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Articles, Tables, and Commentary on Solar Energy, Geothermal, and Electric Vehicles
Geothermal Energy
- Germany to Substantially Increase Geothermal Feed-in Tariffs--Germany wants to do for geothermal energy what it has done for wind, solar photovoltaics, and biogas by raising its payment for geothermally-generated electricity in 2012. . .
- Geothermal Feed-in Tariffs Worldwide--Countries worldwide are increasingly turning to feed-in tariffs as a mechanism to develop geothermal energy. . .
- Distributed Geothermal in California Can Add 7% of Supply--Small, geographically dispersed geothermal power plants could provide 7% of California's electricity supply, according to an analysis of data collected by a consultant to the Golden state. . .
- Geysers Loosing Steam: a Finite Resource After All?--Plummeting generation at the Geysers in Northern California is shaping up as a"Tragedy of the Commons" not unlike Garret Hardin's ecological parable where private interest, privately pursued, leads all to catastrophe. There's just "too many straws in the soda bottle," explains geologist Carl Austin, "and we're not sure the soda jerk's pouring more into the glass.". .
Electric Vehicles
- Electric Car Notes 06 by Mike Brigham: Early Volt Feedback--EV range: about 55kms under the present weather conditions and the earliest Canadian users are reporting about an 8-15km drop in EV range due to cooler weather now . . .
- Electric Car Notes by Paul Gipe 05: Chevy Volt Test Drive--Tuesday I drove a Chevy Volt through the wind farms of the Tehachapi Pass. This was part of an interview by Automotive Magazine about the Chevy Volt and the potential role renewable energy could play in powering this and other electric vehicles. . .
- Electric Car Notes by Ben Zuckerman 04: Miles per kWh--We have now had our LEAF for a bit over two months and, indeed, we are going about 4 miles per kWh, implying a range of about 96 miles (the batteries store 24 kWh). . .
- Electric Car Notes by Ben Zuckerman 03: Spare Tire?--Should your LEAF have a flat tire, then getting somewhere to have the problem fixed may not be as easy as with your previous cars. To save weight and space, some new cars, including the LEAF, no longer carry a spare tire. . .
- Electric Car Notes by Ben Zuckerman 02: No Tailpipe--We have now had our Nissan LEAF EV for a month and things are going smoothly. Everyone we have taken for a test drive has nice things to say about the car. The LEAF does not have a tailpipe. . .
- Electric Car Notes by Ben Zuckerman 01: EV with PV--For this first posting I would like to mention a few things about the LEAF. My wife and I really like the car, not the least of which is that it runs on the electricity generated by the PV panels that cover only about 1/3 of the roof area of our house; that is, the panels generate sufficient electricity to power both the house and the LEAF. . .
- One Million Megawatts of Wind Capacity for the USA--Now, let's turn to the enormous number of passenger-vehicle-miles traveled annually in the United States. Their consumption of liquid fossil fuels contribute substantially to America's carbon emissions. How many wind turbines would it take to convert passenger vehicles to electricity? . .
General Solar Commentary
- Solar Car Skiing and Solar Donuts--On April 12th 2010, XOF1 and Jim White made history with the first ever Solar Power Skiing. The event took place over the frozen Arctic Ocean. . .
- PV Magazine: Photovoltaics – the energy alternative that is immediately available in large and affordable quantities--Publisher Karl-Heinz Remmers takes aim at those who continue to label photovoltaics as the most expensive renewable energy source - particularly in context of the German renewable landscape. . .
- CleanTechnica: North American Solar Photovoltaic Market to Double in Q4 2011--The U.S. is projected to account for 84% of the market this quarter, and Canada (largely Ontario, because of its world-leading feed-in tariff and the “cool” or “contagion” factor), the other 16%. Breaking it down by states and provinces, it would look like this:
California: 21%;
Ontario: 16%;
New Jersey: 11%; and
Other U.S. States: 52%. . .
- Craig Morris: Belgium to phase out nuclear--Though it has no government, Belgium has resolved to shut down its nuclear reactors, with the first three to be taken down in 2015 -- provided power supply is not endangered. . .
- SolarShare on the Map--How Renewable Energy--Especially Solar--Can Become More Transparent--Now I can point to another shining example of how to develop renewable energy responsibly and transparently: SolarShare. . .
- Dardesheim: Germany's Renewable Energy Town--There are less than 1,000 souls in the town of Dardesheim. But the village and its 80,000 neighbors in the county of Halberstadt in the former East Germany have an expansive spirit. They want to become Germany's renewable energy city. They want to become 100% renewable using solar, wind, and biomass. . .
- Ottawa Citizen: Ottawa (Ontario) group's goal is 1,000 solar rooftops--It could be the national capital's new look for the 21st century: A skyline dotted with 1,000 solar rooftops. . .
- Protecting Creation: Solar PV at Religious Institutions Driven by Feed-in Tariffs--One powerful advantage of feed-in tariff policies for developing renewable energy is that they permit the participation of people from all walks of life. One does not have to be Florida Power & Light to build a solar plant on your rooftop. . .
