- Advocating 'Soft Energy' – Amory Lovins foresees a green Hawai'i
Amory Lovins, cofounder of the influential Rocky Mountain Institute, spurred Mauians to think differently about energy at the fourth Dowling Company, Inc. sponsored Focus Green Lecture on March 18, at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's McCoy Studio Theater. Lovins is a leading proponent of "soft energy"-meaning using renewable energy resources instead of depleting finite resources. He has consistently argued for environmental protection as a path to prosperity: clean and renewable power, hybrid cars and green building industries all create jobs.
Positive Energy – A legislative look at renewable energy bills
A little more than two months ago, the 2008 Hawai'i legislative session began with great fanfare about the importance of local renewable energy sources. House Speaker Calvin Say and others brought attention to our state's over-dependence on imported fuels, and the opportunities to bolster our economy by keeping our energy dollars in the state with renewable energy incentives. Now it's crunch time at the legislature, and particularly for some important energy initiatives.
Clearing the Air: Wind Power and Reliability
Wind power is currently supplying 48 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually in the U.S., powering the equivalent of over 4.5 million homes. Wind power is an important part of electric utility generation portfolios. Yet some question whether wind power, being a variable resource (meaning it generates electricity when the wind is blowing, not on demand) can be relied upon as part of a system that provides reliable electricity to consumers without interruption. Based on a growing body of analytical and operational experience, the answer is a resounding "yes."
PUC increases limits for renewable energy
The move is expected to increase the excess energy fed back into the grid by customers. Residents and businesses with electrical generators powered by renewable sources, such as solar or wind energy, will be allowed to generate more power under a recent ruling by the Public Utilities Commission. The ruling doubles the limit on net energy metering generators to 100 kilowatts for customers on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. Current limits of 50 kilowatts remain for Kauai.
India's Tata backs air-power car
An engineer has promised that within a year he will start selling a car in India that runs on compressed air, producing no emissions at all in towns. The project is being backed by the Indian conglomerate, Tata for an undisclosed sum. It says the technology may also be used for power generation.
The car will be driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fibre tanks. The tanks, built into the chassis, can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes - much quicker than a battery car. Alternatively, it can be plugged into the mains for four hours and an on-board compressor will do the job.
Ocean of energy – Three wave turbines are planned for Maui waters
Waves near the surfing area known as Jaws, just off Pauwela Point on Maui's northern coast, would be used to generate enough electricity to power about 1,600 homes on the Valley Isle. The plan was announced yesterday by state officials and executives from Oceanlinx, an Australian renewable energy company. The company now is performing preliminary site work, such as environmental assessments, and expects to have the generators in place by 2009.
Shell joins in Hawaii algae biofuels venture
A Hawai'i-based research firm and oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC are forming a joint venture with the ambitious goal of developing an alternative to petroleum-based fuels by growing algae on the Big Island and converting it into a biofuel. Barry Raleigh, retired dean of the University of Hawai'i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, is heading the local company. Raleigh said the technology to convert algae into an alternative to diesel and other fuels has been around for years, but that his company is hoping to find an inexpensive way to produce the fuel.
Waterwheel invention promises cheap electricity
It's a mechanical problem that's troubled scientists since Archimedes and the ancient Greeks but now an electrician has come up with a new invention that could help save consumers thousands of pounds in energy bills. Scotsman Ian Gilmartin, 60, and his friend Bob Cattley, 58, both from Kendal, Cumbria have invented a mini-waterwheel capable of supplying enough electricity to power a house - for free. The contraption is designed to be used in small rivers or streams - ideal for potentially thousands of homes across Britain. It is the first off-the-shelf waterwheel system which can generate a good supply of electricity from a water fall as little as 20cm.
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- Renewable not the same as sustainable
As Maui rushes to embrace alternative energy, a local group has formed to push a bottom-up approach to sustainability. Kelly King, who put together the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance, presented it to about 20 people at a meeting of the Kahului Kiwanis Club this week. At the heart of her view is the distinction between "renewable" and "sustainable."
"Renewable energy isn't always sustainable. People are starting to figure that out," King said.
A Glimpse of the Energy Future
"If we continue to construct the same kind of inefficient buildings that put high demands on the power grid, we will have to build additional supply-side infrastructure to serve them. What we need is to fundamentally change the way we approach the construction and operation of our buildings. If done right, we, as a nation, can have our cake and eat it too."
What's your energy footprint?
ChooseRenewables.com offers free evaluations of your energy usage, and can show you ways to reduce that level. Users can receive a free evaluation of potential solar and wind options they may be eligible to install at their home or business.
Vanpool seeking Maui riders, drivers
Vanpool, an ongoing program in Hawaii for 13 years, encourages commuters to car pool - except drivers don't use their own cars, receiving instead use of a van or SUV for a fee. Deputy Transportation Director Brennon Morioka, who oversees the Highways Division, urged residents who travel to and from West Maui to sign up for Vanpool or other ride-share programs.
Sierra Club information on biofuels
Karen Chun, Sierra Club Maui board member and webmaster, has put together an impressive compilation of articles and information on biofuels here. Chun also offered conservation strategies as keys to our energy sustainability.
Energy from Hot Air
Former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore has called for an "electranet" that would allow homeowners to "put up photovoltaic generators and small wind [turbines]... without any artificial caps." Unfortunately, he did not explain that Europe already practices the system he proposes, which has made countries like Denmark, Spain and Germany leaders in wind power. In fact, it has made cloudy Germany the world's solar leader, too, and its biomass sector is also booming. The U.S. could learn a lot from Europe, if we would only look.
Community Supported Energy Offers a Third Way
Although we have the necessary resources and technology to meet most of our energy needs in the future with renewable energy, until fairly recently one key strategy has, for the most part, been overlooked in North America. This strategy involves the cooperative or collaborative installation and ownership of renewable energy projects at the local, community level.
Hyrids, Biofuels and Other False Idols – What's Being Left Out of Solutions to Fossil Fuel?
Everyone from the Republicans to Democrats to major environmental groups are singing hosannas to biofuels and hybrid cars as the salvation from peak oil and global warming. Will trusting corporations to manufacture environmentally friendly cars make a dent in the world's ecological crises? Or could the "solutions" actually be making the problem worse? The question which we obviously need to address is how to improve the quality of life while decreasing the quantity of useless junk and not throwing anyone out of work. But unflinching loyalty to a growth economy prevents corporate environmentalists from searching for serious transportation options.
- Catching Waves – Rocky Mountain Institute Helps Hawaii Update Its Energy Strategy
Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism retained Rocky Mountain Institute to help them craft a Hawaii Energy Strategy for 2007. Hawaii is clearly demonstrating the potential for a state to transform its energy future, thereby increasing the security of its energy supply, lowering its energy costs, improving its environmental sustainability, and bolstering its economy.
- Energy from the motion of the ocean
A former surfer designs a buoy that can convert wave motion into electricity
If you wanted to choose the perfect location for capturing the ocean's energy, you couldn't do much better than the Oregon coast. Waves arrive there with immense power, having traveled across thousands of miles of open water with few barrier islands, reefs or other obstructions to slow them down. Some are so large that they can be tracked by Satellite days before they arrive. Starting in 2007, those massive, ceaseless waves will help light homes and businesses along the West Coast, thanks to an entrepreneur named George Taylor.
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