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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

My old friend Peter Buzzard writes:

The current technology of Wind and Solar tends to provide power when and where it is needed the least. The transmission of power from wind and solar farms to population centers is extremely expensive, and superconducting transmission lines are still a future dream, so the answer lies elsewhere…

Thanks, Peter. I appreciate your comments, but I respectfully disagree. I favor the build-out of the grid with high voltage DC to conduct power from solar thermal farms with molten salt energy storage in the southwestern desert to the east and west coasts. While you are correct that this will not be inexpensive, in my estimation, it’s a program we should embrace immediately. When the total cost of burning fossil fuels is considered (including national security, healthcare, long-term environmental damage, etc.) it’s the deal of the century. And it carries with it the considerable benefit of putting people to work on a project that will solve one of mankind’s thorniest problems now and forever.

Solar thermal is safe, scaleable, reliable, affordable, environmentally sensible, and easily protected from attack, as it can be distributed across the vastness of the desert (criteria all of which need to be met before we can take any renewables technology seriously).

So what about wind, geothermal, and hydrokinetics? I think they all hold considerable promise, though I can’t see how they can compete effectively with solar thermal when all the considerations named above are fully thought through.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I’d like to call readers’ attention to a really important discussion occuring in the comments under the post re: the Business of Plugging. I encourage even more opinions on the subject here; please feel free to join in.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

For my book on renewables, I just interviewed Brian Rutledge of the Audubon Society in Wyoming. I knew this would be an interesting talk, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I spoke with Brian because I wanted to get a sense for one of renewable energy’s most ironic truths:  renewables (in this case, wind energy) can run afoul of environmentalists. This subject will occupy an entire chapter of the book, but I’d like to try to abbreviate this interview into a few sentences.

In essence, I’ve come to understand from Brian and others that that there is very little similarity between what well-intentioned people would do to alleviate the energy crisis and what is actually happening in the real world — and sadly, this extends into renewables as well as oil, gas and coal. Big private money and big public power have come together to make an insane asylum out of the US energy policy.

The Energy Act of 2005 gave the Bush administration the power to ignore the reports of the nation’s most senior biologists and order drilling wherever it wished. More recently, the stimulus packages calls for those awarded grants to begin work more-less immediately, leaving no time for deliberation that would protect endangered species from the concrete and steel that are fragmenting and otherwise ruining their habitat. Instead of studying the problem and developing solutions that are in everyone’s best interests, the government is rushing to throw money at renewable energy solutions as fast as it can print it, and making a huge mess in the process.

Wyoming is highly prized for its windy plains, but wind power companies are not forced to follow the same Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) guidelines as the fossil fuel people, and can thus do essentially as they please.

“I’m a big proponent of renewable energy, but it’s like anything else: it can be done thoughtfully and deliberately, or it can be rushed and done wrong.  Unformately, what’s happened here in Wyoming is the latter,” Brian laments.  He seems like a tough but sophisticated cowboy — one who understands the true issues and is willing to fight hard for what he believes; I can hear the tenacity in his voice.  But he knows this won’t be easy.  “These wind people are like the gas people — on steroids,” he tells me.

“Are they really worse, or is it just that you were expecting better?” I queried.

“Maybe it’s that,” Brain allowed. “I guess I was expecting better.”

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I quoted Lou Schwartz of China Strategies in an earlier post on wind power, and I found what he said so fascinating that I placed a call to him just now to ask him more about his overall take on China generally. In particular, I asked about American perceptions of China: What are they? What should they be?

He said that conversations with Americans about China — even with extremely well educated people — usually gravitate quickly to everything that’s wrong with the country: foreign exchange, trade deficits, pollution. There is very little sense for what the Chinese call “shuang ying” or “dual win” (“win-win” as we might put it).

When I asked for a good example, Lou pointed to the very article that I posted earlier on the $1.5 billion Texas wind project. Senator (Charles E. “Chuck”) Shumer (D-NY) says he’s going to try to block this project, because it’s partially funded with stimulus money. “It hurts to hear that,” Lou said. “China is spending huge amounts of money on renewable energy, ultimately more than the US, and will be embarking on enormous projects for environmental remediation that will use money and expertise from companies all over the globe. If we can embrace this spirit of shuang ying, there will be huge opportunities for American companies. Shortsighted thinking like this hurts everyone – including our own interests.

