Campus Coffee Shop Powered By Solar



Solar Power to Brew Coffee in Virginia

December 30, 2010
By: Quest


The Dominion Foundation, has awarded a $30,000 grant to Virginia Highlands Community College for the development of “Wolf Grounds,” an on-campus, student-run coffee shop.


The non-profit business will involve 100 percent organically grown and recyclable products, local suppliers, Energy Star appliances, and both solar hot-water heating and solar photovoltaic technologies. The coffee shop project will serve as a student learning tool. “Dominion’s grant will allow our students to experience first-hand the process of opening and operating a business within the security of college supervision,” said Virginia Highlands President Ron Proffitt. “This is an outstanding opportunity for our students, and we are grateful to Dominion for their support of the college, our students and this project.”

Besides providing experience to business students in running a self-sustaining business, the project also will provide a hands-on learning opportunity to students in solar energy system design, equipment installation, and system maintenance and repair. “Dominion is excited about supporting this hands-on learning project and particularly because of its emphasis on energy conservation, efficiency and alternative energy generation,” said Preston Sloane, station director for the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center. The power station is being built in nearby Wise County, about 30 miles from the campus, by Dominion Virginia Power, a subsidiary of Dominion Resources.

The coffee shop, which is scheduled to open in April, will be managed by the campus organization Students in Free Enterprise. Roughly half the students involved in the project’s development will continue their involvement in the shop’s operation. For example, Information Technology students will continue to maintain the shop’s Web page and produce brochures, Marketing students will promote the business and Accounting students will manage the books. Dominion is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,600 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation’s largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 13 states. The Dominion Foundation is its’ philanthropic arm.

Way To Go, Denmark!

Denmark Boasts a 100% Renewable Energy Community

Dec. 29, 2010
Richard Cooke

Denmark, like, Germany, her neighbor to the south, is a country that takes renewable energy seriously.

The wind energy industry alone in Denmark is booming with companies like Vestas and Siemens Wind Power both having production facilities and bases of operation on Danish soil. Denmark’s own wind based energy also grows exponentially each year leaving many optimistic that the nation might be one of the few who can achieve 100% renewable energy in the next several decades. However, wind based renewable energy is not the only kind of clean energy the country has going for it. In one location, Denmark has proven that wind and hydrogen can be king when it comes to being green.

Called the Lolland Hydrogen Community, the project began in the middle of 2007 as a way of taking the excess wind energy produced by the island community and putting it to use. Since they were generating an impressive fifty percent more wind energy than was needed, they set about finding a way to convert that excess wind into hydrogen for use in powering the island and acting as way to demonstrate to Europe the viability of hydrogen as a renewable energy source. The way the project began was with the installation of a Fuel Cell Combined Heat and Power plant that took the wind energy that was being produced in excess and using it to power an electrolyser that worked to separate the oxygen and hydrogen molecules that comprised water. Once the hydrogen is separated it is stored in pressure tanks and it is then used to power fuel cells that provide the community with electricity.

Although powering the community’s power grid with the hydrogen fuel cells proved to be a success the Lolland Hydrogen Community knew they could take the renewable energy a step forward. To achieve this end, the researchers on the community developed smaller hydrogen fuel cells that could be placed in a home and act similar to a boiler in order to provide heating, air, and energy. In 2008, five houses in the village of Nakskov were chosen to have the smaller fuel cells installed in them in order to determine if they would be effective. Nearly three years later, the Lolland Hydrogen Community is now looking into installing them in over forty more homes.

In the end, the Lolland Hydrogen Community serves as an example to the rest of Europe that 100% renewable energy is indeed possible. With the unique blend of both hydrogen based fuel cell power and wind energy the power that is generated easily powers the entire community. Based off the example being set in Nakskov and in Lolland, it would not be surprising to see the blueprint used in the future to convert further communities over to a fully renewable infrastructure.

Renewable Energy Funding: The Fate of Wind and Solar in Ohio

Renewable Energy Funding:

The Fate of Wind and Solar in Ohio

December 26, 2010
By: Guest Columnist Ann Marie

Alternative Wind Solutions, LLC is a renewable energy company located in North Central Ohio specializing in the small wind energy sector. While in operation a relatively short period of just two years, this Ohio-based renewable wind energy company has installed numerous home, farm and business turbines and has many more upcoming projects in the works.

Non-profits

A couple of these initiatives consist of working with non-profit groups. Alternative Wind Solutions, LLC owner, Keni Morgan stresses, "the critical nature" of  acquiring necessary funding for these important public facilities, which provide access to wide-range education in many areas of learning such as science and nature, at very little or no-cost to the public, and will allow them to reduce operating costs and remain within or even under their projected fiscal budgets. "This is an important step in ensuring the stability of these very worthwhile educational venues for future generations", remarked Morgan.

