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From a Guest Blogger: How Staying Green Doesn't Have To Revolve Around Huge (And Pricey) New Boilers

craigshieldsPosted on April 3, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

The authorities have rightfully been pushing for us to turn green over the years. While they have their eyes firmly set on the environment, the carrot dangling (pictured) in front of homeowners is that they can shed their energy bills in the process.

However, a lot of the time the suggestions which are put out there revolve around mammoth home improvement projects. New boilers are probably the preferred choice for most authorities, simply because the newer models can reduce carbon emissions by such huge amounts compared to some which are a decade or so old. (more…)

Tagged with: eco-friendly boilers, eco-friendly heating, sustainable buildings

Renewable Energy Projects Require Focus

craigshieldsPosted on April 2, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

As a result of my expressing my willingness to review any and all clean energy business plans for free, I’ve received some doozies.

One I got the other day caused me to think: exactly what works in terms of gaining acceptance from the investor community? What doesn’t have a chance? I’ve laid out my response below.

First, however, here’s a summary of the business plan in question. It came from a woman who claims that her team will take a part of the U.S. desert, build and operate a megawatt of geo-thermal power systems, build a 250 mile pipeline for water that they can extract somehow, help out an Indian tribe with water while cleaning up a river and a lake, implement vast amounts of wind and solar PV, implement algae as a fuel source, build resort dwellings with an institute of healing and a 9-hole golf course.

I wrote back: (more…)

Tagged with: advance the TR (technology readiness), advanced nuclear energy, algae as a fuel source, clean energy business plans, contracts for reliable sources feedstock for biomass/biofuels, eco-friendly transportation, EIRs environmental impact reports, geo-thermal power systems, no technical risk, seasoned development team with lots of cash invested, technologies that complement one another e.g. wind and storage, wind and solar energy, working model with test data that proves viability and a path to cost-competitiveness

Dubious Market for Small Wind

craigshieldsPosted on April 2, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

A reader who claims to have a great improvement in wind-turbine design on a per-kW basis sent me a fairly detailed treatment of his invention. I respond:

Thanks for this very interesting analysis. Here’s the problem, to stay with your analogy that you are (and I won’t dispute it) the “Porsche of the small wind industry.” But that’s like being the “Rolls Royce of sealing wax,” or the “Ferrari of buggy whips.” It appears that there is a very limited market here in the U.S., because: (more…)

Tagged with: cell towers in the developing (off-grid) world, Dubious Market for Small Wind, LCOE levelized cost of energy, Porsche of the small wind industry, small wind ROI abysmal. 30% ITC, vendors of small wind should focus on certain places where they can win

Dow Chemical Helps To Integrate Wind Energy Further Into Our Grid Mix

craigshieldsPosted on April 2, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

Here’s a story that illustrates my main contention about renewable energy: the good guys have already won this war; now it’s time to get the casualties off the battlefield and move on with our lives.

Dow Chemical Company’s decision to power its Freeport, TX facility (the largest integrated chemical manufacturing complex in the Western Hemisphere) with wind energy represents some extremely important signals to the world about the validity of renewable energy: (more…)

Tagged with: Dow Chemical Company’s decision to power its Freeport, Dow Chemical Integrates Wind Energy, existing electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure, integration of huge amounts of wind and solar, TX facility with wind energy, validity of renewable energy

Turimiquire Foundation: A Beacon of Light in a World of Gloom

craigshieldsPosted on April 2, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

I thought I’d reproduce here a part of the Thank You letter I receive for my annual contribution to the Turimiquire Foundation, a non-profit whose purpose is to improve the quality of life for the poorest of the poor in a remote part of Northeastern Venezuela. These folks have made a huge difference in the lives of tens of thousands of families, and, in my mind are noteworthy for two main reasons: (more…)

Tagged with: family planning services, Northeastern Venezuela, reproductive health, Turimiquire Foundation

Top Investment Strategies

craigshieldsPosted on April 2, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

