Google continues to be awesome and invest $168 Million into solar

I caught this today on Treehugger

Google has continued its support for green energy and technologies by funding a solar thermal power plant in the middle of the Mojave Desert in California. Its $168 million dollar investment will go to fun the 392MW Ivanpah Solar Plant. Construction on Ivanpah started last fall and has a expected completion date in the year 2013. Google's reason for investing so heavily into this specific plant is to help this solar tech reach its maturity and return more on the investment.

Solar Thermal Plants, like Ivanpah, use hundreds or thousands of mirrors called heliostats to focus the suns light on one singular point. We have all seen what happens when you focus the suns light on a leaf using a magnifying glass, the leaf heats up and burns. These heliostat mirrors do something similar, minus the fire, by focusing the suns light onto a huge tower. At the top of this tower is the focus point, where water is heated up into steam. And that steam is HOT, to the tune of 1000*F!! That steam is then used to drive a turbine generator and produce electricity, LOTS of it! Like I mentioned, Ivanpah is a 392MW plant, which over its 25 year lifetime will offset the of about 90,000 cars. Ivanpah's heliostat mirror array consists of 346,000 mirrors and a 450 foot tall tower.

Rock on Google for investing so much money into clean energy! Their grand total, according to Treehugger, is now $250 Million!

Breathing new life into the sails of shipping, literally!

The Minnesota based agricultural and commodities giant Cargill is looking to save some money on its shipping operations by installing kites on the bows of ships to help produce propulsion. This new take on wind powered shipping is pioneered by a German company called SkySails. This impressive new technology is aimed at reducing fuel consumption and providing greener shipping for years to come. These kites, measuring in at a massive 320 square meters, will reduce fuel consumption by upwards of 35%, resulting in a savings on about ten tons of fuel a day. Very impressive!

SkySails technology has yet to be deployed on large shipping vessels, but the proposed system should be hitting the high seas by 2012. These kites will be flown from the bow of the ships at heights of 100-400+ meters and are controlled by computers, in order to maximize output. The UN predicts that if technology like this was adopted on a large scale by global shipping, that there could be a 100 million tons of CO2 emissions saved annually! Plus that will equal money in the bank for shippers since they won't be, literally, pouring as much money into their massive fuel tanks.

Wind powered ships are obviously no new thing, but this latest spin on the age old classic has a lot of people excited. Some smaller iterations of this idea have been used to pull smaller boats like kayaks and row boats for years. You can even pick up a kite for use in your kayak or canoe online for next to nothing!! I have even seen this idea applied to mountain boarding and skiing, using traction kites for propulsion. SkySails, itself, has been selling kites for yachts and other pleasure boats for years. To see Cargill and SkySails ambitious plans really does breath new hope and life into the future of global shipping! To find out more check out the Treehugger article here, and talk about carbon neutral shipping here.

China and New Nuclear, Looks like we missed the boat again!

Today we take a look at China and nuclear power, specifically their steps towards utilizing thorium fueled, molten salt reactors (or MSRs). China has recently announced a plan to make MASSIVE steps forward in the realm of clean nuclear energy by building dozens of new reactors over the next 20 years, in an effort to wean the country off of coal and towards clean alternatives.

Nuclear? A clean alternative? What? Yes! It can be done, here's how. During the 1960's and 70's the US was obsessed with nuclear energy and figured out many different ways of producing energy from nuclear reactions. However, not all reactor types were created equal, most created hazardous waste and nuclear by-products suitable for weapons, a few others were able to produce energy without the nuclear waste or weapons potential. Obviously a country interested in stockpiling enough nuclear weapons to vaporize the planet twenty times over is not interested in the latter, and plans for such reactors were shelved.

It didn't take long for other countries to recognize the potential of a reactor that didn't create a environmental disaster and that is where these MSR reactors come in. A MSR reactor can be powered with a element called Thorium, which is a cheap, abundant, and SAFE reactant. Add thorium to a MSR and you have a reactor that can do a great many things, namely operate in a much safer and cleaner way than conventional reactors, like the ones found in the US. These reactors are also meltdown-proof, as thorium cores are liquid and not solid, to they can't go critical. Another interesting fact about MSR's is that they can also be powered with existing stocks of nuclear waste, potentially a solution to our nuclear waste storage problems!

