I would like to use today’s post to respond to one of your concerns. This is what DS commented,
“Making cash as a home-owner with solar used to be easy but with the government’s FIT being drastically reduced, consumers won’t get the money back they want from solar panels.”
Hi, Dear DS,
I need to clarify that http://sunisthefuture.net is inclusive of solar energy issues from all corners of the planet. Some parts of the earth is ahead (such as Germany and UK) of US in terms of the effectiveness in implementing Feed-In-Tariff policy, even though FIT originated from US back in the 1978. We only have very few municipalities in US that had introduced very effective FIT while majority of the US does not enjoy the effective FIT policy at all.
Having said that, consumers who have already installed their solar panels in UK should/would have received the guaranteed Feed-In rate for 25 years (please correct me if I am mistaken) or so at a very profitable level. However, after many people in UK have signed up and installed their solar panels, the periodic evaluation adjusted the Feed-In rate to a much lower level to reflect the decreased need for more solar panels to be installed in UK. So those who did not sign up early enough would not be able to obtain the higher and more profitable Feed-In rate. So, Hurry Up before the August 1, 2012 deadline is reached! Below, I have a video clip of an UK solar company (Green Home Company) reminding every one that UK government had delayed the reduction for FIT rate deadline to August 1, 2012.
But even this will be subject to change because the whole research and development system is quite dynamic. As better and more efficient technology will surface, the cost of generating solar energy will be lowered. When the cost of generating solar energy will be much lower than the retail rate, even the lowered feed-in rate will become profitable for consumers again. All governments that implement FIT should have periodic review of the feed-in rate and may increase or decrease according to the need. Our focus should be on lowering the cost of generating solar energy so to increase the profitability of installing solar even at a lowered feed-in rate;this can be accomplished much more quickly by implementation of FIT world wide. The more solar energy is in demand, the more innovations and R & D, and this will lead to decreased cost of generating solar energy. After all, our main concern is to help all earthlings to move onto a new renewable energy age and be weaned from dependence on fossil fuels. FIT simply helps to provide the initial incentive to get people to start paying attention and get active! It is the most effective tool in getting the engine started in the vehicle for Survival of All Earthlings Through Renewables.
Please let me know if you’d like to have any part of the above paragraph further embellished. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain FIT.
~have 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:
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.
It is with great joy that I am posting this image (I had to wait a few days to get the permission from pv magazine to post this image, but it was well worth the wait.), at the end of this post below:
I would also like to take this opportunity to respond to an article in Solar Industry, dated June 21, 2012, titled “What Is Holding Back Solar Feed-In-Tariff Programs In The U.S. Market“?
Personally, I believe the reason US does not have an effective Feed-In-Tariff now is due to three important factors:
1. We need a courageous and dynamic politician with stature comparable to that of Hermann Scheer (former German member of the Parliament most instrumental in pushing FIT through in Germany) to overcome all resistances, as Hermann Scheer had to in Germany.
2. Our system of government (Feed-In-Tariff originated in USA during the Carter Administration back in 1978 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed-in_tariff) requires that both federal and individual states’ governments have to agree on the issue and rates with respect to energy, in this case, the feed-in rate. At present, the federal government had only set the minimum rate for the feed-in rate to be the avoided cost because our federal government leaves much of the responsibility and final decision of rate-setting to individual states. So, many of the states simply use the minimum, avoided cost, as the feed-in rate, which is not necessarily optimal and it is insufficient to generate incentives for people to participate in renewable projects quickly or massively. Therefore, in order to have an optimal feed-in rate in order to truly give general population the incentive to actively participate in renewable energy, we need well informed general population to support the issue and vote for the optimal feed-in rate or effective Feed-In-Tariff.
3. There, I said it, we need well informed and well educated population in order for true democracy of the Republic to take place optimally. This is the reason I’ve set up the site, http://sunisthefuture.net and I would like to invite you all to visit its April 17, 2012 post and video clips . At this post, there are many colorful links to other posts at http://sunisthefuture.net that discuss FIT, just click.
