From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

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Wow, just yesterday we were talking about how Ohio is doing great things to incorporate alternative energy, wind power especially, in their energy future, and today, I find this?!  What a week!  As the title says, the United States has officially become the single largest wind power producer in the entire world!  That is an honor we are PROUD to take, and one of the only times the perceived “bigger is better” mentality of us Americans seems, well, awesome!

That’s right, the U.S. has officially overtaken Germany as the largest producer of wind power on the planet.  Try this on for size…using wind power alone, the United States generates enough energy to completely eliminate the burning of 91 MILLION barrels of oil each year.  91 MILLION Barrels!  Wow.  Reports are saying:

“US wind producers enjoyed another record year of growth in 2008—the third in a row. The country now has an installed wind power capacity well in excess of 21,000 megawatts (MW), enough to supply electricity to over 5.5 million American homes…“Wind energy installations are well ahead of the curve for contributing 20% of the U.S. electric power supply by 2030 as envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy.”

I couldn’t be prouder.  The article mentioned, and I couldn’t agree more, that this makes it all the more exciting for the next 4 years.  All of this progress on alternative energy was made during a political time of almost indifference towards alternative energy.  Imagine what we can do if we have an administration that is pushing for it full steam ahead!  Keep up the great work guys, this is truly great news!

Image via Wikipedia

Here comes the wind, here comes the water and the biomass…here comes Alternative energy!  I woke up to quite a bit of good news on the ol’ alternative energy front this fine Monday, and while it’s tough being back at work after an amazing Holiday Weekend, seeing this kind of news helps ease the pain.

According to new reports, the great state of Ohio is looking into some serious alternative energy plans for their near future.  Instead of relying solely on one method of providing clean, renewable and cheaper power to their people, it looks like they are actually going to be spreading out and diversifying, which is even more exciting!  Reports are saying that Ohio is looking into wind power, water power and even biomass to help provide and fulfill energy needs.

In my opinion, however, the thing that Ohio is doing that is the most intelligent, and will probably be the most helpful, is educating the people.  Check this out:

“Ratepayers in the Dayton region could see a host of conservation programs in the next two years including rebates for using energy efficient light bulbs, having air conditioning units tuned, and upgrading appliances. Assuming regulatory approval, there would also be programs for weatherizing low-income households and trimming demand. Through conservation, the utility wants to cut energy demand by 25 percent when 2025 rolls around.”

The more we know, the better we can be, and I am sure that these new incentive programs will help push the demand down by 2025 as their goal suggests.  Whatever the case may be, the simple fact that they are standing up, taking action and getting to it is great to see!  Talk about a perfect early New Year’s Resolution!

Image by Junior Sam via Flickr

Just yesterday I talked at length about how 33% of consumers in this fine country want greener electronics.  Not only do they Want them, they plan on buying them within the next 2 years.  This is great news, but I found something today that is even better…you don’t have to Wait 2 years to buy some awesome Green Christmas gifts, you can start now, with these 8 awesome products I just found.

That’s right, the article I just read has 8 great ideas for any and all gadget lovers in your life.  The best part of all, not only will THEY love them, the Earth will too.  Can’t ask for much more than that, now can you?  Without further ado, and as usual check out the full article for more, here are the 8 best Green Christmas Gadget Gifts this year:

1. “The Voltaic Backpack - A backpack covered in solar panels that will charge your gear with the energy saved from the sun.  Rad.
2. The Kill-A-Watt - Power strip that actually measures the energy you’re using and shows just how much you save by unplugging.
3. EasyBloom Plant Sensor - A Device that measures how your plants are doing, when they need water and if they are sick or not.  Think of it as a green thumb for you.
4. Mini Kin Wind-Powered Personal Charger - Charges your gadgets using the wind.  Wind power rocks.
5. Bedol Water-Powered Clock - Pour water in, the water will charge it and power it and keep time for you.  Wow.
6. The Ankelite - A solar powered light that goes on your ankle so you’re always visible while biking.  Safety first!
7. Solio Solar Powered Charger - Fan it out, lay it out, charge all your gizmos using nothing but the sun.  Free energy = Awesome.
8. SimpleTech [re]drive Hard Drive - Made from recycleable bamboo and uses an energy star adapter.  Safe and green.”

