Mitsubishi’s Electric i to Be Most Affordable Electric Car Available in US at $21K

Mitsubishi’s Electric i to Be Most Affordable Electric Car Available in US at $21K: "

Mitsubishi announced at the New York auto show that its all-electric i car will cost just over $21,000 after the $7,000 federal tax rebate for EVs. The goal was to get the price under $20k, but the earthquake apparently upset those plans. Still, a base price of $27,990 isn’t bad for a green EV. The odd thing? To reserve a Mitsubishi i, you have to pay the deposit via PayPal.

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Post tags: alternative transportation, electric car, electric vehicle, green automotive design, green transportation, Mitsubishi i, new york auto show

"

Solar Module Price Could Drop 20 Percent in 2011

Solar Module Price Could Drop 20 Percent in 2011: "
by Nichola Groom


Solar modules currently sell for between $1.40 and $1.50 each, Recurrent CEO Arno Harris said in an interview, and should come down to a range of $1.20 to $1.30.


"As the industry reacts to the shifts in Europe, we're going to see those kinds of changes become transparent to the market pretty soon," Harris said.


Suppliers are cutting prices in reaction to pullbacks in generous solar subsidies in Italy, combined with the expansion of solar panel manufacturing capacity.


"The way we look at the situation right now, we are in an oversupply dynamic," Harris said, adding that, as prices come down, the U.S. solar market could absorb some of the excess supply.


One Wall Street analyst disputed Harris' figures, saying prices would likely hit the $1.50 range later this year, dropping to $1.20 some time next year.


"We do think prices are going to $1.40 to $1.50. We don't doubt that," Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel said. "But probably it's more an end of Q3, early Q4 event."


Japan's Sharp Corp bought Recurrent for more than $300 million last year in a bid to expand its presence in the growing market for building solar power plants. Sharp is a major global manufacturer of solar panels.


But Recurrent is not using use Sharp products in its solar systems, Harris said. Rather, the company is using lower-cost panels made in China.


"I don't anticipate us using Sharp technology in our projects for some time," he said. "They have an existing business and existing distribution, and they are moving production through that channel, and we don't want to compete with their customers."


As a result, Recurrent will be a customer of panel suppliers such as China's Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd "for the foreseeable future," Harris said.


"It's very curious that he's not using Sharp," Pichel said. "Which means (Sharp) can't get to that cost structure."


Recurrent, which is based in San Francisco, has a project pipeline of 2 gigawatts and about 400 megawatts of projects operating, in construction or under contract.


The company is focused primarily on the Western United States and Ontario, Canada, markets, but is also looking toward New Jersey and emerging international markets for long-term growth.


Reprinted with permission from Reuters"

Fairmont Hotels Establishes Worldwide Sustainable Policy

Fairmont Hotels Establishes Worldwide Sustainable Policy: "Building on 20 years of environmental initiatives, they now require all buildings to be LEED certified."

Army Going Net Zero on Environmental Impact

Army Going Net Zero on Environmental Impact: "18 army bases are pilot projects for net zero energy, water and waste."

Wind Turbines: When Will We See the Next Generation?

Wind Turbines: When Will We See the Next Generation?: "And how the economy will change with renewable energy."

Renewables Supply 15.6% of US Electricity in January, Solar Skyrockets 343%

Renewables Supply 15.6% of US Electricity in January, Solar Skyrockets 343%: "And renewable energy capacity worldwide now exceeds that of nuclear, while emissions are dropping."

Mitsubishi iMiEV Will Be Cheapest EV in U.S.

Mitsubishi iMiEV Will Be Cheapest EV in U.S.: "

The popular Japanese EV, the Mitusbishi iMiEV, is finally coming to the U.S. next January and at $27,990 before incentives, it will be the cheapest plug-in car on the market.


The tiny all-electric will be eligible for some major incentives: a $7,500 Federal tax credit, thousands more in state credits (California offers $5,000, Colorado $6,000, etc.), regional and local credits like the $3,000 rebate for residents of the San Joaquin Valley and some companies like Sony Pictures are offering up another $5,000 to employees.


In fact, if you are among the handful of Sony Pictures employees who reside in the San Joaquin Valley, you can get the iMiEV for about $8,000 after all the incentives are cashed in. Pretty incredible.


Even if you're not among that small group, you can expect to take at least $10,000 off the top, which puts this car in the range of something like the Honda Fit. For an additional $2,790, it comes with a DC fast-charge port that delivers an 80 percent battery charge in only 30 minutes.


