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Holy Shiholy Batman! [Aug. 11th, 2006|07:38 pm]
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SunEdison Acquires Team Solar; Serious Legion of Superheroes Shihizzle
LoSH
Wow. this is a match made in heaven. I swear. SunEd + TeamSolar TL4Eva...

Together they have installed enough solar panels to power 15,000 homes (and that's energy pig homes, not back-to-the-earth one-LED-christmas-light-is-fine-for-my-
reading-light hippy homes).

And while they come from radically different places, this is going to be a symbiotic powerforce. Nobody is talking about how much it sold for, but the Sun bought the Team! And it looks like Baltimore's brilliant SunEdison krewe is poised for even greater stature in the energy biz (and West Coast presence) now that they've bought TS... And they were already pretty amazing, known to provide competitively priced solar energy at or below local utility rates with various financing schemes (sometimes they lease big box's rooftops, put solar there and then sell the juice to the stores, other times they lease the PV to the stores, and do the the installations and maintenance...) And SunEd's CEO Jigar Shah is a solid leader, building a team with some insanely impresisve playere (it's like he raided the halls from BP S0lar --duh, they're in Maryland-- to Bechtel).

And TeamSolar is no slouch ...born under the close tutelage of Sacramento's highly evolved SMUD, Angela and Rick Lavezzo's tiny company has grown to be California's largest solar installer. No job too small or too large.

Now we know what they did with some of that twenny six point one $M they just raised with Gold Man Sachs. But this is awesome, this is grassroots California meets business2.0 east coast new green stylee. With balance and harmony for all, I expect SunEd will spred....

[source Sun Edison, LLC press release
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SHEClabs free-form private-placement memorandum [May. 27th, 2006|05:06 am]
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...remember that part in Forest Gump when his shrimp partner told him he invested their money into 'some fruit company'? this LJ post might be one of those...
buhhhling!
I've mentioned SHEClabs, the Saskatchewan solar hydrogen energy corporation a few times before, and since then, dozens or even hundreds of websites have talked about it. even a nice treehugger piece by good 'ol jacob gordon in lalaland..

WHY? Because SHEC-Labs Hydrogen Generator uses a 'proprietary catalyst', new solar collection technologies, solar tracking and process software developed in-house to produce hydrogen from methane gas ((actually from landfill gas)), or by disassociation of water at temperatures of 800 degrees Celsius. The SHEClabs technology allows for pollution free manufacturing of hydrogen. And yes it's been marginally covered that the City of Regina unanimously passes ordinations not only allowing them to build the their commercial plant (a commercial hydrogen makin' fillin' station), not only that but that they signed up to be the first clients, planning to run as many city vehicles on hydrogen as SHEClabs can fill.. ((ok, seriously the name... Guys, an 'R' would be great! (Renewable? solar hydrogen renewable energy corporation? come on! it rolls off the tongue).. I mean who wouldn't want to fill up with Hydrogen at their corner Shrec?)). Anyway, the news don't stop in Saskatchewan! They also recently got Pierre Rivard, Hydrogenics CEO to take a seat on their board! They kick ass!

But now here's something that hasn't been widely publicized: and you ought to be among the first to know.. even though the news has been around for over 20 days... They are raising funds to build this, the worlds first solar/hydrogen gas-station. And you too can get in on it. Just request an Official Offer of memorandum and have the right to invest through this Private Placement. So, for as little as $2,500 you can get in on the ground floor of the world's first solar hydrogen fillin' station! When there's 5500 SHrEC Station dotting the globe, and you're ensconced and early-retired, don't forget where you heard it from.
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the Daystar plan... [May. 22nd, 2006|08:53 am]
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CEO John Tuttle points the way forward
DST
Wow. Two of my favorite companies in the news back to back = ) yay.
"We strongly believe that the global demand for non-fossil fuel energy solutions, the continued shortage of Silicon solar cells, the progress and experience we have achieved to date, and the support and encouragement from our stakeholders have converged to create a window of opportunity that has driven us to accelerate the deployment of our manufacturing capabilities. To accomplish this we have developed an execution plan that includes a number of near term achievable milestones. The purpose of releasing this plan to our Stakeholders is to provide a framework for monitoring our progress in the coming months and years." And the plan has been working out for them, as they are one of the newest shining stars of the solar world. So click and read up on the plan for the next phase of DayStar taking over!
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U of Arizona team building solar-powered wind towers [May. 22nd, 2006|08:50 am]
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windtower
ok that might sound a little Babel-like, but they have been around for a while (one 600 ft tall tower in the 80's pumped out 50KW, and they're building a 160 ft one in Australia). The UA students have optimized the geometry, figured out efficiencies and reached a plateau where the power output (in relation to its size) is exponential! What they do is heat up the air to a few hundred degrees, and then the air shoots up the tower into the awating wind turbine. If the turbine wont go to the wind, i guess, move the wind to the turbine!
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daily plug... [Apr. 28th, 2006|06:28 am]
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DS
plug
OK It's an article about Troy New York and their new Tech Valley. But who are the two examples of the turnaround and rebirth?? None other than DayStar and Plug Power! ...and if you've been reading this for anytime now, you know just how much i love these two companies!! So you can imagine how happy I was to read an article in the Troy Record, talking about both of these companies! Hmmm will there be a daystar solar powered electolyzer on the horizon? That would just be too kewl.
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July 8-13: join the mile-high sun club! [Apr. 7th, 2006|05:58 pm]
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...more PV than you can shake a stick at!
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hats off to all the kids ....you're all winners in my book! [Apr. 6th, 2006|07:35 pm]
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Big Meet this weekend!
EV

