SOLAR DECATHLON VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AND KIDS LEARN ABOUT ENERGY

An opportunity to work with young people is always fun and helping them demonstrate their passion is something we should all stride to do. Here is a great way to help influence a generation and a country in something we all believe in. The entire staff of the Solar and Wind Expo has signed up as volunteers, please join us:

We are recruiting volunteers for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011. The event takes place on the National Mall, West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., and will be open to the public Sept. 23 – Oct 2.


The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. Open to the public free of charge, the Solar Decathlon enables visitors to tour the houses, gather ideas to use in their own homes, and learn how energy-saving features can help them save money today.

We are recruiting greeters, docents, runners, solar experts, special event and walking route assistants, and others. There is a job for everyone!

Visit the Solar Decathlon web site to find out more about volunteering or to register: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/volunteers.html

We hope you will join us!

Mary-Lyn Chambers
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
Volunteer Manager
202.286.1700
SolarVolunteers@linderassociates.com

EDUCATING THE FUTURE

The US Energy Information Administration is preparing for the future with its Energy Kids website. [http://www.eia.gov/kids/index.cfm] Part of this site is designed for children, and part contains information for teachers, including guides and lesson plans. Although designed for kids, it’s a good primer for anyone interested in learning the basics about energy, including renewables.

I especially like the easy-to-understand graphics, such as the one below.

 
Many people, including lobbyists and politicians make the energy issues facing our country very complex and very political. It’s refreshing to see the information presented in a simple, unbiased manner.

EIA is an independent agency funded by Congress whose mission is to “collect, analyze, and disseminate independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment.” It is doing all of us a great service by education America’s children on these issues. After all, children are our future.

HEADLINES

German renewables sector needs faster cost cuts-execs

Reuters Africa

"We now have a market risk premium (in the renewable sector) and we're trying to switch this system depending on feed-in tariffs into one that is market-oriented," said Matthias Kurth, president of the German network agency at a renewable energy ...
 
Energy Secretary Chu delivers powerful history lesson

Las Vegas Sun

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu speaks at a press conference announcing the first-ever hybrid geothermal-solar power plant during the National Clean Energy Summit on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, at the Aria Convention Center. By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) ...
 
Volvo and Siemens to develop electric cars

Financial Times

By John Reed in London and Bernard Simon in Toronto Volvo, the Swedish carmaker owned by China's Geely, has formed a partnership with Siemens, the German engineering group, to develop electric cars and the equipment needed to run them. ...
 
How Much US Shale Gas Is There, Really?

MIT Technology Review

The estimated volume, around 84 trillion cubic feet (TCF), is 80 percent smaller than an estimate published earlier this year by the Energy Information Administration, an agency within the US Department of Energy. This discrepancy has added to the ...
 
India's Suzlon Energy Plans A$1.3 Billion South Australian Wind Project

Bloomberg

By James Paton - Wed Aug 31 04:04:19 GMT 2011 Suzlon Energy Ltd. (SUEL), the Indian company that is Asia's third-largest maker of wind turbines, plans to develop a A$1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) wind farm in South Australia, according to the state ...