Electricity

Over Half of Germany's Renewable Energy Owned By Citizens & Farmers, Not Utility Companies

Germany's promotion of renewable energy rightly gets singled out for its effectiveness, most often by me as an example of how to do things well versus the fits and starts method of promotion common in the US. Over at Wind-Works, Paul Gipe points out another interesting facet of the German renewable energy saga: 51% of all renewable energy in Germany is owned by individual citizens or farms, totaling $100 billion worth of private investment in clean energy.

Breaking that down into solar power and wind power, 50% of Germany's solar PV is owned by individuals and farms, while 54% of its wind power is held by the same groups.

Edison bulb goes LED

Andrew Liszewski reports that Panasonic is introducing a new LED lightbulb that doesn’t just keep the classic shape of an Edison bulb—it has a visible filament and clear glass. Pricing and availability have not yet been made public, but we do know that the bulb uses just 4.4 watts of energy. “Panasonic's new LED bulb goes a long way to bridging the psychological gap that keeps people buying inefficient incandescents because they prefer the way they look,” Liszewski writes.

Vertical Axis Wind Power Generation Final Product

Fourth Generation Vertical Axis Windmodule.

Drive Mechanism: Tire.

1.5 Killowatts.

Vertical Axis Wind Power Generation Prototype

Updated: Final Product Installed.

earthship dynasphere

Wind turbines create electrical energy by harnessing the moving energy of the wind. The wind turns a wheel which creates mechanical energy in turn spinning a connecting generator and producing electrical energy. Most conventional wind turbines are on a horizontal axis meaning they rotate and look like pinwheels in the sky. Mike's Design rotates vertically like the amusement part ride the tea cups minus the overambitious person spinning the tea cup on their own.

Pre-Packaged Earthship Power System

This is the power system for the entire home. Designed to be brought on site, used for construction without emitting any pollution and no use for a generator.

Setup take about 4 hours and provides a full power system. Questions: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

earthship.com/systems/electricity