When I got started in this subject a few years ago, the efficiency of thin film solar (i.e., the percentage of sun’s radiant power that is converted into electricity) was measured in single digits. Here, we just achieved 16.1%, a …
Author: craigshields
Apartment Building in Germany Produces Energy from Algae
Here’s a story about an apartment building in Germany that produces more energy than it consumes – at least partially from algae. Neat story, but the issue here, as always, isn’t, “Is it possible?” but, “Is it anywhere near cost-effective?” …
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Elio Motors Has An Appeal, But It Runs on WHAT??
Here’s a terrific video promoting a fun little three-wheeler that looks extremely well-conceived in every way – except the drive train. You’re going to ask your customers to put gasoline – deathfuel — into that cute, futuristic little thing? Sure, it gets …
Elio Motors Has An Appeal, But It Runs on WHAT?? Read More »
Smart Grid Will Provide Tons of Data
Here’s a show built around an interesting concept: Data is the major component of any smart grid, but as customers create and demand new data streams through home energy hubs, is there a danger of overload? A smart meter in the …
Advanced Energy Storage Solutions Will Help Displace Coal-Fired Power Plants
In prepping for the upcoming webinar on ARES (Advanced Rail Energy Storage), I’m recommending that the company position itself more aggressively around the integration of renewables into the grid-mix and, in particular, the imperative to displace coal immediately. As I …
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Tagged with: advanced energy storage solutions, Advanced Rail Energy Storage, ARES, arsenic, cadmium, carbon monoxide, climate change denier, coal-fired power plants, displacing coal, energy storage, global climate change, halides, integration of renewables into the grid-mix, lead, low-cost energy storage, mercaptins, mercury, nitrogen oxides, other toxic heavy metals, particulate matter, radioactive isotopes, solar energy, sulfides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOC), Wind Energy
Advanced Rail – New Concept in Energy Storage
Jim Kelly, CEO of ARES (Advanced Rail Energy Storage) has generously consented to do a webinar with me in the near future, which I think readers will find valuable. Insofar as solar and wind are intermittent resources, energy storage at …
Wanted: A Level Playing Field for Efficiency Solutions and Renewable Energy
I’ve agreed that each of my posts appear on CleanTechies.com, as it simply represents an expanded audience. Here’s my recent piece on Germany’s PV subsidies, with a couple of sharp comments from Cleantechies’ readers. To Edward Kerr, who wrote: It’s …
Wanted: A Level Playing Field for Efficiency Solutions and Renewable Energy Read More »
Tagged with: $711 billion annual military budget, access to oil, CleanTechies.com, coal-fired power plants, corruptive influence of money in the political scene, energy efficiency solutions, fossil fuels, fossil fuels hard-dollar subsidies, fossil fuels soft-dollars in forbearances, Germany’s PV subsidies, renewables
Energy Pragmatism
In response to my piece that rails on the environmental extremists who decry solar if it carries with it the slightest ecological downside, frequent commenter Larry Lemmert writes: I am really proud of you Craig. I have long thought that …
Solar Photovoltaics in the Desert: Under Attack
At the Nature Conservancy’s “Green Event for Georgetown Alumni” I attended last Thursday I received some shocking news: mainstream environmentalists really are attacking solar energy sited in the deserts of the U.S. southwest on the basis of its ecological footprint. …
Tagged with: burning fossil fuels, clean electricity, coal-fired power plants, cryptobiotic soil crusts, desert tortoise, disinformation from the fossil fuel industry, environmentalists attacking solar energy, Green Event, hazardous materials in solar panels, installing solar PV, lifecycle emissions of solar PV, Nature Conservancy, siting solar damage to the environment
“Green” Tourism
My thanks to 2GreenEnergy associate Annemarie Osborne for introducing me to a wonderful organization: International Coalition of Tourism Partners. I had extended Skype calls with people in Istanbul and Brussels late last week, and signed us up as a “media …
