drilling wells to get the water may affect nearby areas also. So it is very important to select location without affecting natural habitat. This provides many environmental advantages as it is pollution free, clean and renewable. This is referred as a renewable energy as it is obtained from an unlimited resource, natural heat of the earth. The main advantage is that it reduces the usage of imported fuels for power generation. Chevron is the first company to manufacture geothermal energy industrially and now they are the largest producers in the world. The word geothermal has been derived from Greek words, geo means earth and thermos means heat. Some of the major applications are district heating, space heating, industrial processes and agricultural applications. Compared to other energy sources this has been rated the most reliable, cost effective, sustainable and eco-friendly energy source. The only drawback is the drilling and exploration costs. Future scope and availability depends on technology growth, price of energy, interest rates and subsidies. The share of geothermal energy is only 0.5% of global electricity demand but the potential is very high. The major advantage over solar and wind energy is that it is independent of climatic variations. Solar power Read more on Geothermal Renewable Energy Does Not Cause Any Harmful Effects… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Geothermal Renewable Energy Does Not Cause Any Harmful Effects

The Economics Of Renewable Energy Sources

September 28, 2010 by admin  
Filed under alternative energy

Are you thinking of installing solar power? Anytime a person is considering a project such as this, they should first see if it fits into their budget. The first choice that needs to be made is the extent to which a person wants to generate their own electricity. You could use solar power to heat your water tank. For someone who is really gung ho about going green they can eliminate the need for any outside utilities completely if they choose to. Determining how much power they use on a regular basis will help a person decide what type of solar system that they will require. It is important for you to gather as much of your power usage history as you can to get an accurate account of what you will require. Do not just guess at the number. Be aware of the year’s peak times, like Christmas when you would normally go through a lot more power than normal. You do not want to underestimate the amount that you require as it could cause problems in the future if you are unable to run you home as you want. Now, so you can sleep easy at nights, multiply that amount by at least 1.5 so if any extra appliances are brought into your home you remain fully covered, and once you’ve done this you will know how much residential solar power you need to make your own greendiyenergy . This number that you come up with can be used to determine the size of the system that is required to meet your projected demands. These days, you would almost always be best advised to look online when buying solar panel and you can simply search for things such as oregon solar panels and then you can sit back and be amazed by the incredible bargains you will find there, although if you think they still seem expensive, don’t forget that these prices are a one time cost and solar panels tend to have a lifetime of at least 25 years. Without exception, always employ a skilled, experienced residential solar power technician to install your solar power and look for a greendiyenergy review that can help guide you in the right direction since it is true cost is important but not everything, you can gain extra reassurance of a job well done from an experienced solar power technician when installing solar power for homes by doing your homework. For those who want to go completely off grid, good quality batteries are essential to store the excess solar power you pull down on sunny days. Use this reserve of power to run your home’s electrical needs at night time. The price of the batteries is something else that should be planned for when planning your system. There is lots of assistance that is available for anyone considering this project. Governement offer many additional tax incentives to homeowners. Another resource is your utilities. All of these incentives could make it more affordable than you might think. Do this right and you could cut the total price by half or more. If a system is installed correctly a person will have power for many years to come. When calculating the value of installing solar power, consider the payback time. After everything is all paid off, you have can kick back and relax. A person can relax in the knowledge that they are helping the planet and they have broken free from the utility companies long reach. Read more on The Economics Of Renewable Energy Sources… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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The Economics Of Renewable Energy Sources

Will Robots Clean Up Future Oil Spills?

September 28, 2010 by admin  
Filed under Environment, alternative energy

Cleaning oil spills can be costly business. If eco-friendly robots can take over and clean all the mess it will be good for marine life and humans too. MIT is developing Seaswarm robots that will utilize a special substance to absorb and collect oil from the sea surface. If everything turns out well, these Posted in: Environment , Future Energy

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Will Robots Clean Up Future Oil Spills?

Designing Your Energy Efficient House Plans

September 27, 2010 by admin  
Filed under alternative energy

The concept of energy efficient house plans may come as a new idea to you but despite its seemingly strange effect, that leaves you entrapped in mind for a few seconds, the basic idea really is very cool and practical. It is so realistic that in fact, it is well-known as one of the best twenty first century ideas. If you are reckoning about the practical face of making up energy efficient house plans, the answer is very simple. Look around at carefully chosen, newly built houses and buildings. Most of these structures would have at least one energy Preserving, energy efficient formula in motion. Many people dont openly say that their houses are built according to energy Preserving plans but they in fact are energy Preserving houses. But the point is, without us seeing it, the concept of energy efficient home plans have already come in to play. So if you are an architect, or an engineer, isn t energy efficient home plans a perfect example to look at? Anyway the popular demand will surely make your house stand out. The advantages of making up energy efficient house plans are multi fold of which, Preserving energy is the first. Preserving up on traditional modes of deriving energy such as electricity, line water and gas are the major monetary plusses of the scheme. So that, once energy efficient house plans are built up, recurring water, gas and electricity bills become less. Some people trust that the traditional way of paying bills is more effective on the long run than implementing energy Preserving modules at home. This is a general myth and it has no grounds. If you can t trust it offhand, sit down and get on with some computings to see the point behind us dismissing the notion. {Maybe at the implementation stage energy efficient house plans may cost slightly higher than traditional methods. So save the planey by Preserving energy at home – settle for energy efficient house plans ! After all, energy saved is money gained! Plus living in such atmosphere will add a lot of novelty to your ordinary life. After all, isn t it luxurious to feel a warm floor beneath your feet? Read more on Designing Your Energy Efficient House Plans… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This! posters on alternate use of solar energy

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Designing Your Energy Efficient House Plans

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