Renewable sources of electricity are critical to reducing mankind’s impact on the planet.  Looking forward, Georgia Power is taking steps to determine whether the amount of sun the state receives would be enough to generate power using solar panels.

The project involves installing solar panels on top of power poles in seven cities – Augusta, Columbus, Conley, Macon, Rome, Savannah and Valdosta – to determine how much electricity the sun can generate.  Some Georgia Power customers are actually receiving some of the electricity being generated by this projects, but only tiny amounts; not enough to see a change in their average electric bill.

Each panel can produce up to 200 watts of electricity.  That’s only enough to power five forty watt light bulbs, but the company wants to determine how overcast days impact the system over time.   These seemingly small tests could pave the way for vast changes in how we consume power from our local electric company.

Part of the project is to test viable locations.  David Watwood, an engineering supervisor with Georgia Power, explained why the panels are being installed in cities across the state.  “It may work well in Augusta, but may not work well in Rome.”

One of the main obstacles to solar power is the cost involved.  Each panel costs about $5,000.  That’s a lot of money to produce 200 watts of electricity.  There are solar systems available that can completely power a home, but they can cost $100,000.  Right now, going “off the grid” is more of a personal statement than a way to save money on your average electric bill.

The eighteen month study is scheduled to end in the summer of 2012.  Managers at Georgia Power are hopeful that it will produce enough power to warrant a closer look at the long term economic feasibility of generating electricity with solar panels.  As the technology spreads, they are optimistic that the price of panels will drop, so that they can explore solar power on a much larger scale.

Solar rooftops, solar farms and wind farms – other possible sources of renewable power – are some of the ways to generate electricity that engineers at Georgia Power are hoping to explore in the near future.  Alternative energy sources are going to have to be in the long term plans of everyone, and Georgia Power is trying to stay ahead of the curve.

Who knows?  Someday, the entire grid may be “off the grid”, when it comes to power generation from fossil fuels.

In an article titled “Kiss your 100-watt lightbulb goodbye“, the Mercury News details the early adoption of national energy efficiency laws in California and Nevada.  Both states have long been champions of energy efficiency, but the latest additions come a year before the rest of the country will be held accountable.

According to the article’s author, Tracy Seipel, “As of Saturday, what used to be a 100-watt light bulb manufactured and sold in California will have to use 72 watts or less. The 72-watt replacement bulb, also called an energy-saving halogen light, will provide the same amount of light, called lumens, for lower energy cost.

Similar new standards for traditional 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect in California over the next few years, with wattages reduced to 53, 43 and 29 respectively.”

The new standards will be required throughout the country starting January 1, 2012 and will cause traditional light bulbs to be 25 to 30 percent more energy efficient.   California and Nevada may be leading the way, but we’ll all be joining them soon enough.

A press release issued earlier today by Cyclone Power Technologies claims Philadelphia based  PECO, an electricity and natural gas provider, has approved the completion of the waste heat power generator at Bent Glass Design.

Approval from PECO is a huge step forward in the renewable energy market. It lends credibility to the idea of capturing otherwise wasted resources to deliver usable energy.  Cyclone claims capturing the existing exhaust heat will allow Cyclone’s waste energy recovery system to “convert over 500,000 BTUs of exhaust heat from Bent Glass’ furnaces into power that can off-set peak electricity usage and corresponding demand charges at the facility.”

Fixing the power grid has been getting more and more coverage lately, as it should.  However, one of the nation’s most well known energy, appliance and electricity companies may be giving the grid the most exposure.

Through its Ecomagination Challenge, GE, the “imagination at work” company, is offering millions of dollars in funding to help drive the development of our future energy needs.  According to its website, ”GE’s Ecomagination Challenge is a $200 million call to action for businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators, and students to share their best ideas and come together to take on one of the world’s toughest challenges – building the next-generation power grid to meet the needs of the 21st century.”

It’s no small task, but it is an absolute necessity.  Consisting of three specific challenge areas, Renewable Energy, Grid Efficiency, and EcoHomes/EcoBuildings, the Ecomagination Challenge is open to pretty much anyone.  GE wants you to “change the way the world uses energy in powerful new ways”.  Are you up to the challenge?

With the oil disaster in the Gulf, “green energy” and energy conservation efforts have received some much overdue attention.  For families, helpful tips like how to save money heating and cooling and your home and how to save money on utilities with emerging technology.  However, there hasn’t been a whole lot of information for the local government and business environment.  Well, the EPA recently addressed the need to “go green” by releasing the “Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments”.

