How do we….

…move toward world peace?

…move toward collaboration on climate change?

…move toward economic and environmental responsibility?

…become energy independent and a member of the world community?

Here is a huge step in the right direction…

This new technology is going beyond ideas and into reality. There is a huge potential and it is not as farfetched as it might sound. Idaho-based Solar Roadways is one of the trailblazers. The solar roadway is a series of interconnected Solar PV road panels that you can actually drive on. Electrical engineer Scott Brusaw was inspired to start the company when he heard Caltech solar energy expert Nate Lewis suggest that covering just 1.7 percent of continental U.S. land surface with photovoltaic (PV) solar collectors could produce enough power to meet the nation’s total energy demand.

The heart of the solar roadway concept is the solar road panel. Each individual panel consists of three basic layers, the road surface layer, which is translucent and high-strength yet rough enough to provide traction. The surface layer is capable of handling today’s heaviest loads under the worst of conditions and protect the electronics layer beneath it.

The three layers (top, middle, and bottom) of a solar road panel.
Next is the electronics layer, which contains a large array of cells, the bulk of which contain solar collecting cells with LEDs for “painting” the road surface. These cells also contain the “Super” or “Ultra” caps that store the sun’s energy for later use. Batteries are not used in the solar roadway. Since each solar road panel manages its own electricity generation, storage, and distribution, they can heat themselves in northern climates to eliminate snow and ice accumulation.

The third layer is the base plate layer, which distributes power (collected from the electronics layer) and data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) “downline” to all homes and businesses connected to the solar roadway. The power and data signals are passed through each of the four sides of the base plate layer. The base plate layer is directly attached to vertical risers, pneumatic or hydraulic pistons that raise or lower different points of individual solar road panels. Riser bases are installed beneath the frost line to avoid the “heaving” phenomenon common in colder climates where the ground freezes and thaws. This provides a natural earth ground for the electronics layer of the Solar Road Panels. The risers are controlled (raised, lowered, or locked) by the solar road panel’s microprocessor board. The microprocessor board communicates with each adjacent panel to ensure a seamless road surface.

The skeptics main concern is the surface. Solar Roadways has approached the nations top materials research labs. “Penn State University’s Materials Research Institute and the University of Dayton’s Research Institute [are] working of figures for developing the top layer,” Brusaw says. He has also said they could easily make the surface to the specs needed… i.e. durable enough for long term use of fully loaded 18 wheelers, non glare, transparent enought for PV, good traction for braking etc.

The possible “extras” from this technology are impressive…
•The first and best is power…. enough for the entire country.
•Rather than paint and markers on the road you would have colorized substrate that would even light up at night like a runway… no guessing where the road is.
•The roads would defrost themselves in northern climates
•All the other wires could be integrated, power, cable tv, internet, phone etc.
•Plug in or wireless microwave on board charging of electric vehicles… charge while you are parked. •Monitoring of traffic for safety and law enforement.
•Power all the street lights and intersections for safety
• Save hundreds of millions of animals lives by built in wildlife warning devises to keep the animals using the under roadway pathways built for them instead of on top of the roads.

“It looks like 2008 is going to be our year. Everything seems to be falling into place at just the right time,” says Brusaw.

solarroadways.com

article on renewableenergyworld

Happy PV trails,
Bruce

An amazing new technology cuts CO2 emissions 99.5%. Once you see this video you may ask the same question as I… Why was this not part of the conversation and discussion among those in this country pushing a new technology to make coal fired plants less polluting? Or for that matter any fossil fuel buring power plant? If this technology comes to market here in the US it will make the highly experimental and expensive coal sequestering technologies a moot point.
This new technology converts gases from industries burning fossil fuels into energy. Very cheap, visit www.absalutecology.com for more details.
The technology makes burning coal, oil, rubbish with nearly 0% pollution possible. Recycling has never been a more profitable and environmentaly friendly possiblilty then it is now. Spread the news and avoid a nuclear future. Not excatly sustainable living, but at least we’ll avoid the worst of climate change if we act soon. This technology cleans toxic gasses of impurities such as CO2, SO2, Nitrogen gas, and dust particles. Keeping the air clean at a very low cost.

This video is not directly supported by greenpeace, although its aim is to provide a simlar service as greenpeace, to protect the environment while accomodating the needs of human expansion and growth.

