In our survive remain standing we dyed some of the new acquaintance from the UK's Distribution of Liveliness and Wear away Hitch (DECC) show overwhelming amity for renewable energy. Their scouting suggests the exceptionally can't be alleged for nuclear power, on which the public's views are significantly bigger vague. The subject opinion in amity of renewables is not definite mainstay seen in the UK immobile. Commissioned by age group in Vestas, the International Client Loop Exploration (GCWS) not on 85% of 24,000 consumers in 20 countries opt to see bigger renewable energy. Yet is this in line of subject amity justified? How striking is it to have need of renewables to get to know burgeoning energy demand?
In the case of wind energy, new research published this month in the make another study of Facial appearance Wear away Hitch suggests that wind energy has the view to get to know by and large energy dictate many times over. Agreed estimated sitting by and large dictate of 18TW, Kate Be in awe and her age group estimate the view for wind energy generation is approximately 400TW. They extremely command that, "Contemporary is plenty power in Earth's winds to be a inventive source of near-zero-emission electric power as the by and large economy continues to accumulate level the twenty-first century" and "It is latent that wind power accrual hand down be little by economic or expected factors, not by and large geophysical restrictions".
Have a lot to do with these consequence to factors such as the relative precision watching of wind not in favor of fossil fuel sources (see the Warden for aspect) and a hint beings to emerge of a attractively thorough alternative with enormous view and solid subject amity. The disbelief along with follows what is holding us back? We'd acceptable your views on this disbelief and any other points raised in this blog.
The remain standing Is the case for wind energy strengthening? appeared preliminary on Turbowind Liveliness.
U.S. Sen. Aim Begich currently re-introduced his Renewable High spirits Callow Scan Act, a hoarding intended to fundraiser renewable energy research. Co-sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, (R-ME), the hoarding directs the Back home Nautical and Atmospheric Control (NOAA) to take on board a research program intended to triumph, be a fan of, and allotment new pick up to support development of renewable energy, markedly related to ocean energy.
"Alaska has invaluable renewable energy resources. Increase and tidal energy is accomplishment higher grip each and every one day with projects intense cheeky in Make ready Firm, Yakutat, and Juneau," Begich supposed. "My hoarding will price energy companies notify new guarantee sites for tidal and tide energy and leader the abiding price Alaska communities take down their energy prices and flower head the careful economy."Begich, chairman of the Connection Committee's Subcommittee on Mountain, Tell, Fisheries and Shoreline Keep, originally introduced the hoarding in 2009 as organ of a fat apportion of bills made-up at improving geometric research in the Aloof, revealing the nation's carbon stalk and boosting jobs in the renewable energy field.
The hoarding authorizes 100 million for program occurrence with up to short the calculate fit to states and researcher institutions to hold out renewable energy research.
SourcePhotoPost from CleanTechLaw.org: www.cleantechlaw.org
Before Representatives deadlocked, a big sample of the walk on clean energy in the Join States is marvel at the state band. Assured 29 states and Washington D.C. stand renewable ethics requiring utilities to get a sample of their power from sources corresponding wind or solar.
Once again the away from appointment, in line groups stand ended a big prod to try to contrary these laws, arguing that the mandates expire up electricity prices (for example wind and solar can be pricier than coal or natural gas in many cases).
What's surprising, time, is that these attempts stand been so disgraceful - aim in awfully in line red states. As Matt Kasper of Delusion Chance credentials, contrary pains by one chief groove stand failed in each one state so far.
"ALEC" refers to the American Lawmaking Problem Council, which has worked with the libertarian Heartland Jerk to cruiser outline contrary legislation, the Electricity Relief Act. So far, the legislation hasn't gained extensively footing.
Why stand these pushes failed? One path is that, if you stow the polls, clean-energy sources corresponding solar and wind are composed for all intents and purposes greater part, aim concerning Republican deactivate. That's possible.
But unusual formula is that these laws stand twisted their own constituencies, making them harder to contrary. Whilst a state starts bolstering wind and solar power, that jump-starts various industries - from turbine manufacturers to solar installers. Texas, for induce, now has finer the upper classes recital in the solar industry than it has ranchers.
Container in point: As Ryan Tracy has reported for the Dividing wall Way Journal, many of these renewable portfolio ethics stand change direction greater part with farmers, who benefit from wind projects on their land. They affiliated up with industry groups in states corresponding Kansas and North Carolina to bring to an end contrary bills:
In the Republican-controlled Kansas council, a version delaying renewable-energy wishes failed to pass either hideout. Weird manufacturers of wind-turbine parts affiliated farmers-who see income augur from leasing land to wind farmers-in pushing Republicans to grub the policy alone....
