The sun, the wind, and acres of farm crops are fueling the move to Renewable Energy
The stressful and debilitating economic downturn is having an uplifting effect on businesses around the nation; some right here on Long Island.
Some engineering and manufacturing companies facing long periods of inactivity are retooling their strategies and are now building and installing solar panels in both residential and commercial sectors. These companies have attracted the interest and support of other firms on Long Island that manufacture and supply specific solar panel parts.
Other hard-pressed firms are spinning their efforts toward constructing and erecting huge windmills that catch and advance wind movements, and generate clean energy.
Before Robert Moses and his cohorts introduced the traffic jam to Long Island, one could hardly travel this thin strip of land without passing thousands of acres of potatoes, sweet corn, and other wholesome veggies. Now, more and more food crop growers are feeding some of their harvests to the transition toward biofuel production.
While you may not yet be involved in the business of renewable energy, a growing number of Suffolk County companies are deeply involved; such as H2M Wind Turbines; Built Well Solar Corporation; Go Solar Inc., just to name a few.
A word of advice to struggling Suffolk County engineering and manufacturing firms: Study the practices of those companies in the county that have already made the move to supporting the move to Renewable Energy. Who knows? Getting involved could bring in some green.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Geothermal Energy Workshop
On January 13, 2010, the Stony Brook University Small Business Development Center held the second in a series of workshops on alternative energy as part of it's NYSERDA funded Energy Company Initiative. The focus of the workshop was on Geothermal energy. The slides from Tony Penaccio of GeoEnergy Enterprises are HERE and, the slides of Dr. Thomas Watson of Brookhaven National Laboratories are HERE . The size of the file of slides from Brian DeLuca of Atlantis Marine World were too large to upload here. We will post them after we break up the presentation into two smaller files.
Once again we would like to thank Bethpage Federal Credit Union for their generous support in sponsoring this and future workshops in this series
Once again we would like to thank Bethpage Federal Credit Union for their generous support in sponsoring this and future workshops in this series
Friday, January 8, 2010
Paterson Announces Funding for Renewable Energy Projects
Renewable Energy Funding in NY
Governor David A. Paterson today announced that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), in conjunction with the Public Service Commission (PSC), will provide nearly $300 million for renewable energy projects under the Renewable Portfolio Standard Program (RPS), which will help accelerate the development of New York’s clean energy economy. With these awards, New York continues to invest in clean energy to achieve Governor Paterson’s goal of meeting 45 percent of the State’s energy needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2015.
Governor David A. Paterson today announced that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), in conjunction with the Public Service Commission (PSC), will provide nearly $300 million for renewable energy projects under the Renewable Portfolio Standard Program (RPS), which will help accelerate the development of New York’s clean energy economy. With these awards, New York continues to invest in clean energy to achieve Governor Paterson’s goal of meeting 45 percent of the State’s energy needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2015.
Hybrid Solar Panels
Hybrid Solar Panels Combine Photovoltaics with Thermoelectricity: Scientific American:
The DOE awarded Weidlinger Associates, a New York City-based structural engineering firm, a $150,000 grant earlier this month (matched by a 10-percent commitment from the state) to develop durable hybrid solar roofing panels with integrated photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric materials that harvest the sun's energy to produce both electricity and hot water for buildings.
The water tubes are crucial to the design. Typically, when photovoltaics heat up they begin to lose their efficiency at normal operating temperatures in a sunny environment, says Greg Kelly, Weidlinger's director of sustainable design. The design created by Huiming Yin, an assistant professor of civil engineering and engineering mechanics at Columbia, incorporates a capacity to cool down the photovoltaics while also heating water for use in the building to which the panels are attached.
The DOE awarded Weidlinger Associates, a New York City-based structural engineering firm, a $150,000 grant earlier this month (matched by a 10-percent commitment from the state) to develop durable hybrid solar roofing panels with integrated photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric materials that harvest the sun's energy to produce both electricity and hot water for buildings.
The water tubes are crucial to the design. Typically, when photovoltaics heat up they begin to lose their efficiency at normal operating temperatures in a sunny environment, says Greg Kelly, Weidlinger's director of sustainable design. The design created by Huiming Yin, an assistant professor of civil engineering and engineering mechanics at Columbia, incorporates a capacity to cool down the photovoltaics while also heating water for use in the building to which the panels are attached.
