First, what we’re all interested in…the moolah. I’ve been hearing a lot about the investment going into clean tech these days. The first keynote speaker, Ira Ehrenpreis of Technology Partners in Palo Alto also explained why this is so.

• Sector Diversity: it’s not just about water and energy anymore. From green building to agriculture, clean tech is expanding
• Public Interest: green is mainstream, so there is a lot of demand from consumers
• Political Arena: federal and state legislation is pushing change (though not enough, I say!)
• Globalization: the EU and Brazil are key players
• Corporations: eco-consious companies are making big investments
• Exits: IPOs for cleantech companies are appealing

Another interesting session revolved around one of the best renewable energy sources out there: solar. Panelists worked to answer my biggest question about solar - when will it take off?

Fortunately, the answer wasn’t too complicated. Solar is growing at about 30-35% per year. Not bad. But to truly reach the kind of growth that we need, the price will have to come down to about 10-15 cents per kilowatt hour. New advances in technology, like thin film, may make that possible. However, improvements in storage capabilities are also needed - in other words, we need better batteries to hold energy for times when the sun isn’t shining. Still, the panel estimated a boom in growth in about 5-7 years. Seems like a long time off, but panelists were clear on one point: we can do it. We electrified the US once, we can do it again.

Eco-entreprenuers also got a lot of attention during the day via the Fast Pitch competition. Six companies had five minutes each - with time allotments strictly enforced - the present their concept and field questions from a panel of venture capitalists. Concepts ranged from a couple of algae derived energy companies to gasification processes designed to convert waste to energy.

Between the speakers, panelists, entreprenuers, and organizers, a lot of brain power was in attendance at this conference…something that’s sure to benefit us all in the long run.

Image credit: Lowerlighter at Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Each week, the Chicago Architecture Foundation and Chicago Green Technology Center graciously host “lunch time seminars,” inviting some of the leading industry professionals to discuss building issues they are involved with. On 5/1/08, they hosted Joe Gordon’s “Solar Hot Water and Heating- Is It Right for You?” presentation. The seminar provided the audience with information on how solar thermal works, how much space you’ll need, incentives, and how to determine cost benefits. Mr. Gordon also discussed how the cost of solar hot water and heating will likely keep increasing, due to the high cost of copper that is used in these systems.

Joe Gordon has worked for Solar Service, Inc. for over four years and has fielded thousands of inquires from developers, architects, owners and institutions about whether solar hot water and heating would work for them. Visit Solar Service’s gallery to see unique ways panels can be installed.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/jZ6JkmGKTzc" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

To view the rest of Joe Gordon’s presentation, visit the blog at GreenBuildingTalk.

Read More about Hot Water and Heating:

• Green Beer Bottles to Solar Hot Water
• Low Impact Living: The Low Down on Tankless Hot Water Heaters
• Heating Your Home: Heat 101

Image credit: mjmonty at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Using only water-filled beer bottles and connecting hoses, Ma’s mother now has hot water on demand, and so do more than 20 other families in the village whom Ma has helped build their own system.

He wants to build a public bathroom for the village using the same process, but he needs enough money to buy the beers. He probably has plenty of volunteers to empty them.

Image and source.

The problem has been that access to modern electricity is but a privilege for the few who can afford it, and the majority are burning kerosene for lighting, a practice known to be expensive, dangerous and harmful to health.

An initiative run by Solar Aid, in partnership with the UK non-profit, TRAID, the project is geared toward protecting the environment and reducing poverty by introducing simple, locally assembled, affordable LED solar lanterns to the poorest communities, providing residents with a cheap alternative to kerosene while also generating employment opportunities for the underprivileged and ill.

A total of 120 young people, orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS in northern Malawi are being trained to build these solar lanterns and act as campaigners and educational collaborators for the project.

Locals in the dusty Mzuzu town are leading other communities in replacing around 1 and a half million kerosene lamps in Malawi with solar lanterns where only 2 percent of the rural population are connected to the electricity grid.

For the rest, there was no other option than to rely on less viable sources such as kerosene for lighting. For their radios, they would use batteries, a very expensive affair. Now, one revolutionary micro solar panel powers all these - all for the Power of the Sun or Mphamvu Ya Dzuma in the local dialect.

Photo Credit: Copyright Solar Aid

Solar System Powers Donggwang Green Village on Semi-Tropical Jeju Island

Donggwang is on the western half of Jeju-do, the largest of South Korea’s semi-tropical southern islands. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.

Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.

On the roof of each of the 40 houses in Donggwang lies a large beds of solar panels. Even the small, local elementary school runs on free electric energy from the sun. The photovoltaic panels produce enough energy to power the entire area. Amidst cattle and fields, Donggwang is a state-of-the-art renewable energy village.

I spoke with Choo Chan Lee, who lives in Donggwang. Mr. Lee, a Seoul native, retired to Donggwang green village after operating a successful grocery store in New York for many years. He and his wife invited my in for tea to talk about the solar system and their life in Donggwang.

