Waste to Energy -- Sustainable Waste Solutions

I saw a trailer in a parking lot with the Sustainable Waste Solutions and knew there would be a blog post there.  SWS is a local company with a Souderton, Pa  address that turns waste to energy (W2E).

" ... a landfill-free alternative for recycling, waste transportation, and disposal to companies ... throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley and Delaware. ... we generate enough electricity from waste to power tens of thousands of homes per day ..."

W2E burns waste material to generate electric and results in waste that is only 10% by volume compared to the starting amount.

Until we run out of trash (not too likely in the near term) this is a renewable energy solution!



Via:  Sustainable Waste Solutions  LINK

Kristianstad Sweden Uses Biofuels Not Fossil Fuels for Heat and Electricity

Kristianstad Sweden uses no fossil fuels for heating.  Instead they uses biomass from farming leftovers.  80,000 homes heated by biomass and not fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas!  And this is an area of the world where it gets VERY COLD !

Since solar and wind would not be effective in Kristianstad they worked with biomass.  " ... remains from farming ... manure, potato peels, pig intestines, and even cookies, .... to create biogas  ... a certain type of  methane, ... heat of the entire city, and to provide electricity for the city as well."

The driving force for the move away from fossil fuels was to protect their environment and they did not want to import fossil fuels from abroad.

   

Via:  Metrolic  LINK

Rentricity Uses Pressure in Pipes to Generate Electricity

Rentricity uses energy recovery techniques to get energy from " ...  excess pressure in water mains ..." and can generate " ... between 20 and 300 kilowatts of electricity..."

Somewhat similar to wave energy but not really renewable.
The power can be sent to the grid and used to offset electricity purchases.

Since this electricity can then be sold onto the grid, Rentricity gives its generating partners an additional source of revenue and a way to offset rising electricity rates.

" ... no environmental impact and represent a new class of clean, renewable hydrokinetic energy. ... will produce hundreds of megawatts in aggregate."
 LINK to see diagram of system.




Via:  Rentricity  LINK

Arizona Public Services & SunPower Create Largest Solar Project on Federal Property

The 15 megawatt PV plant will be located at Luke AFB in Glendale, Arizona.  Comprised of 52,000 SunPower PV panels it will be the " ... largest solar installation on U.S. government property."

SunPower

"Arizona Public Service Co. will own and operate ... hired SunPower Corp. to design and construct the solar plant ..."

" ... will ... follow the sun ... 25 percent more energy than if the panels were stationary. ..."


Via:  Arizona Public Service LINK

EarthEra® - Carbon Offsets for Mail Ordered Goods

earthera carbon offsets

 When buying Viva Terra products you have the option to purchase carbon offsets for the delivery of your order.

" ... reduce the environmental impact ... by selecting EarthEra® ...  For ... $1 per order, customers balance the carbon emissions associated with the delivery of their purchases ..."

" ... EarthEra is powered by NextEra Energy Resources, America's largest producer of wind and solar power."



Via:  Viva Terra LINK

Philadelphia's Bourse Building Goes Solar !

Philadelphia's Bourse building is both historic and modern ... it was Philadelphia's first exchange and now has gone Solar.

The old Bourse Building on Independence Mall East has solar panels with mountiug systems from SolarDock of Wilmington, Delaware.  These roof panels are designed to not impact the integrity of the roof of the historic building.


" ... SolarDock system for mounting the panels without any penetration of the roof surface ... "

This allows mounting in locations where there is concern about leaks in the roof or a roof warranty that does not allow for through roof mounts.

Via:  Delaware Business Blog LINK

 
Ever wonder how solar cells work?  Sun light hits a photovoltaic panel and somehow electrons start flowing. 

Check out this neat graphic that shows how suns rays are converted to power that flows from your home's outlets.

" ... Follow the path ... from the sun, through the pv panels, its conversion to AC electricity ... into the utility grid. ..."
ailed explanation of solar energy.


For a full size of the image CLICK

Via:  CoolerPlanet LINK

Dell's Round Rock, Tx Site (and 8 others) Powered by 100 % Renewable Energy.

In June of 2009 Dell announced that they source over 1/4 of their global energy needs from renewable sources.
 
" ... powers nine ... facilities in the United States and Europe with 100 percent renewable energy. ... Round Rock, Texas; Twin Falls, Idaho and Oklahoma City, Okla. ..."

In addition to using a significant amount of renewable energy sources they " ... plan to reduce ...  greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2015. ... "

Dell follows a simple 3-step model where they work efficiently (energy-wise), use renewable energyand offset with carbon credits from verified sources.