I normally keep my investment strategies to myself, but I was thinking about this just now, and I thought I’d mention some things that make me salivate in terms of opportunities:

First, here’s what I decline to buy:

Won’t buy on moral grounds: anything that includes war machines, fast-food, fossil fuels, tobacco, and corporate news (the six corporations that control over 90% of what you and I take for “news”). What about alcohol? The notion of hypocrisy enters here. I drink a moderate amount of wine in the evenings during the week, and a martini or two on the weekends; I’m certainly not casting stones here. (more…)

Tagged with: alt energy, alt fuel cars, Chinese acquisition of the Waldorf Astoria, Chinese are extremely brand-conscious, climate change mitigation, CODA Automotive, H. L. Mencken, No one ever went broke betting on the stupidity of the American people, power utilities’ financial strength is built solely around growth, smart grid, solutions to water scarcity, sustainable ag, Top Investment Strategies, we’re consuming less power for several different reasons

U.S. Government: Restoring Integrity, Removing Corruption

craigshieldsPosted on April 1, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

In response to my post: Are We Ready for the Next Step in the Evolution Toward (Or Away From) Eco-Consciousness?, frequent commenter Chris writes:

I am equally concerned about too much government as I am about too little government. Too much government in my mind is a do nothing full time state or federal legislative body and too little government was witnessed in the oversight of Wall Street in 2008…. The Arthur Andersen (Enron) and Dynegy fiascos… Legal or illegal shell companies and governments that allow corporations to hide or shield money from taxation. (more…)

Tagged with: Arthur Andersen Enron, Citizens United, corporatocracy, disenfranchisement of individual voters, Mayday: Elect leaders who simply refuse to accept huge amounts of money, MoveToAmend, Saving American Democracy

From Guest Blogger Brooke Chaplan: Green Dream–Six Environmental Developments From Students

craigshieldsPosted on April 1, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Sustainable living is quickly becoming mainstream as businesses, families, and communities incorporate more environmentally friendly standards into every day practices. For example, many families now consciously choose less waste over convenience, and businesses make investments that lead to energy efficiency in the long term. It appears this lifestyle is the inherited legacy of the next generation of scientists and engineers as well, and it has shaped many of their ideas for the future. Here are six examples of sustainable innovations formulated by today’s students.

(more…)

Tagged with: 270000 tons of plastic trash floating in the oceans, biofuel, energy efficiency, environmental scientist Marcus Eriksen, next generation of scientists and engineers, sustainable living

From Guest Blogger Jordan: Jaguar's “Bike Sense” System Aims to Improve Cyclist Safety

craigshieldsPosted on April 1, 2015 Posted in Efficiency

One of the most common problems faced by cyclists are inattentive motorists, failing to give them right of way or driving too close to them, putting cyclists’ safety at risk. Even though traffic accidents involving cyclists are pretty common, automakers have not been focused on trying to find a solution that would prevent these type of accidents, but Jaguar Land Rover is looking to change that. The British manufacturer has been working on a new safety system, that can make the road much safer for cyclists. (more…)

Tagged with: Bike sense, cyclist, Jaguar, road safety, safety, system

Does the Mercedes Concept Car (F 015) Represent the Future of Transportation?

craigshieldsPosted on March 31, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

Since the Mercedes-Benz F-015 is an electric vehicle (with both batteries and fuel cells), one might think it would have EV fans dancing for joy about this incredibly futuristic car. And the language that Mercedes uses is certainly lavish enough: The result is more like a carriage than a rocket ship. Passengers “inhabit” the Mercedes-Benz F 015 rather than drive it, and the interior has the visual cues and physical features of a mobile office rather than the usual jet-fighter cockpit.

Personally, I’m betting against all this extravagant use of interior space for even the wealthy (actually, extremely wealthy) consumers to “inhabit.” (more…)

Tagged with: electric vehicle with both batteries and fuel cells, Mercedes-Benz F-015, Passengers "inhabit" the Mercedes-Benz F 015 rather than drive it, space carriage, traffic and pollution