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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

From Guest Blogger Izzie: Fires vs. Central Heating - Which Is Better for the Environment?Heating your home is so second nature now, and it always was very important. Today we rarely think about anything other than the bottom line cost of the fuel we are using. The simple flick of the switch and the bill at the end of the month is the only thing we think about.

But for the environmentally conscious among us, there are some questions that bear pondering. For example, the topic of our article today – is it better to use fireplaces or central heating when it comes to heating our homes? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Green Auto Market Features Article on Autonomous CarsHere’s the current newsletter of my colleague Jon LeSage, Editor and Publisher of Green Auto Market.   I respond:

This is very interesting; thanks very much for all you do in this space.  About the autonomous car, I’ve always said: We’re getting rid of the driver?  Let me suggest that we keep the driver, but get rid of the gasoline.  At this point, it looks like this is happening whether the automakers like it or not, with the trends in personal transportation that include a reduction in car ownership, and certainly a decrease in VMT (vehicle miles traveled).

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Really Bummed About George WillMy mom suggested that I check out George Will’s scathing remarks in his editorial: Pope Francis’ Fact Free Flamboyance.  She notes:  Read it and weep.

George Will doesn’t make me weep, though he does cause me to scratch my head.  Why does anyone care what this man thinks on matters that lie entirely outside his field of expertise?  There’s a reason I don’t write articles on baseball: I don’t know anything about the subject. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

How to be Environmentally Friendly at College Moving away from your home is rarely an easy process. With the multitude of items that need to be relocated, on top of severing ties to the old house, it can be quite the upheaval. But moving away to university or college is full of its own unique little challenges.

Not only are you tasked with shifting a lot of items to what is very likely going to only be a temporary residence, but you are usually doing so alone. You’re entering a new social scene, a new location and a new occupation all at the same time. So how can those with an environmental concern possibly continue their efforts during this stressful and sometimes chaotic time? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Potential Kryptonite for Solar PV Infrastructure: CorrosionJerry Jones writes a very complete and interesting comment on my post about the corrosion of the metal infrastructure that holds our solar PV in place; I urge readers to check it out.

I respond:  Thanks very much for this.  How interesting; I’ve only recently come across this whole issue.  There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and the route to harvesting the power we need from our nearest star (only /6000th of the total that is incident on our planet) won’t be without its challenges, of which this is certainly one.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Notes From the Ultimate Renewable Energy Do-It-YourselferMy friend and frequent guest blogger Brian McGowan writes:

Sorry I haven’t written any posts lately. I am in the middle of several projects around the house now, one of which is a low voltage disconnect and dump load controller for my little alternate energy arrangement here. The one thing I have found lacking in off-grid equipment is that there is no way to control the diversion of power to other loads once the batteries have been charged. The common way to do it now is for charge controller manufacturers to simply choke the panels down so the batteries don’t get over charged. Of course this means that the PV array is now not producing at peak capacity anymore and so power is being wasted. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Coming Soon for Those Who Who Believe the Oil Companies Face Smooth Sailing: A Haircut of Epic Proportions2GreenEnergy supporter Brian McGowan writes: Here is an interesting article. I know you are aware that the military is installing large amounts of solar. With the military installing solar at this rate, South Dakota may not have to do anything to meet the EPA mandated cuts because what the military does in their state to meet its own demand may make all the difference that is needed. Unfortunately the groups that most support the military are also the ones that deny climate change is an issue at all.  Again I say, if the military gets it, why doesn’t everybody else? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

The Human Mind Has a Tough Time Wrapping Itself Around the Concept of Exponential Growth2GreenEnergy “Associate” Kathryn Alexander sent me this incredible piece on the adoption curve for renewable energy.  I respond:

Thanks very much; this is terrific.  I particularly like the point the author makes to the effect that human beings have trouble perceiving exponential growth.  Most the models we see that describe the migration to renewable energy and other elements of cleantech assume a linear transition,  where,  in fact, this is extremely unlikely given economies of scale and the cost curves they represent.  As you know, that’s the theme of my most recent book, Bullish on Renewable Energy.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Stabilizing Incentives for Renewable EnergyMy colleague Gary Tulie sent me this piece, suggesting a way to prevent the constant whip-sawing of incentives for renewable energy.  Hi Craig,  this looks like an interesting idea.

Yes, this is very interesting indeed.  There is no doubt that the world needs a stable and predictable environment in which to make investment into cleantech,  and this seems as sane as anything I’ve come across.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Cost-Effective Solar ThermalMy colleague Gary Tulie wrote a great comment on my recent post on solar thermal,  in which he explains the opportunities for improvement in efficiencies for these technologies.  Here’s something I would add:

I’m betting against tower CSP (shown here) as a long-term scalable approach, as the mirrors located at various distances from the tower need to be fabricated in different shapes, and the tracking mechanisms, of which there are thousands, need to be extremely precise.  All this represents huge complexity and cost. Abengoa, the world leader in CSP, which I mentioned in my post, relies on a proprietary design in parabolic trough, which is far simpler. The challenge, of course, is temperature;  for the reason Gary mentioned,  i.e., the Carnot limit,  high temperatures are required for decent efficiencies.

 

 

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