Residential/ Farm/ Business

While the curiosity factor is high for those looking into the possibility of wind power for their homes, farms or businesses, the urgent demand is obvious for the relief of an aging and overworked grid system. Morgan is quick to point out, "the clientele is generally a very educated and socially responsible group." Citing their concerns over the environmental effects of the continual burning of fossil fuels needed in vehicles, homes and to generate power for the utility companies are some of the reasons that bring these eco-minded customers to their doorstep.

There is of course, another consideration which is also a very important part of the equation for the prospective buyer. How much will my out-of-pocket expenses run?

Incentives and Rebates

While the 30% tax incentive being offered for qualifying individuals through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is still available, the expiration of the provider rebates funded by the ODOE and as offered by the four major investor-owned utilities, AEP, Duke Energy, Ohio Edison and Dayton Power and Light, are showing that residential installations are experiencing a sharp decline.

What lies ahead for the fate of wind and solar in Ohio?

"It is imperative for the general public to understand the importance of gaining independence from foreign oil sources which only serve to hold our economy hostage. Equally important is stressing the issue of the dire need to achieve some sort of independence from the utility providers", Ms. Morgan commented.

"We have heard a lot of complaining from homeowners about price increases from their utility providers. Even while being mindful to reduce their electrical consumption most customers are still witnessing a higher monthly bill. This is a trend which will most likely escalate as prices for manufacturing costs, wages, production and import fees continue to spiral." Morgan continued, "We don't have to look back very far into recent events to cite such things as blackouts, brownouts and major oil spills of epic proportions."

25 x '25

Far too many people are unaware of the proposed 25 x '25 bill in Congress which demands that all investor-owned utilities must generate 25% of their power from renewable energy sources by the year 2025. This unfortunately, will only afford the utilities the right to raise prices further. "It is becoming increasingly clear that we need to make ourselves more self-sufficient and with a more sustainable form of energy production", stated Ms. Morgan.

High demand. Dire need.

The demand for power is high. The need for a clean, renewable and sustainable form of energy production is dire. The call must be made for government officials to allot monies which will assist those responsible individuals, businesses and farm operators in their efforts to sustain the environment for future generations as well as providing a more stable economy. After all, the cost of feeding, clothing, manufacturing, etc. are all things factored into the price of the product for us- the end-users!

As responsible stewards of this earth, we need to take this task in hand by calling on our local and State governments to continue supporting education in the renewable energy arena; aggressively create jobs in a most important and innovative field thereby generating an economic upswing and putting these well-spent dollars back into our economy; and reinstate and increase subsidies for homeowners, farmers and small businesses making a concerted effort to employ these technologies.

Our earth- let's leave it better than we found it!

Contact:

To help in this effort you can contact Senator Sherrod Brown and voice your concerns or opinions about the state of our economy and the fate of renewables in our State:

Sherrod Brown (D) US Senator for Ohio

Washington, DC: (202) 224-2315 (phone)

http://brown.senate.gov/contact/  (email form)


In Ohio you can call:

Toll Free: 1-888-896-OHIO (6446)

Cincinnati: (513) 684-1021

Cleveland: (216) 522-7272

Columbus: (614) 469-2083

Lorain: (440) 242-4100

EPA To Curb CO2 Sources

U.S. EPA to Curb 2 Big CO2 Sources

New rules planned in 2011 for power plants, refineries

December 24, 2010
By: Juliet Eilperin

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it will regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants and oil refineries next year, targeting the nation's two biggest sources of carbon dioxide.

The move, which comes as part of a legal settlement with several states, local governments and environmental groups that sued the EPA under the Bush administration for failing to act, highlights the Obama administration's intent to press ahead with carbon-dioxide curbs despite congressional resistance.

Collectively, electric utilities and oil refineries account for almost 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. Under the agreement, the EPA will propose new performance standards for power plants in July and for refineries in December 2011, and it will issue final standards in May 2012 and November 2012, respectively.

"We are following through on our commitment to proceed in a measured and careful way to reduce GHG pollution that threatens the health and welfare of Americans, and contributes to climate change," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement. "These standards will help American companies attract private investment to the clean energy upgrades that make our companies more competitive and create good jobs here at home."

Gina McCarthy, the EPA's assistant administrator for air and radiation, emphasized that the agency is in the early stage of regulating greenhouse gases from the two sectors and could not spell out how significantly the new rules will reduce the nation's contribution to global warming.

"You will see measurable reductions," McCarthy said

Power plants account for more than 2.3 billion tons of carbon-dioxide emissions each year, more than any other industry. Oil refineries rank well behind that as the nation's second-largest source, with emissions equivalent to more than 200 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

McCarthy said the EPA will require existing and new utilities and refineries to use "what technologies are available" to curb their carbon output and will not set an overall limit on greenhouse gases such as the cap-and-trade bill that died in the Senate.