Interested buyers can register to pre-order the vehicle starting today.


via GreenCarReports


"

Windfarms unlikely to be affected by flooding

Windfarms unlikely to be affected by flooding: "With all the overland flooding this spring in Southern Manitoba, one might think those giant wind turbines generating power for Manitoba Hydro could find themselves surrounded by miles and miles of water.
While the turbines are owned by Pattern Energy, Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider believes it's unlikely they would be affected by floodwaters..








Manitoba's first win..."

Google to buy 100.8 megawatts of Oklahoma wind energy

Google to buy 100.8 megawatts of Oklahoma wind energy: "
by Todd Woody.


It’s getting a bit hard to keep up with all of Google’s green investments these days—$168 million put into a big solar power plant
project one week; $100 million for the world’s largest wind farm the next.


But this week’s big money move—the third so far this
month—is different. It also involves wind but is a power purchase agreement
(known as a PPA in the utility trade) rather than a direct investment in a
specific project.


The deal with wind developer NextEra Energy Resources was
struck by Google Energy, a subsidiary of the search giant that has been licensed
by the federal government to buy electricity on the wholesale market.


Essentially, Google Energy acts as a quasi-utility, signing
long-term contracts for electricity. In this case, it has committed to a
20-year contract to buy the electricity generated by a 100.8-megawatt wind farm
called Minco II that NextEra will build in Oklahoma, where a new Google data
center is set to go online later this year.


“This 100.8 megawatt facility will be built as a direct
result of our financial commitment and should be operational in late 2011,” Gary
Demasi, of Google’s global infrastructure team, wrote on the company’s official
blog.


“We’ve been exploring ways, such as this PPA, to reduce
emissions further by increasing the amount of renewable energy we use to power
our operations,” he added. “We purchase high-quality
carbon offsets for any remaining emissions.”


The value of the power purchase agreement was not disclosed—typically such deals are kept in a black box for competitive reasons. The
advantage of such a deal over a direct investment is that it assures bankers
and other financiers that a project has a guaranteed market for the
electricity. And Google gets to claim that clean energy even though it goes
into the grid rather than directly to its facility.


The Oklahoma wind farm will be built this year, according to
NextEra, the United States’ largest wind developer.


The deal is Google’s second power purchase agreement with
NextEra. Last year, it signed a 20-year contract to buy electricity generated
by a 114-megawatt Iowa wind farm.


Related Links:



Dirty clouds: Greenpeace ranks tech giants on their data centers’ coal dependency






Chart of the day: the U.S. energy mix in 2035






Bloomberg wants to cover New York City’s landfills with solar panels









"

Can Solar Get to $1 a Watt?

Can Solar Get to $1 a Watt?: "

The Department of Energy earlier this year unveiled a program, called SunShot, geared to bring the price of solar down to $1 a watt by 2017 and to 73 cents by 2030.



But is it possible? Crystalline silicon modules now sell for $1.48 per watt, with the cost of fully installed solar systems topping $3 to $4. per watt.



Modules will have to drop to 50 cents to hit the $1-per-watt goal. The installation and balance-of-system costs will have to plunge from around $1.70 to 40 cents. Inverter costs will need to drop to ten cents per watt.



The industry has a long record of driving down costs. Modules alone cost $21.83 back in 1980 in current dollars. Compare that to other forms of energy. Oil cost $28 a barrel back in 1982. Now it’s over $100. Cement, steel, construction and soft costs like legal and planning have caused the costs of coal, gas and nuclear to fluctuate. So score one for the Moore’s Law-like power of solar.



Solar, however, will never be a free lunch. Although some have proposed harvesting solar from dyes or paints, the vast majority of solar modules over the next two decades will be produced from refined and raw materials: ingots of nearly pure silicon, plastic protective membranes, silver or copper interconnects, glass and aluminum structures.



Some cost cutting could be easy. Integrating solar modules into prefabricated racks at the factory for "power plants in a box" can shave onsite labor and shipping costs.



Concentrators -- mirrors and/or lenses that artificially increase the amount of sunlight that strikes a solar cell -- seem to be gaining favor finally, too. Some companies, such as ZenithSolar, have come up with high-powered concentrators that permit a single cell to generate up to 2 kilowatts of electricity.



One of the most important developments is thinner wafers.



So what’s the ugly reality? Thin wafers require completely new handling mechanisms. One of solar's rising costs involves paperwork.



Is $1 a watt possible, or will our best intentions get in the way?