- Solarserver: Spain's MITyC approves 923 PV plants--On March 31st, 2011, The Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade (MITyC) announced that it has approved 923 new solar photovoltaic (PV) plants for participation in the nation's feed-in tariff. . .
- Ontario Solar co-op makes pitch to Orangeville council--The Green Pathways Community Solar Cooperative Inc., along with its partner, Orangeville Hydro, approached Orangeville council at its April 4 meeting seeking a commitment from the town to lease the roof of its C Line operations centre to install solar PV (photovoltaic) panels. . .
- Ontario Church follows the light: Richards Memorial United Church plans to plug in its cross-shaped solar array Wednesday--Worshippers at Richards Memorial United Church say they’ve always got their power from on high. Now they’re connecting their energy source to the grid. . .
- Richard Perez: Solar Power Generation in the US: Too expensive, or a bargain?--Results for the state of New York suggest that solar electric installations deliver between 15 to 40 cents per kWh to ratepayers and taxpayers. These results provide economic justification for the existence of payment structures (often referred to as incentives) that transfer value from those who benefit from solar electric generation to those who invest in solar electric generation. . .
- German Solar Photovoltaic Price Index--The Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (the German Solar Energy Association) graphs the rapid fall in the installed cost of solar photovoltaic systems in Germany. . .
- Going Solar in Ontario, Canada--Our family is one giant step closer to being part of Ontario’s innovative micro-FIT program, which is encouraging the growth of renewable energy production in the province by paying a premium to regular folks like us for generating electricity using renewable technologies and feeding it back into the grid. . .
- Feed-in Tariffs for Renewable Heat, Solar Thermal, Solar Domestic Hot Water (DHW), Efficiency, and Biomass--Below are some sources on feed-in tariffs for renewable heat and solar DHW. . .
- Fly-by of World's Largest Solar PV Farm in Ontario--Video of Enbridge's 80+ MW solar PV plant near Sarnia . . .
- Beyond Biofuels: Renewable Energy Opportunities for U.S. Farmers--A Transatlantic Comparison on a Growing Business for Agriculture . . .
- Brief Summary of World Solar PV Market Stats 2009
- Ontario Reaches 46 MW Solar PV in 2009--The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reports that 40 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) contracts were in commercial operation by the end of 2009. This represents about 46 MW of installed DC capacity, the industry's standard notation. In a few short months Ontario has become a major market for solar PV in North America. . .
- German Installed PV Cost 2009
- Energy Self-Reliant States--a Review--is another valuable tool for renewable energy advocates in building a case that "yes, even the US can" move to renewables--and the sooner the better. . .
- SEMIconductor Manufacturers: FITs Best for Solar PV--The world's semiconductor manufacturers have now waded in with another of a cavalcade of recent reports on why feed-in tariffs are best for spurring investment and innovation in renewable energy. . .
- Sarnia Solar PV Farm--On a recent trip across Ontario to Indiana, I stopped by Sarnia to take some pictures of the large solar PV farm being installed outside town. When completed it will be one of the largest in North America. . .
- Solar PV DC Conversion to AC kW--Most contracts for solar PV, such as those under Ontario's Standard Offer Contract program and its new Feed-in Tariff program, are written in terms of AC kilowatts (kWAC). . .
- Tracking the Sun: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the US in 1998-2007 by Ryan Wiser, LBNL
- Barcelona's Solar Pergola--Barcelona's 444 kW Pergola solar del Forum was inaugurated May 4, 2009 at the site of Barcelona's World Forum of Culture. . .
- Mike Brigham's Freiburg Solar Tour (photos of Freiburg's Solar Siedlung, Vauban, Helotrope and others)
- Lehr Brothers' 119 kW Solar PV Plant in Edison California
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Residential solar PV, Freiburg, Germany.
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- The Ontario Solar Initiative: 1,000 MW Solar PV by 2017--In response to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2007 visit to Toronto, the Ministry of Energy's call for increased renewable generation and the OPA's acknowledgement of the important role of renewable energy in Ontario's future, the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) proposes--the "Ontario Solar Initiative". . .
- Solar Without Limits: Breaking Free from Net Metering--For more than a decade, senior environmental leaders in North America have been waiting for Germany's renewable energy market to collapse, an expectation tinged with schadenfreude. However, it's been one embarrassment after another for Americans. Most embarrassing of all, the German market hasn't collapsed. . .
