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Cleantech News from CleanTechnica
- Solar PV Crowdfunding Pioneer Mosaic Joins With S&P, Dupont, Others To "Make The Sun Bankable"
- $9 Million In New DOE Funding For "Big Data" Analytics To Spur Deployment, Reduce Costs Of Solar PV
- "Game-Changing" Solar Invention Announced
- Video Replay: Home Solar Hangout With 1BOG, Veterans United, & CleanTechnica
- Super-Efficient Solar Cells Possible Through Use Of Exotic Form Of Silicon, Generating More Than One Electron-Hole Pair Per Photon
- Next-Generation Of Solar Cells, Capturing More Sunlight With Microbeads
- John Kerry Secretary Of State Confirmation A Clear Win For Climate, Clean Energy, & US
- Could Algae Biofuel Doom The Keystone XL Pipeline?
- US Missing Out On Its Share Of $1 Trillion In Total Global Solar Energy Revenue
- 400MW Solar Project In San Antonio Has Begun Construction
- Sungevity Seals Up $125 Million In Financing
- New Weather App Knows Everything In Your Neighbourhood
- National Solar Energy Centre Launched in UK, Will Promote Building Integrated Solar PV
- 150MW California Solar Project With Energy Storage Gets PPA
- Interview With NREL Director Dan Arvizu On Distributed Energy / Distributed Solar (Benefits & Obstacles)
Solar PV Crowdfunding Pioneer Mosaic Joins With S&P, Dupont, Others To "Make The Sun Bankable"
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:13 PM PST
Retail financial innovation is catching up with technological innovation and government energy policies that are making solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems affordable for a much broader range of the US population. Solar Mosaic made a big splash earlier this month when it announced that the first set of three rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects offered up on its crowd funding platform sold out in less than 24 hours.
The Oakland, California–based start-up is wasting no time in seeking to build on the success of the public launch of its innovative online solar energy investment marketplace. Management on January 29 announced that Mosaic is joining with 16 solar industry market leaders (including Standard & Poors, DuPont, TruSolar and others) in order to "make the sun bankable." Together, the partners intend "to standardize risk assessment and develop a score – similar to a credit rating – for each solar project" Solar Mosaic offers up on its crowd funding platform.
Credit Ratings for Rooftop Solar PV Projects
Qualified individual investors ponied up more than $300,000 of capital in lots ranging from $25 to $30,000 in under 24 hours to fund Mosaic's first three rooftop solar PV projects. Those investments are expected to generate annual returns of 4.5%, well in excess of the 1.9% yield of comparable 10-year US Treasury notes.
Overall, more than 700 investors have committed more than $1.1 million of capital to finance 12 rooftop solar PV systems via Mosaic's solar crowdfunding platform. Management intends to add to that tally in short order by opening up additional rooftop solar energy projects directly to the investing public via its online marketplace.
A new climate change forecast released January 12 projects that global warming will be much worse than had been anticipated just four years ago, with average temperatures surging as much as 9°F higher over the course of the 21st century, according to a report from sister site Red, Green & Blue.
Spurring the transition from fossil fuels towards energy infrastructure based on renewable energy sources is one of the best investments we can make when it comes to mitigating the effects of climate change and conserving ecosystems services, as well boosting employment and economic growth. Rising global temperature and the effects of increasingly frequent and more intense extreme weather events are taking their toll in the US and around the world.
As new Mosaic board member Marco Krapels states in an accompanying video interview, "We're funding the inevitable. We know this country can be powered by wind, water, and solar."
Solar PV Crowdfunding Pioneer Mosaic Joins With S&P, Dupont, Others To "Make The Sun Bankable" was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
$9 Million In New DOE Funding For "Big Data" Analytics To Spur Deployment, Reduce Costs Of Solar PV
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:04 PM PST
As part of the Obama Administration's SunShot Initiative, the US Department of Energy (DOE) today (January 30) announced it will invest around $9 million spread across seven projects in six states that entail making use of new "Big Data" analytical tools to accelerate solar energy deployment and realize further reductions in solar energy costs.
The funding will be for research teams in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Texas. The projects "will result in viable methods for dramatically transforming the operations of solar researchers, manufacturers, developers, installers, and policymakers, and speed the commercialization and deployment of affordable, clean solar energy," the DOE stated in a press release.
Harnessing Computational Power to Drive Ongoing Advances in Solar PV
The underlying goal of the DOE's new $9 million solar energy R&D investment is to "help scientists, project developers, system installers, and communities to work together to discover previously unexplored ways to improve solar cell efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline installation processes."
In Europe, prices for solar PV panels dropped between 30% and 41% between September 2011 and September 2012, and between 51% and 64% for the two years to end September 2012, according to a recently released report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), sister site Green Building Elements reported, with further reductions out to 2020 anticipated.
The median installed price of residential and commercial PV systems in California dropped between 3% and 7% during the first six months of 2012, following year-over-year reductions of between 11% and 14% in 2011, according to the most recent Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's "Tracking the Sun" report. Overall, installed costs for home solar PV panels for all of 2012 ranged between $1750 and $2500 per kilowatt (kW), or $1.75–$2.50 per watt, according to Renewable Green Energy Power data.
Meanwhile, the amount of solar PV on the grid in the US nearly doubled in 2011, a record year, and quadrupled between 2008 and 2011, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s new survey-based estimate of national solar power capacity.
The DOE aims to spur cost reductions and accelerate deployments further with its latest investments in developing powerful new analytic tools. Seven of the $9 million will go to research teams led by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Yale University, and the University of Texas-Austin. These teams, in turn, will partner with private and public financial organizations, utilities, and state agencies to apply "statistical and computational tools to industry problem-solving and lead regional pilot projects across the country to test the impact and scalability of their innovations," the DOE explains.
Yale University, for instance, will be partnering with SmartPower's New England Solar Challenge team to design and implement innovative strategies to boost the effectiveness of community bulk solar PV system purchases. Residents of Salt Lake City who signed up to participate in the solar PV system bulk buying program organized as part of the Wasatch Rooftop Solar Challenge have realized savings of 40% on the total installed cost of their rooftop PV systems, according to a recent DOE report.
The University of Texas-Austin research team will work with large, complex sets of data from six Texas utilities to better understand the needs of customers and identify opportunities that streamline PV system installation and interconnection.
In an effort that entails developing a computational model capable of analyzing data across some 1,300 solar installation companies, NREL and Clean Power Finance aim to create new forms of financing vehicles at the community and regional scales.
Examining the vast amount of historical data pertaining to research, development, and deployment of solar energy, the DOE is providing $2 million in funding for three projects led by the University of North Carolina-Charlotte (UNC-Charlotte), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and SRI International. The research teams will "anlayze decades' of scientific publications, patents, and cost and production data… to obtain a complete picture on the U.S. solar industry, discover methods to accelerate technological breakthroughs, and remove roadblocks to greater cost reduction," the DOE explains.
Supporting this initiative, SRI International will be developing software capable of reading and analyzing thousands of scientific publications and patents. Teams at MIT and the UNC-Charlotte will apply computational tools to such data sets in order to accelerate further cost reductions and better forecast the path of declining costs for new energy technologies.
$9 Million In New DOE Funding For "Big Data" Analytics To Spur Deployment, Reduce Costs Of Solar PV was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
"Game-Changing" Solar Invention Announced
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:29 PM PST
I have seen my share of outstanding solar innovations, such as concentrated solar setups using tiny gallium arsenide cells that achieve an astounding 42% efficiency. However, I've been eagerly waiting for an outstanding innovation made from more abundant materials such as silicon.
The main reason is that silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust, so it should remain cheap and available as long as needed.
Almost all of the silicon solar panels (aka solar modules) on the market are between 10% and 20% efficient, so it is high time for a module that is both constructed from abundant materials and is much more efficient.
The Dresden-based company Apollon GmbH & Co. KG and Solar Bankers LLC, which is based on Arizona, claim that they have developed a new silicon-based solar panel with a holographic foil that is twice as efficient as typical models, and that they are so cheap they can be manufactured in Germany or the USA at a lower cost than factories in China manufacture conventional solar panels.
They said that their solar modules achieve 28% efficiency, which is considerably higher than the average 17% efficiency on the solar module market. They have done so through advanced Concentrated Solar Photovoltaic module development — in particular, the use of light selection, deflection, and concentration. And the companies expect an even better efficiency soon.
"Our solution addresses the major downsides that make today's photovoltaic (PV) technologies unprofitable. These disadvantages arise mainly from the material silicon as well as from efficiency losses, which result e.g. through heat occurring from concentration," declares Jost.
This translates into much lower silicon requirements to generate the same amount of power. The companies note: "Contrary to today's PV modules, this system only needs a fraction of the semiconductor material while the performance per square meter of the module surface is almost twice as high as conventional PV. The module is based on a holographic optic, which is a strong contrast to other concentrator photovoltaic modules using expensive flat lenses (e.g. Fresnel lenses)."
Jost says: "The holographic element is printed on the cover glass and filters the sunlight hitting the solar cell. The printing process allows an economical duplication and simultaneously saves laser and development work, usually necessary when using holographic elements."
Here's more info from a press release sent to CleanTechnica:
If these companies' claims are true, then this could also lower the cost of installing solar panels on rooftops, as these would be half the size of typical solar panels, so less labour would be required for installation. This is also very important because installation costs can account for about half of the cost of a solar system.
Now, if someone would just start standardizing their rooftop solar panel sizes and sell them with easy-to-use, pre-made mounting equipment, then we would make some great progress!
Source: MEDIENKONTOR Notification
"Game-Changing" Solar Invention Announced was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Video Replay: Home Solar Hangout With 1BOG, Veterans United, & CleanTechnica
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 01:08 PM PST
Here's a video replay of today's 'Home Solar Hangout On Air' hosted by Veterans United. Dave Llorens of 1BOG and I answered questions about solar power incentives, going solar, and more. Unfortunately, SolarCity couldn't make it, but I think it was still a very useful chat for a lot of people. Check out the video replay here:
Video Replay: Home Solar Hangout With 1BOG, Veterans United, & CleanTechnica was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Super-Efficient Solar Cells Possible Through Use Of Exotic Form Of Silicon, Generating More Than One Electron-Hole Pair Per Photon
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST
By utilizing an exotic form of silicon, silicon BC8, it is very likely possible to significantly raise the efficiency of solar cells, according to new research headed by the University of California, Davis.
Solar cells currently in use generate one electron-hole pair for every photon that hits them, and are capable of a theoretical maximum efficiency of 'only' 33%. But by utilizing nano-particles of an exotic form of silicon known as silicon BC8, it is possible for each photon to generate multiple electron-hole pairs.
"This approach is capable of increasing the maximum efficiency to 42%, beyond any solar cell available today, which would be a pretty big deal," said lead author Stefan Wippermann, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis. "In fact, there is reason to believe that if parabolic mirrors are used to focus the sunlight on such a new-paradigm solar cell, its efficiency could reach as high as 70 percent."
"But with nanoparticles of conventional silicon, the paradigm works only in ultraviolet light," Wippermann said. "This new approach will become useful only when it is demonstrated to work in visible sunlight."
That's where BC8 comes in, because of its ability to generate multiple pairs even with only visible light.
BC8 is a form of silicon that is formed under very high pressure but that remains stable at normal pressures, similar to the way that diamond is a form of carbon formed at extreme pressure but stable at normal ones.
"This is more than an academic exercise. A Harvard-MIT paper showed that when normal silicon solar cells are irradiated with laser light, the energy the laser emits may create a local pressure high enough to form BC8 nanocrystals. Thus, laser or chemical pressure treatment of existing solar cells may turn them into these higher-efficiency cells," said co-author Gergely Zimanyi, professor of physics at UC Davis.
The new research was just published January 25th in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Source: University of California Davis (UCD)
Super-Efficient Solar Cells Possible Through Use Of Exotic Form Of Silicon, Generating More Than One Electron-Hole Pair Per Photon was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Next-Generation Of Solar Cells, Capturing More Sunlight With Microbeads
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST
"Micro beads" may be the key to extremely thin (and much cheaper) next generation solar cells. Solar cells 20 times thinner than the solar cells of today are only 5-7 years off, according to the nano-scientists that are currently developing them.
The estimate, as of right now, is that the super-thin solar cells will be on the market by 2020, which should help to greatly cut down on manufacturing and production costs.
"Over 90 per cent of the current electricity generated by solar panels is made by silicon plates that are 200 micrometres thick. Several billion of these are produced every year. The problem is the large consumption of silicon: five grams per watt."
And even though silicon is one of the most abundant elements on the planet, the 'pure silicon' used in solar cells is very expensive and energy intensive to create. And a lot simply ends up discarded during the manufacturing process. There has been some recent research that should help to cut down on wasted silicon, though, so other improvements are also being made there.
"About 100,000 tonnes of silicon are consumed every year. However, there is obviously something fundamentally wrong when half of the silicon must be thrown away during the manufacturing process", says Erik Marstein, the Head of the Norwegian Research Center for Solar Cell Technology, the Head of Research for the solar cell unit at the Institute for Energy Technology at Kjeller outside of Oslo, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Oslo.
While solar cells have been becoming much cheaper in recent years, the researchers say that manufacturing practices must improve in order to allow solar companies to really make money. "It is difficult to make money producing solar cells at current prices. To make money, solar cells must be manufactured much more cheaply…. The most obvious way ahead is to make very thin solar cell slices, without increasing costs. This general rule applies to all types of solar cells: the more electrons sunlight pushes out, the more electricity. And the more energy in the electrons, the higher the voltage."
"The thinner the solar cells become, the easier it is to extract the electricity. In principle, there will therefore be a higher voltage and more electricity in thinner cells. We are now developing solar cells that are at least as good as the current ones, but that can be made with just one twentieth of the silicon. This means that the consumption of silicon can be reduced by 95 per cent", Erik Marstein.
There is a downside though, with thinner plates less sunlight is trapped. But the researchers have come up with a very effective way to address this, by forcing the light to move sideways.
"We can increase the apparent thickness 25 times by forcing the light up and down all the time. We have calculated what this back sheet (that redirects the light) must look like and are currently studying which structures work."
Uglestad microbeads appear to be one of the best options. For those that don't know, Uglestad microbeads are very small plastic spheres of a exactly uniform size that have a variety of different uses, and strange characteristics.
"We can force the Uglestad microbeads to lie close together on the silicon surface, in an almost perfect periodic pattern. Laboratory trials have shown that the microbeads can be used as a mask." Lasers can then be used to etch indentations around the microbeads.
"We are now investigating whether this and other methods can be scaled up for industrial production. We have great faith in this, and are currently in discussions with multiple industrial partners, but we cannot yet say who."
Improvements to manufacturing processes, such as this, and other cost-saving measures could do a lot to help solar power companies become more profitable, and to stay in business. The solar industry has been going through something of a "shakeout" recently — as some of the less competitive companies have been going out of business, technologies such as this will continue to drive strong competition and improvements to solar technology well into the future.
Source: University of Oslo
Next-Generation Of Solar Cells, Capturing More Sunlight With Microbeads was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
John Kerry Secretary Of State Confirmation A Clear Win For Climate, Clean Energy, & US
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 06:15 AM PST
John Kerry has officially been confirmed as the new US Secretary of State. In my humble opinion, Kerry has been one of the best Congressman of the past couple decades. I'm more than happy to see that he will now be Secretary of State. Kerry is a definite "Climate Hawk," and he understands the great value of clean energy and other types of cleantech for fighting climate change, improving national security, and keeping the US as a global economic leader in the decades and centuries to come.
Upon his confirmation, the BlueGreen Alliance also issued a strong statement of support. BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster wrote:
I fully agree. For more on our take on John Kerry's excellent fit for this role, check out Tina's post on the matter from just before Christmas: John Kerry's Climate Change Statements Show Force & Nuance
John Kerry Secretary Of State Confirmation A Clear Win For Climate, Clean Energy, & US was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Could Algae Biofuel Doom The Keystone XL Pipeline?
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:28 AM PST
As pressure on the Obama Administration to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline ramps up, algae biofuel is emerging as yet another domestic energy source that undercuts every argument for the project, which is designed to convey tar sands oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries. In the latest development, researchers from Cal Poly in Saint Luis Obispo, California, are working on a $1.3 million algae biofuel project that deploys algae to solve a massive waste problem familiar to anyone who has ever flushed a toilet, while saving money for cash-strapped local governments, creating new green jobs and generating biofuel, too.
Great News for the Toilet-Using Public
Though algae biofuel as a commercially viable fuel has its naysayers, the new research project is big news for legions of toilet-flushing Americans, particularly those who pay sewer taxes.
The basic idea behind the Cal Poly project is to add value to the algae biofuel production process, by using municipal wastewater as a nutrient source for growing algae.
The algae would provide an energy-efficient, low cost means of removing impurities from wastewater. That savings, plus the potential for income from selling algae feedstock to biofuel refineries, could enable local governments to meet rising water quality challenges under tight budgets.
Meanwhile, the availability of a virtually free, highly dependable source of water and nutrients would offset the cost of growing algae for biofuel. The use of municipal wastewater would also help to avoid the water scarcity issues that impact land-grown biofuel crops.
A $1.3 Million Algae Biofuel Research Project
The new project consists of a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. As described by Cal Poly, a multidisciplinary team called the Algae Technology Group (ATG) will tackle the challenge, using experimental "raceway" style algae ponds at the San Luis Obispo Water Reclamation Facility.
ATG already has a running start on the project. The team was established in 2006 to research wastewater reclamation and biofuels, and in a state like California the payoff for that research could be huge. The team estimates that even with only ten percent market penetration in California, ratepayers would save about $240 million per year.
A recent article by David Sneed of The Tribune News describes the raceway as consisting of nine algae ponds taking up about half an acre of space at the treatment facility. Electricity is needed to circulate water in the ponds and run other equipment related to the algae operation, but depending on the site and the grid that could ultimately be provided by solar power or other forms of renewable energy.
