Clean Renewable lectrcitiy

Didn't kno Psyforum had an env section (rarely visit)

I spent much time and money putting together a semi-professional solar power truck to run stages indoors and outdoors at psy and festy events. The Solar Chill at the Glade is the one people seem to remember in this thread.

I'm all for sharing the knowledge of that journey, but not in text cos I type too slow. 07979 361747 you are welcome to chat.

Ecotricity is the way to vote with your wallet (as of today's info). They are in it to make turbines. Every other provider just seems to be playing with £figures.

for a little feel good buzz check out the top two videos on http://www.oceanpd.com/Links/videos.html
750kWh each. all day all night whatever the weather.
I feel gooood.

.
 
i was coming off the IDR in Reading last week and was elated to see a wind turbine in the distance by madejski stadium! cant believe i hadnt noticed it before

does anyone know anything about the project that implemented it/whether there will be anymore/what it powers, etc? would be interested to find out more

:Smile3:
 
moshki said:
I was on ecotricity for about a year but when i moved house in the spring i decided to change to Swalec's Power2 because ecotricity profess to only match up to 30% of your useage and Power2 say they match 100%

Well, neither of them can match even 1% if the wind isn't blowing. Yet your lights stay on.

How come?

Because it's a big con, that's why.
 
I switched over to Good Energy, for environmental reasons, and ended up saving £10 per month!!

Which was nice... :Smile3:
 
Warwick Bassmonkey said:
Well, neither of them can match even 1% if the wind isn't blowing. Yet your lights stay on.
Which is why we need a variety of energy sources... Having only one way of doing stuff leads to a highly unstable syste.

The paradox is that at present our current system is dependent upon fossil fuels and we are starting to see that energy provision system crumble.

Things are only going to get worse and we need to take action right now.

James Lovelock (of the Gaia Theoryy) proposes nuclear energy as the solution for the next thirty years, during which time we could develop a fully working renewable energy solution. Will this happen? Hell no, because we as a race only react to things once they are right at our doorstep (because until then science cannot prove with 100% accuracy that such an ending is going to happen).

We need to grow up and take responsibility for our actions. Renewable energy is just one part of that much larger change in thought and attitude.

Obviously all this is in my own opinion, but I do know that people in 100 years will look back at us today and lament why we didn't start taking proper action now...
 
Hello everyone! has anyone mentioned biofuels? u can use biodiesel to run a rig I guess? its carbon neutral. Still get the noise of the generators though, an maybe a whiff of chips! The disadvantage of solar (unless you charge a battery) is that it doesn't work at night, (i know its obvious but u dont think about that when u buy a cheapo solar fountain.....) The EST have good advice on energy saving measures, which if we are to live sustainably we need to be more energy efficient. Insulation if u have cavity walls and loft is a big one u can get help with costs. Solar panels are useless in an 'inefficient', but the physics of that are beyond me:@)
 
Why the planet needs nuclear energy
Earth is hotting up faster than ever before. Here the former Bishop of Birmingham and a committed environmentalist explains why global warming has changed his mind about the need for nuclear power.

This guy was once a trustee of FoE for 20 years. Haven't evaluated his arguments, but another 'nice nukes' article in the same issue makes me think this has the hallmarks of a BNFL 'course we are trustworthy campaign.'

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this position, with recent technological advances in renewable power sources, most notably the very recent discovery of high performance solar cells nuclear power is not the way to go. The industry will be looking at needing a government cash prop up of £160million just to begin to think about new projects. Furthermore the future of the EPR (european pressurised reactor), which is supposed to be the first in the next generation of nuclear reactors, has been called into doubt as a result of some shady, backdoor dealings between the companies involved and the governments funding it's construction + some questions about it's design have recently been raised.

Interestingly for hydrogen fuel cells, a team of scientists have just created a bio-power cell that uses a small amount of electricity and an enzyme to break apart water molecules. This is much cheaper in electrical terms than the standard molecular cracking process that has been used in the past and makes fuel cells a real possibility for the near future.
 
