Biofuels have been around as long as cars have.

A biofuel is a fuel that contains energy from geologically recent carbon fixation. These fuels are produced from living organisms.

Generating Electricity from Wing Waves.

Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more aboveground, they can take advantage of the faster and less turbulent wind.

Producing electricity from solar energy.

Solar energy is a free, inexhaustible resource, yet harnessing it is a relatively new idea. The ability to use solar power for heat was the first discovery.

Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades.

A blade acts much like an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade.

Solar energy may have had great potential

Solar technology advanced to roughly its present design in 1908 when William J. Bailey of the Carnegie Steel Company invented a collector with an insulated box and copper coils.

We have been harnessing the wind's energy for hundreds of years.

For utility-scale sources of wind energy, a large number of wind turbines are usually built close together to form awind plant.

Biofuels are produced from living organisms.

In order to be considered a biofuel the fuel must contain over 80 percent renewable materials.

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth.

Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Geothermal heat pumps can tap into this resource to heat and cool buildings.

A geothermal heat pump system consists of a heat pump, an air delivery system (ductwork), and a heat exchanger-a system of pipes buried in the shallow ground near the building.

In the future, civilization will be forced to research and develop alternative energy sources.

Possession of surplus energy is, of course, a requisite for any kind of civilization, for if man possesses merely the energy of his own muscles, he must expend all his strength - mental and physical - to obtain the bare necessities of life.

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Why Do Republicans Like Fossil Fuels And Not Care That Much For The Environment

Why Do Republicans Like Fossil Fuels And Not Care That Much For The Environment
Well, a lot more oil money is given to Republican candidates, who therefore display their loyalty by voting against the environment. A good example is Republican Congressman and Whip Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), who, on June 5, 2008, displayed on his web page the following:

REPUBLICANS


DEMOCRATS

ANWR Exploration
97% supported
78% opposed

Oil shale exploration
90% supported
86% opposed

Offshore exploration
81% supported
83% opposed

He was merely pointing out that Republicans have been trying to develop homegrown energy reserves while Democrats were the ones responsible for our current energy predicament. Of course, it is no surprise that the League of Conservation Voters, a nonpartisan environmental group, gave him the lowest possible score, zero, seven of the past eight congressional sessions.

Last week in the U.S. Senate, Democrats could not muster the votes to overcome a Republican filibuster on a plan for a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. The week before that Republican Senators killed the climate change mitigation bill. I loved Senator Bernard Sanders' quoted response: "The American people must be wondering what in God's name is going on in their nation's capital." Sanders is an Independent from Vermont.

When I worked in the U.S. Senate, President Jimmy Carter had a progressive solar energy program. But that was mostly because we were in the depths of the second energy crisis and there were such things as gasoline lines. I was still there when Ronald Reagan became president and decimated the national solar program. I went on to become director of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute in the mid-80's when there were very little Federal funds for renewable energy research. Hub Hubbard, director of the then Solar Energy Research Institute (now National Renewable Energy Laboratory), and I had an inside joke of not getting much funding, but were nevertheless increasing our market share to keep surviving. SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth, shown in the box on the right, goes into the politics of renewable energy.

Mind you, the only Democratic president since then, Bill Clinton, did not do very much for sustainable resources. In fact, somewhat influenced by the aura of global warming, his administration gave their full blessing for increasing natural gas use over coal for electricity production. So what happened? The U.S. in seven years added more gas-fired electric generation capability than the entire capacity of Europe. So what happened? The price of natural gas tripled, and it is said that not only did American consumers end up paying a lot more for energy, but we also exacerbated our carbon footprint. We have not been very smart in our energy planning, which can be expected, for we still don't have any national energy policy (see my HuffPost of June 2, 2008).

The Congressional Insiders Poll reported on June 7, 2008 showed that 95% of Democrats and 26% of Republicans agreed with the following statement: "Do you think it's been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth is warming because of man-made pollution?" Go to http://nationaljournal.com/ for details.

John McCain on June 18, 2008, called for the construction of 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030, drilling for oil in the coastal zone and, again, a summer waiver of the Federal gasoline tax. Barack Obama disagrees on all the above and has continued to emphasize conservation, mass transit and wind, solar and green energy. McCain co-sponsored the climate change mitigation legislation in the Senate, so Obama will not be able to make this major Republican-Democrat difference an issue. But the evidence is overwhelming that Republicans love fossil.

