Is it true that the wealthy elites do not want you to go solar?
In the interview with Brendan Fischer, General Counsel of Center For Media and Democracy, Screwed News reporter commented, there is a new solar power installation every 3 minutes in United States (according to SEIA, Solar Energy Industry Association) and much of the growth of solar power is on the local level. The above is a candid discussion in why and how individual rooftop solar is seen as a threat to the centralized production business model and therefore has been running into much resistance. More in-depth discussion on various topics pertaining to distributed individual rooftop solar may be obtained from Institute For Local Self-Reliance.(such as Walton Family Undermining Rooftop Solar, ILSR Finds, Energy Self Reliant States.) As we progress from an outdated centralized utility model into a new age of more distributed and greater local self-reliant model, be it applied to power generation or broadband, I encourage any one and every one to increase understanding how important local self-reliance in these matters is. I would further implore those truly interested in the future of solar/renewable energy to have better understanding of Value of Solar, for this is a much more fair and efficient way to distribute power than Net Metering. For better understanding of Value of Solar, please refer to these posts below:
Recall our previous post on The Current World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm, On London’s Queen Elizabeth II’s Reservoir, and the fact that the British may still have the largest floating solar farm in Europe by 2018, but the title for the World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm may soon be replaced by the Japanese floating reservoir (the floating array on Yamakura Dam) with twice the size of Queen Elizabeth II reservoir, in 2018.
The floating array on Yamakura Dam in Chiba Prefecture (Southeast of Tokyo), will measure 180,000 sq meters and 13.7 MW, upon completion. Since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Japan has created a number of solar farms on water as it has turned away from nuclear power, and land is in short supply. Considering the desirability of reducing evaporation from the reservoir through having solar panels above and cooling of the solar panels from water below, the concept of floating solar farm is simply a Win-Win phenomenon! In the case with a dam, there is also the added appeal in taking care of the solar intermittent energy source by using power generated from the dam.
In a joint venture, Kyocera Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation announced that Kyocera TCL Solar LLC has started construction of the world’s largest*1 13.7 megawatt (MW) floating solar power plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir, managed by the Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture in Japan for industrial water services.
Rendering of the 13.7MW plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir (photo credit: Kyocera)
The Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture publicly sought companies to construct and operate a floating solar power plant to help reduce environmental impact in October, 2014. Scheduled for launch in FY2018 (fiscal year ending March 31, 2018), the plant will be comprised of approximately 51,000 Kyocera modules installed over a fresh water surface area of 180,000 sq meters. The project will generate an estimated 16,170 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, enough electricity to power approximately 4,970 typical households. This would offset about 8,170 tons of CO2 emissions annually. This is equal to 19,000 barrels of oil consumed.
Thames water EU’s and World’s (as of April, 2016) largest floating solar farm QE-press-release credit Thames water
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A quick note to let you know that the currently (as of April, 2016) World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm/Panel Array had been installed on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir, near Walton-on-Thames, as part of Thames Water’s goal to self-generate a third of its own energy by 2020. The array features 23,046 solar panels and measures 57,500 sq meters ( or 618,925 sq ft). The reservoir is run by Thames Water. The solar farm is funded and operated by Ennoviga Solar and Lightsource Renewable Energy. The low carbon, solar energy produced will be used to power the nearby water treatment works to help reduce the power bills for drinking water. It will have a total installed peak capacity of 6.3 megawatts and is expected to generate 5.8 million kilowatt hours in its first year – equivalent to the annual consumption of around 1,800 homes.
Thames Water’s energy manager, Angus Berry said: “Becoming a more sustainable business is integral to our long term strategy and this innovative new project brings us one step closer to achieving our goal – this is the right thing for our customers, the right thing for our stakeholders and most importantly the right thing for the environment.”
The advantage of a floating array is the fact that the water would provide the welcomed benefit of cooling the solar arrays, in addition to not taking up space from agricultural area.
The British may still have the largest floating solar farm in Europe by 2018, but the title for the World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm may soon be replaced by the Japanese floating reservoir (the floating array on Yamakura Dam) with twice the size of Queen Elizabeth II reservoir in 2018.
