May 2008

The Numbers Game

That's what it's felt like, as we've seen Congress try time and again to pass legislation that will rationalize our use of energy and promote development of solar and other clean technologies. Each number represents a different attempt over the last few months to kick-start the process. Each number represents a bill put together by House or Senate, brought to the appropriate floor, debated, passed, then torn to shreds by the other chamber.

Let's start, arbitrarily, with HR6-last year's energy bill-that eked out money for corn ethanol and improved the CAFE standards without doing more than token funding for solar power. In February of this year, those measures stripped out from HR6 resurfaced in the economic stimulus bill, HR5140, only to be pushed back down underwater; Congress must have felt the government checks to be sent to taxpayers under this bill were stimulating enough. In the same month we saw HR5351, a stand-alone bill worth some $20 billion in clean energy tax credits. The Senate shook its head.

Read the rest of this article here.

Is Desert Solar Power the Solution to Europe's Energy Crisis?

by Jens Lubbadeh
reprinted from Spiegel Online

A tiny fraction of the sun's energy that shines upon the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East could meet all of Europe's electricity demands. The technology to harness the energy already exists. So why is hardly anyone investing in it?

Read the full article here.

Does Nuclear Belong in the Renewable World?

You haven't heard much from Solar Nation on the subject of nuclear power-pro, con, or impartial. That's not because we don't harbor our own views on the use of the technology, but because our focus here is on promoting the positive aspects of solar power, not publicizing the negative aspects of any competitors. Besides, we're aware that many solar citizens out there may also be strong supporters of nuclear energy as a relatively carbon-free power source.

But we felt it was worth bringing to your attention a report in the May/June issue of EnergyBiz magazine by Pam Radtke Russell, which strongly suggests that the economic underpinnings of the pro-nuclear argument are sagging. Recent cost estimates for two separate nuclear plant proposals in Florida have shown an increase of more than 100% over industry figures that are just two years old. Combined with similar estimates from such sources as Moody's Investor Service, these figures-attributable largely to rising costs of metals, forgings and labor-represent a significant threat to the viability of the form of power once touted as "too cheap too meter."

Read the rest of this article here.

Fly-by-night: A First for Solar

Near Zurich, Switzerland, an international team of scientists, engineers and specialists are approaching a significant milestone in one of the most outlandish projects in the history of aviation.

After four years of research, studies, calculations and simulations, the 50-strong team is close to finishing construction on the prototype of an aircraft that could, next year, make a 36-hour flight without burning any fuel. HB-SIA, or "Solar Impulse", is an aircraft with a 61-meter wingspan powered entirely by solar electricity. If this first prototype is successful, subsequent aircraft will fly for five days and nights, leading to a transatlantic flight in 2011 and a round-the-world non-stop flight in 2013.

Although solar-powered models have flown before, "Solar Impulse" will be the first to take off under its own power and, more significantly, the first to remain airborne throughout the night hours. This means that the solar cells that cover its upper surfaces must create enough power not only to drive the aircraft's four engines but also to charge its batteries for a night's worth of flying.

Find out more about sun-powered flight here.
See the flash animation of the round-the-world flight here.
See videos of the project here and here.