But Charles Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, said that the proposal the EPA was envisioning is unrealistic and that his industry will urge lawmakers to block it.

"There is no best-available technology. The only thing you can do is cut production," Drevna said.

Some key lawmakers such as Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who is in line to be chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next year, seemed open to the idea of halting the new rules.

"Rep. Issa is disappointed by EPA's refusal to appropriately and thoroughly consider regulations that will undoubtedly kill more jobs in an already struggling economy," said Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella in an e-mail.

However, environmentalists such as David Doniger, policy director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's climate center, said that "Congress should let EPA do its job," given that it failed to pass comprehensive climate legislation this year.

Chevy Volt Uses Recycled Gulf Oil Spill Booms

Gulf Oil Spill Booms to be Recycled in Production of Chevy Volt

December 22nd, 2010
By: Yale Environment 360

The plastic booms used to absorb oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year will be recycled for use as parts in the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors officials say the recycled oil extracted from the booms will be converted into 100,000 pounds of plastic resin pellets that will ultimately be mixed with recycled tires to create the parts that protect the Volt’s radiator.

The material would otherwise be buried in landfills or burned. “If sent to a landfill, these materials would have taken hundreds of years to begin to break down, and we didn’t want to see the spill further impact the environment,” said John Bradburn, manager of GM’s waste-reduction and recycling efforts. More than 2,550 miles of boom were deployed in the Gulf in the months following the BP oil spill.

Working Towards Greener Glassblowing

Eco-Friendly Ornaments

Blown Glass Ornament Ball - Tomato Orange Red

This glass was blown in an environmentally conscious manner in our low-energy consumption hot-shop powered in part by renewable wind energy through our power company's Green Works program. We ship using recyclable cardboard and Bio-Bubble, a 100% bio-degradable bubble wrap.

Hand blown glass ornament by Dean Wolf of Wolf Art Glass, Austin, Texas. Beautiful transparent tomato orange red swirled ball 3.75 inches in diameter. Lovely for your tree, to hang in a sunny window, or as a thoughtful gift! Each ornament is beautifully gift boxed and ready to ship to the glass lover on your holiday gift list!

View more of our ornaments here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/wolfartglass?section_id=6185422

Geothermal Wells For University Dorms

450 geothermal wells to heat, cool 5 OSU dorms

December 23, 2010

By: Regina Garcia Cano

Work is under way on the South Oval where the wells will be drilled. The switch to semesters will make cooling dorms a priority, an official said.

Ohio State University plans to drill 550 feet beneath campus to tap Earth's temperature to heat and cool five dormitories.

The university will drill 450 geothermal wells in the South Oval and the parking lot next to Hale Hall. The system will regulate the temperatures in Park, Siebert, Smith, Steeb and Stradley halls, all located between 11th and 12th avenues, as well as two new 11-story buildings that also will have dorm rooms.

"It will be one big system," said Scott Conlon, director of projects for Facilities Design and Construction.

The five dormitories, built in the 1950s, do not have air conditioning. Providing them with a cooling system has become a priority as the switch from quarters to semesters approaches in 2012, Conlon said.

"Students will be moving in in the third week of August - instead of the third week of September - when the temperature in the upper reaches of the high-rises would be unbearable."

The well field will be part of a closed-loop geothermal system that will circulate water. Earth's temperature at 550 feet deep stays between 55 and 60 degrees year-round, said Joseph Ortiz, an associate professor of geology at Kent State University.

Using a heat exchanger, the system pulls the warmth from the ground to heat the buildings on cold days; it removes heat from the buildings and transfers it into the ground on warm ones, Ortiz said.

The system will cost $4 million but will save Ohio State money in the long run, Conlon said. It will use 34 percent less energy than the natural-gas system at a savings of $200,000 a year, which will help the university recoup its investment in 12 1/2 years.

The wells also will help warm tap water.

"The system heats up domestic water that comes from the taps halfway for free, and then we'll use gas to heat it up the rest of the way," Conlon said. "This will also save money because the cost of heating the water supply will be lower."

The central cooling and heating plant for the well system will be in the basement of a soon-to-be-constructed 11-story building between Stradley and Park halls that also will contain dorm rooms. The geothermal system is part of a $170 million project to renovate dorms and build the two towers.

Contractors already dug the space for the plant. They are to begin drilling in the South Oval soon. Hale Hall's parking lot, which will become green space, will be drilled last.

"Using geothermal wells was by far the most cost-effective measure compared to others we considered, like solar panels and wind turbines," Conlon said. "Geothermal wells work well in open spaces, and they won't be visually obstructive."

The wells are not Ohio State's first. The Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, on the north side of campus, was built two years ago with a 70-well system.