There you have it.  If you can’t find something on that list to fill up your tree or stocking with gifts, I don’t know what to tell you.  Me, I want all of them…er…I’ll be buying them for other people!  Not a gadget fan but still want to go green this Christmas, head over to Northern Tool and look at all of our amazing alternative energy products.  There is something there for EVERYONE that wants to start helping the Earth AND their pocketbooks!

Hello and happy fridgid Monday Morning!  With the wind (ironic, no) blowing outside, our temperatures officially hit -35 below zero last night.  Yikes.  At any rate, wind isn’t always bad, and doesn’t always have to mean frozen faces, cars that won’t start and staying stuck indoors, according to a recent study, wind can mean a LOT more good than that.

With concerns about global warming ever on the rise, new studies about how to best invest in alternative energy are popping up everywhere.  Some of the greatest minds alive are focusing their energy and attention on how best to beat these problems, and some of the results are surprising.  One of the most recent and relevant of the studies showed some surprising revelations about both wind energy, and ethanol.

According to the article I just read,

The review pits twelve combinations of electric power generation and vehicular motivation against each other. It is a battle royal of nine electric power sources, three vehicle technologies, and two liquid fuel sources. It rates each combination based on eleven categories. And it was all compiled by one man, Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

The results of this test might surprise you.  They found that “Wind power emerged as the overall victor. When teamed with battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, it claimed the top two spots by winning seven of the eleven categories. Photovoltaics are an unexpected also-ran, failing to make the top five. Politically favored ethanol stands out as the big loser of the study, falling behind “clean coal,” a technology many consider a dead end. Ouch.”  Wow.  Go wind power!

So, if you’re looking to put some bang into your buck, looks like a lot of people are thinking wind power might be the way to rock.

Image via Wikipedia

If you know us at all here at From The Workbench and Northern Tool, you’ll know how big of fans we are of all things alternative energy.  Whether it’s solar power, wind power, water power, biodiesel, heck, even human power (bicycles et. al), they all make us happy.  So reading today’s news about a new compact wind turbine that could effectively triple wind power output.  TRIPLE.

According to some new reports from those in the know, “Normally wind turbines lose up to 39.7 percent of potential energy because wind not only flows through the blades, but is also directed away from the turbine. The new FloDesign Wind Turbine takes cues from jet engine designs in order to minimize this wasted energy.”  Apparently, by enclosing the blades with smaller, stationary blades, all of the wind is thereby directed to the rotor.  While current turbines use giant blades to make up for the lost energy, the new FloDesign compact turbines can actually produce the same amount of energy as a turbine double its size.  Smaller turbines mean more turbines can fit in a single area, more turbines mean more energy.  This is good.

As the article mentioned as well, this new development might also silence a lot of wind power critics who think that wind farms are eyesores on the landscape.  The turbines can now be much smaller and take up far less space.  I for one, Love the sound of this.  More alternative and renewable energy, less complaining!

Image via Wikipedia

Hello and here’s hoping that you’re belly is ready to be stuffed, your pillow is ready to support your head, and your friends and family are ready to laze around, probably watch football, basketball or some early Christmas special on television.  That’s right, it’s the time of year once again to give thanks, and so from all of us at Northern Tool, we’re thankful for all of YOU!

That’s right, Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Northern Tool!  It’s been great writing for you, speaking to you, and hearing what you all have to say about this crazy and exciting world of alternative energy products, solutions, ideas, tips, hints and suggestions!  We love doing it, we love hearing from you and we’re thankful for all of your time!

So, Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Northern Tool!  Have a great Holiday, and try to avoid those shopping lines tomorrow!

Way to go OREGON!  I love when Wednesday actually gives us good news!  Today’s awesome alternative energy bit of news is that one of our great states in this wonderful nation is prepping, planning and is officially going to build one of the World’s LARGEST Wind Farms by 2012.

