Drop what you're doing and mark your calendars! On Saturday, October 4, the First Annual Piedmont Green Gala will be held at T.S. Designs, in Burlington. This will be the hands-down biggest green event ever held in the Piedmont Triad.
Featured will be solar and wind power generation, biodiesel production, alternative transportation (hybrids, biodiesel, electric cars), sustainable agriculture (organic gardens, composting), water conservation and grey water use, sustainable business practices, two workshops on renewable energy and energy efficiency tax credits, display tables, locally produced food and beverages, musical entertainment, and -- above all -- some folks who are nothing short of inspiring.
Check out the full list of features, time-schedule, and location details at the PGG website: http://www.piedmontgreengala.com/
Directions to T.S. Designs (in Burlington):
Normally, there are several straightforward routes for getting to T.S. Designs from I-40. However, due to recent road construction, I am going to recommend one route only:
--Whether you are arriving from the east or from the west on I-40, use Exit 143, and take Route 62 south.
--Proceed south on Route 62 for slightly more than a mile, until you reach Troxler.
--Turn right onto Troxler and proceed for approximately 0.3 miles to Willow Spring Lane.
--Turn right onto Willow Spring Lane and you will see the driveway for T.S. Designs on your left.
--NOTE: Event volunteers will provide "parking management." Please follow their instructions.
Be seen and be green!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Guilford Solar to present program on biofuels
The monthly program for September will consist of a presentation on biofuels by Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi, of NC A&T State University. Specifics are as follows:
What: Guilford Solar September program
When: Saturday, September 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Where: Barn Kitchen Meeting Room of the Guilford County Agricultural Center, 3309 Burlington Road, Greensboro, NC 27405
Cost: Free
Description:
Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi, Director of Biological Engineering at NC A&T State University, will present a seminar on ethanol as the dominant biofuel in the country. In this presentation, Dr. Shahbazi will compare ethanol production from corn versus lignocellulosic biomass. He will discuss various technologies for producing ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstock. He will also discuss various national biofuel plans and will present results from selected research projects at NC A&T State University.
Dr. Shahbazi is currently serving as a member of the board of directors for the Biofuel Center of NC. As such, he will provide insights into the planning and operation of the BC of NC and discuss the efforts directed towards recruiting biofuel manufacturers to set up plants in NC. Dr. Shahbazi has a MSc. degree from UC Davis and a Ph. D. degree from Pennsylvania State University in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He is a veteran of 20 years of biofuel research at NC A&T State University, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
For more information, call 336-375-5876.
What: Guilford Solar September program
When: Saturday, September 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Where: Barn Kitchen Meeting Room of the Guilford County Agricultural Center, 3309 Burlington Road, Greensboro, NC 27405
Cost: Free
Description:
Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi, Director of Biological Engineering at NC A&T State University, will present a seminar on ethanol as the dominant biofuel in the country. In this presentation, Dr. Shahbazi will compare ethanol production from corn versus lignocellulosic biomass. He will discuss various technologies for producing ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstock. He will also discuss various national biofuel plans and will present results from selected research projects at NC A&T State University.
Dr. Shahbazi is currently serving as a member of the board of directors for the Biofuel Center of NC. As such, he will provide insights into the planning and operation of the BC of NC and discuss the efforts directed towards recruiting biofuel manufacturers to set up plants in NC. Dr. Shahbazi has a MSc. degree from UC Davis and a Ph. D. degree from Pennsylvania State University in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He is a veteran of 20 years of biofuel research at NC A&T State University, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
For more information, call 336-375-5876.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Three Major Solar Projects for NC
After years of false starts, large-scale solar power is scheduled to come to North Carolina.
Progress Energy is planning a 1.2-megawatt solar farm on 10 acres in Wilmington, to be built at the same complex as the utility's coal-burning power plants, it announced Friday. The solar farm could generate enough power for about 800 homes on sunny days. It is expected to start generating electricity this year. The Progress Energy solar project will be developed, owned and operated by SunEdison, a national solar developer in Maryland. SunEdison will sell the power it generates to Progress, which will then redistribute the electricity to its customers.
SunEdison announced two other solar projects in the state this year:
* a 1-megawatt project on the Cary campus of software developer SAS, which will sell power to Progress.
* a 16-megawatt solar farm in Davidson County that will sell power to Duke Energy.
