Renewable Energy Policy In China Changes: National Plans Announced

Posted on November 8, 2011 by John Proctor| Leave a comment

When China announces a National Plan for anything, then the rest of the world had better sit up and listen. If past performance is anything to go by, it means a whole bunch of national resources will be diverted to make sure that these plans are made reality. On November 4, China announced a few new policies, all of which on their own would have been significant for a massive country such as this. Announced together, this represents a major shift for the economic powerhouse. This is the second National Plan for China – which was the first country in the world to announce a national policy to address global warming in 2007.

While the rest of the world moves to gradually phase out incandescent light bulbs, China has announced that they will be completely eliminated in the next five years. In a country in which lighting constitutes about 12% of all energy consumptions, Chinese leaders decided that enough was enough. This from the country which is the world’s largest manufacturer of light bulbs of all descriptions and varieties.

buddy electric car © by shannonkringen

The electric vehicle industry will also get a significant boost, with $1.5 billion a year earmarked in funding for the booming sector. The development of National Standards for the electric vehicle industry is a major step forward to electric cars finally hitting the mainstream.

As a massive country which generates a lot of waste, China has announced plans to start a national recycling policy – set to recycle up to 70% of major waste by 2015. This ‘major waste’ means metal, plastics, paper, tyres, cars and electronic items.

As if that wasn’t enough, China also announced plans to tackle the massive problem of ground water pollution. This is potentially the most far reaching part of the National Plan. Household waste, pesticides and sewerage all contribute to the pollution of water supplies in modern China. The announcement of this $5.5 billion plan is welcome – but the proof will be in the pudding.

Experienced China watchers are cautiously optimistic about the announcement of the National Plans – and will look keenly to developments in the near future to see what real changes occur on the ground. As China takes these real and significant steps towards an apparently more positive environmental policy, the rest of the world watches with keen interest.

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How To Find Solar Hot Water Rebates And Other Energy Incentive Payments

Posted on November 7, 2011 by John Proctor| Leave a comment

It springs to mind that while there is a lot of talk about solar hot water rebates being made available by governments to home owners to encourage the uptake of renewable energy technology – there is not much substance behind the talk. It can be difficult to find the details of available energy incentive payments – however there is a website which is easy to find and navigate which makes this job so much easier.

A website run by the North Carolina State University provides a great resource for households who are looking for energy incentive payments available to them, including the solar hot water rebate.

solar hot water rebate

Solar water heaters © by booizzy

The DSIRE website provides an easy way to search the USA on a state by state basis to see what incentives are available from state governments to encourage transition to renewable and sustainable energy technologies in homes and businesses.

In addition to the state incentives which form the backbone of the available information on the DSIRE website there is also a searchable database of federal incentives, which are fewer in number. So rather than having to make phone calls to government offices and local suppliers of energy infrastructure and technology, families can now look online to see what support exists.

Why a solar hot water rebate means the earth

The uptake of renewable and sustainable energy technologies by businesses and households is something that governments of all shapes and sizes wants to encourage – and at the end of the day the way to do this is to encourage a financial incentive. While families and businesses wish to do what they can to improve the state of the world’s environment, it falls on governments to make it worth their while. Enter the rebate system.

These rebates which are on offer by various levels of government mean that green technologies are much easier to afford – placing them within reach of many who would not otherwise be able to afford them. Not only does this mean savings when buying the products, but also immediate savings when using something like a solar hot water system – as heating water is one of the most expansive uses of energy in most homes.

So take a look at the DSIRE website and see where you can get government energy rebates and save money while being truly environmentally responsible.

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Posted in energy conservation, household tips, renewable energy, Solar Power Equipment, water heaters

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The Ultimate Foolproof Solar Panel Under Development By Onyx

Posted on November 2, 2011 by John Proctor| Leave a comment

The ultimate foolproof solar panel is apparently just around the corner. Speaking to many home owners who are reluctant to get into solar power for their home, they find the technology challenging to not only get their head around but also to install for themselves. Enter Onyx Service and Solutions Inc. The company has announced that it has been working on a ‘Plug N Play’ solar panel which can be installed with a minimum of fuss – with technology so user friendly that anyone can install these solar panels.

No more messy wiring or complicated inverters!

The Ultimate Foolproof Solar PanelAs you can see from the image of the new panel, it includes its own mini inverter, built in to the rear panel. This means that you can buy the panel, screw it to the roof (or wherever else you want to install it), and hook it up – that is it.

This is really a revolution in the solar panel market – as this ‘Plug N Play’ product is truly a foolproof way of gathering solar energy. So where you used to have to hook up a lot of fiddly units and do some tricky wiring, that is no longer the case. There are also apparently a fair few ways of hooking up the device – so it;s nice and versatile as well as easy to use.

Onyx say that you can lay the panel in the sun and plug it in to your computer or fan – the applications end only with the imagination. In addition, the battery has about 5 hours of peak power. This is super exciting for people who have been waiting for something ground-breaking to happen in terms of solar technology breakthroughs – especially in terms of making things easier for consumers.