Energy Efficient Wastewater Treatment and Biofuel Production
Aside from the operating equipment, project co-leader Tryg Lundquist explains how the team hopes to rely primarily on solar power to achieve their goal:
"Like all plants, algae release oxygen while absorbing CO2 and nutrients. Wastewater purification requires oxygen and the removal of nutrients, which are pollutants if they escape to waterways. Using sunlight energy, the algae are able to treat wastewater to meet California water recycling standards."
In terms of generating a liquid fuel feedstock of any type, that gets algae off to a roaring start compared to tar sands oil, which requires massive amounts of energy even just to get it into a liquified state for transport through a pipeline (to give you an idea of the scale, on site nuclear power plants have been proposed as a future energy source for tar sands processing).
On top of that there's the expense of carbon capture for tar sands processing, but we digress…
Big Plans for Algae Biofuel
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the U.S. could eventually produce about 21 billion gallons of algae biofuel annually, and that's just in regions of the U.S. where the process requires less water.
The Cal Poly project is just the tip of the algae biofuel research iceberg. Under the Biomass Program, the Department of Energy has been establishing a network of algae research projects and test bed facilities. The network includes other algae research powerhouses such as Texas A&M University.
Image (altered): Algae by smaller.pathological.ca
Follow me on Twitter: @TinaMCasey
Could Algae Biofuel Doom The Keystone XL Pipeline? was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
US Missing Out On Its Share Of $1 Trillion In Total Global Solar Energy Revenue
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:03 AM PST
The US is missing out on its share of the $1 trillion dollars total cumulative global solar photovoltaic revenue predicted for 2012-2018 because of its policies and political atmosphere, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trust lobbying group.
The report notes that the US is falling behind other countries such as Germany, Italy, and China. And it calls upon President Obama and Congress to introduce new measures in order to not fall further behind in the growing renewable energy revolution.
The report concluded that: "the US needs a national clean energy standard to replace the current piecemeal state-by-state arrangements; energy R&D should be at least doubled from its current level; tax credits and incentives for clean energy should be renewed; and policy should be introduced to 'level the playing field' for renewables against the fossil fuel industry."
Amongst all that global growth though, the US isn't predicted to compare to that of our primary rivals in the field. "American photovoltaic installations have doubled in the last two years, but the additional capacity is still less than a third of that added by Germany or Italy, with China surpassing the US in solar for the first time, in 2011."
Some other take away points from the report:
The US is one of only a handful of countries that still doesn't have a national renewable energy generation target. The others include: Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, Haiti, Eritrea, and Luxembourg….
The enormous health and environmental costs of fossil fuels and nuclear power are still not taken into account in the pricing of these forms of energy. If they were, renewables would already be much cheaper. The widespread use of fossil fuels is the primary driver behind modern climate change and all of its future effects, as well as significant health problems and growing health concerns. Traditional forms of energy production still in widespread use in poorer regions of the world (biomass and wood) also contribute to significant environmental and health problems, such as deforestation and many human diseases. Renewables could go a long way to improving the general health of the people in these regions, while also helping to preserve the little that's left of their natural environment.
There are still only four fixed energy tax credits in the US: three of them are for the oil and gas industry, and one is for the nuclear industry. There are none for the renewable energy industry.
Source: PV Magazine
US Missing Out On Its Share Of $1 Trillion In Total Global Solar Energy Revenue was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
400MW Solar Project In San Antonio Has Begun Construction
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:52 AM PST
Construction has now begun on OCI Solar Power's 400MW solar energy project located in San Antonio, Texas.
The first phase, named Alamo I, is expected to be completed by the middle of 2013. It will feature 41 MW of solar photovoltaic capacity. The project was announced last July after OCI Solar Power struck a 25-year power purchase deal with CPS Energy.
Once completed, the project will be "one of the largest municipal utility solar projects in the US and will create more than 800 jobs. As part of its plan, OCI Solar Power will develop several solar facilities that will power more than 70,000 homes. Plans for the remaining megawatts will be built through 2016. German inverter manufacturer KACO will supply its XP series inverters for installation at the project."
As we've reported before, Texas has enormous solar energy potential. The sunshine that falls on Texas in ONE month contains more energy than all of the oil that has ever been pumped in the state. It's good to see solar energy deployment moving forward there, as the state could very easily obtain all of its electricity that way.
Source: PV Tech
400MW Solar Project In San Antonio Has Begun Construction was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Sungevity Seals Up $125 Million In Financing
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:00 AM PST
Sungevity, one of the top online photovoltaic (PV) retailers and solar leasing companies, recently shored up $125 million in new financing to boost its business.
According to PV Magazine, $40 million comes as equity financing from Brightpath Capital Partners. Meanwhile, a "leading commercial" bank as well as Energy Capital Partners are providing $85 million in project financing.
Sungevity will use the new financial backing to expand its market share in the solar installation market, which continues to grow in the US. The US Solar Insight Report noted that, in the third quarter of 2012 alone, 684 megawatts of solar PV were installed, a 44% increase compared to the third quarter of 2011.
"Energy Capital is excited to partner with Sungevity to provide an innovative and flexible capital solution to efficiently finance its on-going solar installations," said Nazar Massouh, of Energy Capital Partners.
"Sungevity's unique customer acquisition approach, scalable business model and stable cash flow generated by its established customer base, is a natural fit for our diversified energy portfolio."
Currently, the company provides services to nine US states, including: Arizona, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. Meanwhile, the company has also expanded its international horizons. In 2011, Sungevity bought an equity stake in Dutch solar company Zonline, while last April, it expanded operations into Australia with a joint venture called Sungevity Australia.
"Our ability to attract substantial investment from a list of respected backers is a powerful vote of confidence in our highly scalable growth model and customer-centric approach to doing business," said Sungevity's Chief Executive Officer Andrew Birch.
"We believe this new funding will take us into the next phase of growth and allow us to deliver on our mission of building the world's most energized network of customers who power their lives with sunshine."
Unlike other solar installation companies that go directly door to door to get a customer quote, Sungevity uses a special satellite and internet-based technology to create iQuote. Within 24 hours after a customer provides their name and basic information, Sungevity then gives the customer an interactive quote. Afterwards, staff aid the customer with a credit check and "e-signing" of the lease, once the credit check has been approved. This helped the company reduce 2012 installation costs by 30%.
It's nice to see Sungevity take a stake in advancing themselves as not only a top solar provider in the US, but also expanding their market base internationally. With former Greenpeace activist Danny Kennedy at the helm, look for this company to continue to expand further.
Source: Sungevity
Sungevity Seals Up $125 Million In Financing was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
New Weather App Knows Everything In Your Neighbourhood
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:00 AM PST
Wake up on a morning and one of the first things you're going to need to do is work out what the temperature is like outside, what it's going to be for the rest of the day, and if you need to take your umbrella. Problem is, you don't necessarily live near the closest weather station, and so the exact details of your days' weather might be a little tricky to assess.
Not any longer, thanks to Nooly, a new smartphone application which bills itself as the first application to include "its own unique hyperlocal, hyper-accurate, short-range predictions."
Using its system, Nooly is:
Available for free on iOS and Android, Nooly is the "most localised weather app" you're likely to ever see. Capable of predicting the exact moment it will rain or snow, for every square kilometre, wherever you are.
"We couldn't be more excited to bring such a revolutionary weather service to iPhone and Android users," said Yaron Reich, Founder & CEO of Nooly. "It's amazing to see how many people are affected by weather forecasts that are too general and not current enough on a daily basis. Nooly combats this by letting users know exactly when a storm will start, get worse and end within the next couple of hours, so they can plan their days the best way possible—for free, absolutely zero cost."
How can Nooly make such claims? Here's how:
"Nooly brought in two of the world's top scientists in cloud physics and short-range weather prediction, Professor Daniel Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Professor John R. Mecikalski of the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
"Using their deep background and expertise, the Nooly scientific team has built a series of meteorological and physical algorithms that track and process, in real-time, data from two NASA / NOAA satellites, over 260 NOAA radars, and other meteorological sources."
Nooly has been in private beta for a year now, with over 50,000 users in the US who have helped the Nooly team test and refine the hyperlocal predictions which are going to be the centrepiece of their platform.
"Being so hyperlocal brings with it wide range of challenges," said Reich. "We had to adjust our algorithm for different cities, like Seattle, which experiences shallow, constant rain, and New York, which often sees bursts of rain lasting a few minutes and impacting only a cluster of city blocks. San Francisco is also a tricky city, with a mostly calm climate, though the weather can change in very specific streets and neighborhoods. Hyperlocal is challenging, but obviously key."
New Weather App Knows Everything In Your Neighbourhood was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
National Solar Energy Centre Launched in UK, Will Promote Building Integrated Solar PV
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 02:00 AM PST
The BRE National Energy Centre (NSC) for solar PV has been recently launched in United Kingdom to deliver the government's goal of 20 GW of installed solar capacity by 2020. The BRE National Solar Energy Centre is expected to be commissioned in April this year, situated in St Austell, Cornwall, and aims to strengthen innovation, cost reduction, and confidence in the renewable energy market place.
