Electric Motorcycles and Solar Power

News that won’t depress you.

There is a new Futurism Now podcast here: Cap and Raid. Don’t let the title fool you — it’s actually quite optimistic and politically refreshing.

The Enertia: The best motorcycle ever made (except for the as-yet-not-invented electric Harley Davidson) is here. They are clean, they are quiet, and they are completely non-polluting.

If it wasn’t for NBC News, I would not know about the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle , a completely electric bike now on sale at Best Buy. Of all places.  It’s about $8,000, and maybe next year it will be half that and someone will buy me one.  Click below for more info.
Initial Report: 2009 Brammo Enertia

Zoom! The Enertia electric motorcycle

And:  A state not even in the Southwest may soon be a real SOLAR POWERHOUSE.

Steve Kalland, NC Solar Center executive director, said: “North Carolina is just waking up to its potential as a leader in the Southeast in solar energy development.” The state climbed close to the top of the country last year due to its solar installations increasing six times over.

As many others have predicted as well, more solar power is expected to increase number of jobs. In this research study, ENC found that 9 times more jobs are created in NC from installing 1 MW of solar power than the same amount of fossil fuel (coal or gas) power.

Additionally, the price of solar power is cheaper than other power competitors now. As ENC says, “Costs of solar installations are falling rapidly, and those trends are expected to continue.”

Richard Harkrader, CEO of Carolina Solar Energy, said that in North Carolina solar power can “beat the price of electricity from new nuclear plants” now.

Will North Carolina meet the expectations of ENC’s solar study? Or will it exceed this prediction, perhaps? We will see.

via coolerplanet

Related Stories:
1) 64% of US States Could Supply 100% of Their Own Power From Renewable Energy, New Rules Project Shows
2) Where are the Gaps in the Solar Marketplace?