“Dongwang is a solar town,” Mr. Lee says. “[The solar systems] are a lot of help for us. Mine is 2.1 kW.”

In 2004, the government helped to install solar systems in Donggwang, paying 70% of the installation fees.

“They told us this is your town,” recalls Mr. Lee. “Do you wand them or not? We said that we would like them.”

When asked whether he is concerned about environmental issues, Mr. Lee replies casually, “Yeah, the environment is a very important issue. In Jeju we don’t have many factories, so the air is very nice. Very nice environment. The motto is a clean city - clean island. They’re trying to do this solar and then the windmills. My favorite part of living in Jeju is the fresh air. The clean air.”

More Posts on Solar Power:

• How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation
• Solar Thermal Electricity: Can it Replace Coal, Gas, and Oil?
• Solar Energy Could Power U.S. Many Times Over

Photo credit (top, above): Gavin Hudson, EcoWorldly

In many ways, Shinhyocheon is just a typical suburb. It’s in Nam-gu, on the southern outskirts of Gwangju, one of South Korea’s biggest cities. In fact, if you don’t look closely, the Shinhyocheon solar village is easy to miss. Of the 1.4 million people living in Gwangju, most have never heard of it. Local taxi drivers wrinkle their brows and shrug; even the tourist information center in downtown Gwangju has trouble finding it on the map.

But for those who know it, Shinhyocheon deserves a place in energy history. In 2004, it became South Korea’s first solar village – a neighborhood of 64 solar powered houses where residents enjoy cheap, clean energy. The solar panels in this neighborhood generate over 115 MW of energy in a year. For each resident, that translates into an annual savings of around $589 USD, or a total of $37,700 for all 64 houses combined.

Inspired by Shinhyocheon’s success, the local government is planning to expand the number of solar houses in Nam-gu by adding 340 new sun-powered residential buildings.

With South Korea attempting to tackle climate change, the environmental benefits of placing solar panels on homes are obvious. However, the government’s decision to test large-scale domestic solar technology in Shinhyocheon came mostly from South Korea’s drive to reduce reliance on foreign fossil fuel imports. In a way, Shinhyocheon is an experiment in energy independence.

In the Economy Department of nearby Nam-gu City Hall, city employee Bak Se-ra explains, “Global Warming is one reason [for Shinhyocheon], but I think the first reason is the energy savings.”

The actual construction costs of the village were some $1,510,000 USD, but each resident only had to pay 30% of the solar panel’s cost. The rest was underwritten by the central government.

That was under South Korea’s previous system of solar energy financing. Since 2007, the government will now pay for 60% of the installation costs for widely used solar technology and 80% of the costs for new, more expensive technology.

After hearing about it, I decided to visit Shinhyocheon. As a network of buses and taxis takes me closer to Shinhyocheon, the cement grid of the city begins to fray. On the far side of this small suberb, the outer edges of Gwangju eventually disolve into the low-lying ridges of the ancient mountains that ripple throughout South Korea.

Each house in the green village produces 2.1 kW, or around 2/3 of the energy required by the typical South Korean household. If such a high fraction of the nation’s energy needs could be met by solar energy, then solar villages like Shinhyocheon could become much more common. They might be an important answer in solving the clean energy riddle in South Korea and throughout the world.

“I’m convinced that in the future, housees will have this system,” said Bak, “because there is no pollution and the house itself can produce energy.”

Photo credit: Gwangju City, Nam-go

I like the idea of a solar shaver, available from Nigel’s Eco Store. It’s clearly designed for traveling with a nice picture of an airplane on it. Leave it out in the sun for a few hours (or days if you forget about it like me), and it’s fully powered for your, er, shaving needs.

I use a razor usually and found changing to a shaver a little difficult. For a start this one just didn’t get that close: it was an effort to get a clean shave. I could have shaved my whole face by the time I had done one cheek with this. I’m not sure whether it was this shaver or electric ones in general. It is pretty handy, though: it’s small enough not to be cumbersome, either when carrying around or using. The only problem was when it ran out of juice (it lasts surprisingly long), you then have to put it in the sun for a while to recharge it. With half a shaved face.

With an integrated cleaning brush in the cap, the solar shaver is available from Nigel’s Eco Store for £29.99 (about $60 US).

And don’t forget: Life Goggles’ “Great Green Giveaway” contest ends on Wednesday!

Light passing through the One Day Poem Pavilion’s perforations creates a poem that changes according to the solar calendar. During the summer solstice, the poem is about “new life”. During the winter solstice, the poem’s theme is the “reflection and the passing of time.” Each hour, a new line of the poem is revealed by the passage of the sun.

Via: Monster-Munch

For this reason, solar power has long been discounted in favour of wind on this blustery island where one’s neighbours are likely to raise a few eyebrows should one be so eccentric as to cover the roof in solar panels.

