Saharan solar farms to power Europe?
12 companies forming the Desertec Industrial Initiative have put together a $555 billion (yes, billion with a ‘b’) idea to supply 15% of the total power needed by the entire continent of Europe by installing solar concentration farms in Saharan Africa. The plan also includes seawater desalination plants that are supposed to bring fresh water to the people of Africa. This would be the largest renewable energy project in the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of it, but something just does not seem right with this. Unfortunately solar concentration facilities generally need a ton of water to zap into steam and run turbines, so this would mean that the desalination plants would need to supply the solar concentrators first and then the people of the region second. The other thing that worries me is the fact that this sounds too good to be true, which is generally an indicator that it is. This strikes me as an Enron-esque in size, and a lot of organized crime happens these days under the guise of environmental and humanitarian efforts. This is all just opinion here folks, and I have no evidence at this time to back me up other than that “gut feeling”.
Cheers and good luck to these guys if they are the real deal. See more about this on Inhabitat.
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Solar Heart: Keeping you warm in colder climates
The Solar Heart by Colorado’s Cool Energy Inc is a special generator that creates a lot of electricity in a very creative way. Using a special chambered system that creates energy when Hydrogen is heated and cooled. The system needs the controller (the brain), low heat solar panels on your roof or yard, and the SolarHeart engine in the house. Designed to work best in northern climates like Alaska and Canada, the SolarHeart can generate 80% of the electricity needed by a household, as well as 60% of the heat needed. All of this with ZERO emissions! The SolarHeart could drastically reduce the need for fossil fueled electricity and heat for the homes that need it the most. See more at Inhabitat.
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Solarize Portland
Solarize Portland is a new take on San Francisco’s 1 Block off the Grid project that helps entire neighborhoods band together to buy solar parts, planning, and installing solar panels in bulk. The residents of Mt. Tabor are going to have the opportunity to attend several planning meetings where the Energy Trust of Oregon will give homeowners the opportunity to have their home estimated for a solar panel installation. The obligation free estimate and site survey and planning information will give the opportunity to see if a solar installation is possible for their budget. Though the homeowner has to cover the entire installation out of their own pocket, up to 80% of the money will be refunded using solar rebates from the local and federal government funds. See more at Neighborhood Notes.
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Solar Powered Food for the Masses in India
Shridi, India just completed the worlds largest solar powered cooking system. India has the top 2 largest solar powered cooking systems in the world. The temple where it was installed has large disc solar concentrators that create over 3 tons of steam per day which is used to feed 20,000 people per day. The $280,000 system (US dollars) was mostly paid for by the central Indian government. Source: TreeHugger
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Parking Lots May Become Solar Forests
Solar “Trees” could take over existing parking lots in the future, changing the parking lot environment forever. Now, instead of a flat blacktop surface with rolling heat waves coming off of it, we could have a cool shaded pretty walk to the store from the car. Not only would you and your car be protected from the direct sunlight, but the solar panels on top generate enough electricity to run most of the store as well as the EV (electric vehicle) charging stations that will be all the rage here soon. What do you think? Would it be hideous? Could it be pulled off properly to everyones enjoyment and advantage? Check out more on Inhabitat.
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“The Sage” LEED home in Eugene, OR
US Green Buildings Council founder David Gottfried (the makers of the LEED certification) had his own LEED certified home built in Eugene, OR by Arbor South Architecture called “The Sage“. The LEED platinum home received a record 110 points on the LEED scale. The 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom beauty is situated on a low maintenance drought resistant landscaped property. Active solar water heating and PV solar panels are installed on the roof to provide most of the electricity needed for the home and cleverly planned window placement give natural lighting to the entire home. The $450,000 home is about $60,000 greater than an average home in the area because of all of the environmental features. Check out more on the Tour of Homes.
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75MW Solar Power plant in Cle Elum, WA
Cle Elum, Washington is going to be the new home of 75MW of solar power in an installation of up to 400,000 individual panels. Senator Maria Cantwell who has been spearheading the path for this project is also trying to establish a local manufacturing facility to create those panels instead of shipping them in. Where the solar power plant is a done deal, the manufacturing plant is not for sure yet. Source: Renewable Energy World
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Obama Administration to put Arizona solar power plants on the fast track
The Obama administration has just given the green light on a massive expansion of solar energy development efforts across public lands in the US. California has been approved for building a 500 MW photovoltaic system in the Mojave desert, and now Arizona and is next on the list and may receive up to 407 MW of photovoltaic power plants. 670,000 acres across the US are being evaluated for possible locations for solar power plants to massively expand our current solar footprint and bring us much closer to our renewable energy goals. Check out more.
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Solar Powered Bus Station
Waiting for the bus in California just got a whole lot better. Between now and 2013 San Francisco will be installing over 1,100 solar powered bus stop shelters which will provide an intercom, LED lighting, and a WiFi router for internet access to the citizens. These great looking bus shelters were a project by Lundberg Design. The shelters are also composed of over 75% recycled material (most of that material is also local to the Bay area). Congrats to SanFran for their really inspired idea, I hope the big guys here in Portland city hall are watching. See Inhabitat for more.