Geostellar Technology, 3D modeling, Track sun, Windy locations
Geostellar Technology, 3D modeling, Track sun, Windy locations
From the LA Times November 26, 2010.
“Put solar panels where it’s sunny, wind farms where it’s windy. If only it were that simple.
Choosing the best sites for renewable energy projects is a challenge for clean-power developers; selecting the right location and securing permits can take months, even years. That’s because seemingly prime parcels may have endangered species, tricky topography or poor access to transmission lines. The local government could be hostile to incentive programs. Banks and utilities need to know exactly how much power is going to come off a site hour by hour and how much money it will make — none of it evident without a deep dive by lawyers and investigators.
Now a former gaming executive believes that he has come up with a way to do it faster and more cheaply using the 3-D animation modeling that helped make the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion into a big hit and a ray-tracing technology used on the “Toy Story” movies.
David Levine, former chief executive of Emergent Game Technologies in Calabasas and a former executive at several energy data mapping firms, has developed a patented Web-based tool that crunches vast quantities of publicly available information.
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Details on a site’s sun exposure, topography, vegetation and other characteristics can be gleaned at the touch of a button. The idea is to spot opportunities — and obstacles — quickly.
“Geostellar identifies the fastest, most profitable and least risky paths to increasing renewable and clean energy production,” Levine said.”
“Levine demonstrated that if homeowners or developers were to zoom in on a roof, they could see exactly how much sun would hit every square meter. More clicks reveal the whole parcel, who owns it, whether there are any renewable energy incentives in that area and how the sun exposure changes during the day. The user can then get an estimate of how much money could be made by putting a solar system on that roof, or what the payback time would be.
“This is going to be a great tool for developers,” Talbert said.
Geostellar, based in Martinsburg, W.Va., has taken in about $500,000 in seed money since March; an infusion of $1 million is due to close by the end of the year. Pilot clients include developers AES Solar Energy Ltd. and Community Energy.
“I think it’s got the potential to be something quite transformative,” said Chris Dymond, managing director of large infrastructure project finance company Greengate and a specialist in renewables. Dymond is an angel investor in Geostellar.
“One of the primary challenges for renewable energy power projects has been the amount of time and effort it takes to characterize the resource, which is the engine driving whether or not this project will be successful or go bankrupt,” Dymond said.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-geostellar-20101126,0,1957935.story
Short URL: http://greenenergyon-line.com/?p=147
Posted by admin
on Dec 10 2010. Filed under Active solar, Green News, Passive solar, Science, Solar Energy, Water energy, Wind Energy.
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