Solar Powered Fruits And Vegetables – Two facilities in a row, that is amazing

Yep, it is true. This company has an incredible commitment to the environment or is it cheap power. Maybe it is both. Who cares? Lets hope it spreads.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/services/press-releases/details/beitrag/usa–34-mw-conergy-plants-for-largest-carrot-producer-worldwide_100007946/#axzz22Ox7OYNk

USA: 3.4 MW Conergy plants for largest carrot producer worldwide

31. July 2012 | By:  Conergy

Conergy is achieving additional successes in global solar growth markets. In the USA, the system supplier secured two major orders for three power plants with a first phase total capacity of 3.4 megawatts for the world’s largest carrot producer Grimmway Enterprises Inc.

Additional plants totaling 2.3 megawatts may follow at other Grimmway facilities in the future. In 2010, Conergy already helped Grimmway to produce ‘greener carrots’ by installing a 230 kilowatt plant in Arvin, California. At 3.4 megawatts, the new order is 14 times the size of the first Conergy power plant on the Grimmway farm.

30% of the power demand of the Grimmway farms covered by Conergy power plants

By the end of 2012, Conergy will have completed construction of the first three solar power plants with a total capacity of 3.4 megawatts on three carrot plantations in the Californian Central Valley, in Malaga, Bakersfield and Lamont. In a second phase, two other solar energy plants with a total capacity of 2.3 megawatts may follow at other Grimmway facilities. The 4,760 Conergy PM modules at the three power plants will be producing millions of kilowatt hours of clean power every year. This will allow the company to reduce its electricity costs, and it will cover 30% of the power demand at its carrot farms, including its 100% organic farm. In addition, the power plants will prevent the emission of more than 2,700 tonnes of damaging CO2. This makes for ‘greener carrots’ in two ways: through purely organic growing methods and through clean energy generation.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow

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Spanish Solar Facilities Are Cool – They claim the rain in Spain

falls mainly on the plain. But really it is the sun casting photons from afar that has the biggest impact.

http://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-news/current/abengoa-solar-inaugurates-second-generation-high-temperature-solar-power-tower.html

Abengoa Solar inaugurates second-generation high-temperature solar power tower

Abengoa Solar’s (Seville, Spain) first high-temperature power tower, dubbed “Eureka,” was unveiled on June 19th, 2009 by Martín Soler Márquez, Director of Innovation, Science and Enterprise for the Andalusian Regional Government, the company reports in a press release. According to the press release, this power tower is intended to test a new type of receiver on an experimental basis and it is expected that the receiver can achieve the higher temperatures needed for higher-efficiency thermodynamic power cycles. The aim of this new technology is to increase plant performance, thereby reducing generating costs as well as the area of the solar field, Abengoa reports.

The new experimental plant occupies a 16,000-squarefoot portion of the Solúcar Platform and uses 35 heliostats and a 164-foot tower which houses the experimental superheating receiver. The capacity of the experimental plant which features a thermal energy storage system is estimated to be about 2 megawatts (MW).

Solúcar Platform solar thermal and PV installation complex to offset 185,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

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Go there and see the pretty picture. More next week.

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OK Back To The Solar Installments Around The World – Just a brief stop Friday

Now that we know that humans are going to be in pretty bad shape because of climate change, let’s go back to the meditation on what could have saved us if we would have started building them sooner. Large Solar Power Plants. I am not posting any pretty pictures, just the test.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39836641/ns/us_news-environment/t/worlds-largest-solar-plant-gets-us-ok/#.UA2duaCkNyU

World’s largest solar plant gets U.S. OK

$6 billion project in Calif. aims to power at least 300,000 homes

msnbc.com staff and news service reports

updated 10/25/2010 6:07:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Calling it a major milestone, the Obama administration on Monday approved what investors say will be the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant and one that more than doubles all of U.S. solar output and can power at least 300,000 homes.

The project in the Mojave Desert near Blythe, Calif., is the sixth solar venture authorized on federal lands within the last month. All are in desert areas.

“The Blythe Solar Power Project is a major milestone in our nation’s renewable energy economy and shows that the United States intends to compete and lead in the technologies of the future,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the approval.

Construction on the $6 billion plant is expected to start by the end of 2010, with production starting in 2013. Developer Solar Millennium, a company based in Germany, says the plant will generate 1,066 construction jobs and 295 permanent jobs.

The project had run into opposition by some environmentalists due to wildlife concerns.

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Go there see the pictures and read. More tomorrow.

