Sustainable Towers
"Green practices" and renewable energy for the wireless tower industryAre there 245M Americans with 276.6M wireless subscriptions?
According to CTIA, there are currently 276.6M wireless subscribers in the US (June 2009). Figures from CTIA’s website further indicate that 89% of the US population owns a wireless subscription, while that is admittedly based on the number of total subscribers and the US population of 304,059,724 as indicated by the US Census Bureau (July 2008). With that said, it’s worth pointing out that many Americans have mulitple subscriptions. Also worth mentioning is that 19.4% of the US population is below 14 years old or above 75 (totals 58,987,586) (Census). To illustrate my point, if we subtract these people who are “less likely to have a subscription to a wireless provider” from the total population (304M-59M), one would infer that approximately 245M people own 276.6M subscriptions. Does anyone have different numbers? As you contemplate variables that may have impact on this crude deduction, bear in mind that there are only 11.9M unathorized immigrants in US (Pew Research, 2008).
Do handsets cause brain cancer?
I guess we’re all anxious to hear how this unfolds. Apparently, research by the World Health Organization reveals that handsets ”can” lead to cancer. The research by WHO which went over a period of 10 years has found crucial evidence that shows that heavy mobile users invariably posses a higher risk of being affected by brain tumours in the latter stages of their lives.
Related Links
Cancer Cell Phone
(Mirror.co.uk)
Mobile phones cause brain cancer, says World Health Organisation
(computerweekly.com)
Global study into mobile cancer link
(News.com.au)
Mobile Phone Cancer Risk Confirmed
(phonesreview.co.uk)
Stop supporting Glenn Beck’s race-baiting hate speech
Verizon Wireless is currently sponsoring the Glenn Beck Program on FOX — a program that promotes hateful, race-baiting and factually baseless accusations about President Obama. Credo Mobile quotes Beck: “This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people … this guy is, I believe, a racist.” Credo says that Verizon Wireless should immediately cease all advertising on Glenn Beck’s show. Sign the petition here.
Feds Add Direct Payments for Renewable Energy Projects
To accelerate the development of larger renewable energy projects, the Department of Energy and the Treasury are introducing a program to provide direct payments in lieu of tax credits.
Most large renewable energy projects, including some at commercial applications such as factories and company headquarters, have been eligible for federal tax credits.
The economic downturn, however, has withered away the up-front third-party financing that is normally needed to get such projects going, thus making it difficult for companies to take advantage of tax credits.
The newly announced process for receiving direct payments applies to renewable energy projects created or put in service after Jan. 1, 2009.
Treasury has $3 billion set aside for such payments, which it estimates will suffice for about 5,000 facilities using solar, wind, biomass and other forms of renewable energy.
While the agency is not yet accepting applications for the direct payments, it is providing this link for terms and conditions, as well as a sample application.
Green Mountain is donating solar array systems to qualifying Texas non-profits
July 16, 2009 — Green Mountain Energy Company, Texas’ only electricity provider dedicated to clean energy, is looking for non-profit organizations in Texas interested in hosting and owning a solar energy system in 2010. Green Mountain is donating solar array systems to qualifying Texas non-profits through its Big Texas Sun Club. The company is inviting organizations who want to be considered for future Big Texas Sun Club installations to apply online at www.bigtexassunclub.com by Friday, August 21, 2009. Read more.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative issues RFP for Consulting Services for Wind Power Projects
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (“MTC”) is issuing this Request for Proposals for Consulting Services and REC Contract Management RFP – Revised 06-17-09 on behalf of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (“Trust”) to solicit responses from firms with expertise in evaluating and developing wind power projects, and developing and managing REC purchase and option agreements between the MTC and renewable electric generating facilities. Read more and Download RFP.
Massachusetts issues RFP seeking consultants for broadband deployment
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is issuing this Request for Proposals for Consulting Services for Initial Engagement with Private Sector Participants (No.2009- MBI-01) on behalf of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute to solicit responses from firms or teams of firms with experience providing consulting services on the development and operation of broadband infrastructure, writing requests for proposals, outreach and evaluation of industry partners and creating business plans and pricing models. Read more and Download RFP.
Cap-and-Trade System VS. a Carbon Tax
What is a cap-and-trade system? This is the best explanation I’ve found on cap-and-trade versus a carbon tax.
And this is everything you always wanted to know about the Waxman-Markey energy/climate bill—in bullet points– a/k/a the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009” (H.R. 2454, “Waxman-Markey” or “ACESA”).
Other good references:
WindPole signs deal with American Tower for national wind farm study
Steve Kropper, founder of WindPole Ventures, wants to lease old towers and convert them to wind turbines. He and several partners have formed a wind power development firm that will evaluate 1,200 microwave tower sites (owned by American Tower) to gauge their suitability for wind turbines. WindPole Ventures eventually would like to lease as many as 300 of the sites from American Tower.
Many of the sites WindPole Ventures is researching were built by AT&T during the Cold War as part of a government and civilian network to relay data, including voice communications. American Tower said some of the sites are currently being used as cellphone towers, while others are no longer used.
Kropper and his partners cite several reasons for building wind turbines on microwave tower sites:
- Nearby residents are accustomed to living near microwave towers, which are 150 to 495 feet tall – so they are less likely to be bothered by the 240-foot-tall turbines WindPole proposes.
- The sites are already connected to the electrical grid.
- The towers already have permits from the Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission, which could make it less complicated to win permission to put turbines up near or in place of the towers.
Kropper’s plan is install about 150 turbines, capable of generating a combined 300 megawatts, on tower sites within the next five years. According to a formula used by the American Wind Energy Association, a national trade association, that would generate enough electricity to power about 79,000 US households for a year.
Kropper said it could cost several thousand dollars annually to lease each site from American Tower. WindPole could also have to pay American Tower a per kilowatt charge for electricity generated. In addition, he said, each turbine would cost about $3.5 million to purchase and install.
Read more from WindPole Venture’s website
Read more at Boston Globe
Read more at Boston Business Journal
Read more at Cellular-News
Balloon technology could cut cost of solar energy 90% by 2010
CoolEarth Solar is an innovative startup is developing a solar design that may put issues to rest by reducing the need for costly polysilicon and real estate.
“We are working to reduce the cost of solar electricity by a factor of 25, making it cheaper to produce than energy from coal or other non-renewable sources. By developing a solution from minimal, low-cost materials, we aim to make solar generation as profitable as today’s best investment options.”
“Inflatable concentrators gather light and focus it onto photovoltaic cells, increasing the energy impacting the cells many times over,” the CoolEarth website explains. “Series of concentrators are suspended on support and control cables stretched between poles. By suspending the concentrators, vast areas of land can be easily converted for solar-energy production with limited environmental impact. The ground beneath the concentrators remains free for other uses, such as farming or ranching.” — [or basestations]. Read more.
