Do-It-Yourself Workshop. Ours will be comfortably indoors
You will pay for the workshop using PayPal or your credit card. The cost for the dinner buffet, the manual and the instruction is $30 for everyone except for TSEA and TREEDC members who will have a $5 discount. The cost is kept as low as possible so sign up today and get a confirmation by email.
According a report in Think Progress, Fox news recently slammed SunPower as a “failing” company, but Dow Jones picked that very company to build a huge solar installation at its New Jersey headquarters, which it touted as a one of the “smart solutions for the future of our business.” So, did Fox News just call Dow Jones stupid?
Intra-corporate squabbling is probably the last thing embattled NewsCorp chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch needs right now, what with the phone hacking scandal and all, and this could be just the start of another big headache. Dow Jones is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, the business community’s paper of record and a comfortable home for conservative-leaning commentary. When a mainstream corporate citizen like Dow Jones says solar is a smart investment, and another media company under the same umbrella insists on the opposite, something’s got to give.
Since the Solyndra investigation failed to reveal any systemic problem, Fox moved along to find the next poster child and landed on SunPower. That bumps Fox right up against the U.S. auto industry. Namely, Ford Motor Company and SunPower announced a major initiative just a couple of months ago, to pair SunPower’s home solar installations with purchases of Ford’s new Focus electric vehicle, which will have its manufacturing home right here in the U.S.
After staving off a potential tax increase during the last session of the Tennessee General Assembly, a Tennessee solar trade group is asking candidates to sign a pledge to “stop dramatic and burdensome tax increases on the solar industry.”
The Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association (TenneSEIA) announced the pledge today.
The following are excercpts from today’s TenneSEIA press release:
The Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association (TenneSEIA) announced today its efforts to educate candidates running for state office and members of the Tennessee General Assembly about the economic impacts of over taxing the solar energy industry. Earlier this year, the General Assembly considered a bill (HB3520/SB3296) to increase property taxes on the solar industry by 6,000 percent. The bill was sent to summer study and will likely surface next year.
TenneSEIA kicked off its efforts by mailing candidates a pledge asking them to, “stop dramatic and burdensome tax increases on the solar energy industry.”
“If our legislature chooses to over tax the solar energy industry, no one will invest, build or manufacture solar in Tennessee-that’s jobs and money leaving our state,” said Dean Solon, president of Shoals Technologies Group in Portland, Tennessee. Shoals employs about 400 people. “China won’t do that to you-China helps foster solar energy without over taxation. And we should know because Shoals exports to China.”
J. Paul Sims, professor at ETSU and TSEA board member has been interested in studying distributed pumped store as part of the integral need for energy storage. The concept is to run plants at full power during times of heavy demand in anticipation of near term energy needs for hot summers. No doubt that hot summers like this one are not a fluke. With a combination of pumped store along with solar, biomass and base plant operations, this may be a less expensive alternative to purchasing outside power. Now well funded investors are recognizing the investment opportunities in purchasing dams and reservoirs that can be converted to pumped storage thereby adding to their available assets. Consider the impact of the court decision to upheld the EPA’s authority to regulate green house gases. Maybe the cost of natural gas fired turbines may not be the best investment if the right of the federal govenment to regulate the public’s health is uphold to a future test by the Supreme court if the electric power companies continue the fight to prevent expensive air pollution controls from being instituted.
The monied investors seem to think that purchasing water containment bodies are a good idea. So do I. I am for it IF the resource is managed correctly to take into account any potential environmental damage from the water fluxing.
Take a look at the following article found today knowing that TVA has recently granted leases to some of its stored water bodies.
Source: Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P.
Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. (BEP.UN) (Brookfield Renewable) has announced an agreement to acquire, with its institutional partners, a portfolio consisting of four generating stations in Tennessee and North Carolina from Alcoa Power Generating Inc. for a total enterprise value of $600 million, subject to certain price adjustments.
“We believe this acquisition provides a unique opportunity to capture rising electricity prices, and our operating platform and expertise is well-suited to maximize the value of this portfolio over the long term,” added Mr. Legault, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Renewable..
The Tapoco plants can be operated as daily peaking facilities and benefit from one of the lowest cost of operations in the TVA region, further enhancing their attractiveness and long-term value potential. In 2005, Tapoco was granted a 40 year operating license by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The question to be asked of the TVA board should be “how much will this cost the ratepayers?” Sure makes renewable more attractive as future investments here in TVA land.
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Environmental Protection Agency’s rules regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from major stationary sources and its determination that GHG emissions endanger public health and welfare by contributing to climate change. EPA’s rules require new major sources and major modifications to existing sources permitted after January 2, 2012 to implement the “best available control technology” (BACT) to limit GHG emissions.
Eight energy companies — FirstEnergy, DTE Energy, American Electric Power, Southern Co., Ameren, Energy Future Holdings, GenOn Energy and PPL — spent $67 million lobbying Congress to overturn EPA regulations.The court rejected arguments that EPA erred by relying on assessments of climate change prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other scientific bodies.