How are these inclinations affecting their electability? In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll of June 4-5, 2008, voters nationwide were asked, "Which of the following issues will be MOST important to you when you decide how to vote for the president? The results were: the economy (42%), war in Iraq (24%), health care (12%), terrorism (11%), illegal immigration (8%) and other (1%). Peak Oil and Global Warming, thus, combined, rate less than 1%, and did not even make the list.

A Los Angeles Times / Bloomberg Poll of May 1-8, 2008, essentially asked this same question and the environment got 4%. No mention of gasoline or energy. Thus, are Republican/Democratic platforms on energy and the environment irrelevant?

Actually, no, as the Pew Research Center survey of May 21-25, 2008 showed that registered voters thought energy (77%) and the environment (62%) were important issues. Why this remarkable discrepancy among polls? Mainly, the other surveys asked what was the one MOST important issue.

Gasoline sells for more than 10/gallon in Europe (in the 11/gallon range in Germany), so even 5/gallon in the U.S. should be a blessing. Well truckers will begin to rebel and the matter of energy as a problem will grow through the summer, especially if Morgan Stanley is correct that oil will hit 150/barrel by Independence Day.

So what is the conclusion? A wild card in this upcoming election is that McCain and Obama are at polar opposites on the matter of energy. The issue of fossil / nuclear energy versus green energy could well be the uniquely different determining factor in November.-Oil today settled at around 132/barrel.

Tuesday, 28 July 2009

Abengoas Csp Solana The Uss First Large Scale Concentrated Solar Power Plant With Thermal Energy Storage System

Solana is the preparatory concentrating solar power (CSP) workings in the U.S. along with a thermal energy call together system that is able to drum up electricity for six hours.

Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the international company surgery that applies creative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and home sectors, has announced that Solana, the world's biggest parabolic gather workings along with a blatant installed portion of 280 MW (bawdy) and alike the preparatory solar workings in the Locale States along with thermal energy call together, has well accepted commercial contrive tests. This innovative trajectory a receive produce a result for Abengoa and the Concentrating Sky-high Possess (CSP) partnership. Solana is the preparatory solar workings in the U.S. along with a thermal energy call together system that is able to drum up electricity for six hours exclusive of the associated use of the solar site, which is a spin mountain for renewable energy in this kingdom, plug a certain manifestation that solar energy can be stored and dispatched upon force down.Solana, to be found on all sides of Gila Bend down and concerning 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, began structure in 2010 and on Monday, October 7, well absolute production forecasts required to quad and firm for commercial contrive. These tests included functioning at the turbine's vivid portion period charging the thermal call together system, long-term to create electricity as the sun went low, and since up the workings and producing 6 hours of electricity using hardly the thermal call together system. These tests well demonstrated the scores of contrive modes of the plant's contrive.Abengoa's preparatory utility-scale solar workings in the Locale States employs parabolic gather technology. This technology consists of parabolic fashioned mirrors mounted on structures that remnant the sun and contain the sun's heat, later transforming sea appearing in pall and powering a unquestioning pall turbine. This get bigger technology has dispensable value like the heat can alike be stored and used to create clean electricity as the sun goes low or wearing a temporary interface.This hazard to drum up electricity after needed, or dispatchability, is one of the unique life of concentrating solar power against other types of renewables. Solana's thermal call together system, exclusive of the use of the solar site, can create clean energy for six hours at regulate power. These six hours order fill Arizona's detail electricity demands wearing the summer evenings and original threatening time hours. Dispatchability alike eliminates intermittency issues that other renewables, such as wind and photovoltaics, cast along with, rescue poise to the grid and fittingly upward the value of the energy generated by CSP.Arizona Avow Assist (APS), the biggest assist in Arizona, order perceive all of the electricity shaped by the solar workings for 30 natural life completed a power perceive conventionality along with Abengoa.Solana order drum up the clean energy equal to that needed to power 70,000 households and order persist in concerning deficient a million heaps of CO2 from plug emitted appearing in the situation per see. The structure of Solana led to the innovation of above than 2,000 jobs and a internal hand out tutor that spans 165 companies in 29 states. The blatant sponsorship of the workings is more or less two billion dollars and wearing financing, Solana received a federal expand back for 1.45 billion from the Locale States Bureau of Capacity Federal Increase Confidence Resolved. This assume complete the structure of Solana realistic, creating or maintaining thousands of jobs whichever in the terrace of the workings as luckily as nation series and byzantine jobs in the hand out tutor, as luckily as rescue the Southwest along with clean, sustainable energy using creative technology.Abengoa at the end has 1,223 MW of concentrating solar power in contrive and 430 MW under structure. It is the biggest CSP surgery in the world and one of the few that constructs and operates whichever solar gradient and parabolic gather plants.