Over the last three months, BRE has been working to develop the National Energy Centre in Cornwall. BRE is confident of helping the Government and the industry deliver on the solar energy targets set out in DECC's recent 2012 Renewables Roadmap Update. The UK aims to increase its current installed solar power capacity of 1.4GW to 20GW by 2020.
The centre will get funding from the EU and support from Cornwall Council and the DECC. The centre aims to collaborate with organisations outside the sector to help them gain an understanding of PV technology and to maximise its potential, particularly in the construction industry, which currently has very limited knowledge of integrating PV into building projects.
BRE Director Nick Tune, who developed the idea for the Centre said:
The centre aims to provide the following:
There is a need for the development of building integrated solar PV systems and BRE can play a major role in its development. Also, more and more solar parks are coming up in UK, and there is a need to provide technical services and new standards for their development. BRE can help to drive these opportunities in a much better way compared to other solar companies.
The city of Cornwall has been chosen for the establishment of NSC because of its strategic importance to the solar PV industry with the advantage of having the highest level of solar radiation in the UK and one of the highest percentages of solar systems per capita in the region.
The views presented in the above article are the author's personal views only
National Solar Energy Centre Launched in UK, Will Promote Building Integrated Solar PV was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
150MW California Solar Project With Energy Storage Gets PPA
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 01:00 AM PST
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a power purchase agreement under which Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) would purchase electricity from SolarReserve's 150-megawatt Rice Solar Energy Project.
According to SolarReserve, this will be the largest solar project in California to incorporate energy storage. Located in Riverside County, the project will cost $750 million and is expected to generate more than 5,300 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.
Once completed, this project will be able to power up to 65,000 homes during peak electricity periods.
It is a solar thermal steam power plant which utilizes thermal molten salt energy storage, which can provide solar power for eight to ten hours when there is a lack of sunlight. It operates by using sunlight, which is concentrated by thousands of mirrors to heat molten salt, which effectively stores that heat for hours, and the hot molten salt is then used to boil a fluid and produce steam whenever it is needed.
This project will be located in the Sonoran desert. It will be dry cooled to minimize water usage (just as at the Shams 1 CSP plant in Abu Dhabi), requiring less than 20% of the water than a conventional coal or nuclear power plant.
Bloomberg reported that this PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) will begin on June 1, 2016. California's government would like to increase the amount of electricity from renewable energy to a large extent, and projects like these with energy storage are a major aid to that initiative.
Source: Yahoo! News
150MW California Solar Project With Energy Storage Gets PPA was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Interview With NREL Director Dan Arvizu On Distributed Energy / Distributed Solar (Benefits & Obstacles)
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 12:20 AM PST
I was very luck to have to chance to talk with NREL Director Dan Arvizu for about an hour at the recent International Renewable Energy Conference (part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week). Furthermore, I got most of what we discussed on video. Below is one of the videos from our conversations (all of which I'll be posting here on CleanTechnica). This first one concerns the very interesting and important topic of distributed power generation, especially distributed solar. I've got more commentary and extra info following the video.
Incidentally, right at the end of my first conversation with Dan (which I was recording), my battery died. So, I lost the whole video. We agreed to meet up later to record it again if I could make it back before he left, but I was a bit late in returning and thought, very sadly, that I had missed the opportunity. So I started drafting a post on what he had said. After a couple moments, he showed up and we recorded the video above, but I think the notes from the original talk are still worth sharing, so I'm including them below.
Dan had a great keynote address at the beginning of the day in which he discussed much of the stuff we write about every day here on CleanTechnica. In the coming weeks, I'm going to pull out some of the key points and graphics, including some I don't think I had seen before. At one point in his presentation, he was especially enthusiastic when discussing the potential for and value of distributed power (most notably, that would include distributed, rooftop solar PV).
The challenge is that the whole sector has been based on this baseload power framework for decades, and it's a huge challenge to make large change in such systems. The changes and the push for change have to come from many levels — from the regulatory institutions, utility company business models, and from the general populous. We have to create this transformation through efforts, education, and policies on many levels. In the first discussion about this topic, Dan emphasized the importance of creating citizen demand — a citizen movement — to create change in how our energy system is set up. Of course, CleanTechnica is quite engaged in doing this, as is the organization of one of our writers (John Farrell) — the Institue for Local Self-Reliance.
What can you do? Help spread the word by sharing posts like this one and by starting or getting involved in local renewable energy advocacy groups!
For more content from CleanTechnica's trip to Abu Dhabi, check out our archive pages for Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the World Future Energy Summit, and/or the International Renewable Energy Conference.
Full Disclosure: my trip to Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week was funded by Masdar. That said, I was completely free to cover what I wanted throughout the week, and at no point did I feel under pressure to cover any specific events or Masdar in any particular way.
Interview With NREL Director Dan Arvizu On Distributed Energy / Distributed Solar (Benefits & Obstacles) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
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U3O8 Corp. Confirms Positive Economics on Its Berlin Deposit in Colombia
December 13, 2012 (Source: Marketwire) — U3O8 Corp. (TSX:UWE)(OTCQX:UWEFF), a Canadian-based company focused on exploration and resource expansion of uranium and associated commodities in South America, reports a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on its flagship Berlin Project in Colombia. The PEA was completed over a 6-month period by internationally recognized firm, Tenova Mining & Minerals (formerly Bateman Engineering N.V.), which has extensive experience with multi-commodity processing and plant design.
All figures are in US$, unless otherwise noted. The Berlin PEA is based on a uranium price of $60 per pound ("lb"), which is the average reported price for long-term contracts over the previous 12 months (sources: Ux Consulting, TradeTech). The current spot uranium price is $43.50/lb. Approximately 75% of uranium sales are in long-term contracts.
- Revenue of ~$430 per tonne ("t") of mineralized material against an operating cost of $240/t;
- Uranium revenue is cash-flow positive – revenue from by-products, principally phosphate, vanadium and yttrium, more than pays for mining and extraction of the uranium;
- Base case pre-tax net present value ("NPV") at a 10% discount is $181 million;
- The internal rate of return ("IRR") is 17%;
- Capital costs of $437 million that includes sustaining capital of $31 million and a $41 million contingency;
- Cumulative cash flow of $892 million over the mine life; and
- Average 1.2 million pounds ("Mlb") of uranium produced annually over a 15-year mine life from a 500,000t per year underground mine.
The PEA is based on an initial uranium resource of 1.5Mlb at 0.11% U3O8 Indicated and 19.9Mlb at 0.11% U3O8 Inferred, defined on three kilometres ("km") of the 10.5km mineralized trend at Berlin. Exploration drilling has shown similar grades extend over a further 3.3km of the trend and this area is ready for resource drilling. Trenching shows that the remaining 4.2km of the Berlin trend is mineralized and this portion has yet to be drilled (Figure 1).
"This robust PEA for the Berlin deposit marks a key milestone in providing an independent valuation of our flagship project – and a yardstick by which a value can be derived for U3O8 Corp.," said Dr. Richard Spencer, U3O8 Corp's President and CEO. "The Berlin PEA demonstrates that we believe U3O8 Corp's share price is trading at a deep discount based on a resource from just one third of the property. We expect the project economics to improve from this base case as the size of the deposit increases through further resource drilling and efficiencies are realized from ongoing metallurgical test work. Importantly, the PEA shows that the uranium can be mined and recovered from Berlin at a zero cash cost, thanks to the value of the associated commodities."
Dr. Spencer added, "While this milestone has been achieved within just two and a half years of our acquisition of the project, social and environmental work has been undertaken at a similar rapid pace. We are working with the local people to improve education, health and nutrition while developing sustainable projects for further development by the communities. And we are minimizing our exploration footprint and related environmental impact through the use of man-portable rigs and the transport of personnel and equipment by aerial cable systems, for example."
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The PEA is preliminary in nature as it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically for economic consideration that would enable them to be classified as mineral reserves. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
Based on the PEA, the Berlin Project is expected to generate $3.0 billion in revenue with free cash flow of $892 million over the 15-year life of the mine.
Berlin's pre-tax NPV at a 10% discount is $181 million. The project's NPV and IRR are shown at various discount rates and uranium prices in Table 2. Berlin NPV's sensitivity to a plus or minus 10% change in capital and operating expenditures is shown in Table 3.
Uranium (33%), phosphate (29%), vanadium (9%) and yttrium (10%) represent the most significant commodities in the mineralized material at Berlin. Revenue from the by-products covers the cost of extracting the uranium, resulting in Berlin having a production cash cost of less than $0 per pound of uranium. Gypsum (6% of revenue) is an additional by-product generated from calcite when acetic acid is used in the beneficiation step of the process. Commodity prices of the other elements used in the PEA are shown in Table 4.
An increase in resources is likely to result in a higher IRR from the current 17% by providing flexibility to extend the mine life and/or increase the mining rate.
InvestorIntel is a trusted source of reliable information at the forefront of emerging markets that brings investment opportunities to discerning investors.