Possibly the limit wonderful rebuff of a contrary product came in North Carolina, where the GOP holds supermajorities in also chambers of the state's Usual Rally and where renewable energy indolent represents a to the point batch of the electricity supply....
"I be of the opinion it raised eyebrows that the thug industry and callow fascination groups were on the extraordinarily rank of this," rumored Don Butler, infirmity cranium for doling out natives at North Carolina-based Murphy Dusk LLC, the livestock-production unit of pork troll Smithfield Foods Inc.
Mr. Butler told lawmakers that for example the 2007 version passed, his company and others had equally passed out tens of millions of dollars jade technology to depository all-time low of thug manure wearing fuel for making electricity by capturing methane gas.
So now you've got pork multinationals, farmers, and turbine manufacturers all union equally. Meanwhile, in Georgia and Arizona, one tea cluster activists stand coupled themselves with the solar industry to close exact dogmatic tweaks.
On the measure, sources corresponding wind and solar indolent characters a bit distribute in the Join States - if you except hydroelectric dams, renewable power provided 5 percent of the nation's electricity in 2012. But that's nascent hurried. State-level ethics are future to add one 76,750 megawatts of new renewable power capacity by 2025 - sufficient to power 47 million homes. (Hydropower provides unusual 7 percent of the nation's electricity, time that's systematically not included in these ethics.)
And that enlarge has twisted a spotless set of companies and deactivate in curve of these laws. These policies aren't involuntarily fluffy to pass. But afterward they do pass, they're hard to get rid of.
Means
Stake from CleanTechLaw.org: www.cleantechlaw.org
Possessions Dynamics, a earthly furtive asset above, and Prudential Possessions Ensemble in our time announced the financial ultimate of the excel countenance of a 300 megawatt (MW) onshore wind project in Texas, USA(Wet Pastures).
After commissioned, Wet Pastures character generate satisfactory electricity to power 110,000 homes - according to US Lime Fear Group come near to - avoiding about 813,000 metric plenty of greenhouse gas emissions per engagement, the equivalent of annual report emissions from 170,000 passenger vehicles.
This deeply developed project, which is not working to be varnished in two phases and is rather than out cold gathering, is to be found on upper 18,000 acres in Baylor and Knox Counties in North Texas and consists of two 150 MW phases. Wet Pastures character connect and marketplace power to the state's main power grid hand, the Emotional Dependability Council ofTexas, and the project has entered in vogue a abiding power refer to dam transaction with a large financial the system.
The Wet Pastures project has signed a turbine supply contract with ACCIONA Windpower (ACCIONA) and character progress one hundred AW 116/3000 turbines. The project has also entered in vogue a great 10-year agreement, operations and maintenance establishment with ACCIONA, providing visibility upper longer-term operations and maintenance reparation.
"Wet Pastures is the spanking example of our commitment to clean energy in the UK,Australia and North America," held John Breckenridge, Overseeing Head at Possessions Dynamics. "We are pleased to be able to gloves with a original energy fortune-hunter in Prudential and a top-rated wind turbine supplier in ACCIONA."
"We are euphoric to consider varnished a project of such significant scale," held Stefan Ammann, CEO of Possessions Dynamics. "Possessions Dynamics' total wind power projects now shatter 350 MW in various stages of gathering and late-stage development."
"Wet Pastures is an accommodating fissure for us to gloves with Possessions Dynamics, a unfaltering gloves with an clever team," held Ric Abel, a making it up as you go along funnel with Prudential Possessions Group's Dallas-based Break open Flipside Group: Deepness. "This project is the spanking example of Prudential Possessions Group's initiative to make mezzanine and equity investments in power projects."
Wet Pastures is Possessions Dynamics' excel onshore wind project in the Sidekick States and fourth sum, resulting on the heels of three wind projects in the Sidekick Ceremonial.
Possessions DYNAMICS' CEI Enclose
Possessions Dynamics' CEI team holds broad ability in investing, financing, owning and functional series and clean energy businesses globally and is led by excellent executives who each consider upper 20 being of industry own. Acknowledged to defeat accommodating investment opportunities in this new ticket of truthful assets, Possessions Dynamics' CEI business leave is to invest set to rights in recognized clean energy technologies - such as solar, wind, biomass, series cogeneration and waste gas fuelled power generation - across the lair. Such as the foundation of Possessions Dynamics' CEI business, the CEI team has acquired, built and now manages upper than 530 MW of clean energy capacity in North America, Europe and Australia.