Mav said:
Interestingly for hydrogen fuel cells, a team of scientists have just created a bio-power cell that uses a small amount of electricity and an enzyme to break apart water molecules. This is much cheaper in electrical terms than the standard molecular cracking process that has been used in the past and makes fuel cells a real possibility for the near future.

This is really interesting!!!!!!!! Has this been published somewhere????
 
Mav said:
I'm afraid I have to disagree with this position, with recent technological advances in renewable power sources, most notably the very recent discovery of high performance solar cells nuclear power is not the way to go. The industry will be looking at needing a government cash prop up of £160million just to begin to think about new projects. Furthermore the future of the EPR (european pressurised reactor), which is supposed to be the first in the next generation of nuclear reactors, has been called into doubt as a result of some shady, backdoor dealings between the companies involved and the governments funding it's construction + some questions about it's design have recently been raised.

From everything i have read even more advanced renewable technology farms can only account for about 15% of our current usage (This includes, wind, solar and tidal). Even if we halved our power usage we'd still end up with a shortfall of 70% without fossil fuels and nuclear. Much as i'd love it not to be the case we do use FAAAR too much power (and remember residential usage only accounts for around 30% of the total). We need something to fill the gap that doesn't cough out CO2 ... Alas the only plausible choice at the moment is Nuclear. Either that or buy off the french (who generate 80% of their power with nuclear).

Interestingly for hydrogen fuel cells, a team of scientists have just created a bio-power cell that uses a small amount of electricity and an enzyme to break apart water molecules. This is much cheaper in electrical terms than the standard molecular cracking process that has been used in the past and makes fuel cells a real possibility for the near future.

Even then we'd require tonnes of power that we don't currently use (Not as much as we could but thats not too much help)... so where are we going to reduce usage such that we don't have this huge shortfall ...?
 
Martha: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/energy-fuels/dn9040-bio-fuel-cells-could-power-portable-gadgets.html

From everything i have read even more advanced renewable technology farms can only account for about 15% of our current usage (This includes, wind, solar and tidal). Even if we halved our power usage we'd still end up with a shortfall of 70% without fossil fuels and nuclear. Much as i'd love it not to be the case we do use FAAAR too much power (and remember residential usage only accounts for around 30% of the total). We need something to fill the gap that doesn't cough out CO2 ... Alas the only plausible choice at the moment is Nuclear. Either that or buy off the french (who generate 80% of their power with nuclear).

I agree, to suggest we could simply jump to renewable power is ludicrous, but what I'm suggesting is a push toward that and increased investment in it. The projected figures you're referring to are based on technologies currently deployed rather than those in development. I would advocate a move towards gas power until we can replace that with all renewable and possibly fusion (as there are some interesting developments in that field too at the moment)

Even then we'd require tonnes of power that we don't currently use (Not as much as we could but thats not too much help)... so where are we going to reduce usage such that we don't have this huge shortfall ...?

This isn't the major problem, the main problem is enzmyes are currently expensive to produce. But the energy consumption would be massively reduced compared to electrically powered cars or convential H2O cracking techniques.
 
An interesting discussion . . . my two-penn'orth:

I work as a sustainability officer for a local authority, and the job keeps me in touch with world energy issues - I've always been interested in this stuff on a personal basis too, I suppose I've always been a lover of nature, and of electronic gadgetry also, so renewable energy is a logical 'must' for me.

I think the point about renewables is that ultimately, we don't have any choice in the matter. Fossil fuel supplies are rapidly becoming depleted, and uranium supplies for nuclear energy are no less finite. Renewable energy is ultimately the only way forward for humanity.

The problem is, as some here have already said, current renewable energy capacity is only a tiny fraction of world demand - annual newly installed capacity does not even meet the growth in world demand for energy. So despite the rosy business-as-usual proclamations of governments (not so much these days, actually), we are all heading for big trouble.

Fossil fuel depletion not only has implications for electricity (and thus trance parties!), but for transport (no real alternative to oil), and food (most industrial fertilisers are made from natural gas).

