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PSE&G Receives Approval for $515M Solar Plan

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  • July 31, 2009

New Jersey-based utility PSE&G has received regulatory approval to invest $515 million collected from ratepayers in 80 megawatts (MW) of solar projects.

Fisheries Making A Comeback


There’s no question that the world’s fish are in trouble. Fishermen are pulling fish out of the seas far faster than these populations can grow back. Some fisheries are heading toward collapse or even extinction. But a major new analysis of this grim picture shows that fisheries aren’t doomed. In fact, some are on the mend.

How much waste is your fault?


Americans create and toss out an alarming amount of waste each year. According to the Clean Air Council…

Each day we fill up around 63,000 garbage trucks which means in a year we toss so much trash that if we piled it all up in garbage trucks it would form a line of trucks that will [...]

Post from: Blisstree

How much waste is your fault?

You don’t need a phone book


Most people nowadays really don’t need a phone book. Since last year I think I used mine exactly once, and that was when my laptop died and I didn’t have Internet. Had I planned ahead for such an issue, I would have had the computer repair folks number on my cell, and avoided the phone [...]

Post from: Blisstree

You don’t need a phone book

Cheaper, Simpler Solar Thermal Using Stirling Engines


stirling
A recent study found that solar thermal power could provide 25 percent of the world’s electricity needs if investments increased and the technology was put in place.  That makes the new design by Stirling Energy Systems for harvesting that energy particularly compelling.

The company claims it has come up with a new solar thermal system that is simpler than other versions of the technology and will make the energy cheaper.  The company plans to start building large solar power plants using this design within the next year.

The system called the SunCatcher consists of a large, mirrored dish that concentrates sunlight onto a Stirling engine.  The temperature difference between the hot and cool sides of the engine drives the pistons, which generate electricity.  Each unit can produce 25 kW of electricity and the company plans on using about 12,000 units in its first project in Southern California for a capacity of 300 MW.

The company expects the electricity to cost about 12 – 15 cents per kWh, which is competitive with electricity prices during peak hours in some markets.

This technology has the benefit of using less water than solar thermal plants that collect heat over a large area to drive turbines in a central facility.  The turbines use a lot of water to keep them cool, but Stirling’s design doesn’t require water, making it ideal for desert climates where solar thermal is well-suited.

Another advantage to their system is that it’s easier to increase the amount of energy generated by just adding more units instead of having to make a central facility bigger.  The downside to this is that there’s no central storage for the energy that is produced, so right now the system can only make electricity during daylight hours where other solar thermal plants can continue supplying energy overnight.

The storage issue will definitely have to be solved for this new technology to really take hold, but if they can do that, the advantages make this new system really exciting.

via MIT Technology Review

Why is it so hard to find real green goods


A new green consumer survey along with some questionable advice from GreenGoods has made me seriously rethink how complicated it is for consumers to choose actual green products over greenwashing junk products. So in the next few posts we’ll look at why this is and how you as a green consumer can make smarter choices.

From [...]

Post from: Blisstree

Why is it so hard to find real green goods

Energy efficiency could save U.S. $600 billion -McKinsey


The United States could save about $600 billion in energy costs by 2020 if it hiked annual efficiency spending about five-fold, business consultants McKinsey and Co said in a report on Wednesday.

The Nation’s First Platinum LEED-Certified Supermarket Opens in Maine


July 23 was a big day for Hannaford Supermarkets, a 167-store chain serving Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. The Augusta, Maine Hannaford store obtained Platinum LEED Certification last week, making it the first supermarket in the nation to attain such a status.

Chile fighting climate change — role model for the (developing) world


Although Chile is officially considered an Annex B, “developing” country under the dual classification of the Kyoto Protocol, the smaller country of 16 million inhabitants has been no stranger to addressing the climate change issue in recent years.

New, cheaper method for extracting clean water


A mobile pilot system could make preliminary feasibility tests for desalination easier and cheaper for developing countries.