It is not an issue of German or European FIT that works, we have also seen FIT being effective in our own state of FL, in Gainesville, FL, community that was able to generate much jobs and economic prosperity as a result of implementing FIT. Now, I would like to share a video clip that I’ve posted previously regarding Feed-In-Tariff, on Oct. 14, 2011, where Hermann Scheer’s emphatic statement about the reason why/what is holding US back from FIT:it is simply a matter of getting the information out there. The problem is only in the mind(s). Video clip, below:
Now, we simply need to get the information to the American people in order to implement effective FIT. If that fails, one may still maintain one’s optimism simply because the cost of solar energy had made tremendous progress these past few years that it is becoming competitive with fossil fuels and now it is clearly on track to fall below fossil fuels too. Please refer to/click on the link below:
Can’t resist after a period of bathing under the Costa Rican sunshine and pura vida (pure living/life). To this peace-loving country (Costa Rica had constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949), my memory of Costa Rica may be summed up by this photo, relaxed with thoughts of pura vida, under the Guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum),
relaxed below the Guanacaste tree (elephant ear tree), Enterolobium cyclocarpum (national tree of Costa Rica), with thoughts of pura vida
the elephant ear tree
Guanacaste seedpod in shape of elephant or human ear, wikimedia commons
, the National tree of Costa Rica. Here, I want to write a piece for all those wonderfully friendly people I’ve encountered and friends I’ve met…even for the future baby (that will be named Sol (Sun in Spanish/Latin)) of our taxi driver and of Nashley of our lady friend working in the hotel…for the beautiful present and future Costa Rican generations.
In Costa Rica, expats and locals alike, are all concerned about their carbon footprint in one of the world’s most beautiful, natural, and tropical locations. Please allow me to share this clip of various beautiful sights of Costa Rica, below:
Since Costa Rica intends to become the first carbon neutral country by the year 2021, converting to solar energy is one way of helping to reduce the carbon footprint. Due to its natural gift of mountainous terrains and generous supply of rainfall/water, it is understandable why hydroelectric is the primary source of its national power. In 2011, Costa Rica produced about 4% of its power from wind farms and 73% from hydroelectric plants in its power-generation expansion plan for the period 2012-2024 and no new fossil fuel plants are planned after 2015. Solar Energy can definitely help to fill the gap.
Mis Amigos, did you know that Costa Rica has moved forward and approved the grid connection to allow solar systems (and renewable and hydro and wind systems) to connect and feed power to ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad), Costa Rica’s state power utility, so that Costa Ricans can sell electricity they produce to ICE ? Recent price increases in electrical power supply by ICE has business and home owners nation-wide weighing the economics of switching to solar.
Here are some simple tricks (quoted from the www.prlog.org) to help make your (Costa Ricans’) transition to solar power as efficient as possible, also listed below:
1) Plan for a DC refrigerator. They use only 5% of the energy required by conventional AC fridges. It is less expensive to switch refrigerators than to buy the panels needed to operate conventional AC fridges. They are chest style for efficiency, so it is a bit of a lifestyle adjustment.
2) For mid-sized homes, keep the household in 110 volt appliances to keep your power inversion system down to a single inverter (Outback, preferably) and your charging source in balance with your demand without having to spend exorbitantly on your panel array. This means a hybrid clothes dryer so that the heating can be done by propane rather than commit to a 4500-watt 220 volt conventional clothes dryer’s exorbitant power demand.
3) Cook with gas.
4) Heat water with passive solar hot water heaters. They are expensive but with no moving parts are permanent and have relatively short payback periods. If you absolutely must have steaming hot water on demand no matter what, then connect solar hot water heaters to conventional gas hot water heaters. This active hybrid configuration will save up to 80% on water heating costs over conventional hot water heaters alone.
5) If your means permit and your economic commitment to energy independence is paramount, then deploy more panels, greater battery capacity, and a second inverter (or a stack of as many as ten inverters in multiples of two) to include 220 volt appliances for cooking and hot water heating and clothes drying to eliminate fossil fuel altogether, excepting perhaps an emergency backup generator.
Costa Rica does not charge import tariffs on alternative energy supplies. Equipment purchased in the US or EU pays only 13% sales tax upon importation to Costa Rica (plus shipping, of course), so home owners are not obligated to pay the high prices of in-country retail suppliers. With technology’s rapid advance and Costa Rica’s generous permissive import policies, it usually makes sense to order the latest alternative energy equipment direct from volume suppliers to get the best deals and cut out the middle man altogether or to negotiate the best possible terms from the installer that you have settled on for your application.
For homeowners or developers with deep pockets, absolute carbon neutrality at the domestic level is easily within reach. And even for budget systems, the increase in ICE rates and decrease in solar power equipment costs makes the payback period less and less every year. Until grid-tie power trading is legislated, however, the capital costs of a solar power system will not compare attractively for locations with access to the grid except at payback periods of usually ten years or more. The abundance of high-end remote homes ensures that even without grid-tie legislation, alternative energy will always be a vital part of the nation’s overall power platform and arguably the best option in all of Costa Rica’s most beautiful places.
