Organizers and Leaders: Start Here

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Comment by Richard Barnard on September 8, 2009 at 11:37am

Dr. Kugler:

I don't know that much about solar. Is the following bad?

Fremont, CA, September 4, 2009 – Solyndra, Inc. today commenced construction of its second solar panel manufacturing plant (Fab 2). Located near its current manufacturing facility in Fremont, California, Fab 2 is designed to produce 500 megawatts per year. The new facility will enable Solyndra to fulfill its announced contractual backlog of over $2 billion and create additional jobs. Solyndra's two Fabs will produce enough solar panels over their lifetime to cut over 350 million metric tons of CO2 emissions or 850 million barrels of oil.

Comment by Robert Schultz on September 8, 2009 at 11:34am

Estimates say we need about 200,000 sq.miles of solar panels to power the world. Could be the time to install solar shingles on every rooftop in the USA. Now what about environmental impacts of solar panel production?

Comment by Dr. Hans J. Kugler, PhD on September 8, 2009 at 11:10am

Solar plants - - with power transmission lines that lose energy - - are already out-dated.
Solar roofs (PV) in people's homes, connected via an "intelligent grid" are the future.
Quote from energy experts Khosla and Ehrenpreis:
"Forget about wind farms and solar plants run by conventional utility companies. In the new energy regime, the people are the utilities and their houses are the power plants.”

Comment by Richard Barnard on September 8, 2009 at 9:49am

Solyndra - New Solar Plant in Fremont, CA

http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/13204/

Richad Barnard

Comment by Dr. Hans J. Kugler, PhD on September 7, 2009 at 9:31pm

Let's face it: Neither CNG nor propane is THE clean energy solution of the future! BOTH ARE CARBON FUELS THAT, IN THE LONG RUN, NEED TO BE ELIMINATED. OK as a transition and, because the US has good amounts, a good energy source for US energy independence (hopefully replacing imported oil).
They are both cleaner burning than gasoline, and MUCH cleaner burning than coal; both produce mainly CO2 and a small amount of water when burned.
Coal is the real polluter; besides producing 100% CO2 when burned, coal also contains large amounts of toxic minerals like mercury, cadmium, arsenic, others.
With "clean coal" - - there is really no such thing as clean coal - - some of the toxic minerals are removed.
In the US alone, the major polluter "clean coal" still contributes to putting 49 TONS of mercury into the environment and into oceans - - - to such a degree that now pregnant women are advised not to eat fish (the mercury would harm the developing fetus).
The toxins, contained in slush "fly ash" are stored in humongous ponds (-poisons forever-), and recently we had one of those ponds broken and the slush spread all over the land, poisoning it for hundreds of years to come, getting into rivers and waterways and killing everything in it.
But you rarely hear about that; the coal industry has everybody (paid off?) under control.
The worst way of mining coal is strip mining - - - a true environmental disaster. But - - - the coal strip mining industry put $ 38 million into the Obama campaign - - this administration just assured W-VA congressman (also coal lobbyists) that it would not stand in the way of 24 future strip mining projects. What a shame!

The solutions:
AS A START: Learn about real problems, don't drink the water, pray a lot, install a PV system on your house, and buy a plug-in hybrid.
and check out www.ElToroEXPOSED.com

Comment by Dave Clement on September 7, 2009 at 1:26pm

Upcoming CNG displays in Arizona
Creative Energy Fair, Prescott Valley- Sat Sept 26th, 10-6:00
VSCC Alt Fuels Seminar, Gateway Community College, Phx Thurs Oct 1st
9-1:00
We will have CNG displays and/or presentations on CNG at these events and will be signing up people for thePickens Plan also.
There will be some brand new CNG suppliers as well as some of our old standbys there also!!
Please see EVENTS on this site for more information-
http://www.push.pickensplan.com/events

Dave

Comment by Lee Taylor on September 6, 2009 at 8:17am

News about a new Propane program in the Southeast:


OCEAN SPRINGS — Converting a vehicle to cleaner propane fuel saves money and the environment, and a coalition led by Blossman Gas of Ocean Springs has received $8.62 million in stimulus funds to bring the alternative fuel technology to the Southeast.

The grant, requested by Virginia's state energy department, will convert 1,500 vehicles to propane and create the country's first autogas corridor, where the vehicles can be refueled, from Washington, D.C., to Mississippi and Florida. The total cost of the project is $29 million.

Blossman Gas partnered with American Alternative Fuel to form Alliance AutoGas and roll out 1,500 vehicles that can run on propane. Another 3,000 will be retrofitted outside the grant, said Blossman President Stuart Weidie.

* Gallery:TANK TECHNOLOGY

Some customers look at the economic advantages of autogas, the term given to propane fuel for vehicles. "It's economical," said Weidie, priced more than $1 per gallon less than gasoline. Autogas also keeps a vehicle engine running three times longer with fewer oil changes.

Weidie said more of their customers see converting to autogas as an opportunity to do their part for the environment. Propane fuel reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 28 percent and hydrocarbons by one-third, he said. Others appreciate that autogas reduces dependence on foreign oil. Nearly all of the propane used in the United States comes from within the country and Canada.

