How Smart Buildings Can Use New Energy

Smart building technology helps reduce energy costs

Phillip Tracy, July 25, 2016 (RCR Wireless News)

“…[Today’s smart buildings] are alive, equipped with technology that allows for automated processes of things…Many older buildings have the capability to become smart buildings, but owners and executives often overlook the perks of automation…[By using the “internet of things” to get more efficiencies, smart buildings] can lead to significant financial gain for property owners, and increase production of those working within these structures…Smart building systems also can improve building operations, sustainability and decision making…[Money-saving processes include: Matching occupancy patterns to energy use…Proactive maintenance of equipment…[and taking signals from the electricity market and altering usage to gets] the lowest possible energy costs and often generates revenue…” click here for more

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U.S. Ocean Wind Industry About To Be Born

First offshore wind farm in U.S. to begin final construction phase

July 25, 2016 (Environment America)

“…[In the next few days, Deepwater Wind will begin installing the turbine towers and blades for the first U.S. offshore wind project, three] miles southeast of Block Island, R.I., and east of Long Island, N.Y…With the potential to supply all of Block Island with clean power, the 30 MW wind farm could jumpstart the nation’s efforts to finally capture the immense pollution-free resource off our coasts…Located in a renewable energy zone designated by Rhode Island state officials several years ago, the Block Island project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions over the next 20 years in amounts equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road, create more than 300 jobs, and save local residents up to 40 percent on their energy bills…Other projects off the Atlantic Coast could provide similar benefits. A 2014 report showed that the 1.5 million acres designated for wind energy off the Atlantic Coast could support enough electricity to power over 5 million homes, offsetting dirty fossil fuel energy sources and creating local jobs…” click here for more

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Idaho Farmers Sow Solar, Reap Rewards

A new crop is now growing in Idaho: Solar energy

Cynthia Sewell, July 25, 2016 (Idaho Statesman)

“…[Every morning on a 360-acre stretch of land south of Boise, 174,800 polysilicon photovoltaic solar panels begin to move on a single-axis tracking system with the] first shafts of sunlight…Throughout the day, the solar panels quietly rotate from east to west, following the sun and absorbing its energy to create 40 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 29,000 homes…[The Idaho Solar 1 project] is putting a new crop on former Treasure Valley farmland: solar energy…[The first commercial solar farm to be built in Idaho] will deliver electricity to Idaho Power for at least the next 20 years…Construction began in December and was completed in April. The project will go online in August…[Idaho Power has contracts with eight solar projects] with a combined total capacity of 240 megawatts…[It is also planning a community solar pilot program to allow customers without solar-suitable roofs access to solar]…’ click here for more

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The Solar Numbers

How Popular Is Home Solar Energy? Number of systems and megawatts

Cassandra Sweet and Jess Kuronen, July 29, 2016 (Wall Street Journal)

“…[The U.S. installed 1,665 MW of solar PV in Q1 2016 to reach 29.3 GW of total installed capacity, enough to power 5.7 million American homes. With more than 1 million individual solar installations nationwide, the industry is on pace to nearly double in size in 2016. The residential solar market remained strong, with a fourth consecutive quarter with more than 500 MW of capacity brought online] …Falling equipment prices and competition among installers have driven the average price of a home solar system down 10.6% over the past year to $3.21 per watt, or $16,050 for a five-kilowatt solar array…[GTM Research forecasts that 14.5 GW of new PV installations will come on-line in 2016, up 94% over 2015. Utility PV is expected to drive the majority of demand, accounting for nearly three-fourths of new capacity]…” click here for more

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Target Targets Wind

Target powers up with wind energy in 60 Texan stores; Partnership with Starwood Energy Group will see discount retailer use 100 per cent wind power in 60 of its stores

Jocelyn Timperley, 22 July 2016 (BusinessGreen)

