Remember that marvelous trip we took to Australia last October (2011) for Veolia World Solar Challenge: photos and video clips can be found in October 31, 2011 post of http://sunisthefuture.net : Wrapping Up Veolia World Solar Challenge. In particular, Sun Is The Future had taken the opportunity of being in Adelaide, Australia, to interview various teams in the World Solar Challenge, and one of which was the German Hochschule Bochum Solar Car Team’s BO GT ( I will affectionately call it BO GT for the remaining of this article).
Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 BO GT (Germany) Bochum University of Applied Sciences (photographed by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
The interview with the German BO GT of Hochshule Bochum Solar Car team leader at Victoria Square at Adelaide, Australia, on Oct. 23, 2011, at Veiolia World Solar Challenge 2011 is available at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpkXy2-Ig2U and the Arrival of Hochschule Bochum Solar Car Team’s BO GT (Germany) at Victoria Square of WSC 2011 at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3DFWlxu4hs. BO GT culminates the experience from the “Solar World No. 1” and “BOcruiser”;this is one of the few participating cars that containsgallium arsenide solar cells/PV as part of its design whereas most of other entries had only silicon solar cells/PV. BO GT had two seats and curvature that is more closely resembling a commuter car. These German university students had also put on a great show for us by shouting out “Who wants a beer” to demonstrate their carrying capacity (of beers, of course) and their ritual of “burning rubber/tires” at the end of their arrival ( by lifting up the front of their car and proceeded to spin the front/drive wheels, then they slowly lowered the front of the car until the front/drive wheels made contact with the ground and smoke appears…a true performance that stimulates sound-sight-smell.)
Little did I know, that was not the end of their performance ! With the help from international companies such as SolarWorld, DHL, and BASF, these thirty engineering students from Bochum University of Applied Sciences planned, budgeted, organized, and constructed the worldwide unique educational research project: CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE WORLD IN SOLAR CAR;this demonstrated the performance ability and suitability for daily use of vehicles with lightweight solar design and high energy efficiency under real life conditions. To keep up with the Current Position of BO GT , the Schedule/Stages of BO GT, for a look at the of Diary of BO GT, BO GT Team, BO GT videos, BO GT photo gallery, BO GT Races, during this Circumnavigation of the World Journey. Without further ado, I’d like to share the video clip below, of parts of the journey taken by this wonderfully energized group of future/current engineers, bringing forth the hope and dream for all of us solar enthusiasts:
I sure hope that I’ll be able to meet up with them some time later this year to hear more of their stories and share their enthusiasm for the future outlook of solar energy. If you should have any questions, comments or suggestions that you’d like to direct toward BO GT team members or share some stories with them along their journey, here is their contact information.
Friends & Readers, those of you who is/are either residing in or know of some one residing in China, please be sure to show your hospitality (or ask your friends to show their hospitality) to BO GT team members (they are arriving in China in July, 2012) for they are carrying the torch for our solar future in the renewable energy age! Thank you!
Until I meet them again, ~I wish them all a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
For those of you interested in the final results, after re-examination of the solar kilometers actually traveled, and the issue of protest, I am posting the exact quotes (bold print) from www.worldsolarchallenge.org for your perusal, followed by two links (one is of the pre-examination results and one is of the post-examination).
Teams not able to maintain a reasonable minimum speed are invited to maximise their experience in the event by running their solarcar for a few hours each day before moving their car forward in their truck or on their trailer. The rules surrounding this exercise allow a great deal of flexibility in their application to enable the particular circumstances and the conditions to be taken into consideration.
The finalisation of the results was delayed mostly by the contention of one team who, so desperate to show their sponsors a clean finish, demanded recognition of a place the number of irregularities involved denied them.
A small number of teams questioned the number of solar kilometres attributed to them so the decision was taken to audit all the log books where these are recorded in the team log by the Observer (which the team manager should sign at the end of each day) and transmitted to Mission Control for incorporation into the overall results.