The D.C. court noted that those assessments were peer-reviewed and synthesized thousands of individual studies on various aspects of greenhouse gases and climate change. The court argued that science works. “EPA is not required to re-prove the existence of the atom every time it approaches a scientific question.”
An appeal to the Supreme Court is likely. But unless the Supreme Court reverses, or Congress intervenes to limit EPA’s Clean Air Act authority, EPA’s GHG regulations remain in place.
Rice University researchers have created spray-on battery paint, creating the potential for new gadget form factors.
One of the primary factors holding back the development of truly next-generation devices is battery technology. Yes, the lithium-ion power modules that energize most of our current flock of gadgets are fairly small and reliable. But they still take up a relatively large amount of space in our devices, and often dictate the form factor to a certain degree. Fortunately, scientists at Rice University in Texas have developed an interesting solution: spray-on batteries.
Neelam Singh, one of the Rice researchers involved in the project, says they will work to reduce the size of the paint needed to hold a meaningful charge, and hope to make their creation more user friendly. Singh tells New Scientist that he hopes to one day pair the spray-on battery with paintable solar cells, to create the next generation of home electrical systems. When exactly such a thing will be possible, well, we’ll just have to be patient.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/scientists-create-spray-on-battery-paint/#ixzz1zCjEtPwE
3M said the project will lower costs for U.S. commercial panel companies at a time when there is increased competition from foreign rivals. 3M said its new photovoltaic film is thin and lightweight, which cuts manufacturing time and replaces the need for the heavy glass used in rooftop solar modules. The film is also waterproof. The sun-facing
side is Fluoropolymer.
With our new production equipment and continued product innovation, 3M is well positioned to not only increase the performance of our Ultra Barrier Solar Film, but also significantly drive down the costs,” Derek DeScioli, 3M’s global business development manager for renewable energy, said Monday.
This revolutionary product is a result of more than a decade of development in transparent barrier technology, as well as over 45 U.S. patents and patent-pending applications. 3M™ Ultra Barrier Solar Film is engineered for flexible Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) solar modules. It’s designed to replace glass in flexible thin film solar panels, delivering high light transmission, superb moisture barrier performance and excellent weatherability. Compared with glass-glass modules, flexible PV modules manufactured with 3M™ Ultra Barrier Solar Film can reduce installation time, remove the need for metal racking, cut logistics expenditures and lower module manufacturing costs.
The Scientific Method for Getting Technology to Market
A Webinar with Steve Blank
Thursday, June 21st
Presentation: 1:00-2:00 pm EDT
Live Q&A Discussion: 2:00-2:30 pm EDT
Join us for an encore broadcast of The Scientific Method for Getting Technology to Market followed by a live Q&A discussion with entrepreneur, Steve Blank.
Great technologies don’t automatically attract users and thrive in the real world. Successful entrepreneur and professor Steve Blank will show how hypothesis-driven discovery and experimentation can turn your innovations into successful products with societal impact. Learn how to hone in on the true value of your technology through early and effective engagement with customers, and see why Silicon Valley startups, corporations like GE, and the National Science Foundation have adopted this methodology to advance their leading innovations.
Be sure to register to participate in the live event. If you attended Mr. Blank’s presentation during the 2012 Summit, then you can opt to join us at 2:00 pm for the live Q&A discussion only.
NOTE: In order to watch the rebroadcast from 1:00 – 2:00 pm, you will need to log into the webinar from a high-speed internet connection. If you experience buffering issues, then we will provide you with a direct link to the recording and a PDF of Mr. Blank’s slides.
This is the second in an intended series of rebroadcasts of practical seminars originally delivered at the 2012 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. Each seminar focuses on a different core concept or skill that can help transition breakthrough technologies into successful commercial products.
No fuel trucks to be targets
The Department of Veterans Affairs has recently selected US Solar Institute (USSI) to help train its service members to safely install PV technology. As the country’s first dedicated, licensed photovoltaic college to receive this distinction, USSI will play an important role in the post-service career training that has become a staple feature of the GI Bill. When you add in solar PV installation training programs like USSI, it becomes clear that the Department of Defense is committed to meeting its target of 25% renewable energy by 2025.
Although USSI has become an official Veterans Affairs partner, it also provides solar PV training to active duty personnel and civilians as well. For a complete list of training courses, visit www.ussolarinstitute.com.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), engineers have made a giant step toward making this scenario a reality.
UT researchers have successfully developed a key technology in developing an experimental reactor that can demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy for the power grid. Nuclear fusion promises to supply more energy than the nuclear fission used today but with far fewer risks.
Since 2008, UT engineering professors and about fifteen students have worked inside UT’s Magnet Development Laboratory (MDL) located off of Pellissippi Parkway to develop technology that serves to insulate and provide structural integrity to the more than 1,000 ton central solenoid.
Mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering professors David Irick, Madhu Madhukar, and Masood Parang are engaged in a project involving the United States, five other nations, and the European Union, known as ITER. UT researchers completed a critical step for the project by successfully testing their technology that will insulate and stabilize the central solenoid—the reactor’s backbone.