Long Island Winery breaks ground on Wind Turbine Installation
Long Island Winery breaks ground on Wind Turbine Installation :
With the help of the Long Island Power Association’s Backyard Wind Initiative rebate, Osprey’s Dominion will become the first vineyard on Long Island to produce wine using wind power.
Eastern Energy Systems will be installing a ReDriven 20 kW wind turbine at the site. The turbine is expected to produce an estimated 42,802 kWh of electricity per year for an annual energy savings of $7,918.
Eastern Energy Systems is a participant in the Stony Brook Energy Company Initiative.
With the help of the Long Island Power Association’s Backyard Wind Initiative rebate, Osprey’s Dominion will become the first vineyard on Long Island to produce wine using wind power.
Eastern Energy Systems will be installing a ReDriven 20 kW wind turbine at the site. The turbine is expected to produce an estimated 42,802 kWh of electricity per year for an annual energy savings of $7,918.
Eastern Energy Systems is a participant in the Stony Brook Energy Company Initiative.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Hydrogen Power Workshop
On December 9, 2009, the Stony Brook University Small Business Development Center held the first in a series of workshops on alternative energy as part of it's NYSERDA funded Energy Company Initiative. The workshop focus was on Hydrogen Power. The speakers, Dr. Robert Remick, Director of the Hydrogen Technologies Center at NREL in Colorado, and Mr. Stephan Symanski, Business Development Manager of Proton Energy Systems in Connecticut graciously agreed to allow us to post their power point slides on this blog. Dr. Remick's are here(1) and here(2), and Mr. Symanski's are here.
We also want to thank Bethpage Federal Credit Union for their generous support in sponsoring this and future workshops in this series.
We also want to thank Bethpage Federal Credit Union for their generous support in sponsoring this and future workshops in this series.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
NYSERDA Awards to Clean Energy Businesses Announced
NY Awards $3M to Clean Energy Businesses:
"Governor David A. Paterson today announced the award of $3 million to a variety of projects throughout New York. The funds will strengthen and support the growth of New York’s clean energy economy by helping 18 Empire State companies commercialize clean energy technologies."
This is an ongoing grant series that has been targeted by the Stony Brook Energy Company Initiative.
"Governor David A. Paterson today announced the award of $3 million to a variety of projects throughout New York. The funds will strengthen and support the growth of New York’s clean energy economy by helping 18 Empire State companies commercialize clean energy technologies."
This is an ongoing grant series that has been targeted by the Stony Brook Energy Company Initiative.
Viable Alternatives to Fossil Fuels
Viable Alternatives to Fossil Fuels Still Decades Away
As the Climate Change talks get underway in Copenhagen this week, there is much attention focused on alternative energy sources that produce little or no greenhouse gas pollution. Some of these energy sources - like wind, solar, biomass and geothermal - are also attractive because they are renewable and offset the need for imported oil, gas or coal. But, it will be a long time before any of these energy sources will be a large-scale alternative to fossil fuels.
As the Climate Change talks get underway in Copenhagen this week, there is much attention focused on alternative energy sources that produce little or no greenhouse gas pollution. Some of these energy sources - like wind, solar, biomass and geothermal - are also attractive because they are renewable and offset the need for imported oil, gas or coal. But, it will be a long time before any of these energy sources will be a large-scale alternative to fossil fuels.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Great Lakes Wind Project
The Associated Press: NY seeking developer for Great Lakes wind project:
"New York state is looking for developers to build and operate wind turbines in the Great Lakes as part of a plan to use more renewable energy. The New York Power Authority on Tuesday invited potential developers to submit proposals for offshore wind projects in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The authority plans to award one or more projects a year from now. The offshore turbines would be the first for New York and among the first in North America, depending on when they get up and running."
"New York state is looking for developers to build and operate wind turbines in the Great Lakes as part of a plan to use more renewable energy. The New York Power Authority on Tuesday invited potential developers to submit proposals for offshore wind projects in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The authority plans to award one or more projects a year from now. The offshore turbines would be the first for New York and among the first in North America, depending on when they get up and running."
Monday, November 30, 2009
Solar Energy Subsidies
Demand for solar energy subsidies puts stress on New York state program: "That should be good news for the 174 contractors registered with the state to install solar photovoltaic systems. But the demand has put such a strain on subsidies for residential solar that the state has reduced the amount offered, hoping to make a dwindling pot of money last through the end of the year.