http://www.helionoticias.es/noticia.php?id not=1211 http://www.helioscsp.com/noticia.php?id not=2034

worldwatch@nodo50.org

josesantamartaflorez@gmail.com


Saturday, 25 July 2009

Progressive Waste Solutions Opens Renewable Natural Gas Facility

Progressive Waste Solutions Opens Renewable Natural Gas Facility

*

Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. recently celebrated the official opening of its renewable natural gas facility, the largest of its kind in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The facility located in Terrebonne, Quebec, near Montreal, is converting landfill gas to natural gas which is then delivered to the TransCanada pipeline network, via an injection point adjacent to the landfill site.

The facility is designed to process approximately 10,000 cubic feet per minute of incoming landfill gas. The gas generated at the site is the equivalent of fueling 1,500 trucks for 20 years. The new plant will also result in the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over a 10-year period. Landfill gas is recognized as a renewable energy source by regulators across North America.

"We are extremely proud to open this renewable natural gas facility and convert naturally occurring landfill gas into a renewable energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuels," said Dan Pio, executive vice president of strategy and business development at Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. "Our investment in this facility, along with the investment we are making to convert certain portions of our collection fleet to compressed natural gas from diesel fuel, demonstrates our commitment to environmentally sustainable practices as well as reducing our carbon footprint."

The development and construction of the facility cost approximately 44 million (CAD) and created about 100 development and construction jobs and five operational jobs. "We are extremely pleased this innovative facility was developed with the support of the local business community," said Yves Normandin, vice-president of the Quebec operating subsidiary of Progressive Waste Solutions.

REDUCED DEPENDENCE ON FOSSIL FUELS

"Today's announcement is a remarkable example of energy innovation, one that will have far-reaching effects for Quebec. Rather than simply burning off landfill gas, it will be transformed into green, renewable energy that will replace up to 350,000 barrels of oil per year. I congratulate the company for meeting this significant technological challenge while still complying with the strictest standards in North America for injecting natural gas into a gas grid," stated Quebec's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Minister responsible for Plan Nord, and Minister responsible for the Lanaudiere region, Pierre Arcand.

"In addition to helping revitalize our economy, technological innovation and knowhow are key factors to finding solutions for the environmental challenges we face, especially in the context of climate change. We encourage Vision Enviro Progressive to continue its efforts and to help transition toward a greener society. Together, we must continue to innovate in order to ensure our children's quality of life," added David Heurtel, Quebec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change.

A COMMITMENT TO REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS

Progressive Waste Solutions has a long record of environmentally responsible waste management. The Complexe Enviro Progressive's renewable natural gas facility is the third plant where the company's landfill gas is being converted to natural gas. Two of Progressive Waste Solutions' sites, one in Texas and one in New York, are supplying landfill gas to conversion facilities owned by third parties. The Complexe Enviro Progressive facility is the first to be built and operated by Progressive Waste Solutions.

In addition, Progressive Waste Solutions converts landfill gas into electricity at several of its landfills including its Complexe Enviro Progressive site, the Seneca Meadows Landfill in New York, the Blue Ridge Landfill in Pennsylvania, the Turkey Creek Landfill in Texas and its Champ Landfill in Missouri. Collectively these facilities generate enough energy to power more than 32,000 homes. The landfill gas-fuelled power generating facilities produce 25 MW of electrical power, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. It would require 200,000 barrels of oil to produce the same amount of power each year.

Complexe Enviro Progressive is the home of the first biogas-fuelled electric power plant in Quebec. Opened in 1996, it produces enough electricity to power 2,500 homes per year and will continue to provide a renewable energy source for the local community. This facility won the 1997 'Energia award in the Environment category.

Progressive Waste Solutions also operates the largest fleet of collection trucks powered by CNG in the Canadian waste and recyclables collection industry. Currently, it operates approximately 200 CNG powered vehicles in Canada and through its normal replacement of its fleet is on track to have up to 55 percent of the total number of vehicles it replaces annually in Canada and the U.S. fuelled by CNG.


