Alternative Energy
Brandini Toffee would like to highlight the great strides that our community is making toward sustainable living through alternative energy. We are encouraged by the many ways that people and organizations are moving toward this goal.
WIND ENERGY
The windmills in the Coachella Valley are a staple to our skyline. However, most people do not understand exactly what they are helping to produce. In the past 150 years the United States has installed more than 6 million windmills. When set up in groups, similar to ours in the valley, they are categorized as a windfarm. Electricity is produced when the wind propels the blades, which turns the shaft. This is connected to a generator that then holds the electricity. This energy is then sold to local utilities companies and is used to help power cities. Approximately 1% of California’s electricity is powered by the wind. Though it doesn’t seem like much wind energy is up and coming as a way to help power cities. The technology, while simple, is being perfected so that maximum energy is being harvested.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Many valley residents have noticed the new SunLine buses roaming the valley. The unique technology combines hybrid hydrogen and an internal combustion engine to produce a more energy efficient vehicle. All extra energy is harvested and stored in Maxwell ultracapacitors. As of right now there is only one other bus line, AC Transit in Oakland that has this technology. The notable bus that drives through the Coachella Valley is 40 feet long and has some of the newest technology in the world.
SOLAR
California has set a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS – AB32) where 33% of its power is mandated to come from renewable sources by 2020. Solar is a clean technology that will help get us there through large-scale solar farms, commercial buildings and residential homes.
Read about how Renova Energy is leading the way in our local Coachella Valley.
A solar farm is the newest innovation being brought to the California desert. While many desert residences have already placed solar panels on their rooftops, this will help provide energy across the country. Solar Millennium LLC and Chevron Energy Solutions are planning to build the largest solar farm in the United States. The companies are trying to use the desert’s greatest natural resource, the sun. In October 2010, the US Department of Interior gave them the approval they had been waiting for. The farm will be established 8 miles west of Blythe on 7025 acres of desert terrain. Though it will not start providing energy until 2013, it will create thousands of jobs in the near future. Once it is fully operational it is predicted to produce over 1,000 megawatts of energy, which is enough electricity to power up to 300-750,000 homes.