Interesting errors such as trailered Km being substituted for Solar Km, and solar credits being given to Control Points instead of actual distance covered were discovered and the complications of this event outlined earlier led to some interesting arithmetic from some Observers! Some gained from the exercise, others not. The figures have now been checked and cross checked with the result that we are now able to verify the Official Record and present the final results.
Please note that there are some changes in rankings and km/solar distance traveled for various teams after the 7th position.
Again, I would like to implore you all to refer/read my post of Nov. 3, 2011, http://sunisthefuture.net/?m=20111103 and let’s remind ourselves the spirit of World Solar Challenge is that of discovery and learning from our experiences/lessons.
Human interest and lessons learned will follow….
~have a bright & sunny day~
written & posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://sunisthefuture.net
Any comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
This post may had been prepared/written earlier than the day it appears, but right after the finish of the Veolia World Solar Challenge (world solar car race of twenty countries, 3021 km (1877 mi) between Darwin, Australia, to Angle Vale (official finish line) and Adelaide (ceremonial finish line), Australia, and thirty-seven solar cars) I had to fly to a location/ country where my internet access was not very convenient (it kept on being disconnected whenever I tried to write). However, I was able to load up various video clips onto youtube and I hope many of you have been enjoying these videos about the Veolia World Solar Challenge of 2011. I understand one of you from Netherland is trying to gather as much information about the race as possible. Since this is my first time covering Veolia World Solar Challenge, or WSC (and only had time and budget for the start and end of the race), I hope these photos I took and video clips I uploaded (and filmed by Mike) to youtube will help to meet part of your need. I promise you in two years (next Veolia World Solar Challenge) more detailed coverage about the scrutineering process (before the race) and events along the race will be included. Please keep in mind that the goal and focus of this World Solar Challenge is to increase greater awareness and education for our future generations in application of solar energy in cars and to stimulate greater interest in math, science, and engineering. The emphasis is both in how far and how fast (rather than just how fast) these solar cars can go using energy from the sun. As a matter of fact, part of the rule this year had actually restricted total surface area of the solar cells to 6 sq m and of which only 3 sq m can be of GaAs (gallium arsenide) so to even the playing field. Facility is available if a solar car needs to be “trailered” when insufficient sunshine is available for the duration of the race. This year, due to the extra challenges of cloudiness, rain, and bush fire, only about 7 out of 37 solar cars were able to finish the course completely using solar energy. The atmosphere at WSC is friendly and encouraging rather than fiercely competitive. One finds this to be true either in the scrutineering process (insuring safety of drivers/pilots and those around), tracking of the timing (please refer to: http://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/files/318_2011_veolia_world_solar_challenge_provisional_results_pending_protests.pdf), or in the finish presentation (ritual dip in the Victoria Fountain by all teams (those that were not too shy or too cold) at the end of the race or not so ritual “burning rubber” of the German team). Finally, I’d like to take my hat off to Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 team for being able to pull off a race of this magnitude (involving solar cars from twenty countries) with mostly volunteers working together to make this race work. Running an organization composed of mostly volunteers is not the same as running a normal company (I’ve had experience in both and believe me, running an organization composed mostly of volunteers is not easy!). So, if any of you out there with good ideas (to help improve the solar car race), funding, or time to volunteer, perhaps you’d like to contact Mr. Chris Selwood (leader and rightful owner of Veolia World Solar Challenge) and/or the organization at http://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/contact_us For the ease and convenience of our readers’ pleasures, there are written descriptions for these solar cars with each of the youtube video clip of the interviews for its team members. So please be sure to read (click on “Show more” at each youtube clip) about the descriptions for these solar cars. I tried to take photograph and to interview as many of the participating solar cars of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 as possible, but due to time constraint, please forgive me if I missed any one. With regard to all the video interviews at youtube, if any of the interviewees’ names is either misspelled or not mentioned, please feel free to contact me at sunisthefuture@gmail.com so I can make the necessary modification. Below, you will find links to our youtube clips/interviews with various teams and photographs of these solar cars. Keep in mind that these videos and photos pertaining to Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 are under Creative Commons as long as you would attribute it/them to Sun Is The Future at http://sunisthefuture.net There will be more posts on human interest stories and lessons learned regarding Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 later.
