jonah_abkowitz

The Green Side of Life

by Jonah Abkowitz

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Table Of Contents Foreword.................................. pages 4-9 Introduction.................................. pages 10-11 Chapter 1.................................. pages 12-17 Chapter 2.................................. pages 18-23 Chapter 3.................................. pages 24-27 Chapter 4.................................. pages 28-31 Conclusion .................................. pages 32-33 Works Cited.................................. page 34

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Dedication I would like to dedicate this book to the preservation of mather nature.

May she flourish eternally.

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Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the contributions of: Wayne Miller, Vp of Egineering at Green Volts.

Adron Mason, senior from Los Altos High School.

Steven Mclean, junior from Los Altos High School.

And all of the teachers at Freestyle Academy.

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Foreword

It’s hard for me to forget the first time I smelled exhaust fumes. It’s a foul smell that fills your mouth and lungs. All you want to do is cover your mouth, and breath some fresh air.

This foul smell is what sparked my interest in how cars function.

While I have always taken an interest in cars, lately I have been looking at things from the other end of the spectrum. Cars create millions of carbon particles, that not only pollute our atmosphere, but can be damaging to life down here on earth as well. As part of my documentary project I looked for the smartest and most efficient, healthy solution to burning carbon, to create energy; I happened upon solar power. Solar is energy that can be harnessed from the sun, and it is surprisingly efficient.

Not only is solar the key to our future, it seems to be a necessity now. With oil supplies running low, and human demand growing, we need an answer. And I believe that solar is that answer.

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Introduction What will gas prices be in twenty years? Will we even have consumer access to gas, oil and other products?

It has been speculated that the world’s fossil fuel supplies may only last another 30 years, but by then the world’s atmosphere could be in ruins. The world needs a green alternative to fossil fuel, and the Silicon Valley is in a unique position to help solve the carbon emissions problem, with clean alternatives like solar. The Silicon Valley, unlike other metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and San Diego, contains the industry leaders in Solar. Thus, the Silicon Valley should be held accountable for solving the Carbon Emissions problem. I had the chance to speak with an executive in an up and coming Solar Company called Green volts that creates unique, highly efficient solar structures. Green Volts competes with other types of solar technologies but they all share a common goal: To put an end to carbon emissions by creating a clean and efficient source of renewable energy, such as photovoltaic solar.

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CHapter One

The Evolution Of Solar

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What is solar energy? Solar energy is any energy harnessed by the sun. Solar has been around for centuries, and most recently solar has had major advances in technology. Early civilizations first harnessed solar energy when they built their homes to capture the warmth of the rising sun. Furthermore, large rocks exposed to the sun during the day would store heat energy. After the sun set these rocks remained warm into the night. (www.renewablepowernews.com).

Within the last century advances in solar technology have allowed engineers to provide the energy needs of an entire home, business or factory, from solar panels. Surprisingly, as the popularity of solar has risen the prices have fallen, making it affordable for many homeowners. Entering the 1950’s, the prominent research center, Bell Laboratories created the first significant solar cell, effective enough to harness energy to power a small electrical appliance.

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This is the solar array recently installed in Los Altos Hills, next to the town hall.

Like Solar, the Silicon Valley has had similar post-war successes. The provost of Stanford at the time, Frederick Terman, encouraged graduate students to start their own companies.

Not long after this announcement, Hewlett-Packard was founded in a garage in Palo Alto by two Stanford graduate students: William Hewlett and David Packard (Gregory Gromov). This was only the beginning of the boom of the Silicon Valley; during the 80’s and 90’s the region saw the development of semi conductors, home computers, and the rapid growth in solar technology.

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Despite these advances in solar technology, there is still much to be discovered. Solar energy has the capacity to run a whole city, if we can figure out how to properly harness the sun’s energy. Until then, it is a great tool in reducing carbon emissions.

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“The carbon footprint of our system is significantly reduced compared to other silicon based photo voltaic modules (solar panels). “

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CHapter two

Solar vs Oil

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From 1990-2007, there was a global increase of greenhouse gas emissions of almost seventeen percent. Most of these emissions can be traced to increased automobile use. The United States alone uses over 380 million gallons of gas per day (An Inconvenient Truth). Energy experts predict the world’s easily tapped fossil fuel supply will be exhausted within the next 20 years. Given these conditions, there is a sense of urgency to develop new and sustainable forms of energy.

Among the current new energy alternatives -- geo-thermal, nuclear, clean coal, hydro-electric, and wind -- solar has proved the most promising in terms of near term implementation. With hundreds of firms developing aspects of solar technology in the state, California is quickly emerging as a leader in solar energy. In the fall of 2011 I had the chance to interview Wayne Miller, an executive Vice President at one of the more prominent solar companies in the Silicon Valley, Green Volts. I was interested to know more aboutGreen Volts and how they are unique. One of the things Miller mentioned in our interview was carbon emissions. When I asked Miller what the carbon footprint of manufacturing a Green Volts Solar Panel was, he replied, “I’m not 100% sure, but one of the things that differentiates our product from a lot of the other solar products in the market place is that we sell concentrated photo voltaics. This means we use a lot less silicon, or solar cells, with each unit. So the carbon footprint of our system is significantly reduced compared to other silicon based photovoltaic modules (solar panels).

