A Better Deal

A better deal is available. Energy storage is a way to capture electricity generated from renewable sources. Here in the UK we have an abundance of renewable energy generation. Wind energy is abundant. Solar energy generation is a daytime only method.

A Better Deal = Energy Storage

Storage of electricity is the key to unlocking the many benefits of renewable energy. When the sun shines we can to store any energy that we don’t need. When the wind blows we can to store the excess energy produced.

Store Free energy – Use when required

From renewableenergyworld.com

The issue for power plants is flexibility. “Large amounts of wind energy are being reliably and cost-effectively integrated onto the power system today,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), who added “Energy storage can be a valuable resource for the power system in maximizing the efficient use of this resource, and add flexibility for electric utilities.”

Here is a bit of an article at the Guardian article about grid storage:

Across the world, efforts are underway to improve the way we store and distribute energy, as we move towards more sustainable but intermittent forms of energy generation, such as wind and solar power.

Solar energy storage is the Key

Improving the way we store energy is important for the UK’s energy security, as it will allow us to decouple energy generation and its usage. If we can find a better way to store energy it will allow us to save it when it’s generated and use it when it’s required, replacing our current awkward system where generation has to match demand in real time.

Storage of electricity is not a new concept. There are many storage methods employed by the National Grid to save energy for a rainy day. There are many new ways to store energy too. I have written about several of these here on this blog.

From free energy generation created by school girls, to British energy companies that actually like the environment, we do have a green way forward. We can create all the energy we need without destroying the planet or building new nuclear power plants.

The key to making all this work is energy storage.

Community owned power is key!

Over the last few months my blog has examined the problems of climate change. We have read about the plans our government has to continue the disastrous march towards the brink of climate melt down. I have posted many articles about the renewable energy sources available today.

Democracy of power; Break fossil fuel monopoly.

Only by taking back ownership of the means of energy production will the people regain control of our environmental destiny. Below is an article about a courageous town that has stopped fracking in its tracks and created a renewable energy program to take their town off the grid.

From inhabitat.com article:

Tiny English Village Blocks Giant Fracking Operation, Announces Plans to Build Community-Owned Solar Power Plants.

No Fracking AND we will produce our own energy!

Normally, the village of Balcombe, West Sussex is just another picturesque spot in a valley where nothing really happens. But when Cuadrilla Resources–the UK’s fracking pioneer–announced plans to do some exploratory drilling just five miles from the town, the citizens sprang into action. For two months they protested in an anti-fracking camp set up on the outskirts of town. Finally, the company announced it was abandoning the drill site. Not because of the protests, of course, but because rocks at the site already contain natural fractures, making it unsuitable for profitable extraction. But the activism of this tiny down didn’t disappear with the drilling rigs. Now the citizens have formed REPOWERBalcombe, a community coalition that seeks to finance and build community-owned solar power plants, and someday, take Balcombe off the grid entirely.

Balcombe taking ownership of their energy!

 

Founded by a handful of motivated citizens, REPOWERBalcombe wants the town to “to take responsibility for meeting [its] own energy needs in a way that does not contribute to climate change or harm the prospects of future generations.”

Related: German Village Produces 321% More Energy Than It Needs!

“Our goal is to set up a program of renewable energy solutions based in and around the community. The aim is to generate the equivalent of 10% of Balcombe’s electricity usage through rooftop solar panels within the next 6 months, and eventually to generate the equivalent of 100% of the village’s electricity usage from clean, renewable energy sources,” explains the cooperative.

To do that, they’ll need to raise £300,000 (approximately $500,000). That’s a lot of money, so REPOWERBalcombe plans to offer shares to the community. They expect that residents who invest in the program will enjoy at least a 5% return during the 20-year lifetime of the scheme. Not to mention the knowledge that they helped finance a project that could make their community completely self-sufficient when it comes to energy.

In late March 2014, the group “announced it has signed a lease to host the first 19kw array on the roof of a cow shed, at a local family-owned farm. Talks are under way about a further five sites, which could be fitted with solar this spring,” reports The Guardian.

“We all need energy, but buying dirty fossil power from giant utilities is no longer the only option,” REPOWER Balcombe spokesman Joe Nixon told the paper.