The Davidson County project appears puny compared with the 900-megawatt Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County, but it's colossal by solar standards. The nation's largest solar project is about 14 megawatts, at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
North Carolina, a state where solar energy has never been adopted on a large scale, is suddenly developing three significant solar projects. "It's about time," said Stephen Kalland, director of the N.C. Solar Center at N.C. State University. "The technology has been there for some time." The interest in solar in this state is being driven by a 2007 state law requiring that power companies tap renewable resources. The law may elevate North Carolina to a national solar hot spot; utilities must develop an estimated 300 megawatts of solar power by 2021 to meet the renewables standard, Kalland said.
Progress Energy, Duke Energy and municipal power agencies are all reviewing proposals from developers of renewable power, including solar, wind and biomass resources. Duke plans to develop its own statewide solar power network on about 850 sites, primarily rooftops.
North Carolina's potential for 300 megawatts is likely to look less impressive over time. An 800-megawatt solar proposal is in the works in California. That project would put solar power on the same scale as the behemoths of energy -- nuclear power plants and coal-burning plants. Today, North Carolina has less than a half-megawatt of solar power, mostly rooftop projects on private homes that are subsidized by NC GreenPower, a Raleigh nonprofit group that has been supporting solar projects since 2004. NC GreenPower has 167 solar projects; many are so small that they don't generate enough power for one home.
The high cost of silicon wafers and rising demand for silicon by the computer chip industry have been major impediments to solar development. Generating solar energy once cost about five times as much as building conventional power plants, putting solar out of reach unless it was heavily subsidized. The cost of nuclear power is soaring, but solar power is still about twice as costly as nuclear, Kalland said.
North Carolina regulation of utilities presents another obstacle to solar. Solar developers such as SunEdison are not allowed to sell electricity to businesses or homes. They can only sell to power companies, which in the past were unwilling to invest in solar energy, because it was expensive. Solar systems produce emissions-free electricity without greenhouse gases or radioactive nuclear waste. The downside is that solar power operates only about 20 percent of the time, compared with nuclear and coal plants that run around the clock.
The financial terms of the SunEdison contracts are confidential, and utility officials declined to discuss how much they are paying for solar. Progress spokesman Mike Hughes said other factors necessary for solar development include negotiating for land, and often, providing connections to transmission lines. "It's one of the technologies where price has come down and likely will continue to come down," Hughes said.
---------------
John Murawski, Staff Writer
News & Observer
john.murawski@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8932
Progress Energy is planning a 1.2-megawatt solar farm on 10 acres in Wilmington, to be built at the same complex as the utility's coal-burning power plants, it announced Friday. The solar farm could generate enough power for about 800 homes on sunny days. It is expected to start generating electricity this year. The Progress Energy solar project will be developed, owned and operated by SunEdison, a national solar developer in Maryland. SunEdison will sell the power it generates to Progress, which will then redistribute the electricity to its customers.
SunEdison announced two other solar projects in the state this year:
* a 1-megawatt project on the Cary campus of software developer SAS, which will sell power to Progress.
* a 16-megawatt solar farm in Davidson County that will sell power to Duke Energy.
The Davidson County project appears puny compared with the 900-megawatt Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County, but it's colossal by solar standards. The nation's largest solar project is about 14 megawatts, at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
North Carolina, a state where solar energy has never been adopted on a large scale, is suddenly developing three significant solar projects. "It's about time," said Stephen Kalland, director of the N.C. Solar Center at N.C. State University. "The technology has been there for some time." The interest in solar in this state is being driven by a 2007 state law requiring that power companies tap renewable resources. The law may elevate North Carolina to a national solar hot spot; utilities must develop an estimated 300 megawatts of solar power by 2021 to meet the renewables standard, Kalland said.
Progress Energy, Duke Energy and municipal power agencies are all reviewing proposals from developers of renewable power, including solar, wind and biomass resources. Duke plans to develop its own statewide solar power network on about 850 sites, primarily rooftops.
North Carolina's potential for 300 megawatts is likely to look less impressive over time. An 800-megawatt solar proposal is in the works in California. That project would put solar power on the same scale as the behemoths of energy -- nuclear power plants and coal-burning plants. Today, North Carolina has less than a half-megawatt of solar power, mostly rooftop projects on private homes that are subsidized by NC GreenPower, a Raleigh nonprofit group that has been supporting solar projects since 2004. NC GreenPower has 167 solar projects; many are so small that they don't generate enough power for one home.
