MakeHeat

The San Jose Credit Union has partnered with the San Jose Solar America City program to offer a program to city employees in which they can join together to negotiate betters costs for solar electric and solar thermal installations on their homes no matter where they live.

Via Renewable Energy News

Low Enough to Keep Competition Away
The Atlantic has a good piece about OPEC, everybody’s least-favorite cartel. It shows pretty clearly why OPEC is probably the most effective enemy of renewable energy. The way they do it is by going against their short-term interests and keeping oil prices relatively low (at least low compared to the kind of prices they could create if they choked off supply more) to assure their long-term market-share and keep alternatives to oil down….Read the full story on TreeHugger

“… Owner Amy Beaudet has been chipping away at her “work in progress” since she bought the house almost two years ago – and she managed to convert her house into an energy efficient “green house” for only $3,000. …”

“… The panels act as solar collectors, heating a water and antifreeze solution, which then flows from the panels through underground trenches and into a hot water tank in Beaudet’s basement.

Beaudet said the temperature of the tank water is about 200 degrees at mid-day.

“This is how I spent Super Bowl Sunday,” she said, pointing to a heat exchanger next to the water tank. Beaudet calls this “the tuba,” because of its awkward tubular shape. The homeowner said that when she gets the heat exchanger fully set up, it will transfer the heat from hot water in the tank to hot air, which will heat her living room.

A solar air-heater box is attached to the front of Beaudet’s home. She said that the box blows 100-degree air into her kitchen and is completely self-powered. …”

Makes my DIY muse “green” with envy, and when you look at what you could do yourself (okay what I could do myself), I want to get on the net to my big box store, have them drop-ship the stuff and charge it – hold on – I swore I wouldn’t use the plastic.  Okay, So I can scheme, plan, and I saw an old water heater outside our neighbor’s house the other day…

via A ‘power’ house in Marlborough – Framingham, MA – The MetroWest Daily News.

Cutting his energy usage to 1/4 for heating, cooling, and electrical, now he’s reinvesting the savings into solar electricity:

Older Canadian Home Approaches New Standard of Energy Efficiency with Input from Renewables.ca (we C.a.r.e.) – PR.com.

Now why can’t we do this?  Have a lottery where interested people “contribute” $1, still have to pick numbers (though not as many) and the winner get’s a solar retrofit for their home?  Okay, that’s not exactly how it happens in Great Britain, but this is America!  If you don’t have a home, you can opt for 2/3 the dollar value in cash. If you do have a home and opt for the cash, it drops to 1/2.  Why give a homeowner an option?  Two reasons come to mind: (1), they may not be able to use the solar panels, especially if they live in a heavily wooded area, and (2), if it came down to having solar power on a house that was going to be forclosed on or having the cash to pay a few more payments on the house, I’d opt for the latter!

BBC News – Farm plugs into power of the sun.

Great 30 minute primer on solar air heating.

Educational Video: Solar Air Heating Basics at the Alternative Energy Store.

Long video, but great idea! GOes through step by step.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF_mEoFRSAQ&feature=player_embedded#

“In Northern Ontario, the sun shines approximately 30% of the time in the winter and 50% of the time in summer,” said Todd Kirkpatrick of Your Solar Home Inc., in an interview following a presentation to some 75 delegates at the third annual Living Building Conference and Trade Show in Cambrian College’s e-Dome on Thursday.

Kirkpatrick, whose presentation dealt with solar energy products, said that while natural gas prices are at a very low level due to lack of demand, that scenario could quickly change as the economy recovers.

Introducing solar heating technology to a home, he said, would be a good way to be ready for an energy price spike when it does come. via The Sudbury Star

It does turn out though, that renewable energy funding is amply available for the farm and dairy industry!  Solar milking machines anyone?   “…For example, Schmack Biomass-OARDC, LLC received a $1.3 million rural development loan/grant combination which they will use to install an anaerobic digester.

“The digester will process organic biomass to generate more than 3 million kWh of electricity per year.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture also selected Ridge View Farms in Seneca County, Ohio, to receive a $42,750 grant to replace an inefficient grain dryer with a more efficient unit.

“The new dryer will reduce the farm’s energy consumption by more than 32 percent. …”

Millions available for renewable energy and energy efficiency loans, grants | Farm and Dairy – The Auction Guide and Rural Marketplace.

Penn State Live – Video: Natural Fusion, Penn State’s Solar Decathlon Team 2009.