Several hundred students representing 21 schools from North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Florida will race against each other in Raleigh NC Friday and Saturday for the 11th annual EV Challenge Final Event Weekend.

The EV Challenge is the country’s premier alternative fuel education program, unique because of its integration of several disciplines, including math, science, engineering, language arts and more. It's a year-long program designed to teach 6th-12th graders the importance of alternative fuels. In the program, the student design and construct of a street-legal electric vehicle(!) which will be entered into several competitions during the weekend. Go speed racers go!
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Suncones: inexpensive solar thermal with very high efficiency [Mar. 30th, 2006|12:09 pm]
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aluminized mylar air-pressured solar collectors rock
Image hosting by TinyPic
So, it's true that parabolic solar thermal collectors are cool. And look like fun. But it's also true that they aren't perfect. In fact often, one has to manually re-focus the mirrors, you can get blinded by the intense light and they do start fires (think of an ant & magnifying glass to the power of 100).

In comes Barabus Energy who's new SunCone not only allays those aforementioned issues, but also makes a 90% efficient solar thermal collector that costs under $6,000. This is where the story gets interesting!
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Solar/Air Purifying Newspapers(?) [Feb. 24th, 2006|07:47 pm]
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Extra Extra Extra read all about it....
blackwhiteredallover
Nippon Paper Industries Co. has partnered with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun to developed newsprint coated with photocatalytic titanium oxide. When the paper is exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays, it works to eliminate everyday odors such as tobacco smoke, sweat and pet odors. The companies say it is the world's first application of photocatalytic compounds to newspaper. These are the same people who just invented a the highest gloss tree-free paper (called the Pleiateres) This new paper can endure high-speed printing by an offset rotary printing press, holds ink well, and can be used for flyers, posters and calendars.

Titanium oxide reacts as a photocatalyst under sunlight or fluorescent light, so it can decompose organic chemicals in the air such as formaldehyde, which can cause sick house syndrome. Titanium oxide is drawing attention as an effective photocatalyst due to its chemical stability and atmospheric neutrality.
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Second helpings for Konarka (the solar plastic guys) [Feb. 18th, 2006|10:43 am]
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tent
OK, in the non-Solar-Grade-Silicon solar world, Konarka is a hottie. Not only do they make the PV for solar tents, ski jackets and other non-traditional solar applications, but they are smart. They managed to take over Siemens' organic photovoltaic research activities, as well as its renowned scientific team. They've really carved a niche for themselves with their funky solar ribbons,
ribbon
and now it seems, for the second time in but a few years, they have made nice friends in the investment community. With the help of 3i, a world leading venture capital and private equity firm, and existing investors, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, New Enterprise Associates, Good Energies, Vanguard Ventures, Partech International and Chevron Technology Ventures, they just raised $20 Million dollars. I mean it's not a huge shock, they have unique technologies, are way forward moving, and of course have already gone through about $40M, so hey, they're on a roll.....
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Green Power Labs, something fresh from the East [Feb. 17th, 2006|08:12 pm]
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halifax
[info]somerled, the poet warrior of the Educational IT world sent me a link to something I find truley inspiring. It's a company out east called Green Power Labs. Boy is it great... ok, to begin with, they are a solar company. They have created some softwares that will tell you if your place is in any way a good place to set up PV power. But then they also sell turnkey solar solutions to run your whole home on PV and batteries and/or grid intertie. Sounds fairly run-of-the-mill (aside from the software) so far, but get this, they have a brilliant entry level rout for the average homeowner that I haven't seen yet before, and on top of it, they have financing for solar, which in my opinion is the one thing that has been SORELY needed in the green world. And now finally happening!!
Read more... )
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Rich Diver for President! [Feb. 16th, 2006|01:15 pm]
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Sandia Does it Again: Solar/Stirling/Hydrogen manufacturing
Rich&Parabola
It seems like these days I have a Sandia story a week! And they do kinda deserve it, looking at all the milestones pass, regularly.... And today it has been announced that Sandia researcher Rich Diver (6218) has invented a whole new way to make hydrogen to power automobiles and homes!! Way To Go!!