This was certainly on the mind of Ashley Seager when he laid out the princely sum of £8,500 ($16,900) in 2007 for the installation of a 3 kilowatt solar power generation system for his South London home. However, one year later and despite a year of weather that has been poor even by British standards, Ashley’s investment is beginning to pay dividends having generated 92% of the Seager household’s annual electricity requirement.

Global warming has not yet turned the British Isles into a tropical paradise, but this experience demonstrates that solar energy is still a viable option, even the most dreary climate, resulting in electricity bills low enough to bring a little sunshine on even the rainiest day.

But - there are a few caveats..

The payback time on the Seager’s solar system will be approximately 13 years - not the shortest investment, and for a British family considering the same investment today the payback time will be even longer; Until recently the British government offered a 50% grant on home solar installations -which has now been capped at £2,500 due to demand, forcing many solar installers out of business despite the rapidly falling cost of the technology. (in comparison, Germany - whose government offers generous renewable energy support -  fitted solar installations to 130,000 homes last year compared to 300 in the UK).

Secondly, payback time is greatly influenced by the fluctuating cost of energy. Solar systems generate electricity during the day which goes mostly unused whilst the family are at work or school. The excess electricity is sold back to the power company and then re-purchased in the evening when the sun has set and energy use is at it’s highest. Although rising electricity costs increase savings, most power companies in the UK buy electricity from solar homes for less than the price at which they sell it back again. Again, in comparison, those renewable-crazy Germans buy electricity for twice the price at which they sell it.

The complex regulations, grants and tariffs which surround micro renewable energy are still shifting as the UK government tries to land on a sensible set of long term energy policies. This uncertainty makes solar a more unlikely option for the less well-heeled, but the savings and the eco credibility factor certainly mean that the Jones’s may soon be swapping those raised eyebrows for solar panels..

Learn more about solar energy, and find out how much you can save (California only) at Renewzle.

With thanks to The Guardian. Photo courtesy of Flickr

To help children learn how the sun moves across the sky and how shadows are formed, the human sundial project takes a whole day.  First thing in the morning when the sun is up, go outside with your child and trace their shadow with some chalk.  Mark an X where your child is standing so they can return to the same spot.  Switch roles and have your child trace your shadow in a different spot. Then, return every hour and repeat tracing your shadows and recording the time on each shadow. By the end of the day, your child will see how their shadow moves in accordance with the sun’s path, as well as changes shape.

Learning to tell time is a mathematical content standard taught during the primary grade levels; however, most children are not taught the connection between and the passage of time and the Earth’s movements.  By becoming a human sundial, children learn these connections in a way that makes sense to them. Planet Earth is a unique place!

Happy Earth Day!

Image: Flikr chez_sugi 

According to Kenneth Westrick, fonder and CEO of 3TIER, “India has the elements needed to prove that it is possible to leapfrog fossil fuels and fully integrate renewable energy projects into a country’s energy portfolio. He further elaborated on his statement by informing that India has good wind resources in its southern and western states, tremendous potential to tap into solar and hydropower, a government commitment to explore renewable energy sources and a market of more than 1 billion people – including 420 million people with no access to electricity.

Of the total number of villages in India with no access to electricity, it can said with absolute certainty that close to 40% of these cannot be electrified using fossil fuels. Thus, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower can play an even greater role by electrifying remote parts of the country. “As the most densely populated country in the world with many villages that have no electricity, there is strong demand to augment the power grid in India,” said Steven Cashen, 3TIER’s Director of International Marketing Development. “3TIER will work closely with developers to assess and forecast potential wind, solar and hydro energy projects.” explained Cashen.

3TIER uses its knowledge about weather, climate and their impacts on weather-driven renewable energy resources to help developers make better decisions about their investments – before, during and after projects are built. The Archean Group, an India-based wind energy developer and Independent Power Producer (IPP) and a large conglomerate of businesses spanning various interests as ores and minerals, coal, common salt, industrial chemicals, shipping and ship building and alternate energy resources has already signed an agreement to use 3TIER’s FullView Assessment™. The latter is a powerful tool that provides highly customized information about specific wind or solar resources at any global location scalable from project sites to entire countries. The group proposes to set up large-scale wind energy projects in India, for sale of power to the grid and for captive consumption by its group companies.

“With the rapid growth of the renewable energy market, developers are looking for the quickest way to find information about potential project sites, as well as how to maximize their energy production,” Cashen said.  “India’s anticipated growth and commitment to developing renewable power sources is a powerful combination to providing a viable solution to bring power to those without.”

Europe — World’s first commercial tidal turbine installed (EcoGeek)

“The world’s first commercial tidal turbine has been installed in its home in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough.

Though it has yet to be turned on, it will be the first commercial power-producing tidal generator when it is (sometime later this year). The turbine has two 16 meter-wide rotors and will be able to run for 18-20 hours a day. The turbine was installed off the coast in an area known for fast moving waters, and because the rotors will only spin 10-20 times in a minute, it is unlikely to disturb marine life.”

Source: EcoGeek. Hot in media: Digg EcoGeek, Digg TimesOnline.

