Have you heard the news out of Hawaii? Former NASA executive and physicist John Mankins captured solar energy from a mountain top in Maui and sent it wirelessly 92 miles to the main island of Hawaii. The team of researchers was only able to send around 20 watts, which is not even enough to power a fluorescent light bulb. Most of the power was lost in the transmission process.

Makins says that the project was limited by budget, and that with the proper equipment he could increase efficiency up to 64%.

Not impressed?

Did you know that 170 million gigawatts of solar energy hit the earth every second? That is more energy than the earth has used since the beginning of the industrial era. Now imagine being able to tap into that source on a large scale. With Mankins wireless energy transfer idea many satellites would be launched with high tech solar panels on them. Then the satellites would relay the energy to earth via harmless wireless energy transfer to receiving stations. Also, with the solar panels in space there is no loss in efficiency due to clouds or night. The energy would be available 24/7.

Mankins says he can get a demonstration system in orbit in around 6 years and have the full system up in around 15 years.

There are scientists in Japan that claim they could get the space-based solar power project started in less than 5 months with less than 1 million dollars. Their concept uses mirrors to focus as much solar power possible into the solar cells, and thus create 5 times more energy than conventional solar cells.

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Capacity 2002

Capacity 2007

That 5 year span saw a huge growth in our total installed megawatts (MW), and if you are keeping up with the topic of new wind projects, you’ll know that there is much more coming online in the near future. For a zoomed in view of what is going on in the sunflower state, check this file.

Kansas Wind Projects

The maps above and this Kansas map are all from 2007, but they still underscore the seriousness with which the country is taking to harnessing the wind. On the Kansas map there are over 2000 MW in proposed projects, and it is easy to understand why considering Kansas is number three in the country for wind energy potential. The top 5 states are:

#1 North Dakota

#2 Texas

#3 Kansas

#4 South Dakota

#5 Montana

If you watched the PickensPlan video, then you’ll know that we are the world wind superpower. And with an estimated $65 billion flowing into wind capacity through 2015, states like Kansas need to step up and get these projects rolling. We have to get to producing 20% of our electricity from wind as soon as possible if we’re going to follow Pickens’ blueprint, which is no short order since we aren’t expected to be close to that mark by 2020. How do we get there? What are the strategies? Kansas, do you have the answer?

This gentleman has the same thoughts that we do.  The main being collaboration.  We as a society can do anything, if we were all on the same page.  We want to personally thank Mitch Miller for the insight and reference for this video for a second post.  Take the next 5 minutes and do yourself and our country a favor and watch the video.

T. Boone Pickens

Together…we can take a stand to make a difference!!

• ENERGY STAR qualified geothermal heat pumps use about 30% less energy than a standard heat pump.
• They are quieter than conventional systems.

Geothermal heat pumps (sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, earth-coupled, ground-source, or water-source heat pumps) have been in use since the late 1940s. Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) use the constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature. This allows the system to reach fairly high efficiencies (300%-600%) on the coldest of winter nights, compared to 175%-250% for air-source heat pumps on cool days.

As with any heat pump, geothermal and water-source heat pumps are able to heat, cool, and, if so equipped, supply the house with hot water. Some models of geothermal systems are available with two-speed compressors and variable fans for more comfort and energy savings. Relative to air-source heat pumps, they are quieter, last longer, need little maintenance, and do not depend on the temperature of the outside air.

A dual-source heat pump combines an air-source heat pump with a geothermal heat pump. These appliances combine the best of both systems. Dual-source heat pumps have higher efficiency ratings than air-source units, but are not as efficient as geothermal units. The main advantage of dual-source systems is that they cost much less to install than a single geothermal unit, and work almost as well.

Even though the installation price of a geothermal system can be several times that of an air-source system of the same heating and cooling capacity, the additional costs are returned to you in energy savings in 5–10 years. System life is estimated at 25 years for the inside components and 50+ years for the ground loop. There are approximately 50,000 geothermal heat pumps installed in the United States each year.

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The power we make and where it goes:

Source and Sector

Oil, what’s coming in and where it is being spent:

Petrol

Our electricity, its tiny renewables, huge coal, and big conversion losses:

Electricity

Another snapshot of total energy:

Energy

A careful study of these documents lets us know the state of energy and where we need to make up ground–as if we didn’t already know.  There are some issues here that we really need to scrutinize because we should be demanding more.  We’d love to hear what you are thinking.

Find these documents and more info at the Energy Information Administration.

