Posts from — February 2007

Citizenre’s happy, shiny people

It’s like the early days of the Internet in the renewable energy business. The conmen and scamsters are coming out from under their stones – and in some cases it is the exact same people who did fake IPOs in the dotcom bubble. Solar expert Jeff Wolfe has exposed an apparently idealistic solar power company called Citizenre, which in reality is a multi-level marketing scheme.

Its stated plan is to build the world’s largest solar panel manufacturing plant and install 100,000 residential systems annually. The business model, which is not unique, is to promise householders solar electric power for the same price they currently pay for electricity. . (more…)

Sauven masterminded victory

A British court has handed a major defeat to pro-nuclear lobbyists by declaring that the process by which the Labour government planned to introduce ten new nuclear power plants was flawed and illegal.

The judicial review challenge mounted by Greenpeace UK is an unprecedented triumph against an autocratic and arrogant government that is well known to make decisions in private and then fakes a consultation process later.
“I think it’s the arrogance of this government. You know they make up their mind and even when they say they’re going to have a full public consultation – the exercise is just a sham, John Sauven, Director of Greenpeace, told Off-Grid.
“They just treat it with total disdain, they treat the public with total disdain (more…)

Say it, but do they mean it?

JULIA ROBERTS: “Motherhood is the big reason why I started thinking more critically about the environment and global warming. What’s the world going to be like for all of our children?
CAMERON DIAZ: “I drive a hybrid car, a grey Prius. I have a compost pile and recycle everything I can, not just plastic and glass.
“I reuse wrapping paper. I use printer paper on both sides. I use natural biodegradable cleaning products in my home. I buy recycled scrap paper, toilet paper and paper towels. I use rechargeable batteries.”
GEORGE CLOONEY: “I can’t be saying what I’m saying about ecology and the environment and driving a Bronco. I have this small electric car, the Tango. It’s 39inches wide by 8.5feet long. It looks like a souped-up golf cart.
“It only seats two people but it does 130 on (more…)

You can take it anywhere

Competing teams around the world are working on mobile off-grid pods that can be plonked down anywhere to become comfortable living quarters.

A Canadian design firm created a cabin that’s packed into a 6-metre container but transforms into a high-tech, environmentally friendly home, fully equipped for living.The cabin has a composting toilet, and two large holding tanks for water. The filtration system consists of UV light to kill bacteria and micro filters to pull out sediment. As of now, the tanks are filled upon deployment of the exhibit, but plans are to add an awning to catch rainwater for the tanks, revealed co-designer Robert Studer.

“It’s amazing how in 480 square feet, you can actually live in something that’s self-contained and filled with smart stuff,” says Lisa Snider, who (more…)

Dr. Hu heals the reefs

LA�s celebrity reef lovers have been lending their support to California’s under-appreciated ecosystem. Kelly Hu, Greg Hodgson, Gale Anne Hurd, Daryl Hannah and Penelope Ann Miller were all at the Reef Inhabitants event last month, which was making its California debut in Pasadena.

Reef Check‘s Kelly Hu (X-Men 2, and ABC’s “In Case of Emergency”) hosted the successful Run for the Reefs Luau in Hawaii in December 2006. Kelly, a Hawaiian native, has made it her mission to raise the profile of coral reef conservation in the media and in Hollywood. (more…)

Ta-da!

The idea of combined heat and power – or cogeneration – has been around for a while, but harnessing it for domestic use is underexploited.

Marathon Engine Systems have tapped into this area and are now offering an Ecopower Micro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) unit, which basically produces electrical power with a combustion engine. The heat – normally lost in vehicles and other engine-driven applications- is recovered from the generator, engine and exhaust system and can be used for local heating purposes.

It can easily heat a multi-family home, and larger buildings can be accommodated by installing multiple units. The noise level of a unit is less than 56 db(A), which is about as loud as a refrigerator. (more…)

View from Lost Trail Lodge

Brits and Americans are turning to eco-holiday homes, eco-lodges and time shares. It is senseless to own a property standing empty for six months of the year, but there is an alternative — from converted stately homes in England, to purpose-built rented cabins in California, retreats are springing up to satisfy both your limited budget and your conscience.

Lost Trail Lodge in California’s Sierra Nevada near Donner Memorial State Park, the Lodge is a series of four private cabins connected to a shared kitchen with private Jacuzzis, and wooden lofts where kids can sleep. There are large windows looking out on snow-covered trees, and stone hearths that always glow with a wood fire. There is no Internet, and you bring your own food on the mile long hike to get there. (more…)

The closest thing to free energy

Jamil Shariff is one of the world’s leading researchers into the ancient technology of Stirling Engines – he reveals why they are about to undergo a revival:

Local governments in the US are starting to develop their own strategies for energy-independence, or micro-grids. One little-known technology, the Stirling Engine, is being revived because it can make use of waste heat from other energy sources.

In Helena, MT, city commissioners are designing a project to cut utility bills by generating electricity at the wastewater treatment plant, the city government’s biggest energy user. Camp, Dresser & McKee Inc. are drafting plans for a Stirling engine and generator, which will use excess methane gas at the plant to generate electricity.

The technology likely will cost several hundred thousand dollars but could pay for itself in as few as five years. So what is a Stirling engine exactly, and why are they not more widely used? If the explanation below is too technical, try Building a Stirling Hot Air Engine (2 Video Set). Click “more” for the rest of the story (more…)

Mirror, mirror on the floor…

Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems could be the energy of the future in off-grid locations, both small and large scale. Lenses or mirrors focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. In power stations the beam shines on a vessel that contains a gas or liquid that can be heated up to around 400C (750F) enough for conventional steam turbine. Small-scale off-grid CSP power stations don’t have to be hugely expensive either.

In fact, the basic idea of concentrated solar power is the same as in solar cooking and new methods of water pasteurization – already widely used in the third world – eliminating the need for biomass as a fuel.

But what makes the plants really efficient is their recycling of energy. (more…)