I’m looking forward to working with Lou as a 2GreenEnergy associate. I constantly come across the need for answers about the realities of doing business in China, and I’m thrilled to have found this resource.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I deeply appreciate the growing rush of informed comments on the 2GreenEnergy blog. Frequent guest Arlene Allen (whom I had the pleasure to meet recently) writes:

Normally, I would do my best to add something positive to the discussion. Quite frankly, I feel that the transportation industry in the USA is already positioning itself to inflate consumer expectation and subsequently slam them into the embankment as hard as is possible.

Thanks, Arlene. Sometimes I read things that cause me to agree with you 100%. I know I’ve been hugely pessimistic – even cynical – about the direction that renewable energy and electric transportation is going. But strangely, I have a good feeling about this overall. And it’s not because of positive intention and honesty of our corporate and government leaders, but rather the strength of the business case. The cost of all this is crashing like a stone, and, fortunately for mankind, I don’t see that anyone can do anything about that.

I’m looking at dozens of business plans, some of which feature truly transformative technology. Yes, they need funding – and in some cases, huge amounts of it. But the numbers in some of these cases are so compelling that they will ultimately receive the capital they are requesting, enabling the generation of clean power at a fraction of the cost of energy that comes from dirty and/or dangerous sources. I know it’s too early to declare victory, but I’m feeling very good about the transportation and energy industries.

I’m under NDA on a lot of these, but look at technologies that are already on the streets, like solar thermal with molten salt energy storage. The lies that Big Energy are spreading include the notion that this may be nice, but solar is inappropriate for baseload power. This is simply not the case. My point is this: That lie has a finite shelf-life. It’s just a matter of time until the truth gets spread so broadly that the lies will evaporate like the morning fog here in valleys of Central California.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

What’s not to like about a $1.5 billion wind project covering 36,000-acre and generating the power for 180,000 homes in western Texas? For one, it rubs our nose in the fact that China is one of many countries that out-invests the US when it comes to renewables. The project is a joint venture that includes China’s Shenyang Power Group, which points out how much China’s own wind industry has grown, and reminds us of what Energy Secretary Steven Chu told Congress earlier this week: The U.S. is falling behind China and others in alternative energy investment.

But how shocking is the idea that China should aspire to be a world player in wind? “This is a natural progression,” says Harvard-educated Lou Schwartz, president of Pittsburgh-based China Strategies. “We need to avoid looking at this narrowly and saying ‘China’s up and we’re down.’ We have to welcome each other.”

Thus the reality we all need to face: the source of the renewable energy may be local, but the equipment to harvest it most certainly is not. I’m reminded of what Ray Lane, partner in venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, told the audience in the “Business of Plugging In” conference a few weeks ago: The United States needs to cut the rhetoric and make real investments if it is to be a real player on the world renewables stage.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

A reader suggested that I review the innovative product offered by a German company called IAV in electric vehicle charging, which I did. See this fascinating idea on inductive charging.

To be honest, I had never heard of this. So I asked a few colleagues: May I have some comments on this, please?

Here is the dialog:

From Bill Moore, EV World: The issue here is COST. This will work if it’s incorporated into a dedicated toll-road like the bypass around Denver or from DC out to Dulles. Feds, states and cities just won’t have the money to tear up streets and roads and embed this technology. I see a tough road ahead in the US. It’s more likely to make sense in China and India where they are building new roads. America is just too broke.

My response: Yes, I’m sure it’s pricey to install; I wonder how much per mile, and what the efficiency of the charging is. I would think another issue would be billing the energy to the consumer. And aren’t there safety and other feasibility issues with electromagnetic fields that powerful? Having said all this, one such lane in each of a city’s major freeways would be a huge step in the direction of charging ubiquity.

From Bill Moore: Exactly…. you pretty much hit them all. I am going to comment on this idea in Currents (on the EV World home page)

From: Douglas S. Wilson of ECO-Holland: Stationary induction systems will be feasible before roadways are built or retrofitted with such systems. I could see consumers’ garages and specific parking spaces at businesses or city parking lots could have induction systems embedded. A matching induction pickup coil could be built in or installed aftermarket to any electric vehicle. I think it’s a great idea. (Asks another colleague) Gary, How much power can be transferred with standard household voltages. How does the distance between the active and passive elements affect rate of energy transfer?

