-
1. PG&E: "Wave Is the New Wind"
-
2. Pace of Solar Innovation Not That Fast, Says Solar Installer CEO
-
3. The Future of FutureGen
-
4. Videos: Skysail debuts on world's first commercial merchant ship to use kite power
-
5. Ho, Ho, Huh? High gas prices putting a damper on car sales but not holiday spirit
-
6. Micro-hybrids set to take off in coming years
-
7. Texans' taxes buy terrific trains
-
8. What Does Bali Mean for Cleantech?
-
9. What cars can we get today with 35 mpg?
-
10. How eco is the Splinter, the sports car made of wood?
-
11. New large biodiesel plant to be built near Miami
-
12. Project BioReGen: Planting trees to recover a damaged ecosystem
PG&E: "Wave Is the New Wind"
Craig Rubens - Big Green
The proposed “wave park,” which would be the first commercial wave energy power plant, will consist of eight power-generating buoys. SF Gate reports that Finavera plans to expand the installation up to 100 megawatts if the initial installation works well.
These two megawatts make up a small part of PG&E’s (PCG) expansion of its renewable energy sources portfolio as it aims to meet California’s renewable portfolio standard, which requires utilities to get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010. PG&E currently gets 12 percent of its energy from renewable sources.
PG&E’s PPA with Finavera could usher in a new round of venture for the renewable energy company, which also works in wind energy. Under the PPA, Finavera will own and operate the buoys and sell 3,854 MWh of electricity to PG&E each year. The project is expected to offset 245 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Finavera’s low-profile buoys work by bobbing up and down in the water, forcing pressurized seawater through a turbine. However, the company has had problems with its buoys in the past. Earlier this year a prototype buoy sank off the coast of Oregon. Still, the PG&E agreement bodes well Finavera and the wave industry as a whole, a sector that has gotten a very small amount of capital considering the huge energy potential of the world’s seas.
Pace of Solar Innovation Not That Fast, Says Solar Installer CEO
Alexis Madrigal - Startups
We recently wrote about the rise of solar services companies, those that will come to your house and install an entire solar system, kind of like DirecTV dish installers (e.g. Ironwood Communications). The rise of these companies is a major signal that renewable energy, at the distributed level, is coming of age. Solar is going to retail, and (like it or not) that’s still the way that almost everything gets sold.
But one thing has been bothering me about the rise of solar services companies. It seems like every day we hear that the technology behind solar has hit a new benchmark for efficiency, like this post from TreeHugger lauding a 42.8 percent efficient solar cell. If the technology is really advancing at a remarkable pace, then all of today’s solar customers are going to feel like iPhone early adopters over the next year. I’ve heard VCs talk about a Moore’s Law for solar, but that buyer’s remorse would be the best proof it’s occurring at the retail level. (Just like in the old 286 days, when timing your computer purchase to the tech cycle was everything: that felt like a revolution.)
I posed this conundrum to the CEO of the publicly traded solar installer Akeena (AKNS), Barry Cinnamon, on Monday. What he told me might surprise you. He believes that the new innovations (thin film, etc.) are not going to reach the retail installation level for at least two years, and probably much longer than that. He thinks that photovoltaic efficiency is not due for the explosion of efficiency that the torrent of tech announcements would seem to portend:
The assumption is that there are all these technological changes and efficiency improvements, but I can tell you with 100 percent conviction that the efficiency of the panels has only gone up from 13 percent (in 2002) to 16 percent. That’s it.
I pressed him on the topic, asking, “Well, doesn’t the solar industry need to have efficiency improvements?” He responded that what really mattered is that the cost of installing systems decreases, and that it will be much easier and faster to bring that cost down than to bring the efficiency of the PV up.
They talk about a cell that is 20 to 25 percent efficient, but the solar panels that are made by most of the companies are in the 13 to 16 percent range. I think it’s five to 10 years before we go from 14 percent average efficiency to 20 percent average efficiency.