Read more on this topic in a joint effort by General Electric Ecomagination and Greentech Media, and join the conversation here.
"

Cash Incentives for Renewables Cost Half as Much as Tax credits

Cash Incentives for Renewables Cost Half as Much as Tax credits: "(Source: Celsias)


Using the tax code to support wind and solar power significantly increases their cost. I wrote about this problem last year because project developers were selling their federal tax credits to third parties at 50 to 70 cents on"

U.S. Ethanol Boom Fuels Farmland Price Spike, and Some Fear a Bubble

U.S. Ethanol Boom Fuels Farmland Price Spike, and Some Fear a Bubble: "(Source: Solve Climate Chronicles)


Farmers have found a source of steady demand for corn. But the conditions may be inflating a bubble, which if bursts could drag farm country into recession"

Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization (Video)

Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization (Video): "
Via TED:

Using wikis and digital fabrication tools, TED Fellow Marcin Jakubowski is open-sourcing the blueprints for 50 farm machines, allowing anyone to build their own tractor or harvester from scratch. And that’s only the first step in a project to write an instruction set for an entire self-sustaining village (starting cost: $10,000).

"

Kentucky Man Builds Bourbon Powered Car

Kentucky Man Builds Bourbon Powered Car: "autospa writes 'With fuel prices rising like crazy, a man from Kentucky came up with a solution to high gas prices. 62 year-old, Mickey Nilsson, of Bardstown, Kentucky, made a bourbon-powered junk car. He got the idea from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Nilsson said that his inspiration came from a character played by Dick Van Dyke in the classic Disney movie.'




Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"

Solar Panels Increase Home Value

Solar Panels Increase Home Value: "blair1q writes 'Venture Beat reports that a study (PDF) by Berkeley National Labs has found that homes sold in California earned a premium for solar panels. The benefit ranged from $3900 to $6400 per kW of capacity. An earlier study found that proximity to solar or wind power may also raise home values. These results contradict the arguments based on degrading home values used by putative NIMBY (Not In My Back-Yard) opponents to installing or living near such energy-generating equipment.'




Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"

Through Solar Mosaic, Oakland is Reducing Emissions, Creating Green Jobs, and Building Community (Video)

Through Solar Mosaic, Oakland is Reducing Emissions, Creating Green Jobs, and Building Community (Video): "(Source: TreeHugger)
graphic via sungevity

Check out this amazing project getting off the ground in my hometown of Oakland, CA. The city is selling 5,000 solar tiles at $100 each to locals, and the panels will be installed on the rooftops of youth centers and schools"

Pavement Solar Panels - The Netherlands Aims to Transform Bike Lanes into Power Plants (TrendHunter.com)

Pavement Solar Panels - The Netherlands Aims to Transform Bike Lanes into Power Plants (TrendHunter.com): "
(TrendHunter.com) A country known for its windmills has found its way to the cutting edge of renewable energy once again. The Dutch government recently announced a pilot project in the town of Krommenie, which is about..."

The Thermal Bridge

by Thomas Hare, April 2011

“A thermal bridge, also called a cold bridge, is created when materials that are poor thermal insulators come into contact, allowing heat to flow through the path created, although nearby layers of material separated by airspace allow little heat transfer. Insulation around a bridge is of little help in preventing heat loss or gain due to thermal bridging; the bridging has to be eliminated, rebuilt with a reduced cross-section or with materials that have better insulating properties, or with an additional insulating component called a thermal break.”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_bridge

Example of thermal bridging in a structure with steel studs

http://www.rensolutions.co.uk/thermal_bridge.php

 

The concepts of thermal bridging were known for quite some time to building designers and long time builders.  Designers and architects are required by profession to learn R-value, porosity and conductivity of various building materials in order to use products more efficiently.  Long time builders however see the effects of thermal bridging largely during renovations and through their constant interface with building envelopes.  Why weren’t the issues of heat loss/cold gain via thermal conductivity addressed before? In fact, they were.  Large commercial buildings are the first to be analyzed and have new technologies tested on them due to the scale of loss.  Spray foam insulation is more and more popular for residential applications now but has been around in commercial applications for over 20 years. Today the additional costs associated with constructing building envelopes that do not conduct thermal energy can put the project out of reach financially for some but should not be ruled out due to energy costs of today.   As heating and cooling costs increase there is a corresponding reduction in return on investment duration for new building constructs and renovations.  This is fuelling higher interest and creating more awareness about the effects of thermal bridging.  A steel insulating building can lose up to 20% of its heat through thermal bridging alone.  These losses add up very quickly and increase the operating costs of the building. 

