New Hampshire [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Vertical-axis wind turbines have been around for thousands of years, yet we still haven’t seen modern turbine producers make a dent in the wind market. Why is that so?

Listen to Renewable Energy World’s Podcast

Most wind experts say that VAWTs are simply inferior to traditional three-bladed horizontal-axis turbines. That’s why the technologies only make up one percent of the small wind market. The industry has also been historically dominated by sketchy companies and “inventors” who pushed fraudulent or under-performing technologies to unsuspecting consumers.

With today’s renewed interest in renewables, consumers have forgotten about many of the past problems and are again fascinated by such machines. Just go to youtube and type in “vertical axis wind turbine” to see the dozens – if not hundreds – of technologies that folks are touting as the revolution in wind.

“There’s nothing new here,” says Small-Wind Expert Ian Woofenden. “We see people coming up with the same old ideas” for harvesting wind on rooftops and within neighborhoods.

Woofenden is one of a number of wind experts who loath vertical axis technologies for both residential and utility applications. He sees them as a threat to consumer and investor confidence in wind.

However, along with what small-wind veteran Mike Bergey calls the “Bozos and Scheisters,” there are also a handful of companies in the space that are being a bit more cautious and transparent in their approach.

For example, Nevada-based Windspire Energy recently opened itself up to testing by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Another company, New York-based Urban Green Energy, had its power curve third party verified by China’s largest wind certification body. (The company manufactures products in China). Historically, VAWT companies commonly presented theoretical power curves as “proof” of how great their technology is.

The American Wind Energy Association also set up a small wind certification council this year that will help consumers make better choices. Many of the leading VAWT companies support the move, saying that it will help filter out much of the noise in the market.

“We believe in testing. As time goes, certification will be more prevalent and we’ll be right there with everyone else,” says WindSpire CEO Walt Borland.

With that said, many of the “leading” VAWT companies are tiny compared to other small wind companies. The performance of these products will determine whether or not companies move beyond experimentation and curiosity. Even the most anti-VAWT folks agree: A more rigorous testing and certification process will be good for everyone involved.

Well, good for everyone except the Bozos and Scheisters.

To hear from Ian Woofenden, WindSpire and Urban Green Energy, check out this week’s podcast, linked above.

Via RenewableEnergyWorld.com

In general, DIY projects are a good thing, from hacking IKEA furniture to making bento boxes. But solar panel installation is something that’s best left to professionals, both for your own safety and to protect your home.

1. You could hurt yourself.

Whenever you’re working with electrical wiring, there’s a very real risk of electric shock. As soon as you attach wiring to a solar panel on your roof, it’s immediately live. If you don’t truly know what you’re doing, you could be seriously injured. When you wire your inverters, you could come in direct contact with electrical energy; worst-case scenario, this could cause electrocution. Even a minor shock can cause an involuntary muscle reaction as you jerk away from the the electricity, and if you’re on your roof, this could cause you to fall. Which brings us to our second point: it’s also dangerous to work on steep roofs, high above the ground, especially if you’re not experienced.

2. You could damage your house.

Although it’s rare, you could put holes in your roof when you install solar panels, which is another reason why it’s important to choose someone with the right skills– and avoid going the DIY route. If installed incorrectly, there’s also a small risk that the solar panels could later cause a fire. Experienced installers, like those we select after careful vetting at 1BOG, can give you peace of mind.

3. You might not install the panels optimally for best performance.

Unless you’ve done a lot of research, you won’t know how to find the best location for your solar panels in order to get the most power from them. Professional installers know how to assess your home and determine where to put the solar panels based on direction and shading, with a consideration of how the position of the sun will change throughout the year.

4. You might be breaking the law.

If you’re not a certified electrician, you can’t legally connect the wiring for your installation. There are very good reasons that a professional is required, as listed above. Even if someone has an electrical contractor license, that doesn’t mean they have the right skills to safely and correctly install solar panels, so it’s really necessary to work with someone who’s well-qualified and experienced in the specifics of solar power.