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When The Oil Runs Out – Capitalism goes down with it

People are always playing out this dystopian vision of what the world will look like if there is a sharp break in the availability of fossil fuels. Most people imagine guys with guns will control their chunk of the world and abuse everyone in it for the own good. Or that we will break into semi-dead towns and farm life like 200 years ago. But, I usually say, what if it is slower than that and what if people cooperate instead of foolishly compete. Then life might look like this, which sounds kinda fun.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/07/ithaca-ecovillage-forges-a-path-to-sustainable-living/

Ithaca Ecovillage Forges a Path to Sustainable Living

By Coralie Tripier

ITHACA, New York, Jul 16 2012 (IPS) – Ecovillage at Ithaca (EVI), located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, is an intentional community of 160 people striving for greater sustainability, a better quality of life, and perhaps even a new model for urban planners the world over.

Enjoying breathtaking surroundings, residents wander around the village on pedestrian-only streets, swim in the pond, share meals in the common house, and spend a small amount of their time working together for their community.

EVI’s residents have to volunteer for two hours every week in one of the six work teams – the cooking team, the dishwashing team, the common house cleanup team, the outdoor maintenance team, the regular maintenance team, or the finance team.

“If you had a house, you would have to do that anyway, so why not do it for the broader community and make friends at the same time,” Ashley Click, a young mother and new resident at EVI, told IPS.

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Go there and read about a grand life. More tomorrow.

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This American Land – Interesting media site

Man, I have been all over the map this month. Jumping from topic to topic like a gyrating Spider Man. Still this is a pretty cool site with pretty cool people so:

http://www.thisamericanland.org/blog/?cat=31

More on Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Author: Jeanna Thomas  |  Category: Behind the Scenes, Caroline Raville, Environment, Landscapes, Season Two, TAL on PBS

This is the third in a series of blogs written by This American Land host Caroline Raville on her recent experience shooting  a story for season two at Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Read the first two blogs in this series, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Season Two and Host Caroline Raville on Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

And now we are crossing over the mighty Paria River,” Dr. Titus observes.

I look down below. I see dirt and a puddle. Dr. Titus and Scott Richardson are grinning at my incredulous look as we bump along the pockmarked road. Apparently, this crack in the mud does become a river occasionally. Escalante experiences extreme weather ranging from boiling, fly-infested summers to frozen winters. Still, the evidence before me seems to suggest that this place is in a constant state of dry heat.

We drive deeper into the monument, and the paleontologists decide to take a quick detour promising spectacular views. After a steep climb with some seriously wicked turns, we find ourselves looking down on a valley littered in rock formations. There are the tar colored hills which look like a blackened sand dune. Further up, rust tinted rocks roll in the shape of a dragon’s back. And above are the whitewashed peaks dotted with green scrub brush. These layers are a physical timeline that helps scientists to establish the changes in habitat that occurred here. From ocean floor to swampland to the now arid desert, Escalante has experienced some major changes during its existence due to plate tectonics and the resulting mountain building.

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Go there and read. There are even pretty talking pictures. More tomorrow.

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OH and some housekeeping issue. The below websites asked for “links”. So by posting them here I believe we are linked. I have never used either so these are not endorsements, but they seem legitimate. As with all of the internet, buyer beware.

www.interectsolar.com

http://www.specialawnings.com/

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Electric Airplanes – Yes they almost can

They are small and slow, but they don’t go far. Still it is an interesting development. I mean I do not see electric 707s anytime in the future, but for enthusiasts like with the ultra lights, it has to be an exciting time. Did I mention you have to have a fairly good sized body of water to take off and land?

http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/it_s_an_airplane_it_s_a_jet_ski_it_s_the_electric_flynano

It’s an Airplane, It’s a Jet Ski, It’s the Electric FlyNano

The newest electric airplane to make its first flight is squarely aimed at recreational fliers, even those without a pilot’s license. The FlyNano turned some heads at last year’s Aero Friedrichshafen aviation trade show in Germany thanks to its interesting design. The FlyNano is a miniature electric flying boat, making it essentially an airborne jet ski.

The original airplane was going to have a gas engine powerplant, but the Finnish company says the ever-improving electric motors and batteries means FlyNano will be an all-electric airplane moving forward.

The first flight was a very short one, just a handful of seconds. And the airplane didn’t really get out of ground effect. The wing area looks rather small for an electric airplane compared to other models we’ve seen, which tend to have the efficient, higher-aspect-ratio wings typical of sailplanes.

The designer claims a 10,000-foot ceiling for the airplane, but that might be a bit optimistic with the current setup. FlyNano says it will continue flight testing throughout the summer. We’re looking forward to seeing longer and higher flights, though the FlyNano could be fun as an aircraft designed to fly in ground effect.

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Go there and read. More next week.

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Hot Fun In The Summertime – Acting eco friendly is important

This is just a fun little site for kids. We are on summer vacation after all.

http://green.thefuntimesguide.com/2012/03/living-green.php

Americans Are Becoming More Environmentally Aware & Conscious Of Their Behaviors

A new national survey of more than 1,000 Americans found that ‘being green’ is becoming more mainstream and has less of a stigma tied to it than it once did.

