I laughed my a** off this one: a Fremond-based company, GlassPoint Solar, is actually helping the oil industry prosper by selling them solar panels for oil extraction purposes! Now this is the hottest news I’ve ever read since the dawn of The Green Optimistic.
Kern County hosts an old oil field that so far had using heated natural gas pumped inside the Earth’s crust at 750 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce the viscosity of the oil down there.
Now, the sun will heat water at that temperature, and then inject it for the same purpose. GlassPoint’s glass greenhouse was built in less than two months and occupies less than an acre. It uses reflective troughs made from a lightweight aluminum foil that concentrates solar power (just like those solar concentrators in Spain or Italy).
To reduce CO2 emissions (read: money consumption), the technology will eventually be used in the Middle East to extract oil.
Besides its economical advantages and the funny thought that solar power is helping oil magnates grow (from my point of view, at least), the method indeed helps the process by making it greener than if it used natural gas. Yes, I have to admit this is actually reducing the CO2 footprint of the entire extraction – use cycle of petroleum.
Bravos, GlassPoint! Now let’s heat up some water or generate some truly clean electricity and eliminate that coal they’re scraping the mountain tops for!
[via inhabitat]
I personally think that anything one can do to reduce green house effects is a great step forward for mankind. Sorry about all the innocent birds that are being killed each year by wind turbines, I to am an animal lover and I believe we should protect them against harm. Perhaps we could provide screen shrouds over the wind turbine blades to prevent the birds from flying into the moving blades. Is that possible? Did you get a count of how many innocent animals are being killed on our roadways throughout America?
Getting back to the main reason I am writing here; producing and using renewable energy is one way to become less dependent on fossil fuels that are producing the greenhouse gasses. The problem we must overcome is the fact that the electric being produced by Solar and Wind is extremely intermittent. The electric energy produced must be used at the time it is captured. What happens when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow? I would like to be able to use that renewable energy we capture from Solar, Wind, Hydro, and possibly Wave Motion, in our vehicles on our Highways, in our power plants and many other places. I would like to transport it to other parts of the country, and I would like to be able to use it six months or a year from the time it is produced. All this technology is here, but how can we store it to be transported and used at a later date in time?
I have been working on a concept that will allow this to be accomplished. I call it an idea with a future) GREEN HYDROGEN RIG. Please visit me at http://www.Green-Hydrogen-Rig.com . I welcome your comments and criticism.
Thank you
Vince
[email protected]
I am glad I got by your “mocking opinion” about this company. After checking out some of the technolgies on their web site I find what they are doing very interesting and advantegeous. Some of their technogies can be used for consomer items as well- so who’s laughing now.
And if you could get past your apparent attitudes you might notice that even the “ocean oil drilling rig” needs electrical power. How do you think they produce that energy now. Perhaps they have a very long extension cord to the shore. Or more likely they use “diesel fueled generator” not crude oil from the rig. How do you think they get the diesel to the rig. They had to transport it by possibly even air but likely by ship.
So if they can reduce the amount of fossil used and the amount transported to the rig. But perhaps you still have a problem with that too. Well think about the next time the U.S. has their “next” energy crisis. WIth the middle east troubles that might not be so very far away. Hope you can stay warm. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to be in sunny southern California. And you really don’t need air conditioning next summer you just “prefer” to have it nice and “cool”
Every once and awhile you show your “oppnion” rather than just reporting information.
If I may say this often several small steps towards something when carrying a heavy load is better than trying to make some great big step, which may fall flat on your face.
Check out some facts about how many birds (and bats) are killed every year by windpower. And how much power (energy) is actually “usable” power (when the power is actually required). An article in a Canadian paper stated that the amount of birds killed is actually over “400x” the amount of birds killed “per killowatt”by the “infamous” oil (tar) sands projects. Wonder why this “bird killing by windmills” doesn’t make “BIG NEWS” is it due to reporters having too much of their “opinion” in the news rather than giving us “information”.
This is just one of many types of “fad” type of “hype” about new about technolgies. The continual “common” hype about anything electric “consumer” item being the “greenest” best use of “green” technolgies. Just like the “constant commonon consumer” news about electric cars when one large hwy truck saving only a small 5% of fuel would save more energy than 48 cars.
I hope you’s can stick to giving all the information (with out opinions)about various technolgies as acurrate as possible.
I can’t hold myself from commenting when I see news like this… the info is accurate and the article is unique just because I put my opinion there. Some people appreciate that. Thanks!