5. Figuring out how to install solar panels takes a long time.

Aside from the time it takes to figure out where to locate the panels and how to install them, you’d also need to research the number of panels you need for your electricity consumption, the type of panels to choose, the correct inverter to choose, and more details about the equipment itself. Actually performing the installation of solar panels also takes time, and usually happens with a full crew of installers. Using professional installers ensures that you’re getting the best equipment for your home, installed safely and properly (with a multi-year warranty from the installer to boot).

Sign up for One Block Off the Grid to let us do the research for you and choose a company with high-quality panels, high-quality installation practices, and stability as an organization. And keep yourself safe and sound, and off the roof.

Photo Credit

Via 1bog.org

Here is a video update on the Bamboo Bike Project.

If you’re like us (and millions of other people around the world), and got up at odd hours and, in some cases, even skipped work to watch the World Cup this year, you saw something new: solar power! This year Chinese solar panel manufacturer Yingli Green Energy was one of the World Cup sponsors, along with the usual suspects like Adidas and Coca-Cola.

The first solar company ever to sponsor the World Cup, Yingli said they wanted to reach new customers. They’ll also get attention from those who already know something about solar power, like soccer-crazed fans in Germany and Spain, two of the countries with the most solar panels in the world.

If you were lucky enough to go to a game at the Johannesburg Soccer City stadium, you might have seen something more than just an ad– Yingli also powered an exhibition for sponsors at the stadium that’s completely carbon neutral. The commercial display uses solar panels along with locally-produced materials, and Yingli bought carbon offsets to cover the remaining carbon emissions. The solar array pumps out 1.2 kilowatts of power, and if it stayed up at the stadium over the course of a year, it would eliminate around 1.5 tons of coal-equivalent CO2 emissions.

GOOOAAALLL!!

Photo Credit

Via 1bog.org

Hi all,

I just found out that the Voltaic Backpack is available highly discounted on Amazon.com!

I would very highly recommend this backpack for charging small things like cellphones, iPods, iPads and the like.

Here is a video review of the backpack.

Here is the link for the Voltaic Generator, which can charge your laptop: Voltaic Generator

Hey there.

I am getting really close to finished with my post about the XPower for Portable Power. I just have a few more things to add, and then it will go public.

I have been using the XPower extensively over the past few weeks. I have been running my laptop, a boombox, iPod and fan all day, as well as a vacuum from time to time. It has been working very well, and with the solar charging, it could go on indefinitely until either the sun stopped shining or the battery reached the end of its life (5 to 7 years is the expected battery life).

XPower and Kyocera solar panel

So, thank you for your patience, and I will have the full post to you all shortly.

Isaac

[Via the Official Google Blog]

On Friday we made our first direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project — two wind farms that generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to power more than 55,000 homes. These wind farms, developed by NextEra Energy Resources, harness power from one of the world’s richest wind resources in the North Dakota plains and use existing transmission capacity to deliver clean energy to the region, reducing the use of fossil fuels. Through this $38.8 million investment, we’re aiming to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy — in a way that makes good business sense, too.

A clear windy day at the Ashtabula II wind farm

To reach a clean energy future, we need three things: effective policy, innovative technology and smart capital. Through our philanthropic arm Google.org, we’ve been pushing for energy policies that strengthen the innovation pipeline, and we’ve been dedicating resources to developing new technologies, including making investments in early-stage renewable energy companies such as eSolar and AltaRock. Smart capital includes not only these early-stage company investments, but also dedicated funding for utility-scale projects. To tackle this need, we’ve been looking at investments in renewable energy projects, like the one we just signed, that can accelerate the deployment of the latest clean energy technology while providing attractive returns to Google and more capital for developers to build additional projects.