"In general, it has worked beyond our expectations," Conlon said.

Erin Wingfield, director of development of 4-H Youth Development, said her office is comfortable.

"It feels nice and cool during the summer, and it doesn't feel as dry as other buildings during the winter," she said. "It's plenty warm. The difference is when you enter the building, you warm gradually because you don't get that blast of heat on you."

Concept: Waste Collecting Ships?

Ocean Plastic Waste Collecting Ships

By: Open Planet Ideas

Concept:

Unmanned automated solar+wind combined with biofuel powered, GPS navigated and coordinated ships would gather plastic waste in the north Pacific ocean, which would then be collected by maintenance ships and later recycled on the mainland. A GPS navigated and coordinated fleet of unmanned automated ships would be sent to north Pacific ocean to collect plastic waste floating on the surface. They would be mainly powered with solar and wind energy, merging the concepts of solar powered PlanetSolar catamaran and Flettner rotor assisted E-Ship 1 (or Alcyone). There could be also a small conventional wind turbine on the deck, additional power would come from biodiesel/gas/ethanol/hydrogen powered generator.

A turtle swimming amongst plastic bags.

The remains of a pelican and the contents of its' stomach display the amount of plastic consumed by this one creature.

The waste would be collected with lightweight but solid paddlewheels, which by rotating would also slowly move the ships forward. There would be two sets of rotating paddlewheels, one in front part for larger waste and one in the back part of the ship for smaller particle filtration.

Before the waste storage would be completely full, the ship would contact operating base through satellite phone connection to send for the maintenance ship to empty it and refuel if needed.

Waste would be brought to mainland for recycling and the ship would continue its collecting task.

Burning Wood For Power Plant Generation?

Plan to use wood at power plants now on back burner

December 5, 2010

By: Spencer Hunt

Biomass burning is proposed for Picway Generating Station in Lockbourne and nine other Ohio sites.

Plans to burn wood instead of coal at nine Ohio power plants now might do little more than fill state filing cabinets.

For a while, utility companies were gung-ho on burning wood as a renewable source of electricity and praised the idea as a way to meet a state mandate to cut down on coal.

The first public sign of trouble came on Nov. 17, when FirstEnergy announced that converting its R.E. Burger coal-fired power station into a "biomass" plant would cost too much. Located near Shadyside in Belmont County, Burger instead will be used only during peak electricity demand.

Officials with all of Ohio's major utilities, including Columbus-based American Electric Power, are now sounding equally discouraged about eight other proposed biomass projects. In all, the projects promised to power as many as 260,000 Ohio homes.

"It's an option, but one that's on the back burner for us," said Sally Thelen, a spokeswoman for Duke Energy, which had proposed burning wood and plant wastes at three power stations along the Ohio River.

The projects were submitted to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio over the past two years to help meet a 2008 state mandate that power companies produce 12.5 percent of their electricity from advanced and renewable sources by 2025. Wood, a "biomass," is considered a renewable source.

Melissa McHenry, an AEP spokeswoman, said the company will still conduct biomass tests at its Muskingum River plant. One problem, AEP said, was that it could not find wood or plant fuel at the right price.

"The cost has not been competitive with the other options for renewable energy," McHenry said, referring to solar and wind power projects.

Environmental groups, including the Ohio Environmental Council, Sierra Club and the Buckeye Forest Council, questioned whether enough wood could be found to fuel all the projects.

The groups estimated the Burger plant alone would have consumed more than 3million tons of wood a year - nearly twice the 1.7 million tons of timber the Ohio logging industry annually produces.

"There isn't enough 'forest residue' or 'paper-mill wastes' available," said Cheryl Johncox, the forest council's interim director. "If all of the permits go forward, we're looking at 351 square miles of cleared forest per year."

The Ohio Consumers' Counsel, which represents utility customers, questioned whether biomass would be affordable. If wood is scarce, power companies would have to pay more to get it, said Anthony Rodriguez, a counsel spokesman.

McHenry said AEP is now investing in wind and solar power projects. In addition to the Muskingum plant, AEP had proposed burning biomass at its Picway plant south of Columbus and at its Conesville plant in Coshocton County.

State officials are still eager to support these projects. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency released a draft permit last Monday that would let Dayton Power and Light burn biomass at its Killen plant in Adams County.

Dayton Power spokeswoman Lesley Sprigg said in a statement that the company must first resolve several issues, including "securing a consistent and reliable source of fuel."

Of all the proposals to generate electricity from wood, only the proposed South Point Biomass Generation plant in Lawrence County appears to be moving forward. South Point Biomass also was the only company willing to publicly disclose where it would get its fuel.

"To date, the company has entered into wood-waste agreements with approximately 30 independent companies, local businesses and municipalities," South Point reported to the PUCO on Feb.17.