The Source for Renewable Energy News
from the
Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation (SEREF)
and the
Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST)
Back issues of ReSource can also be found on Solstice, CREST's On-Line Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Information Server:
Not sure what bagasse is, or where it's used? Don't know the difference between photovoltaic and solar thermal? Learn the fundamentals of renewable energy with the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology's Renewable Energy and Passive Solar Kiosks. A self-contained learning kit, these programs are available for free on the Internet for students, teachers, and anyone else with a Macintosh computer and a willingness to learn.
In 1993, SEREF commissioned two interactive multimedia public information kiosks on Renewable Energy and Passive Solar Building Design. The kiosks were created for Apple Macintosh computers, and are available to download for free on CREST's Internet file server, Solstice. The kiosks incorporate text, graphics, interactive exercises, and digital audio and video (not present in the downloadable versions). Energy sources covered in the Renewable Energy kiosk include bioenergy, geothermal, micro-hydro, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, and wind power.
The kiosks are currently being upgraded with new information and are also being translated into Spanish. A Microsoft Windows version may be available later this year. The kiosks require color Macintosh computers with 25 and 10 megabytes of free disk space for the Renewable Energy and Passive Solar Building Design kiosks respectively. Four megabytes of free RAM are required. The kiosks will run on any Macintosh computer, but 68040 processors are recommended for speed.
The kiosks are on the WWW at
http://solstice.crest.org/online/crest-modules/index.html
For gopher and anonymous FTP users, the files are in the
pub/online/software/CREST-modules
directory
World Wide Web users can also peruse a HTML version of this very module at http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/re-kiosk/index.shtml
Solstice experienced a jump in number of users from December 1994 to January 1995, reflecting a healthy growth trend since going on-line in August, 1994. Figures for December reported 26,397 visits to the Internet site, while in January there were 43,661.
Andrew Waegel (asw@crest.org), CREST's Internet Services Manager, attributes this growth to publicity that Solstice has received both online and off, the worthwhile contributions of information that many groups have made, and perhaps most significantly, the explosion of popularity surrounding online services, especially the World Wide Web, right now.
What determines an "access" to an Internet service? It's not each file transferred, and it's not simply relevant directory names. Arriving at numbers, especially across multiple services, requires some approximation, and a lot of work for Andrew.
For the World Wide Web, CREST rejects all log entries that refer to common navigation buttons, as well as all error 404 messages and connections from *.crest.org machines. Our directories are structured so that the second path element from the http'd Document Root is the "project name," so for example a log entry whose path looks like:
efficiency/rmi_homepage/rmi_Homepage.html
will have "rmi_homepage" as its "project name." When there are multiple subsequent accesses to the same project by the same host, without interruption (except from those pesky navigator buttons which we ignore), we call that one access. If that host comes back later to the same project, it's another access. Not perfect, but better than simply counting hits.
For FTP, this is much easier as the log only records file transfers. CREST ignores uploads, *crest.org accesses, and downloads from various administrative folders, then select the project name from the logged path.
For Gopher, we ignore *crest.org access and directory transfers, counting only when files are transferred. Then, too, we compile subsequent accesses to the same project by the same host.
And, of course, all users are invited to register with Solstice and to give feedback on our server. Comments and suggestions are most welcome!
Environmental product certification groups GreenSeal is now online at: http://solstice.crest.org/environment/GreenSeal Materials include a database of GreenSeal certified products.
The GreenClips Electronic Newsletter is archived on Solstice at gopher://gopher.crest.org:70/1m/environment/general/GreenClips
See the story of a solar house under construction at http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/wlord/index.html Thanks to William Lord for making these available!
Download a demo version of the Solar Worksheet program for Macintosh from
Maximum RGB. This software allows you to size a photovoltaic system for
your off-grid home. SolarWorksheet is a program for designing
Photovoltaic systems, specifically for calculating AC and DC loads, how
many solar panels and batteries these loads would require. Find it at
http://solstice.crest.org/online/maxrgb/index.html, or
gopher/ftp: pub/online/software/maxrgb
A "mini-review" of the active solar energy filed worldwide is being conducted by the Centre for the Analysis and Dissemination of Demonstrated Energy Technologies (CADDET). The Centre, which coordinates renewable energy information dissemination among 14 member countries, is conducting this review to identify common problems and successes encountered in the commercialization of solar systems in order to set priority tasks for future CADDET analysis work.
