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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Here’s a fun little tool – a real-time wind chart for the continental U.S.  To me, it validates a couple of ideas that I hear often:

• When the wind isn’t blowing at point A, the chances are much more likely that it will be blowing at point B.

• The Southeast U.S. really doesn’t have good wind (or other good renewable) resources.

• We tend to over-estimate the wind resources in which we live.  We often think that we consistently have 20 MPH winds, and, in almost all cases, this is not true.

Again, a cool little site.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Every month or so, someone sends me this concept: the Solar Wind Energy Tower, with its claim that it will generate energy cost-effectively, and asks me to comment.  I defer to more senior minds in the physical sciences, but I will be utterly amazed if the cost of energy generated by this device isn’t astronomical.  These guys seem to be taken seriously, and I simply can’t understand why.  Note to those interested in cleantech investment opportunities: the fact that the government will grant a patent for a mousetrap that will retail at $2 million does not mean that it’s a good idea.  

Perhaps Glenn Doty or one of the other top energy analysts can weigh in here.   

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s an article on “following the money” in cleantech that speaks to a troubling fact in renewable energy: venture capital would far rather chase arenas that are less capital intensive.  In fact, Ray Lane, then managing partner at Kleiner Perkins, told me this in no uncertain terms when I interviewed him a couple of years ago for my second book, “Is Renewable Really Doable?” 

One could argue (and I do) that it is this issue that provides the imperative for government, perhaps under the auspices of programs like ARPA-E, to invest in stimulating R&D in this space.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

In early march, my colleague Jim Boyden and I are headed up to Berkeley for the annual meeting of the American Physical Society.  We’ll be checking out some of the breakthroughs in the application of physics to solving the problems of providing the world with abundant and inexpensive clean energy.  I’ll try to talk Jim into hanging around an extra day and taking a tour of various facilities where such products are under development.

One such stop is Natel Energy, specializing in low-head hydrokinetics; their concept is explained nicely by the video on the home page.  Hard to believe this could be cost-effective, but I’m looking forward to the presentation.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Ocean Thermal

2014 will be a year that I help my friends at Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTECorp) expand their web presence, chiefly by popularizing their sister site, EmpowerTheOcean.com.  My main strategy is video, brought along by social media.  Everyone loves video — and search engines respond very well, particularly when it’s sufficiently relevant to its audience that it attracts a good following.  And in this case, there is no end to the good ideas that we can deliver for using motion pictures to capture the most exciting aspects of the company and its technology. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Here’s an article for those trying to keep track of the ongoing fight against the migration to renewable energy.  For those 40% – 45% of 2GreenEnergy readers who reside outside the U.S. who may be scratching their heads, trying to make some sense of this, here’s a brief summary: we have a powerful faction here that is radically opposed to progress in the energy sector. It’s funded by the wealthiest people in our fair land, and its purpose is to destroy anything that would cause a shift away from fossil fuels.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

As electric cars grow in popularity, many detractors continue to promote common myths that imply that electric vehicles are not as green as they are reported to be. In fact, electric cars are the cleanest vehicles on the road today, despite the prevalence of these myths.

Electricity Creates Pollution

Today’s electric grids consist of a combination of gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, geothermal and solar, so that electricity is significantly cleaner than other forms of energy. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

I think I’ve mentioned my quest to find a strategic partner for my client in New Zealand whose breakthrough in solar thermal hot water heating promises such excellent potential.  I’ve enjoyed this project thoroughly, and I’ve turned up some really solid, red-hot prospects for such a relationship, though, of course, I’ve run into a number of brick walls as well.  Some object on the basis that, right now, there are minimal federal rebates in the area.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Pictured here is Gillian Christie, among the most talented, charming and energetic people I know, who runs a fabulous marketing agency called Christie Communications in Santa Barbara.  I’ve gotten to know her very well over the past few years, due to our mutual involvement in the Clean Business Investment Summit, where I serve on the board of advisors.  Every year in early September, a group of about 15 budding cleantech entrepreneurs hungry to raise financial capital presents a PowerPoint version of its business plan to a room full of potential investors of various stripes: angels, VCs, etc., in a large auditorium at the University of California at Santa Barbara.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

With the advent of distributed generation,  say, roof-top solar, and all the other dynamics surrounding energy in today’s world, how does one ensure that everyone pays equally for the transmission and distribution grid, while not actively discouraging the migration to clean energy?  If you’re Germany, you place a 4.4 Euro-cent tax on each kilowatt-hour that each homeowner or business generates with his PV system, and hope for the best. 

Needless to say, it’s a controversial subject.  More in the article linked above.