Africa — Tree-Nation (Tree-Nation)

“Tree-Nation is an ecological project with a focused objective: To plant 8 million trees in Niger, Africa to fight desertification! Large-scale plantation of trees will increase the land’s productivity and re-generate the soil.

Tree-nation is an online community in which you can buy your own tree and become the guardian of a real and happy tree that we will plant in our park in Niger.

Our objective is two-fold. Primarily environmental, but also closely linked to the humanitarian aid that it will provide in the long term. The project will benefit local populations in terms of welfare, education and farming practices. And that’s not all.”

Source: Tree-Nation. Hot in media: Care2.

Middle East — 1,000 acres of giant solar mirrors to rise in Israel’s desert, finally (Solve Climate)

“After seven years of dead-end negotiations, Israel will soon turn 1,000 acres in the Negev Desert into giant solar thermal stations.

The $700 million enterprise will comprise two plants to supply 250 megawatts of power in total, equal to 2.5 percent of the nation’s electricity needs.

When the plants come online in 2011, the project will be one of the biggest concentrating solar power (CSP) operations in the world. It will be a lucrative deal for the chosen builder, and an international bidding frenzy over who gets the contract could be just around the corner.”

Source: Solve Climate. Hot in media: Digg.

Asia — Should recycling be mandatory? (EcoWorldly)

“Should recycling be a feel-good choice or a legal requirement? CNN and EcoWorldly compare recycling in South Korea and the United States of America. Take a look at some of the benefits that South Korea has reaped as a country through its successful recycling program.

See the video on CNN.”

Source: Ecoworldly, CNN. Hot in media: MindBodyGreen.

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Oceania — Man uses hedgehog as deadly weapon (Environmental Graffiti)

“A man from Wellington, New Zealand has done something that I’m certain I would never see outside of a video game: picked up a hedgehog and thrown it at another person.

William Sighalargh, apparently out of other options to express his displeasure with a 15-year old boy who was several yards away, picked up the nearby creature and heaved it, striking the victim in the leg. He has been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon - but as of yet no animal cruelty statutes have been invoked.”

Source: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in Media: Digg Environmental Graffiti, Digg BBC.

South America — Galapogos Islands go green (NECN)

“It was a tough assignment: figure out how to bring renewable energy to one of the most environmentally sensitive places on the planet. That place is the Galapagos Islands — home to a large number of rare and endangered animals. Those animals are threatened by increased tourism and a growth of island residents.

An engineer in Maine took on the challenge of saving them by bringing in wind power. Jim Tolan is back at his engineering firm in Portland, Maine, but for the last five years he’s spent much of his time working to bring wind power to the islands.”

Source: NECN. Hot in media: Care2.

South America — In Brazil, Violence Looms at the Forest Edge (ENN)

“In Mato Grosso, as in other parts of the Amazon, the rapid expansion of agriculture is triggering mounting tensions between locals and environmental authorities. Satellite imagery released in January showed that as much as 2,700 square miles (4,345 kilometers) of the massive Brazilian Amazon was cleared between August and December of 2007-about 60 percent more land than during the same five months in 2006. Experts attribute the rising deforestation to growth in global meat consumption, which is driving soybean and beef production, and to a lesser extent to the boom in biofuels, which is reportedly pushing cattle ranchers off conventional farmlands and deeper into the Amazon.”

Source: ENN. Hot in media: Care2.

North America — Canada unleashes first carbon tax in N. America (Gas 2.0)

“British Columbia will be the first in North America to institute a comprehensive carbon tax on nearly all fossil fuels. It’s a groundbreaking move that could prove the feasibility of taxing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Beginning July 1st, 2008, businesses and residents of British Columbia will be taxed $10 per metric ton of carbon emitted by fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane, and home heating fuel. The tax will increase yearly by $5 per ton to $30 per ton in 2012, at which point the government will reevaluate the tax rate.”

Source: Gas 2.0. Hot in the media: Stumble Upon.

World — Earth in crisis, warns NASA’s top climate scientist (Physorg)

“Global warming has plunged the planet into a crisis and the fossil fuel industries are trying to hide the extent of the problem from the public, NASA’s top climate scientist says.

‘We’ve already reached the dangerous level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,’ James Hansen, 67, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, told AFP here.

‘But there are ways to solve the problem’ of heat-trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which Hansen said has reached the ‘tipping point’ of 385 parts per million.”

Source:Physorg. Hot in media: Digg.

Space — Space is full of crap (Gizmodo)

“The European Space Agency has just released images showing all the satellites and human-made debris now orbiting space as a result of 51 years of launching stuff since Sputnik. That’s about 6,000 satellites up there—of which only 800 remain operational—plus thousands of other objects from launches and accidents. According to their mindblowing simulations things are getting a lot worse:

About 50 percent of all trackable objects are due to in-orbit explosion events (about 200) or collision events (less than 10).”

Source: Gizmodo. Hot in media: Digg.