I will look forward to many more solar installations/panels/PV’s next time I visit there.
~have 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:
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.
Often time it is as much for the interesting people that I meet as for the exotic scenery or places that I get to visit that holds the fascination for my journeys. This time, it is during my visit in Costa Rica that I’ve encountered an interesting lady from San Francisco Bay area, in her 80’s, with an amusing name Wacky Jacky, who is still the captain of her salmon fishing boat. Jacky inspired me to research and write this particular piece/post on the solar-powered boat that had recently circumnavigated our planet earth.
Turanor PlaentSolar boat trip map 2010-2012
Solar Boat Turanor PlanetSolar (Wikimedia Commons)
The PlanetSolar solar boat, Turanor, sailed around the world in 584 days (covering over 32,000 nautical miles of travel), started from Monaco on Sep. 27, 2010 (headed West for Atlantic Ocean, Panama Canal, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, before returning to Mediterranean), and ended on May 4, 2012. The journey was initiated by Swiss engineer Raphael Domjan, developed by a team of physicists, engineers, boat builders, and environmental scientists, following the path as closely to the equator as possible to maximize the boat’s exposure to the sun. On this boat there are over 500 square meter of solar panels and the biggest lithium battery in the world at the time (meaning they could store over 1 megawatt-hour of energy), common room, kitchen, and bedrooms for the six crew members. At various stops along the journey, the crew stopped to promote sustainable/solar energy. Now, let’s take a close look at this First Solar-Powered Boat That Had Circumnagivated The Earth, in this video clip.
Below, you’d find information contained in Wikipedia about the Turanor:
On 27 September 2010 Tûranor PlanetSolar started on a journey around the world in Monaco. With this expedition, the iniatiors of the project would like to focus the public awareness on the importance of renewable energies for environmental protection. The crew of six will circumnavigate the globe solely with the aid of solar power. Captain of the expedition is Frenchman Patrick Marchesseau. Other participants are Christian Ochsenbein (Bern, Switzerland) and Jens Langwasser (Kiel, Germany); as well as project initiator Raphael Domjan (Yverdon-les Bain, Switzerland). On the first leg across the Atlantic Ocean technician Daniel Stahl (Kiel, Germany) and first mate Mikaela von Koskull (Finland) were part of the crew. On 27 November 2010 the solar boat reached Miami. A significant stopover was Cancún, during the United Nations World Climate Conference.
At the centerline of the world tour, the French Canadian Captain Erwann Le Rouzic took over in New Caledonia mid May 2011, for the further circumnavigation sharing the master’s responsibility with Captain Patrick Marchesseau.
End of May 2011, the boat docked at Brisbane, where in an official ceremony the “PlanetSolar Relay for Hope” was launched, a global relay children and young people can take part in and present their visions and hopes for a solar energy driven world through essays, videos, music, drawing and models.
On the first solar boat expedition around the globe, the Tûranor PlanetSolar has reached two records: fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by solar boat and longest distance ever covered by a solar electric vehicle.
After 584 days, Tûranor PlanetSolar returned to Monaco on 4 May 2012 after sailing around the globe. Technical problems with the propeller system had forced the vessel to stay in an Asian port for two weeks of maintenance. The vessels is now scheduled for a refit so it can be chartered to tourists in the Mediterranean Sea. Cruises are planned with 12 passengers and 4 crew on board.
So, dear Wacky Jacky, despite all concerns regarding energy crisis, the human spirit will prevail, in continuing women’s/men’s spirit of adventure or exploration. We will continue to push forward in unveiling a new era of renewable/solar energy.
~have 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:
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.
It is with both hope and pleasure that I am bringing you report about an event that took place on June 13-14, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency in Denver, Colorado: The SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum. In addition to featuring the solar industry’s most influential leaders, the event showcased the work of more than 200 SunShot awardees. The list of distinguished speakers at this SunShot Grand Challenge: Summit and Technology Forum were: Steven Chu (the 12th Secretary of Energy who is also the co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997);
Participants gather for the plenary session in the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit & Technology Forum in Denver, CO, June 13-14, 2012 (Creative Commons)
Energy Secretary Steven Chu meets with students from Front Range Community College at an exhibit session (Creative Commons)
Dan Arvizu (Director and Chief Executive of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL);Harry Atwater (Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology, active in PV research for more than 20 years);Bill Ritter (Colorado’s 41st Governor and the Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy, CNEE, at Colorado State University);Dorothy Robyn (Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment in 2009);Richard Swanson (one of the premier authorities on crystalline-silicon solar cell technology, processing, and manufacturing);John Woolard (President and CEO of BrightSource Energy, a developer of utility-scale solar power plants).
