Green Options

We’ve written about Livermore, CA-based startup Cool Earth Solar before. Now the company, which develops inflatable balloon-like solar concentrators, has announced that it is constructing a prototype plant in Livermore. Last week, I spoke to Cool Earth Solar CEO Rob Lamkin to get some more information on the upcoming project.

I’m a huge fan of Traditional Medicinals tea, so I’m pleased to learn that the company has just completed the largest solar powered tea factory on the planet. Traditional Medicinals’ 70,000 square foot Sebastopol, CA headquarters will use 1450 solar panels that generate 430,000 KWh of power— that’s 75 percent of the company’s total energy needs. The rest of the factory’s energy use will be offset by wind energy credits.

New Jersey’s Rutgers University recently broke ground for a seven-acre solar energy farm on campus. Once completed, the installation would be the largest solar energy facility on any college in the U.S. (although Rutgers has competition there: Florida’s Gulf Coast University is eyeing a larger, 16-acre solar farm).

The solar farm is expected to generate 1.4 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet about 10 percent of Rutgers’ Livingston Campus (located in Piscataway) energy demands. By replacing “regular” electricity with solar power, the university also expects to reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 1,200-plus tons.

And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.

And the Pope answered, Let there be solar energy; and there was solar energy.

On Monday, the Vatican installed solar panels on its papal audience hall, channeling the light of God toward more renewable means.

The Environmental Protection Agency has released an interactive Google Earth-based database which pinpoints energy development opportunities on contaminated properties.

According to Biofuels Digest, the EPA’s site shows opportunities for solar, wind and biomass benefits, by combining Google Earth visuals with the database list of places that show promise for progress.

The “Renewable Energy on Contaminated Land and Mining Sites” Web page gives interested parties tools to see what’s possible and where. For example, someone interested in building a community wind farm might want to view the “EPA Tracked Sites with Community Wind Energy Generation Potential” map.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Google Earth-based interactive website that pinpoints opportunities for solar, wind or biomass siting on contaminated properties. The site combines the Google Earth platform with an EPA database that lists each property’s attributes for renewable energy development.

According to the EPA, many lands tracked by the agency, such as large Superfund sites, and mining sites offer thousands of acres of land, and may be situated in areas where the presence of wind and solar structures are less likely to be met with aesthetic, and therefore political, opposition.

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:

Have you ever wondered what an inverter looks like or how a solar heating system connects to a furnace?

Across the country in the month of October, solar system owners will open their doors to the solar curious as part of a national self-guided solar tour. Ranging from single family homes to restaurants to laundromats, participants can get an up close and personal look at solar systems.

Most small renewable energy chargers rely on solar power or more recently, kinetic energy. The Mini Kin takes a different approach—wind power.

Suniva, an Atlanta-based startup, has recently developed solar cells that can achieve 20 percent efficiency. Unlike other high-efficiency cells, Suniva is using low-cost processes that will make their solar cells cost-competitive with conventional sources of electricity.

Carbon nanotubes may be the water filter wave of the future, but Spectra Watermakers’ Solar Cube works pretty well in the meantime.

The Cube (AKA the Spectra Solar Brackish Water System) is a portable solar and wind powered desalination unit that can produce 950 to 1500 gallons of fresh water each day. Attached photovoltaic cells generate up to 1240 watts, while the wind generator can produce up to 1000 watts.