China’s Changing Economy
In Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, I have presented a plan to dramatically reduce carbon emissions by increasing energy efficiency and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. In the push to reduce emissions, all eyes are on China, the world’s most populous country and now also the world’s top carbon emitter. Here are some highlights from the Plan B 4.0 datasets on China’s energy economy:
…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Cool Roofs and Earth Tube Air Conditioning in Renew Magazine
Installing earth tubes at Aldo Leopold Center. Photo: from Renew magazine
Dumb Roofs
Renew magazine for Jan – Mar covers a lot of ground in its 106 pages on “technology for a sustainable future.” But for me the stand-out article covers a subject dear to my heart. The dumbest idea in Australian architecture – black or dark grey roofs.*
We get a bucketload of sun in this country. Just recently several of our major coastal cities had consecutive days over 40°C (104°F). What are the best colours to attract the hot sun’s rays? Black and dark grey. It’s madness. We’re building houses to be be ovens and so…Read the full story on TreeHugger
A Party for a Solar Powered New York
Image credit: Solar One
If you are anything like me, you can be supportive of a particular piece of legislation. But that support doesn’t always turn into action. From clean energy legislation to local feed-in tariffs, there is plenty that law makers can do to help us move to a greener, saner, more efficient econo…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Are Solar Feed-In Tariffs a Rip Off?
Image credit: Solarcentury
With the launch of the new UK renewable energy feed-in tariffs, the Government will now be paying every homeowner that installs solar panels and other renewables a guaranteed income in addition to the energy savings they are likely to reap. But some environmentalists are less than happy about it. In fact George Monbiot, who has previously called for a 100% cut in carbon emiss…Read the full story on TreeHugger
PlanetSolar: World’s Largest Solar Boat Finally Unveiled
Photo: The Age
On Thursday, the covers were taken off PlanetSolar, a multi-hulled vessel, powered entirely by up to 500 square metres of photovoltaic solar panels. It is considered to be the world’s largest solar boat.
The 31m long and 15m wide craft is expected to be able capture 103.4 kW of
solar energy to drive its engine which apparently only needs 20kW, to achieve an average speed of eight knots (15kph or 9mph). Although it is hoped it can also attain a top speed of roughly twice that. While it is imp…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Samsung and California’s PG&E Working on 130 MW Solar Photovoltaic Deal
Photo: Flickr, CC
Samsung is making big moves in the world of renewable energy these days. After a $6.6 billion contract with the government of Ontario for wind and solar development last month, the South-Korean mega-conglomerate is now entering a deal (pending regulatory approval) with California’s Pacific Gas and Electric to build a handful of solar PV farms in the state….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Prospecting Tools for Smarter Renewable Energy Development
Image credit: Good
Solar panels and wind turbines represent a huge opportunity for the immediate implementation of clean, renewable, energy. That said, neither solar nor wind can be the ideal solution in all places. Determining when to use which tool, Good writes, is critically important for a successful large-scale renewable energy system….Read the full story on TreeHugger
World’s Biggest Wind Turbine Generates 10 MW And It Floats!
Photo courtesy of Trends Updates (this is not a picture of the actual turbine)
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In an attempt to make offshore wind farms more profitable, Norway plans to build the world’s largest turbine standing 533 feet tall with a rotor diameter o…Read the full story on TreeHugger
France’s Areva Buys 100% Stake in Solar Thermal Startup Ausra
Photo: Ausra
Playing with the Big Boys
The solar thermal startup Ausra, which we’ve written about in the past, has just been bought by the French public mega-conglomerate Areva for an unknown amount. Ausra’s solar technology is particularly desirable because they are storing part of the heat generated by the sun during the day so that they can keep producing electricity even when the sun doesn’t shine….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Breakthrough: IBM Makes a Solar Cell Out of Inexpensive “Earth Abundant” Materials
Photo: IBM
And It’s Pretty Efficient Too!
IBM researchers have recently published a paper in the journal Advanced Materials about a very promising breakthrough in solar technology. How is it different from existing solar technologies such as silicon-based solar cells, or CIGS thin film? The main thing is that it’s made from earth abundant materials that can be found in large quantities relatively inexpensively (not quite dirt cheap, but cheaper than what we have now), making it easier to scale up …Read the full story on TreeHugger
