Solar Adding Green Jobs Says US Labor Secretary

Posted on September 5, 2011 by quest

By Hilda L. Solis: IT IS time to dispel a myth. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of manufacturing’s demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, manufacturing in America is not only alive, it’s thriving. America’s manufacturing industry is expected to grow by 6.2 percent this year, outpacing the overall economy. Last year, the auto industry’s Detroit Three of Chrysler, GM, and Ford gained U.S. market share for the first time since 1995. And this July, motor vehicle and parts manufacturing jumped by 5.2 percent over the year-ago month, a direct contributor to the increase in factory outputs of 0.6 percent that month.

Better yet, this industrial growth has spurred job growth. In July alone, manufacturers created 24,000 jobs. Since December, 2009, the manufacturing sector has created more than 289,000 jobs — more than 1 in 10 of all jobs created during our recovery. GM announced this summer that it is creating 4,000 jobs at 17 facilities, including at least 250 at its Powertrain plant in Toledo. It is investing $204 million there.

Solar at Work

In all sorts of industries, manufacturers are making investments that hold great promise for American workers and our economy. Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC is spending more than $85 million to set up a manufacturing hub that will retrofit a vacant 416,000-square-foot plant into a center that will create more than 260 jobs. Then, there’s the ripple effect. For every job created in the manufacturing sector, four to seven jobs are created in the broader economy. The auto industry supply chain now employs three times as many workers as auto companies themselves. This supply chain accounted for almost 3.5 million workers last year. This growth contributes to gains in other industries, from retail to hospitality to tourism. That’s good news for every small business near the Powertrain facility — from Craig’s Flowers & Gifts to The Original Gino’s Pizza on West Alexis Road… America working its way back

Plush Organic Dog Toys

Solar Technology Lifts Energy Options In Rural Kenya

Posted on September 4, 2011 by quest

South Korean electronics maker Samsung has launched a solar powered laptop in the Kenyan market with the capacity to run for 15 hours, nearly double the seven to eight hours lasting power of rivals. Korean electronics giant Samsung has launched a solar powered laptop in the Kenyan market targeting thousands of potential consumers currently locked out of the computer revolution by lack of electricity. Kenya, with a large rural population that is not connected to the national power grid, is among the few countries Samsung picked for the global launch that began last week. The Samsung Netbook NC215S lap top is priced at Sh35,000 and is also targeting consumers who are connected to the national electricity grid but suffer erratic power supply.

The solar-charged laptop is loaded with a front cover panel that captures energy from the sun and automatically recharges the battery. When fully charged, the lap top can run for up 15 hours – nearly double the capacity of its closest competitors that have seven or eight hours stand-by capability. “With Netbook NC 215S Samsung is demonstrating its capacity to bring to the consumers technology that satisfies their needs and takes care of the environment,” said Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Robert Ngeru. The Korean firm is building consumer electronics and mobile technology for sub-Sahara Africa where it set a $10 billion revenue target by 2015. Samsung’s sub-Saharan Africa market is currently worth $1.23 billion.

Massai Traditional Dances

Launch of the Netbook NC 215S comes as Kenya’s four mobile telecoms firms, Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom’s Kenya Orange and Essar’s Yu have intensified their activities in the data market and are looking for affordable internet enabled devices such as laptops and mobile phone handsets to expand the number of data users. Growth of the data market is particularly critical to the long term survival of the telecom operators who have had to contend with steep decline in voice revenue in the past couple of years. Samsung is among the hardware vendors who have partnered with Safaricom in the laptops market. Available only in black, the netbook’s solar panel can also be used to charge a smartphone, MP3 player and other devices via its USB port, even when the PC is switched off or in power-saving mode. The Netbook NC 215S also features an ultra-portable and stylish design, weigh–ing just 1.3kg and featuring a slim display rim that is as thin as a finger.

South America Its Green Is On

SunShot Shines $145 Million On Solar Technologies

Posted on September 2, 2011 by quest

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $145 million for projects to help shape the next generation of solar energy technologies and ensure that the United States remains a leader in this global market. Sixty-nine projects in 24 states will accelerate research and development to increase efficiency, lower costs and advance cutting-edge technologies. Funded through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the projects will also improve materials, manufacturing processes and supply chains for a wide range of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and components of solar energy systems. Some of these investments also support efforts that will shorten the overall timeline from prototype to production and streamline building codes, zoning laws, permitting rules, and business processes for installing solar energy systems.

“America is in a world race to produce cost-competitive renewable energy that can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, create manufacturing jobs across the nation, and improve our energy security,” said Secretary Chu. “The projects announced today under DOE’s SunShot Initiative will spur American innovation to help reduce the costs of clean, renewable solar energy and re-establish U.S. global leadership in this fast growing industry.”

The SunShot Initiative seeks to make solar energy systems more cost-competitive, without long-term subsidies, by reducing the cost of these systems about 75 percent by the end of the decade. The achievement of the SunShot Initiative goals will encourage rapid, widespread adoption of solar energy systems across the United States. The six categories of projects announced today are: Extreme Balance of System Hardware Cost Reductions – Nine projects to receive $42 million.Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency – Eighteen projects to receive $35.8 million. Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems: Advanced Concepts – Eight projects to receive $25.9 million.Transformational PV Science and Technology: Next Generation Photovoltaics II – Twenty-three projects to receive $22.2 million. Reducing Market Barriers and Non-Hardware Balance of System Costs – Seven projects to receive $13.6 million. SunShot Incubator – Four projects to receive $5.8 million.

