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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

The ability of nanotechnologies to deliver cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions has come under attack in a recently released report by the environmental campaigning organisation Friends of the Earth.

The nano technology industry has over-promised and under-delivered, according to the report. The performance of nano-based renewables has been considerably less than predicted. Efficiency of solar energy conversion by nano solar panels is still about 10% behind that achieved by silicon panels, while the energy and environmental costs of the  nanotechnology industry are far higher than expected.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

We’ve all had the experience of being turned on by a charismatic public speaker. Personally, I stand in awe of those who can create such a wonderful effect on an audience – perhaps because I know how profoundly difficult it is. As the spokesperson for 2GreenEnergy – and for my marketing services company that I ran for almost 30 years, I’ve found myself, literally hundreds of times, presenting to an audience – the pressure sitting squarely upon my shoulders to explain, to enlighten, to motivate – and I’ve concluded that it’s no piece of cake.

But you’ll travel a long way to find a public speaker on the subject of sustainability more compelling, more credible – and more entertaining than Dr. Woodrow Clark. Last time I heard him speak (at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in San Francisco last September), he had the place – at various points in his talk – in both tears and stitches.

I’ll be interviewing “Woody” this Friday in preparation for my next book on the macroeconomics of clean energy, and I have to say that I’m counting the days. If you’re interested to know precisely why he’s perfect for the task at hand, check out his website, here.

I’ll do another post following the interview, but this sounds like a sure winner to me.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Do you ever worry that launching your products — aimed as they are on disruptive innovation – will fail to resonate in the marketplace of ideas?

…that your “elevator pitch” – perhaps even your entire business model – will fail to differentiate you effectively from everyone else?

… that your attempts to clarify your true uniqueness to the market will fall flat?

And here’s another question: Do you ever wish there were an easy and inexpensive way to get some strategic, multi-disciplinary business advice from someone with a background of success in this space? (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

A near full-scale prototype of an airborne wind energy system that generates power from constant, high-speed, high-altitude winds will be tested in Piedmont, Italy, in the coming weeks.

When fully operational, KiteGen should be capable of generating 3MW of power. The KiteGen concept was recognized at the Copenhagen Climate summit as among the top 20 leading innovations.

The prototype 150m2 kite will be automatically operated from a revolving dome at ground level – similar to a ship’s gun turret – that contains the electronic control systems and the mechanism to feed the kite in and out. As the kite climbs its fast-turning cable spool generates electricity. When the kite reaches its maximum height, tension on one side is released and the kite begins to drop groundwards. The falling cable is rapidly rewound, needing only a fraction of the energy that was generated as the kite climbed. Once the kite reaches its minimum height, tension is restored to both sides of the kite and it starts to climb once more. When the system has been fully tested, it is intended to use a 500m2 kite. (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’ll be on the East Coast (heading north from Washington DC to Boston) for the week between Christmas and New Years.  If anyone wants to meet me to discuss a clean energy business idea over a cup of coffee (or a beer, depending on the time of day), please hit “Contact” and let me know.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s a post I put up on Renewable Energy World that addresses the key issues associated with a responsible analysis of the costs associated with the migration to renewables.

It’s essentially a response to another author’s post which was, I thought, a good take on the current picture, but failed to take into account the projections that we can reasonably make about the not-too distant future. 

 

 

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Neil Auerbach is Managing Partner of Hudson Clean Energy Partners, a group with over $1 billion under management. He made a number of points in his presentation at the American Council on Renewable Energy conference in Washington this afternoon that I found interesting.

He began by noting that “99.9% of people who have studied global warming believe in the overall theory. But this doesn’t take root in Washington. Why not? Because it implies sacrifice,” suggesting the obvious — that the concept of sacrifice has only negative value politically.

“But how about growth? How about profit?” he asked. Auerbach then went on to look at the trajectories for huge profit in low-carbon production energy, which is projected to grow to $2.2 trillion annually by 2020.

This will not happen primarily in nuclear or CCS (carbon capture and sequestration), but in renewables. Why? The answer is simple: cost. (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

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Here’s an excerpt from a keynote address, delivered by self-described “conservative Republican” US representative Bob Inglis from South Carolina:

The definition of “sustainability” is “profitability.”

He’s got a good point there; things don’t happen if they’re not profitable.

It would be great if we could achieve a level playing field. Even if we can’t force the oil and coal industries to pay the costs of cleaning up after themselves, we need to stop handing them subsidies that make it impossible for clean energy to compete against them.

Amen. You must have been reading my diatribes here at 2GreenEnergy. (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

75% of the total fuel consumption on our roads comes from commercial vehicles, and therefore an increase of a few miles per gallon in large trucks has a massive effect on reducing the environmental impact of moving our stuff around.  This makes the hybridization or electrification of large trucks a high priority for those concerned about the eco-friendliness of our large-vehicle fleets.

I was interested to learn of the developments in trucking made by Eaton — most of which are fairly technical innovations in drive trains.  But they presented one thing at the French-American EV Technology Conference this morning that I had forgotten to consider: (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

At the French-American EV Technology Conference in Long Beach, CA this morning, I had an opportunity to learn about many things that I really had no idea would be on the agenda.  One of the subjects was tires, as presented by Michelin. 

As it turns out, 20% of the energy that goes into moving your car is consumed in the rolling resistance generated by your four tires.  On EVs, that percentage is even higher — as much as 35% (since the efficiency of the motor is higher).  This, of course, is huge. 

The presenter took us through a great number of R&D issues that Michelin is tackling, including both minature tires and making tires taller and narrower (which has the side benefit of adding precious space between the wheels).     (more…)

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