The world has been talking about the proactive measures announced by China in order to reduce its carbon emissions, increase renewable energy use and improve energy efficiency. But its neighbor, India, too is now is in a remarkable transition from an environmental underdog one who projected itself as a weak and helpless sufferer of the natural calamities that the changing climate threatens to bring in the future.

With changing international scenarios the domestic policies of India changed as well. With the change in Washington, many developing countries changed their stance and announced slew of proactive measures which they had fiercely opposed in the past. Even though they all are still opposed to mandatory emission reduction targets they have announced forest conservation plans as well as massive renewable energy projects.

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The project, which could power as many as 180,000 homes, will require 240 2.5-megawatt turbines and the farm will occupy 36,000 acres of land in West Texas. Nearly shovel ready, the construction effort is projected to create about 30 permanent jobs and 300 temporary ones. Ground-breaking on the wind farm is slated for March of 2010.

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“We have always been about innovation, we have always been about discovery. That’s in our DNA. The truth is we also face more complex challenges than generations past,” said Mr. Obama to a packed room of MIT students, faculty and other Massachusetts dignitaries.

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The solar capacity of the National Mall in Washington D.C. has increased exponentially in just a week as teams of college students from 20 international schools hurriedly reassembled their submissions for the fourth ever Solar Decathlon, a competition in which students must create “the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.” The three-week event kicked of yesterday with an opening ceremony that featured a speech from Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who announced an additional $87 million solar-targeted award for solar energy projects. Here’s a look at some of the impressive solar submissions and the opening day events.

“Decathletes,” as the decathlon participants are called, began construction on October 1, 2009, a full week before the start of the competition. Each house was designed to be deconstructed and then reassembled for the event. The components of each house travel from each team’s school and are reconstituted as the solar-powered homes lining “Decathlete Way” on the National Mall.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Finishing Touches

Solar Decathlon teams hail from all over the continental United States as well as Puerto Rico, Germany, Spain, and Canada.

Here, a member of Team Spain puts the finishing touches on the roof its modern-style solar home. An inverted glass pyramid outfitted with photovoltaic panels and solar water heating collectors rests atop the house via a ball-and-socket mechanism. A solar tracking device orients the pyramid structure as the sun changes throughout the day to achieve the highest efficiency.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Energy Efficient House, Water Efficient Plants

The Solar Decathlon is designed to call attention to the enormous energy challenge that the world faces as well as empower young people to create solutions to the world’s energy problems. The competition has six main goals: 1) to educate; 2) to raise public awareness about clean energy, energy efficiency, and solar, in particular; 3) to hasten the entrance of solar technology into the marketplace; 4) to foster student collaboration among varying academic disciplines; 5) to promote an integrated approach to new construction; and 6) to demonstrate the potential for Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy as the consume.

Here, two Cornell University students work on the landscaping outside of “The Silo House,” which was designed to evoke “the character of a post-agrarian meadow.” The team, which boasts 150 members and the school’s third Solar Decathlon submission, is a true testament to “integrated collaboration” combining the creative geniuses of so many to produce a house consisting of three silos that is a net-zero energy user.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A Wall of Solar

In order to be eligible for judging, each house must be exclusively powered by the sun and energy efficient. Each house must also meet the following criteria: a) attractive and livable; b) maintain a comfortable, healthy interior environment c) contain adequate light; d) power household appliance and home electronic e) provide hot water; f) balance energy production and consumption.

Placing the last solar panel on the roof of their house, Team Germany’s two-story cube shaped house features an 11.1 kw solar façade made out of 40 single-crystal silicon roof panels and 250 thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) panels on the rest of the exterior. With such a technology intense design, the house cost somewhere in the range of $650,000-$850,000.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A View with a Purpose

As the name suggests, there ten solar contests in which the teams must compete. The contest categories include: architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, net metering. The Net Metering contest is worth the most points and uses a utility meter to see how much net energy a given house produces or consumes throughout the competition. The most points are allocated to team who produce more energy than they consume.

