Month: November 2008

Solar Powered City in Japan

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

A community in Japan has put solar panels on nearly every house and they love it! A short article on the solar powered houses shows that in order for the system to be rolled out elsewhere more support from all levels of government are needed. It’s great to see pilot projects like this proving that these types of energy systems work.

Located 50 miles northwest of Tokyo, Pal Town dubbed “Solar City,” received free solar panels in 2002 through a 9.7 billion yen state-backed research on how to ensure a steady supply and avoid blackouts. Lots of small solar power generators are connected to the power grid.
Three-quarters of Pal Town’s homes are covered by solar panels, which are distributed for free and have become one of the main draw-cards for residents keen to minimize their power bills..

Using Google to Predict Flu Outbreaks

- Adam Clare

Google Flu Trends uses Google searches to find out where the flu is spreading. It only works in the USA right now, but hopefully it can be spread elsewhere (so to speak).

From the New York Times (stupid login information needed):

“What if Google knew before anyone else that a fast-spreading flu outbreak was putting you at heightened risk of getting sick? And what if it could alert you, your doctor and your local public health officials before the muscle aches and chills kicked in? That, in essence, is the promise of Google Flu Trends, a new Web tool… unveiled on Tuesday, right at the start of flu season in the US. Google Flu Trends is based on the simple idea that people who are feeling sick will tend to turn to the Web for information, typing things like ‘flu symptoms; or ‘muscle aches’ into Google. The service tracks such queries and charts their ebb and flow, broken down by regions and states.”

Morgan Solar Invents New Way to Capture Sun

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

A couple months ago I met Nicolas Morgan at the Toronto Green Drinks and he was telling me about this little company he has with his brother that will revolutionize the solar energy industry. When he described the technology and where it came from it sounded like the news was a little too good. It’s great to see that Morgan Solar is getting good press coverage about how their simple way of capturing sunbeams will help the developing world.

Following through on a lifelong goal, Jean Paul then went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he handled logistics and construction projects for Doctors Without Borders. To him, the work was loaded with meaning, and while he returned a year later, he spoke of going back to continue with the cause.

That’s when his father, Eric Morgan, stepped in. He talked his son out of going back, arguing that if he really wanted to help people he had an obligation to use his smarts to solve bigger problems.

Jean Paul stepped up to the challenge. While working as a research associate at the Catholic University of Chile (where his family has roots), he decided that the best place to focus on was energy.

“I came to realize electricity was a fundamental human right and if you don’t have electricity you’re living in the dark ages,” he recounts. “I decided there to devote my life to the problem of developing inexpensive, ubiquitous electricity. Solar was the obvious choice.”

At first, Jean Paul looked for solar companies he might like to work for, but after researching the market he quickly found there was a technology gap that needed to be filled. Most of the solar-system designs that appealed to him were clumsy and complicated. He decided his goal should be to come up with a novel design that eliminates that complexity.

Thanks to Shea for the tip to the article!

Bike Sharing Gone Wild

- Adam Clare 3 Comments

Pedal power is gaining popularity in Europ in the form of more and more cities creating their own bike sharing programs.

For mayors looking to ease congestion and prove their environmental bona fides, bike-sharing has provided a simple solution: For the price of a bus, they get a fleet of bicycles, and they can avoid years of construction and the approvals required for a subway. For riders, joining means cut-rate transportation – as well as a chance to contribute to the planet’s well-being.

The new systems are successful in part because they blanket cities with huge numbers of available bikes, but the real linchpin is technology. Aided by electronic smart cards and computerized bike stands, riders can pick up and drop off bicycles in seconds at hundreds of locations, their payments deducted from bank accounts.

“As some cities have done it, others are realizing they can do it, too,” said Paul DeMaio, founder of MetroBike, a U.S.-based bike-sharing consultant that tracks programs worldwide. “There is an incredible trajectory.”

The huge new European bicycle-sharing networks function less as recreation and more as low-cost, alternative public transportation. Most programs (though not Paris’s and Lyon’s) exclude tourists and day-trippers.

Energy Company Pays Customers for Solar Panels

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Duke Energy, located in the USA, will start paying their customers to install solar panels, this is a reaction by the company to increased regulation. I wish Duke Energy would pay for a solar panel on my house.

“We’d love to have the panels — if we could afford it — and be completely green,” Durkin says. But given that his utility bill is only about $200 a month, he says “it made no sense.”

Then he heard that his local electric company, Duke Energy, wants to install solar panels on hundreds of customers’ roofs and vacant lots.

“If Duke could put them up and they’re going to get a better deal with it, then at least I’m helping the cause, and that’s what I wanted to do,” Durkin says.

For decades, Duke Energy has envisioned massive coal-fired and nuclear power plants as the best way to generate electricity for 4 million customers. But a new state law and the possibility of federal restrictions on greenhouse gases is pushing the 104-year-old utility to try new things.

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