In a typical residential wall the wall studs act as thermal bridges, conducting heat from inside the home to the outside.  The heat travels from the room, into the drywall or finished interior wall covering (which is attached to the wall studs), through the walls studs, into the exterior sheathing (which is attached to the wall studs from the outside), into the exterior wall covering and then dispersed outside.  This is how thermal bridging works in a nutshell. 

Cutaway view of wall assembly

http://www.concretethinker.com/Content/ImageLib/woodframewall.jpg

How to solve thermal bridging issues

Thermal bridging can be solved through a variety of ways.  The main one is the alteration of construction techniques and processes.  The construction of a residential wall section is typically the stacking of materials horizontally.  Hence there is large quantity or area of intimate contact of building materials and fasteners.  Solving this problem requires an alteration of building envelope construction procedure.  Incorporating an “air gap” or gap between the interior building skin and the exterior building skin will eliminate thermal bridging and reduce building losses.  There are several ways of doing this and one of the most effective ways is through what is called “double wall” construction.  Two walls are created in the exact mirror image of each other and are placed side by each with a gap between the two walls of approximately 9 inches.

Example of double wall construction:

After this double wall is constructed, insulation, vapour barrier and normal construction practices follow for each the interior and exterior building skins.  Adjustments need to be made at all window and door openings to accommodate the now greater wall thickness (reductions in door and window swing radius) and adjustments made to finishes in these areas to provide a satisfactory visuals and weather protection.  There is a tendency to confuse the building practices of “Super Insulated Homes” with those that address and avoid thermal bridging when in fact the super insulation method of building, which does involve thicker building envelopes, does not address thermal bridging.  Construction methods addressing thermal bridging inherently create super insulated building envelopes simultaneously. 

At first glance double wall construction might seem overly expensive but let’s take a look at an 8 foot long framing section of Super Insulated Wall and an 8 foot long section of wall framing built to address thermal bridging.

Considering that a wooden 16 inch tall wooden “I beam” wall using advanced framing techniques would cost a total of $ 310.00 in materials alone and a similar wall using same framing technique for thermal bridging would cost $27.58 it becomes quickly apparent that building using the double wall technique with advanced framing is much less costly then building for a hyper insulated home.  It could even be argued that the elimination of thermal bridging could offset the increased thickness or increased r-value found in super insulated structures thus resulting in a building structure that performs just as well as a hyper insulated home for much less.  This argument will be left to the architects and designers to resolve.

Further a double wall construction method can lower building costs by reducing the labour costs often incurred by the trades.  In a double wall building envelope the electricians and plumbers can run their wires and water delivery without drilling quite so many holes and reduces their time on site.  The reduction in holes drilled into the building envelope to accommodate the building infrastructure and delivery systems also reduces heating/cooling losses.  Reductions can be increased and building performance can be improved further by the utilization of closed cell spray foam insulation in a double wall construct.  This eliminates the movement of all air and temperature gradients between the interior and exterior of the home. 

Overall there might be a slight increase in labour costs in the framing and finishing stages of building construction; those are offset and sometimes reduced by lower trade costs and displaced entirely by operating costs.   Addressing the issues created by thermal bridging will result in a structure that costs less to operate, reduces operating costs and downtime for HVAC systems, improve efficiency for the appliances within the home and drastically improve the comfort levels of building occupants.

the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: "'Where did this trash come from? Marine biologists estimate that about 80 percent of the litter is from land, either dumped directly into waterways or blown into rivers and streams from states as far away as Iowa.'

I think about this "place" a lot. Especially because whenever I go to the beach or the shoreline, I pick up trash. And there's always trash.

1. via.

2. via.

3. via.

4. quote and last pic via.

"

A Look at Manitoba Renewable Energy in the Future

April 7, 2011

by Eugene Boittiaux

INTRODUCTION

Today, the province of Manitoba shows great potential toward further development in renewable energy generation and production. The province has a wealth of resources to provide alternatives to non-renewable fossil fuels: feedstocks for biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel, pelletized grass); a climate suitable for geothermal/earth energy residential/commercial heating and cooling; it supplies solar photovoltaic hardware and design and may emerge further yet in the realm of solar photovoltaic; and it possesses significant wind resources province-wide.

 According to Government Manitoba (n.d.):

Manitoba is positioned to become a Canadian leader in renewable-energy production and consumption through decreasing reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels and rising in use of geothermal heat pumps. Today, Manitoba is internationally recognized as a clean-energy leader, ranked as the #1 province in Canada in energy efficiency. Manitoba is leading the country in geothermal heat pump installations, has made dramatic investments in wind power and has the most aggressive biodiesel strategy in Canada.