A new round of funding for 2010 and beyond has not yet been approved, and that leaves solar power installers hanging. They can’t sign up customers until they know what the subsidy will be. And without customers, an emerging industry employing between 800 and 1,000 people statewide can’t create more “green-collar” jobs."
A new round of funding for 2010 and beyond has not yet been approved, and that leaves solar power installers hanging. They can’t sign up customers until they know what the subsidy will be. And without customers, an emerging industry employing between 800 and 1,000 people statewide can’t create more “green-collar” jobs."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Coal Generates Too Much Carbon Dioxide
Bury Our Carbon at Sea
:
"But What if you could put the carbon where nobody lives? There is a perfect place 130 miles off the eastern U.S. seaboard and 2 miles below the ocean surface. It's a porous sandstone formation, trapped under 3,200 feet of hard shale, that stretches from New Jersey to Georgia. The section off the Jersey shore alone is capacious enough to store several hundred billion tons of CO2, enough to take on all the power plants within 155 miles of the coast from Maryland to Massachusetts for the next 100 years."
:
"But What if you could put the carbon where nobody lives? There is a perfect place 130 miles off the eastern U.S. seaboard and 2 miles below the ocean surface. It's a porous sandstone formation, trapped under 3,200 feet of hard shale, that stretches from New Jersey to Georgia. The section off the Jersey shore alone is capacious enough to store several hundred billion tons of CO2, enough to take on all the power plants within 155 miles of the coast from Maryland to Massachusetts for the next 100 years."
DOE to accelerate algae-based biofuel development - Biomass Magazine
DOE to accelerate algae-based biofuel development - Biomass Magazine
Valerie Reed of the U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy talked about the direction the DOE is taking to accelerate the development of algae-based biofuels at the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy held this week in Honolulu, Hawaii. She said the agency intends to develop advanced biofuels—hydrocarbons and other high-density fuels that can be drop in replacements for diesel and gasoline—in a more accelerated fashion than cellulosic ethanol.
Valerie Reed of the U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy talked about the direction the DOE is taking to accelerate the development of algae-based biofuels at the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy held this week in Honolulu, Hawaii. She said the agency intends to develop advanced biofuels—hydrocarbons and other high-density fuels that can be drop in replacements for diesel and gasoline—in a more accelerated fashion than cellulosic ethanol.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Governors commit to offshore wind energy - wtop.com
Governors commit to offshore wind energy - wtop.com:
"ANNAPOLIS - The governors of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware agreed Tuesday to a partnership to encourage the deployment of offshore wind energy in the region, hoping to capitalize on the Mid-Atlantic's enormous offshore wind resources."
"ANNAPOLIS - The governors of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware agreed Tuesday to a partnership to encourage the deployment of offshore wind energy in the region, hoping to capitalize on the Mid-Atlantic's enormous offshore wind resources."
Harnessing the Fuel from the Gods (Algae) | GOOD
Harnessing the Fuel from the Gods (Algae) GOOD
Among the fastest growing plant species in the world, certain strains of algae grow so rapidly that they can double in size every day. Similar to how humans might sweat when mustering the courage to ask someone out on a date, certain strains of algae—when stressed (either from a lack of nutrients or sunlight)—produce large amounts of lipids (oils). These oils have chemical compositions similar to petroleum molecules called hydrocarbons. Scientists have figured out how to easily transform these algae oils into “Third Generation” biofuels that mimic gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel.
Algae are so prolific at producing oil (7,500 gallons of fuel per acre per year) that you could displace 100 percent of the petroleum that the United States consumes for transportation in a given year on a little more than 1 percent of our total landmass. Soybeans, the main source of biodiesel in the United States, produce only 50 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year—roughly 150 times less than algae
Among the fastest growing plant species in the world, certain strains of algae grow so rapidly that they can double in size every day. Similar to how humans might sweat when mustering the courage to ask someone out on a date, certain strains of algae—when stressed (either from a lack of nutrients or sunlight)—produce large amounts of lipids (oils). These oils have chemical compositions similar to petroleum molecules called hydrocarbons. Scientists have figured out how to easily transform these algae oils into “Third Generation” biofuels that mimic gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel.