Absalutecology: Creating a solution to the global environmental and economic problem of air pollution.

Webby: http://www.absalutecology.com

This exciting new technology has the potential to revolutionize national electircal grids using the simple principle of hot air rising.

The concept is simple…. use the sun to provide air movement which pushes turbines that create electricity and do it with a design that makes no impact on the quality of our air, water or soil…. what’s not to love?

I have provided a number of the videos detailing existing test installations and projects hoping to go forward.

Enviro-Mission - Roger Davy’s Solar Power Tower…

1800′ - 3100′ tall

a base of glass 6 times larger than New York’s central park.

Powering over 100,000 - 200,000 homes with no fossil fuel burning.

This would be the equivalent of taking over 90,000 cars off the road.

The Enviro-Mission proposed project in Mildura, Austraila desert 3281ft tall!

http://www.enviromission.com.au

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An Opportunity to Reduce Global Warming and CO2? -Discovery Channel

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Test installation Solar Tower Energy in Spain, Madrid

 Citizenre is part of the new wave of ‘GREEN’ economies… and it is happening on a global scale. Just like the Climate Changes…

“Increasingly, combating climate change is being perceived as an opportunity rather than a burden and a path to a new kind of prosperity as opposed to a brake on profits and employment.”

United Nations - More and more companies are embracing environmentally-friendly policies and investors are pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into cleaner and renewable energies, according to a new publication released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

While the impacts of climate change range from the melting of permafrost and glaciers to extreme weather events, UNEP’s Year Book 2008 shows that it is also causing a shift in the mind-sets, policies and actions of leaders of governments, companies and the UN itself.

continue reading the article…

This is an amazing presentation from the UK-Channel 5.
It has many, many points woven into a problem solving approach to the out of control Consumerism that is growing on a global scale. It makes the point, much like the “Story of Stuff” that we are living a linear mode of consumption on a finite planet… we will run out of resources.

It may take a few minutes to watch all four parts but it will be well worth your time.

Big Ideas That Changed The World - Consumerism (1/4)

Big Ideas That Changed The World - Consumerism (2/4)

Big Ideas That Changed The World - Consumerism (3/4)

Big Ideas That Changed The World - Consumerism (4/4)

Consumerism re-born?

RSI Silicon wins the 2007 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation competition for their innovative technology that could dramatically impact the solar industry. While Citizenre Corp. has denied any business arrangement with RSI Silicon Mr. James Dunn, Vice Presidentof RSI Silicon, mentioned a company that has contacted them with a business model similar to Citizenre. Their inovative technology will dramatically lower the cost of production and bring much more availability of solar grade silicon to the market. Two key factors that will help the Citizenre manufacturing process. RSI Silicon will use the $200,000 award to build a pilot line and R&D facility, most likely in Massachusetts, followed by a large silicon plant to produce up to 15,000 tons per year.

There is also a radio interview with David Gregg done by Mr. James Dunn who is on the panel of the Radio Show - Energy Freedom Fighters. You can find it in the Associate back office resource section.

Here is an excerpt from an article by Sterling D. Allan of Pure Energy Systems News…

‘RSI is a new energy materials company that has developed a unique process for making solar grade Silicon at a production cost of around $7-9 per kilogram, compared to a production cost of $25-30 via a typical Siemens plant. Additionally, the capital costs for building a 5000 metric ton RSI Silicon plant is projected to be one tenth the cost of a comparable Siemens process plant, and a shorter completion time of just 15-18 months.

The net result is that once RSI is in high-volume production, the price of photovoltaic solar products will be able to drop significantly, making solar energy 35-60% cheaper than at present. The impact is far-reaching for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and in making solar power not only feasible, but close to being competitive economically with conventional grid energy.

The cost of the Silicon in a current panel or cell is about $1.50 per Watt. RSI will reduce that to about $.25/W over the next 5 years. This should help reduce the current retail cost from $4/W to under $2/W, achieving grid parity at about $1/W, targeted for 2012-2015.’

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Another notable mention is another company that was in the top ten of the MIT competion… GreenRay. They are developing a revolutionary product that will transform solar electric systems into a broadly accepted household appliance by simplifying the design and installation of PV systems and provide lower cost solar electricity. Citizenre will no doubt have a similar ease of install system.