In Budget 2007, Canada's New Government allocated $2 billion over seven years to support the production of renewable fuels (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2007). That same year, Premier Gary Doer announced that Canada's New Government intended “to provide Manitoba with $53.8 million as part of the new Canada ecoTrust” (Environment Canada, 2007) to support and stimulate development and expansion towards energy efficiency and green energy production. However, such financial support is just the beginning, and Manitoba has potential to become a bigger player in renewable/green energy production in coming years.

BIOFUELS

An April 13, 2007 release from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada stated:

The Government of Canada is committed to requiring 5 percent average renewable fuel content in transportation fuels by 2010 and intends to regulate a 2 percent requirement for renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2012.

With initiatives such as the above-mentioned Manitoba may be needed as a producer of feedstocks, technology, and biofuels to fit increasing market need.

Manitoba has expertise in producing non-toxic, renewable biodiesel fuel made from a variety of sources such as vegetable oilseed crops, animal fats and tallow and it burns cleaner than traditional diesel and requires little or no engine modifications. This material comes from crops such as canola, corn, sunflowers, soybeans as well as tallow oil, derived from wood pulp waste. Manitoba is Canada’s third largest producer of oilseed crops, especially canola. Manitoba has potential sources of feedstock that would support larger scale biodiesel production. (Government Manitoba, n.d.)

Besides biodiesel expertise and a wealth of feedstocks available for biodiesel:

There is huge opportunity in Manitoba for the newest idea in biofuels. It explores the potential of an alternative heating fuel, the combustion of pelletized grass using efficient “gasifier” technology. Using of this fuel source will not only provide alternate markets for farmers, but a much cleaner combustion process than conventional fuels. The most favourable species of grass for this is a Manitoba perennial plant known as “switchgrass.” As a native species, this grass is well adapted to the Manitoba landscapes and requires no energy-intensive annual cultivation.

Currently, Manitoba has well-established technology to pelletize grasses, and much of the transport and storage infrastructure for grain suits biomass energy production. The fuel can be used in commercial and residential boilers and recent figures show that grass-based pelletized biofuels cost about half as much as natural gas. (Government Manitoba, n.d.).

If pelletized grasses come to see demands similar to pelletized wood, which has the same uses, applications, and high demand as an overseas export, Manitoba’s ideal conditions for producing switchgrass may figure highly in the province’s future.

GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND COOLING

Manitoba is a leader in Canadian geothermal heating and cooling. It has ideal conditions - it makes a great deal of sense in Manitoba’s climate provided the initial installation cost is affordable - and financial incentives exist to support that affordability, for both residential and industrial/commercial/institutional installations.

The benefits of geothermal heating and cooling are many. Geothermal as opposed to fossil fuel-based heating/cooling systems can be shown to cut down buildings’ total greenhouse gas emissions in the energy needed to run a building by upwards of 60%. One building makes a difference and multiples of buildings using geothermal even more. One of the most important factors, however, in making geothermal system use a reality for any building is the affordability. Once installed these systems are almost free to run, the only cost being the electricity used to run the heat pump. Systems pay for themselves over time but many potential buyers may find the initial installation cost impractical without financial assistance or incentive. To help, Manitoba has financial incentives available.

The Province of Manitoba offers financial incentives for the installation of geothermal systems, through a refundable tax credit which is retroactive to April 2007; and a provincial grant program effective since January, 2009:

For geothermal installations in new homes, Manitobans can receive up to $3,000 in incentives including a refundable Green Energy Equipment Tax Credit worth about $2,000, and a $1,000 grant for homes in natural gas serviced areas of the Province.

For conversions to geothermal in existing homes, Manitobans can receive a refundable Green Energy Tax Credit worth about $2,000 from the Province of Manitoba.

Owners of commercial buildings and apartments may be eligible to receive up to 10 per cent of the value of their installed systems.

Building owners who install new district geothermal service systems may be eligible to receive up to $150,000.

Manitoba heat pump manufacturers can receive up to 5 per cent of the price for heat pumps made and sold for use in the province. (Government Manitoba, 2008)

Manitoba Hydro offers The Residential Earth Power Loan to support the installation of geothermal heating/cooling systems in Manitoba residences, with financing up to $20,000 available for new installations and retrofits (Manitoba Hydro, n.d.). For industrial/commercial/institutional installations, Manitoba Hydro has the Commercial Earth Power Program, offering feasibility assistance and similar financial incentives (Manitoba Hydro).

As well, it is possible to obtain funding from private institutions such as banks through loans and other similar means.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC

As a supplier of hardware, “one Manitoba company, ‘Solar Solutions’ is mid-North America's largest designer and supplier of commercial and residential solar energy product solutions for today's growing solar market place and for tomorrow's energy demands” (Government Manitoba, n.d.).