The window arrangement in Ohio State’s home not only affords a crystal clear view of the Washington Monument, it is passively designed to take advantage of natural ventilation and day light. Dubbed “Ohio-centric,” by its creators, the house is made from native Ohio materials, contains Whirlpool appliances, and reclaimed barn wood.

Image Credit: Annie Coghill on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Education on the Run

The Solar Decathlon is a teaching moment for the participants as well as the public. Throughout the competition the solar homes are open to the public in order to teach visitors about the importance of clean energy, solar technology, and energy efficiency. In addition to the contests, the event sponsors offer both solar energy and energy efficiency workshops for consumers and industry professionals. For homeowners, two daytime education exhibits displays the anatomy of a solar house and explain the types of “smart choices that can deliver us into a clean energy future.”

Here, a jogger takes advantage of an impromptu opportunity to learn about solar power and the Solar Decathlon from a University of Louisiana decathlete standing in front of the team’s home, BeauSoleil, which means “sunshine” in Cajun French.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Perfect Lighting

DOE Secretary of Energy Steven Chu welcomed the decathletes to the capitol city to start off the three-week decathlon. Taking advantage of the opportunity and the receptive crowd, Chu announced the latest round of DOE clean energy award money, this time $87 million to “support the development of new solar energy technologies and the rapid deployment of available carbon-free energy systems. A full $50 million of the award is come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus package, and is targeted towards projects that are working to make solar cost-competitive by 2015. The money will support 47 projects in four categories: Solar America Cities special projects, solar installer training, high-penetration solar deployment, and research projects at DOE National Laboratories.

Here, Chu joins Team California in front of “Refract House,” which also employs a passive solar design that is ideally suited to sun-soaked California. The house is more than just an educational tool, with information panels that pose key questions and system that allows guests to access the answers via their cell-phones, the abode is equipped with enough information technology to function as a teacher, as well.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Let the Games Begin

The solar-powered festivities continue today and through October 18, 2009, when the winner is announced. You can visit the U.S Department of Energy Solar Decathlon home page to learn more about the event, the teams, the contests and to see more solar-inspired photography and multimedia.

Here, all twenty teams collect on Decathlete Way in front of their fully constructed and fully functional solar homes. After two years of hard work, these students have not only created incredible solar projects that are prepared for the intense level of competition, they have also gained skills that will shape the world’s clean energy future.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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The US Treasury gave another $550 million in stimulus funds for renewable energy this week. This brings the total to over $1 billion.

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A new report released today says that if we shift our economy — to a greener, low-carbon economy — we will have more jobs, not fewer.

Earlier this week, Tony Blair (former prime minister of the UK) and the Climate Group reported that if we worked to avoid climate change we’d create 10 million new jobs by 2020 — worldwide. Another recent study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council says that such a shift could increase employment in the EU by 2.7 million jobs by 2030.

One more report, released today by the Global Climate Network (an alliance of nine influential think tanks) comes to similar conclusions.

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Finishing Touches

Solar Decathlon teams hail from all over the continental United States as well as Puerto Rico, Germany, Spain, and Canada.

Here, a member of Team Spain puts the finishing touches on the roof its modern-style solar home. An inverted glass pyramid outfitted with photovoltaic panels and solar water heating collectors rests atop the house via a ball-and-socket mechanism. A solar tracking device orients the pyramid structure as the sun changes throughout the day to achieve the highest efficiency.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Energy Efficient House, Water Efficient Plants

The Solar Decathlon is designed to call attention to the enormous energy challenge that the world faces as well as empower young people to create solutions to the world’s energy problems. The competition has six main goals: 1) to educate; 2) to raise public awareness about clean energy, energy efficiency, and solar, in particular; 3) to hasten the entrance of solar technology into the marketplace; 4) to foster student collaboration among varying academic disciplines; 5) to promote an integrated approach to new construction; and 6) to demonstrate the potential for Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy as the consume.

