Wind Turbine Technology in the Baltic Sea

solar energy
Dazzlingly Promising (Still)

The most powerful energy source of all — our Sun — offers the tantalizing solution to mankind's energy needs. Costs remain stubbornly high, but demand is soaring, even causing a worldwide shortage of processed silicon. The potential is vast, as this article makes clear.

Where There's Light There's Also Heat:

Major Venture Will Use Sun to Power Turbines

Ausra Inc., a developer of solar thermal technology has emerged from "stealth mode", having raised between $40 million and $50 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Khosla Ventures through the issuance of Series B Preferred stock.
     The company says it intends to build the largest solar thermal plant in the U.S. "We should be entering the permit process for our first 175-megawatt project in the next thirty days," Ausra Chief Executive Peter Le Lievre said in an interview.
     Ausra said that the plant is to be located in California and that they intend to use project financing to finance its construction.
     The venture capital investment, which closed in February, was one of the largest that Khosla Ventures had made in an early round financing, according to Ausra executives. The exact amount of that financing was not disclosed, though a regulatory filing from Ausra in March
showed that the company was offering up to $43.2 million in Series B preferred stock.
     Solar thermal technology uses the sun's heat, not its light, to generate electricity. In essence, sunlight is concentrated using parabolic reflectors to heat a fluid, which is then is used to produce high temperature water vapor under pressure. That vapor becomes steam as it powers a turbine, which generates electricity.
     This process is simpler and cheaper than photovoltaic technologies that convert sunlight into electricity, Ausra executives said. "Low-cost solar thermal becomes a solution to a lot of the problems that we're facing when you look at global warming," said CEO Le Lievre.      - DLA

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Washington Mall Goes Residential:

Competition Puts Energy-Efficient,
Solar-Powered Houses on Display     Oct. 25,'07

Sprouting as fast as a Las Vegas subdivision, 20 small houses were rapidly assembled on the Washington Mall last week by university finalists in the 3rd Solar Decathlon. The competition, sponsored primarily by the U.S. Department
Jim Tetro, Solar Decathlon
This University of Illinois entrant cost a mere $160,000 to
build. Its solar system was even used to power the tools
that built the house.
of Energy, requires teams to design and build houses no larger than 600-800 square feet that are powered entirely by solar energy.
     Solar systems in each house must run dishwashers, wash and dry clothes, heat and cool the interiors in a range of 72 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit, control humidity within 40% and 60%, and even charge an electric vehicle. One of the competition's awards went to the team that traveled the furthest miles.
     Whether in different solar approaches or novel building materials, the diversity was striking. Universidad Polytecnica de Madrid used electrochromic
Jim Tetro, Solar Decathlon
Second place went to this University of Maryland
house with solar panels even on walkways.
windows that darken or lighten to block or admit the sun's rays. Several, such as 3rd place Santa Clara University, used computers to sense interior and exterior conditions and adjust energy system usage. Team Montreal's computer reads weather forecasts to predict the amount of energy the house will produce and recommend settings. The Georgia Tech house has walls that are a sandwich of two sheets of polycarbonate filled with aerogel, a translucent substance that allows light into the house while simultaneously acting as an insulator. The University of Missouri finished the exterior with Paperstone rain screen, which the team says is ultraviolet resistant. An indoor
Jim Tetro, Solar Decathlon
Louvers in the doors supply the energy that powers this
first prize house by Technische Universitat Darmstadt.
waterfall helps control humidity in the University of Maryland's 2nd place house.
     Houses were judged by ten categories: energy efficiency, livability, marketability, and aesthetics among them. First prize went to Technische Universitat Darmstadt. It uses photovoltaic cells applied as sheeting on louvers of its accordion doors; software adjusts the louvers to take best advantage of the sun's position. But the advanced technology is pricey. The house cost $600,000, but in Germany one can sell
Kaye Evans Lutherodt, Solar Decathlon
The scene at the National Mall, with the Capitol in the background.
excess electricity to the grid for quicker payback. That only a patchwork of states offer this option contributes to slow adoption of solar in the U.S., where only 250,000 or so homes are thought to use solar in some form.
     The contest is meant both to inspire builders to incorporate solar in their housing developments, while at the same time create a market by educating consumers. Some 200,000 people came to the open house event. The next is in 2009.
     - SCW