Read all weekly top international environmental news reviews.

Plus, did you know? This week, April 7, was World Health Day! It was also intercultural & anti-racism week in North and South Ireland.

For comparison with solar photovoltaics, see the world’s 13 biggest photovoltaic solar energy projects.

Location: Mojave Desert, USA.

Megawatts: 500 MW, with plans to expand to 900 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: BrightSource Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Status: Will begin operating as early as 2011.

More: To date, this field of power towers is the largest planned Concentrated Solar project in the world. Meanwhile, through contracts with a number of other solar companies, PG&E will soon be operating over 2,000 MW of solar energy. California state law requires each investor-owned utility to supply at least 20% of their grid with renewable energy. Source: PG&E [PDF]. Photo: Pictured here is Solar Two, also in the Mojave Desert, which has a similar design to the upcoming plant; WikiMedia.

Location: Mojave Desert, USA.

Megawatts: 500 MW, with possible expansion to 850 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Stirling Energy Systems and San Diego Gas & Electric.

Status: Will begin operating in 2011.

More: 20,000 parabolic dishes will be spread over 4,500 acres of desert. The dishes are each 40 feet tall and capable of producing 2.5 kilawatts. Source: Foreign Policy. Photo: Stirling Energy Systems.

Location: Upington, South Africa.

Megawatts: 100 MW pilot to be possibly expanded to 600 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Eskom.

Status: Eskom is currently considering whether to continue with plans for the project.

More: This project has been on the drawing board now for several years. If it gets the green light and is completed, it will drop South Africa from the 15th biggest CO2 emitter to the 25th.

The project relies on the power tower method of production. In this solar thermal variation, a circle of moving mirrors, or heliostats, track the Sun as it moves across the sky. The mirrors focus light on a central tower. Heat from this concentrated light can reach up to 600˚C. These rays heat molten salt, which is used to generate steam and power a turbine. Source: Engineering News; Eskom via Solar4Africa. Photo: Solar Two power tower, Wikimedia.

Location: Mojave Desert, USA.

Megawatts: 553 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Solel and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Status: Will begin operating in 2011.

More: Solel, an Israeli company, will use 1.2 million mirrors and 317 miles of vacuum tubing for the project. When complete, the solar field will cover 6,000 acres and bring power to 400,000 homes. Source: Ynet news; Solel [PDF]. Photo: WikiMedia.

Location: California, USA.

Megawatts: 400 MW.

Solar Company: Solar Partners

Status: Scheduled to begin operating in 2012.

More: The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) will consist of three power towers, connected at a central point. The heliostats being considered are just over 7 feet tall and 10.5 feet wide. Construction will take place in three phases, beginning with two 100 MW towers and finishing with one 200 MW tower. Plants will use a gas boiler only during morning times while the towers are warming to start the day’s operating more quickly. Source, photo: The California Energy Commission.

Location: Mojave Desert, USA.

Megawatts: 310 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Florida Power & Light and Southern California Edison.

Status: Operating.

More: Known as the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) this is a group of nine concentrated solar plants. It’s currently the largest single source of solar energy in the world. By comparison, the largest operating photovoltaic solar plant to date, which is in Spain, produces 20 MW. The site has 400,000 mirrors laid over an area of 1,000 acres. The mirrors were built between 1984 and 1991. Sources: Florida Power & Light, The Energy Blog. Photo: WikiMedia.

Location: Seville, Spain.

Megawatts: 11 MW currently, planned increase to 300 MW.

Solar Company and Electric Utility: Mirrors by Abengoa and power tower by ALTAC.

Status: Operating. Scheduled 300 MW production by 2013.

More: With the completion of other solar energy plants in the same area, the total energy production will be about 300 MW. The current power tower stands 115 meters above the surrounding sunflower fields. 624 heliostat mirrors focus sunlight on the tower. Source: Environment News Service; BBC. Photo: WikiMedia.

Location: Florida, USA

Megawatts: 300 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Florida Power & Light.

Status: Scheduled to begin operating in 2011.

More: This project, which will utilize Fresnel reflectors, will help Florida to meet its goal of 20% wind and solar energy. Currently, the state of Florida receives half of its power from natural gas and another 20% from nuclear. Florida Power and Light has already identified the location of 1,100 MW of new solar plants. Sources: St. Petersburg Times; Energy Business Review. Photo: WikiMedia.

Location: Arizona, USA.

Megawatts: 280 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Abengoa Solar and Arizona Public Service Co.

Status: Scheduled to begin operating in 2011.

More: The plant, being built by Spanish solar company Abengoa, will cover 1,800 acres and offer 1,500 jobs. The solar field will power an estimated 70,000 homes and keep about 400,000 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Source, photo: Abengoa.

Location: Negev Desert, Israel.

Megawatts: 250 MW.

Status: Government is seeking bids from thermal solar companies.