Nuon Solar Team’s Nuna 6 (Netherlands), 2nd Winning Team that arrived at Adelaide, Australia
9. Arrival of Nuna 6 of Nuon Solar Team (Netherlands), Second Winning Team of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011, at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdNZei5kJmw
University of Michigan’s Quantum (USA), 3rd Winning Team that arrived at Adelaide, Australia
11. Arrival of Quantum of University of Michigan (USA), Top Third Winning Team of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011, at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E6yO30-5Q8
12. Interview with Ashiya University (Japan) Solar Car Project’s Ashiya Sky Ace V team (4th car that arrived) member at Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtkKA2MKyYs
Ashiya University Solar Car Project’s Ashiya Sky Ace V (Japan), 4th Winning Team arriving at Adelaide, Australia
MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team’s Chopper Del Sol (USA)
25. Interview with MIT’s Chopper Del Sol (USA) team member minutes before the beginning of the race at Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8r2rVpfnEM
If you are in favor of renewable, clean, or solar energy, please sign this petition for FIT/CLEAN Program, accessible at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1065Thank you very much.
Despite his busy schedule during the Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011, Mr. Chris Selwood managed to squeeze in a terrific interview with Sun Is The Future, so to enable our readers to have a better understanding of the history and purpose behind Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011. Mr. Selwood is a man of positive energy, enthusiasm, and vision. He was previously seen in our footage as the Master of Ceremony on Oct. 16, 2011, at the Open Ceremony of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 in Darwin, Australia (in front of the Parliament House), and the voice behind the announcement as each and every one of the solar cars pulled in to the Victoria Square (the ceremonial finish line) of Adelaide, Australia. He deserves a great round of applause from all of us who have participated/viewed/reported in/on Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 for he had brought energy and vision to all of our hopes in the future for solar energy. Without further ado, here we have Mr. Chris Selwood:
written, interviewed, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com, filmed by Michael Nunamaker
Homepage: http://sunisthefuture.net
Any comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
If you are in favor of renewable, clean, or solar energy, please sign this petition for FIT/CLEAN Program, accessible at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1065Thank you very much.
Continuing on with our top three winning teams arriving at Victoria Square in Adelaide, Australia, Quantum team members of University of Michigan of USA presented us with Michigan’s eleventh generation car by completely revamping its design strategy. The team was able to take off 200 lbs from the previous vehicle weight and reduced the aerodynamic drag significantly. Combining the engineering improvements and smart driving strategy, with a strong family members’ support, it is no wonder that this team is widely recognized as the best team in North America and being able to come in as one of the top three winning teams in the Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E6yO30-5Q8 The positive energy of these three top teams’ members is palpable as they all hopped into the Victoria Fountain, in full exuberance. I even caught one of the University of Michigan team members’ successful attempt at reaching the top of the fountain on film, seen in one of the photos below, along with an interview with one of the female members and driver of the team, Rachel Kramer (yes, there are female drivers/pilots in Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 !):
written & posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
If you are in favor of renewable, clean, or solar energy, please sign this petition for FIT/CLEAN Program, accessible at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1065Thank you very much.
On Friday of Oct. 21, 2011, around 10:15 A.M., the enthusiastic crowd waited for arrival of Nuna 6 of Nuon Solar Team (Netherland) and Quantum of University of Michigan (USA), at the Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia. As Nuna 6 was seen coming down King William St., gradually approaching Victoria Square, the crowd no longer contains themselves and started banging on the plastic advertising bulletins…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdNZei5kJmwfor they knew that Nuna 6 and Quantum had already arrived at the official finish line, Angle Vale, the day before at 2:12 P.M. and 3:55 P.M., respectively, but decided to reach for the ceremonial finish line, Victoria Square, today (Oct. 21, 2011).