"This sounds too good to be true," one person told Weidie, who told him autogas is used extensively throughout Europe. The United States is behind in the technology because the country had such cheap energy. "It's just now evolving," he said. Autogas provides the same power and performance, and the vehicle can switch over to regular gasoline if a propane fuel tank isn't available.

Blossman introduced propane fuel in the 1980s, when fleets of police and school vehicles in Mississippi operated on the alternative fuel. That experience is one of the reasons the autogas corridor will run to the state.

"We're based here in Mississippi," Weidie said of Blossman Gas. "Ocean Springs is still our home office." The corporate office is in Ashville, N.C., in the middle of the company's territory of 64 stores from Washington, D.C., to coastal Mississippi.

The AutoGas Corridor Development Project has three components: the equipment, the conversion centers and the fueling network. Weidie said key to the program is installation of the Prins Conversion System by certified installers. Blossman Gas will build the refueling centers, including eight that will be open to the public. The pumps look like regular gas tanks but the nozzle screws into the propane tank that is installed inside the trunk of the car and is more impact-resistant than the car's regular gas tank. For large fleets, the refueling equipment will be installed at the company, school or police departments' sites, Weidie said.

Alliance AutoGas also will be available at the five Blossman Gas locations in South Mississippi, in Waveland, Gulfport, D'Iberville, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, and 12 others throughout the state.

Weidie said they are primarily starting with fleet conversations under the Department of Energy stimulus grant, but personal vehicles also can be converted if Alliance AutoGas has the Environmental Protection Agency-approved systems for the vehicles. Crown Victorias, which are used for police cars and taxis, can be converted now and the equipment will be available in next 30 days for Ford 250 and 350 vans. Compact cars also will be able to be retrofitted, and Weidie said some of the automakers are building autogas fueled vehicles.

Weidie said the company has 12 employees solely focused on potential prospects for autogas, and its Alliance AutoGas partners were careful not going to the market too early. "We wanted to get it right the first time," he said.

Privately owned, Blossman Gas is the largest independent propane company in the United States and the 10th largest overall.
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Comment by Dr. Hans J. Kugler, PhD on September 5, 2009 at 3:53pm

Actually you DON'T NEED electricity storage with your home PV systems.
The system comes with a new meter which runs backward when you produce more electricity than what you use.
A key here is - - - what utility companies try to refuse - - - that you should get paid if, at the end of the month (or 6-month period) it turns out that you produced MORE electricity than what you used.
Away from everything, or not connected to a utility grid, you may want to use some deep-cycle storage batteries (often available at auctions from the military that use them to quick-start jets).

Comment by Dr. Hans J. Kugler, PhD on September 5, 2009 at 3:40pm

William, and other interested parties:
First, I never refuse(d) to comment about any problem.
Most people, if asked when electricity needs are highest, will respond :"at night."
But this is definitely not the case. Actually electricity needs are highest mid to early afternoon (around 1:30 to 3). And that's the time when things can get critical; more electricity is used than what can actually be generated - - - and severe emergencies arise with power line overload, and transformers and capacitors blowing, etc.
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI.org) addressed this with "The Intelligent Garage." Thousands of electric cars (also being charged by PV panels overhead), plugged in to an intelligent grid (- like the one overseen by Siemens in Germany, Wallstreet Journal 9.4.09-) could supply some of this much needed electricity, and use of other non-essential electric units (like washing machines, air conditioners, etc.) would be automatically shortened or turned down. Thus peak demand - - a highly critical factor - - would be reduced.
There is time enough to replenish the "borrowed" electricity before driving home.
Most EVs and plug-in hybrids don't need fully recharging. According to the Dept. of transportation about 90% of daily round-trips are 19 miles or less.
EVs and plug-in hybrids also come with a range-extender, a combination of a small lawnmower type motor and a generator which, if turned on, will produce electricity if needed.
Relative to electricity demands during the day, nighttime electricity demands are extremely low; some coal-fired electricity stations are actually turned off, and with hydroelectric plants they even stop turbines. With this cheap nighttime electricity, relative to expensive daytime electricity, charging plug-ins and EVs is estimated to cost less than $ 2.50 per 100 miles.
Combine Wind and PV electricity, and the chance that you run out is close to zero - - - especially if an "intelligent grid" would recognize possible problems.
Add to this the - - approximately 30 - - projects that are in final stages of storing electricity for nighttime use, PROBLEM SOLVED.
One of those storage problems, using salt, was mentioned in one of the recent posts here (Scientific American).
Please watch RMI's Amory Lovins testify in Washington about nuclear energy, quoted in my post below.
Hope everybody has seen the 72 Datsun, converted to electric, that is beating BMWs and Corevettes on the drag strip.
For more answers, check out ElToroEXPOSED.com.

Comment by amy oconnor on September 5, 2009 at 3:00pm

For home-level solar storage you need Deep Cycle Batteries -

You can purchase these at retail stores or online for a variety of prices
although they seem to be kinda pricey....At make-a-solar-panel.com
you can buy a DIY kit to make either solar panels or a wind generator....
AND he says he can tell you where to get these expensive batteries for like $20
a piece....which seems worth the cost of admission alone !!!

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