Personally, I'm getting ready for the problems - I grow my own food (only have a small terraced house garden though, so can only meet some of my needs), have solar hot water, solar photovoltaics with batteries for mains back-up (power cuts coming soon to the UK!), and a wood stove for heating and hot water in the winter.

I suppose I belong to that rare breed of 'hippy' who is into sustainable living, in harmony with nature, rather than just the psychedelic experience and making music - which has its place, no doubt, I am a musician myself, and have an album of psy trance out amongst other stuff - but keeping a grip on reality is a must if electronic music is going to stay in existence!

Ironically, most party people I know have long ditched these roots of the 'hippy' scene in favour of the more transient and self-indulgent 'art for art's sake' kind of creed. Personally, my conscience just doesn't sanction that kind of abdication of responsibility and disregard for the natural world.

I have found some people in the 'scene' who still retain their humility and concern with planetary affairs, who to me are the real beacons within the 'alternative' movement and culture. There was a good festival this year, the 'sunrise festival', which used biodiesel for the generators and had all sorts of other good stuff - just showing that it can be done if people give enough of a damn. More power to their elbows!

Anyway, I apologise for such a long rant as my first post! If anyone is interested in any Earth-friendly psy trance, I have an album out called "The New Ageless", available from Absoluteness: www.absoluteness.info

There's a link to my 'myspace' page which has streaming audio for whoever is interested.

Thanks for reading my crazed opinions. Love and peace to all!
 
I wanted to go to Sunrise, but I had to see my olds, a friend went in my place and sadly i think the point of the affair passed him by, which saddens me.

As I live in rented accomodation at the moment the best I can do is have culinary and medicinal herb gardens and i'm on the waiting list for two of the local allotments so that my housemates and I can provide ourselves with some food and perhaps a few others too. There are four of us and we're each avid ethical eaters and environmentalists (and usefully, hard workers) so we should be quite productive when we get the chance.

One of my major points of discussion this weekend just gone was how so few of the people ever involved in the 'hippie' scene know or care about environmental issues and in truth I don't think this is a new state of affairs. Most people are out to party and get wrecked up and the cost of their activities is not of a concern to them. Even amongst those who care about things there are few who're prepared to take any kind of action, which begs the question, do they really care? or do they merely move their mouths in a way that makes them feel better?

Personally I would never call myself a hippie, I would say I was a tribalist, an environmentalist and an activist.

On subject there are combinations of encouraging and discouraging developments in the field of alternative power generation.
For example, regarding solar power, the Australian government has commissioned the building of several solar towers. These constructions double as solar generators and artifical wind plants by having a huge, Km high funnel at the centre of a solar panel field, there are turbines at the base of the shaft and the pressure/temperature differences between the top and bottom cause air to rush up. Dual generation, nice!
Solar cells themselves have also just had a potential huge job in development, though this one i struggle to remember the details of, i believe the secret lies in the nature of the material being used to construct the cells. When a photon strikes an electron in the material it is re-emitted and has an almost certain chance of striking and exciting another electron, doubling up the recieved power... i'll go back and double check this one, read about it about a month ago and it's fallen from my brain!

I'm interested in your tunes, link me up!
 
Hi Mav, yes I've heard about the solar electric cell development, don't know how far away from market it is yet. I spent £1000 or so on 330Wp of solar PV - peanuts compared to the smallest professional installation which is normally 1kW, but combined with 6 deep cycle batteries should provide a useful mains backup for my 'low wattage' ring main (solar pump, central heating pump, desk lamps, internet, TV etc). I got the polycrystalline panels, which are cheaper but you don't get as much W per m2.

Sounds like I've found some like-minded people here, which is a breath of fresh air, I can tell you!