If I were an investor in a solar tech company and one of the major solar installers was talking like this, it might give me reservations about my investments’ ability to push their products into the market. This would be a bad channel check, as the analysts say. Then again, it could just be that Cinnamon has a vested interest in getting people to pony up now, instead of perpetually waiting for the next best thing to come along.
Cinnamon also promised that Akeena would post $30 million in 2008 revenue, and he took a couple of swipes at solar thermal plants, saying that distributed generation, over the long haul, is the most efficient way to go. We’ll see if either ring true in the New Year.
The Future of FutureGen
Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy
Update: The FutureGen Alliance, the industry group behind the “clean coal” project just named Mattoon, Illinois as the site for the plant. The release says that the group used “over 120 different factors in the general areas of cost, risks to cost and schedule, and benefits in making the final selection.” The Houston Chronicle quotes Mike Mudd, CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, as saying the major reasons for Mattoon’s selection were “clear legal title to the power plant site, a secure water source and onsite carbon sequestration.”
Coal is both the world’s biggest source of dirty energy and potentially the biggest opportunity for the cleantech industry. While there is a lot of skepticism over so-called “clean coal” technologies, which look to capture and store carbon emissions, a major government and industry initiative is about to take a small step closer to testing some of that controversial and cutting-edge technology. FutureGen, a $1.5 billion clean coal project headed up by the federal government and private power companies, will announce the location of its cleaner power plant as early as Tuesday.
The FutureGen Alliance will choose among four sites — Mattoon and Tuscola in Illinois, and Odessa and Jewett in Texas. State officials in Illinois and Texas have been scrambling all over themselves in a last-ditch effort to win the bid and the investment to bring the clean plant to their state.
Illinois Governor Blagojevich put out a release Sunday night saying state officials have been working on securing the plant in either Matoon or Tuscola for the past four years, The Chicago Sun-Times reports, while The Chicago Tribune quotes Texas FutureGen coordinator Scott Tinker as bragging that the contest is “Game over,” after Texas put together a nearly $1 billion financial incentive package to entice the project’s coordinators. We’re not sure which state is closer, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Whichever state wins will be home to a first-of-its-kind “clean coal” plant that uses coal gasification and technology to capture and store carbon emissions underground. The plant will also produce hydrogen on a commercial scale, for applications like fuel cells. While the plant won’t be up and running for years to come, in 2008 the project will solicit bids from equipment makers, which could offer a boost for a variety of cleantech startups.
If you want to watch the Futuregen Alliance announce the site on Tuesday, check out the webcast at 10AM Eastern.
Videos: Skysail debuts on world's first commercial merchant ship to...
Lascelles Linton - Beluga-Skysail
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Transportation Alternatives
The Skysail, a giant kite used to help propel ships, has made its debut as you can see in the Reuters video above. MV Beluga Skysail is the world's first cargo ship to use the Skysail and the ship will make its maiden voyage in early 2008 from Germany to Venezuela. The Skysail is 400 feet long and the kite can rise 100 yards into the sky, controlled by a computer system. The system costs $725,600 but it pays for itself in a few years because it saves 20 percent in fuel (about $1,600 a day). Below the fold is another video of the Skysail in action.
Related:
- Kite sails could help lower ship emissions and fuel mileage
- Build a kite big enough for a ship, and you'll save fuel
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Ho, Ho, Huh? High gas prices putting a damper on car sales but not...
Sebastian Blanco - holiday
Filed under: Etc., Green Daily, Holidash
In one of the least surprising announcements of the season (coming in not too far behind "It's cold" in most of America), the folks over at Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research are saying that high gas prices are causing many new car shoppers to spend less. The reason, "shoppers spend less on self in order to spend more on others," KBB said in a statement. Almost half (44 percent) of "in-market new-vehicle shoppers are looking at cars they normally would not have considered due to the pain at the pump." The winners are crossovers, sedans and hatchbacks. The losers are SUVs. KBB's study found that Americans are also eating out less and buying fewer "non essential retail items" thanks to the more-than-$3-a-gallon prices. KBB conducted the study during the first week of December.