According to the survey, getting caught littering is more embarrassing to Americans than getting caught cheating on taxes.

Other behaviors that people admit to being socially aware that they’re doing include:

  • not recycling plastic bottles
  • driving a vehicles that gets only a few miles per gallon
  • letting the water run while brushing teeth

It’s clear that it is no longer just a highly motivated ‘few’ who are conscious about their own environmentally friendly actions these days.

It’s The Little Things

For most, it’s important to start small in order to stay committed to living green.

In  my case, I set a few simple actions as my New Year’s Resolutions a few years ago.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Milwaukee Has A Pretty Phenomenal Transition Movement – Maybe this post will stay

I tried to post about the Transition Movement in Milwaukee last year or the year before and got slammed for it by some editor/publisher woman there for using “too much” copyrighted text. She also dissed my unorthodox style. So I took the post down and replaced it with one about transition groups in Boston or Los Angeles. Maybe even the mothership in England. Let us see how this goes this time around.

http://onmilwaukee.com/living/articles/transitionmilwaukee.html?viewall=1

Transition Milwaukee: “we’re all in this together”

By Royal Brevväxling RSS Feed
Special to OnMilwaukee.com

E-mail author | Author bio
More articles by Royal Brevväxlin

Published May 30, 2012 at 5:31 a.m.

Transition Milwaukee (TM) is part of an international movement formed, in part, in response to the peak oil crisis and more generally around issues of climate change, economic security and permaculture principles.

Peak oil is a non-controversial acknowledgement from government, academic and industry experts that fossil fuels, a finite resource, reach a peak moment of production and necessarily begin to decline.

Any controversy that peak oil generates is from determining when this peak production will occur, from a few decades into the future to it already peaking in 2007. Bigger questions about what a society that can’t rely on fossil fuels looks like also stir up debate – and emotions.

Permaculture principles are those that inform design and systems theories about how to develop not only sustainable but self-maintained and regenerative ecological systems. Modern agriculture and societies based on oil consumption are not regarded as sustainable.

TM’s goals involve a “whole-systems” approach toward making our economies sustainable and regenerative for seven generations into the future.

“Right now, Transition Milwaukee acts as a network of concerned activists who are working toward reducing the radius in which we get our goods and services, food, water and shelter,” says Jessica Cohodes, TM steering committee leader, press contact and “big-picture synthesizer.”

Members of TM don’t really have official titles. Although it has a steering committee, TM is organized non-hierarchically.

“Transition Milwaukee has always been a group, grass-roots endeavor about the community, from the ground up. Part of its founding philosophy is that it isn’t someone else’s job to get us off oil, but our job,” says Erik Lindberg, a former TM steering committee member who regularly gives presentations on energy and the environment.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Last Energy Tips For This Summer – Of course it is another energy company

I am fresh out of thoughts on this subject. It all boils down to a decision that ever American has to make. Am I going to take power from the grid or not? If I am when and how? My answer is I would prefer to not get my power from the grid and if I must then as little as possible.

http://www.novec.com/Power_Use_It_Wisely/SummerEnergyTips.cfm

Summer Energy Tips

Summer and the high temperatures it brings can cause increased electrical loads. Keep cool this summer and save energy costs by following these simple tips around the house.

Summer cooling tips

  • Turn off unnecessary lights. Much of the energy from a light bulb is heat.
  • Shut doors to unused rooms.
  • Make sure furniture or drapes do not block your registers for supply and return air.
  • Wear thin, loosely fitting clothes and you may not have to keep room temperatures as cool.
  • Keep the sun out of your house. Close blinds, shades or curtains during the hottest part of the day.
  • On mild days, open windows for natural ventilation and turn the air conditioning off.
  • Use portable or ceiling fans. Even mild air movement of 1-mph can make you feel 3-4° cooler.
  • Apply sun-control or other reflective films on south-facing windows.

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Go there and read. More next week.

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Summer Energy Tips – Pretty fancy digs in this one

Well even middle class and rich people gotta pitch in.

http://www.wholeliving.com/136091/keep-cool-summer-home-energy-tips/@center/136755/green-home-guide

Keep Cool with Summer Home Energy Tips

Green Your Home, Slash Your Bills

The prospect of dizzying energy bills, maxed-out power grids, and killer heat waves poses a dilemma for the eco-minded. Crank up the AC, and you’ll burn through countless kilowatts — not to mention your budget. Listen to your green conscience, and you’ll pay with sweat.

But when you maximize the efficiency of your home’s cooling system and adopt smart, low-cost strategies, you can save money and still beat the heat. In fact, by eliminating wasteful habits and power guzzlers, you could cool your home with up to 50 percent less energy and save more than $400 on annual utilities. With 100 million tons of heat-trapping CO2 emitted every year as a result of residential air-conditioning, your new habits will amount to nothing less than a step toward global cooling

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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