“Advances in renewable technology mean that communities like ours can now generate the energy we need ourselves, locally, in a way that benefits us directly instead of big power companies – and helps the environment instead of harming it. This is win-win for Balcombe and for the planet.”

+ REPOWERBalcombe

Via The Guardian and Treehugger

Images via REPOWERBalcombe and Frack-off.org.uk

This Blogger thanks the above for their work. Keep the faith and carry on!

Solar Roadways – The Solution

Solar roadways are roads made of solar panels to create all the energy we need. I need to thank my nephew Ed for posting this awesome info on Facebook. Here is the information and links for this amazing company that is helping to change our world.

Solar Freakin Roadways – The Video Here

From the website:

Years ago, when the phrase “Global Warming” began gaining popularity, we started batting around the idea of replacing asphalt and concrete surfaces with solar panels that could be driven upon. We thought of the “black box” on airplanes: We didn’t know what material that black box was made of, but it seemed to be able to protect sensitive electronics from the worst of airline crashes.

Suppose we made a section of road out of this material and housed solar cells to collect energy, which could pay for the cost of the panel, thereby creating a road that would pay for itself over time. What if we added LEDs to “paint” the road lines from beneath, lighting up the road for safer night time driving? What if we added a heating element in the surface (like the defrosting wire in the rear window of our cars) to prevent snow/ice accumulation in northern climates? The ideas and possibilities just continued to roll in and the Solar Roadway project was born.

Your future Highway, available now!

Solar Roadways crowd funding project hits 134% of target!

This amazing project received $1.34mil so far in crowd funding and they still have 5 days left.

Polar ice melting faster

From an article in Deutsche Welle:

For 20 years satellites have been monitoring earth’s biggest ice shields on Greenland and in the Antarctic, using different technologies from radar to gravity measurements. In the past, the uncoordinated publication of individual one-off measurements led to confusion, especially with regard to the state of the Antarctic ice. A new study, supported by NASA and European Space Agency ESA combines the data from different satellite missions.

If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt completely, sea levels could rise by seven meters

“Thanks to the accuracy of our data set, we are now able to say with confidence that Antarctica has lost ice for the whole of the past 20 years. In addition to the relative proportions of ice that have been lost in the northern and southern hemispheres, we can also see there’s been a definitive acceleration of ice loss in last 20 years. So together Antarctica and Greenland are now contributing three times as much ice to sea levels as they were 20 years ago,” says the Professor of Earth Observation.

Global Warming is melting ice faster

From Natural Resources Defense Council:

Average temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. Arctic ice is getting thinner, melting and rupturing. For example, the largest single block of ice in the Arctic, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, had been around for 3,000 years before it started cracking in 2000. Within two years it had split all the way through and is now breaking into pieces.

Since 1979, the size of the summer polar ice cap has shrunk more than 20 percent. (Illustration from NASA)

The polar ice cap as a whole is shrinking. Images from NASA satellites show that the area of permanent ice cover is contracting at a rate of 9 percent each decade. If this trend continues, summers in the Arctic could become ice-free by the end of the century.

There is no time to waste. We can act now to fix our climate

From Brave New Climate:

Top 10 ways to kick the CO2 habit

Solving climate change is a huge international challenge. Only a concerted global effort, involving the governments of all nations, will be enough to avert dangerous consequences. But that said, the individual actions of everyday people are still crucial. Large and complex issues, like climate change, are usually best tackled by breaking down the problem into manageable bits.

For carbon emissions, this means reducing the CO₂ contribution of each and every one of the six and a half billion people on the planet. But what can you, as an individual person or family, do that will most make a difference to the big picture? Here are my top ten action items, which are both simple to achieve and have a real effect. They are ranked by how much impact they make to ‘kicking the CO₂ habit’.

From the Union of Concerned Scientists:

In order to effectively address global warming, we must significantly reduce the amount of heat-trapping emissions we are putting into the atmosphere.

The good news is that we have the technology and practical solutions at hand to accomplish it.

As individuals, we can help by taking action to reduce our personal carbon emissions. But to fully address the threat of global warming, we must demand action from our elected leaders to support and implement a comprehensive set of climate solutions.

