THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for February, 2009

Here comes more dour empirical data.

Ongoing deforestation in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia has been further linked to the rising demand for biofuels, according to speakers at a recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):

“If reduced U.S. soybean production results in a parallel increase in Brazilian soybean production, a potential net release of 1,800 to 9,100 Tg (trillion grams) of CO2-equivalents of greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use change is possible,” [Michael Coe of Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts] wrote in a summary of his talk. That is equivalent to more than 9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Let’s just hope someone has that cellulosic biofuel breakthrough we’re all hoping for.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

If good things come in small packages, then a $70,000 small-business grant from the U.S. EPA could rock the fast food world.  The pea sized grant will go to develop a low cost pollution control retrofit for commercial underfired charbroilers like the one at your local burger joint.  Innova Tech, the company that won the grant, is developing an energy efficient system that combines a filter, vapor condenser, and continuous grease removal system.  If the technology proves successful, it could provide a key to reducing the impact of commercial cookeries on rapid glacier melt.

Read more of this story »

As an alternative energy innovation junkie I used to get my climate cooling news from scouring the web, but recently made a green job transfer into California’s very innovation-driven alternative energy industry and have been on such a very steep learning curve (for me) that I got out of that reading loop a bit.

But I am learning how to estimate and design solar systems, so now I get emailed inside news as it breaks from within the solar industry:

On Monday, February 9th 2009, the California Solar Incentive program received 11 Megawatts worth of Non-Residential Reservation Requests for installations from California businesses. This is the highest MW total in one day that PG&E has seen in the rebates it administers for the CSI program.

This is not just Movave Desert type of massive utility-scale installations like PG&E and other utilities are doing - because these are not in the rebate program.

Read more of this story »

We often write about the many ways to cut your utility bills and carbon footprints. From Energy Star appliances to low-flow showerheads to new efficient lightbulbs, there’s a project for every budget and skill level.

These types of projects, though, are at the end of the efficiency pipeline. This means that if your heating/cooling system, electricity generation or hot water heater is inefficient, you’ll still be using much more energy after these projects than you could be. As an example, nearly 70% of the energy contained in fuels for powerplants is wasted BEFORE the electricity makes it into our homes (due to generator inefficiences and transmission losses). Replacing an incandescent bulb with LEDs does nothing to get this 70% back - it just makes sure that the remaining 30% is used more efficiently! The same is true of heating/cooling and hot water. If your furnace, air conditioner or hot water heater is inefficient, then your duct sealing projects or low-flow fixtures are fighting against these upstream inefficiencies.

Replacing any of these core systems can be expensive - we just wrote about better hot water heater options, and the cheapest of those will probably set you back $600 or more after installation. But a number of companies are coming up with innovative products that package these different systems together - boosting overall efficiencies to levels not seen before AND potentially saving on installation costs. If you have to replace a furnace or AC unit, there are some real interesting options. Here are some of the latest and greatest.

NTI Matrix Total Home System

The NTI Matrix Total Home System combines a very high efficiency boiler, furnace, tankless hot water heater and heat recovery ventilator all in one package. All of the standalone pieces are high efficiency (would likely qualify for Energy Star status), but the system gets even more efficiency out of the combined package. The Matrix is best in homes that use forced hot air, hydronic heating (such as radiant heat or pool heating) and normal water heating together. And the heat recovery ventilator also helps to cool a house in the summer. The Matrix system was one of BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Green Products in 2008.

ECR Freewatt Home Heating System

The freewatt is what is called a “combined heat and power”, or CHP system. It combines an efficient natural gas or propane generator with an Energy Star gas furnace or boiler. The furnace/boiler makes use of the hot waste gas from the generator, so you are generating BOTH electricity and hot air/water from the same fuel source. The 1.2 kilowatt generator can produce up to 5,000 kWh of electricity per year, AND can cut your carbon footprint by up to three tons of carbon dioxide as compared to using electricity from your utility. Oh, and in certain areas you can even tie the system into your electricity grid and run your meter backwards, much the same as you would with solar panels or a wind turbine. The company that makes the freewatt system is one of two vendors recognized by the EPA’s Climate Choice program, which recognizes advanced technologies that protect the climate.

These technologies are still pretty new, so you might have some trouble finding them near you (but definitely check each manufacturer’s website for local installers). With the coming transformation of our electric grid and energy efficiency policies, you’re likely to start seeing them in a home or building near you.

Editors Note: This is a guest post by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. See his last post for us on EV charging stations on Gas 2.0.

Today, San Francisco took a meaningful step toward turning the promise of renewable ocean energy into reality. We submitted a preliminary permit application to the federal government to develop a wave power project off our coast that we believe can generate between 10 to 30 megawatts of energy, with potential of up to 100 megawatts. When this project is fully operational, upwards of 100 jobs could be created in San Francisco.

Ocean power is a true “game changer” in the area of renewable energy. When wave and tidal power technologies reach commercial scale, they are expected to be able to provide thousands of megawatts of power to our coastal communities, dramatically green our energy portfolios and create thousands of new American jobs. In San Francisco, we’ve been doing our part to spur these technologies by aggressively advancing tidal and wave power pilot projects.  We are 100% committed to this challenge.

Read more of this story »