Category: Renewable Energy (Page 6 of 10)

      Cutting real estate costs with solar

      December 15, 2011 /

      two make workers with hardhats installing solar panels on roof

      One of the more interesting trends in solar involves companies that will install solar panels on residential or commercial real estate with little or no upfront costs to the owner. How can they do that? The idea is simple – you have a situation where the combination of subsidies and the solar power will significantly reduce an owner’s electricity bills. The savings stream can then be used to pay off the costs of the solar panel upgrades.

      The plunging costs of solar power are making this trend even more powerful. There is some controversy, as some suspect that the Chinese are dumping panels in the US below cost, so it will be interesting to see if the trend continues on this pace, but either way prices will keep coming down. It’s just a matter of how fast.

      Many businesses and consumers are catching on, though again it remains to be seen as to how fast these systems will be implemented. For many, this becomes a real investment opportunity that changes the calculation around certain real estate investments. If you’re looking for investment property, you of course want every advantage you can think of. Every cost saving needs to be considered. Of course you’ll be looking for a bmv investment as you want to save on the initial purchase price, but ancillary costs matter as well. Energy savings should get thorough investigation. This also applies if you’re seeking overseas properties, as many countries are jumping on the renewable energy bandwagon.

      The bottom line is that solar power and other renewables will grow even faster when there are economic incentives. And those that see the incentives and their applications first can make profits by acting on them.

      Renewable Energy

      Solar power hit the battlefield

      August 16, 2011 /

      Here’s an interesting story about portable solar power:

      The U.S. Navy’s bomb squads have a weight problem. To keep their field gear powered up, the typical explosive ordnance disposal unit has to haul fifty pounds of specialized chargers and related devices around, creating an unwieldy and potentially dangerous drag on the operation.

      Now help is coming from an unexpected source: the sun.

      The Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2 in Virginia has been testing five prototype lightweight field power kits that include solar cells as a key component. The kits replace fifty pounds of equipment with a compact system that weighs only about nine pounds.

      The heart of the kit is a one-pound device called a Soldier Power Manager. The Power Manager functions like a smart micro-mini-grid. In contrast to a portable generator that runs only on diesel fuel, the Power Manager can receive energy from various sources including solar panels and fuel cells. It recharges other devices by cable attachments, eliminating the need for individual battery chargers.

      Renewable Energy

      GM making commitment to solar energy to save money

      May 14, 2011 /

      Many companies are going green because it makes sense financially. GM is a great example, as they are installing fields of solar panels at various location.

      General Motors broke ground Wednesday on a six-acre field of solar panels in front of its Detroit-Hamtramck plant as part of an effort to green the production of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car.

      DTE Energy will own and operate the 516-kilowatt system as part of its Solar Currents program, which is installing photovoltaic systems at sites such as Monroe County Community College and a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan parking structure in downtown Detroit.

      DTE will lower GM’s energy bill because of the solar panels, which were first reported by the Free Press. That savings, about $15,000 a year, will combine with more efficient lighting and equipment updates to lower Detroit-Hamtramck’s energy costs by nearly $3 million annually.

      With the large investment GM is making in US auto plants, hopefully we’ll see this kind of progress from them on green energy around the country.

      This is just one of many examples of corporate American being ahead of the curve compared to those who view alternative energy in a skeptical light. This is our future . . .

      Conservation, Energy Independence, Renewable Energy, Sustainability

      Investing in a green future

      April 23, 2011 /

      With the budget battle raging in Washington, our investments in a green future are in jeopardy. President Obama wants to make responsible cuts to spending while preserving our investments in clean energy that can help us gain energy independence and a greener future. Here’s President Obama from his weekly radio address:

      Both Democrats and Republicans believe we need to reduce the deficit. That’s where we agree. The question we’re debating is how we do it. I’ve proposed a balanced approach that cuts spending while still investing in things like education and clean energy that are so critical to creating jobs and opportunities for the middle class. It’s a simple idea: we need to live within our means while at the same time investing in our future.

      That’s why I disagree so strongly with a proposal in Congress that cuts our investments in clean energy by 70 percent. Yes, we have to get rid of wasteful spending—and make no mistake, we’re going through every line of the budget scouring for savings. But we can do that without sacrificing our future. We can do that while still investing in the technologies that will create jobs and allow the United States to lead the world in new industries. That’s how we’ll not only reduce the deficit, but also lower our dependence on foreign oil, grow the economy, and leave for our children a safer planet. And that’s what our mission has to be.

      generique du cialis generique du cialis

      Stay involved. Remember that the decisions you make at the ballot box have real implications for your lives.

      Energy Independence, Renewable Energy

      The greening of Africa

      April 14, 2011 /

      This article from Time is fascinating on several fronts. It highlights the potential for a green movement in Africa, where the expansion of deserts can be halted and reversed with green initiatives. It also addresses how carbon credits can be used to great effect.

      Two global agreements aim to put that right. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows developed-world businesses that need to offset their pollution to buy certified emission reductions, or carbon credits, to fund the reduction or sequestering of carbon dioxide in the developing world. The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program (UN-REDD), launched in 2008, allows polluters to pay developing-world farmers to keep their trees, which store carbon dioxide as they grow. UNEP is working with scientists in Kenya, China, Niger and Nigeria to quantify how much carbon each ecosystem swallows — comparing the appetite of a rain forest with, say, that of a mangrove swamp — and when completed in 2012, those formulas will determine how much to pay each landowner. The UNEP’s Steiner says “farming carbon” this way is far cheaper than new technology to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions at their source.

      Estimates of how much the new market is worth vary wildly. The World Bank says carbon sequestration could be worth $1.5 billion a year to Africa, while Sukhdev reckons UN-REDD will be worth an eventual $30 billion to $110 billion a year globally. Manfred Kern of agritechnology company Bayer CropScience argues that the potential for monetizing natural assets is almost infinite. There is no reason, he says, that what works for trees should not also work for earth. “For the urbanized world, soil is just dirt, mud,” Kern told a U.N. conference in Bonn in May 2008. “But soil is the source of our food, the very future of humanity. We must recognize that soil has a value higher than gold.” What is clear is the potential. “It is essential that climate change be viewed as a major development opportunity for Africa,” World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said last year.

      Carbon credits and trading are very controversial, but the impact on places like Africa cannot be discounted.

      Conservation, Energy Independence, Global Warming, Renewable Energy, Sustainability

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 Opportunity Grows

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