So why are nations like China, India, France and Norway on board and not the US? We got a late start, but the President specifically mentioned Oak Ridge National Laboratory (the place where thorium MSR's were first conceived) in his State of the Union Address. So there is hope for us yet... But... If we are not careful and get on with our own R&D we could find ourselves importing this technology back from China, and thus becoming dependent on another foreign energy source after oil....

That is where I draw the line. Importing energy sources or technology from other countries is what put us in the energy choke hold we're in now! We need to start working towards our future and clean nuclear is another perfect technology for Americans to champion. But I'l remind you all again that there is no silver bullet, no singular technology or change in practice that is going to save our hides. Energy has to come from many places such as the renewables; solar, wind, and geothermal, and clean nuclear if we can do it. But we also need to make a paradigm shift in our way of life. Staples like transportation, agriculture, land use, and standards of living, all need to change before we can expect to see great strides forward. And we need to do it together, as Americans fighting to keep America strong in the years to come.

Read the article from Wired.com here.

Excellent Example of Geothermal Success!

Well fist off let me apologize to my readers for not having anything new and interesting up here in the last eight days. It has been a busy and difficult week for me. Anyway you came here to be educated not hear me complain!

I was forwarded this link to an article on The Washington Post website about a contributor who switched their home over from conventional heating oil and air conditioning to geothermal for their HVAC needs. The author has a 4,400 square foot home in Montgomery County, Maryland. This immense house came with a likewise immense HVAC bill, but the decision to switch to geothermal was made for mainly monetary reasons. The author compared the costs of replacing their heating oil burning furnace and other HVAC equipment with conventional HVAC equipment, like they already had, but also clean alternatives such as solar, wind, and geothermal. Between matters of practicality, cost, and return on investment, the author and his family settled on geothermal.

The projected costs for new conventional HVAC equipment ranged in the $9,500 and $11,000 range, however geothermal would cost them $23,950, before tax credits. They were able to apply for national, state, and county level tax credits including a 30% national tax credit, and another $7,000 from state and county governments. This brought the total cost of their project down low enough to compete with conventional HVAC replacements. One thing I should note is that later in the article the author does mention the cost of additional electricity to power the geothermal system and the cost of heating oil for the conventional HVAC system. When they originally started their project heating oil cost $2.61/gal, and now heating oil costs $3.91/gal. This price changes depending on where you live, but one thing that you cannot escape is the fact that prices are predicted to rise steeply in the next few years. All things considered the author claims they will recoup their original investment in 4.4 years, and from then on be saving nearly $2,500 annually.

My personal opinion is that geothermal is the way to g if you want cheap and reliable HVAC for your home. If you are worried about added electrical expenses then I suggest you factor in the cost of a inexpensive solar panel system, which can be had for $600-$1,000, to supplement your home electricity needs. By providing a constant room temperature by means of a geothermal system, you will have to heat and cool your house with less effort, meaning more savings. This also will allow you to save money on utilities and heating oil that you can spend to further your homes efficiency with better insulation or windows and doors (all of which are usually the biggest reasons for a homes energy inefficiency). If you can obtain a small loan or have the extra cash to lay out I would suggest geothermal as a great starting point, or addition, to a sustainable or energy efficient home. With greater efficiency, comes greater independence for you and our country.

For more information on how geothermal works check out this article from Popular Mechanics.

The Two Faces of a Carbon Neutral China: More Hydro Expansion Threatens World Heritage Site

The goal of becoming carbon neutral is a lofty one and countries all over the world have made all sorts of promises claiming they are making steps to become carbon neutral. However sometimes there becomes a point when blind ambition, politics, and money are too deeply involved in these goals. One such example is China.

For the last few years we have been hearing a lot about China's plans to build massive, record shattering, hydroelectric plants and water diversion systems. The result of all this progress has been the relocation of hundreds of thousands of people, destruction of habitat for hundreds of endangered species, and loss of many culturally important sites. Moreover the planned expansions to take place within the next five to ten years, threatens millions more.