As Nuna 6 lands on the equivalent of its red carpet, but dark grey in this case, reporting crews and the crowd swarms toward this marvelous solar vehicle of reliability and efficiency. Every step of its progression reflects its vision of teamwork, from its supporting members carrying and laying down the flag of Netherland on the hood of this winning car, to the hugs and handshakes fellow team members giving to one another. Then came the Champaign and Ritual Dip in the Victoria Fountain. One gesture was out of the ordinary: that the Nuna 6 and Tokai Challenger 2 members started to exchange their shirts in the Victoria Fountain, symbolizing either that “we’re in this together” or “we’re all winners”. So in some of the video and photos one would find Nuon Solar Team members wearing Tokai’s blue and Tokai Challenger 2 Team members wearing Nuna’s orange.
Resistance is Futile...might as well have fun....
One of Nuon Team members may have resisted
Nuon & Tokai members in the Victoria Fountain, Adelaide, Australia
Nuon & Tokai members in each others' shirts in Victoria Fountain, Adelaide, Australia
Nuna 6 of Nuon Solar Team of World Solar Challenge 2011
Nuon (2nd Winning team of WSC 2011) arriving at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia
One thing to be certain, they were all having a great deal of fun, as evidenced in these photos. I also have uploaded an interview with one of the Nuna 6 team members/drivers above.
For a better understanding of the landscape of this beautiful country, Australia, we’re visiting, some help is obtained from Wikipedia, below:
King William Street passes through the square making a diamond shape with the southbound carriageway passing through the east side, and the northbound carriageway passing through the west side of the square. The square is bisected by a piece of road (technically part of the square) that connects Wakefield Street(entering from the east) with Grote Street (to the west). A tram stop (formerly the terminus) for the Glenelg Tram is in the southern part of the square; it was shifted from the center to the western edge of the square on 6 August 2007, as part of the extension that was made to the tram line around that time.
written and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Now, here is the report you’ve been waiting for, the first day of the Veolia World Solar Challenge of 2011, Sunday, October 16, 2011. Some of the thirty-seven teams started to arrive in front of the Parliament House in Darwin, Australia, as early as 5:30 A.M. Even though official post indicated that the race is expected to begin at 10:00 A.M., I found out from the WSC (World Solar Challenge) few days ahead that individual solar cars would most likely be taking off around 8:30 A.M. So hubby Mike and I got up around 6:00 A.M. and dragged our camera and tripod in front of the Parliament House by 7:00 A.M. The following footage I uploaded to youtube actually started around 8:30 A.M. as Mr. Chris Selwood (speaker in the footage who is also the leader and rightful owner to this event) did a wonderful job introducing each and every one of these scifi-ish entry as they glided by him on the way to the starting point.
In this open ceremony footage, the person waiving the flag near the starting point is Minster Gerry McCarthy (Minister of Transport of Northern Territory of Australia). This is such a friendly competition that one can sense that the crowd is rooting for each and every one of the entrants to be able to complete their journey of passing through a variety of different ecosystems (from deserts to temperate forests and tropical climates) while reaching for the sun’s energy. As we’ve discovered the day before during another interview with the Singapore’s Nanyang Technologcial University,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orKZfIGojiA, the whole process of scrutineering mainly focused on the safety of all involved and the judges tried their best to help all entries to meet the standard.
These thirty-seven teams of solar cars have come from twenty countries. To see a few of them below:
Socrat Istanbul University's Astay (Turkey)
Tokai University's Tokai Challenger, under cover (Japan), a strong contender
University of Waterloo's Midnight Sun X (Canada)
University of Tehran's Persian Gazelle II (Iran)
University of Chile's Eolian 2 (Chile)
Umicore's Umivore (Belgium), with concentrated solar cells
Onda Solare's Emilia 2 (Italy)
Eclipse Solar Car Team's Eclipse 7 (Canada)
Nanyang University's Nanyang Venture V (Singapore)
Seraaj Solar Car Team's Wahj (meaning glow) (Saudi Arabia)
Science plays an important part of the WSC. A team’s success depends on the engineering of the car and the efficiency of its solar cells. Each team has a large support crew and up to four drivers. Each driver can spend between four and six hours at a time behind the wheel and driver changes are strategically planned at control stops (extra stops may cost time and are discouraged). The fact that WSC teams are only suppose to compete between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00P.M. and then set up camp wherever they might be makes WSC more of an adventurous race rather than a competitive race, providing unique opportunity for participants to experience the outback Australia.