There are portable solar arrays around which are excellent value and give you amazing options in terms of where you can go and what you can do. We highly recommend that you buy solar equipment which is portable, not fixed. This will allow you to move quickly and easily and have flexible options in terms of your solar power equipment. Our opinion is that if you spend good money on good equipment, you should be able to take it with you where you go – not leave it behind stuck to the roof.

The foolproof solar panel is upon us, and we hope to soon see these types of solar panels available in stores around the world. There won’t be any shortage of customers either – people are confused by solar energy technology as it is now, but obviously not for long!

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The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Geothermal Energy: The heat is on

Posted on October 31, 2011 by John Proctor| Leave a comment

Before getting into the advantages and disadvantages of geothermal energy, let’s begin with a little background into the technology. First of all, let’s dispel a few myths by looking at a few interesting facts about geothermal energy:

  • It’s not new technology – the Romans used it to heat the water in their baths;
  • Those white plumes you associate with geothermal plants are not polluting the environment, it’s just steam;
  • It’s getting easier and cheaper all the time to harness geothermal energy to generate electricity.

Even before the 2011 Japanese nuclear crisis there was a real focus around the world on energy conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. A global awareness that climate change is a real and present issue for all countries and all people has instilled a real sense of urgency for action which was previously absent. As a result, all energy creation options are effectively on the table and open for discussion. In that spirit, here are the key advantages and disadvantages of geothermal energy…

Advantages of geothermal energy

  • Very low levels of pollution are produced from harnessing geothermal energy. By implementing more geothermal energy plants, the world can reduce its reliance on burning fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy resources.
  • There is a long history of the use of geothermal energy in both industrial and domestic settings, as a means of heating spaces and for generating electricity by driving turbines.
  • Geothermal energy plants are relatively cheap to build, maintain and run and take up very little space.
  •  The long life of geothermal plants means that they can go on fulfilling the population’s energy needs for decades to come, with more technological advances prolonging that life span even more.

Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy

  • While environmental groups like to say that geothermal energy is renewable, technically it is not. It draws its energy from magma and the generation of steam, the production of which reduces the temperature over time – which results in a finite life for plants.
  • Geothermal plants can not be built everywhere around the world. They are best suited to areas where there is volcanic activity, with magma closer to the earth’s surface.
  • Drilling associated with geothermal plants has an uncertain long term effect on the earth’s techtonic plates. A geothermal plant in Switzerland was abandoned after it was shown that drilling had resulted in many earthquakes and other seismic activity
  • There are other, truly renewable ways to generate energy from nature without diminishing its force. Advances in solar technology are remarkable, resulting in paint on solar panels and greater efficiency in production.

There is more to geothermal energy than meets the eye. It is often promoted as a clean, green source of unlimited power, but while it is a lot better than fossil fuel consuming alternatives, it’s not all that it has cracked up to be. The advantages and disadvantages of solar energy are so numerous and complex that careful study must be done in order to decide if the advantages of geothermal energy are worth dealing with the disadvantages.

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Posted in alternative energy, Geothermal energy, renewable energy

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US Industry Leads The Way To Renewable Energy As Government Policy Remains Soft

Posted on October 19, 2011 by John Proctor| Leave a comment

While you may be excused for thinking that the US Government is swaying like a tree in the breeze in regards to adopting and implementing a concrete policy in renewable energy, the same cannot be said for industry. One recent example of this is the announcement that General Electric will open the largest solar manufacturing facility in the US in Aurora, Colorado. The plant is expected to kick off production in 2012 and will employ around 350 people manufacturing thin film solar panels.

The announcement is interesting in that it comes when smaller firms are closing their doors, unable to compete with China’s manufacturing capability and pricing. Perhaps GE sees an edge in new manufacturing techniques and the thin film solar panel products which it has practiced producing since it acquired Primestar. This addition to its renewable energy portfolio has allowed GE to claim that it has achieved 14% conversion efficiency, significantly above the 11.7% which is the average of current industry leader First Solar.

The new plant is expected to produce solar panels which are lighter, larger, and more efficient than other thin film panels. Advances in technology see companies like GE step into renewable energy production and the manufacturing of related products for home energy production – but where does the US Government stand when it comes to taking real action? Apart from releasing blueprints for change and espousing rhetoric (no matter how good it sounds), real action is hard to find.

Industry appears to sense a commercial advantage, and is moving to exploit it – which is commendable. This is not just happening in the US either – in Germany, Deutsche Bahn has announced that it will source 100% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2050. 100%!

The surge of growth in renewable industry goes against the wider trend in the US at the moment too. Employment figures in solar related industries have seem sharp growth, contrary to trends in other industries. This is due to industrial uptake of solar energy platforms, but also a shift to renewable energy sources in domestic settings.

As an example, the amount of solar power equipment projected to be installed in homes across the country this year is double the previous year – astounding growth. The environmental savings are a factor in these figures, but with economic pressures impacting households, the energy savings that can be relied on are also influencing the shift in energy sources.

All that remains is for the Government to adopt clear policies to support the industry in its growth, and also to assist households who cannot afford to, but wish to install renewable energy technology to do so. This assistance is best delivered in the form of rebates and subsidies – and while there are some policies that do this, these steps should be extended in scope and time frame to support the renewable energy sector grow even more.

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