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The article discusses the drawbacks in the use of solar space conditioning system. Initial cost of solar space conditioning system is higher when compared to conventional system. Moreover, building codes imposed in the United States constrain the use of new techniques while financial institutions restrict the choice of space conditioning equipment. Regional differences also require the flexibility of solar devices' designs because of weather variation. Industry's fragmentation and stratification also slow the acceptance of technological innovation. Gas price de-regulation and marginal cost pricing policy adoption are recommended to overcome these problems. Among the policies discussed are Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act and Energy Conservation and Conversion Act of 1975. INSET: A solar energy incentive package.

The ambitious target of net-zero emission by 2050 has been aggressively driving the renewable energy sector in many countries. Leading the race of renewable energy sources is solar energy, the fastest growing energy source at present. The solar industry has witnessed more growth in the last decade than it has in the past 40 years, owing to its technological advancements, plummeting costs, and lucrative incentives. The United States is one of the largest producers of solar power in the world and has been a pioneer in solar adoption, with major projects across different technologies, mainly photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, and solar heating and cooling, but is expanding towards floating PV, solar combined with storage, and hybrid power plants. Although the United States has tremendous potential for exploiting solar resources, there is a scarcity of research that details the U.S. solar energy scenario. This paper provides a comprehensive review of solar energy in the U.S., highlighting the drivers of the solar industry in terms of technology, financial incentives, and strategies to overcome challenges. It also discusses the prospects of the future solar market based on extensive background research and the latest statistics. In addition, the paper categorizes the U.S. states into five tiers based on their solar prospects calculated using analytical hierarchy process and regression analysis. The price of solar technologies in the U.S. is also predicted up to 2031 using Wright's law, which projected a 77% reduction in the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy conservation continues to play a crucial role in social and economic development. With the remarkable increase in oil prices and exploring solutions for the replacement of fossil fuels, an ecofriendly energy resource has become the priority among more and more people. Keeping the intension for reducing the global warming impact and looking for alternative clean source of energy, solar energy applications such as solar thermal systems, solar water heating and cooling are becoming energy-efficient designs. One of the widely used applications of solar energy is solar water heating systems. Low-cost solar water heaters can cover the domestic needs for water in the range of 100-200 l per day. Solar water heating systems are generally more efficient and advantageous in hot areas. However, the application of solar water heating is still a challenge in winter and sub-zero conditions, having low solar irradiance. In such conditions, solar water heating system cannot produce enough energy, which drives a need for evaluating system component design and improves its performance during low ambient conditions. In this study, detailed design methods for solar water heater components are discussed for cold regions like North Dakota, USA. The type of system chosen in this study is natural circulation-based solar water heating system. The study will also compare the experimental data with previously conducted numerical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's comment on a report issued by the U.S. Committee on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems on the energy problem. It discusses a series of polarized issues concerning the eventual resolution of the energy problem. This report discusses the problems of proliferation and diversion of nuclear expansion programs and the related safety issues. It also emphasizes on the conservation and the rapid development of renewable energy sources to beat the energy problem.

The article examines the marketing opportunities available to high tech companies in the U.S. energy market and notes lessons learned from earlier attempts to diversify within that market. The article discusses the political context and the National Energy Plan objectives, developed by the new Department of Energy, of reducing U.S. dependence of foreign oil through conservation, improved efficiency of equipment, and development of new energy sources. The article discusses the targets of opportunity, the pursuit of new opportunities, review of earlier attempts, marketing barriers, the market arena, and current programs. The author recommends that high tech companies equip themselves with the ability to market to the energy industry and presents specific recommendations for market success.

The article focuses on the author's perspective on the suggestion that the economically underdeveloped nations should be giving more attention to solar energy development and not concentrating all their hopes on atomic energy. Because of the availability of other energy resources at lower cost, solar energy applications are only of marginal significance in the foreseeable future in the industrialized nations. The author suggests that solar energy development programs should be pushed through by United Nations' facilities and the U.S. government for the greatest benefit of the people who are striving for economic and social betterment.

