August 25th, 2009
Not only can Portland boast hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events, but also in September of this year work will commence to create an eco-friendly, low carbon community.
This new development will be sited at the former Royal Navy Air Station’s Osprey Quay. The 77 new homes promise to reduce carbon emissions by more than half compared with conventional properties.
Features will include wood pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting systems, solar water heating and solar panels to generate electricity. In addition to this residents will have the opportunity to pay for access to an electric smart car which will be kept on site.
The developers are expecting the work to take two years to complete. Let’s hope it is successful and the first of many!
Tags: 2012 Olympics, eco-friendly, electric cars, low carbon community, Paralympics, Portland, rainwater harvesting systems, sailing, solar panels, solar water heating, wood pellet boilers | Posted in 2012, Self sufficiency, Sustainable Energy
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July 8th, 2009
Solar power has become more widespread over the past few years and here are the reasons why:
All our energy comes from the sun. The sun drives the weather systems that turn wind turbines and the water cycle, which power hydroelectric stations. Oil, coal and gas are the remnants of plants that grew thanks to photosynthesis. Generally, people refer to ‘solar energy’ as the technology that allows us to generate power from the sun.
Solar energy basically falls into two categories: solar photovoltaic, for generating electricity and thermal solar, for generating heat.
Solar photovoltaic are the panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are located on the roofs of homes and offices at an installation cost of between £10,000 – £15,000.
Thermal solar panels capture the warmth of the sunlight and use it to heat water. Installation costs around £4,000 and cuts household emissions by around 8%.
Solar technology currently provides only a small proportion of the world’s electricity and heating energy. Hopefully this will change as the panels become cheaper and less energy-intensive to produce therefore becoming affordable as well as more environmentally beneficial.
Tags: emissions, future, Solar Energy, solar panels, sun, thermal energy | Posted in Climate Change, Sustainable Energy
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