“Discount retail giant Target has struck a new partnership with renewables investment firm Starwood Energy Group to use 100 per cent wind power in 60 of its Texas stores…[Target will] invest in the 211MW Stephens Ranch Wind Project owned by Starwood Energy, a 118-turbine wind farm near the city of Lubbock in Texas, in order to offset the energy use of the 60 stores…The deal will result in Target saving around 550,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, the firm said, roughly equivalent to the amount 115,000 passenger vehicles produce in a year. It will also save Target 153 million watts per hour in annual energy costs…[T]he model could be rolled out at more sites across the US…In October 2015 [Target] unveiled eight new climate pledge commitments for 2020, including adding solar rooftop panels to 500 of its stores and reducing both energy intensity and water use in its shops by 10 per cent per square foot…” click here for more

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Wave Energy Gets Lloyd’s Approval For First Time

Lloyds grants first wave energy technology qualification

14 July 2016 (Offshore Engineer)

“Following more than two years of cooperation, Lloyd's Register has awarded its first Technology Qualification certificate to a developer of ocean energy technology, AW-Energy in Finland…Wave energy is [a predictable and significant] untapped resource of clean renewable energy globally, with a potential greater than the capacity of all the installed fossil fuel plants in Europe combined…AW-Energy has been developing WaveRoller technology for over 15 years and the engineering team since early 2014 has cooperated with Lloyd's Register on the Technology Qualification process for certification…[This qualification for bankability] paves the way to commercialization for the wave energy industry…” click here for more

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The Time For New Energy Is Now

A New Climate Change Documentary Focuses On Solutions, Not Doom But Instills A Healthy Amount Of Fear, Too

Grennan Milliken, July 18, 2016 (Popular Science)

“Despite the shrillness of climate deniers in today’s political and media circuses, it’s fair to say that most regular citizens--and nearly all of the global scientific community--know that our planet’s climate is changing, and that those changes are already causing damage to our environments, cities, and economies and will continue to do so on a grander scale…[Time to Choose, from award winning filmmaker Charles Ferguson] is the latest documentary to attempt to tackle the subject and succeeds in many ways where other climate change documentaries [have failed. By effectively and truthfully explaining just how feasible and realistic the New Energy solutions to climate change are, it’s] a more welcome and informative watch than most documentaries with an environmental cause…[The film also breaks down the need for New Energy solutions] in the clearest, most coherent way possible for anyone to comprehend…” click here for more

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Wind Floats A Deepwater Future

Are floating turbines the future of wind energy?

Jennifer Johnson, July 17, 2016 (Energy Digital)

“Wind turbine technology has come a long way in the quarter of a century since the world’s first offshore wind farm, Denmark’s Vindeby, was installed [with .45MW, 52.5m turbines]…Traditional ‘fixed’ turbines are limited to water depths of around 40 to 50m, mostly relegating offshore wind farms to the shallow waters of the continental shelf…[Deploying turbines beyond 100m] could allow them to harvest energy from some of the strongest winds on the planet…There are currently dozens of [‘floating’ turbine] pilot projects…which consist of [wind turbines mounted on buoyant structures and here are five proposals that could revolutionize] wind energy…1. Trident Winds’ Morro Bay Offshore Project…2. New England’s Aqua Ventus [off Maine]…3. Floatgen [off France’s Le Croisic coast]…4. [Principle Power’s] WindFloat [off Portugal’s Aguçadoura coast, and…5. [Statoil’s] Hywind [off Scotland’s coast]…” click here for more

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Solar Keeps Getting More Affordable

You’ll Never Believe How Cheap New Solar Power Is

Joe Romm, July 18, 2016 (Climate Progress)

“Solar energy has grown 100-fold in [the U.S.] in the past decade. Globally, solar has doubled seven times since 2000, and Dubai received a bid recently for 800 megawatts of solar at a stunning $0.0299/kWh unsubsidized as compared to the $0.12/kWh average U.S. residential electricity price]…Solar energy has been advancing considerably faster than anyone expected just a few years ago thanks to aggressive market-based deployment efforts around the globe…[Costs have come down by a factor of 150 since 1975 and installed capacity has increased 115,000 times over and] for every doubling in scale of the solar industry, the price of solar modules has dropped roughly 26 percent…[It is projected that, by 2040, global investment in solar will reach $3.4 trillion, more than the projected $2.1 trillion investment in fossil fuels and $1.1 trillion in new nuclear] combined…[That will make wind and solar] the cheapest ways of producing electricity in many countries during the 2020s and in most of the world in the 2030s…” click here for more