According to new reports, major utility company Southern California Edison is going ahead with plans to build a 909 MW, yes, 909 MW, wind farm between California and Oregon.  909 MW!  Good Lord.  The article I read mentioned that “….the new installation will actually be installed outside California in Gilliam and Morrow Counties in North-Central Oregon between 2011 and 2012.  The installation will consist of 303 3-MW turbines in a 30 mile radius. Shepherd’s Flat will generate around 2B kWh of wind power for SCE, about 10 percent of its total alternative energy portfolio.  The wind-rich region is one of the nation’s “bread baskets” of wind power.”

To me, some of the best news about this new installation is the simple fact that in creating it, no new power transmission lines need to be built.  By doing this, the wind farm can come online in much less time than other wind farms, and will allow the alternative energy and even the return on investments to come in much faster.  Not only that, wind power, per kWh, is cheaper than solar energy and a great deal of other alternative energy sources to cultivate and harness.

The bottom line, kudos to SCE, kudos to Oregon and California for this new MASSIVE wind farm.  For wanting to go green, this is a massive step forward.

Image via Wikipedia

If, twenty-five years ago, I would have told you that FAKE trees, entirely fake, would be creating power and energy that homes, cars, and appliances could then use, you probably would have locked me up and called me certifiably insane.  Well, fast-forward 25 years and the sentence I just typed is exactly true.  Artificial trees, entirely made up of artifical components, including photovoltaic cells and small wind turbines that will capture, harness, store and create energy that can then be used by cars and homes.  Believe it.

According to the article I just read:

“Using cutting edge materials and proven technology to harvest energy from the sun and wind, the company has been granted patents and has patents pending covering Biomimicry, Nanoleaf Technology,Energy transfer materials and process, and has moved past proof of concept criteria as required by investor groups. Solar Botanic has received approaches from different Government bodies who will provide advanced Research and Development facilities and interested investor groups. The company is now looking to select final business partners for investment, R&D, manufacturing, distribution and marketing from organisations with relevant specialist knowledge and sector understanding.”

The best thing about this new Solar Botanic idea uses the best of solar power and wind power while remaining extremely aesthetically pleasing.  Instead of giant mechanical turbines or flat, shiny solar panels, they actually look like real trees with real leaves.  “Planting” these bad boys all over town or in neighborhoods strategically placed in and around real trees could be an amazing way to start powering entire suburbs and neighborhoods with renewable energy without making it look like a set from Mad Max.

Head over and check out the technology, including the diagram of the tree…welcome to the future.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times:  Nothing makes me happier than waking up on a Monday morning and reading about some group, somewhere, deciding to make some changes and do their part in the battle of alternative energy.  I love seeing ideas spread, I love seeing Good ideas take flight, and I love seeing alternative energy ideas actually put to practical use.  That’s exactly what Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania is hoping will happen as he just dedicated the state’s newest wind farm.  The farm, once fully operational will power over 10,000 local homes and should save hundreds of millions in the long term on energy bills and nasty emissions into our atmosphere.

Rendell was quoted as saying, “”The Casselman Wind Power Project will provide clean energy without emitting any greenhouse gases and without using imported fuels. Pennsylvania is moving toward energy independence while providing better protection for our natural resources,” and he is dead on.  The 23 turbines will do exactly that and a 23-year contract has already been drawn up keeping the farm pumping out energy and supplying it to homes for the next 23 years.  Not too bad PA, Not too bad at all!

The good news is, there is even More good news.  Just this July, Governor Rendell also signed to different alternative energy acts, the Alternative Energy Investment Act and the Alternative Fuels Incentive Act that together will invest over $665 million dollars in alternative energy plans ranging from wind, to solar to geothermal energy.  That is a huge chunk of change thrown down onto a very lofty and very important goal.  I for one couldn’t be more excited and couldn’t be crossing my fingers more that the rest of the states in our great Nation stand up and do similar things.

Well played Pennsylvania.  Well played.