Our Green Streets Blog

The following comments come from the master architects and innovative visionaries who founded LuminAID Lab, originally the Solar Light Pillow Project. Read, enjoy, spread the news! – Glenn

“1 in 6 people in the world lack stable access to electricity. Many people must rely on dangerous and toxic kerosene lamps as a primary source of light and spend upwards of 30% of their income on this kerosene. With the increasing developments in small scale solar technology, there is no reason why individuals and families should not have a safer, less expensive, and more reilable source of light. The LuminAID solar light is a cheaper, safer alternative to kerosene lamps.” ”Some of you may have heard us talk for some time now about finding a new name for our product. We are excited to announce that we are renaming both our product and our company. The Solar Light Pillow Project will now be known as LuminAID Lab, and our light is now the LuminAID solar light!  Our new name came to us with help from our talented friends Stevie Belchak and Jess Tom. While we are sad to retire the well-liked “light pillow” nickname, we felt the change was necessary in order to better market our product. We consider it one more of the many lessons learned so far in having started our venture. There are many new exciting developments to come, so be sure to join our mailing list to keep up to date!

“The LuminAID solar light proposes a new direction for solar technology. Flexible, photovoltaic film is laminated to polyethelenevinyl acetate plastic (PEVA). The LuminAID solar light inflates to produce a quality of light similar to a lantern. The LuminAID solar light provides 5 hours of light and fully charges in 6 hours. The inflatable core measures 9″ L x 9″ W. Printed on the core is a frit pattern that consists of white dots. The frit pattern diffuses the LED light.

“The LuminAID solar light inflates to diffuse light like a lantern.

“The circuit and photovoltaic panels are sandwiched between the two layers of plastic, protecting it from damage and making the pillow waterproof. When inflated, the LuminAID solar light can float. The outside layer of plastic can be printed with additional logos or patterns.

“Restoring normal life in regions affected by natural disasters or war plays a vital role in recovery efforts. Re-establishing electrical grid infrastructure in those cases can sometimes take weeks or months. There is a need for a solution that can be deployed easily and immediately and with minimal maintenance. Sustainable lighting solutions, including photovoltaic cells coupled to rechargeable batteries, are an ideal approach to providing on-demand lighting with no operating cost. However, current solar-charged light solutions are expensive and difficult to manufacture and transport. This makes them unattractive for large-scale deployment. The LuminAID solar light addresses these issues while providing a useful and portable form of light for disaster victims.”

Bravo!

With the price of solar panels dropping significantly over the last five years, Germany’s Solar Millennium AG reports it will convert the first 500 megawatts of its 1,000 MW Blythe solar power plant in the Mojave desert from concentrated solar power/solar thermal system to PV.

It will decide what technology to use for the second half of the project at a later date. The company has not named who the PV panel supplier will be for the project.

“Solar Millennium responds quickly and pragmatically to market conditions, and at the moment the California market favors PV technology,” said Solar Millennium CEO Christophe Wolff said in a prepared statement.

This announcement represents the latest in a number of similar conversions this year by solar thermal power plant developers in California. This year at least four projects, producing some 1,850 MW of power generation, have changed most or all of their technology to PV.

PV systems turn sunlight into electricity, while concentrated solar power (CSP) uses heat to create steam that then powers a generator to create electricity.

Since California mandated that the state’s utilities must obtain 20 percent of their power from renewable sources, the price of PV panels have fallen by almost 50 percent. This has been followed by dramatic growth in solar and wind projects.

Solar Millennium officials in the United States said the switch to PV will allow its projects to become operational in smaller phases compared to the larger scale required by CSP technology.

Because of the switch to a more widespread PV technology, the company plans to finance the project in the commercial bank market rather than through loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. The loan guarantee program was developed to fund new technologies that have had trouble securing financing from traditional lenders.

Solar Millennium said it still sees strong demand for concentrated solar power, also referred to as solar thermal power, in markets such as Africa, the Middle East, India, China and Southern Europe.

Solar Trust of America, a joint venture between Solar Millennium and Ferrostaal AG, is developing the Blythe power plant.

Photo: Solar Millennium AG

Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/135J0)

Writer Ashyia Hill writes this work on the top 10 countries that take the lead in renewable energy innovation.

With fossil fuel stockpiles running out, the world is in a race against the clock to come up with clean, renewable uses of technology that will meet our needs without hurting the next generation’s ability to meet their needs.  But, which countries are leading the way in renewable energy innovations?

One way to answer this question is by looking at which nations took out the most clean energy-related patents. Economists Antoine Dechezleprêtre and Matthieu Glachant analyzed patent awards by the European Union’s World Patent Statistical Database to see which nations produced the most clean technology inventions between 2000 and 2005.

1. Japan

The Dechezleprêtre and Glachant study found that Japan was responsible for 37.1 percent of innovations related to clean energy between 2000 and 2005. This matches up well with a 2002 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which found Japan’s environmental policies were strict, effective, well-enforced, and properly monitored.

2. United States

The U.S. is the global leader in carbon capture and storage, a method of grabbing CO2 from point sources and storing it so it can’t get into the atmosphere. The United States holds almost 70 percent of CCS patents across the world, according to British non-profit institute Chatham House.