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Cleveland Convention Reveals Republican Climate Cleavage

Gone Fishin' – Most Republicans who care about climate change are skipping the convention

Ben Adler, July 18, 2016 (Grist)

“Most congressional Republicans with even a hint of moderation on climate change are distancing themselves from Donald Trump and won’t be present for his nomination in Cleveland this week…Four of the five Republican senators with a record of supporting climate action [- Mark Kirk of Illinois, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and John McCain of Arizona - ] are skipping this year’s Republican National Convention…[Susan Collins of Maine, who] has the strongest pro-environment record among Senate Republicans, and was the third GOP vote in support of the Clean Power Plan…[is planning to attend but] isn’t endorsing…House Republicans who accept climate science are anti-Trump too…Trump and his running mate Mike Pence are climate science deniers — both have called climate change “a hoax” — and opponents of environmental protection…Both come across as ignorant and backward to educated voters, minorities, and young people.” click here for more

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LA To Build World’s Biggest Battery Storage In Place Of NatGas Plant

World’s Largest Storage Battery Will Power Los Angeles; More than 18,000 lithium ion battery packs would replace a gas-fired power plant used to meet peak demand

John Fialka, July 7, 2016 (ClimateWire via Scientific American)

“…[On midsummer late afternoons, engineers turn on what they call “peaker” natural gas-burning power plants to meet spiking demand as people arrive home from work and turn on air conditioners, televisions, and other appliances. In 2021, the “peaker” will be replaced in Los Angeles] by the world’s largest storage battery, capable of holding and delivering over 100 megawatts of power an hour for four hours. The customary afternoon peak will still be there, but the battery will be able to handle it without the need for more fossil fuels. It will have spent the morning charging up with cheap solar power that might have otherwise been wasted…[The battery will be ready for the next day’s morning demand peak by charging overnight with] cheap power, most of it from wind turbines…California’s Public Utilities Commission [mandated storage and the local utility, Southern California Edison Co., invested in it]…” click here for more

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Texas Meets Community Solar

Average homeowner will now be able to use solar energy to power homes

Michael Hernandez, July 12, 2016 (Fox – San Antonio)

“When we think about electricity we think about these big transformers and power lines…But now for the first time there's a way that the average homeowner will be able to use solar energy to power their homes…[The cost of having rooftop solar turned many off. The CPS Energy 1.2 MW Community Solar Array’s 11,000 panels] changes the game…[Homeowners and renters will be able to buy panels in the array that send power to the utility and that energy will be translated into credits on the panel owners’ utility bills. The price will be] around 200 dollars per panel...[and return] about 25 dollars a year in credits…[It will take about eight years to hit the break-even point on the cost. By year nine that panel is paid off [and the panel owner gets a reduced utility bill for the 12 to 17 years left in the panel’s service. A panel owner who moves can sell or take the service to the new address]…” click here for more

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Dems Call For WWII-Type Action On Climate In Platform

Democratic Party Platform Embraces Need For WWII-Scale Mobilization To Save Civilization From Climate Emergency

July 11, 2016 (The Climate Mobilization)

“In a shock decision [spurred by the Bernie Sanders wing of the party], the Democratic National Convention platform committee voted overwhelmingly Saturday night to include language in the party’s platform championing [the launch of a ‘green industrial revolution’ and creating] a ‘World War II-type national mobilization to save civilization’ from ‘the global climate emergency’…[and] for a comprehensive re-assessment of America’s climate strategy in the first 100 days of the next administration…Russell Greene, a leading climate activist for the Progressive Democrats of America and People Demanding Action, sponsored the amendment…[He said ‘the most progressive platform in Democratic history’ must also match the moment]…” click here for more

