QUICK NEWS, 3-3: OBAMA EFFICIENCY UPGRADE PLAN; SF UTILITY SAYS SUN BEATS BLOOM; GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS CUT POWER COSTS

OBAMA EFFICIENCY UPGRADE PLAN
Obama proposes $3,000 home energy rebates
Patricia Zengerle (w/Steve Holland andCynthia Osterman), March 2, 2010 (Reuters)

"President Barack Obama… proposed rebates of up to $3,000 to help homeowners pay for the cost of making their homes more energy efficient, a $6 billion program intended to create jobs.

"…Obama traveled to Savannah Technical College to unveil a plan that could create tens of thousands of jobs…as White House economic adviser Larry Summers predicted that winter blizzards were likely to distort U.S. February jobless figures…Construction activity was hit particularly hard by the storms, but many restaurants and stores also had to close…"

A proposed version of the as-yet unpassed plan. (click to enlarge)

"The efficiency plan, which must be passed by Congress, is intended to prompt Americans to invest in everything from insulation or new windows to overarching energy upgrades of their homes, creating construction and manufacturing jobs and boosting energy efficiency. Consumers would be eligible for between $1,000 and $1,500 for simple home upgrades such as insulation, duct sealing, water heaters, air conditioning units, windows, roofing and doors…Homeowners looking for more comprehensive energy retrofits would be eligible for a $3,000 rebate if the efficiency measures lead to a 20 percent energy savings…

"The program involves a range of incentives for consumers, including rebates from stores that sell building materials, companies that install the equipment and utility energy efficiency programs. Consumers could also get rebates for a range of home energy upgrades…Dubbed "cash for caulkers" after last year's successful "cash for clunkers" automobile trade-in program, the program…will have time limits, although such details would be worked out with Congress. Democrats included the program in a set of job-creation efforts they announced early in February…"

A proposed version of the as-yet unpassed plan. (click to enlarge)

"The scheme would also offer support for state and local governments to provide financing options for consumers who want to participate. The White House said it expected the program would [involve 2 to 3 million households and] save consumers $200 to $500 in energy costs per year…

"The president's agenda got a rare boost last week when a few Republicans in the Senate joined Democrats to approve a $15 billion package of tax breaks and highway spending that aims to bring down the 9.7 percent unemployment rate…But Republicans seeking to wrest control of Congress from the Democrats have scored political points by expressing concern that what Obama frames as job creation efforts are overspending to expand the reach of government. The White House must also placate investors nervous about deficit spending as it seeks to stimulate job growth…"


9-1-1, THE LATEST ANTI-WIND POPPYCOCK
Opposition group fears wind farm in southern Brown County may interfere with 911 radio towers
Scott Williams, March 1, 2010 (Green Bay Press Gazette)

"Opponents of a proposed wind farm in southern Brown County are urging county officials to consider whether the project might interfere with emergency radio communications…

"The [100 wind turbine wind farm proposal for the towns of Morrison, Holland, Wrightstown and Glenmore] comes as county officials are preparing to upgrade their 911 radio system, including relocating about a dozen radio towers countywide…[to allow] emergency dispatchers to communicate with police, fire and ambulance crews while responding to 911 calls from the general public."

click to enlarge

"Jim Nickel, director of public safety communications for the county, said he doesn't think the wind farm will cause interference as long as its 400-foot-tall wind turbines are about a half-mile from any 911 radio tower…[H]e thinks only one or two wind turbines would have to be repositioned…

"Invenergy LLC is seeking state approval to build [Ledge Wind Energy Park,] Brown County's first major commercial wind farm…[It will] generate enough electricity to power 40,000 homes…Invenergy spokesman Kevin Parzyck said he was not aware of any wind farm ever causing interference with emergency radio transmissions…Invenergy considered radio tower locations when developing the Brown County wind farm plan…[and is] talking with the county about whatever is needed to accommodate the retooled radio system…"

click to enlarge

"Proponents of the wind farm say the project would promote alternative energy usage and bring economic development to the area. But critics contend that the turbines would jeopardize public health and safety…An opposition group known as Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy plans to address the radio tower issue…before the County Board Public Safety Committee.

