Sergey Brin and Larry Page Green Google Up!

This is a photo of Sergey Brin and Larry Page-the mavens at Google "fueling" up their electric hybrid car.

Google went Green in June when it installed 9,000 polysilicon panels on it's corporate rooftops located in Mountain View, California. When their solar rig is fully operational it's going to generate up to 30% of the total energy their complex needs. They're planning to expand their solar energy projects in coming years.

They shuttle their employees around in Biodiesel powered vehicles and also have a fleet of hybrid electric cars like the one in the photo. You have to give Google credit for walking-the-walk but they are extremely wealthy and can afford to invest in solar unlike a lot of struggling small to midsized companies.

Let's hope that solar becomes economically affordable for more businesses in the not too distant future. The state of California has been doing the right thing-giving tax breaks for use of solar technology, but the other states need to get with the program here. Write to your state legislatures and demand tax breaks for business and residential solar use!

The Sun Starts Using Kohl's to Distribute Itself!

This Just In:

The Sun has made a deal with Retailer "Kohl's" to have itself distributed through Kohl's use of it's new photovolatic rooftop system it's planning for 63 of it's California Locations. Kohl's just activated it's first Solar Store in Laguna Niguel California and has plans to convert 75% of it's California locations to solar power.

Kohl's says that when their Statewide project is complete at least 28 Million Pounds of the junk-Carbon Dioxide-will be eliminated from the environment.

You can read Kohl's announcement here at Business Journal

Largest Solar Industry Event in U.S. History

2007 Solar Power Conference and Expo the largest solar power conference in the United States is underway in Long Beach Calfornia. An estimated 10,000 people will attend this year's event. The public can attend for free on Tuesday, September 25 from 5:30 to 8:30pm.,

Everyone from Ted Turner to actor Larry Hagman is there giving a talk on their own involvement in using and promoting solar technology. The conference is sold out due to demand but anyone can attend the Expo. The expo will feature more than 200 solar related companies, have exhibits, educational seminars and info on how to get a job in the solar industry.

The popular exhibition is being held at the Long Beach Convention Center which itself is powered by Solar and will run through Thursday September 27th. Next year's Solar Conference and Expo will be held in San Diego-get in on it early!

Clean Energy Stocks Up as Oil Rises

The Wildershares Group is a "Green Energy stock index" that tracks closely how "Clean Energy" stocks are moving as a group. Since the rise in oil prices, this group of stocks has gained attention by rising to the challenge. You can see by this chart that if you drew a line from bottom point on the left to bottom point on the right there is a steady rise in prices for this index.

Stocks like "Fuelcell Energy", "JA Solar Holdings", "SunPower", etc. are rising steadily sparked by the high oil prices and the pain-at-the-pump.

Time to jump in? Only you as a result of your careful research can make that decision but I noticed gas prices in my area up lately. As I remember my old stock trading technical formations it seems that this chart could be read as forming a cup. A cup many times will go on to form a handle which means that if a handle is destined to form-prices will be going up in that scenario. But Caveat Emptor, nothing is for sure when it comes to stock investing as I know from experience good and bad.

It is nice to see the prices for Clean Energy up though isn't it?

Solar Powered PC's, Laptops and Cell Phones? Don't Hold Your Breath

This phone pictured here is another "Concept" solar powered product by a Chinese tech company. We have "Concept" cell phones, PC's and Laptops. We're lousy with "Concepts." For you younger seedlings "lousy" means we have an overabundance.

Myths are floating around the net that there are concrete plans to make "affordable" solar powered Cell Phones, PC's and Laptops in the not too distant future.

Mike Elgan in his commentary reports that these are wishful rumors at best. There are several companies that currently have prototypes they slowly introducing to the market but no breakthroughs as of yet.

Investors have to get on board as Google's Brin has and make research and development money available to solar labs and manufacturers. It will unfortunately probably be years before they get out of "concept" mode and into everyday production of these items.

Pretty ironic that we take the time and money to travel to the moon, mars and distant planets but we haven't yet put our human genious behind technologies like solar and alternative forms of energy to the point where it's affordable for everybody. Ask yourself why we have waited?

Create Your Own Solar Bag

Those DIY'ers out there will appreciate the instructions laid out for creating your own "Solar Bag" from scratch at Talk2myshirt.com.

This is a basic bag that producs predictable results. The more sun the bag is exposed to the better it charges up small portables like your Ipod. Walk through a tree-laden shady park and you're out of luck.

