Results: Calendar of Events
November 19, 2009
Interesting story off the web today about a groundbreaking for a flywheel plant in New York. Flywheels, like batteries, offer a way to store energy when there is too much so it can be tapped later when there is not enough energy being produced. That storage capacity is especially helpful for renewable energy systems like wind where the power supply fluctuates.
TYNGSBORO, Mass. & STEPHENTOWN, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Beacon Power Corporation was joined today by state and local officials at a formal groundbreaking event in Stephentown, New York, signaling the start of construction for the nation’s first full-scale 20-megawatt (MW) flywheel frequency regulation plant. Initial construction work on the 20 MW plant will start this month, including site clearing, adding drainage and fencing, and some landscaping. Full construction is expected to begin in late Q1 2010, and be completed in 16 to 18 months.
Frequency regulation is an essential grid service that is performed by maintaining a tight balance between electricity supply and demand. Beacon’s 20 MW plant has been designed to provide frequency regulation services by absorbing electricity from the grid when there is too much, and storing it as kinetic energy in a matrix of flywheel systems. When there is not enough power to meet demand, the flywheels inject energy back into the grid, thus helping to maintain proper electricity frequency (60 cycles/second). Read more
Also this from Popular Mechanics: How Centuries-Old Flywheels can Improve the Electric Grid
November 19, 2009
From the Associated Press: SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Power-hungry TVs will be banned from store shelves in California after state regulators Wednesday adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate to reduce electricity demand. On a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission required all new televisions up to 58 inches to be more energy efficient, beginning in 2011. The requirement will be tougher in 2013, with only a quarter of all TVs currently on the market meeting that standard.
The commission estimates that TVs account for about 10 percent of a home’s electricity use. The concern is that the energy draw will rise by as much as 8 percent a year as consumers buy larger televisions, add more to their homes and watch them longer. Commissioners say energy efficiency standards are the cheapest and easiest way to save electricity. Read more
November 18, 2009
The National Wildlife Federation just released a report profiling 35 ways students are creating a sustainable future at U.S. colleges and universities by cutting carbon emissions, saving resources and equipping the coming generation for a green energy economy. The 70-page report profiles student-led efforts across the country that range from distributing more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs to low-income households in Atlanta to a project at Northland College in Wisconsin where students in a Photovoltaic (PV) Installation class helped research and erect a 2.1 kilowatt sun-tracking photovoltaic array for the college president’s home. For more info and links to the report, click here
November 18, 2009
From NASA: MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – As a clean energy alternative, NASA invented an algae photo-bioreactor that grows algae in municipal wastewater to produce biofuel and a variety of other products. The NASA bioreactor is an Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae (OMEGA), which won’t compete with agriculture for land, fertilizer, or freshwater.
NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., licensed the patent pending algae photo-bioreactor to Algae Systems, LLC, Carson City, Nev., which plans to develop and pilot the technology in Tampa Bay, Florida. The company plans to refine and integrate the NASA technology into biorefineries to produce renewable energy products, including diesel and jet fuel. Read more
November 17, 2009
From Jill Burke at Alaska Dispatch: With winter here, 12 rural communities are still struggling to meet their fuel needs for the season, according to the latest “fuel watch” report by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development. That’s half as many as were unprepared last month. Most of the remaining communities are in the process of getting fuel deliveries, said Scott Ruby, deputy director of the state Division of Community and Regional Affairs. But a few, including Chignik Lake, Tununak and Edna Bay, are struggling to secure shipments, he said. Read more
November 17, 2009
Legislative Information Office in Anchorage, Rm. #220
716 W 4th Avenue
Tuesday, Nov 17
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Bill Popp, of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, and REAP Exec. Dir. Chris Rose will speak on the Statewide Energy Policy Bill on Nov. 17 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Legislative Information Office in downtown Anchorage.
Up to 40 mayors from around the state are scheduled to attend the committee hearing. They will testify about what their communities are looking for in a statewide energy plan, potential legislation and state funding for energy projects.This meeting is part of the Alaska Municipal League Conference being held at the Captain Cook Hotel.
Alaska currently lacks an overall energy policy that frames how Alaskans produce and consume energy for themselves. Such a policy would set an overall direction for the state and guide the many energy programs currently in place.
November 21, 2009
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
You are invited to join UAA faculty and students, along with members of the Girdwood community, for a public meeting on the Girdwood Renewable Energy Research and Discovery Center project. The meeting will be from 4 to 6 PM on Saturday, November 21st at the Girdwood Library and Community Center, and will be cosponsored by the local community group Sustainable Girdwood.
Members of the UAA project team will discuss the history of the project, potential Girdwood renewable energy sites, environmental field work conducted this past summer, students and researchers working with local Girdwood property owners and businesses, and concepts for a new building to be shared by UAA and the Girdwood community. UAA is also seeking community feedback and the ideas of Girdwooders.
Also presenting will be Girdwood community activists involved in projects such as local food production and community-sponsored agriculture.
And there will be food!
For more information, contact
Evan Cutler, Facilitator, Sustainable Girdwood
Phone: (907) 783-3826
Email: EvanAlaska@aol.com
November 16, 2009
From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers have received a $4.6 million federal grant to study the energy-producing potential of a vast hot springs on the Seward Peninsula. Researchers hope to evaluate the geothermal resources at Pilgrim Hot Springs, a largely undeveloped site located 37 miles from Nome. If the results are promising, they say the knowledge gained from the research could provide a boost for communities throughout the state. The federal grant requires $1 million in local matching funds, which haven’t been secured. Holdmann said ACEP is applying for the funds through the state’s Renewable Energy Fund. Read more
November 16, 2009
From Tiffany Hsu at the LA Times: Although the recession has emptied shopping malls and filled jobless centers, the call has only gotten louder for renewable energy, environmentally gentle products and eco-friendly practices — and for people to make all of that happen. President Obama has said that he hopes to create 5 million green jobs within a decade. The U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that the “green economy” could account for as much as 10% of job growth over the next 30 years.
The job description casts a wide net. The green ranks can include autoworkers making hybrid cars, building consultants, home energy auditors, environmental studies professors, wind turbine engineers, lawyers for biofuel companies and many more. Some will be new positions; others will involve workers from traditional industries tweaking their former skills. So here’s a look at where to find green jobs, how to prepare for them and how to land a spot. Read more
November 15, 2009
From Margaret Bauman at Alaska Journal of Commerce: Bill Lynch isn’t the first home owner on the Kenai Peninsula to install a wind turbine, but the North Slope oilfield worker is confident that the turbine the largest in his neighborhood will generate more than enough energy to eliminate his electric bills. Lynch is one of 17 individual home-owners in the Kenai area who have installed wind turbines to date, said Joe Gallagher, public relations spokesperson for the Homer Electric Association. Read more
