Jennifer's Comments

Thank you for pointing out the error, Steven. It's been fixed.

Editor's note: What is excellent about Nanjing Shanlong is that they are based in China and are translating these themselves, which is why content from them is not widely reported elsewhere. RicardoP is correct, however, about Google Chrome offering translation services.

KC, thanks so much for your comments. It's a great idea and one that the industry has talked about before. (See my article "Solar Education, Outreach and Training: Moving the Industry Forward" from November 9, 2009 for Rhone Resch's take on the "Got Solar" idea.) So far we haven't had a concerted green energy industry effort but let's hope one is coming soon....

Editor's note: I was unable to find the link that Alison suggested we use after her statement about America being only 13% efficient. She has now pointed me to it. I urge interested readers to take a look here: http://www.aceee.org/press/2010/04/americas-anemic-13-percent-economy-experts-warn-us-risks or click the (now active) link in the reference above.

To ajcmiller and anonymous, you can contact the author by clicking on her name. She might be able to steer you in the right direction.

James, thanks for your comment. We forgot to put an important website into the article. It is called SolarWorksForAmerica.org. It has information for solar workers in every state. Check it out!

Fiorentina, thanks so much for your comment. According to this report, the waters off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire are too deep to make offshore wind power economical. The extra cost associated with installing deep-water offshore turbines in these areas makes it more economical to focus on the rest of the eastern seaboard and leave Maine and NH out. Since it was a U.S. report, it didn't mention the Canadian Provinces so I'd be interested in hearing more about that potential.

Editor's note: The sourcing for this report was so extensive that I couldn't include it in this short summary reproduced above. I would encourage all those interested to download the full report by clicking on the NC-WARN link provided.

Thanks for finding our conversion error. The story reflects the proper EU to USD conversion now.

Hi John, Thanks for pointing out my error. I meant to write $37,000 per year, still a hefty bill but not quite as bad.

Mbadgero, try this link: http://www.case.rpi.edu/home.html

Doug, good point. That bullet-point list came from another blogger but you are indeed correct. At the top of the list should be drive less and use public transportation as often as possible.

Craig, I'm so glad you brought this up. When I met with Austin Energy about its plans for how EVs will impact the grid, the representatives cited an interesting study. Apparently a study was conducted in Japan that showed that EV drivers with a 100-mile range and no external charging stations would drive less than 40 miles before going home and recharging. When the study introduced external charging stations, drivers ventured about 70 miles from home but still went back home to charge! In other words, drivers needed the external charging stations to feel better about venturing further but they didn't actually use them to charge.

The takeaway for Austin Energy was that if it wanted to seriously encourage EV adoption, it would need to put charging stations all around the city, even though the utility is pretty sure drivers won't use them all that much. The city-wide charging stations would need to be there just to alleviate range anxiety.

Ray-neff, thanks so much for your comment. I don't know if the Niagara County Community College has reached out to the local utility but that certainly seems like a good place to go. I'll pass on your comments. I, too, have benefited from the weatherization program from my local utility, PSNH.

Thanks for the insightful comment, Warren. I really appreciate it and will pass it on. Hands-on real world training makes the most sense to me, too.