More: Israel’s solar goal is 5% by 2016. Already, more than 1 million homes in a country of 7.1 million have rooftop solar water heaters. Source: Economic Times. Photo: Shown here is a concentrated solar design from Israeli company Zenith Solar; Business Week.

Location: Mojave Desert, USA.

Megawatts: 250 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Florida Power & Light.

Status: Scheduled to begin operating in 2011.

More: The Beacon Solar Energy project will use 500,000 parabolic troughs over an area of 2,012 acres. Once in operation, the plant will employ roughly 1,000 workers. Sources: Green Wombat; Florida Power & Light. Photo: Green Wombat.

Location: California, USA.

Megawatts: 177 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Ausra and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Status: Scheduled to begin operating in 2010.

More: Using Fresnel reflectors, Ausra will supply roughly 60,000 homes with renewable solar power. In contrast with parabolic troughs, Fresnel reflectors are series of flat mirrors that reflect light onto a thermal conducting rod. Ausra’s client, Pacific Gas & Electric currently fulfills 12% of its energy needs with renewable energy. Source: News.com. Photo: Ausra.

Location: Mildura, Australia.

Megawatts: 154 MW.

Solar Company & Electric Utility: Solar Systems and TRUenergy.

Status: Plant will begin operating in 2010 and reach full capacity by 2013.

More: When fully completed, the solar field will power about 45,000 homes in Australia. By 2030, Mildura may be producing as much as 5 Gigawatts of solar energy. Source: EcoWorldly via Foreign Policy. Photo: Solar Systems.

More resources on solar: Cleantechnica

Top Photo: Wikipedia.

General Customer Inquiry-A summary of the key information you have provided. If this
data was incomplete or partial, we provided a solution based upon what was available at the
time the plan was created.

Your Property Satellite Map-We use mapping software to isolate the property, primarily
for facing orientation, rooftop design, trees or other obstructions and land footprint. If this
was a new property, this is the approximate location. Again, several variables enter into a
final solution. A site inspection ultimately is the best methodology to finalize these
variables. The map is normally oriented as north-facing.

Solar Information-Baseline solar data is important because on any given day the solar
radiation varies continuously from sun-up to sundown and depends on cloud cover, sun
position, and content of the atmosphere. Peak sun hours is defined as the equivalent
number of hours per day that gives the same energy received from sunrise to sundown.
Many more variables impact the electrical output of Photovoltaic cells, but this provides a
useful benchmark for investment and payback analysis.

Proposed Solutions and Estimated Project Pricing-Based on your input, we
have chosen a solution with estimated pricing for equipment and installation. If you did not
provide a budget number, this output can be used as benchmark. Most or our systems are
scalable, meaning we can increase or decrease modules to meet your criteria. Part of the
Next Steps section will be to close the gap between this estimate and your final,
recommended solution.

Incentives-There are dramatic differences in the tax incentives, state and local rebates,
grants, and cash rewards for the adoption of modern energy. These laws are constantly in
flux. This section will provide current information on these topics, plus information about
Net Metering laws and Interconnection status. We will help you to understand how to
interpret these variables. In the Project Assumption section, some (but not all) of the
prevailing Incentives are included.

Next Steps-As you review your Modern Energy Plan, many questions remain
unanswered. A final solution and estimate can only be created after a qualified installer
conducts an “on-site visit.” From this visit, a final quotation/contract will be prepared for your review and action.

Afterall, with a purchase this important, you’d better be prepared. Well done SNI!

For more on the Modern Energy Plan read Jeff McIntire-Strasburg’s Sustainablog post from December ‘07.

(Photo of Sage Homebuilders’ NZEH home compliments of SNI)

The EcoGeek calls Huddler “The Finest Green Shopping Community So Far“. What is Huddler?

Launched in March of 2008, Huddler is a network of niche product review communities. By focusing each “Huddle” on specific areas of interest, Huddler hopes to provide a home for the most knowledgeable, passionate consumers to meet one another and share what they know in an interface that even novice internet users can take advantage of. By integrating custom built discussion forums, wikis, product reviews, image hosting, and more, Huddler not only helps you decide what to buy, but how to better use what you already own. Huddle together. Shop Better.

Huddler is holding a contest to celebrate its launch. Simply join Huddler, share you knowledge of the green products you use, and win! “From hybrid vehicles to solar arrays, CFL bulbs to green cleaners, efficient appliances to geothermal heat pumps, Huddler wants to know about your experiences and help you learn from like-minded peers.” You could win a green prize pack containing:

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The devastating aftermath of this depletion and its toll on the environment should call for another cheaper, plentiful and vastly accessible source of energy on the continent.

Solar cooking is now taking root in Africa more than ever before. Solar cooking projects are springing up on the continent mostly spearheaded by local cooperatives and non-profits working with rural women to assemble cheap solar cookers. Which works for environment.

One such non-profit is the Solar Household Energy Inc. that has been supporting solar cooking market initiatives by providing prototypes like the HotPot or CooKit. In Tanzania, Solar Circle, a Michigan non-profit, has partnered with Michigan State University to engage local artisans to manufacture solar box cookers from cypress wood, aluminum printing plates, glass, used rubber, and other materials available locally. These cookers cost $70 or more to build, and are heavily subsidized to be affordable.