Here, two Cornell University students work on the landscaping outside of “The Silo House,” which was designed to evoke “the character of a post-agrarian meadow.” The team, which boasts 150 members and the school’s third Solar Decathlon submission, is a true testament to “integrated collaboration” combining the creative geniuses of so many to produce a house consisting of three silos that is a net-zero energy user.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A Wall of Solar

In order to be eligible for judging, each house must be exclusively powered by the sun and energy efficient. Each house must also meet the following criteria: a) attractive and livable; b) maintain a comfortable, healthy interior environment c) contain adequate light; d) power household appliance and home electronic e) provide hot water; f) balance energy production and consumption.

Placing the last solar panel on the roof of their house, Team Germany’s two-story cube shaped house features an 11.1 kw solar façade made out of 40 single-crystal silicon roof panels and 250 thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) panels on the rest of the exterior. With such a technology intense design, the house cost somewhere in the range of $650,000-$850,000.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A View with a Purpose

As the name suggests, there ten solar contests in which the teams must compete. The contest categories include: architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, net metering. The Net Metering contest is worth the most points and uses a utility meter to see how much net energy a given house produces or consumes throughout the competition. The most points are allocated to team who produce more energy than they consume.

The window arrangement in Ohio State’s home not only affords a crystal clear view of the Washington Monument, it is passively designed to take advantage of natural ventilation and day light. Dubbed “Ohio-centric,” by its creators, the house is made from native Ohio materials, contains Whirlpool appliances, and reclaimed barn wood.

Image Credit: Annie Coghill on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Education on the Run

The Solar Decathlon is a teaching moment for the participants as well as the public. Throughout the competition the solar homes are open to the public in order to teach visitors about the importance of clean energy, solar technology, and energy efficiency. In addition to the contests, the event sponsors offer both solar energy and energy efficiency workshops for consumers and industry professionals. For homeowners, two daytime education exhibits displays the anatomy of a solar house and explain the types of “smart choices that can deliver us into a clean energy future.”

Here, a jogger takes advantage of an impromptu opportunity to learn about solar power and the Solar Decathlon from a University of Louisiana decathlete standing in front of the team’s home, BeauSoleil, which means “sunshine” in Cajun French.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Perfect Lighting

DOE Secretary of Energy Steven Chu welcomed the decathletes to the capitol city to start off the three-week decathlon. Taking advantage of the opportunity and the receptive crowd, Chu announced the latest round of DOE clean energy award money, this time $87 million to “support the development of new solar energy technologies and the rapid deployment of available carbon-free energy systems. A full $50 million of the award is come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus package, and is targeted towards projects that are working to make solar cost-competitive by 2015. The money will support 47 projects in four categories: Solar America Cities special projects, solar installer training, high-penetration solar deployment, and research projects at DOE National Laboratories.

Here, Chu joins Team California in front of “Refract House,” which also employs a passive solar design that is ideally suited to sun-soaked California. The house is more than just an educational tool, with information panels that pose key questions and system that allows guests to access the answers via their cell-phones, the abode is equipped with enough information technology to function as a teacher, as well.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Let the Games Begin

The solar-powered festivities continue today and through October 18, 2009, when the winner is announced. You can visit the U.S Department of Energy Solar Decathlon home page to learn more about the event, the teams, the contests and to see more solar-inspired photography and multimedia.

Here, all twenty teams collect on Decathlete Way in front of their fully constructed and fully functional solar homes. After two years of hard work, these students have not only created incredible solar projects that are prepared for the intense level of competition, they have also gained skills that will shape the world’s clean energy future.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

On Tuesday, the announcement that U.S.-based First Solar and the Chinese government will partner to build a 2GW photovoltaic (PV) power plant Ordos New Energy Demonstration Zone in China, sent shockwaves of excitement through the solar and clean energy communities.

The memorandum of understanding, which both companies signed on Tuesday, sets the stage for the construction of the world’s largest PV power plant to be completed by 2019.

According to the New York Times the plant is part of a planned 11,950-megawatt renewable-energy park slated for this region of Mongolia, that “would generate enough electricity to power about three million Chinese homes.”

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Big portions of these funds need to go to India, a large developing country that includes about one sixth of the world’s population. A new study shows what is needed to significantly cut growth in greenhouse gases in this top country.

