At the recent Solar Power International show. I ran into a spokesperson for NREL, and engaged in a discussion of the most exciting development happening out there in Golden, Colorado. As it turns out, it’s perovskites, especially calcium titanium oxide, CaTiO3.
What’s the big deal here? Actually, there are two aspects of this: (more…)
Those who grew up with the rock/pop of the 1960s will recognize that the title here is a take-off on the song: “(Hey Little Girl) Psychotic Reaction.”
Now that we have that bad pun out of the way, let me explain that protecting the metal poles that are driven into the earth to support ground-mounted PV systems is not a joke at all; in the wrong soil conditions, they can corrode to the point of complete destruction in as few as five years. That’s where the people from Corrpro come in. Imagine that you have a utility-scale PV array that costs $100 million to install; now imagine that you can extend its life another 15 years with an investment of under $2 million. (more…)
I urge you to check out this article called Arctic Tipping Points Can Ripple Around the World and especially its comments. You’ll note that the discussion offers some of the most intense knee-jerk reactions you’ll ever see on the subject of climate change, where people of science debate the denier zombies.
Coincidentally, it’s the 166th birthday of Ivan Pavlov, of salivating dog fame. We’re told when we are young that we shouldn’t argue with crazy people and idiots, yet we are the descendants of the animals; in many ways, we just can’t help ourselves.
By the time this post is published early tomorrow morning, 2GreenEnergy’s young intern Fabio Porcu and I will be on our way to the Solar Power International show in Anaheim (near Los Angeles) California. SPI is the largest solar conference in the U.S., and, if I’m not mistaken, the world—and we intend to see as much of it as possible in our one-day visit, to check out the latest and greatest in everything that is even remotely connected with the subject: building-integrated photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, and so forth.
Anyone in the area who wants to come by and meet us over a cup of coffee is more than welcome; just hit the “contact” button above.
Here’s good news for all you people with lungs. Australia has ousted Tony Abbott (pictured), its extreme right-wing prime minister, and replaced him with Malcolm Turnbull, a gentleman known to be much more in tune with a variety of social issues; he’s a man who is likely to help his country join the 21st Century and work to address our planet’s environmental challenges.
This is a good change in so many ways; most obviously, it’s one fewer fossil fuel puppet / climate change denier at the helm of an important nation. But here’s another way to look at it: it’s less cognitive dissonance (“mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time”) for people all around the globe, who have been wondering how in blazes a country that’s home to so many fun-loving and fair-minded people wound up being led by such a repulsive, hateful reactionary. We’ll probably never know, but now the point is moot; now we can stop speculating, and breathe a little more easily—both figuratively and literally.
Storage systems play an increasingly important role for renewable energy development in our modern society. Their primary function is to store energy produced from variable energy sources, i.e., those which, by their nature, are discontinuous since they are linked to the presence of wind (in the case of wind energy) or sunlight (photovoltaics). Thanks to storage systems it is possible to stockpile electricity, to be delivered onto the grid at a time that it is needed to harmonize supply and demand. (more…)
Here’s an article on Utah State University’s project to build a track on which to test the concept of the inductive charging of a moving electric vehicle.
My question: Why? No one’s doubting that it can be done, but at the same time, I don’t hear anyone saying that this has practical consequences in the real world. It’s pretty clear that this is not a direction we’re going to pursue in the evolving world of transportation, for the reasons I provided in the post linked above.
I had the pleasure of meeting Steven Chu (pictured) a couple of times when he was the U.S. Energy Secretary, and I believe in his position: we’re fairly close to battery packs that will give us a 350- or 400-mile range, which is all any sane person wants to drive in a day.
It’s hard to imagine the content of the conversations that are going on in the boardrooms of the power utilities. Perhaps it’s not too different from those happening at the oil companies: The very conditions by which we exist are rapidly eroding.
2GreenEnergy supporter Brian McGowan sent me this article on microgrids springing up in New York, which explains quite clearly why the subject should be horrifying to utility investors. (more…)
Today is the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the caves in Lascaux, France, whose art, drawn by our short, hairy ancestors, dates back approximately 17,000 years. According to popular art historian Sister Wendy, this is the proof that these primitive people were “like us in all the ways that really matter.” This commonality of being human is something to think about when we behold the challenges that mankind faces today, whether they’re manifesting themselves in Syria or in Ferguson, Missouri.
I wrote a post yesterday to the effect that we live in a world in which the oil companies are systematically destroying the environment, all the while using their enormous wealth to prevent the citizenry from passing laws that would protect itself against this aggression. On a planet as depraved as this, could anything be happening that indicates humankind still maintains some level of kindness and compassion?
Check out what Sweden just did for the Syrian refugees. All such people fleeing this area that is “generally marked by violence” are granted permanent residency, and are invited to bring the members of their families, who will be granted the same. To prevent them from being isolated when they arrive, they will receive free bus passes.
The Swedish girl in the photo seems to approve of what’s going on in front of her. Young lady, with this decision on the part of your country, the world sends its approval right back to you. My hat’s off to Sweden, and I’m sure all people of decency around the globe feel the same way.
