Tag: Energy and the Environment

Windpower = Jobs

Filed in Uncategorized by on February 2, 2008 20 Comments

My friend anon wrote me and pointed out a great article about windpower jobs.  The bottom line of the article is that Windpower techs are in great demand and that wind companies are literally being banned from training classrooms because they are offering the students jobs before they graduate. What does this mean to Delaware?  […]

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UD Gets Good Press for Battery Technology

Filed in Uncategorized by on December 10, 2007 2 Comments

I saw a post on one of my geek websites this AM extolling the virtues of a project at UD to use electric cars to feed back into the grid.  The official windfarm professor of DelawareLiberal, Willett Kempton is the project lead.

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Good Deed or Are We Trying to Infect Haiti?

Filed in Uncategorized by on November 29, 2007 14 Comments

I just came across this article at the Washington Times.  Delaware is exporting firewood to Haiti in an effort to stem deforestation in the Caribbean nation.  Sound like a good deed, eh? Here’s the problem: most states on the east coast have started to put some strict limits on firewood crossing state lines to prevent […]

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Off-shore Windpower for Ships?

Filed in Uncategorized by on November 26, 2007 3 Comments

I just came across this interesting little story.  It is about a company that is selling giant kites that will be used to augment the propulsion of trans-oceanic freighters.  Interestingly, one of the first shipments it delivers will be wind turbine parts.  It should reduce fuel consumption by 50% while conditions are optimal.

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Patriot Day: Global Warming is Good For You

Filed in Uncategorized by on September 19, 2007 2 Comments

So I’ve been hearing this buzzing around the interwebs about the world getting hotter or some such thing.  I think some people are just too “in love” with the cold.  Let’s face it, in the winter it gets cold.  Who needs that?  How cool will it be to go to the beach in January and […]

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Wonky Wednesday: Let’s Get Recycling Done This Week

Filed in Uncategorized by on June 27, 2007 7 Comments

The General Assembly has before it a bill, House Substitute 1 to House Bill 146, that would create a meaningful statewide recycling program in Delaware. A competing bill, HB 159, while not as far reaching, would still go a long way to creating the infrastructure for statewide recycling. While either would be good for Delaware, the […]

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TommyWonk to Talk Energy on WDEL Today

Filed in Uncategorized by on June 22, 2007 2 Comments

I’ve been invited to talk about the latest developments in the energy saga with Allan Loudell on WDEL, 1150 AM, at 12:14. As noted yesterday, Delmarva Power filed an appeal of the Public Service Commission’s decision directing the company to open negotiations to bring wind power to Delaware.

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Gee, why does congress get low approval ratings?

Filed in Uncategorized by on June 22, 2007 7 Comments

Earlier in the week, the Senate rejected additions to the bill that would have pumped billions of federal dollars into efforts to ramp up production of a coal-based fuel for cars and trucks, which proponents had called an important alternative to petroleum. Additionally, Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) failed to win approval for a proposal […]

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An analysis of Cherry-Picked Emissions Data

Filed in Uncategorized by on June 4, 2007 3 Comments

This morning I was listening to a podcast of Left, Right and Center and I heard the guy on the right (guest commentator Clarke Judge of the White House Writers Group)  talking about how well the US has done in limiting our greenhouse gases.  He even claimed that we had outperformed the EU in that […]

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Windpower for your home? It might be closer than you think

Filed in Uncategorized by on May 29, 2007 0 Comments

Advances in design, legislative support and “net metering” are turning the idea of homebased wind power into a reality. From the Mother Earth News: For many, home energy costs recently have increased by 50 percent (or more), motivating a growing number of people to look for alternatives. The proliferation of net metering laws, in about […]

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Wonky Wednesday: Delaware Chooses Wind

Filed in Uncategorized by on May 23, 2007 2 Comments

It’s doubtful that the Public Service Commission has ever generated more interest and excitement than it has with yesterday’s decision to order Delmarva Power to begin negotiating with Bluewater Wind. The PSC’s order, which should be available online tomorrow, also directs DPL to negotiate with Conectiv and NRG for a natural gas backup facility. A […]

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NYC Taxis Go Green

Filed in Uncategorized by on May 22, 2007 8 Comments

Michael Bloomberg has decided that New York should go green.  By 2012, all 13,000 NYC taxis will be hybrids.  This is the sort of thing that will make Michael Bloomberg a viable 3rd party candidate in 2008.  Oh and he has set aside a billion (with a B) dollars for the potential campaign.  He makes […]

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Wonky Wednesday: Whither Wind?

Filed in Uncategorized by on May 16, 2007 2 Comments

Next Tuesday, May 22, we should have a final determination from the Public Service Commission (PSC) in the form of a formal order, and concurrence from DNREC, OMB and the Controller General. I expect that the PSC will formally adopt its decision from last week to direct Delmarva Power to begin negotiations with Bluewater Wind […]

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