STUFF

Xcel Energy's 210MW wind farm in SW MN now online. Now developing 150MW farm in ND. They use near 1.5GW (equiv to a humongous coal plant) wind power from upper midwest.

Calif earlier this year launched an incentive program for solar water heaters. NY started a program earlier this month. . Both states also have incentives for solar el systems and hybrid systems can claim incentives from both programs. What about all our southern and sunny states?

Seoul started el bus service. 5 buses so far. 52 miles on charge. Can charge in 30 min. 240kw motor. Li-ion batts, regen braking. Body out of C composites. Hyundai.

La Cuna de Aztlan Nation, Californians for Renewable Energy and 5 individuals filed suit Monday in US District Court in San Diego against 6 solar plant projects. Not enough respect for burial grounds, history, etc.

Muni offices in St. Cloud MN first in US to install light-com system in place of wi-fi. Uses LEDs that flick thousands of times per second for binary code to special modems/computers and connect to internet at about residential DSL speed now (~3gbs), but LVX Systems says it'll get faster. Savings on lighting costs pays for internet service. Is this an amazing country or what? Are our brains amazing or what?

Former Shell Oil prez: w/in decade US into big time energy shortages if we stay on present course. Sees $5/gal by '12. O what's new. What about those huge oil reserves in Cal's central valley that drilling tech has caught up to at $80 oil? Oil industry plans capital budgets in 3-year cycles. So deepwater moratorium has affected investments. O do dah day.

A startup has found a way to economically recycle nylon carpet. 4B lbs of carpet thrown away in US every year. Does this stuff amaze you as much as me? 5 lbs of oil (over .5 gal) goes into 1 lb of nylon. So, could save millions of bls oil/yr. The company can make recycled carpet for less than present costs, breakeven ~$50 oil. CA has recycling fees on carpet. 4 states considering. EU bans carpet in landfills, so it's burned (15k BTUs in 1 lb). But, carpet makers are switching away from nylon to cheaper PET (whatever that is).

World cumulative installed wind capacity went from 20GW in '00 to 160GW in '09. GW=coal plant. Yay world.