Tunes - I've got a few streaming at Myspace - I know Myspace has got some bad press on this forum, but at the end of the day it has an audio streaming facility, which is what I was after really. The beauty of the internet these days is that musicians can just do it all themselves. Who needs labels any more? Any musician can be his or her own label. About time, too! :ismile:

Streaming tunes: http://www.myspace.com/solarbudmusic

Enjoy!
 
solar bud said:
Hi Mav, yes I've heard about the solar electric cell development, don't know how far away from market it is yet. I spent £1000 or so on 330Wp of solar PV - peanuts compared to the smallest professional installation which is normally 1kW, but combined with 6 deep cycle batteries should provide a useful mains backup for my 'low wattage' ring main (solar pump, central heating pump, desk lamps, internet, TV etc). I got the polycrystalline panels, which are cheaper but you don't get as much W per m2.

Sounds like I've found some like-minded people here, which is a breath of fresh air, I can tell you!

Tunes - I've got a few streaming at Myspace - I know Myspace has got some bad press on this forum, but at the end of the day it has an audio streaming facility, which is what I was after really. The beauty of the internet these days is that musicians can just do it all themselves. Who needs labels any more? Any musician can be his or her own label. About time, too! :ismile:

Streaming tunes: http://www.myspace.com/solarbudmusic

Enjoy!

Sounds like you've got a very sweet setup. I'm currently saving to retrain with the aim of farming and going totally self sufficent, I'm part of a little community down this way thats gradually shuffling towards equiping ourselves to be able to do that.

When I pitched up here I was really happy to find people who had ideas about things and were prepared to state, discuss and defend them. It's refreshing and no doubt about it.

As regards you point about labels, check out http://www.disaudio.com it's an aggregation of self labelled artists who've clubbed together under one banner of distribution to get their stuff heard by more people. Damned good idea if you ask me.
 
nice sticky!!!

Now I could be wrong, but doesn't the current big bang theory require rather a lot of matter/energy to just pop into existence???

Mind you it's just a theory init!

PHLUR :sun:
yes, it is just a theory, a theory that relies on the universe not existing prior to that point in time for its validation

if the universe were to exist prior to that point, then the "big bang" would simply be a continuation, which I find to be far more likely. Just because everything is currently travelling outwards (generally speaking) doesn't mean that this has always been the case

edit - hey solar bud, if you're such an earth loving hippy, how do you justify making music using electronic circuit boards & plastic goods? ;-P that festival sounds great though ;-)
 
just as an aside, there was a small article in the guardian the other day about somebloke claiming to have worked out a way of generating zero impact electricity, or summink like that.

anyone know anymore. apparently he approached loads of science bods in the UK who went "nnnaaaaahh!!" so he put it on t'interweb and lots of foreign science bods (>400) were coming to have a look. (second link here)

i'll try and find a link, later, am off to the beach now tho

(good to see another oztranmce victim on here sam :p)

edit: some links http://environment.guardian.co.uk/energy/story/0,,1860250,00.html
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/energy/story/0,,1858172,00.html
 
edit - hey solar bud, if you're such an earth loving hippy, how do you justify making music using electronic circuit boards & plastic goods? ;-P that festival sounds great though ;-)

:ismile: You're absolutely right of course, I have sold out to teknology!

I do love acoustic music, but I confess I like electric/electronic music too. I'm not one of these people who thinks we should go back to the stone(d) age, I think we have to accept that we are a technological species, but with that comes responsibility.

So yes, you're right about the plastic and all the heavy metals in the PCBs. But I power it all with renewable leccy, and if and when it all finally goes kaput, there are ways of recycling it to make sure that none of the nasties get into the ground or the water.

Hopefully there are ways that we can keep all our nice gadgets, but do it in such a way that we can use them in harmony with nature, instead of at the expense of nature. To complement nature, rather than to try to replace it.

Am working on the festival . . . watch this space! :iwink:

Love and peace,
 
you're doing more than most then & that's definitely worth congratulations :Wink3:

Thanks dude. The tragedy is, it isn't really difficult or expensive for most people to switch their electricity tariff to a 'green' tariff, but it's that crucial step of actually being bothered to do it where a lot of people fall down.

Ecotricity I think is the 'greenest' tariff, but there are others like Npower 'Juice' which are good too.

Here's a good site which compares different ones, and gives a complete list of all those which are available in the UK:

http://www.greenelectricity.org/

:ismile:
 
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