Beyond Irene: The Future Of Hurricanes

High Desert Cali City To Go Net Zero Using Solar Power

Posted on September 1, 2011 by quest

The City of Lancaster, California has taken a historic step towards becoming one of the first “Net Zero Cities” in the world. The Lancaster City Council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Beautiful Earth Group for the development of a partnership to establish Lancaster as a Net Zero City. Net Zero Cities produce as much energy from sustainable sources, such as solar energy, as they consume. This dramatically reduces their carbon emissions. New technologies such as energy storage, supply and demand management and the “smart grid” are used to save energy and money — all good news for consumers as prices for oil and energy continue to rise.

Lancaster, known as the “Alternative Energy Capital of the World,” is well situated to benefit from the rapid increase in solar energy investment throughout the area. Applications for more than 4,000 megawatts of generation by photovoltaic (PV) electricity plants have been received in California’s High Desert / Antelope Valley region. This provides Lancaster with a wide range of options to reduce its carbon output by using clean energy coupled with energy saving techniques in the future.

Sour Away

Lancaster‘s goal of becoming a Net Zero City will encourage global investment in the city and will fulfill Beautiful Earth’s mission to supply municipalities and businesses with clean, green energy. “This important agreement will bring new jobs, energy security and a much healthier future to all of us in the Antelope Valley,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. “The Net Zero City project with Beautiful Earth Group has the potential to increase the quality of living and create thousands of new jobs focused on power conservation, systems to support the smart grid, clean energy generation, and downstream activities related to companies attracted to Lancaster for its ability to supply clean energy for their manufacturing, industrial and commercial processes.”

Pandas microbes making biofuels

Alternative Solutions To PV Solar Energy Generation

Posted on September 1, 2011 by quest

Bay Area solar manufacturer Solyndra on Wednesday announced it is was shutting its doors and laying off all its 1,100 workers. Solyndra had been visited by Vice President Joe Bidden, Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Barrack Obama. The Daily Caller reported, “Solyndra also spent $550,000 lobbying Congress in 2010. Between 2008 and 2011, the company spent more than $1 million lobbying for bills including the “American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009″ and the “Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act.”Despite Solyndra’s recent bankruptcy announcement, the Department of Energy and the White House insist the investment was not in vain. “The project that we supported succeeded,” a spokesman for the Department of Energy told The New York Times. “The facility was producing the product it said it would produce, and consumers were buying the product,” he said. “The company struggled because the market has changed dramatically.” “While we are disappointed by this particular outcome, we continue to believe the clean-energy jobs race is one that America can, must and will win,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said today in an emailed statement.

NPR reports, The Department of Energy notes that the federal loan guarantee “was pursued by both the Bush and Obama administrations.” And, DOE spokesman Dan Leistikow wrote Wednesday, “we have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed, but we can’t stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America’s leadership in the global economy. These projects, which include more than 40 other companies, are on pace to create more than 60,000 jobs.”

Solar remains the fastest growing industry in the US and opportunities for alternative energy are fluid; including developments in spray on solar and some recent advancements in Graphene and Carbon Nanotube technology.

Daryl Hannah Arrested at White House

Keystone Pipeline Not in Our National Interest

by Peter Lehner

SunPods Solar Arrays Using Digital Automation

Posted on August 31, 2011 by quest

Clean technology company SunPods Inc. is using software from Autodesk, Inc. to design and manufacture modular solar array units that help make solar power more accessible and affordable “Digital Prototyping makes it easier for young clean tech companies with limited resources to develop products that can have a profound impact on the world around us” Unlike conventional customized ground-mounted solar arrays that require extensive onsite assembly and construction, SunPods (which stands for “Sun Power on Demand”) are configured and built in a factory before being delivered to virtually any site — a process that reduces installation time by up to 85 percent.

The combination of Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD software has helped SunPods to design and model its arrays without the need for physical prototypes or on-site testing. During the product development process, the company was able to test and evaluate 23 different digital prototypes. Additionally, Autodesk Showcase software enabled SunPods to more effectively demonstrate the innovative concept to customers by creating realistic animations placing the ideas in context. “At SunPods, we want to provide sun power on demand,” said Michael Gumm, managing partner and cofounder of SunPods. “At every stage, Autodesk software has helped us turn that vision into a reality and speed up our progression from ‘good idea’ to great product.” Modular Array Design Reduces Installation Time Up to 85 Percent, Increases Affordability of Solar Energy

As a member of the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program — which provides software to emerging clean tech companies in North America, Europe and Japan — SunPods gained access to a variety of Digital Prototyping tools to speed the development of its modular power unit. Autodesk reseller, KETIV Technologies, helped provide training and support to enable SunPods to more quickly implement Digital Prototyping into the design process. Each of the pre-manufactured, self-contained units is capable of generating up to 3.82 kilowatts of power — enough for a small residence. Thanks to its modular design, multiple units can be connected to one another to scale energy needs to power larger projects. The marketplace has embraced the company’s innovative ideas: SunPods have now been deployed for commercial, residential, educational and agricultural projects across the United States. A cluster of three SunPods generates 750 kilowatts per month for a private home in Hollister, Calif., for example, while a cluster of 25 SunPods generates 10,000 kilowatts per month for a high school in Presidio, Texas. “Digital Prototyping makes it easier for young clean tech companies with limited resources to develop products that can have a profound impact on the world around us,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “The work SunPods is doing is incredibly important and we’re glad Autodesk software can help play a role in making the transition to solar energy more financially accessible to more people.”