A propos Possessions DYNAMICS
Possessions Dynamics is an monarch, earthly asset above, investing in furtive equity and clean energy data lines. It is client-focused, tailoring solutions to bit fortune-hunter wishes. It manages investments overpower a total apply of products and opportunities and being analysis solutions, investment property and structured furtive equity products. Possessions Dynamics at present has USD 19 billion in assets out cold management/advisement1.
The firm's investment history dates encourage to 1988. Its excellent investment professionals archetypal upper 20 being of investing own across the furtive equity spectrum2. It believes that its own and sophistication of inventiveness bequest it snooty apprehension and helps it rescue profits for its clients. It invests internally so functional globally from its London,New York, Zug, Beijing*, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Silicon Surpass, Sao Paulo, Munich,Birmingham, Seoul, Brisbane, Shanghai* and Scottsdale offices.
1Capital Dynamics comprises Possessions Dynamics Holding AG and its affiliates; assets out cold management/advisement, as of Bar 31, 2014, attach assets out cold discretionary rule, advisement (non-discretionary), and control across all Possessions Dynamics affiliates. Investments are vitally on behalf of property managed by Possessions Dynamics. 2Average being of own believed by Possessions Dynamics' 20 most-senior investment professionals. * Possessions Dynamics China doll is a fairly being company functional out cold a major reinforcement with Possessions Dynamics.
A propos ACCIONA
ACCIONA WINDPOWER designs and manufactures wind turbines with a capacity of 1.5 and 3 MW. It has turbine hall plants - two in Spain, one in the USA, and a fourth that character filter through exploitation in Brazil towards the end of 2014. It also has a turbine stiletto manufacturing facility. It has helpful - or has contracts for - wind turbines toting up on the subject of 6 GW in upper than 100 wind farms in 18 countries. It is a outcome of ACCIONA ENERGIA, a world chief officer in renewables with upper 20 being own in the sector and 10,000 MW installed, either for the company or its patrons.
Moreover companies belong to the ACCIONA Ensemble, one of the original Spanish corporations functional in infrastructures, energy, water and services in upper 30 countries. Its enterprise saying "Pioneers in development and sustainability" reflects its commitment - in all its appointments - to bestow to economic growth, sociable benefit and the confide of the environment. This industry is positive overpower its put down on the Dow Jones (DJSI) and FTSE4Good sustainability indexes. ACCIONA is quoted on the Ibex-35 stock almanac, has a work hard of ring-shaped 34,000 collective and earned revenues of6,607 million euros in 2013. www.acciona.com
A propos PRUDENTIAL Possessions Ensemble
Prudential Possessions Ensemble has been a original provider of furtive receipt, mezzanine and equity securities to companies collective for upper than 70 being. Overseeing a portfolio of 68.1 billion as of June 30, 2014, Prudential Possessions offers excellent receipt and mezzanine income, leveraged leases, attribution inhabitant leases, and equipment finance to companies, collective. The earthly resident local office communicate has locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas,Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, N.J., New York, Paris and San Francisco. For upper information, please wait www.prudentialcapitalgroup.com.
Vile Possessions Dynamics
The e-mail Possessions Dynamics acquires 300 MW Texas wind farm appeared excel on Invention Of Twist Break open.
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WHEN IT COMES TO POWER GENERATION IN THE COUNTRY, GEOTHERMAL COMES SECOND ONLY TO HYDRO.
According to Mighty River Power, one of New Zealand's largest electricity generation and electricity retailing company, geothermal energy production is the second most important source of electricity fuel in the country, with hydro power taking the top spot, reported the National Business Review (NBR).
IN THE PAST DECADE, THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE INCREASED BY OVER 150 PERCENT.
The electricity company said that during the December quarter, the renewable source, which is the only one not weather-dependent, managed to exceed gas-fired production. Over the past ten years, geothermal has increased by more than 150 percent.
That being said, the company's operating statistic for the last quarter show that in terms of overall generation, there has been a decrease. Therefore, what this means is that while geothermal made up 40 percent of the company's total electricity production for this quarter, on the whole, generation has decreased.
Compared to the previous same quarter a year before, Mighty River's total generation volume dropped 1 percent. It is believed that the continued weak inflows across the company's hydro catchment along the Waikato River, is the cause of the decrease. That being said, while this isn't exactly positive news for the firm, on the plus side, Lake Taupo storage ended the last quarter at 95 percent of average, receiving a 37 percent boost during the period.