More on this later.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Eco-Trans Alliance in Sarasota Florida is a low-speed electric vehicle (LSEV) manufacturing company with a distinctly sunny disposition. The five year-old company sports a line of cars with solar panels on the roof — adding approximately 10% of the range provided by the battery pack.  Eco-Trans is working hard to deliver high-quality green vehicles for all the places in which they are best and most safely used: college campuses, military bases, resort communities, etc.

Thriving through a tough economy hasn’t been easy, but the company’s Sustainability Leader, Mary Anne Bowie, appears unfazed. “We’re selling cars all over the world – most recently in Tahiti and Cairo,” she told me. “Want to see the pyramids at Giza? More than likely, you’ll be riding on one of our 14-passenger EVs.”

“We’re committed to providing customers with a full array of eco-friendly transportation products,” Mary Anne continued, briefly discussing her zip (rapid) chargers, and her “solar sheds” that charge the cars and put energy back onto the grid.

What I found most interesting about the discussion was the urban planning perspective that Ms. Bowie brings to the table. “I’d really like to see a forward-thinking city issue an ordinance allowing large (more than six-passenger) electric vehicles on the streets, and follow through with LSV lanes and proper signage. The time for talk is past; now we need to deliver.”

Good stuff, Mary Ann. Thanks. I’m dying to see the Great Pyramids, and when I get there, I’ll be on the lookout for your products, to be sure.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketI’d like to introduce readers to Mike Austin, an extremely active proponent of eco-friendliness whom I met through a friend recently. In a phone call the other day, Mike explained how outrageous he finds the United States’ approach to the COP-15 summit in Copenhagen commencing in a few weeks. In particular, he points out that, given the fact that we live in an ostensible representative democracy, it’s strange (to use a charitable term) that there is no publically available information on our delegation, the players and their strategies. He writes, “Given our world’s precarious future, in a model democracy which is meant to be transparent, I find it especially curious that no one I’ve found in the last few days really knows what’s going on. I’d prefer to think it’s not business as usual for America but I’ve now my doubts.”

For those of you who may not have come across it, Mike’s Blue Planet Almanac is a wonderful resource. The first thing I notice about the site, of course, is the incredible breadth of content and the way it’s so thoughtfully presented. But I’m really taken by the technology too. Mike: that’s quite an array of audio, video and social media. It would take me about 50 years to learn how to do that myself. Keep up the good work.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

In marketing, the idea of “positioning” is rooted in the notion that we have space in our minds for precious few ideas, and we tend to associate the people, the products, and the companies in our lives with single concepts. And so it is with Audubon. When I spoke with Delta Willis, the organization’s bright and passionate Senior Communications Manager just now, we both lamented that people think only of birds when they think of Audubon — yet the group is involved in the protection of so much more.

A current project, for instance – one that will require decades to complete, is the rebuilding of the wetlands around New Orleans – and then working all the way north up the Mississippi River to its source.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of our conversation dealt with the delicate issue of the environmental impact of renewable energy plants. Of course, this is highly ironic, considering the incalculable damage that the mining and consumption of fossil fuels have wreaked. It really is paradoxical to consider that efforts to stop poisoning our skies and oceans sometimes meet resistance from environmentalists.

Yet there truly are important issues to be considered. Take, for instance, the location of wind farms in northern Wyoming. It is true that Wyoming has already been badly damaged by oil and gas exploration and that establishing wind farms and the power lines necessary to transport the electricity will do even more harm to the sage grasslands where the animals in Yellowstone spend their winters. And it’s true that there are areas in which the human footprint is already much larger in which these wind farms would do less ecological damage.

But surely we need flexibility.  I pointed out the obvious:  “If we all dig our heels in about making zero impact with our solar thermal and wind farms, we’re playing right into the hands of big coal and oil.” Well, I’m happy to report that Audubon agrees. I ask readers to go through some of the really thoughtful articles and position statements on their website.  I was gratified to see that the people at Audubon speak the language of compromise.

And let me point out that they do more than talk: they study. Using Google Earth, they’ve focused intense amounts of research on the subject, and offer maps where wind farms are most recommended.

Folks, on behalf of all the animals — on land and in the air — whose habitat you help protect — thank you.

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