Yesterday I brought you the story that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $10 million grant to develop concentrating solar power (CSP). As a follow-up, the DOE has announcement five more awards as part of its solar power innovation program SunShot Initiative that also supports research projects focused on lowering the cost of photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies. …
PV Training Yard to be Unveiled
Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) Green Academy is unveiling Utah’s only Solar Photovoltaic (PV) training yard on September 6, 2012. The launch will highlight the Solar PV training yard and classroom space, and will feature student and faculty-led abbreviated labs and solar panel demonstrations. “The completion of the photovoltaic training yard is an exciting addition to sustainable green energy practice and …
DOE Invests $10M for 2 Solar Projects
The Department of Energy has awarded $10 million over five years for two university-led projects to advance the technological development of concentrating solar power (CSP). The award is part of two programs: SunShot Initiative, a federally funded program whose goal is to help solar energy become cost competitive with other energy sources by 2020; and the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, which …
IKEA Plugs-In Largest Solar PV System in Minnesota
I must confess to you readers that I have furniture by IKEA in my home and in fact, drove to Minneapolis/St. Paul for a weekend just to go shopping. Now, this same store officially plugged-in its new solar panels installed in its Twin Cities store in Bloomington, Minnesota. The 128,000 square-foot PV array consists of 1,014 kW system built with …
NPS Turbines Surpass 2M Hours of Operation
The wind is definitely blowing these days and this is one of the reasons that wind energy is a great alternative energy source. Today Northern Power Systems is celebrating a milestone: its NPS 100 permanent magnet direct drive (PM/DD) wind turbine fleet has surpassed two million hours of operation. The company’s 100 kW fleet began operating in 2008 at nearly 98% demonstrating …
Organic Produce Company Harnesses Solar
Food producers and manufacturers continue to harness the sun. Watsonville Coast Produce, based in Watsonville, California, has just gone online with a 739.2 kW solar power system to generate all the electricity needed to power its agricultural distribution facility. The 44,000 square foot warehouse has nearly 450,000 cubic feet of refrigerated space to house its organic produce before being shipped …
Republican Nat’l Convention Fueled with Natural Gas
The upcoming 2012 Republican National Convention being hosted by Tampa, Florida, shuttle buses will be fueled with compressed natural gas (CNG). The buses, coined GOP EZ Shuttles, will be transporting participants to hotels and local attractions. America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) is coordinating with local TECO Peoples Gas and Ultimate CNG to provide the CNG fuel for the shuttles. ANGA says CNG …
California Releases 2012 Bioenergy Action Plan
California has released its 2012 Bioenergy Action Plan with the goal of improving the timeline to market of energy development, job creation and protection of public health and safety. The state defines bioenergy as energy produced from organic waste such as forest, urban and agricultural that would otherwise go into a landfill or be burned. The state is looking at …
Old Yellow House Gets Net Zero with Help of Solar
It may not be effective to be passive person but it is good to be a passive home. East Bay (California) general contractor Anthony Maramonte of Mara Construction has partnered with Jame P. Wright an architect with Net Zero Homes to restore the historic “The Old Yellow House” to be model of energy efficiency. A passive home is an ultra …
NYSE Euronext Supports Wind Energy
The NYSE Euronext is a supporter of wind energy. The exchange purchased renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Green Mountain Energy Company for its 2011 electricity use. The RECs purposed were generated from 100 percent wind energy sources. “We are making commitments across the board to operate sustainably, and our decision to choose 100% wind renewable energy certificates for our electricity …