Some unique features of WSC are: The driver may experience cockpit temperatures up to 50 degrees C, which requires a slow and steady intake of cold water to prevent dehydration and regulate body temperature;they may also have to regularly counter-steer against strong side winds, especially in South Australia; WSC participants are only allowed to store a very small amount of energy in batteries, meaning that they are heavily reliant on the sun and that the aerodynamics of the car is more important than battery size.
All solar cars are monitored by GPS (global positioning system) during the WSC so their progress can be tracked and officials can ensure that no rule is broken. GPS uses satellites to provide location information by sending frequent messages to these satellites. So organizers can estimate their average speed and make sure it was below the limit (these solar cars need to abide by the speed limit of the road). To overcome the obstacle of the fact that many parts of the journey are without mobile phone reception, the GPS relies on marine communication satellites over the ocean, which can pick up the signal of the cars throughout the entire challenge of WSC.
More photos and videos are coming….
written & posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
For a special treat, between September 23-October 2, 2011, Sunisthefuture.net will be hosting a 10 day-3 parts series:
I. If you are in favor of renewable, clean, or solar energy, please sign this petition for FIT/CLEAN Program, accessible at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1065Thank you very much. We are at a critical juncture in human history when individual effort and participation in the transition into renewable energy age is desperately needed! Your signature will be very meaningful in helping all earthlings! For a summary of why we need to switch to power the earth with Wind-Water-Sunlight quickly, reasons are explained by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson at http://sunisthefuture.net/?m=20110731 There are more than sixteen episodes of discussions on FIT (Feed-In-Tariff/CLEAN Program) available at http://sunisthefuture.net Please feel free to read/listen to them (type in feed-in-tariff in the search box at right). Keep in mind that signing this petition only means that you are in favor of renewable energy and FIT/CLEAN Program and does not obligate you to provide any financial support. We simply want our combined voice to be heard even if we are not spending millions of lobbying dollars. We want to demonstrate that our system of democracy will work for people in all socio-economic strata. So please join us in this earthly movement by signing this petition and participating in our common goal of moving toward the renewable and solar energy age. Earthlings from any corner of the globe may participate.
II. sunisthefuture.net Awards For Solar Decathlon of 2011 (this is not the contest holding by the Department of Energy);there are three parts (you may participate in one or more than one part(s)), details and procedures explained at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1507 :
Part 1. Photo Award Part 2. Video Award Part 3. People’s Choice Award for Solar Decathlon Team of 2011
Now, I’d like to invite you to take a look at another clip of Solar Decathlon 2011 at West Potomac Park in Washington D.C.—>
III.Editorial on Why and How We Should Power Planet Earth With Sun-Water-Wind Quickly, below:
Why and How We Should Power Planet Earth With Sun-Water-Wind Quickly
(written and published by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, at sunisthefuture.net)
It is an exciting time to be alive. We earthlings may have many problems to deal with, but we are also equipped with many tools, terrific minds, and fantastic ways of communications. My thirst for solutions for earth’s energy problem combined with my online teaching jobs permitted me to travel to various places from time to time to search for answer…to seek lessons learned and wisdom gathered…. Yes, I’ve attended many lectures by many scholars who have studied the energy issue.
Today, I want to share with you a talk by Mark Z. Jacobson, Director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, available at http://sunisthefuture.net, July 31, 2011 post. Professor Jacobson started the talk by explaining what the problem we earthlings are facing today and why is there such an urgency in needing to deal with it quickly:
temperatures are rising quickly
Arctic sea ice area is decreasing quickly
air pollution mortality is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and higher temperature contributes to deaths
higher population and growing energy demand will lead to worsening air pollution and climate problems over time
This part of the talk helped me to realize that black carbon (main component of the soot particles) is also a very important factor for causing global warming, in addition to CO2 emission. Annual premature earthlings’ deaths due to particulates is about 2.5-3 million (in U.S. that is translated into 50,000-100,000 and in Europe, 300,000-350,000 annual premature deaths due to air pollution).