subset: commoncrawl


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See all of this year's Mother&Baby Awards Shortlists here
Can't decide which breastfeeding products to buy? Take a look at the products that our mum testers think deserve a place on our Mother&Baby Awards 2015. We'll be announcing the winners on 26 November. Be sure to check back on the site or follow #motherandbabyawards on Twitter and Facebook.
Author: Mother & Baby Mother & BabyMother & Baby


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Dear Delilah,
When Clawdeen arrived at my house one afternoon, we went to visit my grandchildren…
… Angus, who is five…
… and Isabella, who is 2.
They live close by to us on a small farm.
Clawdeen enjoyed meeting the grandkids and watching them play! She thought they were funny and they thought she was beautiful! After visiting with them, we came home and went to bed as the next day was going to be very busy.
We got up the next morning and went to see the cows on the farm.
Clawdeen rode the mower and the little quad bike.
Then she had morning tea with Barbie and her twin sister.
After that, we went for a drive up to the top of Mount Wellington. It was very windy and quite cool up there but Clawdeen liked the view of Hobart.
We decided to take Clawdeen to the beach. Sandy Bay beach was warm after being up on the cold mountain. Clawdeen liked it there, because it reminded her of Coney Island!
Clawdeen liked lying in the sun on the warm sand, but i could tell she was getting very homesick.
Clawdeen was missing you, Delilah.
After a look around the playground…
… and the park, we decided to take Clawdeen back to our house to get her ready for her big journey from our little island, Tasmania, to you, Delilah, in Brooklyn, New York!
We came home and had tea and had an early night. The next morning Clawdeen thanked us for having her to stay and for helping her get back to you.
By Jill Allen


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Course overview and schedule:
Homework Instructions:
1. Batch LMS ARMA modeling
2. Linear System Responses
3. Source separation
Data files:
Matlab tutorials: several courses from Mathworks, and Open Course Work from MIT
Linear Algebra: Open Course Work from MIT
Digital Signal Processing: graphic demonstrations in matlab
Andrew Ng's lectures on machine learning: videos and course page.
Geoffrey Hinton's neural networks for machine learning: Coursera class
Digital signals processing: Coursera class
A fair number of good algorithms: netlab (Logistic regression, mixture EM, PCA, ...)
1. Introduction
2. Linear Systems, Impulse Response, ARMA filter
errata: to model an i/o relationship with an AR filter use: IIR adaptive filter or see more complete discussion.
3. z-transform, fourier transform, filter design, circular convolution, sampling theorem
4. Random Variables
5. Jointly Distributed Random Variables
6. Stochastic Processes, Power Spectrum, ARMA model, linear prediction
7. Probablistic Estimation, Harmonic process
8. Linear discrimnation, Single trial detection in EEG/MEG
9. Linear Mixtures, ICA, PCA
10. Kalman Filter, Hidden Markov Model


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Block Websites with Website Blocking Software
Website Blocking Software is often specially used to block unwanted webisted from being visited on the Internet. Nowadays, with the rapid development of the Internet, surfing the Internet has become the most common activity in people's spare time. But there is so much harmful information available on the Internet, the web blocking software is necessarily needed by people to block any unwanted web sites on your computer. There are some ways how the website blocking software help you block unwanted web sites on the Internet below:
The website blocking software works in a completely invisible mode on the computer to block porn web sites from being visited on the Internet automatically. Aobo Porn Filter is the best website filtering software which uses unique content filtering algorithm that can help you block pornographic web sites automatically. Porn web sites do great harm to people's both physical and mental health, your kids even have become addicted to these bad information. For better and healthier Internet environment, installing the website blocking software must be your best choice.
- Block Certain Web Sites by URLs
If you want to block some certain web sites, the website blocking software also can meet your needs. You just need to add the URL of the website which you don't want to visit on the Internet to the blacklist of the Internet blocking software you installed on your computer, it will help you block this web page quickly and secretly. For example, if you want to block all Facebook web sites, you just need to add "www.facebook.com" to the blacklist of the software, it will block all Facebook web pages quickly. But if you just want to block a certain Facebook web page, you just need to add the certain URL to the blacklist, it will only block the certain web page on the Internet.
- Block Unwanted Web Sites by Keywords
Last but not least, the most powerful blocking feature is to block any unwanted web sites by keywords. The website blocking software allows all users to block any unwanted web sites by adding keywords into the blacklist of the software. For example, if you don't want your children to visit the videos on Youtube, you can add the keyword "youtube" into the blacklist of the software, it will help you block all web sites which contain the word "youtube" efficiently, which is very easy to operate on your computer.
Tags: Aobo porn filter, internet blocking software, web blocking software, website blocking software, website filtering software
Category: Learning Center


