The Vector recently ran a story on the potential of ocean energy. Following up on that story, The Vector is reporting on some international ocean energy projects that are being installed, tested or are in operation. A further story on domestic projects will follow in the days to come. Ocean energy includes wave energy, ocean current energy, tidal energy, offshore wind, ocean thermal gradient energy, hydrogen production and more.
** Norway’s Statoil is testing the world’s first floating wind turbine called Hywind, a 2.3 MW Siemens turbine moored to the deepwater seabed. The head of New Energy at Statoil said that Hywind is really in research and development stage. “If we succeed, then we will have taken a major step in moving the wind power industry offshore. Floating wind turbines can make a major contribution…” (Press Release, Statoil.)
Here’s a neat announcement by Hyundai on its first electric vehicles — with a commitment to some pretty robust quantities. I rented a Hyundai Elantra when I was back East a few weeks, and was delighted with the quality of the vehicle in every way. These guys have come a long way, and I have to think that the new EV will be making an extremely important contribution to the migration away from fossil fuels.
I wish I could attend the BusinessClimate 2010 show hosted by the Carbon War Room in NY City, but I just don’t think I can fit it into my schedule.
The ideas are so intriguing: essentially, use of free-market capitalism – rather than government mandates – to shift the focus of business into directions that are sustainable. In addition to the organization’s founder and perhaps the world’s most famous entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, there will be a ton of incredible speakers on this subject, including the former president of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres.
In my numerous talks with CEO Jigar Shah on this subject, including the interview I conducted for my book, I’m always intrigued with the creative ways he proposes to kick-start the race towards wealth creation in sustainability through the use of “Expectations Driving Investment Yielding Innovation.”
I’m confident that anyone attending the conference will walk away with some pretty heavy ideas.
We have been using solar energy for thousands of years. And we have been generating electricity with solar energy for decades. And many new technologies are developed to help us use the energy more effectively.
If you will pay attention to solar industry, you may have heard about Graphene. It is a new type of solar cell which is a one-atom-thick planar sheet of sp2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. It is basic structural element of some carbon allotropes including graphite, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. So, that is to say, the Graphene should be lighter and have better flexibility comparing to the past silicon solar panel. Some solar equipment such as solar lighting, solar water heater etc. will get rid of the heavy weight of large solar panel. Is that true? Let’s see it. (more…)
I got home late last night from a visit to the East Coast that featured a trip through Baltimore to visit my much-respected friends at GreenChipStocks. I spoke for an hour and change with Jeff Siegel, and then went upstairs to meet Nick Hodge. These are fantastically astute folks, and I’m thrilled to know them.
I’ll be at the Utility Scale Solar show in San Diego on Wednesday. I know this is a debatable topic, but I tend to get more excited about utility scale anything, not because I think we can count on utilities to be progressive in the migration to renewables. (Do I look like I just fell off a turnip truck?) I just think it’s asking too much to hope for millions of people to make individual decisions to install rooftop solar (or wind, or whatever) and create a “farmers’ market” of renewables.
It’s also true that some of the most promising technologies don’t make sense at small scale. You can’t make economically viable 10 kW systems for solar thermal, geothermal, or algae biofuel.
The transition to renewable can happen – and will happen – when enough people demand it.
If you are in the San Diego area and want to come by and say hello, please hit “contact” and let’s set up a meeting.
General Electric (GE) has some exciting things going on. GE is a top 10 world manufacturer of wind turbines, and is active in renewable energy efforts on several fronts. Many have heard the recent announcement of the GE WattStation. For electric vehicles to advance in the U.S., to be used easily and accepted, the infrastructure has to be in place and available – and that includes availability of chargers. GE is, in fact, a technical advisor for Project Get Ready, a non-profit initiative led by the Rocky Mountain Institute. Project Get Ready is all about helping communities prepare for use of electric vehicles on a (more…)
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m in the process of studying the size and shape of job creation that will come as a welcome by-product of the migration to renewables.
How this sits in the constellation of benefits to renewables depends on whom you ask. But regardless of the level of importance that job creation has compared with national security, fiscal responsibility, the health and safety of the world’s population, and stemming the long-term ecological damage wrought by extracting and burning fossil fuels, it’s got to be in there someplace.
Yet job creation is a very complicated subject, as it comes with so many moving parts:
What percent penetration of renewables are we talking about? What type? In what time-frame?
How are market forces affected by the actions of Congress (e.g., removing/perpetuating subsidies that keep the price of oil artificially low, creating incentives for renewables, state legislatures enacting renewable portfolio standards)?
What’s happening outside the US, where many countries are taking aggressive action to move to renewables?
What are the strategies of the corporate giants like GE and Siemens in this global economy? From here, it looks like they don’t care where the green jobs are; if the US misses the boat, that’s too bad. Is that true?
What brown jobs will be lost (e.g., coal mining) simultanously to the build-up of green jobs? Do we have the political stomach to deal with any job loss?
What will be the impact of all the green job training in the community colleges?
I’ve become particularly interested in the issue of subsidies, as they seem to be so critical in forming the climate in which private investors will climb on board the clean energy bandwagon. But because macroeconomics isn’t my strength, I’m going to have to speak with a great number of economists, analysts, and political pundits to get this right.
It appears that the reason this is so complicated is that subsidies take many forms, some of them (deliberately?) hidden:
Construction bonds at low interest rates or tax-free
Research-and-development programs at low or no cost
Assuming the legal risks of exploration and development in a company’s stead
Below-cost loans with lenient repayment conditions
Income tax breaks, especially featuring obscure provisions in tax laws designed to receive little congressional oversight when they expire
Sales tax breaks – taxes on petroleum products are lower than average sales tax rates for other goods
Giving money to international financial institutions (the U.S. has given tens of billions of dollars to the World Bank and U.S. Export-Import Bank to encourage oil production internationally, according to Friends of the Earth)
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Construction and protection of the nation’s highway system
Relaxing the amount of royalties to be paid – apparently, we get about 40% of revenues from oil on public land vs. 60% – 65% in most other countries
Not forcing the industry to deal with the “externalities” – healthcare costs, long-term environmental damage, etc. — costs that are becoming increasingly clear and subject to quantification
If anyone has a suggestion for people I should interview in this regard, please let me know.
Progress Energy Florida claims that its “Save the Watts” program is a success. The Fortune 500 company says in a recent announcement there has been a 45% drop in energy use since it started the program in 2007 through 2009. That is 87,000 megawatt hours in savings. (2010 figures are not yet available.)
Progress Energy reveals that in 2009 its customers participated in 56,000 free home energy checks, the most performed in any year. The company is headquartered in Raleigh, NC and has 22,000 MW of generation capacity.
The “Save the Watts” program mission is to help 1.6 million Florida customers reduce and conserve energy. The program (more…)
I wish I could attend the 
I got home late last night from a visit to the East Coast that featured a trip through Baltimore to visit my much-respected friends at 
I’ll be at the 
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m in the process of studying the size and shape of job creation that will come as a welcome by-product of the migration to renewables. 
Progress Energy Florida claims that its “Save the Watts” program is a success. The Fortune 500 company says in a recent announcement there has been a 45% drop in energy use since it started the program in 2007 through 2009. That is 87,000 megawatt hours in savings. (2010 figures are not yet available.)