Solar cookers are believed to address endemic fuel shortages, the health hazards of traditional cooking and the spread of water-borne diseases. The depletion of biodiversity and lack of any conservation efforts mostly fanned by poverty and lack of awareness has led many rural folk across Africa to seek a practical, local solution to the emerging ecological problems. But climate change and global warming too cannot escape blame here.

Deforestation in the countryside in many African countries have prompted the rise of waterborne diseases occasioned by arbitrary flooding as in the case of Kano Plains and Budalangi in western Kenya and recently in Uganda. Even traditional medicine men who use herbs for their trade have begun complaining of serious unavailability of medicinal trees and plants used traditionally to cure many diseases. Indigenous tree species have become extinct due to human interference - cut for firewood, charcoal making, cattle ranching and agriculture.

Fundamental to the solar cooker projects is the destruction of forests and availability of free sunshine throughout the year. Experts believe the solar cooking concept can easily be applicable in all of Africa save for Djibouti which is largely an urban city-state.

Solar Cookers International, a California non-profit that promotes the spread of solar cooking and solar water pasteurization lists 16 African nations led by Ethiopia out of 25 globally that have the highest potentials for solar cooking.

From Burkina Faso to Morocco to Senegal, from Uganda to Zimbabwe to Tanzania, simple and inexpensive solar cookers made out of locally available materials are revolutionizing lives in Africa. Solar cookers limit the health hazards of inhaling smoke and people can drink clean water by first pasteurizing using solar energy.

Food that used to be wasted during bumper harvests is now solar dried and kept for the rainy day. People have used solar drying for centuries but not in such a modern way, providing many rural poor with a cost effective, participatory and sustainable alternative.

People now do not only use solar cookers but are aware of the importance to rationally use forest resources so as to protect the environment and future generations.

The impact of solar cookers and dryers is that for more than a decade now, income levels and sanitation have noticeably risen in homesteads using solar cookers. Married women can work their fields while the sun does cooking. Social acceptance has been good and the cultural aftershocks associated with solar cookers are mostly minimal. And that is the beauty of the sun.

Photo Credit: Rogoyski via Flickr

If your trees are shading your neighbor’s solar panels, you could be fined $1,000 a day. The 1978 California Solar Shade Act deems shading trees a nuisance. In Sunnyvale, CA, Prius driving Carolynn Bissett and Richard Treanor were convicted under the law after electric car driving neighbor Mark Vargas complained .

Source: New York Times

Read more interesting news from Silicon Valley:

• 5 Pounds of Pot Recycled in San Jose
• Al Gore says the solution to climate change is in Silicon Valley
• Silicon Valley loves the Prius- jumps to #1 best selling car in 2007

1. Asia — United Nations Climate Change Talks: “Kyoto II” climate talks open in Bangkok

“The first formal talks in the long process of drawing up a replacement for the Kyoto climate change pact opened in Thailand on Monday with appeals to a common human purpose to defeat global warming.

‘The world is waiting for a solution that is long-term and economically viable,’ U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said in a video address to the 1,000 delegates from 190 nations gathered in Bangkok.

The week-long meeting stems from a breakthrough agreement in Bali last year to start negotiations to replace Kyoto, which only binds 37 rich nations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by an average of five percent from 1990 levels by 2012.” (Source: Reuters)

Europe held a the European Climate Conference as well this week in Rovigo, Italy, “to encourage capacity-building from city to city regarding climate change.”

2. Africa — The Play Pump and the Electric See-Saw

The Play Pump is back in the headlines with an article at TreeHugger, Hybrid Merri-Go-Round Water Pump Saves Lives in Africa. EcoWorldly’s Sam Aola Ooko recently covered the Play Pump from Kenya:

“Hailed by the World Bank as ‘one of the world’s most innovative designs capable of providing self sustainable free clean water to poor communities, as well as being an effective delivery system for social messages’, the PlayPump system is a merry go round that pumps water from a ground source as children spin, and they like working hard at it.”

This Week, Sam followed up on the Play Pump concept with news of another breakthrough invention, “a see-saw that generates electricity when played on by children.” (Sources: TreeHugger via Digg; EcoWorldly Play Pump; EcoWorldly Electric See-Saw)

3. North America — $3 Billion Solar Power Deal Signed By California Utility

“Pacific Gas & Electric today will announce a deal to buy as much as 900 megawatts of electricity. It will be enough to power 540,000 California homes each year, and involve the construction of five solar power plants during the next decade. The company to build the solar-thermal power plants in the Mojave Desert is BrightSource Energy.

