Category Archives: water efficiency

Barack Obama’s Energy Policies – They are great but have left me a bit disappointed

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This election offers a clear choice if you are into the environment and advancing energy policies towards a clean energy future. Barack wants to go to clean energy and Mitt wants to go back to the past. I have been disappointed in some of Barack’s decisions or should I say his administration’s decisions. I was totally unhappy with his decision to back the two nuclear power plants in Georgia. I also thought that the Sylendra loan was totally political. Still his strong backing for Wind and Solar is deeply appreciated. More historic however, he has moved the military towards alternative energy. Like I tell people who are you gonna vote for? The other guy?

http://www.barackobama.com/record/environment?source=primary-nav

  • President Obama has made protecting the environment a priority, moving us toward energy independence, investing in clean energy jobs, and taking steps to improve the quality of our air and water. As of November 2010, the Obama administration’s policies have helped create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the clean energy industry.

  • President Obama enacted the largest expansion of land and water conservation and protected wilderness in a generation. He also created the America’s Great Outdoors initiative to develop a community-led conservation and recreation agenda for the 21st century.

  • President Obama is committed to putting in place an “all-of-the-above strategy” to develop every available source of American energy while making sure we never have to choose between protecting our environment and strengthening our economy.

In his most recent State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his commitment to lessening America’s dependence on foreign oil and investing in clean energy to protect our environment and create jobs.

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The Drought Will Move On – That is the nature of Global Warming

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The unstable weather patterns created by Global Warming means that there will be drought and flooding somewhere in the world, more or less at the same time. So this impending hurricane just pushes the drought out of its way for a while but it will come back.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/us-usa-drought-idINBRE87T0Z620120830

Drought eases in U.S. Midwest, worsens in northern Plains

By Karl Plume

Thu Aug 30, 2012 9:30pm IST

(Reuters) – The worst U.S. drought in a half century loosened its grip on the Midwest in the past week, helped by rain and cooler temperatures, but the drought grew more dire in the northern Plains, a report from climate experts said on Thursday.

But the improved Midwest weather arrived too late for crops in major farm states such as Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, where severe corn and soybean yield losses have already been realized.

The portion of the contiguous United States suffering from at least “severe” drought fell to 42.34 percent from 44.03 percent over the prior week, according to the Drought Monitor, a weekly synthesis representing a consensus climatologists.

The percentage of the Midwest in that category slipped to 49.96 from 51.06 the previous week, with the most notable improvement in Indiana, 64.07 percent of which was under severe drought or worse, down from 81.48 percent a week ago.

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Rain Friday Night They Say – When Isaac’s remnants get here

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But the damage has already been done. The next question is what about next year. First, the seed corn was a total wash this year so right now they are trying to grow enough in Brazil to even get us going next year. But then the next question is when to plant and where. If anybody was a good enough predictor to get in during or right after the late frost then your corn would be fine and you would be sitting on a gold mine. This is contingent on us getting some moisture over the winter. If we don’t get enough moisture well then next year looks bleak.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/30/iowa-corn-crop-drought-farmers-prices?newsfeed=true

Rain comes too late for Iowa’s corn crop as drought weighs on midwest minds

Farmers hope for better next year after summer of record drought leads to rising prices and brings tensions to the surface

Thursday 30 August 2012 10.44 EDT

Flying into Des Moines, the corn fields look surprisingly green. America’s midwest produces half the world’s corn and Iowa its largest harvest, yet amid the worst drought in living memory all the untrained eye can see is the occasional brown mark, like a cigarette burn on the baize of a pool table.

But appearances can be deceptive.

In Boone, Iowa, 30 miles away from the state capital, traffic backs up for miles bringing 200,000 people to Farm Progress, the US’s largest agricultural show one. Here, all the talk is of the drought.

Pam Johnson, first vice-president of the National Corn Growers Association, says she can’t remember one as bad as this in her 40 years of farming. “My parents say you have to go back to the 1930s for anything comparable,” she says. In June, her farm in northern Iowa got an inch and a half of rain. “We usually get that a week. In July we got seven-tenths of an inch, for the month.” Rain may be coming soon, thanks to hurricane Isaac, but it’s too late for America’s corn crop.

The US planted 97m acres of corn for this year’s crop – the most since 1937. If everything had gone according to plan, this year’s harvest would have produced a new record, at close to 15bn bushels of corn (a bushel is 24 million metric tonnes). It’s too early to say what the final tally will be, but the US department of agriculture has slashed its forecast to 10.8bn. Dan Basse, president of AgResources, an independent agriculture analyst, says that figure is likely to come down. “We’ve lost 4bn bushels of corn. That’s the largest loss in history, and we could lose another,” he says. The USDA has declared counties in 38 states to be “disaster areas”. About 72% of cattle areas are experiencing drought.

