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Geothermal

White Roof: All The Cool Roofs Are Doin' It!

Posted by Benjamin Guzman on October 12th, 2009

Hybrid in the driveway?  Check.  Stylish green recycle logo t-shirt?  Check.  Fan of Keen for Green on Facebook?  Check.  White roof on house?  Che...  Hu?  Oh come on.  All the cool roofs are doin' it!  Dark roofing material is so 20th century.

White Roof Before and After KeenforGreen

It must have stung when your month old hybrid got trumped by your neighbor's electric, and here's your chance to get 'em back.   You could be the first kid on your block with a brand new white roof.  They say revenge is best served cold, and that's the whole idea behind cool roofs.  Okay so maybe not the revenge part, but definitely the cold part.  I know it's childish to play "out-green your neighbor," but I don't think your mother (nature) will mind.... read more

Nano-Technology Being Utilized for Geo-Thermal Energy

Posted by sean on August 3rd, 2009

The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is using a new method of nano-tech to revolutionize geo-thermal energy conduction.   PNNL's invented a metal-organic heat carrier, or MOHC, in the biphasic fluid may help improve thermodynamic efficency of the heat recovery process. The image below represents the molecular makeup of one of several MOHCs.

Nano-Tech Geothermal Power

These new molecules will capture more heat from low-temperature geothermal resources.  This is essentially pollution-free electrical energy.  The scientist at PNNL hope to have completed a study by the end of this year to see if the approach can safely and economically extract and covert heat from geothermal resources.


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Natural Gas Could Be Replacement For Gas

Posted by sean on July 31st, 2009

The Oil Drum has an incredible article about just how much natural gas does the nation need to become energy independent.  Why ask this question?  Recently a Potential Gas Committee report states that natural gas reserves in 2008 rose to 2,074 trillion cubic feet.  This 35% increase in the estimated amount of natural gas could lay the foundation of nearly another 100 years of natural gas.  Why is this important?  Natural gas releases much less carbon into the atmosphere than coal or oil.  Also natural gas engines are much more efficient than either gas or oil, but usually more expensive.
The author, Robert Rapier, presents specific calculations on the comparative costs between natural gas and oil.  Natural gas is a bargain at $4 per million (MM) BTU to oil's current $12.24/MMBTU.  Also note that this is at $71 a barrel, not the $100 plus price we saw for oil last summer.  So why doesn't everyone just convert?... read more

Mine Shafts Source of Geo-Thermal Energy

Posted by sean on July 30th, 2009

When I think of mining I think of this old fella I know. Comes from Pennsylvania and was a cold miners son. He tells of this cold mines where the men would work sometimes in 14 hour shifts without sunlight. A month of that, as he puts it, drove him straight into the navy. He tells that same story every time I see him.

 

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