" ... only company in the computer industry to achieve operational carbon neutrality in August 2008 ..."


Via:  DELL  LINK

UPS Deploys 200 Additional Hybrid Delivery Trucks

UPS " ... put 200 additional hybrid electric delivery trucks to work in Austin, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Minneapolis and Louisville. ... had 50 of these vehicles in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix; ... another 20,000 low-emission and alternative fuel vehicles throughout its fleet ... In all, about 1,000 of the fleet is hybrid while the rest are low emission types."

" ... will cut its fuel consumption by 176,000 gallons annually, compared with putting an equivalent number of new diesel trucks on the road. .. reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions is about 1,786 metric tons, ..."



Via:  Smart Planet  LINK

Time to Rethink Solar: PV Panel Prices Dropping

Solar prices are dropping and this may be the time to outfit your roof with PV panels.  In my area (southeastern PA) utility prices are expected to rise significantly as electricity rate caps are lifted.

Last summer I priced out a 4.5 kW system; the price was a little too steep for me.  This was even after accounting for the PA State rebate (instant) and Federal Credit (claimed when filling taxes).

Given the lower price I need to take an other look.

" ... reveling in the satisfaction that your home is producing its own zero-emissions power."

" ... panel prices have plunged by half in the past year ... glut will be bad for manufacturers' profit margins, but good for you. For $15,000 installed, a 3.5 kilowatt system could generate 5,000 kwh of electricity a year, about a third of most homes' needs." 

Via: Forbes LINK

PSE&G to Add Solar Panels to Utility Poles in NJ

Utility PSE&G is beginning to deploy solar panels on their utility poles ... expects to have 1200 in Cherry Hill, NJ ...a nifty way to add solar capacity on existing structures ... distributed grid ...

... "Cherry Hill is getting 1,200 panels, according to township spokesman Dan Keashen:" ...

Via: KYW1060 LINK Solar Panels In South Jersey

Norway's Statkraft Looks at Power from Osmosis

Norway's Statkraft is looking at osmosis as a possible energy source.  Currently the output is minimal but it may be the way of the future.

" ... Norway's Statkraft says that its new, first-of-its-kind osmotic power plant could be producing as much energy as a small wind farm by 2015, ... when the process of osmosis takes place ... the pressure is apparently enough to drive a power generating turbine ... enough of those you have a power plant. A bit of effort, to be sure, but the process doesn't emit any greenhouse gases, is completely renewable, and it doesn't depend on the wind or the sun being out."

Via: Engadget LINK

Geothermal Power Systems

"Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, in conjunction with Chena Power LLC in Alaska and the U.S. Department of Energy, recently demonstrated a mobile geothermal power generation unit at the 2009 Geothermal Energy Expo in Reno, Nev. ... new mobile version of Pratt & Whitney’s PureCycle® technology allows customers to relocate valuable energy generating capability from one geothermal or waste heat resource to another as circumstances dictate ... "

" ... the PureCycle system can generate electricity from  various heat sources with temperatures between 190 and 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a mobile unit at existing oil and gas sites can expedite return on investment for geothermal power, as the majority of development cost is in exploration, drilling and infrastructure."

" ... self-contained cooling system that uses resource water to replenish the cooling tower water, thus eliminating the need for a separate fresh water source ... system demonstrates how low temperature geothermal technology that can diversify the nation’s energy supply with base load renewable energy while creating jobs and economic benefits ... "


Via: United Technologies Corp. LINK

Connecticut Science Center Powered by Fuel Cell

"A 200kW UTC Power fuel cell ... at the new Connecticut Science Center in Hartford ... will generate 100 percent of the electricity demanded by the facility on an annual basis once operational ...

 will be the first such facility to generate most of its own energy on-site with ultra clean, quiet fuel cell power."

" ... reduce the burden on the New England power grid and its impact on the environment ... will prevent the release of more than 270 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually by using the Model 200 PureCell® system rather than relying on a traditional fossil-fuel-burning powerplant ... one of the first fuel cell installations in the state to employ net metering, a process by which surplus power from the fuel cell is fed to the utility grid at night when the facility’s power demand is less."

Via: United Technologies Corp. LINK

Danish Island of Samsø : First "Town" to be Completely Energy Self-Sufficient ?

Danish Island of Samsø: First "Town" to be Completely Energy Self-Sufficient ??

It is one thing to be energy independent; it carries a little more weight if you are both energy independent and industrialized.


