Cross-posted from Real Economics.
In Colorado, an electric utility's request for proposals to build new generating capacity resulted in stunning evidence that renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels--even with storage capacity included for when solar and wind are "down."
Will Hurricane Harvey surge once again inundate Galveston? Fisherman's Wharf area on Ship Channel, with offshore drilling platforms and art. August, 2017. UPDATE: Pointing all toward Naomi Klein tweet in comments. Hope you will share far and wide. divineorder
The process of converting a house to renewable energy begins with:
1. Upgrading its passive solar features, then,
2. Tightening the envelope through adding insulation, upgrading windows, and so forth.
3. The next stage is adding solar hot water heating. Heating water accounts for a quarter to a third of energy usage in a home and using solar water heating can substantially cut the energy bill.
4. Then PV.
5. And then whatever is still needed.
Let's look at three options for adding solar water heating to our homes.
Lately I've been looking into installing solar panels.
My house faces east, with the peak of the roof running east-west so I have a pretty good stretch of roof that is south-facing. However my neighbour to the south has a pretty tall maple tree -- at least as tall as my house -- so I'm not sure whether that would affect efficiency. A similar tree on the neighbour's property behind me might block any southwest-facing panels.
Would you like to find ways to make your local community more resilient, more viable, more self-sufficient? Democratic-Socialism emphasizes appropriate technology to develop local communities, especially in rural areas. We'll look briefly at E.F. Schumacher's chapter on Appropriate Technology in Small Is Beautiful. Then we'll look at the example of a small town in Bavaria, called Wilpoldsried, which macgyvered its way out of where corporatist "development" had left it for dead and into a profitable future using Renewable Energies, the very best appropriate technology for small communities. More below.
Morning folks, greetings from the great solar north. Here's bit of good news amidst the daily doom and gloom.
