Renewable Energy Small Business (sales, corporation, stocks, pay)

[Philip T]

We were having a bit of a wild discussion on here about oil and things related that mod's kicked to the basement (the politichole forum), but UP Ron mentioned that he would like to chat about Renewable Energy businesses, with the goal of making money and keeping folks working the US. Seems like a perfect topic for this forum.

So I figured I would start --

I guess my bias for this is because we (the US) are a net consumer of international energy, so even if gasoline were a dollar a gallon, we would lose money on every drop we buy and burn. So aside from the environmental (Green Living Forum) or the International Political Issues (Politicks Forum), it just makes good business sense to go off the stuff.

But that is just focusing on the Downside Issues. This the Business Forum. and on the business side, considering the HUGE amounts of money we spend (and large waste) on international oil, there is HUGE amounts of money to made in replacing oil as an energy source. Good business, indeed.

I should mention that I am more a small business guy than a Corporate Capitalist / Investment type. I do not tend to buy [their stocks and avoid their products as much as practical].

Although I do work as a consultant for some HUGE energy firms, I am not really in their game, and they kick me to the curb as quick as they can once my skills are used for their gain.

So as far as this thread goes, If it is themed on "I" (can do this or that) or "We" (can do this or that) -- all real people on a real people scale, I am all about it.

If folks are into "Some Corporation should do this or that," or "Govt. Policy should be this or that," I am not arguing it either way -- I just do not consider it real on the real people human level.

So if anyone is interested, the topic is open --

Here are some staring points --

Small business scale wind farms.
Small business scale bio-fuels.
Small business scale solar (thermal).
Small business scale Geo-thermal.
Small business scale electric vehicles.
Maybe bikes, too? Any others?

But probably not Small business scale Solar PV. Unless someone is into producing Small business PV cells? Most all PV I know of is HUGE corporate produced. The most a Small business can do in that is be a re-seller.

[forest beekeeper]

I see micro-hydro-electric producers. My home is a good site for it too.

I also see peat bog farming in this area. We use peat for heating and it can be re-grown and re-harvested every 8 years.

PV manufacture has problems. Many PV manufacturers were forced out of the US due to the high level of toxic by-product chems that the process makes. PV is not 'green' at all, when considering the manufacture process.

Last fall I was looking to purchase a local motor rewind shop. He is repairing auto generators / alternators / starters. Though he could just as easily be producing micro-wind mills.

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I see micro-hydro-electric producers. My home is a good site for it too.

I also see peat bog farming in this area. We use peat for heating and it can be re-grown and re-harvested every 8 years.

PV manufacture has problems. Many PV manufacturers were forced out of the US due to the high level of toxic by-product chems that the process makes. PV is not 'green' at all, when considering the manufacture process.

Last fall I was looking to purchase a local motor rewind shop. He is repairing auto generators / alternators / starters. Though he could just as easily be producing micro-wind mills.

For micro-hydro small farm scaled like your place, I would check out

the Otherpower.com Discussion Board || Make your electricity from scratch!

They are bunch of in-the-woods type guys (and even some gals ) who build their own stuff, including micro-hydro and will help you with the calculations (flow rates, head pressure, etc.) for typical US and Canada applications like yours.

From that site here is a local built African micro-hydro I like --

the Otherpower.com Discussion Board || Giant water wheel

They did a generator and hooked it up as well

CRAFTSKILLS Renewable Energy

Most of the US stuff on fieldlines has a more polished look and they do home-built / hand-built wind from the nuts-and-bolts details from the foundation up.

Agree with you on the PV stuff. Although I do that locally (Dallas / Fort Worth) and beyond, I really only consider it to the best choice when dealing with remote locations, like buoys (you were a Coastie, correct?), some islands, small desert sites and of course, space-based applications.

Some pix of the local stuff --

Finished Product - North Texas Renewable Energy, Inc.