The authors are going to come up with Version 2 of this bag that will include an on board battery in a later installment. But, this is a good starting point for beginners and a way to get some free supplemental power.

Office Depot Goes Green

You "Greenies" out there will be interested to know that "Office Depot" has a Green Store within their regular online store. It carries items you would expect such as recycled paper and energy saving light bulbs but also has a business sign that says "Open" powered by LED energy saving lights.

Click here for Green Office Products from Office Depot

The Zephyr Solar Powered Aircraft

The "Zephyr" unmanned solar powered drone aircraft broke the world record by flying for 54 hours of White Sands New Mexico recently. Created by British defense manufacturer "QinetiQ" the Zephyr has a thin layer of Solar Arrays on it's wings that span over 60 feet. It weighs just 66 pounds and is made of carbon fiber.

During the day the sun charges up the drone's lithium-sulphur batteries and as the sun disappears the plane draws on their energy for night flight.

This Solar Powerd ultralight aircraft will no doubt be quite useful for unmanned military surveilance and emergency communications.

National Geographic's Profile of the "Zephyr"

Electric Cars-Toyota Prius vs Chevrolet Volt

In this corner the Toyota Prius. In the opposite corner we have the Chevrolet Volt.

Unfortunately the showdown can't begin until the Volt gets it's battery! Toyota is having fun dissing the Volt saying that at least the Prius is "Market Ready."

The Chevy entry into the electric car space realistically won't be ready until 2010. The Volt is charged up at the consumer's electrical outlet and has a range of up to 40 miles. But the battery to run it is not available at a reasonable cost right now.

The important point is that we've got two car industry heavyweights competing with each other regarding who will have the best altenative energy vehicle. Twenty years ago they couldn't have cared less. Slowly, very slowly these industrial giants are modifying their thinking and designs. Awareness, criticism and pressure seem to be havng their effect and sparking action by the biggies. How long will it be though until we see freeways full of these vehicles?

Next Biodiesel Star?

Humble yourselves you "Corn" fans out there, a new Biodiesel Superstar is aiming to take away some of the spotlight from your Biodiesel fav. It produces 10 times more fuel than corn!

Here comes a plant which doesn't need much water, is very hardy, lives 50 years and can be planted on typically unuseable land. Introducing "Jatropha", a drought resistant perennial whose seeds produce up to 37% oil content. Usually found in tropical and sub-tropical areas, oil can be obtained from the seeds almost as is. Not a lot of processing needs to be done on these seeds but it does take two years of plant growth before the seeds start producing oil.

Canadian company Energem Resources Inc. have invested approx. $5 million in a Mozambique energy company that will plant and produce 66k hectares of Jatropha. A "hectare" is equivalent to approx. 107k square feet of land. It's betting this plant will be a big part of the biodiesel portfolio of fuels.

For poverty-stricken countries throughout the world the Jatropha Plant just may play a major part in their economic survival. Countries like India who import almost three quarters of it's energy for it's one billion residents are looking to this plant as a possible answer to their high demand for fuel. Approximately 15% of India's trains run on biodiesel so they've planted thousands of miles of Jatropha long the tracks.

The downside to Jatropha is that the oil output from the plant isn't always predictable and even though drought resistant still thrives on water.

But hey, any plant which can be planted in a rockpile and produce green fuel doesn't have to be perfect!

Is Wind Power For You?

You need to have the wind blowing at an average speed of at least 9 mph in your desired location for the generator/turbine.

U.S. Census figures reveal that approximately 17 million homes in the U.S. are located on land where Wind Power can be used.

Here is a "Wind Map" for California. Check out your state government websites for available wind maps. A quick call to your local tv weather department might provide the info also.

You must also check your local city, county and state's laws regarding any limits on how tall structures can be in your area. A wind generator must be positioned 20 feet above the surrounding structures and trees in order for it to be effective.

If you're into drinking beer and like the idea of using less energy to produce the golden brew then you'll be an admirer of the direction "Anderson Valley Brewing Company" has taken.

The Boonville California brewer has installed a customized $860 Solar Array comprised of 768 panels.According to the article the Solar Panels have a life expectancy of between 40 to 50 years and have cut the the brewery's electrical bill almost by half!

Consider the money this savvy business is saving in the coming decades. This brewery has been around since '87 and obviously have tremendous confidence in their ability to survive as a company. This appears to be a well thought-out strategy on their part-congrats to Anderson Valley Brewing.