Monthly Archives: March 2012

Solar Cities: A Vision Taking Shape

Solar cities is a term describing carbon neutral or sustainable cities such as Masdar, Abu Dhabi, a city of 7 sq.km. which has been designed to house 50,000 people.

Using the sun’s energy to source power for solar cities is an idea growing in popularity on a daily basis. In order to harness the energy of the sun, photovoltaic (‘PV’) technology is used. There is a plethora of benefits from using PV, starting with costs and finishing with health benefits.

Powering Solar Cities

The main benefits of solar energy are environmental and cost savings. Using rooftop solar pv panels to supply homes, offices, factories and entire regions with power, at a fraction of the cost of fossil-fuel based electricity is the way to produce solar cities. When sufficiently large arrays of solar panels are installed for a city, the demand for grid-based power is vastly reduced or almost eliminated.

At householder levels, solar panels commonly used for a solar water heater have a lifespan of up to 25 years and at a rate of US$4.30 or even less for 1 Watt of output, for a 50 watts panel costs are as low as $220. Of course as technologies improve, prices will reduce rapidly.

Moving Away From Reliance on the Grid

The main source of electricity in the world today is fossil fuel based, which means that countries need to spend a lot of money on buying non-renewable resources. Running huge electric grids and power plants is costly, and these costs are passed on to the consumer.

As solar cities use renewable solar power as their main source of electricity there is no need for huge power plants, no need for fossil fuel and definitely no need for transporting oil, coal and gas. The savings to the consumer and governments can be appropriated for other important projects, such as healthcare, technology and education.

Solar cities are currently in development and when time has shown how effective they are, more nations will be inclined to follow their path.

Third World Benefits

In third world countries many accidents happen due to the spilling of kerosene lamps. Using open fires for cooking also creates serious respiratory and burn problems.

Breathe Easier

Solar cities which rely on solar energy rather than fossil fuels will have cleaner air. Burning fossil fuels produces toxic fumes and allergens which accounts for many people’s respiratory problems.

In comparison to kerosene, which produces fumes equivalent to inhaling the equivalent of 2 packs of cigarettes per day, solar energy has practically zero emissions and it doesn’t also have any impact on the greenhouse effect.

Solar Cities for the Future

Cities in USA and around the world are introducing solar panels to generate energy to their built environment. This has a positive effect on our world by slowing the greenhouse gas effect. Solar cities reduce the pollution created by the use of fossil fuel and they present a cost-effective and health-effective way of providing power to the population. I have previously written on the idea of a solar empire which envisages a growing number of nations creating solar cities.

Guest author: Living Quarters, India

 

Solar Empire

Solar Empire Powered By Solar Energy

A guest article written by: Living Quarters, India

A solar empire is something that eventually this planet could aspire to be  if the world will harness solar energy. People worldwide are coming to realize that fossil fuels must be replaced by cleaner energy to maintain a healthy living environment and also help the planet evolve.

This is why there are more and more industrialised nations which are considering the importance of adapting their built environment and introducing solar energy and other renewable energy sources as a way of saving money and also saving the environment. Refer: solar power by country

Solar Panels Bring Savings

Solar panels are very much accessible nowadays and people can purchase photovoltaics for domestic rooftop solar electricity installations.They generally have a lifespan of up to thirty years, which makes them very cost-effective in the long run.

Although reducing energy consumption is preferable, by introducing solar panels they reduce their dependence on the grid and should they produce a surplus of energy they can even sell the surplus to the local electricity companies. Householders who invest in solar panels may be able to get their money back after five years, which is a relatively short period of time. With savings like that, the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) projects that this world could be  a Solar Empire within 10 year.

Sustainable Cities

 

Solar Panel Roof MIST image

Sustainable City's MIST Rooftop

The use of solar is increasing all over the world. The first sustainable solar operational city in the world has emerged in Abu Dhabi. Sustainable city Masdar was designed to house fifty thousand people in an area of just seven square kilometers. When it is finished it will become the world’s first carbon neutral city. There are currently many other successful projects around the world aiming at this status and the good news is that the change has begun.

More and more cities in America and around the world are starting to use solar  panels as a way of generating energy. On a global scale this greatly affects the environment in a positive way, by reducing the greenhouse effect. The use of solar energy reduces fossil fuel pollutants in the atmosphere and overall, offers a new and more efficient way of powering up entire city structures.

Solar Empire – The Vision and Health Benefits

Solar Empire Sustainable City

Model by Aedas Int'l

The vision of  solar empire  sustained only by renewable sources and particularly using the sun’s free energy is indeed a utopian one at first hearing. Once the world’s governments begin to understand the benefits carbon-free cities could become the mainstream.

The idea of a world which relies only on renewable energy sources is indeed a beautiful one. The all too frequent image of pollution hazes in the atmosphere will become a memory. The air of the solar empire will be clean and clear.

Pollution free cities

Cities which will follow this path will literally look greener. There will be a significant reduction in respiratory diseases. All of these benefits and more are the positive result of using solar panels, which are cheap, easy to install and require little maintenance.

 Solar Empire Comprising Solar Powered Nations

When nations base their energy supply  on renewable energy sources they will save of hundreds of billions of dollars. Such wealth savings could  be redirected towards other sectors of the economy.  Let’s look forward more solar powered nations creating a virtual solar empire.

 

Coastal Planning Western Australia

Reading the draft State Coastal Planning Western Australia policy document it appears that the new policy for coastal planning in part seems to be based on some ‘convenient truths’ that support current government positions on coastal development.

Limits on Building Heights

The first anomaly in the new draft policy document for coastal planning Western Australia, compared with the old document is the conditions covering “the maximum heights adjacent to coastal boundaries of 5-storey maximum. This limit to be less where community support for lower height is evident.’

This limit has disappeared from the new document, leaving the question of height completely open to interpretation.

Ambiguity Leads to Misinterpretation

The correct interpretation simply did not happen with Cottesloe Beach LPS3 proposed planning scheme. This omission to references to height limits appears to conveniently suit the current government’s stance.

Height Limits for Coastal Planning Western Australia

If credibility is to be achieved with this document height limits based on objective criteria must be clearly defined in scientific terms. The final writing of  the Coastal Planning Western Australia policy document represents a unique chance to protect our coastal environments for generations and reflect great credit on the Barnett Government.

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