One such plan that has been on and off for a few years now is the hydroelectric dam on the Nu River in the South Central region of China. The planned 21.3GW project, not only will call for the relocation for over 50,000 residents, it will also threaten up to 80 endangered species, threaten the water supply of Burma and Thailand, and dam one of the last free flowing rivers in China. The Nu River carved what many call the "Grand Canyon of The Orient", and the over 13 individual dams that are planned will surely destroy much of its grandeur. For more on this see this article on Treehugger or this report from The Guardian.

So is the price too high for a carbon neutral China? Or is this the kind of progress that must be made? What can The United States learn from China's expansion, and the controversy it has raised? I welcome your comments on the topic.

Bladeless Wind Turbines; An Interesting Concept For Alternative Energy.

Yesterday on The Tiny Life, I saw this article on a bladeless wind turbine concept that is more animal and NIMBY friendly. The concept is that a stack of blocks or forms made of foam, or other materials of similar density, are attached to poles in a grid-like pattern. These poles have small alternators at their connection that turn the movement into energy. As the blocks swing, or vibrate, back and forth in the wind they generator produce electricity. 

The novel part of these generators is how they operate, the lack of large moving blades and tall towers, leave a very small physical and visual footprint. The low density blocks begin to move in the slowest of breezes, meaning that they will produce at least a little energy in low winds. The lack of spinning blades mean that these generators are more friendly to animals frequently disturbed by the typical wind turbine. Bats, migrating birds, eagles, hawks, bees, etc. are all in danger from the large spinning blades. No blades, no danger! And the NIMBY crowd will love these because of the low visual impact. 

My verdict on these bladeless turbines is that they are not a solution to energy problems, but another helping hand along the way. They might work well in urban and suburban situations, but I doubt that they will draw much power. The design seems to be limited in that sense. That being said a well designed and advanced iteration of this concept might be able to power a small home, or a very efficient home. Large scale energy production with this concept will likely remain a concept. 

Stay safe in this snow!

The Navy and Marine Corps Embrace Alternative Energy to Save Lives and Reduce Fossil Fuel Use

Being a part of the United States Military myself, I relish the opportunity to speak about the great things the Military is doing to save the lives of soldiers. Today on Treehugger I saw a post about how the Marine Corps have been experimenting with solar charging systems to reduce the need for fuel to power electric generators. 

According to the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the two main systems employed in the field are their Ground Renewable Energy Networks (GREENS), and the Solar Portable Alternative Communications Energy Systems (SPACES). With these two new systems, along with the deployment of LED lighting systems, Solar Shades, and Solar Light Trailers, the Marines saw a reduction of up to 90% in their fuel consumption. These systems allowed for the Marines to overcome many obstacles. By using the SPACES system Marines could recharge batteries on extended patrols, no need to return to their FOB to resupply. The introduction of GREENS PV battery charging system allowed larger bases to reduce their daily fuel consumption to 2-3 gallons from 25. 

These advancements make many things possible but the biggest advantage is saving lives. The men and women of our Armed Forces deserve every technology possible to help them accomplish their missions and return home safely. By deploying these systems in the field fuel resupply convoys will not have to risk their lives and equipment. A 90% reduction in fuel consumption means a 90% reduction in the supply chain that delivers that fuel. A 90% reduction in vulnerable fuel tankers and supply trucks exposed to IED's and ambushes. This is a huge step forward in reducing the Military's dependence on foreign oil and fuel, and anything to save the lives of our Soldiers is supremely important. The ONR's full report is available here.

Alternatives in housing, shrinking the McMansion into something small, sustainable, and eco-friendly.

There are a lot of problems with suburbia. One of my least favorite is the McMansions of suburbia, the multitude of cookie cutter, 3000+ square foot, hollow, stick frame, buildings that line countless thousands of housing developments across the nation.