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5324 Turvey Court Downers Grove, IL 60515
Sq. Ft - 6,500
Lot - 0.94 ac.
Beds - 7
Baths - 7
Du Page County
Listing provided by Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Koenigrubloff
RemarksBeautiful Historic 1870's Victorian Home with all of Today's Modern Conveniences.Follow The Grand Foyer to a Turn of The Century Carved Fireplace and Floor to Ceiling Windows in Elegant Grand Family Room. Master Suites on both 1st and 2nd Floors..Elegant Dinning Room, Huge Indoor Glass Porch for Entertaining,Custom Chefs Kitchen with Eating Area...Beautiful Great Room for Family Entertainment.All NEW HVAC Systems!.also Full Basement with Tons of Storage Space..Enjoy your Evenings on this Southern Style Wrap around Outdoor Porch....Also a Unique Detached Coach House with Attached Garage useful as a Guest House! With a total of 7 Bedrooms and 6 1/2 Baths on almost an Acre of Property theirs room for Everyone!! Filled with a Rich History Built By General Ducat this Architectural Home will Amaze You...Endless Possibilities and just Minutes from Downtown Downers Grove and The Metra Train in a Private Wooded Setting you wouldn't Believe this Exists!!
Interior features - Skylight(s), Hardwood Floors, 1st Floor Bedroom, In-Law Arrangement, 1st Floor Laundry, 1st Floor Full Bath
Appliances - Oven-Double, Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Freezer
Heating - Gas, Forced Air, Zoned
Cooling - Zoned
Fireplace - Wood Burning
Exterior features - Porch, 2 Houses
Exterior finish - Frame
Roof - Asphalt/Glass (Shingles)
Amenities - Street Paved
Garage desc - Garage Door Opener(s)
School district - 99
Taxes - 24844
Tax year - 2016
Water - Lake Michigan
Sewer - Sewer-Public
Directions - 55th or Maple turn Rt on to Brookbank. Enter Denburn Woods Take 2nd Lft, Lft again, strait to 5324
Neighborhood - Denburn Woods
Year built - 1870
The content relating to real estate for sale in this Web site comes in part from the Internet Data eXchange ("IDX") program of Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. Real estate listings held by brokers other than the website owner are marked with the IDX Logo and detailed information about each listing includes the name of the listing broker. The information provided by this website is for the personal, non-commercial use of consumers and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Some properties which appear for sale on this website may subsequently have sold or may no longer be available. This content was last updated on 02/22/2019 11:00 All information is subject to change and is supplied by seller and other third parties and should be independently verified. Information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.
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I was at the farmers' market earlier this morning and I bought some Kirby cucumbers, which are great for pickling. I offered two easy pickle recipes last fall, but here's one that's even simpler, which I will try now.
This is the first time I'm making this recipe, so I'll let you know how they turn out. I'll actually add some other flavorings (possibly garlic, mustard seed, coriander seed) and substitute parsley for the tarragon, which I don't have. I may also use more of the Kirbies, since I bought seven or eight.
4 Kirbies, quartered lengthwise or sliced in rounds
2-3 sprigs tarragon
1 ¾ cups distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoon salt (I'll use unrefined sea salt)
1. Place kirbies and tarragon in a jar.
2. Heat vinegar, sugar, crushed pepper flakes and salt in a saucepan, stirring until sugar and salt have dissolved. Pour into jar. Let cool completely, uncovered. Refrigerate overnight. Will stay for up to 6 weeks.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
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How many 38 & 40 year olds can say that?!!
How do I explain how much this man means to me..... He is my best friend, my soul mate, my lover, my hero, my All. He rocks my world!!
I love the way he loves our daughters.... I love the way he loves our little dog and carries him around like a baby.... I love how he can fix everything and anything and loves doing it! I love his laugh, when he gets the giggles at the dinner table, when he laughs at my jokes or at me because I screwed the joke up. I love how he can be silly in front of a crowd and not get embarrassed.
(like the photo below which was taken at his Christmas party)
I LOVE this man!!! ♥ ♥ ♥
Being emptynesters for the last year and a half has taught us a lot about each other. We had to learn to live together in a way we never had to before. After we got married we didn't move in with each other until that March (after John finished Tech school) and by then Meg was already a little over a month old. So we always had a child in the home with us....then when Tori moved out, we were alone for the first time EVER! What an adjustment! We have since learned each other and have grown closer and more deeper in love. ♥
Now, don't get me wrong, our marriage isn't always blissful. We are human, we're two individuals who are in a relationship; fights are always going to happen; that's a given.
We have our disagreements and debates like any other couple.
We have our smackdown, dragout fights, too---where we are mad as hell, saying words that cut like a razor...knowing all to well we don't mean them the minute they come out of our mouths. We are vocal fighters----we scream, we cuss, we scream some more. I know not every marriage argues/fights this way...but we do....it's us!
We have had our share of ups & downs and managed to stay strong in our relationship and learn from our mistakes.
The one good thing about these kinds of fights is the make up sex afterward, it is more intense, stronger, hotter, sweeter and better!!! We forget everything we had just argued about and it leaves us feeling physically and mentally relaxed and rejuvenated. It brings us closer, understanding each other. The depth of our relationship is a beautiful thing.
And when it's all said & done--our love is still there.....our relationship stronger than before.
"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine
That's US!


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I've been using this exercise as a warm-up for both myself and my horse lately and I'm seeing great results! It's an active but relaxing way for both of us to loosen up. For me, it gives me time to loosen through my lower back and get onto my seatbones, find a nice tempo in the walk and maintain that tempo consistently.
It helps my horse loosen "over the top line" - getting longer through the neck and back, and then shorter - in a low-impact, non-rushed pace that gives him time to adjust himself physically and mentally to each posture. All the while, he practices swinging in the walk, stepping deep underneath his body with his hind legs and also maintaining a consistent tempo.
This article builds on a previous article I've written about the same concept, explaining the aids in detail, so you might want to read that first. "Can You Accordion Your Horse"? It's important to note that the "accordion" I talk about here is an over the top-line stretch and contraction. It isn't the same thing as a collection exercise (although this builds toward more collection). This one is more basic and can be effectively done by less advanced horses and riders (although it benefits everyone at every stage).
The Exercise
1. Stretch
Start on a large 20-metre circle.
Ask for a stretch, focusing on letting out your reins as the horse reaches for the bit and takes it out and down. Don't just drop the reins and hope for the best. Use your seat and legs to initiate the horse's stretch, and feel for the right moment to let the reins out through your fingers.
When in stretch, feel for the swinging back. Get a friend to observe you to tell you if your horse is at least tracking up in his footsteps, or preferably over-tracking. Then also encourage your horse to open up his poll so that his nose approaches the vertical when his head is at the lowest point.
2. Contract
After a few steps (let's say 5-8 steps), ask for increased impulsion using both legs. As the horse lifts his head, begin to shorten the reins. The horse's head and neck should lift now to his "normal" height (the height will depend on your horse's conformation and level of training) and your reins should be at your normal, working length.
Now, you want to try to maintain that swing of the back that you had in the stretch, even while the horse is contracting his top line muscles and rounder in the back and neck. You want to maintain the walk tempo that you had during the stretch. The stride length will be shorter but ideally, you want to be tracking up even in this "medium walk". The activity stays the same - no dawdling and stopping your own seat (no vacations!) just because you're walking.
3. Now take the exercise around the ring.
Start at the 20-metre circle, but you don't have to stay there. Go to the rail and follow the rail for a few accordions, then come off the rail and change directions on a diagonal line with another accordion, the change directions and keep going.
It is important that you can stretch at will, on a line or curve, and in any place in the arena (scary locations, anyone?) - stretching when your horse wants to spook is a GREAT way to develop confidence and trust from your horse. Just be on guard and don't let the reins out if your horse is ready to run!
4. What next?
Time yourself and try this for 5-10 minutes. Stretch/contract and repeat, even if you think you're getting bored, or if you don't have your horse's undivided attention. Get you and your horse used to how it feels to let the muscles loosen, and how it feels to tighten them again after that looseness. Feel for strength in the medium walk.
Then you can do more! Why stop there? Do the same exercise in trot (more difficult) and canter (most difficult). Don't worry if things don't go perfect the first time - just keep at it and see what you need to adjust through each stretch/contract cycle.
It will get better over time. You will enjoy the fact that your horse will start to predict when he needs to come up and go down, and he will become more and more comfortable in both positions. And so will you!
- Although we are thinking about the position of the head and neck, the idea is that the neck muscles are connected to the withers, which are connected to the muscular structures beneath the saddle all the way to the croup. Here's an excellent diagram of the horse's topline muscles and actions:
- Stretch the neck, and you stretch the back.
- But it is imperative that you also consider the hind end!
- So while you are stretching, impulsion is key. Not fast legs though, just energy and strength for each stride. With each thrust of energy, the horse reaches underneath the body, thereby creating a better balance point in terms of biomechanics, but also activating the hind end muscles into their own stretch.
- You want to maintain a light but steady contact at all times through this exercise, even at the stretchiest point. Long or short reins - keep some communication going through tiny half-halts.
If you have a chance to try this, let us know how things went in the comments below!
Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!
Ready for something completely different? If you liked what you read here, you might be interested in the new Horse Listening Practice Sessions.
This is NOT a program where you watch other people's riding lessons. Start working with your horse from Day 1.
Click here to read more and to join one of the most complete programs on the Internet!
Don't miss a single issue of Horse Listening! If you like what you are reading, become a subscriber and receive updates when new Horse Listening articles are published! Your email address will not be used on any other distribution list. Subscribe to Horse Listening by Email
If you'd like a structured, but personal tool to set goals, take a look at the new Goal Setting for the Equestrian: A Personal Workbook. The pages are designed for you to set and keep track of your progress over the course of a year.
Included in the book:
- design your overarching goals
- long- and short-term planning,
- debrief your special events such as clinics or shows
- reflect on, plan and evaluate your goals
- sample goals and pages
The Workbook is available for instant digital download so you can print the pages right off your computer. There is also the option of a paperback version if you'd rather have a professionally bound book to hold in your hands.
Click here for more information.
Read more related articles here:
Use the "Canter-Trot" to Truly Engage the Hind End: Many riders think that kicking the horse along and making the legs move faster is the ticket to engagement – but there is nothing further than the truth!
Don't Mistake the Halt For a Stop! Don't do it! Don't mistake the halt for a stop. They are two entirely different maneuvers.
Why An Active Stretch is Nothing Like A Neck-Down: The problem with the passive stretch is that it is merely a posture.
Ode to the Stretchy Trot: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
How Do You Know Your Horse Is Using His Back? In the long run, our primary motivation for self-improvement in riding is for the sake of the horse's health. We want horses that live well, staying strong and vigorous long into their old age.


