Blog – Page 1453 – 2GreenEnergy.com

Locally Generated Energy…. And Automobile Design?

craigshieldsPosted on June 19, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

Distributed generation is a big deal when we contemplate the future of energy, as it provides so many benefits, e.g., no transmission costs and voltage drops, reduced reliance on coal, less bureaucracy, local jobs, facilitation of smart-grid technologies, and integration of renewable resources that happen to be abundant in each particular region.

But here’s a question: Does this concept extend beyond energy into other important sectors of our economy? (more…)

Tagged with: distributed generation, integration of renewable resources that happen to be abundant in each particular region, Local Motors Microfactory, Locally Generated Energy, locally relevant vehicles, transmission costs and voltage drops

Two Viewpoints on Politics and Economics

craigshieldsPosted on June 18, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

Frequent contributor MarcoPolo who comments on my post about Annie Leonard (pictured) and her concern about our “robo-consumer” society :

The “consume less,” ”back to nature”, reductionist philosophy, is usually accompanied by a covert loathing of mankind, disingenuously presented as a love for mankind…..All human endevour has upsides and downsides…. (more…)

Tagged with: Annie Leonard, education and cleantech, education is better than ignorance, fossil fuels and war, health is better than disease, peace is better than war, Politics and Economics, robo-consumer society, robust economy without destroying our planet

Pope Hits Hard on Climate Change in Encyclical "Laudato Si’’

craigshieldsPosted on June 18, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

A reader notes: I haven’t yet read the 178 page text of Laudato Si, but I’ve read a great deal of highlights… This is a watershed moment. It could change everything. It could also spell the end of the Republican party, as they have typically split the Catholic vote 50/50 with the Democrats… and after this day that will be extremely hard for them to maintain. This is VERY exciting stuff! (more…)

Tagged with: Laudato Si, moral imperative to stop climate change, opposing abortion and contraception

Concept in “Small Wind”

craigshieldsPosted on June 18, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

I’ve been having a discussion with an inventor of a product in the “small wind” energy space (i.e., anything under 100KW) whose website is linked above. He had asked my advice about his concept, which is summarized as follows:

The hanging windmill doesn’t require a tower. (more…)

Tagged with: Concept in “Small Wind”, hanging windmill, history of small wind, small wind energy space, storing excess wind energy, wind energy cost of maintenance

What About Wearable Solar PV?

craigshieldsPosted on June 17, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

Frequent commenter and senior energy analyst Glenn Doty writes about an earlier post on wearable solar PV (see picture on left featuring the obligatory pretty girl). He notes: (This) is likely a fad that will contribute absolutely nothing to the net emissions problem.

Oh, you’re 100% right about the emissions issue, but wearable PV can make a huge difference to those in the rural parts of the developing world who have to spend hours per day walking to the nearest city to charge their cell phones. (more…)

Tagged with: electricity has the potential to bring access to information, Internet access and education, rural parts of the developing world, Wearable Solar PV

Will a Solar PV Tree Offer Advantages?

craigshieldsPosted on June 17, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

The reader who asked earlier about wearable solar PV clarifies:

I agree with you that the direction for these threads for wearable power generation is a dead end or at least a very low power, niche market.

My thought has to do with using short threads, 3-5 in. in length, in very high volume to construct a “solar tree.” Nature got solar collection right long before humans ever tried. A tree gathers more light, direct and ambient, per square meter of land space than a flat panel ever will. (more…)

Tagged with: Aristotle, power incident from the sun, PV doesn’t deal well with shadows, solar PV Tree, solar tracking, wearable solar

Venture Capital Versus Angel Investment

craigshieldsPosted on June 17, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

A reader with a new idea in the processing of biomass takes solace in a report that shows that venture capital is again embracing cleantech, meaning that the cleantech space is on the upswing. He notes: This gives hope to those like me who want to see things begin turning around for the world before it’s too late to stop runaway global warming and catastrophe.

Given the state of development of your technology (which we’ve discussed), if I were advising you, I would suggest that you stay away from venture capital in any case. What you need sounds more like angel investment. I explained the difference and my reasoning on the subject in the post linked above.

Tagged with: cleantech is on the upswing, runaway global warming, venture capital is again embracing cleantech, Venture Capital Versus Angel Investment

Wearable Solar PV: How Much Potential Does It Hold?

craigshieldsPosted on June 17, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

A reader asks: I was looking for a contact with a group currently researching and manufacturing photovoltaic thread as described here.

Most of the research is focusing on textiles for the thread. I think they should look in a different, novel, direction. (more…)

Tagged with: generating extremely small amounts of electricity, human body capable of producing 400 watts, PV bathing suit, researching and manufacturing photovoltaic thread, wearable PV

Renewable Energy Fraud — Further Discussion

craigshieldsPosted on June 16, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

Here’s a further piece of the conversation that began when a young lady introduced me to an idea for converting compressed air into energy that her boss, the company’s CEO, had invented. At issue, of course, is: “Where does the energy to compress the air come from?” Their answer: the machine produces more energy than it consumes; it makes its own energy. Ouch. We’re off to a bad start.

After I spurned the idea, as it violates the first and second laws of thermodynamics, the company’s rep writes: (more…)

Tagged with: Renewable Energy Fraud, the machine produces its own energy, Where does the energy come from

A Short Chat About Renewable Energy Fraud

craigshieldsPosted on June 16, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

Here’s a good example of what I go through in my pursuit of good ideas in renewable energy; it’s the dialog I had with the people I wrote about here.

Cogar Energy Rep: We appreciate your interest in helping to save our environment by investing in or lending on the world’s most advanced green technology that compresses and accelerates air at rapid speeds to generate electricity! ….. You may wish to invest in one of a number of possible manufacturing sites to process the orders that are flowing in. Creative options and flexibility exist. We arrange a conference call for serious investors and lenders to talk directly with the project head to have all questions answered and to receive documents needed.

Craig: Where does the energy comes from to compress the air? (more…)

Tagged with: advanced green technology, compresses and accelerates AIR at rapid speeds to generate electricity, good ideas in renewable energy, no possible scientific validity, raise investment capital, Renewable Energy Fraud, violation of the laws of physics