Posts by — Oaya

Lucy Neville-Rolfe

Owning a biofuel car will be easier in future now that Britain’s top grocery market group Tesco Plc is set to expand its sales of biofuels over the next few months with UK duty incentives helping make them competitively priced, said company executive Lucy Neville-Rolfe.

But maybe the best answer is to make your own biofuel, and cut Tesco out of the loop.

How to Make Biodiesel – buy it from Amazon UK for 5.99 and 4% goes to Off-Grid

How to Make Biodiesel – Amazon US (more…)

90% solar powered

Its the National Solar homes tour October 1st and 2nd. You can get all the lowdown from http://www.ases.org/tour/index.htm. The Colorado Renewable Energy Societyis typical of what is going on across the land.

The Boulder Area Tour, Saturday, October 1, starts at the Center for ReSource Conservation, 1702 Walnut St.,
Boulder. Call 303-441-3278 for information. Guidebooks are also available at the Nederland Community Center on Highway 72.

Sixteen homes will be featured in Saturday’s Boulder Tour. (more…)

Dinosaurs have tiny brains

This site is all about off-grid life, so why are we carrying an ad to supply power down the grid?

Well, let’s face it — one reason is that we need the money which will come from each one of you that switches from an old dinosaur power supplier to this new, young, vibrant company (that’s enough suck-ass – Ed!).

But there are two other reasons why we are proud to recommend Ecotricity to our UK readers: ALL Ecotricity’s power supply comes from renewable, wind power. And it always has. The company was set up for that reason. At a time when UK energy consumers are paying a supplement of  5 BILLION to help the old power companies switch just 10% of their output to renewable energy, Ecotricity is a no-brainer.

The second reason is that founder Dale Vince embodies the virtues that we admire at Off-Grid. He started the business when he was living in a trailer in a field in Gloucestershire. He fought blinkered locals for the right to put up a small wind turbine in his field, and then parlayed that into his first money-earning turbine. Now he has an office and many turbines, But he still has lunch in his local health food cafe most days.
Vince is fully aware of the political importance of what he is doing, and not afraid to stand up and be counted in the battle against Big Oil and other key enemies of the environment.

START YOUR OWN WIND FARM – You will need the La Crosse Handheld Anemometer to measure wind speed – buy it from Amazon US

Inovalley 8001 Pocket Anemometer – Blue – buy it from Amazon UK

Solarworld – not the only one going north

Alternative Energy companies across Europe are considering floating their shares in the coming months as the soaring price of oil makes solar and wind power ever more attractive than costly and polluting fossil fuels.

We see money going to solar and wind. Governments recognise the fact that those technologies have entered the business and see the necessity for further development to make them more efficient and cheaper. (more…)

Building a sustainable future

“From Rhetoric to Reality” is a short series of seminars studies in the UK, aimed at the growing numbers who are taking Sustainable Building from a quirky minority occupation or business into a mainstream activity. That process will take years, and these meetings bring together some key players with newbies coming into the fast-growing segment of the building industry.

The Good House Book: A Common-sense Guide to Alternative Homebuilding – buy it from Amazon UK

Sustainable Refurbishment

Thursday 22nd September

CREATE Centre, Bristol

A one-day conference on refurbishment for: housing associations, housing managers, property maintenance contractors, architects and designers, and HECA officers.

Covering:

• design issues
• techniques and materials to achieve practical sustainable refurbishment for public and private housing and offices buildings
• links to private sector renewal, fuel poverty and climate change

Cost 140 inc VAT

For further information about STSD or this seminar, please call 01458 259400 or email admin@sustainablehousing.org.uk

Energy Technologies in New Developments
Meeting New Policy Challenges in Today’s Market

Tuesday 27th September 2005

Xfi Conference Centre, University of Exeter

A one-day seminar for senior executives and professionals involved in the design, approval and construction of new developments, covering the latest issues in energy and climate change.
Covering:

• current and emerging policy
• case studies of developments that have successfully integrated policy requirements.
• strategies and use of new energy technologies

Cost: 190 inc VAT

For more information, go to: www.exeter.ac.uk/energyseminar

The Road to Genesis
Turning Vision into Reality

Friday 14th October

Somerset College for Arts and Technology, Taunton

A major conference about the nationally renowned Genesis project, a regional sustainable construction resource centre, scheduled to open in February 2006. An opportunity to meet the designers and constructors of a building which pushes the boundaries of sustainable design.

After a tour of the Genesis site, delegates will learn how important decisions, that have changed elements of the design, were made in an attempt to find a balance between the key project components of sustainable design, educational, buildability and budget. Delegates will discover how and why the idea for a regional centre based at Somerset College evolved, how it was funded and who the key regional partners are.

Cost 140 inc VAT

For more information or to book a place, please contact Sam Mclntyre at SCAT on 01823 366743

There’s something incredibly exciting about getting into an abandoned building — a huge, disused factory. It gets you right there, you’re scared and a bit disgusted because it’s dirty, but the size of it is just overwhelming. Never mind the dirt, the dust, the pigeon shit and the graffiti on the walls, we’ve just got into 4 storeys of free, empty, hundreds of square meters of space!

(more…)