We’re excited about this first project investment because it uses some of the latest wind turbine technology and control systems to provide one of the lowest-cost sources of renewable energy to the local grid. The turbines can continuously adjust the individual blade pitch angles to achieve optimal efficiency and use larger blades with 15 percent more swept area than earlier generations, allowing capture of even more wind energy for each turbine. The control systems for these wind farms are also advanced and dynamic, allowing for remote 24/7 monitoring and operation to ensure maximum turbine up-time and power production. A couple of us got a chance to climb 80 meters up one of the 113 turbines to see firsthand how the rotating blade motion goes through a gearbox to turn the generator that makes the electricity. The climb to the top also provided a great view of the entire wind farm (don’t worry — we all had harnesses and turned the turbine off!).

My colleague Matt takes a rest after the 80-meter climb

We look forward to finding more opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects that use the latest technologies to push the envelope for delivering low cost clean energy. We’ll let you know what we find.

Everyone’s been emailing me about the recent 60 minutes report about Bloom Energy’s little silver box that will power a home for 3,000 bucks  in “5 to 10 years” and thus ruin the solar industry. Not quite. In fact, the two technologies go together remarkably well. I’ll explain why below, but first,  if you didn’t catch it on 60 Minutes, here it is:

So do fuel cells like Bloom Energy mean that solar is soon to be a dinosaur technology like coal powered plants? Not at all, and here’s a bunch of reasons why:

• First of all, as you’ll note in this brief report, a little Bloom box does not work by itself. It needs an outside fuel source. That fuel source can be fossil fuels like dirty coal or cleaner natural gas, or, as stated in this report at about 8 minutes in, renewable energy such as solar.
• Second, as noted in this report, the Bloom Box is still in its experimental phase. There are still kinks to be worked out, and there’s long term history to show that it will last 25 years. Solar has been around since the 1950’s and has a great, reliable track record.
• Solar is ready now, today. According this 60 minutes report, even if all the kinks were worked out, you’re still not going to see a Bloom box in your house for 5 to 10 years. Maybe longer.
• Solar, you can have tomorrow. Then, when and if the Bloom Energy box becomes available for your home or business, you can use your solar panels as the fuel source. [from Calfinder "K.R. Sridhar himself told 60 Minutes that the Box could run off solar power (although if you watch the segment you may notice choppy editing which likely eliminated some caveats from being aired to “sexy up” the piece). Whether it can run on solar or not, the Bloom Box cannot be the renewable resource the hype would have us believe without being connected to some other power source, like solar power."]
• Finally, if you wait for the Bloom Box, you’re going to continue polluting, as well as losing money to the ever rising utility rates. And what if 5 to 10 years from now, all of the Bloom boxes go bust for some unexpected reason, and they never develop a residential system? You’ve waited for nothing. You’ve lost 5 to 10 years of energy savings for well meaning, but failed device. Because there’s no question the solar will be there. The Bloom box…not so certain.

Honest, we want Bloom to succeed because it’s good for the planet, plus solar can be its fuel source. So, it’s a win-win. But as I said, solar is ready and available now. It’s also clean and affordable now, thanks to local and federal rebates.

Even better, check out if there’s a solar group purchasing program available in your area. Some of the latest ones are in Northern New Jersey, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Antonio, Texas.

Find out if solar is right for you now, then check out Bloom Energy later.

Via Solar Power Rocks

by John Williams, Solar Panels Plus

December 18, 2009 – A successful solar photovoltaic installation is one in which the customer is happy and has received what was expected. Some would say that a proper installation is the first step. While a proper installation is of crucial importance, the most important first steps usually occur during the selling process where information is gathered, a proposal is generated and where the customer expectations are set.

In order to properly set and manage customer’s expectations, a certain amount of customer education is required. Many times a solar salesperson will avoid some of the technical detail if he or she believes the customer may not be interested or not be technically astute enough to understand. Also, some salespeople may often omit what they consider borderline requirements or specify less capable equipment in order to have the lowest bid and win the sale. In situations where any of the above occurs, the likelihood of an unhappy customer situation is increased. It is far better to cover everything up-front and risk losing the sale, than it is to make the sale and later have to apologize and explain important information after the fact.

