Green Energy

The Rise Of Green Energy Jobs

More and more jobs are popping up in the green energy sector as clean technology industries like solar, wind, and energy efficiency continue to grow. These new positions will more than likely require new skill sets that suggest there may be a sudden growth in green education at universities and community colleges. Across the country, training programs are popping up in order to prepare individuals for the new areas in the job marketplace. For example, there are training programs for wind technicians in Texas. Steelworkers are being trained for positions in electric-vehicle battery plants. The EcoTech Institute is a brand new two-year college in Colorado that trains 250 students for solar and wind jobs. In the very near future, they will also offer training for environmental paralegal jobs and sustainable interior design. Not to mention, scientists are being educated on the thriving biofuel sector in California. Federal and state governments are providing many of these programs with hundreds of millions of dollars. The University of Nevada received a $995,000 grant from the United States Department of Energy to start the National Geothermal Academy. The National Geothermal Academy will have 8-week training courses to educate engineers, policymakers, scientists and plant operators about the ...

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Workouts That Generate Power

Green Microgym, a 3-year-old storefront fitness center in Portland, Oregon allows gym members to workout on exercise machines that are outfitted with compact generators. These unique contraptions allow gym members to burn calories while generating electricity simultaneously. Workouts being done at this gym satisfy the fragment of electrical draw at the gym, while also appeasing the demand among the gym's 200 members to get in shape in an eco-friendly way. The gym is 3,000 square feet and features recycled toilet paper, solar panels, renewable-source flooring and plenty of friendly reminders about turning off unused appliances such as lights, TV's and fans. Members of the gym were excited about the opportunity to generate electricity while working out, finding it a fun and easy way to help out the environment. It was because of efforts made by entrepreneurs in the last few years that these exercise machines were developed. The 2 major startup companies that sell the equipment used to retrofit existing bike and elliptical trainers have both reported setting up around 1,000 exercise machines. It is estimated that United States fitness centers have around 8-10 million machines that could one day be generating power. Undergoing a project of this degree would be ...

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The World’s Largest Solar Power Tower Plant

Google has invested $168 million in a new solar energy power plant that is being developed in the Mojave Desert in California by BrightSource Energy. Brightsource's Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) will generate 392 gross megawatts of clean, solar energy, which is the same as taking over 90,000 vehicles off the road over the lifetime of the plant, projected to be more than 25 years. For Google, the investment makes business sense and will help complete one of the world's biggest solar energy projects. Ivanpah's ISEGS is a 392 megawatt solar thermal power facility that began construction in October of 2010. It is the first project to deliver power to serve BrightSource's signed contracts with PG&E and Southern California Edison. The project brings together BrightSource's solar technology with conventional power components to yield reliable, clean power at scale. The 392-megawatt solar complex will use mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers that are on top of power towers. The complex is made up of 3 individual plants that will be built in phases between 2010-2013, and they will use BrightSource Energy's LPT 550 technology. The electricity that will be generated is enough to serve over 140,000 homes ...

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Shale Gas

Thousands of wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania as part of a booming natural gas rush. In the summer of 2009, tens of thousands of gallons of drilling water that had been stored on the well pad spilled, leaking downhill and into the property of residents. The spill destroyed some forest area and water in the area. The well is still running despite the accident and residents have been forced to grow accustom to the hum of a gas compressor running 24 hours a day. On the flip side, a local to Pennsylvania launched a gas station and fuel-support outfit, which took off in 2008 when drilling companies that were eager for the region's natural gas began setting up shop in the area. Landowners in the region have sold a gas company the right to drill on their land, which turned out to be very profitable for them. Natural gas was not the go to option until recently. Natural gas provides only 25% of electricity in the United States and heats over 60 million American homes. However, natural gas has its limitations in that it's more costly than dirty coal. Most of Europe depends primarily on gas for heating and some electricity, ...

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The Solar Plant That Floats

A solar power firm in Australia, Sunengy Pty Ltd, recently announced that they have partnered with Tata Power. Tata Power is India's biggest integrated private power utility, and has plans with Sunengy to construct a pilot plant for its low cost, floating on water, solar technology in India by the end of 2011. This was a deal of major importance for the global application of solar power because it allows Sunengy to display the practicality of their technology in one of the world's top solar power markets. In August of 2011, construction on the pilot plant in India will begin. Sunengy intends to set up a larger Liquid Solar Array (LSA) system in the NSW Hunter Valley midway through 2012 prior to going into full-blown production. The main market for LSA is the arrangement of industrial scale electricity through hydropower facilities. Mining sites, villages and remote communities that rely on diesel power generators are the other markets being targeted for the solar power plants. Tata Power partnered up with Sunengy for its interest in its patented LSA technology, which was invented by Phil Connor, the Sunengy Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer. LSA supplies the development of reduced cost and on demand ...

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