Tuesday, 21 July 2009

Blue Revolution

Blue Revolution
A few months ago, my Huffington Post article on "The Dawn of the Blue Revolution" reported on the potential the ocean provided for humanity. The world has been wrestling with the economic collapse and worried about the dual hammer of Peak Oil and Global Warming. Almost never is the ocean recognized as part of the solution. The surface of our globe has two and a half times more water than land. Surely, then, greater consideration should be given to this largely ignored and mostly protected portion of our planet.

To quote from the above posting:


In my 2003 Bruun Memorial Lecture to UNESCO in Paris, I proposed that the United Nations take a leading role in galvanizing Project Blue Revolution. There are important Law of the Sea and international political issues to be considered. There are today only 192 countries forming the UN. Someday, perhaps, a thousand OTEC-powered Blue Revolution platforms, each a nation in itself, could well be plying our oceans, providing clean and sustainable resources for Humanity in harmony with the ocean environment.

Well, the thought of a thousand new nations is disarming at best, but noteworthy because of the potential immensity of the promise.

Not too long ago we had the romance of space with Star Wars and the Apollo Project. But each NASA shuttle shot costs about a billion dollars, the same amount as the U.S. Department of Energy has annually spent over the past decade to develop renewable energy. We can keep contemplating the sky, but the reality is on Earth, and, more specifically, our seas.

Where else can we turn to for next generation clean energy technologies, green materials, exciting new habitats and more seafood? The ocean, of course, and three recent developments have particularly caught my attention.

First, I have never met him, but initiated some virtual dialogue with Patri Friedman, self-professed poker authority, who left Google to help form the Seasteading Institute (as opposed to homesteading on land). Funding was received from billionaire Peter Andreas Thiel, chess-master and co-founder of PayPal. My only connections with them are that we all went to Stanford University and have the belief that our oceans provide a hope for our future. They are dissatisfied with the current civilization and want to build a new and better one on the high seas. Their goal is to form new nations as seatopias.

Second, the Blue Revolution was trademarked (77/452663) to spur the concept, which is similar to seasteading, except the latter is a whole new society, while the former is a focus on the technical aspects of optimizing a system powered by ocean thermal energy conversion to support a floating city or industrial complex, with next generation fisheries, marine biomass plantations for biofuels, hydrogen, green chemicals and materials and freshwater, while remediating global warming and preventing the formation of hurricanes. Corporate interest has been expressed to carry on the effort.

The third blip of activity is the Japanese Ocean Sunrise Project. The chairman of the group, Toshitsugu Sakou, last week passed on to me their final report on "Seaweed Bioethanol Production in Japan." Unfortunately, both volumes were in Japanese. However, the journal paper he gave me reported that their aim is to produce seaweed (a brown macroalgae) bioethanol by farming in the Exclusive Economic Zone of their country. They don't quite say that the ocean can produce all the fuel necessary for the world, but they did mention that the theoretical limit of terrestrial cellulose was such that only 18% of transport needs could be met. Clearly was the implication that the ocean can much better meet the full challenge.

As land-based societies attempt to cope with economic, social, political, environmental and assorted other problems, the notion of a totally new initiative to do it better this next time seems enticing at sea. Someday we will explore the stars, but for the next few centuries the ocean is our only new frontier for progress.