Here is there website: http://www.greenraysolar.com/

“GreenRay is developing a solar appliance for residential homes. While today’s PV systems use discrete components and require specialized expertise to design and install, our plug and play system is fully integrated. The modular AC solar panel units plug together and snap into a specially-designed roof mount. By reducing design and installation time, we make solar more accessible and simpler to install. Our patent-pending technology sets the new standard for residential solar electric systems.”

Here is an article about GreenRay getting federal funding…

Bob Schneeveis, the inventor of the Solar Powered Walking Chariot!
Bob is a brilliant and eccentric character who studies nature and then turns it into sustainable, solar-electric vehicles and gadgets… Bob also donates his time to students studying robotics, and certainly gets our award for being the truest of nutty professors!
Check out how clean powered engine drives these legs and rollerblades in such a human-like fashion…amazing! This thing actually has a lot of kick to it and is capable of covering all kinds of terrain it seems.
Best of all, this chariot demonstrates that earth-happy innovations and creativity are all around us.
“I got my buddy  George… doing something he is qualified to do, and he is good at it too. So I’d like to see him do more. He has to run totally within the bounds of sustainability, not muck’n up the atmosphere.” -Bob Schneeveis

Here is the clip from the Hippy Gourmet TV show….

I joked about the idea of a Martha Stewart designer solar panel a few days ago and now I am eating my words… and lov’n it! While these nano dyed solar panels will not replace the efficency of the standard silicon panels they will offer a unique market for astheitcs and going green!

Here is an excerpt from the ScienceDaily article…

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Screen-printed Solar Cells In Many Colors And Designs, Even Used In Windows
ScienceDaily (Jan. 31, 2008) — Newly designed solar cells can be screen-printed in a wide array of colors and patterns to allow them to be attractively incorporated into building design. The solar cells also can be used on windows, providing shading from glare while generating electricity.

The key component of the new modules is an organic dye which in combination with nanoparticles converts sunlight into electricity. Due to the small size of the nanoparticles, the modules are semi-transparent. This aspect makes them well suited for façade integration. The new solar cells are being developed by members of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, who will be presenting their new technology in Tokyo at Nanotech 2008, the world’s largest trade fair for nanotechnology.
The solar module prototype is amber in color. It is possible, however, to produce the modules in other colors, or even to print images or text on the module so that it serves as a decorative element. These design options open up an entirely new range of possible applications. Instead of mounting the solar module on the roof of a building, the electricity producer could be integrated into windows. Used in this way, the new technology not only prohibits direct sunlight from entering the building interior but also generates electricity at the same time.
“We don’t see the dye solar cell as being a rival to the conventional silicon cell,” says Fraunhofer ISE physicist Andreas Hinsch. The module prototypes only achieve an efficiency of four percent, which is not sufficient for rooftop applications in comparison to the performance of crystalline silicon solar cells. On the other hand, dye solar cells have a clear advantage when it comes to façade integration.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft press release

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Maybe they could even be made to match the existing color and design of the extisting roof and dispell the astheic concerns from HOAs or Histoic Commisions. Here is a simulation of that idea (not an actual product yet)

Great news for Massachusetts’ residents!

Boston, Massachusetts [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]
Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles has announced that Commonwealth Solar, the state’s new program of rebates to encourage the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) power is now accepting applications from businesses and homeowners looking to reduce the cost of putting solar panels on their roofs.

“Solar energy is a key component of the clean energy economy we are developing here in Massachusetts, and a rebate is the most efficient, cost-effective way we can make solar power more affordable. Now is the time for businesses and homeowners to find out what Commonwealth Solar has to offer.”
–Ian Bowles, Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Announced in December, the program, which makes use of existing renewable energy funds, is expected to result in the installation of more than 27 megawatts (MW) of solar power capacity over the next four years. Commonwealth Solar is part of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s pledge to increase installed solar power from 5 MW today to 250 MW by 2017. This was made in April in connection with Evergreen Solar Inc.’s commitment to locate its first full-scale U.S. manufacturing facility in Massachusetts.
“Commonwealth Solar is open for business, and that’s good news for the economy and the environment,” Bowles said. “Solar energy is a key component of the clean energy economy we are developing here in Massachusetts, and a rebate is the most efficient, cost-effective way we can make solar power more affordable. Now is the time for businesses and homeowners to find out what Commonwealth Solar has to offer.”
Information on how to get a Commonwealth Solar rebate can be found at www.commonwealthsolar.org.