The high cost of silicon wafers and rising demand for silicon by the computer chip industry have been major impediments to solar development. Generating solar energy once cost about five times as much as building conventional power plants, putting solar out of reach unless it was heavily subsidized. The cost of nuclear power is soaring, but solar power is still about twice as costly as nuclear, Kalland said.
North Carolina regulation of utilities presents another obstacle to solar. Solar developers such as SunEdison are not allowed to sell electricity to businesses or homes. They can only sell to power companies, which in the past were unwilling to invest in solar energy, because it was expensive. Solar systems produce emissions-free electricity without greenhouse gases or radioactive nuclear waste. The downside is that solar power operates only about 20 percent of the time, compared with nuclear and coal plants that run around the clock.
The financial terms of the SunEdison contracts are confidential, and utility officials declined to discuss how much they are paying for solar. Progress spokesman Mike Hughes said other factors necessary for solar development include negotiating for land, and often, providing connections to transmission lines. "It's one of the technologies where price has come down and likely will continue to come down," Hughes said.
---------------
John Murawski, Staff Writer
News & Observer
john.murawski@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8932
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Peak Oil on TV
For those of you who were unable to attend the Guilford Solar presentation on peak oil and who are interested in seeing it, the presentation is being aired on Greensboro Community Television, Cable Channel 8, according to the following schedule:
Sunday, 8/17/08 @ 6:00 pm
Friday, 8/29/08 @ 12:00 noon
Monday, 9/1/08 @ 12:00 midnight
Be aware that the presentation lasts approximately 90 minutes.
Sunday, 8/17/08 @ 6:00 pm
Friday, 8/29/08 @ 12:00 noon
Monday, 9/1/08 @ 12:00 midnight
Be aware that the presentation lasts approximately 90 minutes.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
August, September, and October events
Many exciting events are on the horizon, as will be indicated below. First, a change in schedule: The published GSCP 2008 Schedule of Programs shows the August program topic as "Biofuels" and the September program topic as "Biodiesel." Due to presenter scheduling requirements, we will be reversing the topic order. In other words, "Biodiesel" will come first (in August) and "Biofuels" will come second (in September).
Okay, get ready for the fun:
Saturday, August 9: The August Guilford Solar program will feature Mr. Timothy Victor, a Ph.D. candidate in the Energy and Environmental Studies interdisciplinary degree program at NC A&T. Tim will present a seminar discussing the current energy situation, advantages and challenges for biodiesel fuel, common biodiesel feedstocks and production methods, and quality standards for this renewable fuel. Tim has a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University and a master's degree in mathematics from UNC-G. He is currently investigating the chemical reactions that take place when biodiesel fuel is burned in diesel engines and their effect on engine emissions and performance. His work focuses on the use of computers and mathematical models to simulate and better understand these chemical processes.
Specifics:
What: GSCP program on Biodiesel
When: Saturday, August 9, 10 - 11:30 AM
Where: Barn Kitchen Meeting Room of the Guilford County
Agricultural Center, 3309 Burlington Road, Greensboro
Contact: 336-375-5876
Friday - Sunday, August 22 - 24: Southern Energy & Environment Expo. If you have never attended this annual event, you owe it to yourself to do so. If you have attended previously, no more need be said. Check the website for an account of what you will be treated to. This is one of the premier annual events in the southeast. Go to: http://www.seeexpo.com/.
Saturday, September 13: September GSCP program on Biofuels. Details will be forthcoming.
Saturday, September 27: Electric car extravaganza, to be held at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library. Local electric car superhero Lawrence Feir will run this one. Details will be forthcoming.
Saturday, October 4: Green Open House mega-event, T.S. Designs, Burlington. T.S. Designs has become the Triad showcase for almost everything related to sustainable energy and sustainable business practices. What is going to happen here on October 4 will blow your mind! Details will be forthcoming.
Mark your calendars, folks!