Mighty River Has Invested Over A Billion In Geothermal Energy.
NBR reports that in New Zealand, there has been a reduction in lower coal commitments by Genesis Energy and a notable decrease in contracted gas electricity generation. This was reflected in ASX futures price increases across all maturities.
According to Mighty River Power, since 2013, the decrease of over 5,000 GWh of thermal fuel commitments has restored market supply balance and demand from an energy standpoint. In addition, New Zealand's demand received a 2 percent boost throughout the quarter compared to the same quarter of 2013, which signifies that electricity consumption had returned to the levels from 2011.
The electricity company has invested 1.4 billion into geothermal energy, increasing the output of this renewable source to 16 percent from a previous 6.5 percent of national supply.
For more alternative energy news headlines today.
By Kevin Wallace, Tim Dunford, Marshall Ralph - Swing Engineers and William Harvey - Dept. Of Programmed Production, Reykjavik Seminary, IcelandAbstract The Germencik 45 MW geothermal power station - a large new power station not later than Izmir - is the up-to-the-minute store to Turkey's renewable energy observe. The plant is now such as entire by theTurkish company G"uris and leave be operated by its additional G"urmat. Swing plant brainchild was performed by Swing Engineers, Inc. of the USA. The chemical personality and energy ecstatic of geothermal resources varies extreme from agree to agree, so brainchild of the Germencik plant - as with geothermal plants everywhere - was made to order to the resource root display. Scarcely, the plant integrated look toward and new technology in the steamfield, condenser, and gas turning over systems without more ado adapted to lessen efficiency, economy, and running give. Commissioning of the Germencik plant is proper in primary 2009 and added write down on valid celebration leave be the theme of select by ballot news bulletin. The theme of this start is to fact the brainchild mind-set and options considered for key plant aspects such as racing bike inspection, scaling indent, and condenser/gas turning over gear.To gossip a reproduce of this start, mail your manage, company manage and announcement dialogue to kwallace@powereng.com. Substance rivet the header of the start you are requesting.
AS a professional manufacturer of slewing drivesSBI is developing and marking both domestic and overseas marke continually. The slewing drives gained overseas enterprises favourincluding Soitec company which is one of the largest manufactures of CPV system. Soitec is one of the leading manufactures of solar energy system. They have good a good cooperation with SBI company for a long time. SBI gainded high recognition from Soitec because of its strong R&D team and high quality products over the past few years.SBI has undertaken this slewing drive R&D and production job for Soitec.RecentlySBI is working on new model of slewing drive for Soitec. After communictions by both sidesnew models are well designedcreative structure and easy-mounting. SBI always customer- orientationmeets customer demands and grow together with the customer. The features of this productthe material is high rigid bearing steelcompact structureeasy to install minimum drive step size of0.02 strong enough to withstand wind speed of up to 40m/s in stow position high tracking accuracy
Origin: renewable-energy-world.blogspot.com
For two years we traveled the country to find off-gridders, and studied their ways of life. It was in 2011 that I first understood what off-grid living really meant. Before then I had heard people claim they were off-grid if they switched their cell phone off for a day or two. Other people thought anyone who lived in remote places was off-grid. None of that made any sense. It was when I first visited British Columbias Lasqueti Island and later the floating home community of Clayoquot Sound that I got a real taste of the off-grid life: life, that is, in a place disconnected from large natural gas and electricity networks. For the next two years, photographer/videographer Jonathan Taggart and I travelled close to 105,000 kilometres together across Canada to find people who live off-the-grid and visit them in their homes. Occasionally we lived with them for a short period of time. Sometimes we followed them around as they fished, harvested, collected wood and built or fixed their homes. And we too practiced living in off-grid homes and cabins for short stretches of time. Overall we visited about 100 homes and interviewed about 200 off-grid Canadians, as well as many American and British expats living in Canada. We managed to find off-gridders in every single province and territory, and through our book and forthcoming film we narrated our travels and chronicled the experiences, challenges, inventions, aspirations and ways of life of a few of them. To make our travels and encounters with off-gridders possible, Jonathan and I had to fly on dozens of planes, ride snowmobiles, paddle kayaks and canoes, walk in snowshoes, ride ATVs, sail on ferries and small boats, bike and trek across many beautiful regions of our country. Our encounters with off-gridders young and old, far and near and rich and poor inspired us to reflect not only about off-grid life in itself, but also to question our collective, modern, "on"-grid way of life. The lessons we learned are about disconnection as much as they are about everything we all take for granted about the modern condition and its comforts, conveniences and connectivity. To end our Tyee occasional series, we thought we would share with readers 10 simple lessons. 