AltEnToday

Exporing the field of Alternative Energy

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Entries from May 2008

Geothermal - Baseload Power?

May 31st, 2008 · No Comments

In tomorrow’s energy landscape, it appears clear that a “portfolio” approach will be the ideal way to balance resource availability, fluctuating demand, and economic realities. Beyond solar (which is one of my key focuses), other clean and renewable energy options are available - and one of the most appealing sources for baseload power may be [...]

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California’s Clean-Power Incentives

May 30th, 2008 · No Comments

I started looking in to some energy incentives in the post about the SunPower installation at Macy’s stores, so I thought I might do a little more digging and see what actual incentives are available to consumers and companies considering solar and other alternative energy sources for their facilities.
To start with, I decided to look [...]

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Home Energy Consumption

May 29th, 2008 · No Comments

Rather than constantly worrying about the big picture (which, like I tracked down earlier was something in the ballpark of 26.9 billion MegaWatts), I also want to know what the average home in America consumes, what the big power drains are, and what can be done to help.

Here’s some figures that I found across the [...]

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SunPower Macy’s Solar Installation in San Jose, CA

May 28th, 2008 · No Comments

I picked up this week’s Wave magazine here in San Jose and found an interesting short article about a new SunPower solar installation that’s gone in to the Macy’s store at Oakridge Mall here in San Jose, CA. The article cites some interesting facts and figures, including:

The installation will produce more than 400,000 kWh annually
Eliminates [...]

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How Energy Thirsty is America?

May 27th, 2008 · No Comments

How much energy does America really use? Specifically, how much does the average person consume, where does it come from, and what are our expectations for the future? I decided to start my hunt for this information at AmericasPower.com - which is a coal industry website. They’ve been placing a lot of ads on TV [...]

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Electricity Basics (A refresher)

May 26th, 2008 · No Comments

Sometimes, things that ought to get stuck in your memory just need to get written down (again)… For instance, about a decade ago I learned about the basic physics of electricity - and even applied them to several jobs (mostly in the form of electricity-to-sound for home theater systems). Well, turns out some of that [...]

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View Personal Energy Consumption with KillAWatt

May 25th, 2008 · No Comments

I just flipped open this month’s Inc magazine, and saw an interesting article on “green” options for offices. One of the devices they highlighted that caught my eye was the KillAWatt EZ by a company called P3 International. This is a cool little device. Essentially, you plug your device in to this, and then plug [...]

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All-electric Saturn Sky

May 24th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Just spotted this article on Engadget AMP offers all-electric Saturn Sky - a company called AMP (Advanced Mechanical Products) Motor Works is converting Saturn Sky’s in to all-electric cars. The performance numbers look pretty legitimate: 150 miles on a charge, 0-60 in less than 6 seconds, and a top speed of over 90 miles per [...]

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Silicon Valley Solar: Nanosolar

May 23rd, 2008 · No Comments

There is a lot of excitement in the Silicon Valley these days with alternative energy. I went to hear Mr. Ajit Nazre of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers speak at a San Jose State Entrepreneurial Society event, and had the opportunity to ask him where he sees major investment flowing in the next 5-15 [...]

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Oil prices continue to surge

May 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

Are we witnessing the economic reality of Hubbert’s peak unfolding before our very eyes? CNBC reports that crude prices hit an intraday record of $135.09 today, before settling down to a close just above $131. This is fresh off the heels of George W. Bush’s visit to Saudi Arabia requesting that they provide additional supplies [...]

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