Okay, get ready for the fun:
Saturday, August 9: The August Guilford Solar program will feature Mr. Timothy Victor, a Ph.D. candidate in the Energy and Environmental Studies interdisciplinary degree program at NC A&T. Tim will present a seminar discussing the current energy situation, advantages and challenges for biodiesel fuel, common biodiesel feedstocks and production methods, and quality standards for this renewable fuel. Tim has a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University and a master's degree in mathematics from UNC-G. He is currently investigating the chemical reactions that take place when biodiesel fuel is burned in diesel engines and their effect on engine emissions and performance. His work focuses on the use of computers and mathematical models to simulate and better understand these chemical processes.
Specifics:
What: GSCP program on Biodiesel
When: Saturday, August 9, 10 - 11:30 AM
Where: Barn Kitchen Meeting Room of the Guilford County
Agricultural Center, 3309 Burlington Road, Greensboro
Contact: 336-375-5876
Friday - Sunday, August 22 - 24: Southern Energy & Environment Expo. If you have never attended this annual event, you owe it to yourself to do so. If you have attended previously, no more need be said. Check the website for an account of what you will be treated to. This is one of the premier annual events in the southeast. Go to: http://www.seeexpo.com/.
Saturday, September 13: September GSCP program on Biofuels. Details will be forthcoming.
Saturday, September 27: Electric car extravaganza, to be held at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library. Local electric car superhero Lawrence Feir will run this one. Details will be forthcoming.
Saturday, October 4: Green Open House mega-event, T.S. Designs, Burlington. T.S. Designs has become the Triad showcase for almost everything related to sustainable energy and sustainable business practices. What is going to happen here on October 4 will blow your mind! Details will be forthcoming.
Mark your calendars, folks!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Peak Oil arrives in Greensboro
Here are two items of importance regarding peak oil:
1. The News & Record is publishing a series on peak oil, and it will be hitting the stands soon. Morgan Glover, the reporter who authored the series, has been working for months on this. She is extremely knowledgeable about the topic, and I am expecting this to be an excellent series. The first installment is to be published on Sunday, June 29, the second on Wednesday, July 2, and the third installment is to appear on Saturday, July 5. Don't miss it!
2. Guilford Solar will be offering a 2-hour special on peak oil as its July monthly program. The specifics are as follows:
What: Guilford Solar July Program: "Peak Oil -- Theory and Evidence"
Where: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Road, Greensboro
When: Saturday, July 12, 10 AM -- 12 Noon
Cost: Free
Description: Transportation is the lifeline of our current global and US economies. Over 95% of our transportation is dependent upon the refined products of oil -- gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and bunker fuel. As the price of oil sets new records weekly, the question naturally arises: Why is this happening? One increasingly common explanation is that the rate of production worldwide of cheap, high-quality oil has peaked or will do so in the near future. This is the "peak oil" hypothesis. Guilford Solar's July program will explain the meaning of peak oil and will examine the evidence that supports it. The presenter is Peter Kauber, who has researched the topic over the past four years. Kauber was employed by Marathon Oil Company during the 1979-1981 "oil crisis" and thus brings a historical and industry perspective to the discussion.
Note: Though I have not yet seen the contents of the News & Record peak oil series, I am expecting to reference some of its material in my own presentation on July 12. This will be my attempt to provide integration between what Morgan presents in her series and what I am already planning to present. Therefore, if you are expecting to attend the Guilford Solar program, reading the N&R series should function as a useful introduction to what I will be presenting on July 12.
Have a good read, and I hope to see you at the Library on July 12.
--Peter Kauber,
Guilford Solar
1. The News & Record is publishing a series on peak oil, and it will be hitting the stands soon. Morgan Glover, the reporter who authored the series, has been working for months on this. She is extremely knowledgeable about the topic, and I am expecting this to be an excellent series. The first installment is to be published on Sunday, June 29, the second on Wednesday, July 2, and the third installment is to appear on Saturday, July 5. Don't miss it!
2. Guilford Solar will be offering a 2-hour special on peak oil as its July monthly program. The specifics are as follows:
What: Guilford Solar July Program: "Peak Oil -- Theory and Evidence"
Where: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Road, Greensboro
When: Saturday, July 12, 10 AM -- 12 Noon
Cost: Free
Description: Transportation is the lifeline of our current global and US economies. Over 95% of our transportation is dependent upon the refined products of oil -- gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and bunker fuel. As the price of oil sets new records weekly, the question naturally arises: Why is this happening? One increasingly common explanation is that the rate of production worldwide of cheap, high-quality oil has peaked or will do so in the near future. This is the "peak oil" hypothesis. Guilford Solar's July program will explain the meaning of peak oil and will examine the evidence that supports it. The presenter is Peter Kauber, who has researched the topic over the past four years. Kauber was employed by Marathon Oil Company during the 1979-1981 "oil crisis" and thus brings a historical and industry perspective to the discussion.