- South Australia Weighs Timid Solar Tariff
- Reuters: Cloudy Germany unlikely hotspot for solar power
- Italy Launches New Solar PV Tariffs
- New Solar Energy Tariffs in Spain
- OSEA SOC Program Solar Tariff Revisions.pps
- Ontario's Solar PV Tariff Price Setting
- Links to Real Time Solar Generation--Update: September 28, 2011. For an example of an easy-to-use interactive map of solar installations that provide public data on performance of solar PV, see TREC's SolarShare on the Map web page. . .link
- Germany Installed 1,150 MW of Photovoltaics in 2006 Says Magazine
- Brief Summary of World Solar PV Market Stats 2006
- The Potential of Solar PV in Ontario, CanSIA, January, 2006
- Solar for Energy Hogs: The California Example by Steven Letendre, Prometheus Institute--Today, the important link between solar use in the home and energy conservation and efficiency is being lost. While many well-intentioned system integrators preach the virtues of energy efficiency, grid connected solar by its very nature does not necessitate a rigorous assessment of the trade offs between a larger system and investments in energy efficiency. . .
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Truck stop solar. Solar PV on tracker at a Shell truck stop near Herbolzheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
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- Photon Magazine's Model Solar Photovoltaics Contract under Germany's EEG
- Experience with the German Performance-Based Incentive Program by Gerhard Stryi-Hipp 2004
- The Experience of Germany with Photovoltaic Incentives by Christof Stein, BMFU 2004
- The
Effect of the EEG on Photovoltaic Development in Germany by Gerhard
Stryi-Hipp, German Solar Industry Association/Bundesverband
Solarindustie (BSi) 2004
- German Solar Rate of Return 2006
- German Solar PV for Free Says Walter Fischer--In Germany, Walter Fischer argues, you can install solar for free. Yes, that's what he said. I didn't believe it either, so I asked the diminutive German how this was possible. . .
- Fesa B31 Solar Bürgerbeteiligung (Investment)--Fesa's B31 Solar PV project went into service in mid 2006. The 365 kW project was financed by Fesa as a solar bürgerbeteiligung or investment fund. . .
- Freiburg's Solar Siedlung--Craig Morris, author of Energy Switch, recently gave me a whirlwind tour of the Solar Siedlung in Freiburg, Germany. The Solar Siedlung (settlement or subdivision in German) and its accompanying Sonnenschiff (solar ship) were built by Rolf Disch, Freiburg's noted solar architect. . .
Solar Electricity Rebels (Stromrebellen)
- The Aachen Solar Tariff Model--In the early 1990s the city of Aachen (Aix-en-Chapelle) Germany set the world of solar energy on its ear. Until that time development of solar PV depended entirely on direct and substantial subsidies. Then in June, 1993 Aachen's city council approved the first solar PV tariff that paid a profitable price for solar generated electricity. . .
- Who Invented the Solar FIT?--Or What We Can Learn From Aachen's Success in Harnessing Clean Energy--The solar industry is booming. During the past decade PV shipments have grown by three orders of magnitude. In 2010 shipments were up over a hundred percent on 2009. How to account for this explosive growth? Though success has a thousand fathers, most analysts agree that the trigger was Germany's solar feed-in tariff, first enacted in 2000 then turbocharged in 2004. Who deserves the credit for this extraordinarily effective policy mechanism? . .
- Josef Pesch-Strom Rebel of Freiburg--Pesch was named a strom (electricity) rebel by Elektritzitätswerke Schönau (EWS) in 2005 and that was a good reason for paying him a visit. The good folks at EWS know strom rebels when they see them. They themselves were dubbed strom rebels by German author and lecturer Franz Alt in one of his recent books. . .
- Strom Rebels of Schönau: The Village That Built Their Own Solar Utility--Alt captured that rebellious spirit in his inspiring tale of the small town of Schönau and how residents built a solar utility in the deep recesses of Germany's Schwartzwald--the Black Forest of legend. The story has all the elements of its own legend in the making. Small town Davids against electric utility Goliaths. Simple townsfolk with a bright, you could say "sunny", outlook on the future. And a decades-long struggle to bring their dream to reality. There's a movie script waiting to be written, or at least a documentary. . .
- Dardesheim: Germany's Renewable Energy Town--There are less than 1,000 souls in the town of Dardesheim. But the village and its 80,000 neighbors in the county of Halberstadt in the former East Germany have an expansive spirit. They want to become Germany's renewable energy city. They want to become 100% renewable using solar, wind, and biomass. . .
Reviews
Switching to Solar by Bob Johnstone--Let's get this out of the way up front. I have a bias toward Johnstone's Switching to Solar. I think every renewable energy policy advocate in the US should read his book. Hell, it should be required reading. And if I had my druthers, they would be tested on Part 3, Hier Kommt die Sonne, or how cloudy Germany came from nowhere to lead the solar race. . .
Geothermal Power Plants by Ronald DiPippo--This the book I'd been looking for--an engineering treatise on geothermal. I'd written about geothermal in the mid 1980s, but I hadn't kept up with the industry and needed a thorough refresher--and one with numbers. . .
Nuclear Roulette: The Case Against a "Nuclear Renaissance--Written by award-winning journalist Gar Smith, edited by Ernest Callenbach, with a foreword by leading Japanese anti-nuclear activist, Aileen Mioko Smith, Nuclear Roulette is a rigorously researched and compelling rebuttal to about the viability, sustainability, and safety of nuclear power. . .
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