His invention, the Counter Rotating Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5, for short), splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, using a simple, two-step thermochemical process (it acutaly sounds a lot like a stirling engine version of that Rothman Technique i gushed over last year) It's a stack of rings made of a reactive ferrite iron oxide materials. Every other ring rotates in opposite directions. Concentrated solar heat is reflected through a small hole onto one side of the stack of rings. The side of the rings in the sunlit area is hot, while the other side is relatively cold. As the rotating rings pass each other in between these regions, the hot rings heat up the cooler rings, and the colder rings cool down the hot rings. This arrangement results in a conservation of heat entering the system, limiting the energy input required from the sunlight. Steam runs by the rings on the cooler side causing a chemical reaction to take place, allowing the ferrite material to grab oxygen out of the water, leaving the hydrogen. The hydrogen is then pumped out and compressed for use. Rich Diver says: “We are combining a mechanical engine with a chemical producing device — something not done before to produce hydrogen.” This is still in early stages.. They talk about high yields of hydrogen but the testing has just begun... Expect to only see this come online over the next couple of years, still a major step has been taken!!


[source:the always amazing FuelCellWorks]
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geektoys and nanoporn [Jan. 26th, 2006|10:01 am]
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WARNING: Severe Geek Alert:
SLIDERS

OK So all you nanosolar fetishist who can't make it to Silicon Valley this week for the annual "Photonics West 2006 conference and trade show" do not be alarmed. If you, like me, have a penchant for being an Expo Brat, collecting any and everything that isn't nailed down (info not schwag, please). The good folks over at Photonics.com have created a virtual expo for us!! So without further ado, may I present the Photonics West New Product Showcase!

Yes! Here is the latest on a wide variety of tools needed for nanosolar (and other) aplication, including (but not limited to) Collimated Holes, The new Intellium H1000 instantaneous phase-shifting Fizeau interferometer, High-Power Diode Laser Modules, the X4 light analyzer, a 2-DInGaAs focal plane (FPA) camera with sensitivity up to 1.7 µm, High-Resolution Echelle Spectrograph, SQL Series Piezo Motors, Infrared Wave Plates, Optical Power Meters. Every product has direct links to the company websites as well as a brief explanation by the photonics team. Hours of fun!! Enjoy!
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BIPV in Belarus [Jan. 26th, 2006|09:37 am]
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hometown cheer!

I guess i really just like this report on BIPV (Building Intergrated PhotoVoltaics) because it shows me on a very personal level how far we've come. The Article itself may not be that ground-breaking if you happen to know a bit about the biz, not bad actually, about how Solar Integrated Technologies Inc. had completed 39 BIPV installations in 2005 (including Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Honeywell, and Wal-Mart). But not much meat on it... the reason I am into this article as you may have surmised by the picture up there, is yes, this is from Construction & Maintenance News from my great grandparents region of Minsk in Belarus. Belarus isn't exactly silicon-ukraine so not only am I pleased in a sorta this-one-is-for-you-grandpa! kind of way, but also because it shows just how deep a groove we are carving here.... This is not going to go away!
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There's some satisfaction in the San Francisco rain..... [Jan. 26th, 2006|09:15 am]
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the tide has turned in the city by the bay
SFBay
....Back about a decade ago, when I was a wee film editor/activist, I had the opportuinity to do a project in San Francisco. While I spent most of my time working in the SoMa district, I had a place on Lower Hiaght street and often found myself on the roof (don't ask why). While up there I would always scan the roofscapes looking for the odd solar panel or, more likeley, solar water heater. I would imagine seeing solar on every roof, and it often confused me how this place didn't embrace green energy more... Well that's obviously a decade ago... and now with the new california rebates you have to be some sort of Oilmen's Rghts Activist to not want solar panels on your roof. And the proof (or one more piece of proof) is in the SFGate this week. Writer Gregory Dicum expresses the views of a non-environmentalist yet level-headed somewhat-lazy journalist. By the end of the article he's on the waiting list to get his house done too, saying "Solar has been the right thing to do for a long time, but the California Solar Initiative is making it into the smart thing too. Now my only problem is that everyone else is realizing this."