What is so bad about these behemoth buildings? From an architectural stand point they are mutts, cross breeds of many different architectural styles. The facade of many of these homes are considered beautiful but the beauty stops at the front door. Walk around the side of these buildings and they are cold, flat, emotionless, vinyl sided and ugly. There is nothing attractive about vinyl siding. Its cheap plastic, and about as American as housing gets. Under these plastic wrappings are even cheaper stick frame constructions, built to save time, money and labor. On the inside of the massive homes are more of the same; cold, flat, white, and empty spaces. The cheapness of construction in these homes means the house has a short life span and regular repair bill. The insides need to be filled with massive, over-sized, furniture just to make the place feel lived in. There is little to no warmth, no feeling that these houses are homes. These homes are fragile, and hopelessly wasteful in their design and what they incorporate into their construction. This was not always the way, no, in fact our country has a colorful history of building designs and ideas. The alternatives are out there we only need to look for them.

So what are the alternatives? There are many different styles of homes being built today that qualify, at least in my mind, as "alternative' in their designs. These range from the simplest and closest to modern architecture, such as the Tumbleweed Tiny Homes of Jay Shafer, to the very progressive, such as the Earthship designs of Earthship Biotecture. Like I said some of these homes are completely radical and some are rather traditional, either way it is what they represent and how they are built that really makes them special.

Lets start with the Tiny House Movement. Tiny homes are a large piece of American housing history, from the times of the settlers right on up the the bungalows of the early 1900's through the 1970's and beyond to modern cabins and retreats, these sub-1000 square foot homes pop up all over America. But what makes them special, you ask? Efficiency and conservation of space, rooms with multiple uses and features, small operational and construction costs, all of these are part of the tiny house charm.

Here is an example of a tiny house and its floor plan from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company in California. This particular house is one of their mid range home size wise, and offers up to three bedrooms within it's 681 to 774 square foot structure. They are beautiful homes but they are traditional in their architecture, stick frame with hardwood floors and wood paneled walls and ceilings. However, it is their efficient design scheme, taking advantage of ever little nook and cranny conceivable to fit the necessities of daily life into such a small space. Two bathrooms, the option of three bedrooms, a family room, and kitchen (with an optional dinette area replacing the downstairs bath) all trimmed of the unnecessary space and wasted areas. I know from experience that a family of three or four could easily live in such a small space. It only takes a quick google search to confirm that thousands of families in the US are already living in such simple and streamlined arrangements.

A special aside is needed for Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed Homes that are on wheels. These designs, while dependent on fossil fuel driven trucks, are a novel take on the nomadic lifestyle. Reminiscent of the Gypsy wagons of old Europe, these homes allow for geographic and social mobility on seldom achieved levels. An inspiration to me and many of my friends, these homes exemplify a multitude of alternative concepts in housing.

The next most radical idea in shrinking the McMansion into a sustainable and alternative design again lends much from American housing history, the straw bale home. Building homes with bales of straw dates far back into pre-history, however the use of straw bale construction as an industry or model design is an American invention dating back to the late 1800's. The mid-west was rich with the basic element needed, straw, and it was a staple of local farming. Homes, community buildings, and even churches and schools were constructed out of rectangular straw bales stacked up on top of each other, most famously in the Sand Hills region of Nebraska.

In this method of building there are two schools; those who build straw bale homes with load-bearing straw bale walls and those who build homes with non-load-bearing walls supported by a post and beam style frame. The earliest bale homes were load-bearing. Modern frames bale homes can support as many stories as the builder wishes to put up, though I doubt anything more than seven stories is practical. Any modern home design can be adapted for straw bale construction. Space must be added to accommodate the size of the bales, but the benefit of bale walls is in the limitless artistic possibilities and the R-value (insulation value) of the walls, safety from fire and pests, and costs.

The typical bale wall has as much as triple the R value of a conventional stick framed home, making the straw bale design a pillar of energy savings and efficiency in any environment. The artistic advantage of bale construction is in the ease at which curves, shapes, and complex designs can be integrated into a stawbale home. Your imagination is the limit when you are able to cut and shape the straw to whatever shape you wish and the plaster, with which you cover the bales, can be colored and formed at will. The possibilities are really endless and this uniqueness makes for a very attractive home.

The level fire and pest resistance that a strawbale home provides takes most by storm and leaves most completely blown away when they see facts. A well built straw bale home is nearly fireproof when compared to a typical stick frame structure. If you punched a hole in the wall of a straw bale home and lit the straw with a lighter it can take as much as 24 hours until there is any structural failure. When compared to the minutes it can take to bring down a stick frame home this is truly unbelievable! This is because there is very little air inside the walls of a straw bale home, effectively suffocating any fire.

Quite similarly a well built straw bale home is nearly impervious to pests as there isn't much for them in the densely packed straw and they also have to bore through very hard plaster to get to it.

Lastly the cost of a straw bale home is a huge point to discuss. On average the typical straw bale home costs between $30 and $100 per square foot. This varies greatly depending on things like source of labor, bales, equipment used, number of workers you hire, and permits needed. Of course the lower ranges are typically that low because a person decides to DIY their house under the guidance of an experienced professional and hires family and friends at the cost of pizza and beer on weekends to get the job done. So the cost will obviously go up if you hire a contractor to do it for you. In comparison to a stick frame home, which costs on average $80-$200 per square foot, a straw bale home is a great alternative and remember we haven't discussed the savings over time with such good insulation or the ecological implications of building with straw.

To briefly cover the ecological implications, let me compare the main components of both straw baled and stick frame homes. Straw bales rely on just that, straw bales, which can be regenerated twice a year. Stick frame homes rely on 2x4's and other lumber, which can only be regenerated once every 6-8 years or longer. Then we may consider the interior and exterior walls. A straw bale is covered, inside and out, with plaster (plaster, stucco, etc) made from; a mix of cement, lime formula, or clay/earth, all readily available and cheap to procure. A stick frame home is reliant on Sheetrock and vinyl siding, both of which are artificial and costly to produce compared to the coverings on straw bales.

Similar to the straw bale home is the cob home. The cob home is made of a slurry of clay, earth, straw, sand, and water, indeed it is cobbed together! Even cheaper than a straw bale it rivals the straw bales artistic possibilities and in construction is very akin to the adobe construction methods of the South West. Many cob homes, like their straw bale cousins, last for generations on generations. However, the cob home surpasses the straw bale in overall longevity with one of the oldest cob homes still inhabited today at over 500 years old. Adaptable to many climates the cob home has been seen in places like the UK, colonial America, the American South West, Africa, the Middle-East, New Zealand, Australia, and the list goes on and on. My expertise and experience with cob building is very limited, as seen by my short mention of it here, however a short google search will turn up an endless amount of information on the topic. Should you want to visit a cob home, I believe there is still one in construction on the Pine Lake Environmental Campus of Hartwick College, in Oneonta New York. I suggest contacting Peter Blue through Hartwick's website for more information. If you end up there be sure to visit the beautiful example of a straw bale home also at the Pine Lake Campus.

Next up on my list of housing alternatives is the completely sustainable living system of the Earthship. The Earthship is a completely self contained example of what living could be. Developed by the company Earthship Biotechture the Earthship is a system or ideology of building a home. It's design is aimed at providing for the occupant in every conceivable way, from self contained sewage treatment, to solar and wind power for electricity and rain catchment cisterns for a water source. These look and feel almost like a modernized version of the "Hobbit Hole" from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These fantastic designs are more than many could imagine and with the ability to be adapted for any climate and condition, constructed of any recycled or renewable material, and containing almost every necessity of life (not to mention all the necessities of modern life). I am not much more than a fan of the Earthship design and my research into this building practice is limited. There is a wealth of information on the Earthships site including diagrams, videos, messages from Earthship inhabitants, amongst other things. It is well worth looking into. My only concern with this concept is the price point. At or above $200 per square foot this is a comparatively expensive concept, at least at the beginning. However, once you actually are living in your Earthship there is very little maintenance and expenses typically encountered with most modern homes, making these homes a valuable investment.

I hope this post was enlightening for you all an I encourage you to comment! If you want me to explore any of the above alternatives or wish to hear about how they can be successfully combined please let me know.