(I am listed as the anon guy )

[NJ Chutzpah]

If you found a rich guy who so happens to live on top of rich geothermal land, and you have the engineering skills, you could build him a single geo-therm unit to power his house. From there you could get referrals, and build a small business from that

Good luck trying to find that right person

You would probably have better luck with solar energy since it is everywhere, you could do the same thing. If you are not a tech, just find one to partner with you, and then you could be the salesman and explain to people how they can get free energy

Building a working wind turbine, and then getting that electricity aroud costs lots of money, and you probably need big business investors

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by NJ Chutzpah

If you found a rich guy who so happens to live on top of rich geothermal land, and you have the engineering skills, you could build him a single geo-therm unit to power his house. From there you could get referrals, and build a small business from that

Good luck trying to find that right person

You would probably have better luck with solar energy since it is everywhere, you could do the same thing. If you are not a tech, just find one to partner with you, and then you could be the salesman and explain to people how they can get free energy

Building a working wind turbine, and then getting that electricity aroud costs lots of money, and you probably need big business investors

The wind turbine building stuff is pretty simple. Like I mentioned to the Forest, the Otherpower.com Discussion Board || Make your electricity from scratch! covers that pretty well.

Overall, money is pretty easy in the energy field, right now.

Seems a couple interesting places for Geo-Thermal -> electricity could be Montana / Yellowstone boundary and Hawaii -- it has exposed lava and high electricity prices.

Where are other good, under-used "hot spots?"

I have never worked on the design for a Geo-Thermal to electricity plant, but the mechanical guys I have worked with who have worked on geo-thermal tell me they are boringly simple.

[GregW]

Geo Thermal Power - I recently read a report concerning “Enhanced Geothermal Power” by Dr. Jeffery Tester of MIT. It covers this topic very well.

I would like to start a business developing small home and business size combined heat and electricity units operating on natural gas or bio diesel. I plan on doing this after I retire and have a retirement income large enough to keep me in house and home.

I know about hydropower (worked at revitalizing existing and abandoned hydropower sites in the 1980’s), wind and geothermal energy. I would, as I said, like to develop smaller scale applications for these energy sources. I do not know much about business beyond recognizing my ignorance. I will need an investor and business mentor if my plan to build this business ever has a chance.

[ExcellentFudge]

Originally Posted by Philip T

For micro-hydro small farm scaled like your place, I would check out

the Otherpower.com Discussion Board || Make your electricity from scratch!

They are bunch of in-the-woods type guys (and even some gals ) who build their own stuff, including micro-hydro and will help you with the calculations (flow rates, head pressure, etc.) for typical US and Canada applications like yours.

From that site here is a local built African micro-hydro I like --

the Otherpower.com Discussion Board || Giant water wheel

They did a generator and hooked it up as well

CRAFTSKILLS Renewable Energy

Most of the US stuff on fieldlines has a more polished look and they do home-built / hand-built wind from the nuts-and-bolts details from the foundation up.

Agree with you on the PV stuff. Although I do that locally (Dallas / Fort Worth) and beyond, I really only consider it to the best choice when dealing with remote locations, like buoys (you were a Coastie, correct?), some islands, small desert sites and of course, space-based applications.

Some pix of the local stuff --

Finished Product - North Texas Renewable Energy, Inc.

(I am listed as the anon guy )

On a hike last year in the Sierra Nevadas, I came across a ranch off the grid that uses a hydro-electric generator. The generator was built in the 1940s IIRC. They had no problem with energy.

[golfgod]

From what I've read and seen I think most of the "small" scale stuff is likely to be more in the CONSERVATION than PRODUCTION end of energy. In fact if you read anything from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) you'll see that CONSERVATION is the cheapest, most efficient and fastest source of energy at our fingertips.

I know that every house that I owned when I lived in TX (about 50 of them) with only ONE EXCEPTION had nowhere near enough attic insulation. Over 90% of the heat gain is through the roof and most houses in the south are under insulated. I had $100-$150 electric bills at a time most of my neighbors were paying $250 and more.

golfgod

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by golfgod

From what I've read and seen I think most of the "small" scale stuff is likely to be more in the CONSERVATION than PRODUCTION end of energy. In fact if you read anything from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) you'll see that CONSERVATION is the cheapest, most efficient and fastest source of energy at our fingertips.

You're exactly right.

[sterlinggirl]

I hate to clean my refrigerator and AC coils, but not enough to pay $100 or more to have an HVAC company come out to do it.

In this economy, I think somebody could do pretty well starting a business cleaning coils for a decent price. All you'd have to do is to point out that cleaning will save a lot of energy, help to prevent failure of costly refrigerators and AC units, and you could throw in some stuff about using 'green' detergents to clean with. You could also set something up with an HVAC contractor to get kickbacks for referrals...

Your equipment needs would be pretty simple. An air compressor with a nozzle for the refrigerator coils, a vacuum to clean up the mess, a hand-pumped sprayer for cleaning solution, and a pressure washer for the AC coils.