[Source: Kelley Blue Book]
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Micro-hybrids set to take off in coming years
Sam Abuelsamid - micro-hybrid
Filed under: Hybrid
One of the biggest contributors to pollution and wasted fuel in urban areas is vehicles sitting in traffic jams with their engines idling. Hybrid vehicles address this problem by automatically shutting engines off when the vehicle is slowing or stopped and then restarting them only when they're needed for acceleration. Unfortunately, the cost premium to add a full hybrid system is still fairly high thanks to the required battery pack and the associated electric motor and transmission system. In Europe, where smaller, more efficient cars already represent a major part of the market, the fuel efficiency benefit of a full hybrid is more limited especially in places like France where diesel engines comprise almost eighty percent of the market. That's where micro-hybrid systems come in. For the relatively small initial cost of what is essentially a heavy duty alternator and 12V battery, Bosch claims that up to five percent improvement in fuel economy is possible. Perhaps more importantly, the emissions during idling are eliminated which can be really helpful with diesel engines. Of course anyone can manually start and stop their engine at a traffic light. However, regular starters and batteries are not designed to go through that many cycles in their lifetime and are likely to wear out prematurely.
[Source: Wards Auto World]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Texans' taxes buy terrific trains
Sebastian Blanco - dallas
Filed under: Diesel, Transportation Alternatives, Green Daily
Almost a hundred new ultra-low-emission locomotives are cruising the rails in Texas (98 total, with 46 based in Dallas-Fort Worth, 43 in Houston, and nine in San Antonio) thanks mostly to a $75 million Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant. According to this article in the Dallas Morning News, the $75m covered about 75 percent of the cost of the Union Pacific Corp.'s 98 new locomotives, which would mean that each one costs roughly a million dollars. The good news? "Officials said Wednesday that the benefits to Texas air quality would be even larger than they bargained for," DMN reporter Brendan Case writes. He continues:Union Pacific places a value of $118 million on the emissions the new locomotives will eliminate over the 10-year agreement with the state. That's 57 percent more than the amount of the state's grant. Compared with the older engines being replaced, Union Pacific's new ones cut emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter 54 percent to 63 percent, while using about 30 percent less fuel, the railroad company said. Diesel locomotives emit about 26 tons per day of smog-causing nitrogen oxides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, just under 7 percent of the region's total "Nox" emissions, according to the TCEQ.
The locomotives were built by the Montreal-based RailPower Technologies Corp.
So, for $75 million, Texans get $118 million worth of emissions not pumped into the air? Don't quite know how they calculated the figures, but am I reading that right? If so, that's one heck of an investment return.
[Source: Brendan Case / Dallas Morning News, h/t to Domenick, from whom I also cribbed the headline]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
What Does Bali Mean for Cleantech?
Craig Rubens - Policy
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change came to a miraculous conclusion this weekend, albeit amid boos aimed at the U.S. delegation. While the U.S. was successful in removing specific numbers and dates, the agreed-upon framework provides for developed nations to help get clean technologies to the developing world while the developing world assumes more responsibility for their contribution to global climate change.
What does this mean for cleantech? It means that once the future of carbon is globally agreed upon, including by the world’s two biggest emitters, China and the U.S., the cleantech industry will explode. The U.S. and China are now sizing each other up in a “green cold war,” a game of carbon brinkmanship. Both are investing heavily in their respective cleantech industries, but neither will agree to carbon caps. The stockpiling of green technologies could possibly turn into the equivalent of a green arms race once carbon mitigation is agreed upon. Say, how the economics of the Cold War drove the military-industrial complex, the economics of a cleantech-industrial complex could spread the technological achievements of cleantech too.
