June 25, 2006

• A subject of considerable interest to me, sidetracked by an incomplete web site. Steps 3, 4 and 5 are just magic hands? WTF???
• Damn. They're not showing up.
• Step 6 is Profit.
• Synchronicity! Just now I was in the kitchen reading in the paper that the govt are just about to relax planning permission for home wind-turbines. Walk upstairs open monkeyfilter and it tells you how to make one. Monkeyfilter: serving all your green diy needs
• Well, that's not synchronicity, I have learned, it's the Baader-Meinhof effect; which itself is interesting since I was just reading about that, so this is a self-referenced Baader-Meinhof event... /head asplode
• I'm very excited to see the growth of "micro generation." as some are calling it. If you're a New Scientist subscriber (unlikely), you could read the whole article online but the basic gist of it is that this micro generataion is now getting economical enough for businesses to use it, and even some consumers (ie, the wind and solar power pay for themselves within 10 or so years--which if you've already signed onto a 30-year mortgage doesn't seem so wacky). The cool thing is that, as the cost of implementing these solutions is not as astronomical as a new major power plant (nuclear, hydroelectric, or what have you), it's easily scaleable--and some proponents say micro generation now accounts for more power produced worldwide than nuclear--though I'm not sure where those numbers come from and therefore it'd be good to get second confirmation to prove they're accurate. Still, the prospect of being able to slowly but surely move to renewable sources in the overall power grid is a great way to increase their percentages, easily circumventing endless debate regarding public works and indirectly undermining the "need" for nuclear power that seems to be called for in some quarters. All the micro-power also eases the strain on the power grid--though it seems power companies in the US are loathe to realize this. I'm quite enthused by this and would be interested if people have read articles or papers elsewhere.
• Bearguy, I'd be astonised if microgen levels where anywhere near nuclear, are you sure you're not conflating burning biomass for heating/coooking in homes into that figure? Or possibly including large hydro? Not got any specific articles to point you to but Renewable Energy World has regular, well-written and interesting articles on RE - it's published monthly and plenty of the articles are free to view on their website.
• My town's zoning board doesn't allow them. Stupid f&*#ing fascist morons.
• I'd be astonised if microgen levels where anywhere near nuclear Yeah, that's why I wanted someone else to weigh in. I don't have the New Scientist article handy, so they may have just said 'we are on track to match nuclear in X years' or something like that. Though I am suspicious that they aren't conflating stats. Thanks for the tip on Renewable Energy World. My hope is, when I move from apartment (flat) to house, I will be able to do some renovations of the renewable energy kind. (-:
• My town's zoning board doesn't allow them. Stupid f&*#ing fascist morons. Yeah, Idaho Power has pretty well screwed the little guy on this one--as usual.
• Bearguy: If you're interested in hands-on stuff of your own then check out Home power magazine. BlueHorse: Grid access is a very diferent barrier to Zoning and potentially one that might be actionable (though you might need to get a consumer body on side). Does current regulation disallow access for domestic generators. Does your regulator allow this, and if so why? Your first step is to find out what the regs are and why they prevent microgeneration, then find out why they are how they are, then perhaps figure out whether there are alternatives. This will be a lot of work of course, which is why you need to get an electricity consumer body involved. It may be that there are regs in place already which should allow domestic generation but that the power company is able to ignore them without a problem currently. (I say this without knowing Idaho specifics, the UK and EU tend to e further ahead on these things so I may be overestimating how far along Idaho regulation/liberalisation is.)
• Wow, Biffa, I think you're the only person who ever used "Idaho" and "liberalisation" in the same sentence! There is a consumer body fighting for grid access, and slowly I think things will change. The problem is access to the right ears and the issue of playing with the big boys--takes $$$.
• Floating wind generators.
• BlueHorse: sorry to disappoint but this is economic liberalisation, ie not the economics of liberals.