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Aug 25, 2008 -- States leading the way with alt-energy mandates
Clark has been greatly impressed with the efforts of individual states in creating energy independence and using alternative energies.
Colorado has been a real beacon. Several years ago, it citizens got a resolution passed that required 1 out of every 10 kilowatts of energy to come from renewable sources.
The utilities fought the measure hard at first. But now they've changed their tune. One power company reached its mandate 8 years ahead of schedule. The Washington Post reports that they're even offering to double the production of renewable-sourced energy!
California, meanwhile, has 2 humongous solar power plants being built in the desert. They both will use different solar technologies to generate transmittable power.
When it comes to wind power, Colorado and noted Big Oil state Oklahoma are both leading the charge. In Oklahoma, they're using windmills that rotate when they sense the direction of the wind.
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What others are saying
Wind Power
Wind Power Generation (Wind Turbine) has a tremendous untapped potential, especially with microgeneration. I am an electrical engineer, and have calculated that it is theoretically possible to generate over 1750 watts of power using a 12" diameter wind turbine /wind tunnel (WTWT) design at a wind speed of 15 mph. This is greater than 2,225 watts per square ft of blade rotational area, compared to a power density of only 80 watts per sq ft of blade rotational area for a conventional Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) driven from the same wind speed. The drawback with the HAWT is that it harnesses only a very tiny percentage (less than 2%) of the wind power that flows thru the circular path of the blades, while the WTWT captures up to 50% of the wind power traveling through its grid. What this means is that it is possible to power an entire house with a 1 ft diameter wind turbine /wind tunnel design that generates almost 28 times as much power per unit area as the current HAWT designs. In addition, WTWT designs are virtually silent and unobtrusive, making them suitable for urban areas, and can be easily protected from [blade]collisions with birds and bats. The drawback to the successful commercial implementation of the WTWT for microgeneration is there is no "one size fits all", thus each installation is unique. Presently, the USA's Wind Turbines have less than 2% market saturation. Just think how much more self sufficient we would be if Wind Turbines were to reach the 50% saturation level!
Green investing funds....
I would like to roll my Roth IRA account into Green investment funds ie. Xcel Energy (Colorado) Clark mentioned on this weeks show. Any tips on how to find these types of funds and how do they preform overall????
Alt-energy
Is there a list of states ranked by renewable power? I have a vacation home powered by 100% renewable power (state of WA).