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After three weeks traveling (and one week in bed spent coughing, sneezing, and recovering from said travel), today I felt well enough to venture out into the world and keep my hair appointment. (Sure, sitting in a chair for two hours isn't that challenging, but three days ago, my coughing and sneezing wouldn't have allowed it.)
And, I'm feeling well enough to reflect upon leg of my travels: my first MLA conference. It came at the end of pretty much three weeks of holiday travel: one week at my mother's in northern Georgia; home for Christmas eve; back on the road Christmas afternoon (because it's cheaper to fly out Christmas than to wait a day) to Cincinnati and Dayton to see my brother and his family and my friends and the many children who call me Aunt Monica; then on the road (literally) from Cincinnati to Boston with a dear friend (even dearer as he did the driving), stopping the night in Erie, Pennsylvania, to the MLA conference.
By that point, I was sniffly. The combination of kid germs and cold weather is debilitating. I wouldn't trade any of it, however--getting to sled with my nephews was totally worth it. And though the temperature was 15 (Fahrenheit!) when we got to Boston, I admit to really savoring all of the cold weather I experienced on this trip. Probably because 76 degrees on Christmas Day (what I left) does not feel right to me--I like wearing coats and jackets!
Not that there was much reason to go outside at MLA--the conference hotel was attached to a mall, which attached to many of the other hotels. I really only went outside once, on a much-too-long walk to get Indian food (not my favorite), which my friend Katie and I cut short by deciding to ditch the rest of the group for a lovely-looking French restaurant which appeared as the others were swearing it was just a few more blocks. It was a brilliant decision--we splurged on a lovely three-course meal with pate' and wine and fabulous dessert. And conversation which didn't involve either of us having to explain our projects.
Actually, one of the highlights of MLA for me was getting to see so many people I like in one place. It's one of many reasons I'm glad I chose to go to MLA before being on the market: I got to actually enjoy the conference--attend panels, even!--without the stress (or disappointment) of being on the market. I did have legitimate reasons for being there--the Women's Caucus for the Modern Languages had their business meeting and cash bar, and I had the opportunity to take part on a search committee for my university (that experience in itself was invaluable!). In general, though, I'm glad I got a chance to see it first-hand--while I don't have any true MLA horror stories--thank goodness--I did see one audience member interrupt a panel to tell them that they needed to keep it snappy, because they were running short on time, and I certainly saw more "this is less a question than it is three comments"-type Q&A remarks than at many other conferences.
And, I rescued a lost black beret which I found on the floor.


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text: Whoa the dirty version is a little explicit for this new Rick Ross & Usher. Couple weeks ago they released another song together that will be on Usher's upcoming album Looking For Myself. The song is called Lemme See. This song will be on Rick Ross' upcoming album God Forgives, I Don't and we premiered this song last night at 7pm. This is a great radio song for Rick Ross, who i saw on Friday at the MMG show in AC and doesn't look like he had surgery to lose some weight (as some site's were reporting).


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You can use real hershey kisses or kiss post its found at Staples.
WARNING: One year I had real hershey kisses taped to index cards. The little kiddos gobbled up ALL of the kisses while the parents where chatting with me.
Couple of more hours of the BIG sale
Thanks for everyone who entered the giveaway.
Congrats Karen!
Thank you Quite a Pear! If you want some fun caddie labels go visit right here. You will not be disappointed. I'll post more pictures of my caddies soon.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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The Hollywood blockbuster feature film The Dark Knight received five awards during the 35th annual People's Choice Awards Wednesday in Los Angeles, California.
The latest on-screen adaptation of the comic book superhero Batman won for Best Movie, Best Action Movie, and Favorite Cast. British actor Christian Bale, who stars as Batman, won for Best Superhero. Bale also shared the on-screen pairing trophy with the late Australian star Heath Ledger, who starred as the villainous Joker.
Ledger died last February at the age of 28 of an accidental drug overdose.
Also in the motion picture category, The Secret Life of Bees won for Best Drama and Best Independent Movie.
In the television category, British actor Hugh Laurie was named Best Male Star for his role in the medical drama House, which won for Best Drama.
The People's Choice Awards are given to a cross-section of the U.S. entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, and music. The winners are voted on by fans who cast their ballots over the Internet.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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Q&A: Illinois allocations on Blue Waters
Illinois researchers interested in applying to use the supercomputer are invited to an information session on Sept. 6. Read more
NCSA internship applications due Sept. 6
NCSA is looking for highly motivated, creative Illinois undergraduate students for to tackle challenging projects through hands-on internships during the 2013-2014 academic year. Read more
Illinois applications to use Blue Waters supercomputer are due Sept. 19
Blue Waters opens sea of possibilities for Beckman researchers
Intel's Curley and NVIDIA's Parker to speak at Extreme Scaling Workshop
Joe Curley from Intel and Steven Parker from NVIDIA will be the invited speakers at this year's Extreme Scaling Workshop, Aug. 15-16 in Boulder, Colorado. They will provide perspectives as industry leaders in heterogeneous computing. Read more
Illinois students invited to open house
NCSA is looking for highly motivated, creative Illinois undergraduate students for to tackle challenging projects through hands-on research fellowships during the 2013-2014 academic year. Read more
Blue Waters supercomputer upgraded to 13 petaflops
NCSA's Blue Waters supercomputer is being upgraded with 12 additional Cray XK racks, each with 96 nodes. This boosts the system's peak performance to over 13 petaflops. Read more
NCSA names new director
H. Edward Seidel, the senior vice president of research and innovation at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, has been named the director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pending approval of the U. of I. Board of Trustees. Read more
Modeling Mother Nature
Leigh Orf of Central Michigan University, NCSA's Robert Wilhelmson, and Eric Savory of the University of Western Ontario are utilizing an idealized cloud model designed specifically for massively parallel architectures to model storms and hoping that advances in supercomputing power will bring them closer to answers. Read more
Drawing numbers
Access' Barbara Jewett visits with Dave Semeraro, leader of NCSA's Advanced Digital Services visualization team, to learn how his team enables research. Read more
So much detail
The power of Blue Waters is revolutionizing the field of space physics. Read more
Exploring risky ideas
NCSA's pilot program SPIN (Students Pushing INnovation) concluded in May with seven of the undergraduate students presenting the results of their semester-long fellowships. Read more
Antonino Ferrante of the University of Washington is working to better understand the complex physical processes involved in the spray combustion of liquid fuels. Read more
Registration now open for Extreme Scaling Workshop
NCSA by the numbers
Whether the category is staff, grants, or supercomputing power, numbers tell the story of NCSA's scope and impact. See how NCSA breaks down by the numbers. Read more


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When an entrepreneur launches a new business, it is likely that she wanted to invest herself in that discipline. If she started a wedding planning company, she wanted to work with newlyweds and help them to develop their future together. If she opened a new store, then she wants to stake her claim in the community. But these pursuits are quite different from navigating through the difficult world of online reputation management. Advertising and controlling how people perceive your company can be quite different from the pursuits of your field. Fortunately, articles such as Online Reputation Management: Getting It Done Right are replete with good information to help you to be equal to this challenge.
Assume That You Have No Privacy
A hot mic is a microphone that is turned on and either recording or amplifying a conversation that one or both parties involved believe to be private. It could be accidental or intentional. In an article on onlinereputationreviews.com gave an example of many people saying things behind closed doors that could be detrimental if it were leaked. If you want to avoid this situation, then assume that there is always a hot mic. Assume that nothing is off-the-record. If you get a little careless with an angry customer, assume that your careless response could go viral. Take caution in all of your interactions and assume that you have no privacy.
Avoid Arguing Online
For somebody who is not in the public spotlight, an argument on the Internet can be a mild frustration that is forgotten overnight. For an entrepreneur, people are watching her to see how she will react. If she starts arguing her opinion about a controversial social issue on the Internet, people are going to remember that. They might even screenshot her conversation and post it online, therefore engraving it in the memory of the masses forever. The Internet is not the place to be dramatic, especially if you have a reputation to maintain.
What people think matters, especially for entrepreneurs. Your words could impact your future. One misstep and you could find some silly comment that you made on CNN.


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Tea is high in salicylates. Even when I could have tea (before I had the anaphylaxis), they caused me to be wide awake the whole night! Some even gave me migraines from the bowels of Hades.
So I did some research recently.
Buckwheat is negligible in salicylate. And one can make tea out of it.
|I washed 500gm of buckwheat groats and baked them at 180C for 1/2 hour. You can also bake them until golden brown.
|I got a tea infuser.
|Once they were cool, I poured them into a jar.
|I placed about a teaspoon of the buckwheat groats into the infuser.
|Then I dunked it into a cup of boiling water.
|Voila! Buckwheat tea!
|Alternatively, you could buy these tea bags and use them instead if you do not have an infuser.


