Flux d'information politique et économique

samedi 30 octobre 2010

Florida Inmates to Get Solar Panel Installation Training

What's one of the hardest things to do after getting released from prison? Finding a job. With clean tech, and especially solar energy, booming, helping such people get trained for and find jobs in the solar industry is a great way to re-assimilate them into society and ensure they get on their own two feet quickly. It looks like Florida is taking the lead on that front.

With a $740,000 grant from the federal government, the Florida Department of Corrections is about to establish a program for "training inmates nearing release to become certified in Photovoltaic System (solar panel) installation."

The International Business Times reports:

The Department's Teaching and Enhancing Careers in High technology (TECH) program will be established at Sago Palm Work Camp in Palm Beach county, which recently became the third prison dedicated to preparing soon-to-be released inmates for their successful re-entry into society. Re-entry facilities house inmates with three years or less on their sentences who are returning to specific counties, and ramp up their educational, vocational and treatment classes so they'll be better prepared to find employment and keep it upon release.

The grant funds will be used to provide remedial academic tutoring; a nine month, 1,200 hour Electrical Technology Career and Technical Education component; on-the-job training; peer mentoring; case management; and post-release career assistance. The Department will partner with a fully licensed and accredited technical center in the Palm Beach area to provide Solar PV System training, leading to inmates earning a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners certificate prior to release. Training will include a mobile training unit that houses a PV demonstration module so inmates can gain hands-on experience

Great to see my home state of Florida taking the lead on both inmate re-integration into society and advancement of clean tech like solar.

The grant Florida was awarded was part of the Department of Justice's Second Chance Act Technology Careers Training Demonstration Projects for Incarcerated Adults.

dimanche 12 septembre 2010

Discount: Solar/Wind Power Inverters - Self Energy Sufficient

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mercredi 8 septembre 2010

Futurist Solar Sunflower Panels Field Energizes Austin, Texas

A retail lot in Austin, Texas recently sprouted a stunning field of solar sunflowers that soak up the sun's rays to provide shade while generating a steady stream of renewable energy. Designed by public art team Harries/Heder, the installation consists of 15 flower-like solar photovoltaic panels located on a pedestrian and bike path between the village of Mueller and Austin's highway I-35. According to Harries/Heder, the flowers are "an icon for the sustainable, LEED certified Mueller Development and a highly visible metaphor for the energy conscious City of Austin."

When construction on Mueller, a mixed-use urban village in Austin, Texas first began nearly a decade ago, developers set up a number of environmental and aesthetic rules to safeguard the green spaces and keep the town from taking on an industrial feel. So when a massive retail lot was proposed, Mueller agreed to let it be built on one condition: loading docks behind the stores had to be covered up. Enter Sunflowers, An Electric Garden — Austin's largest public art installation.

In addition to providing shade for walkers and bikers, the solar flowers collect energy during the day to power the installation's blue LED lights at night. Leftover power is sent to the grid to offset the cost of maintaining the installation. If only every city required industrial sites to be covered up with similar art projects!

http://www.energievair.com/maximizer/Futurist--Solar-Sunflower-panels-Field--Energizes-Austin-Texass

samedi 4 septembre 2010

Heliotrope Sun-tracking Solar Panels : Track the sunlight without any motors.

Product and Process

Plants in areas with short growing seasons need to make the most of their time above ground. This is their one chance to capture solar energy and convert it into sugars they need for energy. They do this by maximizing their exposure to  sunlight by a process called heliotropism. In 2009, a team of MIT students, honoring the source of their inspiration by calling themselves Heliotrope, won a prize for their design of a sun-tracking solar panel.

Solar panels are often immobile devices, aimed at the best angle and direction to catch sunlight throughout the day. However, because they don't move, they aren't as efficient as they could be. Those that do move to follow the sun use motors and electronic control systems, thus costing money to run, and making them unaffordable in many developing countries. Solar panels that track the angle of the sun can be 38 percent more efficient at generating power than fixed panels.

To make their solar panels responsive to sunlight, students Forrest Liau, Vyom Sharma, and George Whitfield used the difference in temperature between shaded and sunny areas to change the properties of the material supporting the solar photovoltaic cells. The solar panels are mounted at the top of a curved arch made up of two kinds of metal, such as aluminum and steel. The apparatus is expected to be durable enough to withstand the elements with little or no maintenance

The Biomimicry story

Plants in areas with short growing seasons need to make the most of their time above ground. This is their one chance to capture solar energy and convert it into the sugars they need for energy. They do this by maximizing their exposure to the sunlight by a process called heliotropism. In 2009, a team of MIT students, honoring the source of their inspiration by calling themselves Heliotrope, won a prize for their design of a sun-tracking solar panel.

Solar panels are often immobile devices, aimed at the best angle and direction to catch sunlight throughout the day. However, because they don't move, they can't work at highest efficiency throughout the day. Those that do move to follow the sun use motors and electronic control systems, thus costing money to run, and making them unaffordable in many developing countries. Solar panels that track the angle of the sun can be 38 percent more efficient at generating power than fixed panels.

To make their solar panels responsive to sunlight, students Forrest Liau, Vyom Sharma, and George Whitfield used the difference in temperature between shaded and sunny areas to change the properties of the material supporting the solar photovoltaic cells. The solar panels are mounted at the top of a curved arch made up of two kinds of metal, such as aluminum and steel. The apparatus is expected to be durable enough to withstand the elements with little or no maintenance.
 

mardi 31 août 2010

New Vertical Axis Wind Turbine running with truck's energy!

A new kind of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine have been installed in France, near the A6 runway. It is activated by the truck's movement, wich deploy alot of energy when passing near the turbine. It is still an experimentation, but the France's governement have already invested some funds into this new wind turbine technology.

vendredi 27 août 2010

A Solar Powered ToothBrush!? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

There are Solar Panels everywhere : calculators, cell phones, etc. Now they are talking about developping some Solar Generated cloths! When will we stop this none sense? This is anything but ecologic, since all these gadgets will be throw away to the garbage in less than 5 years! If you think that a Solar Panel has a lifetime of more than 20 years, this is a total waste! Do I have to remind you that solar panels are made with alliminium, silicone and silicium? We don't want these to go in our garbages! When will they try to convince us that a Solar Powered ToothBrush is ecological? Please tell us what you think about this matter.