OptiSolar Building Solar Farm In California

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California has always had a high demand for energy, especially in the summertime. With demand for electricity always on the rise, OptiSolar is laying the ground work for a $1 billion dollar 550 Megawatt Photovoltaic solar farm in San Luis Obispo County, California.

The Topaz Solar Farm in the Carrisa Plains is expected to generate enough power for 190,000 “average use” homes in the area. The amount of emissions this solar farm will reduce is equal to taking 900,000 cars off the road. OptiSolar’s technology is quiet and doesn’t require moving parts to produce electricity.

The state of California requires that utilities secure at least 20% of their power from renewable energy sources by 2010. The State is looking to increase this to 33% by 2020, so there is definitely plenty of room for OptiSolar to make a difference.

OptiSolar has a number of Solar Farm projects in Canada, including Toronto.

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Diesel - Part One - Biodiesel

Biodiesel is an alternative energy that has a lot of support worldwide. Not too many of its’ supporters think that Biodiesel can completely replace gasoline as the fuel of choice for most car owners, but they are still confident that biodiesel can have a positive impact for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiesel can generally be blended with regular petroleum based diesel, and this blend can run in a diesel engine without too much complication.

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Eco-Friendly Ashphalt

Eco-friendly asphalt is being researched by a team of U.S. scientists. Currently, 90% of all roads in the United States use asphalt, which is not in the least bit environmentally friendly. There are two major areas the Asphalt Research Consortium thinks it can improve current asphalt.

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Alternative Fuel Sources - Part Two - Diesel

Let’s take a look at diesel fuel, which many people don’t immediately associate with being alternative fuels. Diesel has long been the only alternative source of fuel, but has generally suffered from a bad reputation.

Diesel in its’ most prevalent form is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum fuel oil, and would generally not be considered “green.”

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Senate Ponders Climate Changing Bill

Today the United States Senate is looking into a bill that seeks to curb Greenhouse Emissions. The bill, called the Climate Security Act of 2008 is similar to legislation passed in California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and seeks to cut 66% of todays levels of greenhouse gases by 2050. 19% of emissions would be reduced by 2020.

Under this proposed bill, industries would have to pay in order to emit carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases. Beginning in 2012, electric power, transportation fuel companies, petroleum, manufacturing and natural gas companies will be required to purchase a permit to emit greenhouse gases. These permits would be bought and sold by the Government. Supporters of the bill think this is a step in trying to make for cleaner energy, while opponents believe that it’s a new tax designed to raise prices on gasoline and energy bills - and that consumers will end up picking up the tab.

The Climate Security Act of 2008 has caused quite a stir in the White House. Outgoing President, George W. Bush, has not supported the bill and warned that it could raise already rocketing gasoline prices and put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage with other countries.

Many intelligent people, including scientists and Nobel Peace Prize winners are urging lawmakers to pass the bill. There is no simple solution to the growing problem of air pollution and greenhouse gases, but every bit helps.

Major supporters of the bill are Joseph Lieberman (Independent - Connecticut) Barbara Boxer (Democrat - California) John Warner (Republican - Virginia) and Presidential Candidate John McCain (Republican - Arizona.)

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Alternative Fuel Sources - Part One - Overview

The hunt for alternative fuel sources is on. Gasoline is at a record price, and the economic pressure is forcing almost everyone to take a good, hard look at alternatives. This series of articles is designed at shedding some light on the issue of what alternatives to gasoline are out there, and which ones could eventually break the grip of the dominance of oil.

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Renewable Energy Sources - Part 5 - Solar

This is the last post in our renewable energy sources. This time we take a look at Solar energy. Solar energy has long been an intriguing idea for man, seeing as how the Sun is the center of our galaxy, and is a source of immense, and seemingly inexhaustible power.

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Renewable Energy Sources - Part 4 - Wind

Today we’re taking a look at yet another renewable energy source, one that surrounds us constantly. That is wind power. Wind power is on the rise in popularity, as evidenced by an announcement by T. Boone Pickens that he was building a 4,000 megawatt wind farm in the heart of oil country in Texas. T. Boone Pickens is a name that’s synonymous with old school energy like Oil, so when he places a huge bet on old fashioned wind power, people tend to listen.

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Renewable Energy Sources - Part Three - Geothermal

Now we’ve reached Part Three of our series on renewable energy sources. It’s time to take a look at Geothermal energy production.

Geothermal energy is a strong alternative renewable energy source for a number of reasons.

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Renewable Energy Sources - Part Two - Hydropower

Hydropower is a commonly used renewable energy source. In fact, hydropower is so common that 20% of the electricity in the world and 10% of the electricity in the United States comes from this source. Canada is the largest producer of hydropower in the world and the United States comes in second.

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