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Drought Causes Drillers To Go Deep – And in some cases guess

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Water is a utility issue, an environmental issue, an energy issue and a residential issue. So it makes sense to cover it here. Next week I turn to the energy policies of the Presidential candidates.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2019013218_apusdroughtwellwitchers.html

Originally published Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 5:14 AM

In drought, drillers offering even water witching

Well driller Randy Gebke usually uses a geology database and other high-tech tools to figure out where to sink new water wells for clients. But if asked, he’ll grab two wires, walk across the property, waiting for the wires to cross to find a place to drill.

By DAVID MERCER

Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —

Well driller Randy Gebke usually uses a geology database and other high-tech tools to figure out where to sink new water wells for clients. But if asked, he’ll grab two wires, walk across the property, waiting for the wires to cross to find a place to drill.

Gebke is water witching, using an ancient method with a greater connection to superstition than science.

Thousands of wells have gone dry this summer in the worst drought the nation has experienced in decades. Some homeowners are spending as much as $30,000 to have new ones drilled, and Gebke said most potential customers in his area expect water witching to be part the deal.

“Over 50 percent of the time in that conversation, they ask do we have a witcher on the crew,” he said. “And my response is, `We have a witcher on every crew.'”

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America 9th In The World – I am not sure whether I believe this or not

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ACE3 rarely ever gets very much wrong.  But the idea that the UK was the most efficient country in the world and the USA was 9th? There is something very wrong about that.

http://www.energycircle.com/blog/2012/08/15/us-takes-9th-place-energy-efficiency-out-of-12

U.S. Takes 9th Place in Energy Efficiency! (Out of 12).

By Will – August 15th, 2012

A new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranked the energy efficiency of the world’s 12 largest economies. The U.S., unfortunately, ranked 9 out of 12.

So while we were out dominating at the Olympics, we were quietly slipping behind on a metric that, if improved, would yield a substantial benefit  for our country — economically as well as environmentally.

So how did we do on the specifics?

  • 9th overall in energy efficiency
  • 9th in terms of “national effort” in energy efficiency
  • 6th in industrial energy efficiency
  • 4th in building energy efficiency
  • 12th in transportation efficiency

With our penchant for gas guzzlers and the unpopularity of public transportation over here, it’s easy to see how we came in dead last in transportation.

But a shimmer of hope there is the 4th place ranking we got in building energy efficiency — our best category, and not all that shabby really. (We would have almost gotten a medal if building energy efficiency were an Olympic event.) While we’ve previously lamented our slow progress in implementing energy efficiency in buildings, and have shaken our heads as federal tax credits have been cut and legislation aimed at improving energy efficiency has stalled, it looks like we’re actually doing okay in the field of building efficiency compared to the rest of the world’s developed countries.

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Solar And Coal – You would not think they go together

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I say this is a stretch. It is just the coal companies to throw a little sop to what “green” means. You judge for yourself.

http://www.earthtechling.com/2010/07/hybrid-solar-coal-plant-being-tested-in-colorado/

Hybrid Solar Coal Plant Being Tested In Colorado

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As much as we all want coal as an energy source to go away completely, we also know it will take the government and private sector sometime (too long in our opinion) to fully move to clean energy sources. In the meanwhile, methods need to be developed which can minimize the impact of fossil fuel usage on the environment. One such pilot project is going on near Grand Junction, Colorado, at Xcel Energy’s Cameo Generating Station using a unique solar-coal hybrid design.

Xcel Energy said it has connected a parabolic-trough solar technology system developed by Abengoa Solar to its coal power plant. This system concentrates solar energy to provide heat for producing supplemental steam for electric power production, which Xcel Energy feels will help lower the usage of coal as an energy source at this facility while also testing the commercial viability of concentrating solar power thermal integration and lowering carbon dioxide emissions.

This project is believed to be the world’s first known demonstration of the hybrid solar-coal approach using the parabolic-trough solar approach. It is part of a larger program by Xcel Energy to test promising new technologies with potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions and result in other environmental improvements. The company said this program allows it the opportunity to test these technologies and evaluate their cost, reliability and environmental performance at a demonstration scale before determining whether they should be deployed more widely

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Solar Power In New Mexico – What better of a place to set up shop

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Yes I know about the fire at the Chevron Plant in the Bay area and what that adds to the idea that the oil and gas industry is purposely taking gasoline processing capacity offline as demand for gasoline falls to keep prices high. But solar is so much more peaceful and zen like.

This type of progress is just stunning. We are on the way to becoming a renewable country. Now if the rest of the world will follow suit.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2296947.shtml

New Mexico’s largest solar plant opens in Carlsbad

Posted at: 09/22/2011 6:10 PM | Updated at: 09/22/2011 6:16 PM
By: Joe Bartels, KOB Eyewitness News 4

Carlsbad officials unveiled the largest solar power project in New Mexico on Thursday.