For electrical generation, Manitoba has had some photovoltaic growth, though solar photovoltaic installations do not have the same backing and support (namely feed-in tariffs) within the province as have been put in place throughout other countries around the world, and in recent years Ontario.

Likely, if the FiT and microFiT programs in place in Ontario are as successful as the European counterparts they were based on, solar photovoltaic for electricity production will spread to Manitoba and other parts of Canada with the same boom seen in Ontario based on the successful strategies of countries such as Denmark and Germany.

WIND

One of many aspects the prairies may be known for is their winds, which are vast and ideal for wind turbine electrical production. Vic Schroeder, chair of the Manitoba Hydroelectric Board has stated, "Adding another source of renewable energy, wind power, to our existing clean energy portfolio is a good choice,” and David Kerr, director, AirSource Power Fund GP calls Manitoba: “arguably the best wind resource in Canada” (Government Manitoba, 2004).

Manitoba possesses a great number of fundamentals that support large-scale wind farm development, including:

Southwest Manitoba has a world-class wind regime that makes wind projects commercially viable and competitive with hydrogeneration.

Virtually all of the province's electricity is generated by water. A hydraulic system can store energy in reservoirs when the wind is blowing and release water to generate electricity when the wind is calm.

Manitoba has accessible transmission so the power can be sent to markets when it is needed.

The land and terrain in southwestern Manitoba lend themselves to large-scale wind farm development. Turbines complement the farming community because they only occupy a small footprint of land.

Wind turbines provide landholders an additional source of income.

Wind turbines also provide municipalities an additional source of revenue.

Wind generated electricity provides diversity to our renewable energy mix. (Government Manitoba, 2004)

 The province of Manitoba has undertaken several studies to determine potential wind power generations, with plans to have approximately 1,000 MW of wind power capacity (Government Manitoba, n.d.). Manitoba Hydro has very good firming and shaping capabilities and very good transmission capabilities, making wind power electrical generation easy to integrate into the grid, which can also help Manitoba's electric energy exports to the U.S., in turn displacing tons of greenhouse gases formerly from coal-burning thermal plants (Government Manitoba). The St. Leon wind farm and Manitoba Hydro agreed on a Power Purchase Agreement whereby Manitoba Hydro agreed to purchase wind power for up to 25 years from the province’s first wind farm - one of the largest wind farms in Canada at 99 MW (Manitoba Hydro, n.d.).

CONCLUSION

Though government support has been slightly higher in supporting initiating Manitoban biofuel projects in the past than it is today, Manitoba’s biofuel role may come to increase in coming years, due to: rising fossil fuel prices; the availability of feedstocks; existing technological, industrial infrastructure, and expertise; and possible growing demand for pelletized switchgrass.

The number of Manitoban geothermal installations is increasing with increasing affordability. The hardest part about instituting geothermal for a building is the affordability, but the incentives from Manitoba Hydro and the Manitoba government can lower expenses greatly.

Solar photovoltaic design and supply is high in Manitoba, but Manitoban solar photovoltaic energy generation has further to go before reaching the success levels of other regions. Ontario is following the lead of overseas models successfully. Operating with similar tariffs, and with local content laws and strategies for local economic growth, the Ontario solar industry is expanding rapidly. The same strategies are likely to be adopted by other provinces and territories including Manitoba within the next decade or two, maybe sooner.

Manitoba has been shown to have a great deal of wind power that is just beginning to be harnessed. The wind industry is worth following and has great potential for growth.

The above-mentioned renewable industries will further grow in Manitoba. Going forward, worth noting are successful strategies in other regions. Successful countries have often operated with tariffs for wind, solar & biogas (Gipe). It has often been argued that operating with tariff-like systems is more sustainable and stimulating to industry than incentives such as grants, subsidies, loans, rebates, or tax deductions. Also, European countries have often integrated community involvement, targeting of job creation, and stimulus of local economy (Gipe, 2011), encouraging conservation and efficiency, and keeping money and financial rewards local (Cunningham, Lafond, & Mazier, 2010). The province of Ontario has bonuses and policies for rural, Aboriginal and First Nations peoples (Gipe). Outside of more populous centers – that is, further from the electrical grid’s distribution - rural areas may be interested in pursuing renewable energy options and can benefit through employment, training, and/or financial gains. Rural areas depending on fossil fuel-based generators for example, could see it suitable to seek alternatives. One of the great things about renewable energy is the ability to use it in areas urban or rural. Such policies may be worth looking into for further Manitoban development. For any and all of these energy alternatives, a very important key is that solutions have to be viable, that is to say worth the initial investment, and over the long run in order to be economically sustainable. With this in mind,  Manitoba's progression and development of environmentally responsible and economically viable ventures will benefit not only her citizens, but the future of all Canadians.

