From our home state of Utah comes this characteristically defeatist piece of news with some nuggets of fact concerning the current renewable energy policy around these parts.

Something about a task force investigating, updating, and reporting to the government on our resources, potential, and installation and transmission costs to meet the state’s goal of generating 20% of its own power from renewable sources by 2025. IF it’s cost-effective. Plenty of wiggle room there.

The story from the Salt Lake Tribune reports the following numbers for the present renewable energy situation in Utah:

Wind:

• Utah currently has about 19 megawatts of wind power in Spanish Fork Canyon.
• PacifiCorp reports having four projects with 857 megawatts “in progress.”
• The big barriers to developing wind power are initial costs and access to transmission lines.

Solar

• Utah has considerable solar power potential, especially in the western and southwestern parts of the state.
• Southern Utah has about 300 sunny days per year.
• There is no commercial development of solar power in Utah.
• Again, cost of development and access to transmission lines are the biggest obstacles.

Geothermal

• There are limited resource areas in Utah.
• PacifiCorp reports 82.5 megawatts “in progress.”
• Geothermal is a baseload source of power, meaning it produces a steady supply of electricity.
• There are high upfront costs for drilling, transmission is an issue and projects take longer to develop.

According to the U.S. Government’s fuel economy site, gas mileage very rapidly decreases once you go past 60mph.

Every 5mph driven over 60mph is like paying an additional $.30 per gallon of gas. Apply that to your weekly gas prices…

Money saving and conservation go hand in hand with being green.

If you want to keep abreast of what the U.S. Department of Energy’s EERE is up to, there’s this nifty page which lists the recent accomplishments in both areas: EERE Recent Accomplishments.

They have separate lists for renewable energy and energy efficient accomplishments in the area of energy policy.

On July 14, 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it’s putting $850,000 towards the Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative. The goal with this is to establish state-level energy policies.

This Initiative has its own site, located here.

Here’s a chart I found on the Energy Information Administration site. It visually shows how much carbon dioxide the U.S. was putting into the atmosphere for 2006- Breaking down exact SOURCES of the emissions.

Energy-related CO2 made up 82.3% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. “Energy-related” means that it came from the combustion of petroleum, coal, and natural gas for energy needs.

Take a look at how big an influence transportation is! Even though the industrial sector beats it out for energy use, it still emits more carbon dioxide (this is due to its complete dependence on petroleum fuels.)

This is a startling big-picture look at energy use, energy management, and how current energy policy isn’t doing the U.S. any favors at all.

I learned this on the EERE Web site:

75% of the electricity being used to power your home electronics is used while those electronics are turned off.

So unplug them or utilize a power strip to cut their power. Electricity for home electronics doesn’t require so much energy as your clothes dryer or AC, but it does have some effect.

Do a search for “standby power” if you’re interested in learning more information about this.

There are a whole host of seemingly small actions you can take to save energy, save money, save electricity. Start now to make a difference!

Gore’s, Pickens’ Energy Challenges Need Smart Infrastructure @ MarketWatch

The Galvin Electricity Initiative’s executive director, Kurt Yeager, describes the need for building an updated electrical power system as the first step to making a switch to renewable energy become a reality. Our current grid system is based on 1950s technology which makes it an additional barrier to utilizing green sources of energy.

CPUC Approves New SoCal Edison Wind, Solar PV Contracts @ SCE.com

Two 20-year contracts for renewable energy sources have been approved in CA (a wind farm and solar photovoltaic facility.)

Alaska: Energy fix meets political pandering @ CNNMoney.com

The possibility of drilling in Alaska is discussed here, with arguments presented from both sides of the situation.

Energy investments surge

This article is located at the Financial Standard site. I found it encouraging. There’s plenty of depressing energy-related reading material on hand lately. But it’s pleasing to know about the increase in investments.

Something thought-provoking as well: The article brought up two sides of the energy situation – that there is a need to create more energy as well as the need to be using less energy. Energy efficient products and solutions are on the side of requiring less, while realizing the potential of renewable energy is on the side of harnessing more. This all relates to that other article which came out recently and delved into the need for a smarter power grid. That falls into energy efficiency on a larger scale.

I’m saying it’s really interesting to see in action the sort of sibling relationship energy efficiency and renewable energy sources have. As well as to see how an understanding of this relationship is being worked into the minds of everyone who happens to read such news. It goes along with that May 2007 publication by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy: The Twin Pillars of Sustainable Energy: Synergies between Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technology and Policy.

This ripple in ideas is exciting. As it all becomes more and more a basic part of public knowledge, we all benefit as a community.

There’s an opinion article which was published yesterday in the Start Telegram, written by Kateri Callahan of the Alliance to Save Energy which delivers a bit of a happy note as well: Decreasing vehicle miles traveled a sign of the times.

She brings up the changes many Americans are making today as a response to gas prices . . . But also brings up a few alterations made in people’s lifestyles which wouldn’t immediately revert back were gas prices to decrease. And if that weren’t enough info for a great article, she brings up specific trends and steps which Congress and the Bush administration could do well to get behind.

If you’d like to know more about the Alliance to Save Energy, check out their site here.

A couple weeks ago, club Surya opened up in King’s Cross, London. This is a Club4Climate project which has a dance floor powered by piezoelectricity. This means it utilizes crystals which, in response to pressure created by the weight of dancers as well as their movements, supplies powers to various parts of the club! The floor handles 60% of the energy needed. The remaining needs are supplied by wind and solar power. (Private homes in the area benefit from any extra power generated.)

The first club intended to make use of such a dance floor was Sustainable Dance Club’s Club Watt in Rotterdam (in the Netherlands.)

In 2010, Club4Climate also intends to create an eco-friendly holiday island which will operate in a sustainable manner as well.

MIT engineers have discovered a new way to concentrate solar energy into a smaller amount of solar cells through the use of dyed solar panels. These solar concentrators offer new possibilities for more affordable solar power systems (which could be implemented within three years!). Options may also be available to improve existing solar panel systems with the aid of this technology.

Read more about it here:
MIT opens new ‘window’ on solar energy