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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Apparently, I’m wrong about the plug-in version of the Toyota Prius. When I first saw the prototype at the “Plug-In” show a year ago, I thought to myself (and actually asked the representative in the booth) “Are you sure this car is actually going into production? It seems like something that will never be built.”  But it looks like they’re moving forward with it.

The problem with the car is that it offers essentially nothing to the customer of any real value: higher cost, two drive trains to maintain, the necessity of both filling up and plugging in, and an improvement in gas mileage that will virtually never pay for itself.  And keep in mind that the car will enter the market a full year from now at the earliest (spring 2012 ) while companies like Ford, Mitsubishi, BMW, GM, and, of course, Nissan, are making improvements in their much better thought-through EVs.

I don’t like to irritate the innocent folks assigned to attend their companies’ tradeshow booths; they’re normally fairly junior, and certainly not a part of the decision-making cycle for bringing products to market.  This is why I withheld my suggested name for the car: “The Prius Irrelevant”  or “The Toyota Yawn.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

I just learned something quite valuable.  To my astonishment, it’s possible for credible journalists to discuss the dangers of nuclear power and the relative safety of natural gas, going on at length about the world energy situation, without once mentioning solar, wind, and biomass. Until I read the above-linked article in the New York Times, I would have said that simply couldn’t happen in the year 2011.

Of course, one question is how safe natural gas actually is, given that its extraction relies on hydraulic fracturing of the bedrock in the Earth’s crust. As journalist Marie Baca notes in her response to the Times article: “What about the concerns that hydraulic fracturing can mobilize radioactive material in bedrock? Or the documented cases of methane migration? Or the San Bruno disaster, anyone? Any of these worth mentioning, maybe?”

But again, the most shocking thing about the piece is its blatent ignoring of the alternatives that truly are safe.  Most of the rest of the world is moving quickly toward clean energy. Not only are we refusing to play a leadership (or even an effective followership) role here, some of us, apparently, would like to pretend it doesn’t exist.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I wrote earlier that I continue to refine my role in helping entrepreneurs find investment capital, and that, for several reasons, this is a very interesting challenge.

Another thing that gets in the way (again, hardly a surprise) is oil and natural gas prices. The senior manager in the private equity company I just spoke with rejected my compressed air energy storage project because it’s an attempt to monetize the differential between peak and off-peak electricity prices. And what’s a huge factor in determining that price difference? The prices of natural gas (which is used to deal with peak loads).  No stability = no deal.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I continue to refine my role in helping entrepreneurs find investment capital. The flow of deals, of course, takes care of itself; I get dozens each month. The investor side, understandably, takes more work. Some find us through the site, but in most cases I’ve developed relationships proactively, reaching out to friends of friends of friends…; in several cases I’m already three or four generations deep – and still going.

I find this whole thing a very interesting challenge, for reasons that have been obvious to everyone for thousands of years: mainly, that investors want lots of reward with a minimum of risk. It’s the old truism: banks happily lend money to those who can prove that they don’t need it. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Craig:  Why focus only on Zero Emissions? Turbocharged ICEs and even fuel cell EVs are consuming the oxygen we breathe. Taking care of GHG emissions is part of the solution – natural oxygen is also in short supply. Imagine all our vehicles will be fuel cell EVs. Will less oxygen and a more humid air make us live better? We may ask astronauts on Apollo 13. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Mayor Bloomberg Courtesy AP Photos

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched the NYC Urban Technology Innovation Center.  Announced on January 20th, 2011, Bloomberg said the initiative will promote the development and commercialization of green building technologies in New York City.  He indicated that the city would not meet the ambitious carbon reduction goals of the future unless emissions from New York’s one million existing buildings are reduced.

The new innovation center will connect academic institutions, researchers, building owners and businesses creating energy efficiency or green products together. A partnership of New York City Economic Development Corporation, Columbia (more…)

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I got a call shortly after dinner last night from a radio host in Denver, explaining that due to a last-minute cancellation, he had an hour-long opening on his show.  He asked if he could call me for the interview – at 1 AM!

I agreed, stayed up late, reading, checking out Jay Leno, and fighting off the yawns.

The highlight of the show for me was a caller attacking clean energy (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

A friend asked for my comment on columnist Ann Coulter’s position that radiation is actually good for human health. He seemed quite upset that anyone could use a public position to suggest something so outrageous. And this is not an exaggeration or something taken out of context; Coulter’s position is quite clear (linked above).

I reply: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Every chance I get, I bang the drum for solar thermal. When I’m asked where the energy industry will be in 50 years, I always point out that our dependence on fossil fuels is not sustainable, that the sun showers the Earth each day with 6000 times more energy than we can possibly use, and that solar thermal is by far the best way to take advantage of these facts.

Want to learn more? Here’s Katherine Hamnett’s website that provides a few basics on solar thermal; she most definitely gets it.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

It is all well and good for people to talk about the price of oil, but nobody really understands Tanker, Tankage and Finished product storage issues, transportation and whether the terms of CIF or FOB apply.

There is plenty of Oil…There is not enough capacity to ship it, refine it, store it or use it. (more…)

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