REFERENCES

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. (2007). Canada's New Government Invests $575,000 in Manitoba's Renewable Energy Industry  Retrieved from http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadas-New-Government-Invests-575000-in-Manitobas-Renewable-Energy-Industry-645516.htm

Canada’s Government Fuels Renewable Energy Production in Manitoba. (2007). Retrieved from http://terrystratton.ca/environment/canada-s-new-government-fuels-renewable-energy-production-in-manitoba

Cunningham, C., Lafond, L., & Mazier, D. (2010). Building a Community Power Program in Manitoba – Creating a Sustainable Future for Manitobans [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.eltonenergy.org/pdf/Building_a_Community_Power_Program_in_Manitoba_2010-06-28.pdf

Environment Canada. (2007). Canada’s New Government Announces Ecotrust Funding for Manitoba – Manitoba’s Investment to Deliver Real Results to Fight Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=714D9AAE-1&news=71C62F4F-1EC3-4FB4-9BC4-ECF67CD81317

Gipe, P. (2011). Bringing the Renewable Revolution to Manitoba [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Canada/Gipe%20Winnipeg%20Public%20Library%2020110309.pdf

Government Manitoba. (n.d.). Manitoba’s Environmental Advantages – Alternative and Renewable Energy. Retrieved April 1, 2001, from http://www.gov.mb.ca/trade/globaltrade/environ/energy.html

Government Manitoba. (2004). Manitoba Harnesses Wind Power with First Wind Farm to Be Built Near St. Leon. Retrieved from http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2004/11/2004-11-24-03.html

Government Manitoba. (2008). Incentives for Installing Geothermal Systems – Manitoba Geothermal Energy Incentive Program.  Retrieved from http://www.gov.mb.ca/stem/energy/geothermal/incentives.html

Manitoba Hydro. (n.d.). Commercial Earth Power Program. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://www.hydro.mb.ca/earthpower/for_your_business.shtml

Manitoba Hydro. (n.d.). Earth Power Program Residential Earth Power Loan.  Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://www.hydro.mb.ca/earthpower/loan.shtml

Manitoba Hydro. (n.d.). St. Leon Wind Farm. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://www.hydro.mb.ca/projects/wind_st_leon.shtml

New York E-waste Recycling Law Now in Effect

New York E-waste Recycling Law Now in Effect: "

E-waste is something many ignore Source: treehugger - George Hotelling

Under an electronics recycling law that is now in effect in New York, electronics manufacturers must take back used electronics items. The law took effect last Friday. Under the law, electronics manufacturers to make it “free and convenient for New York residents to recycle their old computers, television sets and gadgets.

According to The New York Times, some major companies already take items back via collections and trade-in programs. But the new law requires the makers of electronics set up a permanent system of collections throughout the state.

The idea behind all of this is to make it easy for consumers to ready themselves for 2015, when it will be illegal to throw electronics into the regular trash.

Under the law, Rachel Cernansky at treehugger writes, “That means if someone is buying a new computer from one manufacturer, that company is required to accept the person’s used computer, regardless of what brand it is. It must then recycle or reuse the products, and not dispose of them in landfill or hazardous waste sites.

To set up collection programs, manufacturers must register with the Department of Environmental Conservation – the overseer of the law – to establish a convenient program for collecting electronics. It is also up to manufacturers to establish additional collection programs, whether they are in stores, through collection events, or through mail-back programs.

The law in New York will serve as an example that other countries, states and municipalities can watch in attempting to deal with the worldwide problem of e-waste that is poisoning landfills, water tables and living entities. Some locations in India, Ghana and China have become notorious for piles of poisonous waste products that poverty stricken people try to collect and recycle without any safeguards.

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Doctors Say Biofuel Subsidies Could Cause 192,000 Excess Deaths a Year

Doctors Say Biofuel Subsidies Could Cause 192,000 Excess Deaths a Year: "


The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) released a statement this week warning that current government subsidies and policies surrounding biofuels could push an estimated 35 million people into poverty. The group of physicians is trying to bring to light the fact that most biofuels are currently being made from food crops, like corn, and that subsidies — which are heavily lobbied for by farm interest groups — push more farmers to grow food crops for fuel which in turn raises the price of food around the world. They’ve estimated that the current way of doing things could cause 192,000 excess deaths per year from hunger.