Algae are so prolific at producing oil (7,500 gallons of fuel per acre per year) that you could displace 100 percent of the petroleum that the United States consumes for transportation in a given year on a little more than 1 percent of our total landmass. Soybeans, the main source of biodiesel in the United States, produce only 50 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year—roughly 150 times less than algae
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Slides from the October 14th Open House
Here are the slides that Gloria Glowacki and Jeff Saelens used in their presentations at the Renewable and Clean Energy Open House on October 14th in the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center Conference room.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Big Oil Bets on Algae
'Green goo' biofuel gets a boost - CNN.com
Three years ago many would have dismissed the notion that a significant supply of the world's automotive fuel could come from algae. But today the idea, while still an adventurous one, is getting much harder to ignore.
Making green from green: Biofuel from algae has been given a boost in investment in recent years. Back then there were only a handful of companies seriously focused on producing algae fuel. Now there are well over 50, according to Samhitha Udupa, a research associate with Lux Research.
The number should double within the next year or two, she adds, and private investment in algae fuel ventures has at least doubled every year since 2006, a trend likely to continue.
Last month ExxonMobil-- which has been publicly skeptical of other biofuels in the past -- invested up to $600 million into a collaborative R&D program with Synthetic Genomics, a startup founded by J. Craig Venter.
Three years ago many would have dismissed the notion that a significant supply of the world's automotive fuel could come from algae. But today the idea, while still an adventurous one, is getting much harder to ignore.
Making green from green: Biofuel from algae has been given a boost in investment in recent years. Back then there were only a handful of companies seriously focused on producing algae fuel. Now there are well over 50, according to Samhitha Udupa, a research associate with Lux Research.
The number should double within the next year or two, she adds, and private investment in algae fuel ventures has at least doubled every year since 2006, a trend likely to continue.
Last month ExxonMobil-- which has been publicly skeptical of other biofuels in the past -- invested up to $600 million into a collaborative R&D program with Synthetic Genomics, a startup founded by J. Craig Venter.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Nuclear Fusion: The ultimate source of clean and renewable energy
Toward limitless energy: National Ignition Facility focus of symposium, Aug. 19-20
Chemists are preparing to play an important but often unheralded role in determining the success of one of the largest and most important scientific experiments in history — next year's initial attempts at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to produce the world's first controlled nuclear fusion reaction. If successful in taming the energy source of the sun, stars, and of the hydrogen bomb, scientists could develop a limitless new source of producing electricity for homes, factories, and businesses.
Chemists are preparing to play an important but often unheralded role in determining the success of one of the largest and most important scientific experiments in history — next year's initial attempts at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to produce the world's first controlled nuclear fusion reaction. If successful in taming the energy source of the sun, stars, and of the hydrogen bomb, scientists could develop a limitless new source of producing electricity for homes, factories, and businesses.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Economic Climate Opens Door for Small Wind Energy Projects - Renewable Energy World
Economic Climate Opens Door for Small Wind Energy Projects - Renewable Energy World
Very few large-scale wind projects are able to obtain financing under the current economic climate. But falling turbine, steel and labor prices have created the perfect environment for mid-scale wind energy projects to thrive. Although total new installed capacity in 2009 may not rival the impressive 8,900 MW installed in North America in 2008, a golden opportunity exists for smaller wind development.
Small wind projects range in size from 100 kW to 30 MW and typically serve schools, farms, rural villages, businesses and municipal utility companies. Because these type of installations can access funding from various sources, they are less vulnerable to the credit crisis than their large-scale wind farm counterparts
Very few large-scale wind projects are able to obtain financing under the current economic climate. But falling turbine, steel and labor prices have created the perfect environment for mid-scale wind energy projects to thrive. Although total new installed capacity in 2009 may not rival the impressive 8,900 MW installed in North America in 2008, a golden opportunity exists for smaller wind development.
Small wind projects range in size from 100 kW to 30 MW and typically serve schools, farms, rural villages, businesses and municipal utility companies. Because these type of installations can access funding from various sources, they are less vulnerable to the credit crisis than their large-scale wind farm counterparts
Monday, August 17, 2009
A New Test for Business and Biofuel - NYTimes.com
A New Test for Business and Biofuel - NYTimes.com
With the twin goals of making fuel from algae and reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases, a start-up company co-founded by a Colorado State University professor recently introduced a strain of algae that loves carbon dioxide into a water tank next to a natural gas processing plant. The water is already green-tinged with life
With the twin goals of making fuel from algae and reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases, a start-up company co-founded by a Colorado State University professor recently introduced a strain of algae that loves carbon dioxide into a water tank next to a natural gas processing plant. The water is already green-tinged with life
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