A Comprehensive Set of Smart Solutions to Reduce Emissions

• Expand the use of renewable energy and transform our energy system to one that is cleaner and less dependent on coal and other fossil fuels.
• Increase vehicle fuel efficiency and support other solutions that reduce oil use.
• Place limits on the amount of carbon that polluters are allowed to emit.
• Build a clean energy economy by investing in efficient energy technologies, industries, and approaches.
• Reduce tropical deforestation and its associated global warming emissions.
• Implement effective national and regional climate policies.

350.org is a Movement, You in?

What is 350? From their website:

350.org is building a global climate movement. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are coordinated by a global network active in over 188 countries.

logo

The number 350 means climate safety: to preserve a livable planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 400 parts per million to below 350 ppm.

Why 350?

Why use the number 350? From their site:

Ready For Renewables NOW!

“Since the beginning of human civilization, our atmosphere contained about 275 ppm of carbon dioxide. That is the planet “on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.”

Our Global Target Miss It And We All Die

That’s Dr. James Hansen talking, former head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Dr. Hansen is one of the most respected climatologists in the world, and when he says that climate change is incompatible with human civilization, we think human civilization ought to sit up and take notice.

That “350 ppm” is where 350.org gets its name. “PPM” stands for “parts per million,” which is simply a way of measuring the ratio of carbon dioxide molecules to all of the other molecules in the atmosphere. Many scientists, climate experts, and progressive national governments agree with Dr. Hansen that 350 ppm is the “safe” level of carbon dioxide.

Use the 350.org Map

click on this map to find your local actions

Beginning in the 18th century, humans began to burn coal, gas, and oil to produce energy and goods. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere began to rise, at first slowly and now more quickly. Many of the activities we do every day like turning the lights on, cooking food, or heating our homes rely on energy sources that emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. We’re taking millions of years worth of carbon, once stored beneath the earth as fossil fuels, and releasing it into the atmosphere.

YOU CAN HELP NOW

Find local activities near to you. Start a 350 movement yourself. Use the Map to see whats going on near you.

Do It Today Tomorrow May Be To Late

Resurrection of renewable energy

The truth about climate change is being resurrected. No matter how hard the greedy oil merchants try, the truth keeps coming back to haunt them.

The IPCC report on the devastating effects of climate change are real. We have to face p to the basic facts that Change Is Required Now.

IPCC renewables report

Climate deniers see the Truth resurrected

Many have said there is no climate change. Others have said that climate change is normal and not caused by man.

Now the truth is being resurrected again. Every time greedy oil merchants and nuclear proponents say that it is not true they are wrong.

The blog is 5 months old

I have been blogging for 5 months now. During this time many have see the truth about what is happening to our planet. Many have expressed how they feel about this subject in my comments. What is required now is some movement on the subject.

We need to work together to stop the corporate greed that is destroying our planet. The representative in your country needs to know how you feel.

If you live in the UK then you can write to your MP now.

If you live in the USA then you can write to your member of Congress or Senate.

If you live in the Peoples Republic of China, you can write to your Party Congress.

Building the energy future we need Today

I have posted many blogs in the past about building a renewable energy future today. Today I will show you some of the many places where you can help to support the cause.

Your support is needed to help create our renewable energy future. There is a company called Good Energy here in the UK that is working on renewable energy today.

Good Energy Solar Farm And Wild Flower Meadow

You can help support Good Energy in several ways. Buying your energy from this company can help them gain the money they need to carry on further projects. If your run a business then they can help there too.

Always help support efforts to create new renewable energy projects near you. Here is a link to the Good Energy public consultation schedule. Go to these meetings and support your right to a green and pleasant future.

 The Future is Hydrogen Powered

Right now we have the parts of a renewable energy system. We can put the pieces of the renewable energy puzzle together and make a brighter and cleaner future for all of us.

Building the renewable energy future we need today is as simple as taking the right peices of the puzzle and placing them together.

Solar Energy To Hydrogen

If this is the future, why do we delay and look to outdated ideas? This is where the problem lies.

Corruption and greed are keeping us tied to dirty and dangerous energy

The current power system we have is run by corrupt governments and corporations. This corruptness is used to keep old ideas that are killing us and our planet.

Kurt Cobain On Corruption

Nuclear energy is old and dangerous. Oil is destroying our climate and killing life on earth. Fracking is polluting our water and our land and killing us.

The Wind is free and clean.

The sun is free and clean.

Hydrogen when burned creates water! hydrogen when used to make electricity makes . . . water.