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Well Labor Day is this Monday but already things are feeling a little quieter on the east end. There are actually parking spaces available in the villages and you can actually have a cell phone call go through on a first attempt. The Hampton Classic has come and gone… the chalets are empty… oh wait they were empty during the show as well!!! Welcome to 2009!
Anyway, there are still some warm great activities you can get in before the weather changes. One of the best is the Twilight Wine Tastings at Wolffer Vineyard in Sagaponack. Every Thursday from 5 to 7:30 pm there's live music and the wine is sold by the glass with complimentary cheeses. It's really a great little event and a fun place to hang before dinner. The music changes every two or three weeks but the wines are the same!!! I will also say, the music gets better with every glass!!! There are no reservations needed and there's no cover charge! See, there are some free things out there. Wolffer Vineyard is located at 139 Sagg Rd. , Sagaponack. 631-537-5106 x25.
Speaking of wine… but having nothing to do with the Hamptons. I'm now officially a fan of The Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. I use to hate Kathie Lee when she was on with Regis. But what a difference a few years and two grown children make. She doesn't take herself too seriously and frequently spends her hour counting the hours down to her first chardonnay of the day!!! Who would have thought that little miss chipper was a lush… and we would love her for it!!! Kathie Lee and Hoda are now officially TIVO worthy!


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When it comes to sports, there are fans, and then there are fanatics. And then there are people who go and get a hockey player's face tattooed on their armpit -- and grow him a playoff beard for good luck. (I know -- just when you thought you'd heard it all.)
And one woman loves retired Los Angeles Kings player Luc Robitaille so much -- that's exactly what she did. She got an armpit tattoo of his face -- and let her armpit hair grow out in order to give him a proper beard. (For real!)
It's kind of hard to make out who exactly is pictured in the tattoo, and at first glance, it doesn't look exactly like Luc Robitaille.
More from The Stir: 10 Really Bad Tattoos That Remind Us to Think Before We Ink
But after comparing the photo of him below with the face on the armpit, I guess I can sort of see a resemblance? (Except for the beard hair color. That looks a bit off to me.)
To be fair, I guess it's pretty hard to create anyone's likeness smack dab in the middle of an armpit. It's not exactly one of the smoothest surfaces on the body.
And as for the beard, all I can say is that it's pretty creative? I guess if you need a valid reason to forgo the razor for a while -- supporting your favorite player during the Stanley Cup is as good an excuse as any.
What do you think of this woman's armpit tattoo?
Images via Instagram & Jason Merritt/Getty


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Unspecified Felony Convictions
In a case of first impression, the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2011 adopted a new rule that permits a party to impeach a witness with "unspecified" felony convictions. State v. Hill, 801 N.W.2d 646 (Minn. 2011). The term "unspecified" refers to the practice of mentioning a prior felony conviction without revealing the nature of the conviction. For example, instead of asking defendant if he was convicted of an "aggravated robbery" in 2007 in Anoka County one asks only if defendant was convicted of a "felony" in 2007 in Anoka County.
It is the general lack of respect for the law, rather than the specific nature of the conviction, that informs the fact-finder about a witness's credibility, at least with respect to convictions other than those involving dishonesty or false statements. In other words, any felony conviction is probative of a witness's credibility, and the mere fact that a witness is a convicted felon holds impeachment value.
The decision about what details, if any, to disclose about the conviction at the time of impeachment is a decision that remains within the sound discretion of the district court. To exercise that discretion properly, a district court must weigh the probative value of admitting the evidence against its prejudicial effect. Minn. R. Evid. 609(a). "If a court finds that the prejudicial effect of disclosing the nature of a felony conviction outweighs its probative value, then it may still allow a party to impeach a witness with an unspecified felony conviction if the use of the unspecified conviction satisfies the balancing test of Rule 609(a)(1)." State v. Hill, 801 N.W.2d 646,652-53 (Minn. 2011).
Hon. Alan Pendleton
10th Judicial District


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I am happy to be a part of the Virtual Book Tour of the book Doorknob Society: Skeleton Key. Here goes some information you may want to know about this fifth book of the series:
Book Title: Doorknob Society- Skeleton Key
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Date Published: May 1, 2013
BOOK # 5 in the Doorknob Society Saga
Her parents dead, her sister missing, and those she loves branded traitors to the Old Kind... Chloe Masters is on the run.
To fulfill a parent's dying wish she will do anything to save the sister she has never met. Can she learn the secrets of the Artifacts before it's too late? Surrounded by her friends; Slade, Edgar, Jess, Val and the man she loves James Nightshade, Chloe has never had so much to live for... but will her enemies let her?
Author Bio
MJ Fletcher is the creator of the comic book series Adam Zero: The Last Man of Earth published by Ronin Studios. He's also been published in Hope: The Hero Initiative and Digital Webbing Presents. The Doorknob Society series is his fist book series and he's thrilled about it. He lives near the beach with his wife, daughter, dog, and a crotchety cat.
Contact Links


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Bloomington Historic Locations
The following historic locations are located in Bloomington, Maryland. Please select a historic place in Bloomington to view detailed information including address information, historical signifiance, and much more.
Maryland Historic Places
|Bloomington Viaduct
Potomac River, S of MD 135
Bloomington, MD
Oakland--Westernport Rd.
Bloomington, MD
Single Dwelling
Maryland Historic Places


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Educator Licensure Management System (ELMS) Application Process
- College recommends – Certification officer recommends in ELMS for each graduate. In ELMS, on the Credentials screen, it will show as Online Recommendation but is not assigned to an analyst until after the student files their online application. This has to be done because state law requires all applicants to complete the Character Determination background questions to be eligible for licensure.
- File online application – Go to the MDE website at www.mde.k12.ms.us and find MDE Applications, click on Online Teacher Licensure. On the search screen, click on Create New User Account and set up your User ID and Password ("YES" you are a MS educator). Update your licensure profile and file an online license application, mark the background character questions and submit.
- Submit transcript(s) – Applicant must submit all transcripts so that their undergraduate degree can be verified. Once received, the transcript(s) can be verified in their ELMS account by clicking on Images. Transcripts must be requested by the applicant from the Registrar's office at their college or university and can be submitted electronically through eScrip-Safe or in a sealed envelope. Office of Educator Licensure must have a transcript on file before the license can be issued even though the college has submitted an online recommendation.*TRANSCRIPT MUST SHOW DEGREE POSTED.
- Submit test scores – Applicant needs to be sure Office of Educator Licensure has received their appropriate test scores. They can go into their ELMS account and look to the left side of the screen and click on Tests. If we have not received them electronically from ETS, the applicant can send us a paper copy of their Praxis scores.
- Ready to Issue – If the college recommendation is received, the online application submitted, the test scores and transcript(s) received, the licensure analyst will issue as soon as they can get to this file. If there are any documents missing, the analyst will send an email or issue a deficiency letter to the applicant.


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Yum cha, or having dim sum and hot tea in a teahouse, is a unique dining experience that is hugely popular among Cantonese people.
When the luxury White Swan Hotel reopened in Guangzhou last year, yum cha lovers formed long queues for the morning treats. The waiting took four hours on average, but that didn't scare the crowds away.
Yum cha is so deeply rooted in the Cantonese culture that it has long been a part of their daily rituals. It has even seeped into their conversations: instead saying goodbye to friends, they say: "Let's do yum cha soon."
Back in the 1960s, our family in Foshan made it a point to visit Guangzhou at least once a year. It was no easy task, but my father insisted on taking us there for one particular purpose – to have yum cha.
We set off very early in the morning and arrived there by noon.
Under the direction of our foodie father, we tried all renowned teahouses in the city, such as Tou Tou Koi (陶陶居), Dai Tung Restaurant (大同), Lin Heung Tea House (蓮香樓), Bei Yuan Cuisine (北園) and Panxi Restaurant (泮溪酒家).
The most impressive was Panxi, ruled over by the highly acclaimed chef Luo Kun (羅坤), a.k.a. "The King of Dim Sum". He is said to have created over 1,000 varieties, many of which depicted plants and animals.
The eight must-order dishes were steamed "rabbit dumplings", deep-fried mini-pears, quail egg puffs, deep-fried crispy and fluffy salted duck egg yolk dumplings, pan-fried soup buns, steamed fresh prawn dumplings, water chestnut cake, and glutinous dumplings in lotus leaf wrappers.
Panxi has been and will always be my top choice for a teahouse, mainly because it holds so much of my childhood memories.
That's where my dad brought me along with other members of my family, and that's where I first tasted many of the dishes that I used to share with my friends, telling them – bragging, actually – how delicious the food was in town.
In my book, dim sum is far superior to extravagant dishes such as shark fin soup or braised abalone.
This article appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on July 15.
Translation by Darlie Yiu
[Chinese version 中文版]
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