--we should all have problems like this...
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teeny tiny motors, the Bruins and some Bologna..... [Jan. 25th, 2006|01:55 pm]
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Yet more nanosolar advancements
(you might say "one TINY step for man...")

snanon
Chemists at Italy's University of Bologna, UCLA and the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) have designed and constructed a molecular motor of nanometer size that does not consume fuels; their nano motor is powered only by sunlight. A nano motor can work continuously without any external interference, and operates without consuming or generating chemical fuels or waste.

“We design and make sunlight-powered nano motors and then ‘test drive’ them much as an engineer would a new motor car,” Fraser Stoddart (UCLA's Fred Kavli Professor of NanoSystems Sciences and CNSI Director) said. “It is as if we had managed to get a solar powered motor car onto the road and running.” (i love that image... heh heh)

[to get the full lowdown on the tech, click to read from NanoTech Now]
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get the skinny on SoG-Si from the horses mouth.... [Jan. 24th, 2006|08:41 am]
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book your flight now!!
pic
you wanna RULE in the Soalr-Grade Silicon world? Well then, get out your calendar and mark off these dates, April 9-15, oh and get a plane ticket! The “PV Business Tour China 2006” is currently being organized. The purpose of the tour is to provide participants with an opportunity to assess and explore business opportunities with Chinese companies and in the Chinese market. The programme is fully organised with room for informal meetings and includes stays in 4-star hotels and all travel arrangements. Business owners, entrepreneurs and executives interested in developing partnership networks and to discover collaboration and market opportunities are very welcome to join the trade mission. SolarPlaza is responsible for the organisation. Thanks to the contributions made by different organisations, they have been able to set the all-inclusive fee for the tour at € 3,750. All persons interested in experiencing and exploring China and its solar business opportunities can register. The details of the complete programme of this unique international trade mission and a registration form are available on the SolarPlaza website
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Solar Rocks..... [Jan. 23rd, 2006|10:40 am]
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Sustainable Wave's Solar Powered PA's achieve the most
amount of sound with the least amount of electrical power

party
"I am extremely impressed," says Lollapalooza founder - and longtime alt-energy advocate - Perry Farrell, "not only by the power source, but by the sound system as well. It seems that they have hand-built the cabinets and the entire sound system themselves to run without fail. They lowered the oms down to 60, so that they aren't drawing power too fast, and but let me tell you, it packs a wallop! The party never needs to end"

Of course, Mr. Farrel is talking about the soundsystems of the great Sustainable Waves. SW's Neil & Mark have created amazing concert environments with great sound and the smallest footprint possible (nothing annoys me more than being at a great outdoor party and then stumbling over the megagenerators polluting like mad! Why stumble? Never you mind!)

keep on rockin )
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...another year in review [Jan. 13th, 2006|02:18 pm]
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Now Renewable Energy Access puts out
puresilicon
..their Solar Year in Review, that is. ((BTW that picture, it's the rare solar grade silicon in its natural state...))

Among notable issues that made it to the year end best-of: (and in my randome "..." style, as most of this has already been covered here) The price of silicon goes from $30/Kg to $60/Kg.... Moses Lake and Wacker in Germany..... 30% growth squished down to 5% (because no SoG-si...)
[go read it for yourself!]
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next week @ the C.E.S. (part 2) [Jan. 4th, 2006|08:34 am]
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Ok it's still for a car, which imnsho is not nearly as cool as a bike, but i still can't resist: Solar-powered LEDs are cool, no matter what they're stuck on.
ACLED
Another group of excited booth bunnies will be busy at the CES hawking this cute little gizmo. Ok, so it's not going to reduce emissions, but it will probably lead to a few less car accidents (so there will be a reduction in car-footprint because of reductions in spare parts, dents, smashed cars....). So at CES lookout for AutoCare's TurnSmart Mirror-mods made to fit every car-mirror, they do two things: 1) have a convex mirror that lets the driver see what were previously the "blind spots" and 2) use LEDs to signal lane changes (visible to motorists who have already past the tail of the vehicle...). Why do I like them? Well they have little solar cells on top of the LEDs, that's how they get their juice (daytime anyway). It may not reduce emissions, but it doesn't suck more gas from the tank, and besides, the more people see solar working for them, the more they will want them on their roofs. It won't be alien, it will be something associated with security and safety (which it has always really been, but now the mainstream is getting in on it!!)
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a hybrid i can get behind! [Dec. 27th, 2005|10:17 am]
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finally some class and poise in Atlantic City
tonydonald
According to Renewable Energy Access the hottest new hybrid is a wind/solar system being installed in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The project is located at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) wastewater treatment facility on the coast in Atlantic City, New Jersey (have you noticed a trend here? I have. Its seems like people can't get enough green energy when it comes to lighting up their wastewater treatment plants. Why is this??). Community Energy (CEI) of Pennsylvania was in charge of the wind component while the multi-array solar component was a joint venture between WorldWater & Power Corp. and New Jersey-based Alternity Power, a new division of construction contractor, the Conti Group.