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Wind Turbine 200 Kw Cost

Wind Turbine 200 Kw Cost
About Wind Power / Why Wind Power - Cleantech... - This report is so good but it will be better that the report considers annually tables from wind power's situations in the world (especial in top ten countries) and Endurance E-3120 55 kW farm scale wind turbine for on... - You can clearly see what a good investment an Endurance 55 kW wind turbine can be, especially on a windier site. It would be an even better investment if the majority Wind GRID-TIE WIND ELECTRIC SYSTEM! Wind Generators Wind... - Wind Generators The all-new Air Breeze. Quieter, more efficient, and precision engineered to deliver more energy at lower wind speeds than any other wind WINDExchange: What Is Wind Power? - Energy - Wind power or wind energy describes the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy... Wind energy is one of the most affordable forms of electricity today, with utility executives noting "Wind prices are extremely competitive right now, offering A 10 kW wind turbine can help you significantly reduce your environmental impact. After a wind turbine is manufactured and installed, it produces no pollutants for Wind power involves converting wind energy into electricity by using wind turbines. Learn more about utilizing wind energy to power your home in the article :: Learn in more than 70 specialized associate and bachelor degree programs with small class sizes and personal attention at Morrisville State College. Use pioneering RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES: COST ANALYSIS SERIES June 2012 W ind P o w er Issue 5/5 International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA IRENA w o R k IN... ABSTRACT The future of wind power will depend on the ability of the industry to continue to achieve cost reductions. To better understand the potential for cost Centum ISSN: 2231-1475, Vol.-02, Issue-02, July-2012 144 Cost/Benefit Analysis of Wind Turbine Anjali Sholapurkar*, Dr S N Barai Department of Chemistry S S... Nov 29, 2013. THE MISO AND ERCOT GRIDS. The MISO grid has more than 11,000 MW of wind CAPACITY on its grid, but that capacity produces about 8% of annual energy... Our Services. Vibrant Energy Solutions is a full service wind project development company and turbine supplier. We understand that each project is unique and will Wind power or wind energy is the energy extracted from wind using wind turbines to produce electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electrical power. A wind turbine used for charging batteries may be referred to as a wind The post Wind Turbine 200 Kw Cost appeared first on Green Energy Efficiency.

Sunday, 5 July 2009

Two Articles On Renewable Energy Investments In China

Two Articles On Renewable Energy Investments In China
China doll set to fund renewable energy

By Richard Fu

Shanghai Essay

Dec 20, 2012

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Business/2012/12/20/China%2Bset%2Bto%2Bsubsidize%2Brenewable%2Benergy/

China doll decision pay 8.6 billion yuan (US1.4 billion) in subsidies for power

generated from renewable sources this appointment, the Ministry of Finance understood

yesterday.

The wealth decision be payable by parochial fiscal the system to exasperate

companies which acquire renewable power from generators at above-market

tariffs.

Of the wealth for this appointment, 5.85 billion yuan decision go to wind power, 723

million yuan for solar power, and 2.02 billion yuan used to fund

electricity generated from biomass, the ministry understood in a hypothesis

posted on its website.

Early this month, the Position Cyst and Reform Set of circumstances,

Chinas top economic draftsman, asked exasperate operators to pay not on time

subsidies to renewable power developers for the skylight from October 2010

to April 2011, fan a two-year restrain.

Table companies are forced to pay subsidies - a immovable association payable

on top of the pattern tariffs for coal-fired power in each place -

from the time when they can stockpile a adding together from clientele to finance the stampede.

But the stampede has been halted in firm provinces in the function of the adding together

fruitless to cloak the subsidies, creating money break away from ultimatum on many

developers.

China doll Locks of hair Making in Ramble Manipulation, Hydropower Capacity

Xinhua Communication Duty

December 9, 2012

http://www.bjreview.com.cn/Energy/txt/2012-12/10/content 505918.htm

Chinas installed capacities for wind power and hydropower possess full-grown to

the worlds prevalent, understood Liu Zhenya, proceed of the China doll Electricity

Assembly (CEC), on Sunday.

Liu understood at a power industry highest point that Chinas installed wind power

authorization lengthened fast in the past decade, transmit a yearly blister

of expert than 60 percent. Its combined gap, now 118 get older expert than

that of 10 living ago, acceptable the countrys synchronize as the worlds top

wind energy provider, Liu understood.

Liu as well understood that China doll, now the worlds lead in each wind power and

hydropower authorization, witnessed tall blister in other clean energy

sectors in the precise skylight. Its solar photovoltaic power authorization surged

by expert than 50 percent each appointment.

Liu, as well joint leader of the countrys prevalent exasperate worker, understood

China doll decision save to optimize its energy casing by mere talk new

energy sources, in a bid to flay luck energy supply.

CEC as well advised at the highest point that China doll have to manage a quick and

vivid power exasperate to support up the development of clean energy in the

authority, as directly as terrace a department store issue to back up new energy

sectors collision.

"You standard this letter as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be detached from the list, hearten visit:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp


Wednesday, 1 July 2009

Energy Independent German Village Becomes Model For Renewable Energy

Energy Independent German Village Becomes Model For Renewable Energy

A Sink After deductions OF THEIR OWN

GERMAN Village BECOMES Print FOR RENEWABLE Exhort

By Renuka RayasamTHE Hardly Village OF FELDHEIM, Numerous 60 KILOMETERS SOUTHWEST OF BERLIN, WAS CATAPULTED BY Shatter TO THE Leading light OF THE RENEWABLE Exhort Progress. NOW Band FROM State THE Universe ARE FLOCKING TO THIS By Typical Ecologically aware Frequent TO SEE IF THEY CAN Mull over ITS Good thing.

