Green Energy Videos

CEO of Energy Conversion Devices speaks at Clean Energy Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:21:00 +0000

Mark Morelli, CEO of Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER), speaks about the importance of electricity via solar power at the Clean Energy Forum.

80% of US products are shipped to Europe. These countries have embraced incentive programs to spur growth of green industry. It's now beginning to happen in the United States.

First Solar earnings dive

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:13:00 +0000

First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) earnings in Q3 plummeted, but First Solar as a business is still viable, which is laudable since most firms have struggled to get solar out of the red without heavy subsidies. It has always been my opinion that solar energy should be subsidized because of the economic benefit that goes beyond profits, but it's always nice to see a company do well without subsidies. If we're going to make a big push for green energy, we'll be able to convince more people the more our efforts can create jobs...and (gasp) even profits.

Jim Cramer on solar stocks

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:09:00 +0000

OK, this is kind of an old video, but he does talk about solar subsidies, which are still a big issues for solar stocks, and solar energy period. Cramer had been on the First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) bandwagon for quite some time because of its profitable subsidy-free operations

Is Ethanol good or bad?

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Bottom line: Ethanol is a total waste, according to T.J. Rodgers. He's the Chairman of Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA, SPWRB). Rodgers is a libertarian, conservative, and solar entrepreneur. He goes through an interesting explanation of why ethanol doesn't work and talks about some stride in biofuels that are worthwhile.

Suntech Solar Power

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:03:00 +0000

China's Suntech Power (ADR: STP) is the third largest manufacturer of solar panels in the world. Here is a good video on the story of China's solar giant.

Solar Company Stock Valuations

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:14:00 +0000

This is a presentation that talks about current valuations in the solar stocks securities market. There are no buy or sell recommendations, per se, but simply an evaluation of the larger market with good information. They extract and aggregate publicly available information to point out opportunities in the solar energy industry, given it takes some time for the market to correct itself. Current publicly traded solar stocks are: Canadian Solar (CSIQ), China Sunergy (CSUN), GT Solar (SOLR), Yingli Green Energy (YGE), Solar World, SunTech Power (STP), Renesola (SOL), LDK Solar (LDK), JA Solar (JASO), Solarfun (SOLF), Trina Solar (TSL), Evergreen (ESLR), SunPower (SPWR), First Solar (FSLR), Q-Cells (QCE), Solon.

Cheap Solar Panel Project

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:53:00 +0000

45 Watt solar panel kit. Bought the kit from Ebay. Three solar panels tied together. This contains everything you need for a solar power project. It isn't a powerful system, but it gets you acquainted with the solar process. The system comes with its own voltage meter. You can run two lights at one time, powered completely by the solar panels. As you can see it powers a motor pretty well, completely on the sun's energy. It even does a drill motor.

Solar project that looks easy enough

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:49:00 +0000

First Solar Panel Project. Four solar cells bought from Ebay. Right now they're hooked up in series with copper wiring. Took a shoebox and put the solar panels inside. The panels have tape to keep them in place. Positive and negative wires, hooked up to two LED lights. 2.5 volts, enough to power two LED lights. Neat little project. I might try something similar myself just for kicks.

How to make cheap, inexpensive solar panels

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:13:00 +0000

Each one 20V, cheap and easy to build. Won't take you more than a half day. The solar panels are connected to each other with a cable. Then they're connected to the power inverter, from there the cables to the charge controller. For full step-by-step instructions, check out the website http://www.power55.com.

New Wind Turbine by Aerotecture

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:04:00 +0000

Here is a new wind turbine design by Aerotecture, originally designed by a man from the University of Chicago.

Wind turbine design good for rural and urban environments

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Many people are (perhaps ironically) against wind turbines for environmental reasons. Many people claim they are an eyesore, that they create noise pollution, and--perhaps most importantly--they disrupt local wildlife. Many people say traditional wind turbines look bad in the rural landscape, also that they create too much noise because they move much quicker than the wind itself. Also, birds, bats, and other animals can be negatively affected by an area heavily armed with wind turbines. These new smaller wind turbines seek to assuage the negative effects of traditional wind turbines without sacrificing much of the efficacy

New York City using tidal flows to generate electricity

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:03:00 +0000

By 2030 New York City will be unable to meet its energy needs without finding alternative sources of energy. These tidal power projects help supplement the city's existing energy sources, and do so with green renewable energy.

First Solar (FSLR) and the Thin Film Future

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Here's a video of a representative from First Solar giving a company overview. I have followed the First Solar stock (ticker symbol FSLR) for quite some time. It has always intrigued me because they use a different technology than other solar companies that rely on traditional photovoltaic cells. It is quite clear that their main focus in cost reduction. Their thin film technology is much cheaper than the photovoltaic cells that are subject to the rising silicon prices. People who evaluate the company's business prospects always hold up this cost advantage as a reason to invest in it as a "sustainable" business. They're the only outfit out there that can make money without heavy government subsidy. Because of their cost advantage, First Solar has huge aspirations: to create solar energy that is on par with the economics of traditional electricity sources.