The 504 kW solar electric system uses Sharp solar modules and a variety of Xantrex inverters spread out over five different arrays including two rooftop arrays, a large solar carport structure, and two ground-mounted systems. Lat week they had a dedication ceremony to represent the completion of phase one, the solar carport, featuring 936 separate modules. They also announced at the cerermony that they will be installing several GE Ecomagination wind turbines!

While the whole system will produce around 1/2 MW of electricity, they say that that's about 3-5% of what the treatment facility uses on a daily basis. Still it's impressive. Why? Because the planners knew that they could get more from hybridizing the systems then they could from any one technology! And this is a big step (sure we know that they will get more bang for their buck if they got some poo-digestors and also invested in some living machine technologies to reduce their electricity needs, but hey, first things first...) so kudos to the entire Garden State team!
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a first(!) a comercial solar/landfill/hyrdogen plant [Dec. 14th, 2005|10:35 pm]
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Fast Times in Dog River
BButt
As you know-- whenever I get some PR saying something is a first, it just gets me obsessively searching to see if there were any firsts before that first. But tonight I am pleased to tell you that this first is really a first. And Canadian! (BTW, that guy, its a Canadian thing, you wouldn't understand...)

So, it appears that Saskatchewan's Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation has completed their pilot phase and is now ready to beguin building the world's first solar-hydrogen production station. This project, 'SHEC Station #1', when completed will have the capacity of producing 1.2 million kg of renewable hydrogen per year! All from methane that would have otherwise waft up from the bowels of the landfill, only to add greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. Instead, the solar power will be used to break those C's away from the H's and then use the 1.2 Million Kilos of Hydrogen to do fun stuff, like run fuel cells (ok not the really-BMW-style-fun stuff like hydrogen internal combustion, but hey, it's Saskatchewan... this is pretty advanced for that place!).

Wow, a real first!

[thanks to open source energy dot com]
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Buld It Solar: I love these guys!! [Nov. 14th, 2005|07:19 am]
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game
Build It Solar. These guys rock! a non-profit site with more info than you can assimilate in several sittings! the site is full of case studies and tools like solar calculators... these folks know their stuff, and have scoured the web to bring us some highly selected information. Amazing tools for anyone from the DIYer to the environmental consultant.

My two favorite sections are the experimental solar section (duh) which has an amazing array of experiments... including the (pre-Sunball) heliostat, solar bubbles(!), and even horizontal "pond" water heaters... very cool.

One of the other favorite things from this site is the top 10 energy projects with a 1-year payback. Next time someone tells you that green technologies are just too expensive, here's some heavy heavy info to cram down their throats (in a nice friendly way, of course). Not only that but these are also ways that pretty much everyone can have some nice savings.....
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the move! ..based on the novel Sunshine2Dollaz [Nov. 14th, 2005|06:59 am]
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Smartest $19.95 you may ever invest
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

This book teaches you:
Where to get free solar panels, where to get free glass (enough to greenhouse every roof on your block, bourrough, city..), how2 build your DIY free solar ovens, how2 make: free fresnel lenses, free solar hot water, passive solar water desalination(!), the 25 cent solar window heaters, home cooling, ice making, and many many more...

step-by-step and doable --most are at the level of "a 6 year old can do it in 30 minutes."

