Technorati Tags: Solar wind, solar power, microgeneration

“People used to be attracted to living off-grid for largely environmental reasons, although that is now changing as energy prices rise”

Of course it helps to live in Arizona with good wind and plenty of sun but it is an interesting read and the photographs are definitely worth a look.

The report also quotes Nick Rosen author of the book “How to Live Off-Grid.”

“Because of technology advancing … and because of high house and energy prices … there are a lot more people moving off grid.”

Well OK, but in my mind, I don’t see the imperative to move completely off grid, but as Nick says, solar, wind and other technologies are advancing to make home generation a more attractive option, reducing energy costs and potentially feeding back to the grid. All we need now is feed in tariffs in the UK to keep things move forward and bring balance to the grid …… OK so now I sound like Yoda, so I’m going to stop.

Technorati Tags: solar-power, wind-power, micro-generation

Very interesting stuff!

Technorati Tags: Solar-power

Given that the whole housing market appears to be going south rapidly though , I am not sure that Barratts are going to find the apartments in the development easy to shift. It would interesting to see if the environmental features make it them more or less attractive to pontential buyers. What do you think?

Read more here
Technorati Tags: micro-generation ]]> http://www.micro-generator.com/2008/05/19/barratt-building-with-micro-generation-built-in/feed/ http://www.micro-generator.com/2007/12/09/google-to-spend-big-on-green-fuel/ http://www.micro-generator.com/2007/12/09/google-to-spend-big-on-green-fuel/#comments Sun, 09 Dec 2007 05:59:08 +0000 ashleys http://www.micro-generator.com/2007/12/09/google-to-spend-big-on-green-fuel/ The search engine giant Google has announced that it is going to look at ways to develop cheap and clean sources of energy, and that it would invest hundreds of millions of dollars to do so. Their focus will initially be on solar thermal, wind and geothermal technologies. Larry page co-founder of google stated;

“We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centres. We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at a globally significant scale.”

First seen on Guardian Unlimited

If anyone builds one let us know, especially if it is for less than a fiver!

“How much does a micro wind turbine cost and how much electricity does it generate?”

Worth taking a look at though.

“This makes adding solar a no-brainer for eco-minded corporations, since they pay nothing up front” says Claire Broido Johnson, a SunEdison vice president.

This is an interesting concept and this article (osl) provides an example of such an installation at a food warehouse in Connecticut. As far as I see the host company sees no benefit except the public relations of generating solar energy and reducing their carbon footprint. I would like to see SunEdison’s business plan, presumably they see a return on investment within 10 years. Any comments?

Now we normally separate solar and wind energy into two different things, however the reality is that wind is a result, if only an end result, of the power of the sun.  This new project is trying to build a solar tower that will link the solar and wind energy directly. The tower is huge, funnel shaped and made of clear plastic. As the sun heats the air inside the tunnel causing it to rise, the funnel shape causing the air to move faster and faster the narrower the funnel gets. The electricity is then generated by wind turbines housed in the top of the funnel.

When constructed sometime after 2006, the 3,280 foot Solar Tower will generate 200 megawatts. At a typical home consumption of one kilowatt, this will power 200,000 homes and reduce the annual production of greenhouse gases by nearly a megaton.

Read more at the dailyreckoning.co.uk