Published on July 23rd, 2008
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EDN reports that chip companies are gearing up to supply the widespread deployment of Smart Meters. Smart Meters provide real-time information on energy use so that homeowners can immediately see the effect of appliances, light bulbs, and computers on their energy usage and, their bills. Itron, Zigbee Alliance, Ember Corporation, and Teridian are some of the players in the smart metering arena that expect to ramp up production.
In the U.S., Smart Metering has been tried as a pilot program in several locations, including Chicago and the state of California. By all accounts, it has been a raving success. Duke Energy Indiana plans to install 800,000 Smart Meters starting this year. According to Energy Design, Strategy and News:
“Some 50 million old meters in the United States are likely to be replaced by advanced meters by 2010 at a cost of about $18 billion, according to a recent analysis by Deutsche Bank. Worldwide, only 6% of electricity, 8% of gas, and 4% of water meters are even automated, according to Texas Instruments Inc, which sells a variety of chips for meters. In fact, in the electric industry alone, 500 million meters worldwide could be replaced over the next 10 years, resulting in semiconductor sales of at least $7.5 billion..” Electronics Design, Strategy, News
Homeowners see the effect of their energy usage immediately. When a computer is turned on, the meter goes from 300 watts to 400 watts. An alarm rings when usage hits 500 watts. Said one homeowner: “I’ve become like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Every time it bleeps I think I’m going to take one of those pans off the stove. I’d do anything to make it stop. It helps you change your habits.” –New York Times
Published on July 17th, 2008
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to visit Intersolar US, the United States’ premier exhibition for solar technology. I learned about a variety of products that are revolutionizing the solar industry, and one of the most interesting was Paradigma’s AquaSystem.
The Aqua solar heating system, first introduced in 2004, works like an additional boiler with a selectable temperature. It is the only solar heating product on the market that can be connected to an existing heating system without any modification. Additionally, the AquaSystem does not require frost protection agents in the winter, as it is protected with warm water if temperatures drop below a certain level.
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Published on July 14th, 2008
T. Boone Pickens helps bring wind energy to the center of the energy discussion and the center of the political aisle.
Misguided Probing
I don’t think it made the 3 minute clip CBS aired, but in the full 12 minute interview Katie Couric instantly goes after T. Boone Pickens about his financial aspirations of starting a wind farm. Now I’m no big T. Boone Pickens fan, but Katie, people start companies to make money (and tycoons usually start businesses to make billions). As much as you can fault the man for funding the swiftboat attack ads against John Kerry, or fault him for his influence on the Republican Party, you can’t fault the man for starting a business and wanting to make money.
I think Katie is trying to get T. Boone to say what everyone already knows (so why even waste time probing for a confession?) which is, T. Boone Pickens doesn’t care about the environment or the economic revival of rural economies as the well laid out spinning on his Pickens Plan website would like you to believe.
T. Boone Pickens cares about money–and he’s good at making it.
So why then, poke and prod a man who will put his tycoon-ish master mind to work on an energy source that will benefit the nation environmentally and economically?
Katie should’ve poked and prodded T. Boone for what was curiously left out of the Pickens Plan.
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Published on July 11th, 2008
Rolls Royce and British Airways Announce Joint Research Venture
The aviation industry is facing unprecedented growth in fuel costs and growing pressure to curb emission levels. As a result, research programs, joint ventures, and public-private partnerships have all been launched to come up with new forms of jet fuel. Rolls-Royce and British Airways are the most recent companies to announce a research partnership to study the feasibility of dramatically expanding the use of the alternative fuels.
Jet fuel (kerosene) now ranks as the third-highest petroleum product in demand and its growth rate outpaces that of GDP. Kerosene is the current fuel of choice for jet fuel because It is widely available and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. The demand for kerosene on the global market has caused its price to double in the last 12 months alone. Growth in demand for kerosene is being driven, in part, by a growing culture of mobility and its transportation fuels byproducts in the rapidly growing economies of Asia, but also because of the added pressure of American military fuel consumption in the Iraq war. As global energy consumption is predicted to grow 50 percent by 2050, the aviation industry is wising-up to the notion that fuel prices are not coming down any time soon. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 10th, 2008
Universities and academic institutions are developing new technologies aimed at solving the world’s energy and climate change challenges at a truly amazing pace. Some of the most exciting and promising cleantech ventures are being developed at universities around the world right now, yet barriers to commercialization prevent most from being realized.
While many top U.S. universities have tech transfer specialists on staff and departments dedicated to the commercialization of research, many others, especially in developing economies such as Brazil, India and China, don’t have readily available access to investors and industry.
Several years ago I was invited by the Danish Prime Minister to attend a globalization council meeting on the commercialization of university research. We found that although there are 7,500 universities and more than 10,000 research institutions worldwide (twice the size of the global automotive industry), there is no annual forum for academic researchers to convene and exhibit their latest research and innovation to industry.
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Published on July 9th, 2008
When you are a company who makes cars, unless you have the Toyota Prius underneath your brand name, life can sometimes get a little complex. Not surprisingly, many car manufacturers are making big steps to ensure that their products make as little impact upon the environment as possible. But General Motors have taken it a step further, to ensure that even their production plants make little environmental noise.
Currently with two of the largest solar power installations in the United States, GM have made a real effort to, as Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations puts it, actively accelerate “…our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world.”