Dechezleprêtre and Glachant found the U.S. came up with 11.8 percent of the world’s green inventions between 2000 and 2005.

3. Germany

In terms of green technology, Germany is best known for its solar panels, although it also uses many other types of renewable energy. The German Ministry for the Environment and Reactor Safety says that over 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity was provided by renewable energy in 2010.

As per Dechezleprêtre and Glachant’s analysis, Germany was responsible for 10 percent of the world’s eco-friendly patents during the studied period.

4. China

China’s growing population is contributing to a bigger demand for energy, and political leaders are investing more into renewable energy for the country. As per the Center for American Progress, China invested $33.7 billion into renewable energy in 2009.

In the Dechezleprêtre and Glachant assessment, China was the source of 8.1 percent of global green innovations.

5. South Korea

South Korea has made renewable energy investing a priority. The South Korean government placed more than 80% of its $38 billion stimulus package into green investments in 2009, according to Forbes magazine.

This small country came up 6.4 percent of the planet’s renewable energy inventions, as per Dechezleprêtre and Glachant.

6. Russia

Like China, Russia has not traditionally been known for focusing on environmentalism, but this is starting to change. Russia’s emphasis on technology and science in education gives this country the potential to become a leader in eco-friendly technology.

In the previously mentioned study, Russia was responsible for 2.8 percent of global renewable energy innovations.

7. Australia

Australia’s status as an island gives it special opportunities and challenges when it comes to environmental decisions. The nation’s prime minister, Julia Gillard, recently unveiled a plan to tax its biggest emitters of carbon dioxide by July of 2012, which would make it the first country to place a price tag on carbon.

Dechezleprêtre and Glachant found that 2.5 percent of green technology-related patents came from Australia.

8. France

As in many European countries, the environment has long been a hot topic in France, and green products are becoming more popular among consumers.

In terms of green inventions, France tied with Australia in the above study.

9. United Kingdom

The U.K. may not produce many renewable energy innovations, but it’s good at importing other countries’ inventions, especially when it comes to wind and water power, according to a Forbes magazine report.

The United Kingdom produced 2 percent of renewable energy innovations covered in the Dechezleprêtre and Glachant study.

10. Canada

Canada isn’t a yet a big player in renewable energy, although a lot of its electricity comes from hydroelectric dams. However, with the use of wind power expanding, Canada has opportunities to pioneer new uses of green technology.

Canada was responsible for 1.7 percent of global green innovations in the patent analysis study.

Although eco-friendly patents and innovations don’t tell the whole story when it comes to a country’s environmental policies, the fact that these countries are investing in renewable energy means they are looking to the future—and that is a big part of the green mindset.

Hill adds: “I was searching for a more modern version of the Dechezleprêtre and Glachant patent study, but I couldn’t find anything on a global scale. Although their study uses information from 2005, it wasn’t published until 2009.”

Ashyia Hill is a business blogger and social media advocate with CreditDonkey, where she helps entrepreneurs evaluate small business credit cards.

Photo: RDECOM

James Kim

Interpreting food labels can seem like an overwhelming undertaking. To make your meal planning a little less confusing, check out this list of some of the most common food terms:

• “Local” should mean grown within 100 miles from where the food is sold.  However, there are not any government agencies reinforcing this term.  The best chance of getting something local is buying it from a farmer or farmer’s market.

• “Natural” is defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “foods that are minimally processed and free of synthetic preservatives; artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors and other artificial additives; growth hormones; antibiotics; hydrogenated oils; stabilizers; and emulsifies.” However, the FDA explains, “Most foods labeled natural are not subject to government controls beyond the regulations and health codes that apply to all foods.” Determine for yourself if something is natural by reading the list of ingredients on the back of the package.

• “Certified” is a nebulous term. The Food Safety and Inspection Service defines this term as a product that was evaluated based upon a set of “quality characteristics.” A lot of butchers use this term and it is a better idea to buy a piece of meat that is certified or of higher quality than one that is not.

• “Fair Trade” is governed by a company named FLO-CERT, which defines itself as, “an independent International Certification company” that “assist(s) in the socio-economic Development of producers in the Global South and help(s) to foster long-term relationships and good practice with traders of Certified Fair Trade products.”  This helps to ensure that everyone who helped develop the product is offered a fair wage, including small farmers who live in countries with a lot of poverty.  It is a good idea; but as a label, it doesn’t speak to the quality of the product.

• “Organic” is described as food produced without the use of “most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.” A government-approved certifier must inspect and approve of the farm and food processing/handling companies also.  There are many different labels for organic.  One is “100 percent organic” and another is “organic” (95 percent).  Yet another is, “made with organic ingredients (70 percent or more) and “contains organic ingredients” (70 percent or less).

Keep these labels in mind when doing grocery shopping for meal planning.  Hopefully, this information has made these labels more useful for you to help plan those healthy meals!

James Kim is a writer for foodonthetable.com.  Food on the Table is a company that provides online budget meal planning services.  Their goal is to help families eat better and save money.

PHOTO: European Parliament