The Government handed out some big bucks this week. How does 338 million in grants sound? Well, this is in an effort to get the development of geothermal energy on a fast track.

Some of the companies that got the grants were:

Ormat Technologies
AltaRock Energy
City government of Raleigh, NC
County government of Hattiesburg, MS

Companies that are putting the grants into their projects ranging from putting geothermal heat pump into a waste water processing center to putting heat pumps in to keep prisoners comfortable.

Now for the Big Boys………

Baker Hughes
Schulumberger
General Electric
Honeywell
Johnson Controls

They have been awarded grants to design tools, fluids, pump parts to be used in different stages of turning hot water into electricity along with other tools that can churn through rock at 300 degrees Celsius.

Will these grants help these corporations into new business or help their core business? That will remain to be seen.

Since there are hot rocks under almost all of the country, they will be able to drill and complete very deep geothermal wells. There are some worries about drilling on the west coast due to earthquakes. However, our little planet is virtually an unlimited source of heat that can be used for heating and electric power generation.

This power sector is very competitive. Geothermal is a steady stream of energy where wind and solar have their ups and downs due to the weather. Do you know who is the largest producer of geothermal power? Chevron! Ha! Go Figure!

… as the green future unfolds!

The World’s First Zero Carbon, Zero Waste City

Masdar City – the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city. A vibrant and beautiful city, powered by renewable energy, innovative building practices and new standards in sustainable living currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Masdar City, soon to become home to 40,000 residents and 50,000 daily commuters, is being built around pedestrians, where open public squares intersect with narrow shaded walkways and connect to homes, schools, restaurants, theatres and shops. A city powered by solar cells and wind turbines, where 80% of the water is recycled. A city planned to be green. An urban environment being built in the desert. The 2.48 square miles (4 square kilometers), of city using micro-climate to both extract energy and keep the streets at comfortable temperatures.The architecture of the city is inspired by the traditional medinas, souks and wind towers of the Arab world.

The City is a free zone clean-tech cluster. Academics, researchers, students, entrepreneurs and financers and more than 1,500 of the most innovative visionar y companies in the world will have offices, research centers and operations within city walls, benefiting from 100% foreign ownership, zero taxes, zero import tariffs, zero restrictions on capital movement and among the strongest intellectual property protection in the region.

Phase One of Masdar City has already begun – The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is near completion and Masdar City will be home to 100 students and faculty this fall. Developed in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology emulates MIT’s high standards and offers Master’s and Doctoral-level degree programs focused on the science and engineering of advanced energy and sustainable technologies. MIT is working with Masdar to establish a sustainable, homegrown academic and scientific research institute.

The Industries Unit invests globally and locally to establish a portfolio of production assets in renewable clean energy. The unit’s Solar Manufacturing High-Tech Cluster’s current flagship investment is Masdar PV, a $600 million phase-one investment that will fund the construction of plants in Germany and Abu Dhabi with a combined annual output of 210 megawatts. Further expansions are planned to allow the company to achieve 1 gigawatt of annual output. The unit is actively developing investments in other renewable and clean technologies, such as energy storage, efficiency, lighting, and wind.

Spanning four square kilometers, the cluster will house production facilities for th ree main PV technologies: crystalline-based PV; thin-film PV (including Masdar PV); and concentrated PV (CPV); as well as a supporting supplier base.

Masdar’s Carbon Management Unit develops greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects. It creates value by monetizing greenhouse gas emission reductions under the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. The unit also develops sustainable technologies, including large-scale projects that generate sizeable carbon emission reductions, with a particular focus on CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS).

The research center will focus on critical technologies for sustainable cities of the future including solar energy, energy efficient buildings, water, and desalination technologies, cooling technologies, intelligent electricity supply concepts, electro-mobility and carbon footprint measurement and evaluation.

Masdar City – the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city powered entirely by renewable energy sources. Masdar will be completed in 2016. One day, all cities will be built like this.

…. as the green future unfolds!