A major driver of the recent push for residential solar powers systems has come by way of companies offering leases.
These large, well funded companies have done well in selling lease arrangements to less than savvy homeowners. The fact is that these homeowners could have acquired their own financing and saved considerably more. (more…)
During a talk on the adoption curve for renewable energy with a friend this morning, I mentioned that a huge factor is politics; in particular, any gains in solar and wind come as the result of the tooth-and-nail fights with the enormous powers that are dead-set on stopping them.
Here’s an article written by an assembly woman in Wisconsin on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group that is in place specifically to make sure the established industries can maintain their monopolistic positions; in this case, the goal is to impede the progress of renewable energy so that coal, oil and gas can continue to reign supreme. If you read the article, you’ll learn how: “Legislators from Utah and Oklahoma bragged about slowing the development of solar energy in their states (and how) Oklahoma Senator A.J. Griffin (pictured here) passed a bill to tax individuals using distributed generation from solar panels or wind turbines.”
I wrote a terse note back to the guy who just sent me this piece: “Thanks. That’s nauseating.”
The increase in the number of blackouts have raised questions on the facts of such events and the vulnerability of interconnected power systems, when operate outside their design limits. The blackout that occurred on August 14, 2003 was recorded to be the biggest in the history of United States power distribution systems.
The power grid – a set of large power plants (one grid being almost half of United States) allows power sharing, it works well as a power distribution system. When breakdown in a power plant or a transmission tower occurs, other parts of the grid pick up the slack. (more…)
Hybrid cars are fast becoming commonplace and rightfully so as these cars are cutting carbon dioxide emissions down and in the process saving our environment, cleaning up our cities and even saving people money on car tax.
What are Hybrids? (more…)
As tremendous amount of intelligence and brains about “sustainability” picks up vapor, one’s framework can get lost in a myriad of terms, views, meanings and possibly, idea delusions.
World issues like – sustainability, resource scarcity, labor concerns, environmental costs, economy and finance and community development – are no longer singular and rare rather persistent and are considered growing challenges in a global scale. (more…)
Most individuals and organizations consider electric cars are environment-friendly vehicles. They are viewed as important components in the battle against global warming. It is almost taken for granted that electric cars have a far less toll on the environment than cars which run on fossil fuels.
But to say that for sure, what is the exact data that needs to be looked at? (more…)
Good news from the State of New York. These people appear to be in the process of addressing an issue that’s absolutely crucial to a migration to renewable energy; they’re contemplating a wholesale rethinking of the way they regulate their power utilities. The heavy-weights back in the Empire State recognize that the instructions they provided Con Ed and the others a century ago are no longer valid in a world of distributed generation, energy storage, smart-grid, electric transportation, etc.
If these folks can successfully re-architect the way their utilities work, and if the rest of the U.S. can use this as a template in the other 49 states, this will indeed be cause for celebration.
Many industries all over the world have started to go green and become more environmentally friendly. Thankfully, there has been a palpable surge towards eco-friendly products and services in recent years, and large companies around the globe have been busy “greening” their businesses. One of the most important aspects of this move towards eco-fuelled awareness is to teach children the significance of going green, and how to maintain a love for the world around them. We have to educate on the implications of our collective actions and how what we do will have direct consequences on not only our own futures, but also the futures of our children, grandchildren, and so on. (more…)
As you may already know, flooding damage is a serious threat to homeowners as we see more and more extreme weather events due to climate change. In England, there are approximately 5.2 million properties that are at risk of flooding. Current estimates on the annual expenses incurred by flood damage are set at £1.1 billion. However, the House of Commons anticipates that a rise to upwards of £27 billion annually in flood damage expenses could occur by 2080. (more…)
Electricity is a formidable component of daily life. We use it to heat, cool, and power our homes, offices, airports, and industrial endeavors. Electricity is so prevalent that we often forget where it comes from, much less how it is generated. (The author conflates “energy” and “electricity” and, as a consequence, makes many misstatements here, e.g., that transportation represents 3% of our energy use, since we have such a low implementation of electric transportation; transportation is actually about 30% of our total energy consumption. – Ed)
Only when we dig deeper into statistical data do we begin to realize how much electricity is generated, consumed or wasted. (more…)