so what are you waiting for?? go buy the book!!
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...time to snoop on (then keep up with) the Jonses [Sep. 29th, 2005|11:44 am]
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10th Annual Solar Home tour, this Saturday Oct 1. Time to meet your future
happysun
This weekend the American Solar Energy Association is hosting National
Solar Home Tour Day!
Tours are normally held from September
through November but this weekend, National Solar Tour day,
is the first Saturday of every October (which is National Energy Awareness
Month). At last count, tours are scheduled in 43 states
plus the District of Columbia. click here for a your state and get crackin.
This is your chance to go there,kick their tires, ask all of those
"how does this thing work??"
anim
not to mention look at their energy bills (here often time they actually get paid by the electric company). Depending on where you live you may see some strange things hippy
(like hippies and weird looking homes) ...or you may find yourself in a picturesque Stepford Neighborhood, steppy
...just with clean energy...
Aw, who's kidding who? I like the freaky stuff, you know that! freaky
Here's to a great tour! Enjoy the show, and hopefully you
will see something you like amongst the
great variety of green buildings that now exist. lastfunnyone
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Sweet Home Sweet Home [Sep. 12th, 2005|07:19 pm]
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zokazola
you know you got a great thing going on when it flashes all the way from UberGizmo, to MetaEfficient to TreeHugger in the space of a few hours (and if I have to write any more TwoWord OneWord WeirdCapitalizations....)

See, these guys Zoka Zola Studios, are planning on building this gem in Chicago (3 miles from the loop) this year. It's got; green roofs, solar (PV and passive solar), and geothermal for heating and cooling... I WANT TO LIVE THERE!!!!! Of course it's in Chicago, The green roof capital of America. What a great design! What style ...I can't wait to see the media hoopla when this beaut gets christened!!
Read more... )
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Commander Tuttle speaks out from the Day Star! [Sep. 8th, 2005|07:11 am]
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about a week ago i wrote something about how there is almost no SoG-Si (solar grade silicon) available and it's causing quite a few problems in the PV Solar industry

...well one of the shinning "stars" out there is DayStar Technologies they make silicon free solar panels. Some of their products are simply amazing and a nice new change from PV Panels which haven't changed much since the 70's. So I was pleased as punch to read a letter DayStar CEO, John Tuttle (no, not Buttle) wrote this week to his investors (and you aren't one yet... after you read this you may well be)

Fully acknowledging the SoG-Si dearth, he point to how this is amazing for his company and products. He mentions a deal with the German solar park builder Blitzstrom GmbH for 30MW of panels, a Chinese company who is picking up 500Kw (that's +5000 panels), and they're ramping up their production facilities as well... planning on producing 100MW/yr in their "Gen-III plant" (?)

Great news all around! Something to be happy about.... and we have this guy, John Tuttle to thank (no not the political looking guy in red tie, the happy guy), Thank you commander Tuttle of the DayStar!

kingTuttle
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Manchester England England... across the Atlantic sea... [Aug. 9th, 2005|03:50 pm]
[Tags|, , , , ]
[Current Mood | ecstatic]

... and this is genius genius!!
Image hosted by TinyPic.com
Co-Operative Financial Services (and when they say co-operative they mean co-operative!) has not only just covered their CIS Building in Manchester with the largest vertical display of PV cells in the UK. They've gone WAY WAY better! They put 24 microturbine wind generators on the roof. This is the biggest urban wind farm yet. The company kicks ass! Gary Thomas, who's head of property and facilities at CFS says in this BBC Article, that he is so stoked by the progress that he's going to kick the plan down on another 200 of their buildings! oh and guess what? He says they are going to ammortize in three years! ok. no more excuses for ANYONE!
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Sanyo's think Gaia! [Jul. 30th, 2005|05:57 pm]
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hats off to Mrs. Tomoyo Nonaka, Sanyo's new CEO
sanyoCEO
a few weeks ago it seems, she shook up the tables, at the Japanese electronics giant, unveiling a completely new green direction. The entire plan is called "think GAIA" and according to it's vision, Sanyo will reshape itself to be a company that "pleases life and the Earth." Pretty lofty and we wish them all the success in the world!

thinkGAIA is comprised of four separate aspects, as described by Sanyo;
1. SANYO Blue Planet : Tackle global environmental problems
2. SANYO Genesis III : Pioneer the expansion of a sustainable and clean energy society
3. SANYO Harmonious Society : Create a compassionate and prosperous society. And;
4. SANYO Product Circulation: Realize zero emission, 100% recycling and a
detoxified product life cycle

obviously a big part of genesisIII (what happened to GenesisII?) is going to be their solar pV division.. but I am very curious to see what else they have up their sleeve... this is exciting... especially after what Jeff Immelt is doing with GE's transformation into "ecoMagination".. very exciting indeed
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