Solar radiation is a major sustainable and clean energy resource, and use of solar radiation is expected to increase. The utilization efficiency of solar energy varies with the relative proportions of the direct and diffuse components that compose total solar radiation and with the slope and aspect of the irradiated surface. The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple method for estimating diffuse and direct solar radiation at sites with observation of only total solar radiation. An existing model for estimating diffuse radiation, i.e., a linear relationship between the diffuse fraction (the ratio of diffuse radiation to total solar radiation) and the clearness index (the ratio of total solar radiation to extraterrestrial radiation), is applied to 7 sites across the continental United States with observations of diffuse and total radiation. The linear model shows good monthly performance. The model parameters (slope and interception) show a strong seasonal pattern that exhibits small variation across the 7 sites; therefore, the average values of the two monthly parameters may be used for estimating diffuse radiation for other locations with observations of total radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including rural housing conditions, land tenure and aging populations in the U.S.

The article discusses the enactment of Title 51 of the U.S. Code which refers to the National and Commercial Space Programs. The act aims to codify certain existing laws on national and commercial space programs to be part of the U.S. Code as a positive law. Details on its policy provisions, general programs, commercial opportunities and conforming amendments to other laws are offered.

Green jobs are critical to building a strong middle class, and millions of green jobs can be created through energy efficiency. The models already exist for this work, but we need sustained investment to bring them to scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article discusses the lack of integrated renewable heating and cooling policy in the United States in light of the Obama Administration''s proposed energy and climate strategies. The article argues that renewable heating and cooling will be a necessary component of future climate mitigation and fuel diversification strategies in the US, and surveys emerging state-level renewable heating and cooling policies as potential models for future policy development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Problem: Solar energy has potential to solve many types of planning problems. Knowing where existing household solar energy users are located and what factors explain this distribution can help craft appropriate local policies. Purpose: This study analyzes the spatial distribution of households who heat their homes with solar energy across the contiguous United States. Methods: We use geographic information systems (GIS) and zero-inflated negative binomial statistical techniques to test three sets of geographic predictors at the scale of the county: environmental, economic, and sociopolitical. Results and conclusions: Descriptive, GIS, and regression results indicate that the expected number of households using solar energy to heat their homes increases significantly with the amount of solar radiation received, but that other environmental, socioeconomic, and political factors are also significant predictors. The number of solar households in a county is a positive function of wealth (operationalized as median home value), urbanization, and the percentage of residents in the peak period of the lifecycle-consumption curve. Having a solar energy technology provider in the county did not appear to be significant. Finally, we confirmed that households heating with solar energy increase with the percentage of persons who vote for the Democratic Party in presidential elections and with local government involvement in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Takeaway for practice: Our model can be used to enhance adoption of solar technologies by showing which localities possess most of the attributes that predict solar use, but adoption lags expectations. This can help design efficient and effective local plans and incentives calibrated to local environmental, economic, and sociopolitical conditions. Research support: Portions of the data collection for this research were supported under Award No. NA03OAR4310164 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Department of Commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASA has an elaborate process for identifying and mitigating technical risks in its human space exploration program. However, non-technical risks - political, economic, and societal - are not captured in this process. Such risks are large in number, diverse in character, often unpredictable, and can be impossible to prevent because they are beyond the space agency's control. NASA's mission directorates are responsible for long-term strategic planning, so despite the difficulties, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) must direct its attention to long-term sustainability risks and the development of mitigation plans. This article surveys long-term risk factors and, where possible, makes suggestions on mitigation approaches for consideration by ESMD and NASA's top management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a scalable and portable climate/weather prediction system which is developed by applying a portable communication module within a fast numerical algorithm that exceeds the current community demands for computational performance on a variety of high performance computing platforms. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) finite-volume general circulation model (fvGCM) was developed as a joint effort between the NASA Data Assimilation Office and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The article discusses the development of ModComm within the NASA fvGCM. The user interface routines within ModComm essentially perform all of the organizational tasks required for the communication operations. To benchmark the performance of the various paradigms implemented within ModComm, a simple communication epoch, which performs a north/south ghosting operation on two three-dimensional arrays, is iterated 500 times to produce an average communication rate.