In 2010, the SunShot Initiative was established to decrease the total installed price of solar energy by 75% by 2020. Since then, photovoltaic module costs have been cut in half. While there is still another factor of two to go before reaching a tipping point, in some markets cost-competitive solar is already a reality. During the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit in Denver, CO, the event brought together more than 700 bright minds in solar to discuss what challenges lie ahead. Among the many challenges: streamlining and standardizing solar permitting processes;convincing the financial community to embrace innovative technologies that have not yet been tested over long periods of time; and planning for infrastructure that will be able to handle high levels of variable solar energy inputs were discussed.
The audience listens to a presentation by Harry Atwater, Howard Hughes Professor during the plenary session(Creative Commons)
Energy Secretary Steven Chu is reflected in a Suspension Heliostat made by Solaflect Energy (Creative Commons)
Recalling that the first commercially available solar cells costed $400 per watt back in the 1960s and prices for the state-of-the-art installed PV systems were about $3 per watt at the utility scale by the end of 2010, we’ve come a long way to have arrived at today’s bids for large-scale plants in the range of $1.20 per watt. (source: Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Director of the SunShot Initiative and Solar Energy Technologies Program)
Participants talk outside the plenary session (Creative Commons)
Researchers participate in a poster session (Creative Commons)
Dear readers, evidenced by the many innovations that’s been covered in http://sunisthefuture.net , it is not difficult to imagine the day when we will drive down the cost of solar to $1 per watt for a fully installed solar energy system in the near future. I am sure that the SunShot Director Ramesh had learned during his term that the seemingly impossible will one day be possible. Until then, Secretary Chu is playing his part in speeding up this process by announcing the “America’s Most Affordable Rooftop Solar” competition to aggressively drive down the cost of rooftop solar energy systems as well as nearly $8 million to nine small businesses to lower the cost of financing, permitting, and other “soft costs”, which can amount to nearly half the cost of residential solar systems. This will support the Department’s aggressive goal of achieving cost-competitive solar energy by 2020. “As President Obama has repeatedly said, we need an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that deploys every available source of American energy, driving job creation, energy innovation and manufacturing leadership in our country,” said Secretary Chu.
The audience listens to a presentation by Dorothy Robyn Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment at the plenary session (Creative Commons)
Secretary Steven Chu looks at new technology with exhibitor Joe Sarubbi seated (Creative Commons)
Below, I have extracted pertinent paragraphs (in italics) from U.S. Department of Energy web site:
To spur the use of low-cost residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems across the nation, the Department is launching the first SunShot competition to challenge U.S. teams to quickly drive down the cost of installed rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. “America’s Most Affordable Rooftop Solar competition” offers a total of $10 million in prize money to the first three U.S. teams that can install 5,000 rooftop solar PV systems at an average price of $2 per watt. By setting an ambitious target, the competition aims to spur creative public-private partnerships, original business models, and innovative approaches to make solar energy affordable for millions of families and businesses.
Secretary Chu also today announced up to $8 million to support nine highly innovative startups through the SunShot Incubator program. These companies are developing transformative solutions to streamline solar installation processes such as financing, permitting, and inspection. This investment builds on the Incubator program’s proven track record of attracting follow-on investment for solar startups at a ratio of $30 in private investment for every $1 of government funding. Since 2007, the Energy Department has invested more than $60 million in the Incubator program, accelerating the development of solar technologies that have since attracted more than $1.6 billion in private investment.
The SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade. Inspired by President Kennedy’s “Moon Shot” program that put the first man on the moon, the SunShot Initiative has created new momentum for the solar industry by highlighting the need for American competitiveness in the clean energy race.
With all of these initiatives, the clean/solar energy economy is already here and poised for tremendous growth in the coming years.
