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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

When I was a marketing consultant to the Fortune-sized IT and industrial giants, I was proud to count Switzerland-based ABB on my client list. Having said that, the company was founded in the 19th Century, and had a reputation as a stodgy, old-line manufacturing concern without too much focus on innovation.

Yet according to this article, ABB may have just completed a development of fantastic importance to smart-grid – especially the all important aspect that deals with high voltage DC, so critical for transmitting large amounts of electrical power over long distances.  Of course, this is crucial to the integration of renewables, whose solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass resources tend to be localized in certain geographical areas – mainly those that do not have huge population centers demanding energy.

The breakthrough happens to be a circuit-breaker that can shut off the power generated by a full power plant in 5 milliseconds, 30 times faster than the blink of an eye.  Congratulations, guys.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Just got back from the TV studio, shooting a video of “energy and ethics.”  Here’s the script I wrote for myself.  Delivery-wise, I would give myself a B.  I was OK, but I’ve done better.

Since most of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels, the way we generate and consume energy has huge ethical implications.  That’s because our behavior affects the health and well-being of other people. 

There are over one billion cars and trucks on our roads, and we’re consuming 15 terawatts of electricity.  That’s 150 billion 100-watt light bulbs.  Think about that.  Right now, every man, woman, and child on Earth, on average, is consuming the energy equivalent of 20 hundred-watt light bulbs.  And we in the US are consuming five times the international average. 

What does this have to do with ethics?  Well, what’s happening to all that pollution?  It’s changing the climate – for everyone.  It’s damaging the lungs – of everyone.  Guess who is endangered by our addiction to oil?  Everyone.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

A friend just asked me what I think of the Tesla Supercharger stations.

I think it’s a good concept overall, from the standpoint of the EV adoption curve, though this is a bit misleading.  In the middle of a sunny day, i.e., under perfect conditions, I estimate that it would take 5 – 6 hours for the PV array shown there to charge ONE Tesla-S.  I.e., implying that they are charging those cars purely with solar energy is disingenuous.

Making electric transportation work ecologically requires charging without increasing the amount of coal that’s burned, and that’s not an easy feat.  We’ll get there, but we’re not there now.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I know I harbor a great deal of pessimism/cynicism about the corruption that has engulfed our political process.  But I have to say the Move To Amend people have really kicked some major butt, to use a not-too-scholarly term, in the effort to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruling and declare that only human beings – not corporations – are entitled to constitutional rights and that money is not speech and campaign spending can be regulated.

In fact, the country voted overwhelmingly in favor of this concept in yesterday’s elections.  From their newsletter: 

Residents in over 100 cities had the opportunity to vote on measures calling for an end to the doctrines of corporate constitutional rights and money as free speech, and in every single town the vote was supportive. Often by an overwhelming margin. In Eau Claire, WI the vote was 71% in favor of a measure stating, “Should the US Constitution be amended to establish that regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting freedom of speech, by stating that only human beings, not corporations, unions, or PACs, are entitled to constitutional rights?”

I have spoken with Move To Amend spokesperson David Cobb a couple of times, including a 30-minute interview for my Clean Energy Radio show.  The man’s a human firecracker.  Keep up the good work!

 

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

My posts wind up (somehow) on Cleantechies Blog, where David Repka saw my article: In Renewable Energy, Things May Not Be What They Seem and commented:

The greatest point of frustration is the lack of certainty and clear, coordinated, cohesive, long-term direction in every step in the process: permitting, interconnections, planning, zoning, regulatory, environmental, taxation, etc. Every state having their own RPS (renewable portfolio standard) and tax code of incentives is maddening. There needs to be a cohesive, national energy policy with an FIT (feed-in tariff).

This is exactly right.  The fossil fuel industry is doing everything in its power (which is considerable, to say the least) to make sure that the development of clean energy is slow, uncertain, and as frustrating and unprofitable as possible.  We all know that we need a national energy policy, but we’re a million miles from it.  This is precisely why ex-Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell said what he did. i.e., don’t expect this to happen inside the Beltway, because the money from the oil companies driving the political process never stops. 

I’m sure hoping that Obama makes a liar out of me and does something honest and decent on this in his second term, but I’m not counting on it.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Those of us trying to make sense of the validity of renewables versus fossil fuels are forced to deal with many different parameters.  For instance, we often talk about the externalities of coal, i.e., the cost factors that are not captured in the transaction between the utility and its customer, but passed on to society at large.  We note the build-up of mercury, ocean acidification, and greenhouse gas released into our atmosphere, etc.  Of course, there are issues with solar and wind as well, all of which need to be factored in.

Here’s an article on one kind of externality that my not receive as much attention as it’s due: the use of water in generating electricity.  Certainly this is something to be examined, as potable water becomes scarcer and thus more valuable.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

One of the business plans I support is a breakthrough in wind turbine construction, essentially rooted on getting the same production as today’s design, while using significantly less materials, thus cutting costs substantially.   But in my quest to help them raise the investment capital they need to move forward, I’m running into investors who are unsure of the demand, given the end of the production tax credit in the U.S.

In reply to an email yesterday, I explain why I remain bullish: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

One of the many consequences of climate change and the run-off of our increasingly powerful chemical fertilizers is the killing of our oceans. In this article, a team of researchers reveals how more ocean habitat is lost each year, as the amount of dissolved oxygen is reduced below levels that support life for pelagic fishes, i.e., those that do not live on or near the shores, reefs, or sea bottoms.

The solution?  There are many, of course.  One that we explored in a webinar last April is aeroponics, growing plants in a recirculating mixture of water, air, and minerals.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It’s Election Day in the United States, much anticipated here for several reasons, perhaps chiefly insofar as it means an immediate cessation of the horrifically mean-spirited and misleading campaign advertising. 

I just got back from the polling place and found this email from Ralph Avallone, who serves as president of the National Green Energy Council, a non-profit green energy advocacy group.  Their main push is job creation in the green energy sector, certainly a laudable goal.  Avallone concludes:

Please get out and vote today…The future of our nation as an economic superpower depends on it.

Absolutely true.  I would only add: Vote in such a way as to maximize the probability that we will soon have a progressive energy policy that both: a) puts millions of people back to work and b) addresses the many different kinds of catastrophes associated with a “business as usual” approach to the subject.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I don’t know how many readers are in the Sierra Club’s email database.  If you are, you just saw this come across the wire:

Tuesday will be the single most decisive day for America’s environment for years — perhaps ever.

Who will win tomorrow: Champions for our climate, clean air and water, clean-energy jobs, and wildlife? Or Big Oil, Big Coal, and the politicians they keep in their pocket?

Obviously, this is something of an oversimplification. (more…)

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