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Trump Would Be The Only Climate Change Denying World Leader – study

If elected, Trump’s position would undermine U.S. global leadership & alliances

July 12, 2016 (Sierra Club)

“Donald Trump would be the only world leader to deny the science and dangers of climate change if elected President…[and possibly] the only world leader not calling for urgent climate action…The existence of a global consensus on climate among world leaders was discovered through comprehensive research conducted to identify directly attributable, verifiable statements, quotes and actions from current world leaders -- Heads of State and Heads of Government -- acknowledging climate science and the need for climate action…The 195 nations included in the report represents the full, official list of nations recognized by the U.S. State Department…Donald Trump has famously described climate change as a ‘hoax,’ ‘mythical,’ ‘nonexistent’ a ‘con job,’ and ‘bullshit.’ He even said that ‘The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.’…From America’s closest allies like Canada, Israel and Japan, to the largest carbon emitters like India, China and Brazil, to countries as varied as Somalia, Mexico and Malaysia, today’s study demonstrates leaders of all nations accept the scientific consensus that man is fueling climate change by burning fossil fuels.” click here for more

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Fracking Spills Rise In The Gulf

Hundreds of Offshore Fracking Wells Dump Billions of Gallons of Oil Waste Into Gulf

Andy Rowell, July 11, 2016 (Oil Change International via EcoWatch)

“…The Center for Biological Diversity has released federal documents that reveal that officials approved more than 1,200 offshore fracks in 630 different wells in the four years from 2010 to 2014 in the Gulf of Mexico…[They reveal that fracking occurred off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with no public involvement and with no site-specific tests undertaken beforehand…[T]he industry was also allowed to dump a staggering 76 billion gallons of waste fluid into the sea in 2014 alone…[T]here has been growing concern about fracking chemicals contained within fracking wastewater…[A] UK report] identified specific examples of hazardous materials used in fracking…[More receny studies have shown a link between fracking chemicals and decreased sperm count and high levels of 16 endocrine disruptors]…” click here for more

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Hard Choices In The Climate Fight

Another Inconvenient Truth: It’s Hard to Agree How to Fight Climate Change

John Schwartz, July 11, 2016 (NY Times)

“…[The movement to battle climate change, which started with the straightforward mission of getting more people to appreciate the dangers of climate change as a precursor to action, has gone mainstream. But it now has] pronounced schisms, with conflicting opinions on many issues, including nuclear power and natural gas, that are complicating what it means to be an environmentalist…Disasters like that at the Fukushima plant in Japan have undercut confidence in [nuclear] technology, but it remains attractive to the Obama administration and many in the environmental movement…

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“…[Recently,] the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which is used to extract fossil fuels, and growing worries about the greenhouse gas methane, which often leaks when natural gas is produced and transported, have led many scientists and activists to call natural gas a ‘bridge to nowhere’ [and withdraw approval]…Two distinct camps have emerged on the best strategy for dealing with companies like Exxon Mobil…[Large, traditional environmental groups try to work with them] and the scrappy campaigners who stand proudly outside…[want to attack their very existence. There are disagreements on whether these divides are hurting the climate change fight. Al Gore recently pointed out that economics may resolve the debates because plunging costs of New Energy are making it more competitive than fossil fuels and nuclear power]…” click here for more

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Wind And Solar Win In The Matrix

7 Factors Show Why Wind & Solar Are The 1st Choices

Michael Barnard, July 11, 2016 (CleanTechnica)

"Discussions of electrical generation technologies frequently fall into the trap of considering a single factor…[Advocates often highlight a single downside of an energy technology but no single technology] will prevail on all grids in the future…[T]he mix will change over time, and the specific mix will vary for specific geographies…[This multi-factorial assessment as of 2016 for different forms of electrical generation on a simple scale of 1 to 5 is based on economic viability, negative externalities such as climate change-inducing emissions, geographic deployability, flexibility in turning off and on and ramping up and down, rapidity to build, reliability and predictability, and low liabilities.] The least expensive forms of new generation today in strict market terms are wind, solar, and methane generation…The best forms of generation today for negative externalities are wind, solar, tidal, and nuclear…The most reliable and predictable generation…are wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, [methane gas and coal at high costs in externalities]…The best forms of generation in most places in the world from this perspective are wind and solar.” click here for more

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Is Geothermal The Answer?

