[GWSG] Smart grid in Breda; TVA closes 18 coal plants; APS solar trial; CO2 calculator; LA passive house; 2010's heat wave in Europe

[Tilley, Al]

1.  In the Dutch city of Breda washing machines will be plugged into a central computer which will calculate the best time for them to draw power.  The 2-year pilot project will supply other information to help residents use power most efficiently.  http://blog.cleantechies.com/2011/04/14/solar-powered-washing-machine-puts-smart-grid-to-the-test/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cleantechies+%28CleanTechies+Blog%29

2.  The Tennessee Valley Authority is settling with the EPA by closing 18 of its coal fired generators (16% of its coal-fired power capacity) with the prospect of shutting down another 18.  The Sierra Club and 2 other environmental organizations joined 4 states in the suit, which was based on new pollution regulations.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/14/us-utilities-epa-tva-idUSTRE73D6BL20110414?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

3.  Arizona Public Service, a utility, is piloting a distributed solar power project using 200 homes who grant roof easements to the utility in return for a fixed Community Power rate for 20 years for the portion of their power covered by a solar installation.  The utility covers the upfront costs.  500 kw of centralized solar power and another 400 kw from an installation at a public school are also part of a single distribution feeder.  The project will test the effect of intermittent solar power on the utility’s grid, and their ability to manage distributed power generation.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/04/sunrises-on-rooftops??cmpid=WNL-Friday-April15-2011

4.  Associates of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at UC Berkeley have released an unusually useful individual carbon footprint calculator.  We’re at 34 tons of CO2 a year and hope to do better.  You?  I would like to pass on success stories; let me know if that would be okay when you send me such. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110415163527.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

5.   The first certified passive house for hot and humid climates came in at under $120 a square foot, including the $20,000 solar panels, and is performing as designed while the weather heats up in Lafayette, LA.  Utility bills have been between -$.62 and $5 a month.  The house, designed by a Louisiana U architecture prof, was completed in February. http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/following-passive-house-deep-south  More detail, with interior pics:  http://www.theind.com/cover-story/6483-passive-aggressive

6.   The 2010 heat wave in large parts of Eastern Europe was the most severe in at least 500 years, according to a study in Science.  It destroyed 25% of the crops and killed 55.000 people in western Russia.  Models indicate that less extreme heat waves are 5-10 times more likely in the next 40 years, and heat waves as severe as last year’s will become more common in the latter half of the century.  See “Burn, Baby, Burn” in the link.  http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6026/twis.full
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20110416/0e0d74f0/attachment.html