Solar Powered Solar Power

Something that has long been a dream of mine looks like it will be a reality soon. I have always wanted to see a solar powered solar panel factory, or a wind powered wind turbine factory. Basically you use a little fossil fuels to get started, then the first however many turbines/panels off the line power the factory, from then on in it’s all carbon neutral.

The good folks at Sharp (one of the worlds largest solar panel makers) are finally going to go and give it a try (or at least thats what I think this means). There “Sakai, coastal areas of mega solar power generation plan” (sorry for the bad translation), is a plan to install two solar power plants in Sakai District one with a power output of approximately 10 MW and one with an output of 18 MW The solar panels will be built over an old industrial waste landfill site.

Sakai, the city, has a plan aimed at the urban low-carbon “Sakai KURUSHITI” initiative in order to promote clean green living in the town. With a combined output of 28 MW, the solar farms will reduce CO2, by 10,000 tons per year.

The real question is, will these arrays provide enough power to power the solar plant? I would say that 28mw of solar power (one of the largest solar farms in the world) should put a good dent in the energy needs of this factory. Not to mention it looks like they could toss up a wind turbine or two for the days (and nights) when it’s windy but not sunny. A fully renewable energy powered renewable energy factory is not only possible it just makes sense.

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The U.S.'s First Offshore Wind Farm...FINALLY

The story of offshore wind in America has been so far, pretty depressing. In general, wealthy people with otherwise green ideals have put a damper on offshore wind simply because they don't want to look at them in the distance. But we've finally got an offshore wind project approved for the United States (lagging woefully behind Europe).

The new wind farm will be built off the coast of Delaware, about 12 miles off the coast. That should decrease the visual distraction significantly as well as help capture those roaring atlantic breezes that average about twice that of on-land wind speeds. The field will be composed of about 150 turbines and will produce enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes at peak output.

The deal is a joint project between the Delmavra Power Utility and BlueWater Wind, which has previously created offshore wind farms in the Netherlands. The project will cost about $1.6 B. Half of the generating capacity is being pre-purchased by Delmavra. The rest of the electricity will be sold to other buyers. But not until the project is completed in 2012.

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Hawaii Contemplates Dumping Trash In Oregon

Written by Ariel Schwartz

Oregon: the land of volcanoes, beautiful coastline, forests…and trash? Unfortunately, that might be the case if Hawaii gets its way.

According to the Portland Tribune, Honolulu is quickly running out of space in their main landfill. In order to prevent overflow, the city has hatched a plan to send ships full of garbage up the Columbia River in Oregon, where trash will be put on trucks and trains headed to the Columbia Ridge Landfill.

It may seem strange that Hawaii wants to send its trash to a state known for being so environmentally conscious. Interestingly enough, that’s exactly why they want to do it.

Oregonians recycle over 50 percent of their waste, so the state has plenty of excess space. And Hawaii isn’t the only state taking advantage of this generosity. Oregon is the fifth largest importer of garbage in the country, and nearby Seattle sends over 2 million tons of trash a year to the Columbia Ridge Landfill.

Is this how we want to treat states that recycle? It is certainly true that other states have to put their trash somewhere, but it is a shame that we are rewarding Oregon for environmental awareness by giving them excess trash.

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