The review is being directed by SEREF's Ken Sheinkopf (kgs@crest.org), who serves as a member of the organization's national steering committee. Ken recently attended a planning meeting for the project in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, and will lead a three-day meeting to analyze the data in Copenhagen in May.
Following this meeting, he will write a final report which will include technical developments, economic barriers and opportunities, public perception and other factors in the participating countries. CREST Director Michael Totten (mpt@crest.org) is also a member of the U.S. national team, and SEREF staff have also met with CADDET's Deputy Manager to discuss opportunities for CREST to distribute CADDET materials through CD-ROMs and the Internet.
If you have an interest in biomass as an energy source, then this electronic mailing list devoted to biomass technology is for you. The bioenergy mailing list intends to involve members of industry, academia, and government in discussions about the current state of the art and future directions in biomass energy industry and research.
Topics will include but not be limited to: combustion, gasification and power generation; biomass energy resources; biofuel conversion; and anaerobic digestion. The list is hosted by Solstice at the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology, and the list administrator is Tom Miles, Jr., Consulting Engineer (tmiles@teleport.com). Presently subscribers include individuals from the Electric Power Research Institute, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of California, Davis, the Western Regional Biomass Energy Program, various state energy offices, and others.
An archive of the list's messages can be found at:
http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/bioenergy-list-archive
To subscribe, send mail to majordomo@crest.org with the line subscribe
bioenergy
Need help subscribing? Send electronic mail to www-admin@solstice.crest.org for quick and friendly assistance.
Let's face it, the status of education regarding sustainable energy hasn't changed in a decade. Despite polls that show Americans are more interested in using more renewable energy and efficiency than traditional fossil fuels, the U.S. Department of Energy spends millions more on conventional energy education than on pollution-preventing energy sources. It' s a pretty sad state of affairs.
The Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation (SEREF) has been reorganized, revived, and reoriented. SEREF's mission is to improve access to educational materials and to change the face of training and education. SEREF has staked out three flagship programs to accomplish this lofty, yet critical goal:
First, SEREF is upgrading its traditional curriculum and educational materials. Ken Sheinkopf, SEREF Executive Vice President for Education and Development, has over 25 years of experience in education and has begun a program to improve slide shows, curriculum aides, and increase SEREF's activities at teacher conventions. SEREF's goal is to publish a solar and sustainable development guide for educators and provide up-to-date material.
Second, SEREF has acquired a historic building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST) is not just a fancy training or visitors' center. CREST will serve as a center of activity for transporting exhibits and materials to science museums and technology centers throughout the U.S.
CREST will also serve to orient senior decision-makers in the policy, utility, building, transportation, industrial, energy, and environmental fields to the status of sustainable technologies and then send these visitors to manufacturing facilities or actual installations of technologies throughout the United States. The best way to educate people is to let them "kick the tires," and CREST is the tool in this process.
Third, SEREF has initiated the most advanced education tools, CD-ROM multimedia and the Internet. SEREF has assembled a world class team of computer technology which uses videos, images, and interactive exercises that will change the way we train and educate people forever.
For schools, it means engaging students with new curriculum tools. For procurement managers, it means new ways to learn cost-effective applications in buildings or utility uses. For policy makers or the public, it opens new understanding of the overseas potential users, it can speak in their language and reference uses in their particular region.
SEREF's goal is to fill an existing void by providing an ever-increasing set of tools to further the understanding and use of sustainable energy. This is no small order-- but a critical one for our society and nation. If you have interest in helping SEREF, either financially or with donations of equipment or displays, please contact me or Emily Baker at (202) 289-2600.
SEREF is growing and we urge you to work with us to disseminate them to your local school, university or associate. For more information on SEREF's educational programs, contact Ken Sheinkopf at kgs@crest.org or +(202) 289-5370.
Thank you for your interest in ReSource and renewable energy education. ReSource is published quarterly, electronically and on recycled paper, by the Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation. Readers are welcome to forward this edition to others who may have an interest in renewable energy.
To subscribe, send e-mail to crest-news-request@crest.org, leave the subject line blank, and in the message body write "subscribe"
Comments and questions may be directed to Deborah Anderson, Editor (dja@crest.org) or Andrew Waegel, Technical Editor (asw@crest.org).