Let’s imagine that you didn’t have a monthly power bill, what would you do with the extra money?  As energy prices keep rising they steal more and more of our discretionary income, which is income that doesn’t see its way back into the market to help bolster the economy.  And what about the other energy cost we have…how free would you feel emotionally and econmically if you didn’t have to stop at a gas station for your everyday fuel needs?  Converting to a renewable home power system cuts out the middleman, and you produce the energy you need when you need it.  In addition, converting to an electric car lets you use that energy for all of your basic fuel needs.  Those changes make a big dent in the outflow of your hard earned money and give you more to spend on the other important and sometimes non-important expendatures.

Keeping more money in the checking account should get just about everyone excited, but there’s also another consideration: the energy crisis.  There are energy resources in this country that are getting old and need to be decommissioned.  These power plants are going to have to be replaced, and it gets hard to keep up with power requirements when U.S. power demand is growing, plants are closing, and our economy is dragging its feet.  Disastrous things happen when we start to have energy shortages.  We need leadership and personal initiative.  We could take responsibility in this crisis and calm the stress on the power infrastructure by making power locally in the home.  If we don’t look at this problem as it is and leave it to the same people that have been dealing with it for decades, we are in for a rough ride.

One of the great side effects of working toward personal energy independence is that we cut down on our use of carbon based fuels.  Athough the debate rages on about the environment, there is no doubt that fossil fuels will someday run out.  We need to prepare for that right now with renewables.  If indeed we are doing damage to our surroundings, then renewables offer a responsible way to power us into the future.

All of these great things and it seems like we’re crawling to implementation.  Unfortunately, many of the renewable technologies aren’t ready for primetime, and their infant state makes them expensive (we still think the econmics work in their favor).  On the bright side Americans have shown the will in past times to push through difficulties and do what is right for the good of the many.  Call us hopeful, but we believe it can be done.  It is just going to take an attitude that doens’t accept business as usual.  So, whether it’s wind, solar, or a hybrid, let’s do the hard stuff now so that we can survive the future.

If  the most you know about Ethanol is that you have that option at the pump, we are going to break it down a little for you.  Ethanol is just two words put together; Ethyl and Alcohol, which is the composition of Ethanol.  If you have ever had an alcoholic beverage, you have consumed Ethyl Alcohol.  Ethanol can be made by using either corn or sugarcane.  If you have the desire to learn more about the actual Ethanol, go here and read up on it.  The actual production is rather interesting.

Let’s get to the green side though.

There are two basic production types for Ethanol; Wet Milling and Dry Milling, with the main difference being the initial treatment of the grain.  We could spend all day telling you the difference between the two production cycles, but this post is about the Green side of the Ethanol Production.  So, if you want to see the difference between dry milling and wet milling go HERE where it explains the basics behind the production cycle and they even have a video for those of you like us, who like pictures

One of the major changes is that instead of using natural gas to run the plant, the green Ethanol plants are using methane gas from cattle manure to generate the steam that is needed to produce the Ethanol.  That switch in itself could save up to the equivalent of 1000 barrels of oil a day.

So, while we agreed that, presently, buying E-10 may not save you at the pump when it comes to dollars, it is a way to cut down oil consumption.

Here is a detailed diagram of what an Energy Efficient plant does.

Perhaps a better explanation:

EGS is a baseload resource, meaning that unlike wind or solar power, it will operate all day/all year whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. Another advantage is that this type of power is essentially engineered into a closed system where the water used to run the turbines is recycled. Sounds game changing, huh.

Well as great as Enhanced Geothermal is, it is still a long way from large-scale, commercial deployment. It is reassuring to know, however, that we have money and brainpower flowing into these projects. And the combination of these renewable resources is the only way we can count on a bright future. A future where EGS counts on one of our oldest constants, Mother Earth.

Check out this report for an extremely detailed look at Enhanced Geothermal Systems (14mb pdf).

Let’s get right down to the nuts and bolts of things though.  We would do some actual calculations but it will take some average electric bills plus, how much your state will give for putting power back into the grid, or net metering by solar power.  We will have net metering via other alternative energies later today.

If you are interested in making some money, you can look at this site to get you interested in it, and possibly get you motivated.  That is a buisnessweek article about pioneers getting their foot in the door and how much they made by selling power back.  Remember, it all depends on where you live, because some states do no give a lot of money for net metering.  Here is a website that you can click on each state and it will show you what the actual incentives per state is.  Some of the more liberal conservationist states(i.e. California, Washington, etc) will give a much larger incentive then others.

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