Duke Energy and National Gypsum Collaborate on Solar Power Array

Duke Energy and National Gypsum are collaborating on a solar panel array.  the Panels are on a Nationa Gypsum faciltiy and owned by Duke Energy.  The relationship goes beyond PV panels as waste from coal plants is used as a raw material for gypsum board.

Duke Energy has leased part of the roof of a National Gypsum facility in Mt Holly NC to use for a solar array.  The output is 1.17 mW - equivalent to the power needs of 700 homes.

" ... 5096 panels ... Duke Energy will own, operate, and maintain all components of the system. The lease agreement is for 25 years."

" ... National Gypsum has contracts to purchase byproduct gypsum ... from four of the utility’s nearby coal-fired plants."

Via: National Gypsum LINK

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

Dedham Mass Whole Foods Powered by Fuel Cell and Solar Cells

 
Fuel cells are making there way to a food store near you - if you live in Dedham, Mass.

" ... newest and largest Whole Foods Market in New England ... in Dedham, MA. ... the first store in Massachusetts to generate on-site power with fuel cell technology (one of the cleanest forms of energy)! 90% of our power will be generated by this fuel cell - this is sometUnited Technologies logohing that we are very proud of."

" ... powered by a 400-kilowatt UTC Power fuel cell and a rooftop solar installation that will generate most of the store’s power and all of its hot water needs ..."

Via: WholeFoods LINK  and Via: Technologies Corp. LINK

Prince Charles Runs Aston Martin on BioEthanol - E100

" ... Prince Charles, the U.K.'s version of Al Gore, has taken another step in a green direction: his 1970 Aston Martin DB6 has been converted to run entirely on bioethanol ... fuel he uses is made from a white wine produced near the prince's Highgrove Estate, itself a showcase for organic farming ..."

" ... goal of reducing emissions from his planes, trains, and automobiles 25% by 2018 ...European Union limits annual wine production, so any leftovers from England's current vintage can be converted to bioethanol by Green Fuels Ltd.... company has previously provided bioethanol to power the royal train. The prince's other vehicles, which include a smattering of Jaguars, a Range Rover, and an Audi, have been converted to run on bioethanol made from cooking oil...."


Via: RiverWired 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

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

GoodEnergy - Renewable Energy from Cow Poo

Good Energy, a UK supplier of 100% renewable energy, has the usual sources of renewable energy like solar and wind ... and green energy from cow poo.

Cow poo is turned into biomass and that in turn becomes biogas that is burned to become electricity ...

Read on for more >>>

"Biogas is produced through ... Anaerobic Digestion ... a natural biological process carried out by bacteria in the absence of air, by which organic material is broken down into stable fertiliser and useful biogas. ..."

"The organic waste is broken down into sugars and amino acids by enzymes ... sugars are then fermented to produce volatile fatty acids and then converted by various types of bacteria into biogas, a mixture of carbon dioxide (40%) and methane (60%) ... "

" ... biogas is then ... burned ... to produce electricity and heat. ..."

Via: GoodEnergy LINK

Biodiesel Powered School Buses

School districts across the US are making the move to biodiesel fuel to augment or replace regular diesel. Among the reasons are less pollutants (CO2, particulates, ...), lessening reliance on imported oil and using more renewable resources.

One of the trade-offs is the increased cost for biodiesel - this is usually offset by grant money. Some districts are staying with biodiesel even after the grant money runs out ...

Below are some school districts that powered by biodiesel:

Medford, New Jersey - " ... began using B20 in 1997. ... fuel has performed well even in temperatures as low as eleven degrees below zero ... a technology that is not capital intensive and can be applied to older units as well as today's vehicles.”

Meridian, Idaho - " ... using up to 125,000 gallons of B20 biodiesel ...working to ... use the fuel other in vehicles. ..."

Warwick, Rhode Island - " ... use various blend levels of biodiesel in their heating boilers in 2001 and 2002. ... starting to use biodiesel in their fleet of 58 school buses. ..."

Campbell and McLean Counties in Kentucky - " ... use B20 in their school buses. ..."

Olympia Illinois "- " ... began using biodiesel (B2) in August 2002 in all 33 of its school buses and about 20 operation and maintenance support vehicles such as lawnmowers, pickup trucks and tractors ... buses travel 4,000 miles a day, or an average of 600,000 miles a year."

Hammond, Indiana - " ... began fueling its school buses with B20 in the 2001 school year under a grant from the Indiana Department of Commerce to pay for the incremental cost increase of the fuel. Although the grant has expired, fleet administrator John Molnar says he continues to use biodiesel because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.

Arlington County, Virginia - " ...using B20 in the county’s 500 diesel-powered vehicles, including 120 school buses, ..."

Via: National Biodiesel Board LINK

Gainesville Florida - Solar Map

Florida's Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) is committed to solar power and assist customers with loans. This map shows approx. current stats on GRU solar installations.

" ... we have offered Solar Rebates since August 1997 ... we exceeded our latest goal of 40,000 Watts of solar energy for our area. Take a look at our interactive map and see who is using solar energy."


From the map you can see a large number of residential systems are in place !

Via: Gainesville Global Utilities LINK

Chicken Manure Powers 90,000 Homes in The Netherlands

Here is an interesting way to reduce waste. reuse waste and generate carbon neutral power from a virtually never ending supply of manure ...

" ... largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands ... will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households ... capacity of 36.5 megawatts ... more than 270 million kWh of electricity per year."

" ... more than merely “carbon neutral” ... manure ... spread out over farm land ... would release not only CO2, but also methane, a very potent greenhouse gas ... using the manure for power generation, the release of methane is avoided."

" ... plant will utilize approximately 440,000 tons of chicken manure, roughly one third of the total amount produced each year in the Netherlands. ... European countries ... suffer under an excess of different types of animal manure that pollute the environment."


Via: Metaefficient LINK