According to the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), the US geothermal sector was “on launch trajectory” at the start of 2009 and as the year came to a close, it was clear that the past twelve months did not disappoint the investors, environmentalists, and policymakers who have long pushed for its growth.

The GEA has released a year-end review of geothermal and offered an outlook for 2010 and beyond. Its report US Geothermal Power Production & Development Update concludes that the US geothermal industry will triple in the coming years, reaching an installed capacity of 10,000 MW, providing electricity to 10 million people in 14 states. It also emphasises how, even after this goal is reached there is still huge potential for further industry growth.

Despite the recession, geothermal energy grew at a robust pace in 2009. New projects launched in 2009increased by 46% over the previous year. $342 million were allocated for 132 projects, most of which will be completed within 2-3 years, while 750 full-time jobs and 2,827 construction-related jobs were created due to a roughly $800 million investment in the technology. With six new geothermal plants online in the United States, power capacity rose 6% during the year.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Lee Grutchfield

The idea of the self-perpetuating machine, an engine that can produce more energy than it uses, is as old as the wheel. From Galileo to Star Trek, we humans have dreamed and written of it. As architects, we are reminded of this idea when we see the houses that we are now capable of building: houses that can create their own clean energy — all that they need — light-filled homes that are comfortable, beautiful and healthy places to live.

Existing technologies and commonsense building practices allow us to build super-insulated walls and roofs, and to create renewable energy on site — and these capabilities are being used and improved upon daily. We believe that we are on the cusp of a new era of building, and here in Vermont we are leading the way.

One example of this is the South Farm development in Hinesburg, a neighborhood of six homes designed to create most of, and in some cases all of the energy they need. We would like to share with you some of the basic ideas, technologies and design practices used at South Farm, so that you too may share in this new era of building.

The site

Read the rest of this entry »

By Rick Grout

I just read an artical that it looks like China is going to clean the US’ clock on large-scale clean energy projects. But, as we all know, clean energy doesn’t need to be from (super) large projects to provide people with power. In fact, that is one of the hopes many of us have, that “power” will be more decentralized.

However, something that would combine those two approaches — large-scale, centralized power and small-scale, decentralized projects — might be ideal, providing the best advantages of both approaches. That’s exactly what large-scale distributed energy power purchase agreements do.

Additionally, it looks like they are here!

Recurrent Energy and Southern California Edison (SCE) signed an agreement today to have SCE buy 100% of the energy from three Recurrent Energy solar power projects.

The three projects that Recurrent Energy is building will be in Kern County and San Bernardino County and will have a peak output of 50 MW in total. Two projects will have a peak output of 22 MW and one will have a peak output of 6 MW. They should all be completed by 2013 and construction is expected to begin in 2012.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Rick Grout

For the 5th year in a row, China has doubled its installed wind power capacity. Wind power capacity in the world grew 31% in 2009.

The Global Wind Energy Council released a report on new global wind power statistics this week and these are some of its main findings.

In total, 37.5 GW of wind power were added in 2009, bringing total worldwide installations up to 157.9 GW. One third of these new installations were in China.

The US, despite projections that wind power would drop due to the recession, continued to see growth and remains on top in total installed capacity (but who knows for how long).

“The continued rapid growth of wind power despite the financial crisis and economic downturn is testament to the inherent attractiveness of the technology, which is clean, reliable and quick to install. Wind power has become the power technology of choice [for] a growing number of countries around the world,” said Steve Sawyer, GWEC’s Secretary General. “Copenhagen didn’t bring us any closer to a global price on carbon, but wind energy continued to grow due to national energy policy in our main markets and also because many governments in [sic] prioritised renewable energy development in their economic recovery plans.”

The global market for wind turbine installations was worth about $63 billion (€45 billion) in 2009 and employs about half a million people now, GWEC estimates.

Top Countries in 2009
1) US: 35.2 GW of installed capacity (up from 25.2 GW in 2008, 26.5% increase)
2) Germany: 25.8 GW of installed capacity (up from 23.9 GW in 2008, 5.1% increase)
3) China: 25.1 GW of installed capacity (up from 12.1 GW in 2008, 34.7% increase)
4) Spain: 19.1 GW of installed capacity (up from 16.7 GW in 2008, 6.6% increase)
5) India: 10.9 GW of installed capacity (up from 9.7 GW in 2008, 3.4% increase

Rinnai Corporation, manufacturer of the No. 1 selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in North America, is proud to announce that four products from its energy-efficient, lifestyle-enhancing portfolio are featured in the HGTV Dream Home 2010. Located in Sandia Park, N.M., the HGTV Dream Home 2010 showcases superior home technologies as well as high-style decor. Rinnai’s Q205S condensing wall-mounted boiler (http://www.rinnai.us/boilers/), RC98HPi condensing tankless water heater and R75LSi tankless water heaters provide energy-efficient home heating and water heating to the HGTV Dream Home, while two of the company’s Impression (TM) outdoor fireplaces (http://www.rinnai.us/fireplaces/outdoor) bring a sense of character to the home’s extensive patio areas. In addition, as a celebration of the company’s third consecutive year sponsoring the HGTV Dream Home, Rinnai is hosting a “Win a Tankless (http://www.rinnai.us/hgtv-dream-home-2010/)” online sweepstakes for consumers. The company is giving away one tankless water heater each week through Feb. 19 at http://www.rinnai.us/hgtv-dream-home-2010.

Read the rest of this entry »