From 1974 to 1980, many conservation and renewable energy policies were adopted at the state level in the United States. Some states were particularly active in enacting such policies while others were totally inactive. The variation in state policy activity is only modestly related to the slates" past policy innovation traditions and conservation/ renewable energy opportunities. Differences in energy vulnerability, and the relative hardship imposed by the energy crisis, have apparently had even less impact on the adoption pattern. These weak or insignificant relationships are typical of other efforts to explain state energy policy variations and are attributed to six qualitative factors: Federal preemption and inconsistency, ambivalent public opinion, conflicting values, lack of information on state energy conditions, and ignorance of the impacts of renewable energy and conservation policies. The findings identify several actions to increase sensitivity toward state energy conditions in policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1973-1980, U.S. solar policy emphasized financial incentives to potential purchasers as the primary means of stimulating the introduction and spread of residential solar heating systems. This article examines the importance of nonfinancial factors in decisions to purchase residential solar heating systems during these early stages of market penetration and discusses the implications these factors have for policy design. Drawing upon research on the diffusion of innovations, on the effectiveness of income tax credits for solar heating systems, and on solar energy system purchasing decisions themselves, the argument is developed that nonfinancial factors such as system reliability, warranty protection, environmental concerns, adequate information about system costs and performance, and confidence in system suppliers and installers are at least as important as initial system cost to early purchasers. These considerations were not reflected in U.S. solar policy to the extent warranted. As a result, that policy failed to promote the balanced development of all elements essential to a viable residential solar heating industry and probably failed to alter the intentions of many prospective solar system purchasers. The reasons U.S. policymakers were relatively insensitive to nonfinancial factors are discussed and an alternative strategy for increasing the rate of market penetration of residential solar heating systems is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential solar energy applications can provide a significant fraction of the U.S. energy budget. However, to do so, they must be combined with other energy-conserving strategies and diffused rapidly throughout the housing industry. Discussed are the potential resistances to the diffusion of solar energy within the U.S. housing industry; implications for the application of residential solar energy are treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on various environmental issues in the U.S. as of 1979. Effort of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to explain the bubble concept for controlling industrial air and water pollution; Creation of the Regulatory Analysis Review Group; Objective of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act.

Provides insights into the trade union movement in the U.S. which struggles over the development of nuclear power. Role of the unions in the nuclear controversy during the 1976 California Initiative; Manifestations of the ideological currents within the labor movement; Overview of the effort of the unions to pursue anti-nuclear power thrusts.

Comments on several issues related to the environment as of September 1, 1979. Provisions of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that undermine parts of the Clean Water Act of 1972; Acidification of lakes in Canada; Findings of a study conducted at the University of California and at the Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories on the forecasting of energy consumption and alternative energy resources.

Examines the history of the fuel and energy industries in the U.S. Policies on fuel use; Trusts and mergers; Oil company structure and dominance; Control of the competition; Ownership of the nation's oil reserve.

The article offers news briefs related to the life sciences in the U.S. William A. Turnage has been appointed as the executive director of the Wilderness Society of the U.S. Clifford W. Hesseltine had received the Illinois Society for Microbiology's Pasteur Award for 1978. The sixth biennial program on current methods of immunologic research and diagnosis will be offered by the Center for Immunology of the State University of New York at Buffalo, New York from June 4-22, 1979.

Gridded fields of monthly mean relative frequency for ≥ 0.10 (2.5), ≥ 0.25 (6.4), ≥ 0.50 (12.7), ≥ 1.00 (25.4), and ≥ 2.00 (50.8) in. (mm) of precipitation have been developed for 1-, 3-, and 6-h periods over the conterminous United States. The frequency fields are analyzed on a rectangular grid with a 20-km mesh. Raw (unsmoothed) frequencies at randomly spaced points were computed from 33 yr (1963-95) of hourly precipitation measurements from approximately 3000 stations composing the U.S. Climatic Hourly Precipitation Network. Initial grids of the raw frequencies were then obtained from objective analyses of the randomly spaced values. The final grids were obtained following the application of smoothing, which was applied spatially over the grid and temporally over consecutive months and consecutive time periods of the day. The smoothing applied for each precipitation category and accumulation period was minimized to retain as much coherent temporal and spatial detail as possible. The detail in the frequencies is greater than that for previous nationwide climatic precipitation analyses of this type. The database was developed for use as a climatological predictor input to a statistically based forecast model for the various categories of precipitation amount, but it should also have other operational or research applications. The monthly frequency fields exhibit known climatic features across the nation and features at small temporal and spatial scales that either have not been previously documented or that clarify those incompletely defined in the published literature. The discussions link both known and new climatic features to physiographic features, such as mountain ridges and valleys, large lakes, and ocean coasts, as well as to the diurnal heating-cooling cycle. Examples of clarifications of previous findings include the spatial and temporal properties of the eastward migration of summer afternoon precipitation frequency peaks from the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]