photo: Army.mil via flickr
Last October, the US Army announced that it would be developing a 500 MW solar thermal power plant at Fort Irwin, California. At the time details as to who would be developing the project and when it might come online were lacking, but we now have more details on that (via Greent...Read the full story on TreeHuggerPosts Tagged ‘renewable energy’
Army Plans 500 MW of Solar Power at Fort Irwin by 2022
Friday, July 31st, 2009
photo: Army.mil via flickr
Last October, the US Army announced that it would be developing a 500 MW solar thermal power plant at Fort Irwin, California. At the time details as to who would be developing the project and when it might come online were lacking, but we now have more details on that (via Greent...Read the full story on TreeHuggerAbandoned Mines Could Be Used for Other Purposes: Geothermal Energy
Friday, July 31st, 2009
Coal power supplies most of the electricity that we use here in America. It’s been that way for a long time. Because of coal’s popularity as a source of power, mines, both active and abandoned, lay scattered across the nation. And now, with coal’s popularity waning, the number of abandoned mines could increase. Since 2001 alone, 100 coal-fired plants have taken their turn in front of the firing squad.
And it doesn’t seem as though it’s over. If the trend of extinguishing coal-fired plants continues, more and more mines will be shut down, not to mention mines that simply up and quit. But what is to be done with the abandoned mines? It isn’t as though we can just dispose of them at some hi-tech facility. These mines will become useless scars.
Two engineers from the University of Oviedo have an idea, though. In their research, which is being published in the journal Renewable Energy, Rafael Rodríguez and his colleague María Belarmina Díaz claim that mine shafts on the point of being closed down could be used to provide geothermal energy to local towns.
Four New Solar-Powered Ferries Coming to Hong Kong
Friday, July 31st, 2009
image: Solar Sailor Holdings
I have to say that usually when I hear about a solar-powered boat I'm a bit skeptical -- often the solar power is just used for lighting or other equipment and not propulsion -- but not so with Kong Kong's four new solar-powered ferries. Solar power will supply three-quarters of their power, with liquid petroleum gas supplying the remainder. Read the full story on TreeHuggerJuly Eco-Tidbits from Turkey
Friday, July 31st, 2009
Flamingo populations are on the rise in Turkey. Unfortunately, so is the amount of improperly disposed medical waste. Photos by suneko via Flickr (left) and Today's Zaman (right).
This past month was anything but short on developments of interest to environmentalists, with a deal being inked to build the Nabucco natural-gas pipeline, European funders pulling out of the Read the full story on TreeHuggerThe Solar Forest: Charging Station And Shady Spot For Electric Cars
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
by Christa Morris
The approaching age of electric vehicles presents us with a secondary, albeit significant, challenge: building accessible recharging stations with renewable energy. While we’re at it, can our parking lots be shady, please?
One solution may already have arrived. In Neville Mars’s dreamy design, appropriately dubbed the Solar Forest, large, leaf-shaped photovoltaic panels on branching “trees” will provide both shade and power-up plugs for electric cars relaxing on the parking lot underneath.
The viral spread of this design would suggest this is a novel idea. But between the years of 2005 and 2007, Envision Solar cultivated its own Solar Grove in Kyocera’s San Diego parking lot. With the same goal of shading cement parking lots while capturing solar energy, this forest came to life with large, flat and rectangular PV “trees.” The solid technology promised to repay costs of installation within five years, but the clunky array looked more like helicopter landing pads than trees. Although functional, the Solar Grove failed to draw as much attention. 
In contrast, the blog-storm in the past week has focused little on the science behind the Solar Forest, and instead has been fueled by the trees’ organically striking visual appeal. In order for companies to fork up the initial installation costs, it is crucial that solar-parking-lot solutions are not just convenient and sustainable, but attractive as well.
The final question is whether the structure truly translates into function. Like many others, I was initially concerned whether the shade of overlapping PV leaves would waste surface area. However, Mars assured Mike Chino of Inhabitat.com that the leafy canopy design was not a goal, but the best solution to maximizing shade for the cars and sunlight for the PV panels—much like the dogwood tree in my backyard, the Solar Forest’s leaves will tilt and rotate with the sun.
If the Solar Forest can be modular and economical as well as effective, it will be worldchanging. Think of how much under-utilized, sun-baked parking lot space exists alongside a single strip mall! In any event, the excitement this idea has generated brings attention to the vital role of biomimicry in sustainable design, as well as the key goal of transforming the unsustainable (and downright ugly) spaces of the world into useful, beautiful, and bright green landscapes.
Learn more about, biomimicry, solar projects and EVs in the worldchanging archives:
Biomimicry 101
Solar Carbon Payback
Project Get Ready Aims to Create Electric Vehicle Revolution
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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Transportation at 2:44 PM)
FedEx Ground to Install US’s Largest Rooftop Solar Power Array at New Jersey Distribution Center
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
photo: FedEx
The rooftop solar array race is heating up: FedEx Ground has just announced that it will be installing what will be, for now, the largest rooftop solar power system in the US at its distribution hub in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Construction on the project is slated to begin in August and be completed in November. Here are the rest of the details:...Read the full story on TreeHuggerNew Biodiesel Plant Nearly Doubles California’s Refining Capacity
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
photo: Crimson Renewable Energy
California currently has a biodiesel production capacity of about 34 million gallons per year, but one single plant by Colorado-based Crimson Renewable Energy is set to nearly double that. The 30 million gallon per year facility in Bakersfield was just completed and officially opened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. Here are the details:...Read the full story on TreeHuggerNew Jersey Approves 80 MW PSE&G Solar4All Program – Doubles State’s Solar Power Capacity
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
photo: Mark Lovretin/PSEG
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has just approved utility PSE&G's Solar4All program, which aims to install some 80 MW of solar power throughout the state by 2013. Some of the details have changed somewhat since TreeHugger first heard of the project back in February, so here's what's been approved:...Read the full story on TreeHuggerIndia’s National Solar Mission Details Leaked – 20GW by 2020, 3 Mil. Homes With Solar-Powered Lighting, More
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
photo: B Balaji via flickr
Last month The Hindu managed to get a look at a draft of the India's National Solar Mission plan and saw that installing 20 GW of solar power by 2020 is on the table. Now Reuters has gotten a look too, confirming some details and fleshing out others. It's not likely to be formally...Read the full story on TreeHuggerGreen vs. Brown – 5 Countries Using Plenty of Renewable Energy & 5 Who Use None
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Geothermal power plant in Iceland, photo: FutureAtlas.com via flickr
The United States has a long road ahead in transforming its electrical generation to greener sources of power, no doubt about that. But not every nation faces the same energy challenges. Some nations have it much easier, already using a great deal of