It’s time for geothermal

Michael Haworth, July 4, 2016 (Vallejo Times-Herald)

“PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will cease supplying electricity to California sometime in 2025…The facility’s beginning of the end likely came last year when Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was found to have falsified inspection documents regarding the seismic safety of the plant. With an upsurge of seismic activity over the past decade increasing the possibility of a nuclear accident, the last thing California — or the world, for that matter — needs is an event similar to Fukushima…Nuclear power has obvious benefits, but the primary drawback was, and still is, what to do with the nuclear waste. Until that problem is solved, nuclear power should be shelved while wind, solar, wave technology and geothermal [should be developed]…Geothermal energy has advantages over wind, solar and wave technology in that it is consistently active 24/7…[Two] percent of the geothermal energy potential in the west could power the nation many times over…” click here for more

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Science Community To Congress: Get Real On Climate

Science Groups: Congress Must Accept Climate Change

July 5, 2016 (Inside Higher Ed)

“…[Thirty-one scientific societies have called on Congress] to accept that climate change is real. The letter comes at a time when many Republicans in Congress, including members of committees with responsibility for science spending and science policy, dispute the scientific consensus that climate change is happening…[Their letter reminded Congress multiple independent lines of evidence and the vast body of peer-reviewed science showed] climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research concludes that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver…” click here for more

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EV Sales Hold Steady

Plug-In Electric Car Sales Report for June: more of the same

John Voelcker, July 5, 2016

“…[June plug-in electric car sales] continued at pretty much the same level as in May…[The Nissan Leaf electric car and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid ran even in 2015 but] the Leaf has now fallen substantially behind…[T]he Volt has averaged 2,000 sales a month while the Leaf has reached only half that…The Volt has now pulled slightly ahead in units sold since December 2010 (when both cars went on sale), and will likely cross 100,000 units sold in the U.S. next month…It's now at 98,558, versus the Leaf's 95,384. Silicon Valley maker Tesla Motors refuses to report monthly sales or break out its quarterly global deliveries by country, so we don't know how many cars it delivered last month in the U.S…[but it delivered 14,370 units from March through June, below its previous target of 17,000, though it claimed that it is now consistently producing 2,000 Model S and Model X electric cars a week…Ford's pair of Energi plug-in hybrids sold at a stronger pace last month than in several months prior…The only other plug-in electric car whose sales have exceeded 1,000 over the first six months is the Chevrolet Spark EV battery-electric minicar…[with] 1,779 vehicles…” click here for more

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Breakthrough Ocean Energy Concept

Hybrid nanogenerator harvests hard-to-reach ocean energy

Lisa Zyga, June 21, 2016 (PhysOrg)

“Energy from the ocean, or ‘blue energy,’ is [adequate to meet all of the world's energy needs but is underexploited because there is not yet any] effective way to harvest it economically and with reasonable efficiency…The main problem is that ocean waves are irregular and pass by at low frequencies, whereas most energy harvesters operate best with waves that have regular amplitudes and high frequencies…[Harvesting Broad Frequency Band Blue Energy by a Triboelectric–Electromagnetic Hybrid Nanogenerator from the Georgia Institute of Technology describes] a device that can harvest ocean waves in a very broad frequency range that encompasses almost all of the ocean wave energy spectrum, including the hard-to-reach low frequencies that are inaccessible to most harvesters…[It consists of an] electromagnetic generator (EMG), which has traditionally been the main approach for harvesting ocean energy [and is] well-suited for harvesting waves at high frequencies and fast rotation speeds [along with a] triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which has only recently been investigated for ocean energy applications [and] works better in the low-frequency range and at slower rotation speeds…” click here for more

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