Green Options

In case you missed the news, the $700B bailout included tax credits for renewable energy industries. So what are the greenest bits of the bill and what does it mean for renewable energy companies? Also, where is all that glorious cash coming from?
Renewable Energy Tax Credits:

Solar energy gets an 8-year extension on existing 30% tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations.

Solar installations for residents and utilities are no longer confined to the US$2,000 monetary cap.

A season has passed since we covered the installation of Magco Inc.’s new thin film solar panel installation. The previous article generated a lot of interest and questions, so it’s time to get back on the roof and report on some real-world figures.
If you need a refresher on thin film solar technology, check out two of our previous posts. The important thing to remember here is that thin film solar is lighter than silicon panels, and uses different wavelengths of light.

In May of 2008, Magco Inc. installed 27kW of Unisolar’s triple-junction laminate panels. That’s 4,900 sq ft of thin film goodness. The building contains a warehouse and offices, and it has a metal roof. The solar panels were literally glued to the roof.

Total installation cost: US$215,000 (including inverter and hiring a master electrician)

Energy produced each month provides about 1/3 of Magco’s total needs. That may not seem like a lot, but recall that this includes a warehouse with associated heating/cooling, machinery and equipment. Magco anticipates producing about US$9,000 each year from the panels. So let’s do the math:

On September 7 a robotic Prius took a cruise around San Francisco. The “Pribot” maneuvered through city and highway traffic along a 40 mile course. The only mash-up? A scrape at the Bay Bridge exit. I welcome our new vehicular overlords.
In all seriousness, if this technology were to become affordable, would you buy in? How much trust are you willing to invest in a robot, no matter how stylish? Lesser versions of this kind of technology already exist in luxury Nissan, Volvo and Lexus models. They alert a driver if the vehicle begins to drift out of its lane or even automatically make corrections. So why not take the leap and let your car tackle the morning commute? Who really wants to go through rush hour? Turns out, not the inventor.

Every time I buy a new gadget it’s like welcoming a new pet into the family. You go to the store, select the perfect little tyke, and rush home to introduce it to your existing collection. The best part? No jealousy among your older electronics: they’re made to play together.
But electronics rarely last as long as a real pet. As faithfully as it might serve you, within a few years it’s time to put that gadget out to pasture. This is your guide to the greenest pastures around.

Renewable energy is expanding quickly these days. But it’s still a fact that these technologies rely on petroleum and petroleum products for transportation and production. Now that is starting to change. A solar panel producer called BioSolar has replaced a vital component of their silicon panels with a cheaper petroleum-free alternative.
Silicon panels require a protective backsheet to keep out moisture and protect the panel. Usually this backsheet is made from plastic, and practically all traditional plastics are petroleum-based. BioSolar’s backsheet is made from cotton rags and castor beans. They turn the cotton rags into a film of cellulose and blend in nylon made from the beans. The resulting cover lasts just as long or longer than the plastic blacksheet, and they keep out the moisture too. BioSolar also avoids genetically-modified crops.

The best part about it is the cost: up to 50% less than traditional plastic backsheets. As the price of petroleum and petroleum-products rise, this alternative starts to look more

This is Part Two on a debate by The Economist. The official debate concluded earlier this week, but you can still vote and leave comments or critique. The question was:
“Can we solve our energy problems with existing technologies today, without the need for breakthrough innovations?”
Though we often envision debates as pitting two opponents against each other, hopefully in an intense battle of wit and wordsmithing, this one was not so. Both sides found themselves agreeing with each other more often than not, and parried with points on implementation.

The “Economist” debate involves journalists, industry gurus, investors, bureaucrats, and of course economists who have all long been involved in renewable energy. The question:
“Can we solve our energy problems with existing technologies today, without the need for breakthrough innovations?”
This is the defining question of our time.
New innovations, improvements, or breakthroughs are happening all the time in clean tech, especially among renewable energy technologies. Yet technological limitations still plague the various industries. These hurdles include energy storage, energy efficiency, transmission infrastructure and technology, hydrogen power, CO2 capture and sequestration, and producing bio-fuels at an industrial scale. Economics is also a potent issue that both hampers and launches these technologies, hence the host of this debate.

Wind turbines are a fast, efficient way to produce renewable energy. They’re good for the environment, the power grid, and local communities. But some residents who live closest to the turbines complain about the noise, and limited data suggests it might be more than a nuisance.
Wind turbines have grown quieter with improvements in technology, but the fact remains that they generate noise. At night in particular, the atmospheric conditions change so that turbines are more likely to generate audible sound. Beyond causing annoyance, some residents have started to complain about health effects. They claim to suffer from exposure to “infra-sound”.

This sound is so low that the human ear can’t detect it, but that’s doesn’t mean it can’t impact the human body. After all, we can’t see UVA or UVB light rays, but you feel them in a sunburn. The question is how and to what extent? Is it serious enough to be a concern?

This is where research into the topic becomes tricky. It’s one thing to find a report or article online that discusses the topic; it’s another to find reputable research that  provides (unbiased? conclusive?) evidence. It’s an emotional subject, so reliable information is hard to find. Some sources made nasty accusations against an opponent (government, industry, organization, etc.) without any evidence at all. The conclusions I was able to draw are pretty straightforward, and they fit nicely into two points.

I came across these critters on Inhabitat and couldn’t resist. You can power homes, towns, and ships, and maybe planes with wind, but what about an organism?
Artist-engineer Theo Jansen has set out to design new life on the beaches of the Netherlands. Through his work, he hopes to uncover some of the lessons that nature learned on the path to complex organisms.

Though I wouldn’t go so far as to categorize these sculptures as “artificial life“, they are certainly amazing works of art and biomimicry. Different designs are given specific problems to overcome, like moving across the sand, staying out of the surf, or anchoring down before a storm. The most efficient and successful “generations” pass their secrets onto the next creation, and the least successful are scrapped.

Jansen uses genetic algorithms in his designs, and upgrades each new “generation” by hand. All of his sculptures are wind-powered, and built from lightweight plastic pipes. He uses plastic tubing for the pneumatic systems that “power” the Strandbeests.

There’s a lot of hype out there about new technologies that will “change everything”. Sometimes it’s nice to sit back and “smell the roses”. In that spirit, here are five plants with surprising super powers - they have provided a boost to technological innovation or invention, often with a green lining.
Algae and Biofuel
If you keep track of the news, algae should already be on your radar. Depending on your favorite species, algae can be eaten, burned for heat, or used to produce hydrogen, methane, biodiesel, or plain old fertilizer. Algae is so prolific, and comes in so many varieties, that it’s actually a chore to isolate your preferred species for cultivation out of a water sample from the wild. The best part is that algae soaks up the sun and lots of CO2 to work it’s magic. That’s two forms of renewable energy used to produce fuels or foods (sushi anyone?) in high demand.

An algaculture biodiesel plant is already in operation today, happily churning out 4.4 million gallons of algal oil per year. That may not sound like a lot, but as the first operational algae oil factory, you can bet they’ll make enough money to build bigger. Other companies are also in the game to make algae the biggest thing since oil. As a renewable source of fuel, algae is becoming one of many solutions to our energy problems. Not too shabby for pond scum.