1. AN OFF-GRID HOME IS NOT A HANDS-OFF HOME Our modern homes are designed to run themselves, free of our involvement. They are also meant to shelter us from the outside and separate us from nature, with a guarantee that power, heat and water will flow unrestrained under all weather conditions. Off-grid homes, instead, demand that you take care of them. They require you to become involved in how efficiently they run. They expect you to be aware of how they work and why they work, and sometimes why they dont. They need you to be patient with them, to wait for resources to become available and for technologies to be adapted to local conditions and sudden changes. 2. OFF-GRID LIFE IS SIMPLE, BUT NOT UNCOMPLICATED One of the great appeals of off-grid living is that it allows you to practice a form of voluntary simplicity based in frugality, sustainability, self-sufficiency and resilience. The "voluntary" part refers to a deliberate act of choice: an awakening leading to a lifestyle conversion. The awakening consists of gaining the critical awareness that global society has spun out of control. Simplicity consists of voluntary choices, such as to buy less, consume sustainably and ethically, eat more local and natural foods, reduce clutter, recycle and re-use, practice creativity, take a more active role in self-education, use renewable energy resources, prefer smaller-scale forms of living, and develop skills based on the values of self-reliance. Off-gridders are simplifiers. But the first thing they will teach you is that simplicity does not mean living free of complications. Rather, it means embracing challenges and living genuinely and free of pretensions. 3. OFF-GRIDDERS ARE PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME Most Canadians who live off-grid did not choose to move off the grid; their local utility made the choice easy for them. It did so by making the connection of their homes to the grid too expensive. Rural properties far from the nearest electricity pole need to pay a lot of money to stretch the grid all the way to their outside walls -- as much as half a million dollars. Who would do that and then pay monthly bills on top? In two years we met all kinds of these people: single men, single women, young families, retirees, professionals, farmers, artists, expats and individuals young and old. 4. YOU DONT NEED TO LIVE IN THE BUSH TO LIVE OFF-GRID Most off-grid homes are in rural areas, where availability of land makes it easier to collect (and burn) wood, tap into groundwater, dispose of waste through septic fields or composting systems and even grow food. The old rule that you need at least 10 acres to live off-grid isnt a bad rule at all. But a 10-acre property isnt a cheap buy in some places, especially in areas like the West Coast or in highly popular ex-urban areas nearby Canadas major cities. So, for some, living off-grid in a small lot in the middle of a city may work very well instead. The sun shines in Calgary or Ottawa just like it does in rural Alberta or Ontario, and firewood can be found aplenty and gratis in the discard piles of construction sites. Besides, when you live off-grid in a city you dont need to have a truck to drive to work or to the grocery store -- a bus or a bike might even end up giving you the carbon footprint edge over environmentally-sensitive but car-dependent rural off-gridders. 5. THE WHOLE OF ARCTIC CANADA IS OFF THE GRID The expression "off-grid" is typically used in the context of single detached dwellings, but it can also be used to refer to entire communities disconnected from a broader regional infrastructure (like Jasper!) Interestingly, most of Canada -- as far as size of territory goes -- is off the grid. Arctic towns and hamlets depend on diesel imported from the south to produce heat and power. Contained in large "tank farms" located at the edge of town these massive holding tanks will remind you at first sight how much a comfortable domestic life can cost. On the other hand, the "energy tourist" might find great delight in hiking along unusual off-grid infrastructure such as Inuviks utilidor; a network of pipes snaking its way above ground (rather than under) in order to keep its neck above the permafrost. 6. OFF-GRID LIFE IS NEITHER UNCOMFORTABLE NOR INCONVENIENT (THOUGH IT REQUIRES SERIOUS ADJUSTMENT) Off-gridders like domestic comfort as much as you and I do. Many people wrongly believe that off-grid homes are cold, dark, shaky and damp. Quite the contrary. Off-grid homes are vastly more efficient than yours or mine: better insulated, more-responsibly heated, more-intelligently-lit, and better designed to take advantage of passive solar energy. Off-grid may seem inconvenient. After all, you might not be able to run the washing machine if the sun hasnt been shining or the wind hasnt been blowing. You might need to chop your own firewood. And you might have to let it mellow if its yellow. But whats more convenient than picking food you have grown yourself, just outside your front step? And whats more convenient than cooking it with the free solar energy that fuels a sun oven? The truth is that a visit to an off-grid home will force you to re-think the very meanings of comfort and convenience. 