Green Options

The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $32 million dollars of Recovery Act funding will be used to expand the harvest of hydroelectric power. “There’s no one solution to the energy crisis, but hydro-power is clearly part of the solution and represents a major opportunity to create more clean energy jobs,” said Secretary Chu.

In a plan released on Tuesday, federal agencies will work with western leaders to designate tracts of U.S. public lands in the West as prime zones for utility-scale solar energy development, fund environmental studies, open new solar energy permitting offices and speed reviews of industry proposals.

Move — to Louisiana:

According to SolarPowerRocks! Louisiana has a state tax credit of 50% for solar roof installations, the most generous state subsidy for solar — Combined with the 30% Federal tax credit for solar that we all get now; (you knew about that, right?) so in Louisiana you can put a solar roof up, paying only [...]

Applied SunFab Solar Module Production Line

Well it certainly looks like the sun is paving the way for our new energy economy.

According to the Worldwatch institute, an environmental research organization based in Washington D.C., global solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations jumped from 9,000 megawatts in 2007 to nearly 15,000 MW in 2008, an increase of almost 66 percent. This is due primarily to government incentive programs in the world’s top PV markets, Spain and Germany.

Worldwatch provides a snapshot of solar power market trends globally:

• Global PV cell production nearly doubled in 2008, reaching 6,940 MW. The Chinese PV industry led silicon-based cell production, primarily to meet soaring demand in Spain and Germany.
• Europe remains the leading market for PVs, accounting for over 80 percent of world demand in 2008. Top markets Spain and Germany added 2,600 MW and 1,500 MW respectively. The United States came in a distant third, adding approximately 348 MW.
• Spain’s market growth increased a whopping 364 percent in 2008, causing it to overtake industry leader Germany as the number one solar PV market.

So what are Spain and Germany doing that the U.S. is not?

According to Dr. Charles Gay, the President of Applied Solar, a leading supplier of solar manufacturing equipment, Germany and Spain have set more immediate goals than the U.S. for increased use of renewable energy. They have also provided greater government investments to jump start the market.

This is a notch up from high-altitude wind turbines.

It’s another type of space race, to be the first company to get solar satellites into orbit.

U.S. companies are aggressively researching the technology, reports Yale 360. One firm called PowerSat in Washington state has filed for patents to link as many 300 shiny satellites together in space, beam the energy to one big satellite, then transmit the power back to Earth.

The star trek also includes using solar-powered thrusters to launch satellites into orbit 22,000 miles above our planet.

A California utility called PG&E also has signed a deal with Solaren for 200 megawatts of space-based solar power in 2016, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In a surprising find, scientists have discovered a microbe that can efficiently convert direct electrical current into methane.

That may be good news for wind and solar power enthusiasts, who have long been faced with the dilemma of how to store energy when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. This discovery opens the door for generating methane from those renewable power sources; the energy could then be stored as fuel for later use.

But is storing renewable energy in the form of a greenhouse gas like methane a solution, or just another problem?

San Francisco’s new solar-powered bus stops may not make the bus come any faster, but they will at least make the wait a bit more pleasant. The first solar-powered shelter, unveiled last week, contains photovoltaic cells on its roof that power LEDs for night-time vision. Excess power is sent back to the grid.

Ohio state trooper cruisers are getting small solar panels to assist in the powering of their onboard equipment. 1,150 Ford Crown Victoria cruisers will get 5 watt solar panels to improve battery peformance and reduce fuel consumption.

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

There is no gold left in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to layoff fire, police, and teachers. All of this is certain to further  increase unemployment and foreclosure rates. Schwarzenegger is now considering releasing nonviolent prisoners, shortening the school year, legalizing and taxing marijuana. Fred provides a unique perspective on the Click to Continue Reading