"Supervisor Bill Clancy, a member of the Public Safety Committee who also is the Holland town clerk, said he raised the issue at the request of wind farm opponents…Clancy said that although he is not taking a stand on the wind farm proposal, he agrees that any potential conflict with 911 radio communications should be dealt with…"


SF UTILITY SAYS SUN BEATS BLOOM
PG&E bashes Bloom
Lindsay Riddell, March 1, 2010 (San Francisco Business Times)

"PG&E Corp. CEO Peter Darbee says Bloom Energy’s fuel cells won’t spell the end of the utility.

"Bloom Energy made a huge splash when the stealthy startup debuted its fuel cell technology last week – first on 60 Minutes and then at a big news event at eBay headquarters…Bloom Boxes were billed as distributed power generators that can eliminate the need for traditional power plants and transmission lines by generating reliable, cheap power at the source where its needed."

From CBS via YouTube

"Bloom’s message is that every home and business could have a Bloom Box…[and then] no one would need their utility…But Peter Darbee said that Bloom is still way too expensive to compete with the power his utility delivers…"

From 16Dec71 via YouTube

"He said the price at which Bloom can provide electricity today is still much more expensive than the price of electricity associated with solar and other available renewables. He said Bloom may be able to bring down its cost significantly but it hasn’t happened yet…[though] he expects to see “incursions” of fuel cell technology."

[Peter Darbee, CEO, Pacific Gas & Electric:] “Quite frankly we’re seeing more opportunity with PV coming out of China and things of that nature…Is it the end of the utility?…Absolutely not.”


GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS CUT POWER COSTS
Jumping on Geothermal; These homeowners took the heat-pump plunge to save the planet—and a lot of money, too.
Martha Thomas, March 2010 (Baltimore Magazine)

"…Bill Davidson finally decided…it was heat-pump time…[and] to temporarily destroy his backyard…to dig four 200-foot-deep holes… to install water pipes at a depth where the temperature is a steady 55 or so degrees year-round. The pipes, with the help of a pump, bring the temperate water back to the surface, where it helps to keep his 2,400-square-foot home toasty warm in winter and cool throughout the summer. The project virtually eliminated the noisy oil furnace (which Davidson keeps as a backup) and means annual savings of more than $1,700…

"…The cost of retrofitting his house—installing duct work in the downstairs, tunneling pipes in the yard and putting a heat pump in the basement—was about $30,000…[I]n the 1980s, [and again in the 1990s] he looked at a little-used technology—geothermal heat transfer—that involved extracting warm air from the ground with a pump. But he decided installing a system, which requires ducts throughout the house, was too expensive…But, eventually, Davidson, who has a master's degree in environmental management and works in renewable energy as a manager in Montgomery County's solid waste division, felt his conscience intervene—it was about the health of the planet…"

A geothermal heat pump system at minimum depth. (click to enlarge)

"For Kelly Palmiotto, the decision to install a geothermal heat pump didn't take quite so long. When she left her job at the Maryland Department of the Environment five years ago to renovate a house—and embark on raising a family…She learned about geothermal heat pumps…and had one installed [in 2005]…[H]er home heating and air-conditioning bills are about a third of what they would be with conventional systems. And the system also provides hot water—free of charge.

"…The air-source heat pump, which most [Marylanders] are familiar with…[p]opular in the 1970s and '80s…[consist] of a unit installed outside that relies on outdoor air—exchanging warm air for cool, and distributing the conditioned air through ducts. They are…noisy and inefficient…Today's geothermal systems are considerably more efficient (with a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER, of up to 30 compared to the 1980s air-source figure of about 8…), and they are good for the planet…"

Geothermal heat pump system at greater depth for greater temperature moderation. (click to enlarge)

"Moreover, costs for installing the systems—$20,000 and up—are mitigated by a 30 percent federal tax credit, a deal that's good until 2016…There are also state rebates for geothermal heat pumps, which fall into the category of renewable energy systems like solar panels and wind turbines.

"…[T]he ideal customers are those who already have duct work in their homes. A unit about the size of a small refrigerator—the geothermal heat pump itself—uses electricity to pump water into, and back out of, the ground, through pipes that run through borings in the yard. The typical home will have two to four underground loops…though they will all connect to the indoor system through two pipes. In most cases, air will be circulated through ducts, though in newer homes…the heat can be used in radiant floor systems…[And] the muddy upheaval of [the backyard is] an excuse to do some much-needed landscaping…"