As any good engineer/scholar would approach a problem, Professor Jacobson did not just alarm us with problems but also evaluated possible solutions both with and without cost considerations. From reviewing and ranking major proposed energy-related solutions to global warming, air pollution mortality, and energy security, his talk also considered various impacts of the proposed solutions such as water supply, land use, resource availability, reliability, wildlife, and risk of cancer and nuclear proliferation. Some data I was not aware of in the past was presented, such as the dramatic increase of organic gases (formaldehyde, 200% and acetaldehyde, 4500%) and increased ozone generated from using ethanol. In the final analysis, with consideration of materials, transmission infrastructure, costs, and politics, Professor Jacobson concludes thatthe best way to power the world is with Wind, Water, and Solar (WWS)technologies.
By 2030, the cost of using fossil fuel (13.5c/kWh) will be higher than using WWS (8-13 c/kWh) technologies. Using WWS technologies will also eliminate 2.5-3 million air pollution premature deaths/year and global warming and provides energy stability. Furthermore,converting to WWS and electricity/H2 will reduce global power demand by 30%. The greatest concern regarding use of WWS is its variability;this is also addressed by Jacobson’s study by: ( 1.) interconnecting geographically-dispersed WWS;(2.) bundling WWS and using hydro to fill in gaps;(3.) demand-response (provide incentive to discourage use during peak/high demand period);(4.) oversizing peak capacity and producing hydrogen with excess for industry, vehicles;(5.)on-site storage;(6.)better forecasting.
The study concludes that the best way to power planet earth in the future is with Wind, Water, and Solar (WWS) technologies. It is feasible both technically and economically. Its potential barriers are up-front costs, transmission needs, lobbying, and politics.
Dear Readers, this is exactly why I have written the series on effective Feed-In-Tariff, in Sun Is The Future, available at http://sunisthefuture.net trying to urge all of our local and federal governments (not just the Floridians or residents of USA, but residents of planet earth) to give all of us the incentive to participate in our move toward the Renewable WWS age. We, as individual home or business owners, may not be spending multiple millions of dollars for lobbying, but we are just as concerned with the future of energy use and welfare of our planet earth as any large utility companies. We earthlings are all connected. The particulate matters from China or India or radiation material from Fukushima will impact all of us earthlings. So, as individual earthlings, let’s start by calling attention and action for our immediate communities. I, here in Florida, will try my very best in asking my community and local government to consider effective Feed-In-Tariff (discussions, articles, and video clips available by going to the search box at upper right hand corner of http://sunisthefuture.netand type in “feed in tariff”). Effective Feed-In-Tariff, now rebranded as CLEAN program, may be utilized by individual home owners, small businesses, organizations such as schools, Y’s, hospitals, libraries, local McDonald’s, WalMart, police stations, and large power/utility companies/plant (refer to the piece I wrote on July 13, 2011, Answer For The Future Is In Hybrid Marriage-Solar And Fossil Fuel athttp://sunisthefuture.net) alike.
We need incentive for individual home owners, small businesses, organizations such as schools, Y’s, hospitals, etc. with rooftops and surface areas, that would provide us with sufficient economic incentive to move into the renewable age. Here is an example (in the video of July 27 post at http://sunisthefuture.net, with data provided by World Future Council) of another country, Germany, with far less sunshine and insolation than we have here in Florida, but with the help of Feed-In-Tariff (key features listed below):
Gives RE (renewable energy) priority access to the grid
Obliges grid operators to purchase electricity from RES
Sets the price for RE electricity for fixed periods
Sets no limit to amount of RE feeding into the grid
Fundamentally, with an effective Feed-In-Tariff incentive program, any one who produces excess renewable energy may be able to sell the power he/she generates back to the power/utility company.