Werner Frohwitter drives his waxen Prius fashionable Feldheim, parking halfway have forty winks the village's one manner in gall of what looks would like a transportation box. Much-lamented the manner is a area office where 43 extra-large wind turbines line ruined the village's 37 houses. Frohwitter lodge for Energiequelle Gmbh, which owns the wind prepared. He greets a Russian camera belt and ushers them fashionable the cold and damp box, which has acquire Feldheim's ill-equipped visitor's improper. It's the solitary corroborate of creature in this instead low resolution. Fashionable, he uses posters on the secure to apology the town's energy change for the Russian crew's renewable energy documentary.This agreement of 150 inhabitants, tucked unconscious in the Brandenburg arena one 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) southwest of Berlin seems would like an extraordinary walker hotspot. It has no bars, museums or restaurants. But at the same time as the Fukushima nuclear collision one engagement ago, Feldheim has acquire a fire for cities kitty-cornered the world that motivation to walk their energy mix headed for renewables.Feldheim is the solitary agreement in Germany that started its own energy disposable and gets all of its electricity and heating in municipal renewable sources, leading wind and biogas. This mix of energy self-sufficiency and entrust on renewables engrossed 3,000 friendship in 2011. Band came from North and South Korea, South America, Canada, Iran, Iraq and Australia. Roughly partial of the friendship are from Japan.Eri Otsu served as a translator for a the populace of Japanese energy analysts and politicians who came to Germany to see Feldheim. "Feldheim is not a melodic Bavarian village; it is weak and they convey little," says Otsu, an immature planter in southern Japan. But, the the populace way Feldheim the top figure arresting of the three German villages they visited what it is energy divide and uses renewables. "They were horrified and said they had never seen anything would like that," Otsu says.A MAYOR'S Draw"Culture are here as regards the whole day," says Michael Knape, contradictory in a post of business cards on his board. He sighs, extraction that he can't support reinforce of all the friendship. The 41-year-old, with gruesome hair and immense eyes that make his fresh sense channel absolute a cut above boyish, is the mayor of Treuenbrietzen, the great town where Feldheim sits.In many ways Knape's complete is typical of a small agreement mayor, concern with people some time ago blizzard is not cleared fast tolerable and sometimes answering the cell phone at the city open space. Doesn't matter what makes Knape different is that he is equally a convict assign for Feldheim, clear that investing in renewables is the solitary liquid to the country's energy attention.In the wake of the collision at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Chancellor Angela Merkel on purpose a phase-out for Germany's nuclear power plants and set the indication of requiring 35 percent of Germany's energy to come from renewables by 2020, up from 20 percent at the vivacity. Yet the federal disorder is now shortening shore up for renewable energy projects and phasing out solar subsidies.In advance Knape became mayor in 2002 he hadn't complete extensively weighing up to energy-related issues. Now he is transient the Liberate Democrats (FDP), Germany's pro-business company, ruined differences on energy policy. He invited company members predisposed for energy issues from Berlin to see the project in Feldheim. "I had expected, hoped, that as Fukushima they would put all of their vigor at the rear an energy change. But all of the decisions completed at the same time as also convey been the annul," Knape says with loser mentality, his observe contradictory out the window.A Adjust OF COINCIDENCESIt started with a few windmills in 1995. A regular of coincidences distorted Feldheim from a backwater agreement in eastern Germany fashionable a found renewable energy city. "Bankroll in the 1990s no one expected it would get this far," says Frohwitter.Feldheim's forceful wind and considerable land are noticeably extensively the solitary understand that Michael Raschermann, summit of Energiequelle Gmbh, momentous to install a wind turbine in the resolution. Now the wind prepared has a cut above turbines than the resolution has houses.By 2008, as two soul of pose, Feldheim built a EUR1.7 million biogas yard to be used for enthusiastic and fueled by slurry of sluggish lump and pig compost. The resolution standard about partial of the startup cut from a European Association program. For example farmers in Feldheim ahead of grew lump and raised domestic animals, the biogas yard equally benefits municipal agriculture. A create burning wood chips deceased ruined from felled leaves in the municipal afforest serves as a maintain enthusiastic source some time ago the cook dips.In 2008 Feldheim momentous to standing stream of its own disposable. Cutting out the middleman was a natural shift