Three of the five solar power plants in Southeast New Mexico went online, feeding enough electricity over the next 20 years to power almost 200,000 homes.

Eddy and Lea counties added the additional energy source to their already impressive portfolio.

“We have, of course, nuclear, we have bio fuels being produced down here, a vibrant oil and gas industry that’s doing fantastic and now we have solar,” said John Waters of Eddy County Economic Development.

The 100 acres of photovoltaic panels will track the sun’s movement in the sky for the next 20 to 30 years.

It’s all part of a plan to create clean, renewable energy and jobs.

“What we have is a facility that employed people for a significant amount of time, and will continue to do so over the next 20 to 30 years,” said Robert Reichenberger, Sun Edison spokesperson. “These panels and this facility are expected to last that long so we will continue to need people on the jobsite to monitor the project.”

Out of the three power plants online, two of them are in Jal and one is in Carlsbad.

The two offline – in Eunice and Monument – are expected to be generating power by the end of 2011.

“It shows we’re ahead of the rest of the state in this type of energy production and we like to think of ourselves in Southeastern New Mexico, particularly Eddy County as being a major contributor to the energy industries across the country,” said Waters.

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Solar Power Plants In China – They are beating us like a broken drum

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Because of the power of the coal industry and the oil industry, China is so far out in front of American that it is not even funny. It so pitiful that we let all of this happen under George Bush’s watch. He built the biggest wind farms in Texas and then dropped the ball at the Federal level. We never may actually be able to catch up.

http://www.sungrowpower.com/sungrow-english/product.php?page=6&menu=1&cate=1&case=1&item=16

Project name: Shilin 10 MW Model PV Power Plant Project of Yunnan Provincial Power Investment Co., Ltd.
Location: Shilin, Yunnan
Installation capacity: 4MW
Model: SG500KTL
Brief introduction: On May 25th, 2010, Kunming Shilin solar energy PV grid connected experimental model power plant with a designed installation capacity ranking the first in Asia had the first-stage project connect the grid officially. The model power plant has a gross installation capacity of 166 MW, which is invested and developed by Huaneng Group and Yunnan Provincial Power Investment Co., Ltd. Large grid connected inverters of Sungrow series independently developed by Sungrow Power Supply Co, Ltd have been used in this grid connection. These inverters have reached international advanced level in terms of reliability, conversion efficiency, power quality and other technical indexes and could satisfy the latest demand of State Grid. They have passed Golden Sun, CE, KEMA and other product certifications and have been successfully applied in many large PV power projects including Shanghai Expo, Dunhuang franchise bidding 20MW model power plant, Ningxia Sun Mountain, Ningxia Shizuishan, etc.
20 MW project in this grid connection uses large grid connected inverters of Sungrow series independently developed by Sungrow Power Supply Co, Ltd. These inverters have reached international advanced level in terms of reliability, conversion efficiency, power quality and other technical indexes and could satisfy the latest demand of State Grid. They have passed Golden Sun, CE, KEMA and other product certifications and have been successfully applied in many large PV power projects including Shanghai Expo, Dunhuang franchise bidding 20MW model power plant, Ningxia Sun Mountain, Ningxia Shizuishan, etc.

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Even In Botswana They Like Solar – Though this one is smaller than the first proposal

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About 2 years earlier there is evidence in the literature that the Botswana government let bids for a 200 megawatt facility. So why this one is for a little over a meg., I got no idea. And there are no pretty pictures either.

http://www.botswanaguardian.co.bw/newsdetails.php?nid=3400&cat=BG%20News

Category Name BG News
News Name Solar plant boosts relations with Japan
Author BY LETTY MASUNGA
Date 17-02-2012

BG correspondent The P85 million 1.3MW Photovoltaic Power station in Phakalane will not only serve to diversify the country’s energy sources but also boost the country’s economic relations with Japan. The Japan-sponsored clean energy plant is expected to be complete in September this year. The plant is part of government’s investment in the energy sector. Speaking during a progress tour of the Power Station on Wednesday, Mineral and Water Affairs minister, Ponatshego Kedikilwe said: “This arrangement will not only boost our economic relations with Japan but will be beneficial in the diversification of energy sources,” as it will lessen the pressures of rampant energy shortage. Phillimon Dhafana, the Manager of the Planning and Projects in Rural business unit from Botswana Power Corporation, explained that the power plant would generate uncultivated solar power. Dhafana told the Botswana Guardian that, “our country experiences plenty of heat that these power plant will harness and convert to solar energy that will benefit the whole country.”

Dhafana said the difference between Morupule power station and this new project is that the solar power plant produces clean energy while the Morupule plant emits coal gases, which destroy the greenhouse. The power station is expected to be complete in September.

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More next week.

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

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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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