Read the rest of Doctors Say Biofuel Subsidies Could Cause 192,000 Excess Deaths a Yearhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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India: The Next Big Solar Market

India: The Next Big Solar Market: "
In light of the presumed slowdown of the European solar markets due to declining feed-in tariffs, the global solar industry is training its gaze on other growth markets: the U.S., China, and India, as well as Ontario, Canada and Gainesville, Florida. The U.S. is a prime target today. With a healthy utility sector and regional policies that make the country more than just a two-state game (those two states being California and New Jersey), the U.S. could double to two gigawatts in 2011. There is a large pipeline of solar projects in the queue. Ontario, Canada, with its aggressive feed-in tariff and domestic content rules, has created an active solar market. Hopefully, it's a sustainable market with an intelligent vision and a flexible long-term policy. The Ontario Power Authority has awarded 1,570 contracts representing 3,565 megawatts of wind and solar projects for Ontario. The majority of the projects are on-shore wind. Which regions will grow after that? Well, there's a potential domestic China market -- it's only a few hundred megawatts today but there are big plans in the works. China is considering raising its five-year goal for PV industry capacity from five gigawatts to ten gigawatts in response to Japan's nuclear disaster, according to state-run media. But that's capacity, likely for export, with uncertainty about whether there will be a powerful domestic solar policy akin to the policy that made China number one in wind power. And then there's India. The country has a strong GDP growth rate, good solar resources, short- and long-term solar plans and a need for reliable power. The state policy of Gujarat in India, with a population of 50 million, is one of the drivers in Indian solar. Gujarat has the fastest growing economy in the country. Another driver is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with an initial feed-in tariff structure, which is already under fire from opponents. That plan, in three phases, looks for one gigawatt to be commissioned by 2013, half of which will be CSP (see diagram below). The state of Rajasthan proposes 550 megawatts in a reverse bidding process. Gujarat has a target of installing one gigawatt by the end of 2012 and three gigawatts by 2016 under a fixed tariff structure. That plan is also under fire from opponents. I spoke with Julian Hawkins, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Abound Solar, who had just returned from a long trip to India. Abound is a rising solar star, building cadmium telluride thin-film solar panels in Colorado, and shortly in Indiana in a factory made possible by a U.S. DOE loan guarantee. Abound shipped about 30 megawatts last year and will double that in 2011. Their original factory will soon have a capacity of about 200 megawatts, while the new facility will have a capacity of about 640 megawatts. Hawkins sees a number of factors in India's favor: There's a lot of sun and a market for power in the country. In Abound's case, India's hot weather makes thin film's temperature coefficient a better fit than crystalline silicon. Gujarat is a dusty place, according to Hawkins, and the diffused light in that environment is also better suited for their thin-film modules. Hawkins sees Gujarat as a "very business focused state," that is "making sure that the grid is ready for solar."

He acknowledges that there are conflicting and overlapping policies and sees "these plans as moving fast and evolving," adding, "The program is going to iterate. Hopefully there won't be too many surprises." (See Spain, Italy, The Czech Republic, etc.)

Most projects are going to be in the one megawatt to five megawatt range and Abound is going to partner with key players in India to get the work done. Hawkins observed that there will be a market for off-grid PV systems, as well. Abound entered India's PV market with a sales agreement with Solarsis, a Hyderabad, India-based solar system integrator. The agreement also covers design, procurement, installation, and financing. Their first project is a one-megawatt PV ground-mount array to be deployed in Andhra Pradesh. Solarsis is looking to also set up a test facility to engineer balance-of-system designs for Abound's thin film panels.

Abound will be joined by the usual global solar behemoths in looking to grow the Indian solar market to 20 gigawatts by 2022. On a related note, the Ex-Im Bank just approved two financing transactions for solar-energy exports to India that will contribute to jobs at Infinia in Kennewick, Washington and First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio. Ex-Im Bank is the first international financing institution to approve solar-power projects under the National Solar Mission and the State of Gujarat's Solar Power Policy. Infinia builds a free-piston Stirling Engine, an old but as yet unestablished solar technology. The Ex-Im bank will provide a $30 million direct loan to the project sponsor, Dalmia Solar Power, for a 10-megawatt project in Rajasthan. Ex-Im Bank also authorized a $19 million loan to ACME Solar Technology (Gujarat) for a long-term fixed-interest rate loan supporting sales of First Solar modules for a 15-megawatt solar power plant in Gujarat. India Solar Growth Plan (image from SolaRishi)


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