A good first step is to explain to the customer how solar panels are rated and how efficiency is related to the larger picture. Once a customer (and the salesperson!) understands this basic information, most of the additional information that we will recommend sharing will be more easily understood.

Rating

Solar PV panels are rated in Watts-peak. This means for example, a solar panel rated as “200W” really means that (±3-5%) this is the maximum or peak instantaneous wattage that can be produced under STC (standard test conditions). STC assumes several important factors that are not always present at a specific customer location. STC is stated to be a condition where the panel temperature is 25°C (77°F) and where the panel is perpendicular to the sun, and where the sunlight conditions produce 1000W/m² of insolation (direct sunlight). A 200W panel will not produce 200Wh (watt-hours) each hour all day long, rather, it will produce up to 200Wh per each hour of full strength insolation. In many parts of the US, the adjusted hours of insolation will be between 5-6 hours per day in the summer, and 3-4 hours per day in the winter. The table at right provides a snapshot of insolation values for a few major US cities.

Efficiency

The efficiency of a PV panel is often misunderstood and misused in the sales process. A “high efficiency” panel is usually not the best value for the customer. Efficiency of a typical poly- or multicrystalline silicon PV panel may be in the range of 14%-16%. Efficiency of a more expensive monocrystalline panel will usually be in the range of 15%-18%. Some very expensive panels are reaching the 22% range. At a practical level, efficiency only affects (in a relatively small way) the amount of roof-space that a panel will need. For example, 200W panel at 14% efficiency will take up about the same amount of roof space as a 210W panel at 15% efficiency, but at a lower cost/W. In most cases, the customer’s cost/W is the more important factor; the best cost/W will be found in the lower efficiency ranges.

Power production

When a PV system does not produce the expected amount of power, the cause is often traceable to the original system specifications and design that were proposed during the sales process.

Most power production problems seem to occur not as a result of faulty installation, but rather as a result of faulty expectations or faulty design. These kinds of problems are mostly created during the specifications and design phase leading up to the sales proposal, and are most often the result of cost-cutting mixed with an effort to indulge the customer’s aesthetic considerations, without full disclosure of the ramifications. The customer doesn’t want the panels on the front of the house (which is the south-facing, best location), for example, or says “it looks better over there” — right where a telephone pole casts a small shadow that travels across the row of panels every afternoon as the sun moves (of course the pole can’t be removed).

Partial shading of a panel or string of panels can dramatically reduce the performance of the array. Within each panel, if a single cell is shaded, its lowered performance will cause a bottleneck effect that lowers the output of all other cells to match it. Within a string of panels, a shaded or partly shaded panel has the same bottleneck effect on all other panels.

Mismatched orientation causes the same effect. If some of the panels in a string face in different directions or have differing tilt angles, all of other panels in the string will drop production in real time to match the lowest performing panel of the moment. There must be a separate string used for each angle and tilt used.

It is important to show the customer much more than the rated output peak of the system. It’s far better to do a conservative calculation of average output considering all of the factors including temperature, sun angles, transient shading, inverter inefficiencies, etc. A proper calculation will ultimately be confirmed by measured production just a surely as an overstated capability will be noticed and challenged.

There are many other sales and preliminary design issues that must be considered, like string sizing, inverter selection, logging and monitoring capability, cosmetics and aesthetics, tax credit and rebate issues (and surprises). We hope to address many of these topics in future articles.

John Williams is COO of Solar Panels Plus, 533 Byron Street, Suite E, Chesapeake, VA 23320 USA; ph.: 1-757-549-1494, e-mail: jwilliams@solarpanelsplus.com

.via Solar PV installations: Beyond “measure twice, cut once” – Photovoltaics World.