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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

I always try to keep my fingers on the pulse of concentrating solar power as the clean energy technology that will get us through the next century. Right this minute, 10,836MW of CSP are under development, but only 423MW in operation or under construction. And since only 4% of proposed CSP projects are actually happening, it certainly raises questions about the other 96%. What delays are they encountering? What exactly happens during project development that delays – or, in some cases kills, these efforts?

It seems that this subject: how does one get a CSP project off the ground – is the core concept of a trade show, the CSP Project Development Conference & Expo, coming in Denver in October. The show claims to assemble external decision-makers, lobby groups and government organisations to discuss how to solve CSP development hurdles and increase their speed to market. I think I might check this one out.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Have you seen the book authors on the great talk shows who chat without a single flub or lag in response to any of hundreds of different questions? That’s the guy I aspire to be. I’m not there yet, but practice makes perfect. Yesterday, I taped two shows in which 2GreenEnergy business manager George Alger interviewed me for a local cable access program.

It reminded me how much easier it is asking than answering the questions. Having said there, I think there’s hope; I actually did fairly well in my estimation – and I’m bound to get better from here.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and 10 U.S. States recently announced the creation of the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium, dedicated to promoting the development of wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Salazar said, “Appropriate development of the Outer Continental Shelf wind power will enhance regional and national energy security and create American jobs…” He added that the newly named Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOE) will oversee development of wind energy in the OCS. The states involved are Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Solar Power is Reinventing Toledo

Here’s the story of how Toledo is converting itself from a former Rust Belt city to a modern solar-energy hub has been led by a partnership of business, government and academia. (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnaUeEHeLsA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1]

Here’s a good discussion of target marketing. What’s the difference between designing a new product because it’s cool versus meeting the true unmet needs of a specific market segment? Michael Scholey, EMCycle’s CEO, and I talk about this.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

When we talk about a “level playing field” for renewables, we mean that we simply hope for a day in which the incentives to generate energy from fossil fuels are removed and the energy industry and its customers must pay the full costs. We feel that more or less immediately, this will cause renewable energy to be perceived as a considerable bargain.

Here’s a short article on energy subsidies from Bloomberg, published just a few days ago, in which writer Alex Morales points out the fossil fuels receive 12 times the subsidies as clean energy. If we can somehow put a spear through this shameful and corrupt practice, we’ll be in good shape.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Renewable energy legend Bill Paul has recently agreed to write financial reports and newsletters for us at 2GreenEnergy. We’re delighted to have come across such good fortune, as there really is no one more qualified for the task. Bill retired from the Wall Street Journal after a 20-year stint as a staff writer covering the energy sector, and gave a great interview of the book’s chapter on business and finance.

According to Bill:

Energy is at the crux of all things financial. There is not a single business that does not have energy as a significant cost factor, there is not a single country that does not have energy as a significant national security factor, and there is not a single household that does not have energy as an important budgetary factor. With energy, you are operating on all levels in terms of finance, as well as national security, as well as health consequences. You have privacy issues, property rights issues, basically any personal choice issue on lifestyle and you have a perfect storm of political, economic, and social interests — all competing for “the right” approach.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

For 14 years, Rona Fried has worked hard to tell an important story: there are numerous, potentially profitable businesses and investment opportunities built around sustainable living practices. Her website, SustainableBusiness.com boasts over 100,000 unique visitors per month – each coming to learn more about this exciting subject. The interview here was the book’s chapter called “Activism and the Media in Clean Energy.”

Sustainable Business started in 1996, as one of the first websites at the dawn of the Internet. At that time, the state of the industry was completely different than it is now; it was fairly small, fragmented community of people spread around the world that were interested in this. What was most useful about using the Internet at that time was its ability to find people all over the planet who were not connecting with each other and bringing them together.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

If you believe that “The best way to clean energy is not to use it in the first place,” I can’t image that you’ll find a company doing a better job along these lines than Echelon — and its spokesperson Steve Nguyen, who helped me with this chapter of the book, called “Intelligent Energy Management in Buildings.”

Steve explores the subject of using information technology to drive up the energy efficiency of the world’s buildings.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Rick Sikes manages the vehicle fleet for the City of Santa Monica – a municipality that has taken quite a progressive stance with respect to environmental stewardship. Rick did a great job in our conversation that became the book’s chapter called: Renewables and Clean Transportation at the Municipal Level.

Back in the late 1970’s early 1980’s the oil embargo from OPEC hit — there were actually two incidents way back then — everybody was affected by the same things, lines at the gas stations, and so forth. And yes, Santa Monica is progressive, and wanted to do its part. So we started looking at alternative fuel vehicles and REFP — Reduced Emissions Fuels Policy. They started buying some propane as a lot of people did, and natural gas, ethanol and whatever else was out there. In 1984 we had the first city Reduced Emissions Fuels Policy, and then about 1998, the city began a sustainability plan. And what you see here today is simply an extension of that plan.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Matthew Simmons contributed to the book’s chapter on Peak Oil.  Simmons served as energy adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush. His landmark book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy points to the idea of “Peak Oil” – the concept that we’ve passed the peak at which the world’s supply of oil can be extracted.

I’m deeply saddened that industry colleague and true visionary, Matt Simmons, passed away August 8th, 2010.  He will be sorely missed by all of us who follow this industry and care about the quality of the planet we will leave to our children.

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