The numbers that the U.S. seems really afraid of are 2 degrees Celsius, 445 parts per million of carbon dioxide, and a 25-to-40-percent reduction in global-warming gases, as the AP noted. The U.S. claims that aiming for definitive emissions reductions goals will hurt the economy unless China and other large, polluting economic players agree to aim for the same targets. This sort of indecisive fear is not, for better or worse, the American foreign policy of yesteryear. Sure, switching to a green economy is going to be hard, but don’t Americans like taking risks and making splashy moves.
China and the U.S. rival each other not only in their desire for global economic hegemony, but in their polluting, with reports claiming that China has officially surpassed the U.S. in carbon emissions. Meanwhile China’s cleantech investment has jumped up to $720 million from $170 million in two years. It’s still small compared to the U.S.’s $2.9 billion, but cleantech is already China’s third-largest category of venture capital.
The UN climate talks over the next two years will be a decisive time for American foreign policy. Although the outcome of the federal election, the cost of oil and the strength of the dollar are all wildcards that will play a role as well, one thing is for certain: the American cleantech sector will continue to grow. And the industry will start contributing more money to candidates’ campaigns and working, as other American industries work, to ensure its growth through political maneuvering. Bali will help accelerate cleantech’s rise as a corporate industry. The green Cold War with China will heat up not because of the fear of climate change but the fear, or perhaps the realization, that China’s cleantech industry could one day eclipse that of the U.S.’s.
What cars can we get today with 35 mpg?
Sam Abuelsamid - cafe
Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy, USA
With a new energy bill on the verge of becoming law, our friends over at Winding Road got to thinking. With the law soon to require an average of 35 mpg from the new vehicle fleet, what vehicles can we buy today that actually meet that requirement? As it turns out, when checking the combined mileage figure that's posted on new car window stickers, the list comes up perilously short. So short in fact that it currently includes two cars that are available on the US market. A few other vehicles come close, but clearly everyone has a lot of work to do. Check out Evan's article at Winding Road.
[Source: Winding Road]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
How eco is the Splinter, the sports car made of wood?
Sebastian Blanco - nc-state-splinter
Filed under: Etc., Green Daily
Wood used to be commonplace in automobiles. That's why Ford once bought large chunks of forest in Northern Michigan. Today, though, we don't see much in the way of wood in vehicles, especially not on the exterior. But that didn't stop the students at North Carolina State University from creating the Splinter, a sports car made with wood composites.
This thing won't ever get made - it's graduate project, and the students said that "we aren't trying to sell anything, we aren't trying to save the world, and we aren't advocating that everyone should drive a wooden car. This project is a scholastic endeavor in which we are simply trying to explore materials, learn, share ideas, and stimulate creativity" - but the students did find a lot of interesting ways to integrate wood and a high-performance twin-supercharged Northstar V8 engine into a sleek sports car body. The muffler, as you can see in a picture over at Winding Road, is on top of the rear end to help dissipate heat better. Wood finds its way into the chassis and parts of the suspension and wheels as well as the body. And hey, if the termites get into your hood, you'll know what to do with them.
Head on over to Autoblog for more images of the Splinter in this gallery.
[Source: Winding Road via Autoblog]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
New large biodiesel plant to be built near Miami
Sebastian Blanco - biodiesel
Filed under: Biodiesel, Manufacturing/Plants, USA
Oilsource Holdings and Greenline Industries announced something big for Florida yesterday, and it isn't another Cocoon sequel. Instead, the two companies hope to give new life to old biofeedstocks through what will become the largest biodiesel plant in the southeastern U.S. The 60-million gpy plant will be built near Miami and use "an integrated approach to harvest, production and distribution using marine-based logistics with a multifeedstock process that prioritizes oil from non-food crops." It should begin operations in early 2009. Want more info? There's a little bit more after the break, but the companies are saying that they "cannot disclose any additional information about the project" at this time. Instead, the plan is to "educate the community as to the benefits of using biofuels." AutoblogGreen readers' education would be a whole lot better with more details about this plant, you know.Related:
[Source: Oilsource Holding, LLC; Greenline Industries, LLC]
Oilsource Holdings and Greenline Industries to Build Major Florida Biodiesel Production Facility
New Plant Largest In Southeast USA
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Oilsource Holding, LLC and Greenline Industries, LLC announced today that they are teaming up to develop the largest biodiesel plant in the Southeastern United States. A 60 million gallon per year plant is expected to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2009. The plant will be located in Miami, Florida, with rail spur access for distribution within a ninety-mile radius of three of Florida's most important ports. The project is planned to be completed in three phases with a vertically integrated business strategy and reaching its target capacity in the third phase. The estimated $96 million investment will represent over $1 billion flowing through the economy of Florida.
