IKEA Marches Toward 100% Renewable Energy

Woah. Imagine the company you work for or even the home you live in is powered with 100% renewable energy. It sounds like an audacious goal, but a very large company also known as IKEA, is moving towards just that. In IKEA's 2011 Sustainability Report, the company reveals that they are halfway to their goal of 100% renewable energy to power all of their facilities. They use mainly solar PV and wind turbines but they did install a geothermal system in their new Denver, Colorado store built in 2011 (check out my post titled IKEA Denver Leads the Way for Big Box Geothermal Installations). This is pretty cool and I can't wait for them to get to 100% renewables. This also shows that giant corporations, if they put they mind to it, can really contribute to a more renewable, efficient, and sustainable world.

Study: By 2030 World Can Run On Renewables

Headlines like this excite me to no end. Here are some scientists from Stanford and University of California who say that they have a detailed plan to power the planet with clean, renewable energy in just 20 years. Some of the highlights include implementing hydrogen fuels cells to generate electricity, using offshore and onshore wind turbines, implementing a smarter grid, accessing geothermal, and making sure we aren't wasting any energy in our buildings or transporting materials. This study (Part 1 and Part 2) published in  Energy Policy journal is comprehensive and stunning. Everything from the financial cost of implementing renewables globally by 2020 to the amount of mined rare earth materials is included. Converting from fossil fuels to renewable energy is completely doable, as long as we start thinking about building the future and not building a bridge to the past. I'm ready, are you?

BLM Auctioning Off Geothermal Parcel

Looks like we are going to have a geothermal project somewhere in Chaffee County, Colorado. Clean geothermal energy is always good news. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is also providing assessments on two other geothermal parcels of land near Gunnison. I think Interior Secretary Salazar deserves some of the credit for expediting the process for parcel auctions of BLM land for renewable energy projects. I look forward to seeing what's developed.

Ikea Denver Leads the Way for Big Box Geothermal Installations

Rock and roll. They are building a new IKEA just south of Denver and are incorporating geothermal energy! More "big box" retailers need to follow IKEA's lead and utilize renewable energy. I don't know what the carbon footprint of these warehouses are, but it isn't tiny. Kudos to IKEA for lessening their impact on the planet (and saving some money).

Gov. Ritter Signs Bill into Law to Expand Geothermal Energy Production

Step by step, inch by inch, Colorado is slowly making it easier to use and develop renewable energy sources. This time, the good Governor makes it easier to obtain permits and establishes a process to resolve land disputes for geothermal. I'm glad we are looking at all available clean energy sources to supplement our use of non-renewable, fossil fuel sources.

Geothermal: Finding Energy Inside the Earth

Great article from 9News that explains geothermal technology in simple terms. Essentially a geothermal system uses the constant temperature of the ground to heat or cool water and then, with the help of a heat pump, heat or cool your home. You don't have to burn natural gas with this procedure. Plus the feds are providing a 30% tax credit for geothermal systems. It's clean renewable energy. Check it out.

Geothermal-power Site Withdrawn Again from BLM Auction

Rats. They say they are postponing this sale in order to complete some more environmental impact testing. I'm all for making sure that the environmental impact is at a minimum, yet I hope they can come to some sort of compromise. There aren't too many places in Colorado that have the hot water near the surface necessary for an effective geothermal plant.

Why Not Geothermal Energy as Base Load Power?

This Colorado Energy News article ponders the question of using geothermal energy as base load power. Base load is the power necessary to provide electricity 24 hours per day. As much as we would like them to, the sun doesn't shine 24 hours per day and the wind doesn't blow consistently. So we need a reliable power source (currently burning coal) that will provide a constant flow of electricity. According to the article, the United States has an abundance of geothermal resources underneath. So why not geothermal? Read the article and find out!

Take a Virtual Tour of a Geothermal Plant

Check out this informative animation on how a geothermal plant works. It's pretty cool.

Ouray, Colorado Explores Municipal Use of Geothermal Energy

Looks like southwestern Colorado is exploring the idea of geothermal heating. I haven't spent much time talking about geothermal. I'm going to have to find some links for you folks that explores geothermal technology in a little more detail.

Google Digs into Wallet for Geothermal Energy

Google's philanthropic arm dumps a cool $10 million (pocket change for them) into an enhanced geothermal method. I also like Google's goal to generate 1 gigawatt of energy from renewable sources. Go Google (and I am not just saying that because they provide the platform for this blog).

Where Would America’s Renewable Energy Come From?

Nice and easy to comprehend article on where the U.S. can get all of its renewable energy. Plus it uses some cool maps from NREL on where this renewable energy resides within our borders.

Somebody Finally Had the Courage to Say It

Al Gore gave a speech today in Washington D.C. that pretty much summed up what needs to happen in this country. And he says we can complete it within 10 years. And to quote former Vice President Gore:

"The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels."

He proposes that we first produce all of our electricity through carbon-free sources, i.e., solar, wind, and geothermal. I'm not positive that we can do 100% renewable for all of our electricity needs in 10 years. We've got massive infrastructure problems for one. But I do believe that it is at least a goal that we can see and begin to work towards, just like we had when we landed a man on the moon. Enough of the lip speak, let's start acting!

Read the speech and let me know what you think.

Nevada Power Co. Will Invest in a 30-megawatt Geothermal Plant

This is great news for Nevada. Geothermal power is known for its reliability (unlike solar systems and wind turbines which aren't generating power 24/7). I also wonder if Nevada could offset most or even all of their energy needs with renewable energy. They have the wide open space to put gigantic mega-solar concentrators, wind turbines, and geothermal. Plus they are already receiving some hydroelectric power from Hoover Dam. I'm probably vastly underestimating their power consumption (think Las Vegas) but it's worth a try. The less that we can depend on coal-burning electricity plants and the more we can rely on the sun, wind, water, and heat from the Earth to supply our energy needs the better.