Just came across a pretty good documentary footage on Solar Power Revolution, reminding us of the initiating country’s, Germany’s contribution to this revolution and the important incentive policy, Feed-In-Tariff , that’s responsible for Germany’s leading position in the world during our renewable energy age. For better understanding of effective Feed-In-Tariff policy, please refer to various links provided in April 17, 2012 post of http://sunisthefuture.net .Thanks to Hermann Scheer (will be seen in the footage), the member of German Parliament who was courageous enough to push through the Feed-In-Tariff policy despite all odds/resistance. As Feed-In-Tariff spreads to other countries (such as Spain) from Germany, the faster the cost of producing solar energy goes down. As the cost of electricity goes up and producing solar energy continues to go down, we are facing a world where solar energy is now cost effective. Solar energy has become the modern fuel and has provided us with a new paradigm shift/change that cannot and should not be delayed…for the world cannot wait until the last drop of oil or last ton of uranium or coal to prepare for this shift. As the need for world’s energy consumption increases, even oil producing world/nations are shifting toward the sun. In the effort of saving the planet while meeting earthly consumption needs, the United Arab Emirates commissioned a Swiss engineering firm to devise a plan in constructing a huge off-shore solar islands because the ocean has a much higher percentage of high sun areas than the deserts. There is also enough water in the ocean that can be desalinated from salt water into the fresh water(water that can be used to store energy in hydrogen and water that make steam to drive turbines). The islands float on a special construction so that they can always face the sun. Each sun island is expected to produce many gigawatts of power/electricity. For those of us who are proponents of decentralized power distributions, including Hermann Scheer, the paradigm that is in favor of multiple medium and small ownership (in place of monopolistic structure or few big centralized power plants) or broad ownership is more likely to help generate local/regional/national autonomy. Technological advancements continue to drive solar energy toward the cost effective end of the spectrum. It is time for the world to receive solar energy with open arms. What was possible in Germany is achievable else where in the world. Let’s hope that solar energy has already completed its phases of ridicule and resistance, and has finally reached its final phase of acceptance. Let’s take a look at various stages of this solar revolution through the informative video clip, below:
Your comments, suggestions, questions, and concerns are always welcomed here at Sun Is The Future of http://sunisthefuture.net .
~have 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:
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.
Because of S from our previous post, I was inspired to dig a bit further into Goal Zero products and found some spectacularly useful items in the Nomad 3.5 series, Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit, Yeti 1250 series, etc. that are extremely handy in times of traveling outdoors or during emergency situations. Nomad 3.5 is light and user friendly (just plug it in with USB), able to charge your cell phone with few hours of sunlight;Guide 10 is able to power IPad, tablets, etc.; Lighthouse Lantern (with USB port) is also able to charge tablet and cell phone, chargeable from either solar panels or crank;more products with USB port such as Bolts flash light that is chargeable from solar panels or computer; solar supportable Rock Out speaker(with built-in Li battery) that may run for 20 hours and daisy chained to provide surround sound quality. Finally, the emergency preparedness support for refrigeration, defibrillator, medical emergency equipments etc., can be found in the big black box of Yeti 1250. Without further ado, please take a look at these super cool items during the presentation of Goal Zero products at Outdoor Retailer, below:
Big Thanks to S for having brought all of us to this corner. Be sure to remember to compare shop (compare prices) with amazon.com . Hopefully, we will all be much better prepared for any potential emergency situation (such as hurricane, tornado, power outage, squirrels ) in the future, still have access to power, off the grid.
~have 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:
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.
For those of you who are frequent travelers, the message I’ve received and my response below may be of interest to you.
Hello Susan,
I hope this email finds you well. I am about to venture out and part of that time will be in quite remote area without access to normal power, which brings about a dual focus question.
1. Do you have an experience with quality small pocket/backpackable solar chargers? What may be a good kind to go after? Ideally I need to be able to charge a smartphone and mobile wifi device from it, and probably have it to have an internal battery that stores the power for usage later.
2. What about laptop/tablet chargers with larger capacity, any experience with them? At our india office, the staff are already experiencing major power cuts in their homes, basic communications are becoming hard for them. Keeping their simple water fans going is becoming almost impossible due to constant power cuts. I have an idea to gift at least some smaller (laptop, phone, small electronics) charger units to a few of them, but I need at least 5-10 of them to fit into a carryon, or checked bag at most. I’d love it I could get more but i don’t know that much quantity of battery would even be allowed in a checked bag.
I had a small phone charger unit about 3 years ago that was basically useless it held so little charge it would give you maybe 10 minutes of talk time when it was full, one of the energizer emergency power units powered by two AA had more power! Obviously we’ve come a long ways since then but want to make sure I get a quality device and dont waste money on one of these old useless units.
Whenever I need to search for items/products, I try to utilize amazon.com ‘s product/consumers’ reviews (under solar charger-electronics, sorted by average customer review).