To learn more about First Solar's thin-film cadmium telluride semiconductor material technology, visit their website.

University of Michigan makes power out of slow water currents

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Here's a cool video from the University of Michigan about a device called VIVACE that derives energy from slow water currents. This new renewable energy technology, developed by University of Michigan researchers, can make energy out of slow currents in the ocean and rivers. This is a great way of tapping into new vast energy resources, as the great majority of all water currents worldwide are under 3 knots, Professor Michael Bernitsas explains. Even a water current as slow as 1 knot can be tapped for energy

Renewable Energy and Economies of Scale

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:31:00 +0000

Daniel Kammen, Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, explains why renewable energy might take less time for widespread incorporation than its critics care to admit.

Alternatives are great, but there's no way to scale them up rapidly enough to meet the energy needs of our society. This is the misconception that Mr. Kammen addresses here.

Wind and solar currently produce 0.5% of the electricity in the United States. Most engineers educated before 1999 take this knowledge and assume that renewables will remain two-bit players in the energy space.

Northern Germany went from no wind energy to more than 25% wind power in 6-8 years.

Places that are now going after biofuels, wind, and solar, they are going against the myth that widespread renewable use is too difficult and costly to implement. Every place that has tried has discovered that it's relatively easy to do.

Most incentives we have in government is for dirty power. We need to change these incentives to benefit clean, green power.

Solar Thermal Heating

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:08:00 +0000

This is a good introduction to Solar-powered water heating. These systems require a larger up-front investment, but they can save money in the long run.

20% Renewables by 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:57:00 +0000

The European Union hopes to produce 20% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020. This video cites energy independence and global warming as the major impetuses (impeti?) for this move. Wind energy production in Europe has come a long way. The total wind production on the continent is the equivalent of all the energy needs in Denmark and Hungary combined. The video goes on to talk about a bunch of different renewable energy sources, but it's all pretty basic stuff. I just thought that statistic about wind energy was pretty neat.

Costa Rican Earthquake

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:57:00 +0000

I know this isn't 100% related to energy, and that it isn't a video, but I thought I'd let everyone know that I survived the earthquake in Costa Rica a few weeks ago. I also wanted to share with you some images that I came across that shows the extreme severity of what happened. I already wrote about it in my Costa Rican blog, so I'll just link to the earthquake photos from here. I hope you enjoy the photos. It certainly shows the kind of energy that is produced in the earth's massive, radioactive core. More on this later. Here are the photos:

http://costaricaspanish.blogspot.com/2009/01/costa-rican-earthquake-antes-y-despus.html

Greenpeace Video - Renewable Energy

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Two billion people have no modern energy supply, no power to pump clean water, no cold storage for medicines. Smoke from cooking fires kills nearly 2 million people each year. It doesn't have to be like this. Coal, oil, gas, nuclear - no thank you. The wind can provide four times the energy we need. Clean, affordable, endless. Choose positive energy. Greenpeace.

Solar Powered Mobile Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:21:00 +0000

Crazy contraption, a mobile device powered by the sun.

How biogas works

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:34:00 +0000

From the Video: 1. Most biodegradable organic material can be collected for anaerobic digestion. 2. The material is fed into a digester tank where bacteria break it down in the absence of oxygen. 3. This produces biogas (methane), which is cleaned, compressed, and sent to a CHP plant. 4. It also produces a digestate, which can be used for compost or as a fertilizer.

Biogas Plant: A Virtual Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:29:00 +0000

The embed option was removed for this video, but it is an interesting virtual tour of a biogas plant. It's done very well, but there's one part where they simulate you getting blasted in the face with a bunch of liquid manure. Gross. Still, I recommend the video. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UafRz3QeO8&feature=rec-HM-r2

Helios Solar-powered Aircraft

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:49:00 +0000

This is a test flight for the Helios solar-powered aircraft, created by NASA. Sweet.

Geothermal Heating, Geothermal Cooling

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:09:00 +0000

From the Video: The earth stores heat from the sun. Temperatures in the ground remain high. A geothermal system can use this heat to provide heating, cooling. The geothermal heat exchange system is created underground. Hydronic tubing. Heat exchangers can be open-loop or closed-loop. Water, ofr a mixture of water and an environmentally friendly anti-freeze, flows through the pipes transferring the energy. Slinky coils can often be used to increase the pipe surface area. Another way to increase the heat exchange is to take advantage of the water heat transfer ability. Heat exchange pipe. Horizontal pond-loop system. Installing a geothermal heat exchange unit.

Landfill Gas at UC Davis

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Carmona) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:13:00 +0000

Landfill gas is an exciting new energy source. California is a huge polluter, but luckily they are starting to harness over 40% of their landfill waste to use it as energy. Originally the landfill gas system was designed and implemented to assuage certain safety concerns, but it turned out to be very economical as well, as a lot of precious energy is generated from the gas that the waste emits as it decomposes. The organic waste is covered and the anaerobic bacteria digest the material to make the gas. These landfills save UC Davis over $80,000 per year that the school would otherwise pay to PG&E.