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According to the title of an article published in The City of Lancaster’s Outlook (Fall 2009) magazine “The Future Looks Bright for Solar Power in Lancaster”.

My small town,  all 475,000 of us, are at the forefront of solar energy! On August 5, 2009, eSolar unveiled the 5 MW (mega watt) demonstration plant known as Sierra SunTower. The solar power plant has 24,000 mirrors and two giant tower house boilers. The boilers create what’s known as “thermal solar” which is said to be more cost-effective than the standard photovoltaic approach used in solar cells. The process creates steam to drive the turbine generators. The project was completed in 14 month time frame and has already begun to distribute power to Southern California Edison.

eSolar’s site says “Sierra SunTower will supply 5 MW of clean, renewable energy to the grid. This full-scale power plant, the only one of its kind in the U.S., produces electricity for Southern California Edison (SCE) and will power up to 4,000 homes.”

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Thank you Green for All!

Finishing Touches

Solar Decathlon teams hail from all over the continental United States as well as Puerto Rico, Germany, Spain, and Canada.

Here, a member of Team Spain puts the finishing touches on the roof its modern-style solar home. An inverted glass pyramid outfitted with photovoltaic panels and solar water heating collectors rests atop the house via a ball-and-socket mechanism. A solar tracking device orients the pyramid structure as the sun changes throughout the day to achieve the highest efficiency.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Energy Efficient House, Water Efficient Plants

The Solar Decathlon is designed to call attention to the enormous energy challenge that the world faces as well as empower young people to create solutions to the world’s energy problems. The competition has six main goals: 1) to educate; 2) to raise public awareness about clean energy, energy efficiency, and solar, in particular; 3) to hasten the entrance of solar technology into the marketplace; 4) to foster student collaboration among varying academic disciplines; 5) to promote an integrated approach to new construction; and 6) to demonstrate the potential for Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy as the consume.

Here, two Cornell University students work on the landscaping outside of “The Silo House,” which was designed to evoke “the character of a post-agrarian meadow.” The team, which boasts 150 members and the school’s third Solar Decathlon submission, is a true testament to “integrated collaboration” combining the creative geniuses of so many to produce a house consisting of three silos that is a net-zero energy user.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A Wall of Solar

In order to be eligible for judging, each house must be exclusively powered by the sun and energy efficient. Each house must also meet the following criteria: a) attractive and livable; b) maintain a comfortable, healthy interior environment c) contain adequate light; d) power household appliance and home electronic e) provide hot water; f) balance energy production and consumption.

Placing the last solar panel on the roof of their house, Team Germany’s two-story cube shaped house features an 11.1 kw solar façade made out of 40 single-crystal silicon roof panels and 250 thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) panels on the rest of the exterior. With such a technology intense design, the house cost somewhere in the range of $650,000-$850,000.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A View with a Purpose

As the name suggests, there ten solar contests in which the teams must compete. The contest categories include: architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, net metering. The Net Metering contest is worth the most points and uses a utility meter to see how much net energy a given house produces or consumes throughout the competition. The most points are allocated to team who produce more energy than they consume.

The window arrangement in Ohio State’s home not only affords a crystal clear view of the Washington Monument, it is passively designed to take advantage of natural ventilation and day light. Dubbed “Ohio-centric,” by its creators, the house is made from native Ohio materials, contains Whirlpool appliances, and reclaimed barn wood.

Image Credit: Annie Coghill on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Education on the Run

The Solar Decathlon is a teaching moment for the participants as well as the public. Throughout the competition the solar homes are open to the public in order to teach visitors about the importance of clean energy, solar technology, and energy efficiency. In addition to the contests, the event sponsors offer both solar energy and energy efficiency workshops for consumers and industry professionals. For homeowners, two daytime education exhibits displays the anatomy of a solar house and explain the types of “smart choices that can deliver us into a clean energy future.”

