The Geysers is a complex of 22 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, located in the Mayacamas Mountains 72 mi (116 km) north of San Francisco, California. The largest in the world, the Geysers has 1517 MW of active installed capacity with an average production factor of 63 % (955 MW). Calpine Corporation operates and owns 19 of the 22 active plants in the Geysers and is currently the United States’ largest producer of geothermal energy. Two other plants are owned jointly by the Northern California Power Agency and the City of Santa Clara’s municipal Electric Utility (now called Silicon Valley Power). The Bottle Rock Power plant owned by the US Renewables Group has only recently been reopened. Another plant is under development by Ram Power Corp, formerly Western Geopower, with operation set to begin in 2010. Since the activities of one geothermal plant affects those nearby, the consolidation of plant ownership at The Geysers has been beneficial because the plants operate cooperatively instead of in their own short-term interest. read more…
The planning area is an abandoned former American military base in the Mietraching district, with a total surface area of 70 hectares. Most of the residential buildings in this small autonomous garden city were built in the 1930s, as the base was originally established in 1936 as a German air base. The first planning section comprises the so-called leisure neighbourhood in the north. The existing hotel is to be converted to a conference hotel, and the existing residential buildings are to be renovated and low-energy optimised. read more…
A new wind turbine was installed in Emden, Germany: Enercon E-216. It is the largest wind turbine in the world. Maybe you’ve heard about E-112 turbine but this one is even larger. Despite the fact that E-112 is rated at 6 megawatts, this new one will most likely produce 7+megawatts. read more…
DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation. The DESERTEC concept was initiated under the auspices of the Club of Rome and the German Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC). Construction of the Desertec’s first 500 MW solar farm in Morocco is schedueled to start in 2012. read more…
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire supposedly set by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the Reichstag as a group were held in the Kroll Opera House. After the Second World War the Reichstag building fell into disuse as the parliament of the German Democratic Republic met in the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin and the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany met in the Bundeshaus in Bonn. read more…
The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development will continue the building and electrical mobility research from October 2011 on with the successor model of the energy-plus house, which will combine building and transport, stuffed with an awesome amount of green features. read more…