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Miller also mentioned his core thought on solar, compared to other forms of energy. “ Solar is renewable energy.

There is no carbon footprint from solar rays in production, the only carbon footprint in the solar systems we produce are when we manufacture our products. So it’s a one time thing, as opposed to coal, where you create pounds of pollution every time you use it.”

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While considering Miller’s reflections I contacted a familiar face at Los Altos High School, Varsity quarterback Steven Mclean. Mclean drives a 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor. When asked about his car, Steven happily informed me of his trucks 11 mile per gallon mileage while driving in town. On average he fills up 2 times a month, and spends just under $100 per fill up. But while he boasts these statistics, he acknowledged the importance of carbon emissions, and agreed that action had to be taken. He himself is planning on getting his motorcycle license, to help reduce the amount of town-driving he does in his truck.

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Chapter three

Different types of solar

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One of the elements that made the Silicon Valley so successful was excellent leadership. Both Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison were excellent leaders. This is what solar needs if it is to succeed as a strong industry.

Unfortunately, the bankruptcy of Solyndra has temporarily tarnished the solar name in Washington. The industry needs a profound leader along with healthy competition within the Silicon Valley to remain innovative. When talking to Mr. Miller, we covered a variety of topics within in the solar world such as Green Volts competition, other types of photo voltaics’, and the Solyndra bankruptcy. The Solyndra bankruptcy had a profoundly negative impact on the solar industry. The bankruptcy itself resulted from a clash between the Chinese and American markets. , “It has put a dark cloud on the solar industry,” said Miller. Initially, Solyndra put itself into a buyers market, by creating a product focused on the consumer market. Their product was a good quality solar panel at a competitively low price. By doing this, their profits skyrocketed. Not long after, manufacturers in China started producing even cheaper panels, with similar quality. This not only greatly reduced the Solyndra stock, but also led to the company’s financial decline. Although Solyndra took a 500 million-dollar bailout loan from the government in the early summer of 2011. But on August 11, 2011 Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 and shut down production.

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While Solyndra may have failed, Green Volts still had other competitors to worry about. While their product is unique, there are two other predominant types of solar panels in the industry: Standard silicon solar modules and film solar. Standard silicon solar modules are typically found on rooftops in most residential areas.

Film solar, by contrast, is typically more expensive and is usually found on larger urban buildings. Film solar is basically one large solar cell, covered by glass. It allows for sunlight to pass through the glass, and allows the solar cell to harness the rays. This type of solar is popular, because it is more efficient than normal silicon modules and it uses less material.

Here is an example of a Green Volts CPV solar panel. CPV standing for concentrated photo voltaic

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Chapter Four

Applying Techniques

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The green wave that has swept through California in the last few years has also touched the world of solar energy. Another familiar face at LAHS is green team president Adron Mason. Mason is the author of many key ‘green techniques,’ and has brought recent success to the green team. He had a few tips for me that could relate to the problem I was researching. He said that at LAHS, their main goal is to get people to recycle. This seemed sensible enough given that at the school based level, there is only so much that can be done. He said that he instructed green team members to stand by the trash cans at lunch to help people recycle things they didn’t know they could recycle. Placing people next to the trashcans, he continued, makes it an ‘awkward’ experience and forces people to think about what they’re doing. This is what needs to be done with fossil fuels to help people see the impact they are having on the environment. If people can begin to see what good solar panels can do for our planet, both by saving the use of greenhouse gas, and changing how our everyday society functions, they may ultimately conclude that solar is more than merely a game-changer, its our future.

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The typical recycling bin you might ďŹ nd at Los Altos High School

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Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that the desire to reduce carbon emissions is a driving force in the current energy entrepreneurship in the Silicon Valley. The region contains multiple promising solar companies, that can take the industry far. Companies such as GreenVolts, Persolar, Amonix and Solfocus all have promising futures and know that solar is on the rise. While Solar has come a long way from merely heating rocks for warmth, I am confident that the Silicon Valley can go further. ‘Going green’ is not all about driving less or just carpooling. Its about taking the all around initiative, which can include people driving less, recycling, or using less household energy. Once everyone realizes this, we can make global progress.

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Works Cited “News about Solar, Wind and Alternative Green Power Technologies.” The Evolution of Solar Power â “ It’s Older Than You Think! Renewable Power News, 7 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. <http://www.renewablepowernews.com/archives/1214>.

“Silicon Valley History.” Internet History, World Wide Web History, Silicon Valley, Computer Companies, Computer Magazines, Netvalley. Http://www.netvalley.com/silicon_valley_history.html. Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://www. netvalley.com/silicon_valley_history.html>. “The World’s Only Complete, Fully Integrated System.” Complete, Fully-Integrated System. Greenvolts. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://www. greenvolts.com/system/complete-fully-integrated-system>.

“SBSP A Reliable Energy Alternative.” Space Solar Power. Http://spacesolarpower.info/2011/12/sbsp-areliable-energy-alternative/. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://spacesolarpower.info/2011/12/sbsp-a-reliableenergy-alternative/>.

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD. Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. New York: Springer, 2005.

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