Homemade solar panels

There are a lot of benefits to build your own solar panel.

You can save a ton of money being your own installer, renewable energy is a future field and you can help the planet at the same time.

The first thing you must do is find a good guide even if it cost more it can also save you a lot of money in the long run.

Also you can find online a lot of free information about building solar panels.

You shouldn’t buy broken solar cells, choose a high quality backing material given that your solar panels are expected to last 25-40 years, you want to make sure your backing material lasts that long as well.

The final wiring can be tricky and you’ll need a professional electrician.

You have to  keep your system charged if you use batteries.

Keeping your batteries 50-80% charged will give them longer lives.

Britain raises support for renewable heat

A lot of Britain’s available energy is used to heat homes and buildings.

The British government plans to provide incentives for renewable energy.

The focus on renewable electricity has tended to sideline renewable heat.

But now finally, the Coalition government has specified the regulations of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

The regulations will be approved by Parliament in summer 2011.

These subsidies will be for a wide range of technologies including solar thermal, biomass, heat-pumps and biogas.

RHI program is a vital step towards ensuring that British homes and businesses  take greater  control of their energy while also reducing carbon emissions.

Italy will add 7000 MW by June

Since 2007 Italy has targeted legislative incentives to make a transition to clean energy sources.

2010 was a record for Italy with 4000 MW, but 2011 will be a mega because by mid-year total installed capacity is expected to reach 7 GW of solar power on the grid.

“Some 200 MW out of these 4,000 MW became operative in December, and I believe that at least another 3,000 MW will be connected by the end of June,” Gerardo Montanino, director of the state services agency told Reuters.

How far Italy has exceeded that required EU standards by the Kyoto agreement, the government wants to suspend subsidies.

This forces companies and investors to review their business strategies for Italy.

Clean energy collaboration between Moscow and Stockholm

Russia and Sweden will cooperate on energy efficiency and international trade; the government ministers from Russia and Sweden have signed a memorandum of understanding.

In a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Frederick Reinfeldt on 28 April 2011, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin did add one detail – the planned creation of a joint research facility.

“We are interested in developing close cooperation in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources and we have agreed to work through our energy agencies and draft a project for a Russian-Swedish centre on innovation and energy efficiency,” Putin said.

You can decreases electricity bills and pollutes less by charging EVs at night

How you can do this?

Researchers said that lower electricity rates aren’t the only reason to charge your electric car at night and they come with a theory that finds the fact that using electricity to charge your car at night pollutes a lot less.

Here’s how it happens.

According to this theory less ozone is emitted during nighttime charging. In the chemical reaction between hydrocarbons & nitrogen oxides will result lighter quantities of the byproduct in the air, because of the lack of sunlight.

Sunlight is the the main catalyst behind this reaction.

Yet the night seems to be the best time to recharge electric vehicles, less pollution and lower bills.


Why solar powered garden lights?

There are many ways to accentuate a garden’s beauty without the brilliant light of the midday sun, and this can be easily achieved through the use of solar powered garden lights.
Why solar powered garden lights? There are several major reasons for selecting a solar powered fixture over a traditional “hard wired” option. For instance, in order to use and operate a hard wired fixture a home or property owner may have to hire a professional electrician to install the proper exterior fixtures and wires. What kind of outdoor solar lights are available? A gardener could easily, and at a relatively affordable cost, light their entire yard or garden. There are sets of lighting fixtures intended to line an entire sidewalk or pathway, and there are also lighting fixtures meant to be used as accent or solar spot lights to illuminate a particular area of the yard or a specimen tree or bush, and there are even lights intended to be attached to flag poles and properly light a flying flag during the hours of darkness.
One of the major benefits of using solar powered lighting fixtures for the yard or garden is that their cost free operation will almost immediately “repay” the owner the initial cost of investing in the lights.
As light generating device most garden solar lights use LED’s. A LED is small light embittering semiconductor (diodes). Compared to regular light bulbs they use very little energy. A light bulb converts about 5% of the absorbed energy to light and a LED about 83%.

Source: www.solarlighting.com

The Solar and Wind Expo 2011

In Maryland The Expo will be held at the Timonium Fairgrounds May 13 through May 15, located right in the heart of the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area.
In Pennsyvannia The Solar and Wind Expo will be held June 10th through the 12th 2011 at the Valley Forge Convention Center, which is located in King of Prussia is directly across from Valley Forge National Park.
Attendees will browse exhibits and hear top experts in the field of green technology speak in the comfort of an air-conditioned venue with ample parking, as well as being located off of major public transportation routes.
“The best renewable energy event of the year!  The Solar & Wind Expo was well marketed, managed and attended and far exceeded our expectations even with Sunday being Mother’s day!”
Source: thesolarandwindexpo.com

Solar Powered Lanterns – donated to Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures

Panasonic donated 4,000 pieces Solar Powered Lantern to Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, hoping that they’ll help add a bit of comfort and assistance to those who have been hit hardest by the quake.
Panasonic states, “One of the models also include USB output which can be used to recharge mobile phones. We hope that the products will be able to bring light in midst the situation, especially where electrical supply is still limited. Panasonic Group and its employees sincerely hope for swift recovery of the people and areas affected by the disaster.”
A solar Lantern is produced of three essential elements – the solar cell panel, the battery and the lamp. The procedure is really easy. The solar energy is reformed to electric energy by the solar cell panel and put in a sealed maintenance-free battery for later apply during the night hours. A single charge can work the lamp for around 4-5 hours.
Source: www.treehuger.com

Google invests into solar thermal power plant

Google said it would invest $168 million into the Ivanpah solar thermal power plant being erected by BrightSource Energy.
The Ivanpah plant, rated at 392 megawatts, is slated to be the first in a series of large solar thermal plants from BrightSource. The company has additional power contracts for 1,300 megawatts with Southern California Edison and 1,310 megawatts with Pacific Gas & Electric.
The technology underlying Ivanpah and many of the other new projects differs from conventional solar thermal power plants. At Ivanpah, fields of relatively flat, computer-controlled mirrors will focus the heat of the sun onto a water tank to create steam. The steam ultimately powers a turbine. The architecture, says BrightSource, can more economically and efficiently capture and transfer energy than the traditional systems that use parabolic mirrors to heat oil in tubes. BrightSource should know: It grew out of a parabolic company called Luz that built some of the most successful parabolic fields ever erected.
Google has invested $250 million in alternative power projects, including wind and solar farms.

Source: www.greentechmedia.com

CanWEA’s 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition

CanWEA’s 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held October 3-6, 2011 in Vancouver, BC. This premier wind energy event will bring together over 2,500 experts from all over the world to discuss the opportunities and latest developments in the Canadian wind energy industry. The exhibition hall will feature over 250 exhibiting companies and will provide companies with an exclusive opportunity to network and generate new business leads.

Source: www.canwea2011.ca