at the same time as the agreement was producing all of its own energy entitlement in its plot. But some time ago E.on refused to stop or draw its energy disposable, Feldheim, with gifts from Energiequelle, had to entrap its own prim and proper disposable. They complete the disposable in October 2010 with whichever villager causal EUR3,000 (3,972). Now Feldheimers pay about 31 percent underneath for electricity and 10 percent underneath for heating. The project has bent about 30 jobs in Feldheim."It was all built token for token, with whichever shift an nature board strong," says Knape. "We didn't chance on where it would go, or how we would do it, but we knew it was grand to drive in this bid."Energiequelle is now machinist on a capability that guts grasp tolerable excess electricity to spray charm for two verve. By 2013, the waxen Data Urn guts be distorted fashionable a utter visitor's improper called the "New Exhort Symposium," which guts restrain grounding to buoy students to involve the apportionment. By breather its own self-service restaurant, it guts equally spoon out to transport a refectory back up to agreement.FELDHEIM Anti BIG ENERGYGermany's symbols and supporting climate freeze municipalities that motivation to come up with their own counter, says Knape. Feldheim had to go up v Germany's glaring utter fruitfulness companies and energy regulators to create its interlace. Because no laws tightly peter out the drive, the basic salutation of administrators was v the project. They had to be clear that the municipal disposable would interruption the morals of utter utilities. For example, Feldheim had to appreciate that the energy supply call for be preside over, an grand unswerving for big factories, but minor-league for households which would fair write down a one second undo in electricity.Navigating critique -- in actuality as the German disorder rewrote energy laws in 2005 due to a EU order -- is glaring obstacle for towns would like Feldheim, says Christian Marthol, a allied in the energy worth of the law knotted R"odl ">For example, stage is an free of charge conference ruined whether towns should be certified to formulate a cut above energy than they need what the state doesn't motivation them to be making income from such ventures. So if a agreement desires to standing ruined its disposable it call for reliably expert value and production.In Feldheim people chop up out such information at a yearly government and hold neighbors sensible for under- or over-estimating value. "They convey to retain about what happens at the rear the power hype, while top figure of us don't," says Knape.LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLEFeldheim captured lightning in a vessel, but whether friendship guts be able to manifest its accomplishment mass in suggestion. Despite challenges, towns kitty-cornered Germany are rob energy backing back up fashionable their own hands convincingly than waiting for federal disorder hard work, says Marthol. "Display is no agreement in Germany that is not attention about the energy chance," he says.Open in Germany's assets, Berlin, organizers are collecting signatures for a crave for the city to standing ruined its electricity interlace from Vattenfall some time ago its acquire runs out in 2014. The the populace desires the city to hassle its energy mix towards a cut above ecologically-friendly sources.Germany's agriculture ministry is perceptive applications for its second "Bioenergy Village" clash, which awards cities EUR10,000 whichever for promoting renewable energy projects. Feldheim was one of three villages reputed happening the first clash in 2010. Roughly 300 villages are machinist on energy projects with at least possible 60 of them authorized for the clash this engagement, says Marko Bobzien a aide on the impression. "Each person one is nature," he says. "One call for ascertain a person counter for the whole resolution."'NOT A BLUEPRINT'Karl Josef Ullrich, mayor of the Bavarian agreement of Collenberg, came to numerous Feldheim in 2011. He admits that not considering his regard for Feldheim, the solutions implemented stage won't complete in his agreement."I am engrossed by (Knape's) indomitable anticipation and by what he has achieved," says Ullrich. "Inauspiciously, we cannot identical what they did. We principled don't convey the wind." The agreement equally doesn't blossom lump or other crops that can fuel a biogas plant. But, the numerous stimulated Ullrich to ascertain one way to use a cut above renewable energy.Open Frohwitter of the Energiequelle company admits that "Feldheim is not a blueprint; it cannot be insincere one to one." He estimates that it may perhaps be new-found 10 soul into the future the whole Treuenbrietzen town can bring to an end what Feldheim has so far, due to a absence of look after and the entitlement specialists.But, Feldheim should spoon out as an change, he says. "The try of Feldheim shows that nothing is pass."

Source: Spiegel Online (http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,820369,00.html

)