Solar roofs

The US company Tesla, famous for electric cars, has announced glass roofing tiles which are also solar panels. According to this article in Bloomberg:

"If Musk’s claims prove true, this could be a real turning point in the evolution of solar power. The rooftop shingles he unveiled just a few weeks ago are something to behold: They’re made of textured glass and are virtually indistinguishable from high-end roofing products. They also transform light into power for your home and your electric car. "

While they are not cheap they are tough, light-weight and long-lasting. It looks a very promising product. Hopefully other companies will come out with competing products soon and such tiles will become available in Guyana in a few years. Being light-weight is important as it reduces shipping costs and is also better for the kind of houses built here.

New Baha'i Temple opens in Chile

 The wonderful new Baha'i House of Worship has opened in Chile - the third one in the Americas. The others are in the US (Chicago) and Panama. All open to people of all faiths.

At least one Guyanese was present and many Baha'i's here made contributions towards its construction over the past few years. When we eventually have one here we will no doubt get support from Baha'i's around the world too. That is how its works.



The final picture is of the Panama Temple.
More about the Temple is here.

Note - pictures from the Baha'i International Community.

A hot day in Guyana 34+C

On Tuesday (Sept 27th) the temperature inside our house exceeded 34C. This was in a position exposed to what little breeze there was. I do try and check the temperature on hot days and I have never seen it higher.

Nearest star has Earth-sized planet

Big excitement over the latest exoplanet data. One report on the BBC says:

"Its data suggests Proxima b has a minimum mass 1.3 times that of Earth and orbits at a distance of about 7.5 million km from the star, taking 11.2 days to complete one revolution.
The distance between the star and its planet is considerably smaller than Earth's separation from the Sun (149 million km). But Proxima Centauri is what is termed a red dwarf star. It is much reduced in size and dimmer compared with our Sun, and so a planet can be nearer and still enjoy conditions that are potentially as benign as those on Earth."

I would expect we will hear much more about this planet in the coming years. Sorry no picture yet - those in the media are pure speculation but they do look interesting...

Guyana's Energy Sector

Just came across this useful review of Guyana's energy sector in Kaieteur News. It is definitely incomplete but there is a problem getting documentation in many areas.

There have been many solar panels put in place in the hinterland but how many are still functional and in use is a question. A learning experience.

There are plans to increase hydropower but not yet on the scale needed. The future of the Amaila hydropower project is still being considered.

A useful page is that at the Caricom Energy Program which has links to further resources.
The GEA has a Strategic Plan for 2014-2017 on its web site - more on this later.