Lets start using our heads and get the corrupt corporations and governments out of the process. Let us take back control of the decisions that matter in energy production and use.

Write to your MP now!

Write to your local council

Write to your representative in Congress and the Senate.

Write to your party Member in Begiing.

Send this blog link to your friends and get them to join the movement!

How to Beat the Blackmailer

It is now clear that putin* is an energy blackmailer. putin* has tried to blackmail the Ukraine into submission. putin* is now trying to blackmail the EU into submission as well.

It is clear that putin* will hold a gun to the head of the EU and Ukraine.

Blackmailer with a GUN

putin* thinks that he can get away with murder. He holds the gas and oil that the EU and Ukraine need to survive.

Renewable energy would take away all putin’s power.

The blackmailer putin* can be neutered by taking away his power. When we the people own the renewable energy systems that drive our economies we own the power.

Using solar power, wind energy, hydro-electric, hydrogen fuel, and the power of the sun, we can neuter putin*. When we take control of the energy we have true democracy. In a democracy there are no bullies like putin*. Bullies who blackmail others are evil and must be put in a corner to chill out.

Desertec is part of the solution – fuel equality from fuel poverty

A Blackmailer wold have a hard time holding all these different power generators.

Desertec Design for our renewable future

The large red square in the lower left of this picture is all the area needed to power the whole world. We do not need the KGB bully putin*. We don’t need his oil or his gas.

When we the people take control of our energy systems we can design a renewable future for us all. We can create a world wide system that helps the people. The blackmailer will wither and die from a lack of power and control of energy.

Write to your MP now and tell them to support the Desertec non-profit energy program today. Join with Desertec today and help them change the world.

*Please note: I have left putin’s name in lower case as a way of showing my contempt for a KGB bully. putin uses his ill gotten oil power to oppress the Russian people and Blackmail the EU and Ukraine. putin is nothing but a petty punk.

Overwhelming climate change

BBC Today: See the Video

There is overwhelming evidence that humans are experiencing the effects of climate change, says a new report.

Unless serious action is taken, this is likely to get worse, with growing risks of floods, food shortages, and threats to human health, warns the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),

BBC News outlines the report’s key points – in 60 seconds.

The human influence on climate change is clear

BBC Article:

The atmosphere and oceans are warming, the snow cover is shrinking, the Arctic sea-ice is melting, sea levels are rising, the oceans are acidifying, some extreme weather events are on the rise, ecosystems and natural habitats will be upset. Climate change threatens food security and world economies.

We need rapid and substantial cuts in carbon emissions and a move away from burning fossil fuels if we are to limit global climate change below two degrees and mitigate these impacts.

Global Warming Can Be Stopped

National Geographic:

In order to stabilize the climate, the transition from fossil fuels like coal and oil needs to occur within decades, according to the final report this year from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

All the Technology is here NOW! Lets make the change Today!

Mexico To Replace Coal Plant: With Solar Farm

In La Paz, where pollution from a dirty thermoelectric plant creates noxious air impacting resident’s lifestyles and well being, the solar plant is a welcomed clean development. The $100 million project, which includes 132,000 solar panel-modules, is the first Mexican private enterprise of such a size to get a development bank loan and an agreement to sell its electricity to the grid. According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, gave the project a $25 million credit line and also helped set up another $50 million in loans from the Mexican development bank Nacional Financiera (Nafin).

Texas wind is challenging gas power as the new top producer:

Wind power set a new record in Texas last Friday, heralding wind’s growing competitiveness with natural gas.

As CleanTechnica reports, instantaneous output from wind hit an all-time high of 10,296 megawatts for Texas’ main grid operator — the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — at 8:48pm on March 26, 2014. Wind energy generation fluctuates over time, so instantaneous output marks the peaks of the fluctuations rather than the average amount of output that can be expected. As ERCOT’s press release pointed out, at the moment of Friday’s peak, wind energy was contributing almost 29 percent of the 35,768 megawatts being used at the time.

UK needs to step it Up!

Write to your MP now and request a change in policy

Humor is food for the soul. It can also be used to shed light on the truth hidden within an issue.

Here is a cartoon from The Ecologist website:

Oh Right! Because The Sun Won’t Charge A Fee

Enjoy your day!

Write to your MP.