The floating array on Yamakura Dam in Chiba Prefecture, will measure 180,000 sq meters and 13.7 MW, upon completion. Since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Japan has created a number of solar farms on water as it has turned away from nuclear power, and land is in short supply. Considering the desirability of reducing evaporation from the reservoir through having solar panels above and cooling of the solar panels from water below, the concept of floating solar farm is simply a Win-Win phenomenon!
This is a repost from one of the recent posts of Windermere Sun (www.WindermereSun.com).
Reason I am posting/reposting this piece is because almost all of our satellites currently in operation are powered by Solar Panels.
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Falcon 9 First Stage Landing (credit: SpaceX)
Falcon 9 Launch and Landing Streak (credit: SpaceX)
The Launch (credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX-Launch_of_Falcon_9_carrying_ORBCOMM_OG2-M1
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Falcon 9 Launched and Landed Successfully on Atlantic Ship on May 6, 2016, From Cape Canaveral, While Observing the 4R’s (Recycle-Reuse-Repair-Reduce).
Out of his concern for the future of mankind and desire to reduce the risk of human extinction , reduce the cost of space transportation, and making human life multiplanetary possible via setting up a human colony on Mars, Elon Musk became the founder, CEO and CTO of SpaceX .
Of the three successful landings and recoveries post-launch of Falcon 9 within the past one and half year (Dec. of 2015, April of 2016, and May 6 of 2016), May 6, 2016 is the second time the rocket has landed intact on the ship ( Falcon 9 landed on the floating drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean).
SpaceX-Falcon 9 first stage on an ASDS barge after the first successful landing at sea
During May 6, 2016 Falcon 9 mission, a Japanese communication satellite is sent to a very high orbit above Earth (aka geostationary transfer orbit) despite the fact that the rocket is subjected to extreme velocities and re-entry heating, making it difficult to have a successful landing. But shortly after the launch, SpaceX confirmed that not only did Falcon 9 make a perfect landing, but it deployed its satellite correctly.
SpaceX will continue to attempt to land the rocket at sea/ocean for its next few launches (about two third of its overall launches) because it is safer and requires less fuel than landing on land (explained below):
Few more videos and reports of Falcon 9 launch and landing of May 6, 2016, below:
An in-depth summary report about Elon Musk and his SpaceX, below:
For a better understanding of SpaceX’s achievements: SpaceX’s achievements include the first privately funded, liquid-propellant rocket (Falcon 1) to reach orbit, in 2008; the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft (Dragon), in 2010; and the first private company to send a spacecraft (Dragon) to the ISS, in 2012. The launch of SES-8, in 2013, was the first SpaceX delivery into geosynchronous orbit, while the launch of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), in 2015, was the company’s first delivery beyond Earth orbit. On December 21, 2015, SpaceX successfully returned a first stage back to the launch site and accomplished a vertical landing, the first such accomplishment by a rocket on an orbitaltrajectory. On April 8, 2016, with the launch of CRS-8, SpaceX successfully vertically landed a first stage on an ocean drone platform and delivered Dragon to Low Earth Orbit. On May 6, 2016, SpaceX again landed a first stage, but on a geostationary transfer mission, another first.
Below is a video of Elon Musk discussing successful landing at CRS-8 press conference in April of 2016. Now, SpaceX/Falcon 9 has successfully done it (landed at sea on the ship) again! The future is more certain.
Furthermore, SpaceX is able to reduce the cost of the design and therefore cost of the space transport through a reusable launch system. A reusable launch system (RLS, or reusable launch vehicle, RLV) is a launch system which is capable of launching a payload into space more than once. This contrasts with expendable launch systems, where each launch vehicle is launched once and then discarded. No completely reusable orbital launch system is currently in use. The closest example was the partially reusable Space Shuttle. The orbiter, which included the Space Shuttle main engines, and the two solid rocket boosters, were reused after several months of refitting work for each launch. The external tank and launch vehicle load framewere discarded after each flight. However, several at least partially reusable systems are currently under development, such as the Falcon 9 full thrust (first stage).
Hurray For Elon and His Team For Ushering In the 4R’s: Recycle-Reuse-Repair-Reduce into 21st Century Space Exploration! Hurray For Elon and His Team For Bringing Back Our Hope and Enthusiasm For Space Exploration Again!