" ... Danish island of Samsø ... 30 miles long and 15 miles wide ... began its push toward sustainability in 1997. In just over a decade ... erected 21 electricity-producing wind turbines and a heating system fueled by wood chip- and straw-burning furnaces accompanied by several small solar panels."

"Eleven ... turbines are onshore and ten are offshore; all generate one megawatt each ... onshore turbines produce more electricity than the island consumes — enough to offset 690,000 gallons of oil — ... offshore turbines produce enough power to handle the island’s transportation energy budget ...invests excess power in new energy projects."

" ... inadvertently transformed the island’s workforce into green collar workers. Plumbers and carpenters regularly perform energy-efficient home conversions, and their expertise has allowed them to work on green projects elsewhere, including mainland Europe."

This video tells it all ....







Via: SmartPlanet LINK

Home Fuel Cells Coming to Japan

" ... Matsushita ... will claim first place in the race to put commercial home fuel cells on the market ... "

" ... can optimally provide 70 percent of the energy needs for a 1,280 square foot house with four people ... can reduce energy consumption by 22 percent and CO2 emissions by 12 percent as compared to all other power sources ... ".

" ... in this case, the cogeneration home fuel cell hooks up to the city’s natural gas lines, extracting hydrogen from the gas in a fuel-processing device ... hydrogen is combined with oxygen through a series of polyelectrolyte membranes, a process that creates electricity, heat, and water ... home fuel cell produces between 500 watts and a 1 kilowatt of electricity and captures the heat to warm a tank of water, used for showers, dishes etc."

" ... a contribution to Japan’s goals of reducing global CO2 emissions 50 percent by 2050."

" ... fuel cells require a great deal of energy; for example, this unit contains more than 2,000 components. Whether the production of the units negates the energy and CO2 savings gained by customers is unclear."

Check out this video ...

Via: Mother Nature Network LINK

DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle one of Time Magazines 50 Berst Inventions of 2009

"The Dow Chemical Company's ... POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle, ... flexible photovoltaic solar cell packaged in the form of a roofing shingle that can be easily integrated with standard asphalt shingle materials, has been named one of "The 50 Best Inventions of 2009" by TIME magazine. ... integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing shingle design, ... reduces installation costs because conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously..."

.... learn more  @ www.dowsolar.com ...


Via: Dow News (Dow.com) LINK

Dow Launches Solar Array and Eduction Center in Midland, Michigan

Dow is a player in the green space with heat transfer fluids for thermal heating systems and BIPV (building integrated photo voltaic) roofing materials.  Now they are getting into the education game....

" ... new solar array and education center, and construction is under way at a new factory in Saginaw County to produce a key specialty gas for the solar energy industry ...The Dow Corning Corp. plant next to Hemlock Semiconductor’s polysilicon factory is expected to employ about 30 people initially, ...to be completed in 2011, it will manufacture high purity monosilane, used in the manufacture of thin-film solar cells and liquid crystal displays. ... also unveiled a new solar panel installation and solar education center at its corporate headquarters in Midland. ..."


" ... expand our feed stock offering and will further reinforce Dow Corning’s position as a material supplier across multiple solar technologies ...solar installation at Dow Corning headquarters features 136 solar panels and will produce approximately 30 kilowatt-hours of power — the amount of electricity consumed by approximately seven to 10 homes in a year. ...

Follow the link below for the full story ...


Via: MidlandIssues LINK

The Dow Chemical company is active in the green energy space with several innovative products.

They recently announced their entry into the solar cell market with the " ... POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle, ... panels in the form of solar shingles that can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. ... expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and ... more widely available in 2011, ..."

"... integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing shingle design, ... design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously by roofing contractors ..."

"... addresses two of the biggest challenges associated with solar power – cost and acceptance. "

Via: The Dow Chemical Company LINK

WattMe Portablke Power with Solar Charging

Wattme produces portable power systems that are charged by solar panels sold as GoBe. These simple devices can provide safe reliable power where non previously existed.

" ... story begins in the Democratic Republic of Congo ... much of the country lacked reliable power with the majority of villages having no ... electricity. In some cases homes were found with car batteries providing power with electrical posts and battery acid dangerously exposed."

" ... the GoBe power system was born ... a portable power pack that could provide light, and with numerous outputs, charge a variety of devices. With the accessory solar panels, the GoBe remains charged."

" ... the GoBe can keep a 5 watt LED light on for a week ... can extend the battery life of laptop for up to an additional 4 hours."

Via: WattMe LINK