Yes, it’s long on title, but it’s also filled with useful information local governments can use to research and implement energy saving measures into new local building projects.  Good for the environment and energy conservation, “sustainable design” is also another means to address long term savings in local budgets.

According to a news release posted by the EPA, “The Toolkit is designed to assist local governments in identifying and removing permitting barriers to sustainable design and green building practices. It provides a resource for communities interested in conducting their own internal evaluation of how local codes/ordinances either facilitate or impede a sustainable built environment, including the design, construction, renovation, and operation and maintenance of a building and its immediate site.”

You can download the Toolkit directly from the EPA at: www.epa.gov/region4/recycle/green-building-toolkit.pdf

There seems to have been a lot of bad news floating around cable TV news channels.  So here’s a spot of good news I didn’t see on any of the morning news shows.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week that it’s providing $30 million in funding to develop clean energy technologies through small businesses.  This funding has the potential to truly drive progress in several fields: smart grid technology, fuel cell development, green building, solar energy, wind power, nuclear energy and fossil fuel recovery.

Not only does the $30 million funding drive much needed progress in the areas of electric utilities, natural gas providers and oil dependence, it also puts much needed capital behind small businesses.  You can read the specifics over at the DOE.

It’s summer.  Heat waves are wreaking havoc around the country and folks want cheap electricity to power those overused air conditioners. Answering the call, electric companies have been making progress in renewable energy and emerging technology, but can our power grid continue to operate without a serious upgrade?

A recent Reuter’s article on the current heatwave zapping the East coast isn’t inspiring.  Reporting on recent July outages,  Reuter’s says Con Ed of New York had “restored power to about 18,700 customers in the metropolitan area over the past 24 hours, but still had 6,300 homes and businesses suffering in the triple-digit heat without service.”  Could you deal with this heat without your A/C?

According to Reuter’s, workarounds and rationing have been used with some minor success.  Still, “authorities were taking precautions to prevent any disruptions to service.

The state-owned New York Power Authority on Wednesday again activated its demand response program, which pays large business and government customers, such as Citibank and New York City, to cut back on energy usage.

Con Edison asked businesses and government offices in New York to conserve energy by shutting nonessential lights and discretionary equipment, such as extra elevators or escalators, turning off pumps for ornamental fountains, limiting the cooling of buildings, and using emergency generators to offset some of the electricity they take from the power grid.

[Last] Tuesday night, Con Ed imposed a voltage reduction, or brown out, of up to 8 percent in parts of Brooklyn and Queens to allow workers to fix overheated cables supplying power to several neighborhoods.”

Fixing existing issues is a necessity, but there is certainly a larger problem to address.

In a move to help its customers save money on utilities, Duke Energy just announced a pilot program with networking and technology giant Cisco.  According to the press release from Duke Energy, the pilot uses a “smart grid-enabled home energy management solution” to help customers better manage their energy use, saving money and wasting less energy.   The “smart grid”, as described bu Duke Energy, is a combination of “technologies like smart meters, automated switching devices and wireless sensors” creating a line of communication between users and energy suppliers to help better manage all of our resources.

Gianna Manes, senior vice president and chief customer officer of Duke Energy, sums up the program nicely by saying, “Customers want to save money on their energy bills, but it has to be easy. With Cisco’s proven expertise in Internet Protocol-based, open system networks, we’re confident our collaboration with them will result in a solution that provides customers back-of-mind simplicity and real back pocket rewards.”

It’s not quite the wired/wireless home of the future, but it appears to be a big step in the right direction – a utilities company attempting a “smart” approach to saving money and energy.

Initial testing of the Cisco Home Energy Management Solution® will occur over a year-long period in Charlotte, N.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio where Duke Energy has already installed digital smart grid technologies.

As the temperature moves the mercury higher and higher, many of us look for additional ways to stay cool.  The pool.  The lake.  Walk-in freezer at the local grocery store.  But what about additional ways to cool your home?

Ever thoughtful of our wallets and our resources, the EPA has posted a few low cost ideas (and no cost  ideas) to help you lower your electric bill while staying cool.  Their suggestions actually echo many of the points we’ve made in the past here at Allconnect.  For instance, if you look back at our article on how to save money heating and cooling your home, you’ll see Allconnect, like the EPA, suggests you set your thermostat to a higher temperature while you’re not at home for extended periods.  There’s no need to waste electricity chilling your home when nobody’s home.  Save the energy, money and cool breeze for when you can enjoy them.

There are many ways to cool your home without breaking the bank or squandering energy.  Learn how by reading  up on how to save money heating and cooling your home.