Building all five plants in the Mojave will cost $2 billion to $3 billion, Woolard said. The project, which faces regulatory and financing hurdles, could mean 2,000 construction jobs, and employ about 1,000 workers to operate the plants.” (Source: MetaEfficient via ENN; More Reading: LA Times)

4. Europe — New Wind Power Record in Spain: 40.8% of Total Demand!

“Last year we wrote about Spain’s wind power production record, which was 27% at the time. That seemed like a lot, but a week ago, Spain’s wind turbines produced 40.8% of total demand, or 9,862 megawatts of power.

Spain, which along with Germany and Denmark, is among the three biggest producers of wind power in the European Union, is aiming to triple the amount of energy it derives from renewable sources by 2020.

Spain’s wind power industry currently enjoys a 30% annual growth rate.” (Source: TreeHugger via Reddit)

5. Australia — Farmers Invest In Diesel-Producing Trees

“Farmers in Northern Queensland, Australia, are investigating another approach to producing renewable fuel: growing diesel trees. As weird as that sounds, it’s real, and it isn’t a scientific breakthrough. We’ve actually known about the trees for over 300 years.

As Treehugger reported earlier this week, farmers in the more tropical region Queensland purchased about 20,000 Brazilian diesel trees, or Copaifera langsdorfii, with the intention of having a living oil-mine in 15 years. According to Purdue University, a 100 acre plot of trees could produce about 25 barrels of oil per year.” (Source: Gas 2.0)

This week also witnessed the Fourth Annual Biofuels Americas Conference and Expo in Mexico City.

6. South America — Prefab: Residencia RR Sustainable Style in São Paulo

“Just off the Brazilian coast in São Paulo, architect Andrade Morettin has created Residencia RR - a stunning summer abode nestled amidst the dense vegetation and semi-tropical, hot, humid climate of Itamambuca in the state’s north coast. Responding to the local environment, House RR is selectively protected from and open to the elements. Under a primary “shell” the home shelters from intense sun and rains but allows much desired natural cross-ventilation to permeate through living spaces. With prefabricated components and an elevated foundation, the construction sits lightly on its site with a low ecological impact.” (Source: Inhabitat via MindBodyGreen)

7. Asia — Olympic Commission Says Air Quality at Beijing Games Can Cause Athletes Health Damage

“Olympic Commission Says Air Quality at Beijing Games Can Cause Athletes Health Damage. More news from the Olympic drama in Beijing. While Beijing has stated that they plan to take half of its 3.5 million cars off the roads and partially shut down industry in the capital and surrounding provinces for two months for the Olympics (to improve air quality), concerns continue that no shut down will do enough to allow for athletes to safely compete.

In the most recent turn of events, just yesterday, Hein Verbruggen (Chairman of the IOC coordination commission) said that there is a chance that athletes involved in endurance events can suffer health damage if they partook in the events for longer than an hour.” (Source: The LOHASIAN)

8. South America — Patagonia’s Pascua River Threatened By Massive Dam Project

“Few people in the world have ever seen the pristine, 62-kilometer Pascua, which until as recently as 1898 was completely unknown to European settlers. Nor is the river completely anonymous, thanks to a controversial hydroelectric project being planned by Endesa, a Spanish-Italian enterprise, and Colbún, a Chilean energy company owned by the influential Matte family.

Via a joint entity called HidroAysén, the two companies look to build five massive dams in Aysén (Region XI) that would together generate some 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to 20 percent of Chile’s current overall generating capacity. Three of those dams are slated for the Pascua. The other two would be built along the Baker River, Chile’s most voluminous, which is located farther north” (Source: Toward Freedom via Care2.)

9. World — Indigenous people should be involved in climate policy

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report published in early 2007 confirmed that global climate change is already happening. The report found that communities who live in marginal lands and whose livelihoods are highly dependent on natural resources are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Many indigenous and traditional peoples who have been pushed to the least fertile and most fragile lands as a consequence of historical, social, political and economic exclusion are among those who are at greatest risk.

On the other hand, people living in marginal lands have long been exposed to many kinds of environmental changes and have developed strategies for coping with these phenomena. They have valuable knowledge about adapting to climate change, but the magnitude of future hazards may exceed their adaptive capacity, especially given their current conditions of marginalization.” (Source, PDF: International Union for Conservation of Nature via ENN)

10. Antarctica — Airborne Study Of Arctic Atmosphere, Air Pollution Launched

“This month, NASA begins the most extensive field campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the Arctic’s lower atmosphere. The mission is poised to help scientists identify how air pollution contributes to climate changes in the Arctic.

The recent decline of sea ice is one indication the Arctic is undergoing significant environmental changes related to climate warming. NASA and its partners plan to investigate the atmosphere’s role in this climate-sensitive region with the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) field campaign.” (Source ENN)

This Week: Bus Transit

Bus Rides to Jungletown, Africa are Fun by Sam Aola OOko

British Busses: Actually Worse Than British Trains? by Mark Seall

What Makes a Good Bus Ride? by Gavin Hudson

Where the Damned Gather by Pem Charnley

Read more Green Options articles on public transportation.

Tell our international team of journalists what to focus on next: What issues matter to you?