Note: Though I have not yet seen the contents of the News & Record peak oil series, I am expecting to reference some of its material in my own presentation on July 12. This will be my attempt to provide integration between what Morgan presents in her series and what I am already planning to present. Therefore, if you are expecting to attend the Guilford Solar program, reading the N&R series should function as a useful introduction to what I will be presenting on July 12.
Have a good read, and I hope to see you at the Library on July 12.
--Peter Kauber,
Guilford Solar
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Duke to support residential solar??
Here is an article from earth2tech (5-12-2008):
The debate between massive solar thermal plants and distributed roof top solar projects continues to get more interesting every day. Duke Energy’s CEO Jim Rogers says the utility will build and operate solar power, and plans to invest $100 million in solar rooftops, both commercial and residential, according to the Charlotte Business Journal reports. Duke still needs to get permission from the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
This is part of an emerging trend of utilities throwing their considerable assets behind solar installations as a way to own solar power generation. Utilities are feeling pressure from their home states’ renewable portfolio standards to incorporate more renewable energy sources. (North Carolina has a renewable portfolio standard that goes into effect in 2012 and will require utilities to generate 12.5 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2021.) Utilities are able to leverage their balance sheets to get capital at far better rates than small startups, allowing them to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in solar development.
Southern California Edison announced plans in March to invest $875 million in 250 megawatts of solar covering some 2 square miles of rooftops. PG&E’s CEO Peter Darbee recently told us that the company is in discussions to build and own its own solar power plants, but that there are some barriers for regulated utilities to cash in on the investment tax credits for solar. (Also check out our video interview with Darbee.)
Duke’s plan to spend $100 million on its own solar generation, is good news for an energy company that generates 70 percent of its power from coal, making it the third-largest consumer of coal in the United States. To his credit Rogers has been an advocate of backing renewable energy, and just last week called for “a small fee on every kilowatt-hour of electricity sold in the U.S.,” which he says would raise $11 billion annually for renewable energy research and development.
PG&E’s Darbee is calling for a change in policy whereby utilities could benefit from the investment tax credit (ITC) to build solar plants. Letting utilities tap into the ITC could be one of the best ways to connect considerable capital with solar power construction.
The debate between massive solar thermal plants and distributed roof top solar projects continues to get more interesting every day. Duke Energy’s CEO Jim Rogers says the utility will build and operate solar power, and plans to invest $100 million in solar rooftops, both commercial and residential, according to the Charlotte Business Journal reports. Duke still needs to get permission from the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
This is part of an emerging trend of utilities throwing their considerable assets behind solar installations as a way to own solar power generation. Utilities are feeling pressure from their home states’ renewable portfolio standards to incorporate more renewable energy sources. (North Carolina has a renewable portfolio standard that goes into effect in 2012 and will require utilities to generate 12.5 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2021.) Utilities are able to leverage their balance sheets to get capital at far better rates than small startups, allowing them to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in solar development.
Southern California Edison announced plans in March to invest $875 million in 250 megawatts of solar covering some 2 square miles of rooftops. PG&E’s CEO Peter Darbee recently told us that the company is in discussions to build and own its own solar power plants, but that there are some barriers for regulated utilities to cash in on the investment tax credits for solar. (Also check out our video interview with Darbee.)
Duke’s plan to spend $100 million on its own solar generation, is good news for an energy company that generates 70 percent of its power from coal, making it the third-largest consumer of coal in the United States. To his credit Rogers has been an advocate of backing renewable energy, and just last week called for “a small fee on every kilowatt-hour of electricity sold in the U.S.,” which he says would raise $11 billion annually for renewable energy research and development.
PG&E’s Darbee is calling for a change in policy whereby utilities could benefit from the investment tax credit (ITC) to build solar plants. Letting utilities tap into the ITC could be one of the best ways to connect considerable capital with solar power construction.
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