Even if I haven’t had much experience with backpackable solar charger, I hope this will help:
Please look over these products and see if these will be of assistance to you.
S, I’ve also come across the new GoalZero Sherpa 50 Solar Charger (charging every thing from cell phone, tablet, laptop, TV, DVD, IPad,etc., with 12v output as well as a laptop/16v output), being smaller (half of the weight and size) than previous year’s model, available in June of 2012, in the video clip below:
It sounds great from the clip, if any of you out there have personal experience in using this new GoalZero Sherpa, please share it with us. Look forward to hearing/reading from you!
Please pay close attention to the last paragraph in this link. Basically, I believe TSA does not want people to transport Li-ion battery in significant number outside of personal use for one’s own laptop and camera. Perhaps you’d need to consider the route of snail mail.
I will try to post your questions on http://sunisthefuture.net and see if any one else will be able to provide some additional input with his/her experience.
Have a great trip. Whenever I travel overseas, I’d bring the herb Pau d’Arco to boost my immune system ( it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal;when taking Pau d’Arco, I had to take a lot of water and I took it at eight hour interval, usually at 3 capsules each time if I’ve already been exposed to the microorganisms).
Be well,
sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
~have 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:
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.
Today, I am going to take you onto a journey for another conceptual design, awaiting for its realization. As the population density of our planet earth continues to rise, from the current 6.8 billion to the forecasted 9 billion (supposedly the point from which the human population will start to taper down), there will be greater need of creative public space of all kinds. Again, human ingenuity comes to the rescue. In New York City, the Low Line Park is proposing a project (also known as the Delancey Project) renovating the Lower East Side‘s abandoned Delancey Street trolley station
Delancey Low Line Project (before image)
, untouched for nearly sixty years, into a subterranean urban oasis. Architect James Ramsey is the designer for this project, using advanced solar technology to bring sunlight down to this abandoned space from above to grow plants and tress and to bring light to the richness of the historic details of the cobblestones, rails, and vaulted ceilings below. This wonderful solar technology would transport sunlight, utilizing a large system of mirrors and fiber optics, from the streets above , then concentrating, channeling, and redistributing this light into the cavernous facility under the surface to be used
Delancey Low Line Project (after mockup image)
. This is an exciting and inspiring project because green spaces with natural light are in short supply in Lower East Side of New York City. Currently this project is looking for funding and recently joined the start-up site Kickstarter to publicly-source some of the Low Line’s budget. Here, at Sun Is The Future of http://sunisthefuture.net, we are definitely in favor of this type of project, where solar energy is used to save electricity and reduce carbon emissions while generating the capacity for plants, trees, and grasses to thrive indoors. If you are interested in helping to build this underground park in an abandoned trolley terminal beneath Delancey and Essex Streets, please feel free to contact the co-founders of the project: Daniel Barasch and James Ramsey or simply donate at this site: http://delanceyunderground.org/the-project.
Now, let’s take a look at a video clip of the Low Line/Delancey Project and its co-founders, below:
~have 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:
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.
As long as many of you are in awe of the conceptual work…let me show you another wonderous design started by two twin brothers, Jean-Pierre Desmarais and Jean-Marc Desmarais in the early 1980’s. The Desmarais Brothers were passionate about sketching tall houses with futuristic configurations and all things innovative and technological. In the early 2000’s, Jean-Pierre became specialized in energy sector with his own business in the renewable energy while Jean-Marc in the field of robotics. After they developed, together, the best methods for combining renewable energy equipment within the structure of the building, the Desmarais Brothers incorporated their company, Homerizon, on Oct. 6, 2008. In the following video clip, you will see the innovative housing concept born out of Homerizon, being self-sufficient and off-the-grid, via the use of solar cells above and windmills on the side of the tall structure. below:
As you can see, not only does the design respond to the energy need in our renewable energy era, it also provides greater security and fantastic view for the resident(s). For a closer view, I would strongly recommend that you click on the following links, below:
Here at http://sunisthefuture.net , we’d like to assist all Solar Dreams to become a reality. If any of you out there is interested in taking part in helping this Homerizon design to take its shape, to become a reality, please contact the Desmarais Brothers in the link above. Perhaps we will one day see a city or village of Homerizon design, rising high above, with less fear of natural disasters or human follies, while being totally self-sufficient and leaving less carbon footprint….all of that, plus the dramatic grand view….can you imagine if the design also incorporates the feature of rotation…a truly beautifully breathtaking future that we can all look forward to…until it becomes a reality…
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
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