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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

Hydrokinetics is quite an appealing subject; here’s why: huge masses of water are moving all around us more or less constantly, in our ocean tides and other predictable currents, as well as in our large rivers — and rightfully, these have been the subjects of most R&D in the arena.

Until I received a call from a fellow in Northwestern Spain the other day, I had never considered the hydrokinetic potential represented by waterfalls and steep rapids. Obviously, here’s a case where a great deal of energy is released in a concentrated space; that’s certainly a good thing. But how can one extract that energy in an inexpensive, eco-friendly, and aesthetic manner?

Well, sadly, the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) I signed prohibits me from answering that question publicly. But I am convinced that there is, in fact, a way to do it, and I encourage potential investors to write in, sign the same NDA I did, and determine for themselves if they think this thing has legs. I believe most of them will agree with me, that this idea has great potential if it’s pursued diligently and professionally.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Holy smokes, things are getting ugly around here. Here’s the beginning of Matthew Vadum’s recent article, “Registering the Poor to Vote is Un-American”

Why are left-wing activist groups so keen on registering the poor to vote?

Because they know the poor can be counted on to vote themselves more benefits by electing redistributionist politicians. Welfare recipients are particularly open to demagoguery and bribery.

Registering them to vote is like handing out burglary tools to criminals. It is profoundly antisocial and un-American to empower the nonproductive segments of the population to destroy the country — which is precisely why Barack Obama zealously supports registering welfare recipients to vote.

I normally laugh stuff like this off, and let nature take its course, figuring that people with extremist views will be regarded as the nut-jobs they are, and immediately dismissed from the circles of serious discussion. And I would have thought that the author of this piece, equating the poor with criminals and suggesting they’re more susceptible to bribery, which is about as outrageous as it gets, would have won some sort of prize for the speed with which he was dispatched. But this guy’s getting national attention from huge, well-respected sources. That’s not good, folks.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

A reader asks:

Hi, I did a quick search on your website for zero point energy and didn’t find anything. I’ve been hearing some seemingly unrealistic claims. Have you had any exposure to this technology / pseudo-technology?

…. to which I respond:

This is the energy that remains when all other energy is removed from a system.  All I know is that two great physicists: Michio Kaku (whom I don’t know personally) and Wally Rippel (whom I do) both say they see no trajectory for the practical use of zero point energy. That’s good enough for me.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I have a very brilliant friend, Dr. Boris Monahov, who lives in Bulgaria and does a great deal of advanced battery research all around the world.  I met him at the Energy Storage show a month or so back, and we try to stay in touch with one another.  Here, he writes something interesting and funny that I thought I’d share: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

My new friend the lawyer writes in:

I appreciate what you are doing. Somebody got me a subscription to Audubon magazine recently…maybe they are telling me I’m a birdbrain! I read a story in there yesterday which cheered the fact that huge solar development programs are being shut down and delayed to save some squirrels and turtles in the Mojave desert. We are talking a few dozen animals. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

God only knows how many attorneys I insulted with my recent piece on the legal system.  I’m pleased to note that one of them wrote me a very civil and insightful response: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

When I met Stephen Lacey at Renewable Energy World a few years ago, I recall one of the first things he told me about his organization. “We advocate for renewables and against nothing,” he explained. I clarified, “So you don’t take positions counter to Big Oil, Coal, Nuclear, etc?” I asked. “Exactly.”

Well, that was the “old Stephen,” I’m happy to report. The “new Stephen” has a gig at ClimateProgress.Org, and trust me, these people call ‘em like they see ‘em. Here’s a recent piece based on materials acquired by Bloomberg News, showing how Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, and numerous other corporations paid tens of thousands of dollars to write legislation for lawmakers that would repeal carbon pollution reduction programs in various states around the U.S.

When I spoke with Stephen a few months ago, he seemed very happy; he has the kind of exuberance that a dog experiences when it’s let off its leash. My hearty congratulations. And this new-found freedom will pay off very handsomely for the world of energy journalism; we’re all the better for your job change, my friend.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I know I’m not the only one who envies the generations that lived in a more innocent time. Sure, we appreciate the gifts that technology has brought us – both in terms of enhancing our lives – and in extending it. But who doesn’t long for the days of single wage-earning families, and a purer, more honest and authentic, less plastic way of life?

I bring this up only to show you this. A reader, obvious as hungry for those days as I, sent me this, a painting that was made into a postcard in the middle of the American Civil War, 1862 to be exact, which he sent to me with subject line, Early Renewable Energy. Ahhh, thank you my friend.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I hope you can make this month’s webinar, in which we’ll be covering a terrific new idea that could make a real difference in the integration of renewables onto the grid-mix.

Electrons, of course, have no color, nor do they possess any other characteristic that could serve to distinguish any one of them from their fellows. But that doesn’t stop us humans from coining phrases like “the color of the electron,” to remind ourselves that some sources of the flow of electrons on which we depend so desperately for our energy can be “green” (i.e., clean/renewable), or they can be “black” or “brown” (dirty coal or other fossil fuels).

Now, ask yourself: What would be the result if we could select the color of the electrons that powered our lives? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I just finished up my report on China and Renewables, in which 200 survey respondents did what I thought was a masterful job in answering the question: Why Is China Investing So Heavily in Clean Energy? I’ll have the report available for download shortly – certainly within the next day or two.

But no sooner did I hit “save” for the final time and send the report off to the proofreader did I realize that there is another factor that affects the calculus that, as far as I can recall, not a single person mentioned: the Chinese culture is not dominated by lawyers. (more…)

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