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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.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’m sure many readers here share my interest on the broader topic of sustainability, whether it’s transportation, building design, or agriculture.  And we can certainly count on the Sierra Club to keep us posted on many of these larger topics.  I recommend their article here on unsustainable foods and growing methods. 

I may have mentioned that I eat very little that is more evolutionarily developed than fish, and that I try to use websites like this one to stay away from species that are endangered.  I find it amusing to show up at a convention on renewable energy, sit down to lunch, and realize that the default meal is a piece of prime rib the size of a softball.  I suppose this is understandable at conferences on football coaching or drag racing, but trust me, it raises a few eyebrows in the circles in which I travel.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Here’s a press release issued by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), expressing its disappointment with the U.S. EPA’s backing down on various aspects of our direction vis-à-vis clean energy.  Not coincidentally, I’m facing a certain level of disappointment in getting the manufacturers of hot water heaters and boilers to embrace PlexiSun – a novel approach to building-integrated solar thermal hot water heating. 

In a conversation I just had with a prospect, he told me,  “I like your concept, but right now is not the best time, because there are minimal federal rebates (though some exist at the state level). (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

In the video I’ve linked, the young CEO of a high-tech start-up called Amprius, Chinese-born Yi Cui, talking about his background (Ph.D. from Harvard, currently a professor at Stanford), but, more importantly, providing a summary of his passion: batteries built around nanotechnology and other concepts in cutting-edge materials science.  His command of English is imperfect, but I don’t think anyone can say that about his insight into what’s to come, when he smiles and tells us, “After you get renewable energy, you have to store it. It’s about the potential for society.”

Last week, ex-U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu (photo above) joined the board of directors at Amprius, a move that should have us all thinking carefully about the future of energy.   Great things are happening all around us.

And, once in a while, good things happen for me as well.  At a conference I attended with Dr. Chu about a year ago, I happened to remark on a certain position the main speaker had made.  Chu stood up immediately thereafter and said, “The speaker immediately before me has a point.”  I couldn’t have been more flattered.  He didn’t even say it was a “good point.” But he implied it, didn’t he?  🙂

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