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Published on July 6th, 2008
Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) has introduced legislation to establish a feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy. Feed-in tariffs have made Germany a solar powerhouse that employs 40,000 people in the solar industry alone, and an estimated 140,000 jobs in renewable energy. FITs have not been a topic of discussion in this country, but now that is sure to change, as the conversation shifts to ways to finance the growth of renewable energy. Renewable Energy World reports that:
“Inslee’s legislation would require utilities — at the request of any new renewable energy facility owner — to enter into a 20-year fixed-rate power purchase agreement. Uniform national “renewable energy payment” rates would be set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at levels that would provide a 10% internal rate of return on investment for available commercialized technologies in regions constituting the top 30th percentile of renewable energy resource potential in the U.S..”
In plain English, this means that if you install solar PV panels on your home, the utility has to buy the electricity you generate at a higher rate than retail, guaranteeing you a return on your investment. Extending this power purchase agreement for 20 years gives everyone — especially those who want to invest in renewables or start a small business installing solar panels — assurance of return on their investment.
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Published on June 25th, 2008
Having staffed a booth two years running at the Chicago Green Festival, I know what a challenge it is for meeting planners to stage a truly green convention. The Green Festival posts volunteers at the garbage cans, to help the public choose the right bin: compost, recycle, or trash. Exhibitors have to attend a conference call and sign a “leave no trace” agreement.
Now, it’s the DNC’s turn to wrestle with the inherent problems associated with inviting thousands of people to converge on a city for a giant party, while keeping their carbon footprints as low as possible. The Wall Street Journal’s front page story on “The Greenest Show on Earth” provides some insights into the problem:
- After trying to source an organic, union made fanny pack to be given to volunteers, Bob DeMasse, the convention’s organizer reported that such a thing doesn’t exist.
- The same goes for baseball caps: there are union caps and organic caps, but no cap with both requirements. (Come on, unions, step up!)
- Andrea Robinson, the convention’s Director of Greening, is testing balloons to make sure they are really biodegradable — by burying them in steaming compost piles.
- She has also hired an Official Carbon Advisor to measure the show’s carbon footprint so that it can be offset by investments in renewable energy.
- “Lean and green” catering guidelines are calling for no fried food and 70% organic or local ingredients.
- And, yes, the DNC will also have a team of garbage monitors.
Some inevitable compromises have resulted, but the Dems can at least be given credit for forcing everyone to think about the environmental impact of their meeting — and perhaps building a template for future meetings as well. It’s all part of an encouraging trend in the meeting planning business, which the Green Meeting Industry Council is helping to lead, and it’s creating ripples throughout the hospitality industry, evidenced by such organizations as the Green Hotels Association.
Image Credit: Kevin P. Casey, USA Today
Published on June 20th, 2008
Walking the floor of WINDPOWER 2008, the annual conference and trade show for the wind energy industry, one couldn’t help but be transfixed by all of the different types of turbines - at least I couldn’t. The wind turbine has become the iconic symbol of clean, renewable energy. But the classic three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine, with its gracefully swooping blades, has become the symbol of not only renewable energy, but also of environmental consciousness and ecological possibility.
Despite the ubiquity of the three-bladed turbine, the oft-overlooked vertical-axes turbines are making quite a splash in the world of wind energy, especially in small and micro-applications. So what’s all the fuss about? Vertical-axis turbines apparently do not suffer from some of the same problems that plague small wind applications in urban settings including, aesthetic concerns, space requirements and sound levels.
Other advantages of vertical-axis turbines:
- Can produce up to 50% more electricity per year than conventional turbines with the same swept area
- Generate electricity at much lower wind speeds, as low as 4 mph (1.5 m/s)
- Will continue to generate power in high wind speeds, up to 130 mph (60m/s) depending on the mode
- Direct-drive units have no gearbox. No gearbox means a more efficient transfer of energy and no leaking oil
- Will not harm wildlife, in terms of bird and bat strikes
Below, I’ll cover some more basic differences and show you a few photos and short videos of some of these turbines I saw down in Houston at WINDPOWER 2008. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 18th, 2008
Giving a new meaning to the term “sun roof”, Atlantic City’s Convention Center will install solar photovoltaic (PV) modules on 290,000 square feet of roof space, saving a projected $4.4 million over 20 years, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. In a groundbreaking economic arrangement, Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, will pay to have the solar panels installed, and the Convention Center will then buy back the electricity from Pepco. The installation will provide a quarter of the energy consumed by the convention center. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) says the installation will be the largest in the U.S. on one roof.
“Jeffrey Vasser, executive director of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, said the group began planning a solar project a few years ago when Gov. Jon S. Corzine pushed for greater use of sun and wind power in New Jersey.
‘We have a great building to do this on, and we wanted to be the first kid on the block to get in on it,’ Vasser said. This helps a young industry grow into a mature one, helps reduce our dependence on oil, and produces electricity that does not increase carbon emissions into the air,’ he said of the multi million-dollar project.” Read the rest of this entry »
EDN reports that chip companies are gearing up to supply the widespread deployment of Smart Meters. Smart Meters provide real-time information on energy use so that homeowners can immediately see the effect of appliances, light bulbs, and computers on their energy usage and, their bills. Itron, Zigbee Alliance, Ember Corporation, and Teridian are some of the players in the smart metering arena that expect to ramp up production.