Here, a jogger takes advantage of an impromptu opportunity to learn about solar power and the Solar Decathlon from a University of Louisiana decathlete standing in front of the team’s home, BeauSoleil, which means “sunshine” in Cajun French.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Perfect Lighting

DOE Secretary of Energy Steven Chu welcomed the decathletes to the capitol city to start off the three-week decathlon. Taking advantage of the opportunity and the receptive crowd, Chu announced the latest round of DOE clean energy award money, this time $87 million to “support the development of new solar energy technologies and the rapid deployment of available carbon-free energy systems. A full $50 million of the award is come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus package, and is targeted towards projects that are working to make solar cost-competitive by 2015. The money will support 47 projects in four categories: Solar America Cities special projects, solar installer training, high-penetration solar deployment, and research projects at DOE National Laboratories.

Here, Chu joins Team California in front of “Refract House,” which also employs a passive solar design that is ideally suited to sun-soaked California. The house is more than just an educational tool, with information panels that pose key questions and system that allows guests to access the answers via their cell-phones, the abode is equipped with enough information technology to function as a teacher, as well.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Let the Games Begin

The solar-powered festivities continue today and through October 18, 2009, when the winner is announced. You can visit the U.S Department of Energy Solar Decathlon home page to learn more about the event, the teams, the contests and to see more solar-inspired photography and multimedia.

Here, all twenty teams collect on Decathlete Way in front of their fully constructed and fully functional solar homes. After two years of hard work, these students have not only created incredible solar projects that are prepared for the intense level of competition, they have also gained skills that will shape the world’s clean energy future.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

After a  White House announcement last April regarding the provision of $777 million to fund 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC’s) advancing innovation in clean energy technology, the Department of Energy (DOE) recognized the completion of the funding process last Thursday. The investment represents a much-needed show of governmental support for the research and development of the numerous energy breakthroughs necessary to transition the U.S from dirty to clean energy.

Among the list of 46, 31 centers are affiliated with universities, twelve are DOE national laboratories, two are non-profit organizations, and one is a corporate research laboratory. In total, the DOE has awarded $377 million in funding this year, with $277 million coming from the economic stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -ARRA) and the additional $100 million provided by the DOE’s FY2009 budget.

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There is a new force on the wave-energy front. It’s called the Oyster. If it is successful in its debut this autumn, it could change the face of wave energy forever. You see, this giant electricity producing machine is different from conventional wave-energy machines. And those differences could make it extremely marketable.

The Oyster is unlike other wave power devices in that it uses hydraulic technology to transfer wave power to the shore to be converted into electricity. The machine has an 18m wide oscillator, which Dr. Ronan Doherty, Chief Technical Officer of Aquamarine Power the Edinburgh based company which has developed the first ‘Oyster’, says is a key to the machine’s design. The oscillator is fitted with pistons, which work according to wave action. The pistons pump high-pressure water through sub-sea pipelines to shore, where traditional hydro-electric generators use the high-pressure water to create electricity.

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Last Wednesday, the Senate passed the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3183), appropriating $34.3 billion in energy spending for FY2010. Although the bill made good on Obama’s campaign promise to shut down Nevada’s Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility and funds numerous Army Corps of Engineers’ water initiatives, the bill is shockingly silent with regard to Obama’s energy education program RE-ENERGYSE.

A recent article by TIME’s Bryan Walsh also calls attention to Congress’s stinginess with Obama’s Energy Secretary, Steven Chu’s proposed “energy innovation hubs,” to which the House appropriated $35 million of $280 million he suggested. This allotment is enough to pay for one hub, not the eight R&D centers called for in Chu’s proposal.

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported good news for renewable energy enthusiasts this week. Energy from renewable resources has increased significantly over the last year. It is now higher than energy produced from nuclear power.

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A professor and student team have designed a network of modular floating docks to harness clean energy for New York City.

The eco-docks would generate the energy by harnessing tidal power from the city’s rivers; they should also help to add much needed green space above the dirty waters.

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Two Kenyan students have invented a device that allows bicycle riders to charge their phones as they pedal.

Deemed a “dynamo-powered smart charger”, the device should make it more economical for the 17.5 million Kenyans who use mobile phones to charge them. Even more impressive, the environmentally-friendly phone charger was originally built from scraps retrieved from a junkyard.

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