Efficiency
Tags: LONDON (AFP) - The world's largest offshore wind farm was officially opened off the east Kent coast on Thursday, part of the government's bid to reduce the carbon emissions that drive climate change.
The project received a qualified welcome from environmental campaigners.
The site, a forest of giant turbines in the North Sea off the coast of the district of Thanet, has 100 turbines installed so far with a total of 341 planned.
Swedish energy company Vattenfall, which built the farm, says it has the potential to power 200,000 homes.
The farm will increase Britain's capacity to generate wind power by more than 30 percent.
Situated around seven miles (12 kilometres) out to sea, the 380-foot (115-metre) high turbines are spread over more than 22 square miles (35 square kilometres) and are visible from the shore. Read more »
A new provincial rebate program will help businesses convert to more energy efficient lighting.
A $4-million pilot program announced Monday will cover 25 per cent of the material cost involved in converting commercial lighting systems. The program will run through the end of 2011 or until funding is exhausted.
The province is targeting lighting because this accounts for approximately half of the electricity used by Alberta businesses, said Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner.
“Commercial property owners play a crucial role in our commitment to improve energy efficiency, and this initiative will help curb the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions and lower business costs,” he said. Read more »
Sierra Club Prairie Green Jobs Videos
Solar and Geothermal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts8wdQjWWdY
Wind
Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Lac La Biche, AB
www.re.pembina.org/work/first-nations
Recreation Centre
- A wall of solar panels on the recreational complex provides a solar air heating system.
- Pembina Institue Project
Calgary
ImagineCalgary is the blueprint helping Calgarians create a sustainable future
and exceptional quality of life for generations to come. Read more »
(Edmonton) A team of researchers from the University of Alberta and the National Institute for Nanotechnology has extended the operating life of an unsealed plastic solar cell from mere hours to eight months.
U of A chemistry researcher David Rider says plastic solar-cell technology is a very competitive field and the accomplishment by the U of A-NINT team is quite an achievement. Read more »
What Are Feed-in-Tariffs?
Renwable Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs) is a policy mechanism designed to encourage the adoption of renewable energy sources and to help accelerate the move toward grid parity.
It typically includes three key provisions: 1) guaranteed grid access, 2) long-term contracts for the electricity produced, and 3) purchase prices that are methodologically based on the cost of renewable energy generation and tend towards grid parity.
Under a feed-in tariff, an obligation is imposed on regional or national electric grid utilities to buy renewable electricity (electricity generated from renewable sources, such as solar power, wind power, wave and tidal power, biomass, hydropower and geothermal power), from all eligible participants. Read more »
Energy Storage in Alberta
A decetralized and localized energy system (based on renewable sources) will not nearly depend on a sizeable and immediate energy source to meet baseload demand the way our current centralized does. However, wind and solar do not provide always instant energy, and storage is needed for when the wind is not blowing or the clouds are covering the sun. Read more »
Cogeneration in Alberta
From Wiki: "Cogeneration (also combined heat and power, CHP) is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat. It is one of the most common forms of energy recycling."