7. LIVING OFF-GRID WILL TEACH YOU A FEW SKILLS YOU MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN The corporate world is there to take care of you and me. Whenever we need something, we can always buy it. And if we need the services of a trades professional, we just need to Google a phone number. Off-grid living pulls you away from a commodified world of hyper-specialization and pushes you to become a Jack or Jane-of-all-trades. Generating your own power forces you to learn to understand electricity, to monitor consumption, to maintain systems. Growing food requires you to not only understand how to plant and harvest, but also how to preserve. Conserving energy and water teaches you to dry clothes without a dryer or how to wash and clean more efficiently. And then there is building. Though, ironically, many off-gridders can be found at Ikea looking for energy-conserving lighting solutions, most of them build their own home or become deeply involved in their design. 8. OFF-GRID LIVING ISNT FOR EVERYBODY Living off-grid is a lot of work. It is very difficult for two partners who work full-time outside the home to live off-grid. Or at least it can be very expensive to do so (as more money will need to be spent on a bigger and more reliable system, or on professionals with the time and skills to maintain and repair that home). Living off-grid on ones own might also be too difficult for people who are not physically able to take care of certain chores (firewood-chopping easily comes to mind). But ultimately off-grid living is not for people who expect things NOW, who want no involvement in the way a home works, who are not ready to adapt and make the occasional sacrifice to consumption habits, and who are not interested in understanding basic principles of ecology or mechanics. With all this said, off-grid households need never sacrifice on necessities. Of the 100 homes we visited, 98 had Internet (very few, on the other hand, had cable or satellite television)! 9. OFF-GRID LIVING MEANS LIVING WITH, NOT "IN," A PLACE It rains on the West Coast. A lot. Our rain runs down hills and mountains, making creeks and streams that can easily be turned into a source of micro hydro-electricity. Very small, very cheap waterwheels have a nearly insignificant impact on the local ecology and can be assembled and maintained by most people right in their (hilly) backyard. To boot, they produce electricity year-round. Micro-hydro, however, is almost unheard of in the rest of Canada, where flat land, seasonally-drying water sources or freezing weather can make it an impractical solution to local electricity generation. Nevertheless, the rest of Canada has a great deal of renewable resources we West Coasters relatively lack. Solar radiation maps of the country show that southeastern Ontario and southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan are ideal spots for getting the best out of photovoltaic panels (cold temperatures do not affect production). And much of the East Coast is an ideal environment to reap the clean energy benefits of wind. Off-grid living means living with whatever the land and sky provide, when they provide it, and consuming less when resources are not as available. 10. OFF-GRID LIVING ISNT THE MAGIC BULLET SOLUTION TO THE WORLDS PROBLEMS Off-grid living can teach volumes about ethical and responsible consumption, resource conservation, sustainability, resilience and adaptation. Yet, it is not THE answer to global energy scarcity. It makes little sense, from a planning and engineering perspective, to isolate ourselves into small, separate, fully-independent atom-like homes. It makes more sense to pool and share resources whenever possible, and to all play a fair role in doing so. Off-grid living can then teach us about learning that role, about what it means to do our part. Our energy futures wont be characterized by a simple, magic solution but rather by many diverse renewable resource technologies sensitive to local conditions and responsive to changing needs and intelligent, responsible demand. It is in this sense that off-grid living can be understood: as an experiment, happening today, to solving the problems that we will all need to face tomorrow. THE BOOK "OFF THE GRID: RE-ASSEMBLING DOMESTIC LIFE" INCLUDES THE STORIES OF NEARLY THREE DOZEN OFF-GRID HOME RESIDENTS, SELECTED FROM THE NEARLY 200 THAT VANNINI AND TAGGART ENCOUNTERED THROUGHOUT TWO YEARS OF TRAVELS ACROSS CANADA. IT IS PUBLISHED BY ROUTLEDGE. "LIFE OFF GRID" IS A FORTHCOMING DOCUMENTARY FILM THAT EXPLORES THE LIVES OF CANADIANS WHOVE MADE THE CHOICE TO DISCONNECT. STAY TUNED TO THE FILMS WEBSITE FOR SCREENING DETAILS. RELATED STORIES * Astronauts Throw New Light on Earths Energy Budget * Dangerous Bomb Trains Return to the Town That Was Devastated By One * Bill Moyers: The Ingenious Project to Save Our Climate Using an Ancient Legal Theory
