For you, the grid is over The US Defense Department (DoD) is preparing to make dozens of its key bases across America “off grid ready.”  And apparently in 15 years, all Army bases are expected to be fully off-grid with renewable energy, say military sources - that’s if …
>>Keep reading “What next, eco-napalm?”

Sacred Power Inc. of Albuquerque has got its hands on half a million dollars of stimulus funding for off-grid power.

It has been awarded a USD500,656 grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help bring solar- powered electricity into homes on the Navajo Nation currently without electric power.
>>Keep reading “Navajo go solar”

Rabbit in the headlights Energy Secretary Steven Chu delivered a vital speech last night to increase his offer of stimulus bill funding for large energy projects, mainly building new electricity towers. The annual meeting of the privately-owned electric utilities had been disappointed by initial offers from the DoE last month of $20m per project. Chu told them last night that they will get now get $200m per project out of a total pot of $3.9b. By contrast each State is reeiving an average of $20m for energy conservation measures and renewables.
>>Keep reading “Big Energy hand-outs”

Who loves the Sun Solar Calculators (aka Solar Estimators) will estimate the size and calculate the cost to install a solar energy system for your home or building. There are many free ones on the Internet. Just type in “free solar calculator”
They are all based on the number of hours of sunlight you can expect at a given address, and then vary in sophistication after that. 
>>Keep reading “Free solar calculators”

Box full of hot air Demand for microgeneration equipment is set to soar in response to massive increases in domestic energy bills, says a new report.  But there is a danger that consumers will be tricked into buying the wrong gear by internet scammers such as Earth4Energy.

UK household energy spending could rise four-fold to nearly £5,000 a year within a decade, making all forms of alternative energy generation far more attractive says the  study
>>Keep reading “Microgen boom forecast”

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage in Dorset, UK has announced it is now completely off-grid ready.

River Cottage is the HQ of Fearnley Whittingstall’s (pictured, right) food and lifestyle empire, and has been featured in several series on UK’s Channel 4 TV. River Cottage has changed the way the British think about food, and it is likely they’ll do the same for the way the UK thinks about energy and water.

In a recent episode River Cottage HQ installed a wind turbine which now provides most of its electricity requirements. Together with its water recycling arrangements (see below) the River Cottage is now off-grid ready, thought still connected to the Grid and selling surplus energy back to it. Fearnley Whittingstall said that in moving towards going off-grid he was pleased to “support this pioneering community.”
>>Keep reading “River Cottage off-grid ready”

The Eden Project has unveiled plans for the UK’s first power plant to produce electricity from geothermal energy – the Earth’s own heat.

The Eden Project is the Cornish ecotourism attraction which features the world’s largest greenhouse, and founder Tim Smit (pictured) hopes the plant will be built on the Eden site near St Austell, and will power the whole complex.
>>Keep reading “Dig deep for energy”

Hidden costs of the Grid US utility companies are trying to cut the large amount of power wasted as it goes down the line to customers. They say they are acting because of looming limits on greenhouse-gas emissions in the US.

The greedy and slothful  companies are in fact motivated …
>>Keep reading “Smart Grid ploy to grab stimulus funds”

Europe’s electricity grid is unable to distribute the renewable energy capacity that governments have committed to building by 2020, according to a report from Europe’s leading science academies. And Europe’s  ageing grid infrastructure is likely to fall 30% short of demand by 2011.

Europe’s grid is incapable of transferring energy over the long distances demanded by renewable power stations, without massive investment which is unlikely to be forthcoming, strengthening the case for off-grid and micro-grid supplies for small communities and even large ones.
>>Keep reading “EU Grid not fit for renewables”