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Proposed Bill Seeks to Boost Clean Energy Curriculum in Public Schools
Photo: Flickr/calmenda
A proposed Senate bill seeks to expand “green” energy curriculum to public middle and high schools across the country.
Proposed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the bill would provide grant funding to colleges with green energy curriculum to expand their programs to middle and high schools, reports local Wisconsin paper Manitowoc Herald Times. The goal, the paper reported, is to get students interested in green jobs earlier in their educational careers.
Speaking in favor of the legislation, the paper asserted: “That is a good idea, regardless of where one stands on the controversial issue of expanding green energy in the future. It is not a given that wind, solar and other forms of alternative energy are the panacea advocates claim.
“Baldwin’s legislation, however,” the reporter goes on, “will help broaden educational opportunities for middle school and high school students, which is what those schools are supposed to do.”
Dubbed the Grants for Renewable Energy Education for the Nation (GREEN) Act, the bill asks for $100 million in federal funding for grants, which would be administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The bill is a companion to the House GREEN Act, sponsored by Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.).
Introduced to the Senate floor in late January, the bill has already been endorsed by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).
ACTE Deputy Executive Director Steve DeWitt said the bill, “offers students exposure to the range of sustainable energy career options available today, while providing the education and training necessary to ensure that our nation’s workforce is prepared for the green jobs of the future.”
The fate of the bill is still to be decided, but Baldwin rightfully notes that jobs created in the clean energy field pay better than the average American job, with compensation rates 13 percent higher than the national average, meaning its passage may mean good things for the next generation.
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Proposed Bill Seeks to Boost Clean Energy Curriculum in Public Schools
Posted in alo, alternative energy, FF, G & F, GE, green energy, LAI, ONA, solar, solar power, sustainable energy, Uncategorized, wind power
Tagged academics, career, director, education, g & f, nation, solar, solar power, sustainable energy, wind power, wisconsin
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Which Way Should Solar Panels Point?
Solar panels are becoming more affordable and therefore more popular for homeowners. Photo: morgueFile/Seemann
For years, experts have believed that south-facing solar panels are most effective in gathering sun in the northern hemisphere. But a new study based on homes in Austin, Texas, has raised questions about which way our solar panels need to be facing.
The Pecan Street Research Institute released results of a study that indicated homeowners could find significant benefits by pointing their solar panels to the west. The study concluded that the west-facing panels were better at reducing peak loads in areas such as Austin, where air-conditioning use is a strong driving factor in energy use during peak times, typically 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The study showed south-facing panels provided a 54 percent peak-reduction in usage, while the panels facing west produced a more impressive 65 percent reduction.
But that doesn’t mean it’s time to tear down those south-oriented solar panels and put them on west-facing roofs just yet. While the study results immediately led to reports that homeowners could get greater results by pointing their solar panels to the west, there was more to the story than many reported.
While the study found that west-facing configurations did have their benefits, they produced less total energy over the course of the year than their south-facing counterparts. The value, it appears, is that they are able to help reduce the electricity load during peak times, which of course puts less stress on electricity distribution systems. That means the power they produce may be more valuable, particularly in hot climates where air-conditioning use can cause problems such as rolling blackouts during peak hours.
The new study raises the question of whether using west-facing solar panels may help offset some of the power usage during peak hours and provide some relief for the energy grid. More research is planned that will include broadening the region being studied and examining how the pitch of the roof affects solar collection.
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Posted in alo, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Omega, ONA, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized
Tagged academics, austin, energy, home & garden, Omega, Ona, power, region, research, texas, west
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Student-Led Project Keeps CUNY Green
HSP members strike a pose at the first-ever Hunter Goes Green week. Photo: Hunter Sustainability Project
The City University of New York (CUNY) is the largest urban university in the U.S., serving more than 480,000 students. And one student-led organization is taking up the task of educating CUNY students about sustainability and spreading awareness of environmental issues.
Founded in 2008 at Hunter College in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the Hunter Sustainability Project (HSP) membership includes students whose majors range from environmental studies and chemistry to economics. It was established to expand the university’s use of sustainable energy sources by installing a solar energy system on campus for power generation, education and research.
Since then, Hunter has unveiled a small 3-kilowatt PV solar array, which now offsets a portion of the school’s nonrenewable energy consumption and reduces its GHG emissions. The system has also created research and educational opportunities for Hunter students in physics, environmental science, economics and renewables, according to HSP.
The organization has taken on the broader goal of connecting the CUNY community with sustainability issues — hosting on-campus events like CUNY Divest and Love It Again! Revamp and Reuse.
Earlier this year, the group also hosted Hunter College’s first week-long educational event focused on sustainability earlier, including workshops, games and giveaways geared toward educating Hunter students and staff about living a sustainable life.
The organization made such a splash in the ecosphere that it recently received a grant from The Green Initiative Fund at the University of California–Berkeley to supplement the university’s solar panels with a green roof.
Set to be installed next year, the new roof will provide data to help students better understand and apply lessons learned in the classroom, as well as foster opportunities for creative capstones, HSP said.
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Posted in alo, eco-friendly, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Oster, solar, solar panels, solar power, sustainable energy, Uncategorized
Tagged academics, city, environmental, first, group, hunter-college, lenox, manhattan, project, solar, solar power
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Solar’s Future Gets Brighter with New Discovery
University of Alberta researcher Jillian Buriak (center) worked with postdoctoral fellows Erik Luber (right) and Hosnay Mobarok to create nanoparticles that could lead to printable or spray-on solar cells. Photo: University of Alberta
For years, one of the greatest arguments against the implementation of solar power has been that it is expensive to harness. However, a recent discovery by Canadian researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton may prove to be a game changer.
Jillian Buriak, senior research officer of the U of A’s National Institute for Nanotechnology, led a team in discovering that materials found in the earth’s crust can be used to create inexpensive nanoparticle-based solar cells. Not only could Buriak’s discovery make solar power more affordable, it also could make solar more accessible to parts of the planet that either face high power transmission costs or are not on the traditional electricity grid.
The team discovered that phosphorus and zinc — two plentiful, natural materials — can be used to build nanoparticles that absorb light and conduct electricity. Their research, which was published in the latest issue of ACS Nano, a journal from the American Chemical Society, indicates that a low-cost mass manufacturing method would allow them to print or paint the solar cells onto surfaces. The process dissolves the particles to create an ink, then the material is processed to make a thin film that is responsive to light.
Based on the success they’ve found with their discovery, Buriak and her team have applied for a provisional patent on the process and have secured funding to allow them to take the next steps toward stepping up manufacturing.
In addition to her work with the Canadian team, Buriak is part of an international research team that includes scientists from Harvard University, the University of Toronto and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
The team is working on a global project involving next-generation solar energy technology.
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Posted in alo, FF, G & F, GE, Goal Zero, ONA, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized
Tagged academics, american, buriak, canadian, g & f, material, nanotechnology, process, research, toronto
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Make Solar Cells in a… Microwave?
Posted in FF, GE, solar, solar power, Uncategorized
Tagged academics, industry tech, innovative material, solar, solar power, tech
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