Feed-In-Tariffs have been so successful in Germany and many other countries because of the long term planning security it provides by having 12-20 year contracts ( this is crucial to investors);it gives technology-specific incentives (this is crucial for driving new technologies into the market);it adapts to technological development (this fosters innovation). Germany was able to create more than a quarter million jobs in renewable energy sector in less than five years, economic impact of new industry development with total turnover from renewable energy sources of approximately 25 billion Euros in 2007, and saved about 150 tons of CO2 emissions…all due to the help of Feed-In-Tariff. Most importantly, Feed-In-Tariff have made Germany the world leader in solar power. Another important lesson to take away from the presentation of World Future Council video clip of July 27 post in sunisthefuture.net is the fact that majority (more than 80% in Germany & or 90% in Florida) of the market share is from residential rather than the utility scaled facility (about 10%). That means, we, the individuals, will have far more combined impact on the industry and would benefit from the industry of renewable energy via Feed-In-Tariff. Please do view these discussions and video clips on Feed-In-Tariff, accessible at sunisthefuture.net, beginning from May through July of 2011, at sunisthefuture.net.
If you’d get to my May 8th post on Incentive For Solar (8)-Feed-In-Tariff (FIT), at http://sunisthefuture.net, there is a very informative discussion by a panel of scientists and policy makers and even our very own Floridian Ed Regan, you would also see in my August 11 post that:
the first form of feed-in-tariff was actually implemented in US in 1978, under President Jimmy Carter’s administration, telling Americans that the energy crisis was a “clear and present danger to our nation” and drew out a plan to address it.
The problem with the federal mandated feed-in-tariff rate from 1978 is that: the federal government had given individual states the authority to set its own FIT rate as long as it meets the minimal level of avoided cost. So, we ended up getting a lot of states simply setting its FIT rate at the avoided cost (for FL, this avoided cost is much lower than the cost of producing solar energy, therefore, there is no incentive for any one trying to produce extra energy). It simply would not be economically feasible. You can also find this discussion in my June 8th post and video with Craig Lewis of Clean Coalition, at http://sunisthefuture.net I have another issue with this avoided cost FIT rate: that is, it is set at a fixed rate without the consideration of what time in the day when the energy is produced. The value of energy changes throughout the day because energy is in greater demand during the day time and when sun is up (esp. in FL when it is on a hot summer day, when AC is in huge demand). The current fixed avoided cost FIT rate ends up favoring the wind energy producers and very unfavorable for the solar energy producers (solar energy is produced when demand is highest and therefore during the time when the energy is/should be more valuable.) But this can all be modified/monitored with current technologies and smart meters. So, what we need from the state government is an effective Feed-In-Tariff rate that would provide incentive (economically feasible) for every/any one who wants to participate in production of renewable energy (solar, water, wind, etc.) to do so feasibly. Some of you may argue to wait until the cost of producing renewable (esp. solar in FL) energy to be much lower and continue the status quo for now. But I (and many others) feel that we cannot afford to wait any longer because it takes time to educate, implement, and assist the general public to make the transition into a new world of renewable energy. If we want a smooth transition, without too much societal disruption, nor increased unemployment or dramatic lowering of standard of living, the most effective strategy is by implementing effective Feed-In-Tariff/CLEAN Program (as indicated in World Future Council http://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/feed_in_tariffs_in_us.html) ASAP. We have seen how effectively implemented Feed-In-Tariff had already benefited our neighbor Gainesville, FL community (and at least 65 other nations and territories):
We would simply like to ask our state legislators to consider re-examining the issue of Feed-In-Tariff and come up with a plan for an effective Feed-In-Tariff/CLEAN Program that may be inclusive of all, the small users, medium users, and large users (even utility companies). For we are all in this together. I am sure that the power/utility companies are well aware of the fact that it is much better to serve a community of economic prosperity, because 10% of a smaller number is still larger than 100% of zero, (such would be the case if/when the power company has to cater to the needs of a lot of unemployed users.)
I hope you, the readers, in addition to talking to your friends, family, neighbors, and your legislators about effective Feed-In-Tariff, I urge you to sign the petition page available at http://sunisthefuture.net and tell as many people about this web site and petition drive as possible. To encourage you all to think positively about our renewable/solar energy future, I have also written and posted various topics at http://sunisthefuture.net for your perusal. Simply type these topics in the search box at upper right hand corner of http://sunisthefuture.net and see/hear….about….