Felipe Cano, CEO of Oilsource Holdings, commented "Oilsource Holding has been studying the Sunshine State for the past two years, and we believe that now is the time to act. Florida has tremendous potential to become a leading player in the biofuel industry. Our unique strategy combines an integrated approach to harvest, production and distribution using marine-based logistics with a multifeedstock process that prioritizes oil from non-food crops. This will enable us to provide our customers with a steady biodiesel supply at a competitive price".
Working with Greenline Industries, the production process becomes modular so we can scale up quickly as demand increases. The execution of a biodiesel project of this size and caliber from planning to large-scale production will require the combined efforts of the community, the local governments, and the industry in general.
"At this time, the Company cannot disclose any additional information about the project. However, the Company believes that part of the first step in the project is to educate the community as to the benefits of using biofuels. The project is a proactive move towards to the green movement," concluded Mr. Cano.
Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gases emissions by almost 80% and has lower level of emissions of several air pollutants compared to traditional diesel, without compromising engine efficiency or durability. Nevertheless, biofuels made from vegetable oil often competes with food security in some regions; such is the case of biodiesel from soybeans or ethanol from corn. Oilsource will use vegetable oil from non-food crops (like jatropha and waste oil from restaurants) or those with less impact on the food chain (like palm or coconut oil). These true "energy-crops" will enable us to achieve sustainable growth without compromising the wealth of the communities or the environment.
John Kinney, CEO of Greenline Industries, continued, "last year, Greenline Industries installed more biodiesel plants than any other company in the United States. We now enjoy the advantage of a proven, EPA award-winning technology that doesn't use water so it doesn't need the waste water treatment expense or permit complications. We know from our experience that the logistics and market opportunities in Miami are exceptionally positive".
Steven Karpel, Chief Operating Officer of Oilsource Holding and BioEnergy, the production subsidiary of the joint venture, states, "The concept of Biomix was generated by integrating resources in the Americas, blending different raw materials, cultures, and business approaches to produce a more environmentally friendly fuel source."
Mr. Karpel added, "I believe that this is a very important development for the South Florida community. South Florida is ready for an alternative and most importantly, sustainable fuel source that will also help protect our environment. Florida depends on its environment on a number of levels, and I having lived in South Florida almost all my life, I am looking forward to working with the local governments, corporations, and media to making this project a success."
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Project BioReGen: Planting trees to recover a damaged ecosystem
Xavier Navarro - biomass
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Etc., Green Culture, Green Daily, UK
The project BioReGen is a very interesting plan developed on abandoned industrial estate in the north-east of England (Durham County). Basically, the project recovers polluted land by planting specific crops - in this case, crops intended for biofuels. The process is called biorecovery (see also MSU's project).
University of Teeside's CLEMANCE (Clean Environment Management Centre) program achieves this recovery by planting specific trees such as willows, miscanthus, phalaris arundinacea and switchgrass. The trees are a good source for biomass (for small-scale power plants) and switchgrass can be used as a raw material to obtain biofuels.
The process has been very successful so far, but it's got an inconvenient truth: it takes years to depollute an area, because plants have their own growing cycle. And they've got plenty of terrain to work on: 1,155 Ha (2,850 Acres).
[Source: Agroinformación]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment