Home › Blog › Page 1462

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I remember with a proud smile how exuberant my little daughter was about the 2008 presidential election.  It did my heart good to see the 13-year-old I loved so engaged in our democratic process; she had “Yes We Can” posters all over the house, and I encouraged her all the way.  How delighted she and I were in his victory! 

Then reality sank in.  We quickly saw that there was nothing really “enlightened” about this guy at all.  He had been elected with Wall Street and Big Pharma money; just like anyone who succeeds in American politics, he was owned by special interests (though I guess we were fortunate that it wasn’t Big Oil yet again).  And his decision-making reflected this at every turn — especially when it came to protecting Wall Street from the shambles it had made of  the world’s only remaining super-power.  

In any case, those looking for some material difference in Barack Obama’s decision-making in his second term are understandably losing hope, given his nomination of Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary.  Lew is a virtual clone of  Timothy Geithner, architect of the tax-payer bailout of Wall Street, supporter of reckless profiteering in a deregulated financial environment.  Our nation’s people live on the precipice of a further and far deeper financial collapse so that our multibillionaires can get richer.   

Most Americans think they wake up each morning in a democratic republic, because that is what Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and their fellows bequeathed us.  They think there’s meaning to the vote they cast every four years, in which they’re asked to choose between two politicians with nearly identical ideas, and, more to the point, each of whose candidacy exists solely with the backing of certain gargantuan industries.  They’re mistaken.  

Btw, my daughter has found a new interest: boys! I suppose I should have seen that one coming. 

 

 

 

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

This proposal involves a simple synergy of government incentives and distributed energy storage applications. But first, I’d like to briefly discuss some of the issues that this solution addresses.

The Issues

Climate Change

Humans are releasing too much CO2 and other gases into the atmosphere. (more…)

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Ocean Thermal

I marvel at the insanities of our 21st Century existence in so many ways – perhaps the greatest of which is how we’ve used the media to drive the common person to question the judgment of the scientific community.  Just when you might think we’d be grateful to the people who had materially helped us double our life expectancies over the last 120 years (the blink of an eye for a species that’s been around for at least 100,000 years) we find reasonably well-educated people reclassifying an entire community of our most learned people and proven problem-solvers as frauds, because of their near unanimity in their concern over anthropogenic global warming (AGW).  (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s a wonderful article that deals with a subject that is of significant concern: the intermittence of solar and wind energy. It provides an interesting case study of how demand response can figure into the equation, a phenomenon that will play a huge role in a future in which we try to integrate a growing percentage of renewables. 

Tagged with: , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I just got off the phone with Fred Walti, the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, a terrific non-profit whose purpose is to foster the development of cleantech start-ups by offering flexible office space, CEO coaching and mentoring, and access to a growing network of experts and investment capital. I had come across a few of the participating companies through my connection with the Maverick Angels, and also through the Clean Business Investment Summit, where I function as a member of the board of advisors.

This is really a can’t-miss organization, as it has so much going for it: (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

In response to my rant on New Jersey’s decision to put tiny installations of solar photovoltaics atop 175,000 power poles, at a cost of $200 million, senior energy analyst Glenn Doty writes:

The LCOE (levelized cost of energy) gets really interesting when you consider the potential lifespan. A “pole-top solar panel” is not too different from a “kite” if the winds rise too high. It’s a truly bizarre decision right after the entire state was pounded by near-hurricane force winds for nearly 24 hours just a couple of months ago.

Glenn:  It’s funny you mention that.  When I talked about maintenance at the end of this post, I was tempted to ask, “In addition to the dirt and bird crap that couldn’t possibly be cleaned from the top of 175,000 of these installations, isn’t there some recent evidence that they could get blown off their poles and wind up in tiny pieces all over a dozen different zip codes?”

I love clean energy, but I hate stupidity.

 

 

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Click Here for the ALTERNATIVE FINANCING GUIDE.

Lindsay Oliver writes:

I did my best to make this guide a no-nonsense informative read, one that will keep you awake while you read it all. 

Just because I am giving this to you for no charge does not mean it has no value. For some of you it will hold great value, especially if it gives you just one concept or revelation that helps you get financed in 2013. (more…)

Tagged with: , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

I wrote recently that it’s possible Lisa Jackson is stepping down from her position as administrator of the EPA because of the imminent approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. In response, frequent commenter Larry Lemmert notes:

(What will happen) if the Keystone pipeline (is) not permitted? China would pay for a transCanadian pipeline which crosses the Rockies and terminates in Vancouver. I think that the potential for ecological damage is at least as great and probably greater with this mountainous terrain. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Here’s a blurb on New Jersey’s project to install solar PV panels on 175,000 of its power poles.

Why fuss with roof-top solar when you can use pole-tops instead? New Jersey’s Public Service Electric & Gas will soon conclude the installation of 175,000 solar panels on its power poles in New Jersey. The $200-million project will eventually supply 40 MW for the utility.

“The beauty of the panels is that there are no capital costs – we already own the poles,” said PSE&G President and COO Ralph LaRossa to the Wall Street Journal. The utility must generate 3.5% of its electricity from solar by 2021 to meet a requirement set by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Ahem.  “No capital costs?”  How about: “There are no capital costs for the land and part of the mounting?” Even with all this “beauty,” the project comes in at $5 a Watt, and with the capacity factor of PV in New Jersey, I’m sure the levelized cost of energy is extremely unattractive.  It’s really not something that I would order up if I were objectively trying to do the right thing for the rate-payers.   While I’m happy to have 40 mW of clean energy, I would think that if the state really wants 40 mW of PV, it could consider allocating the roughly 75 acres of land needed, instead of building 175,000 mini solar installations and sending its people up 175,000 poles to install them, not to mention maintaining them over time.

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Once the stuff of a marginalized green movement, these days the word “sustainability” is just about everywhere you look. This is particularly true in marketing materials for agriculture businesses, in a hurry to out-green one another.

But sustainable farming doesn’t stop with the chemicals farmers do (or don’t) use; in fact, considering the environment is just one (albeit, very important) slice of the sustainability pie. Truly green farming considers the farmer as well as the product; in fact, sometimes that means putting the people above the product altogether. Let’s take a deeper look at the full range of principles that truly make an agribusiness sustainable, starting with the grounding principles as espoused by two well-known sustainable companies and working up.

1. Build Environmental Standards into the Business Model

Of course, no examination of sustainability would be complete without first understanding the kinds of environmental practices that can truly be sustained in a world with shrinking resources. (more…)

Tagged with: ,