Feed-In-Tariff
Incentive For Solar
Solar Impulse Solar Plane
Cars Of The Future
Solar High Speed Trains
Solar Shingles
Solar Hot Water Heater
What Is Solar Cell
BIPV
Why Solar
Peak Oil
Solar Decathlon
etc.
Please feel free to email me at sunisthefuture@gmail.com if you have any suggestions, questions or comments. Any of your input will be welcomed.
Written and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
If you are in favor of renewable, clean, or solar energy, please sign this petition for FIT/CLEAN Program, accessible at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1065Thank you very much. We are at a critical juncture in human history when individual effort and participation in the transition into renewable energy age is desperately needed! Your signature will be very meaningful in helping all earthlings! For a summary of why we need to switch to power the earth with Wind-Water-Sunlight quickly, reasons are explained by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson at http://sunisthefuture.net/?m=20110731 There are more than sixteen episodes of discussions on FIT (Feed-In-Tariff/CLEAN Program) available at http://sunisthefuture.net Please feel free to read/listen to them (type in feed-in-tariff in the search box at right). Keep in mind that signing this petition only means that you are in favor of renewable energy and FIT/CLEAN Program and does not obligate you to provide any financial support. We simply want our combined voice to be heard even if we are not spending millions of lobbying dollars. We want to demonstrate that our system of democracy will work for people in all socio-economic strata. So please join us in this earthly movement by signing this petition and participating in our common goal of moving toward the renewable and solar energy age.
As we approach Team Massachusetts’ 4D Home design (4D representing a design that would adapt and transform over time according to the needs of the family), targets the market for a family of three (one child). This ability to transform may be seen in the two storage movable walls inside the house that may be able to convert a bedroom into an open space. 4D Home design placed the solar PV arrays offset from the roof, shading the South facade and creating a sheltered transition into the interior. Inside, the kitchen anchors the core of the house, dividing the public and private spaces and provide a ring of circulation between them. The expansive living room is spacious and well lit by the South and East facing windows. Vertical storage functions as storage space, a wall, and a closet for the bedroom. Adjacent to the bedroom through a glass door is the mechanical and laundry room. The private corridor behind the kitchen is lit from above by a skylight and may be used as a work space with much versatility. Dining space is found in the Southwest corner of the house, easily accommodating daily needs for a family of three. Central kitchen is a compact organization of appliances and storage, directly looking to the South and providing plenty of counter spaces for cooking. Longitudinal view through the kitchen connects each area and encourages communications among family members. Now let’s have a look at this house that was designed to adapt and grow with the changing needs of a family.—>
written and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
If you are in favor of renewable, clean, or solar energy, please sign this petition for FIT/CLEAN Program, accessible at http://sunisthefuture.net/?page_id=1065Thank you very much. We are at a critical juncture in human history when individual effort and participation in the transition into renewable energy age is desperately needed! Your signature will be very meaningful in helping all earthlings! For a summary of why we need to switch to power the earth with Wind-Water-Sunlight quickly, reasons are explained by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson at http://sunisthefuture.net/?m=20110731 There are more than sixteen episodes of discussions on FIT (Feed-In-Tariff/CLEAN Program) available at http://sunisthefuture.net Please feel free to read/listen to them (type in feed-in-tariff in the search box at right).
The University of Maryland’s Water Shed is a design inspired by Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the United States) and is composed of two modules, North module is for public while the South module is that of the private realm. These two modules have the butterfly roof, one roof with PV array while the other with vegetative green roof and the two meet in the middle where the central water accesses and where the bathroom exists. On either side of East side, PV side of the roof, rainwater drains down into a harvesting tank and the green roof along with the gray water from the house are sent to the West side constructive wetland which filters the gray water that may be reused for irrigation. Mechanical, electrical, and automated control systems are at the core of the house, with various parts of the systems functioning effectively, efficiently, and collaboratively. Now let’s take a look at this design that not only harvests the sun’s energy, recycles its waste into nutrients, but also demonstrates how human settlements may be designed to help to protect this precious ecosystem.
written and posted by Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
