Sustainable Energy

huffingtonpost.com - by Lewis Milford - January 7, 2014

For those who already think natural gas will win out over renewable power, a judge has said, not so fast.

In what may be the first time a U.S. solar power project has been declared cost-competitive against natural gas in a competitive bidding process, a judge has said solar is cheaper than natural gas. The ruling could be a road map for avoiding a new fossil fuel age dominated by big natural gas.

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nytimes.com - by Matthew L. Wald - December 27, 2013

WASHINGTON — To stave off climate change, sources of electricity that do not emit carbon will have to replace the ones that do. But at the moment, two of those largest sources, nuclear and wind power, are trying to kill each other off.

In the electricity market, both are squeezed by pressure from natural gas, which provides some carbon reductions compared with coal but will not bring the country anywhere near its goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas has a carbon footprint that is at least three times as large as that goal.

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thinkprogress.org - By Kiley Kroh and Jeff Spross - December 18, 2013

While the news about climate change seems to get worse every day, the rapidly improving technology, declining costs, and increasing accessibility of clean energy is the true bright spot in the march toward a zero-carbon future. 2013 had more clean energy milestones than we could fit on one page, but here are thirteen of the key breakthroughs that happened this year.

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bge.apogee.net

An open-loop, ground-water heat pump, uses a surface or underground water source (such as a lake, river, or well) as the heat source and sink. Well water designs are the most common and seem to be the most cost effective. The well supplies both domestic water and water for the heat pump. Approximately three gallons per minute of well water are needed per ton of cooling capacity.

Ground water source open-loop heat pumps use the same concept as the ground coupled units - for example, in the Midwest the temperature of the earth near the surface and the water in it (aquifer) is typically around 55°F. Water is taken from the ground or surface water (pond, lake, etc.), circulated to the individual heat pumps and the returned to the ground via a disposal well, returned to the lake or pond, or where permitted discharged into a stream or river.

When more units are heating than cooling the circulating water temperature drops prior to disposal. Conversely, when more units are cooling than heating, the circulating water is warmed prior to disposal.

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