Solar Sunday is my weekly roundup of renewable energy and energy efficiency news from around the web.
Germany Goes Solar, one town at a time
The times they are a-changin’. The bucolic skylines of tiled roofs which define cities in Germany could soon be sporting a new look: solar.If the Marburg City Council gets its way, Marburg will be the first city in Germany to legally require solar collectors on rooftops of private and commercial buildings. The goal of Fritz Kahle, the Green Mayor of Marburg:
No south-facing roof shall be left unused.
San Francisco follows suit, a little more conservatively
San Francisco has made solar energy a top priority with the passage of the Solar Energy Initiative Program – the largest solar energy subsidy program of any city in the United States. An annual budget of $3 million dollars will help create incentives for individuals and businesses to install solar photovoltaics systems with a $3,000 to $6,000 rebate available to individuals and a $10,000 rebate for businesses. On par with statewide programs, San Francisco’s Solar Energy Initiative Program is poised to make solar installations permanent fixtures in the city’s more sustainable skyline.
Are you ready for it–the first eco-nightclub in the UK is about to hit town. While the idea of clubbing may seem alien to some, doing it environmentally might give new meaning to a night out that goes until 4 a.m. Where to start–at the door–no entry until you sign a pledge promising to work towards stopping climate change. Then free entry to those who can prove they got there by foot, bike or public transport. Once inside, organic drinks will be served in polycarbon cups and there will be recycled water in the lavatories.Here’s the very cool part: the dance floor will be capable of generating 60% of the building’s electricity. The technology involves building a sprung floor and power generating blocks. The blocks are made of piezoelectric crystals which produce current when subjected to pressure. Dancers dance, blocks are squeezed and the current is fed into batteries used to electrify the nightclub. Don’t laugh, it is already being done in Rotterdam, Holland. It’s part of the programme for a new climate change organisation Club4Climate, set up by an enthusiastic entrepreneur who wants to open more eco-clubs in New York, Cape Town and Rio. Its motto: “All you have to do is dance to save the world”.
Exciting advancements in wind power
Amid veritable fields of wind turbine options the Broadstar AeroCam stands out with an innovative design that packs a powerful turbine into a compact form factor. Constructed to spin on a horizontal axis, the micro-turbine’s multiple aerodynamic blades cut a profile similar to a water wheel and allow it to intuitively track the path of the wind as it rotates. The turbine is the industry’s first to shatter the $1/watt cost barrier, and Broadstar aims to make its AeroCam turbines a go-to option for rural, urban, and wind farm in-fill applications.
Unless you were confused, walking is better for the environment than driving
Walking is 12 times better for the climate than driving.In case you missed it, there was a bit of a kerfuffle in the blogosphere a few months back, concerning the climate impacts of walking vs. driving. Apparently, some folks — New York Times columnist and blogger John Tierney in particular — were spreading the claim that a pleasant stroll to the store might actually release more GHGs than getting behind the wheel. Other bloggers picked up the meme, including one post with the headline: “Be Green: Drive.”
As the planet heats up and our resources stretch to accommodate a skyrocketing population, it has become clear that water will be a hotly contested commodity in the coming years – some are even calling it the “new oil”. Charles Paton has endeavored to meet this challenge with his Seawater Greenhouse which takes a low-cost, low-energy, carbon-neutral approach to desalination. Recently he’s been working with Eden Project and Grimshaw Architects to create a gorgeous sweeping Teatro Del Agua. The design will incorporate Paton’s remarkable desalination method with a publicly accessible venue for the performing arts, once again focusing our societies around the common element that sustains them.
Solar soon to reach economic parity with other fuel sources
Last week we reported on how wind energy was becoming more cost competitive in Spain. On the heels of that comes a new report about how solar generated electricity may reach parity with fossil fuel-generated power in a short time.The Utility Solar Assessment Study concludes that 2015 is the year where the practical and symbolic tipping point will be reached. Currently electricity from solar power costs 15-32 cents/kWh, is expected to decline to 8-18 cents/kWh by 2015, and continue falling to 4-8 cents/kWh by 2025, the report claims.
The Chinese are a bunch of air-heads
It may come as a surprise, considering the how much comes out about China’s environmental woes, but China has the fifth largest installed wind capacity in the world: just over 6 gigawatts. In the next two years this is planned to expand to 10 GW, though according to an article at Renewable Energy World the pace of expansion is so brisk that 2010 could bring 20-27 GW of installed capacity.
Tags: dance, solar power, solar sunday, water, wind power
