Blog – Page 1611 – 2GreenEnergy.com

The Changing Paradigm in Personal Transportation

craigshieldsPosted on May 7, 2013 Posted in Electric Vehicles

Here’s an article that underscores something I firmly believe: the concept of car ownership, a paradigm of the American lifestyle in the 20th Century, is on its way out. Just as a generation decided it no longer needed a telephone that was hard-connected to a copper wire, an even larger group of people is starting to realize it doesn’t really require a 4000-pound piece of steel in its driveway, used less than an hour a day, almost exclusively by one occupant, and propelled by a death-dealing fuel. (more…)

Tagged with: auto companies repositioning as transportation companies, car ownership, car-sharing, concept of personal transportation, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, mass transit, micro-rentals, ride-sharing, small urban commuter vehicles, The Changing Paradigm in Personal Transportation

Talking Up Synthetic Fuels at the Energy Efficiency Summit

craigshieldsPosted on May 6, 2013 Posted in Synthetic Fuel

My participation in last week’s Energy Efficiency Summit also enabled me to talk about Doty Windfuels, under the heading of synthetic fuels more generally. One of the presenters cheerfully reported that one of the graduate students he’s mentoring had outlined 16 different fuels that can by synthesized from CO2, water, and energy, I suppose implying that “there is strength in numbers.”

I responded that I thought that my client in this space, if he were here, would say, “We don’t need 16. One is plenty — if it has sufficient energy density (e.g., high-octane gasoline, high-grade diesel, or jet fuel), and, just as importantly, if it can be done cost-effectively.”

The speaker smiled and acknowledged the validity of my point. I went on to explain that these people have, in fact, “cracked the code” here. In the course of the networking break, I directed quite a few people to the Windfuels website. We’ll see what comes from it.

Tagged with: Doty Windfuels, energy density, Energy Efficiency Summit, fuels can by synthesized from CO2, synthesizing high-grade diesel, synthesizing high-octane gasoline, synthesizing jet fuel, synthetic fuels

Alternate Fuel Vehicles — Cool Monthly Newsletter

craigshieldsPosted on May 6, 2013 Posted in Biofuels

I have some small level of input into the creation of Jon Lesage’s newsletter on alternate fuel vehicles; I participate in a monthly conference call with perhaps 7 – 8 other people. As a consequence, I’m always anxious to see what the overall piece looks like. Here are a few tidbits from the current edition, along with my comments:

Coda: Coda Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after selling just 100 of its all-electric sedans. The filing will allow the Los Angeles company to exit the auto sector and refocus on energy storage, for utilities and building operators to store power.

I’ve been predicting this for some time; that these people staved off bankruptcy this long is a miracle. (more…)

Tagged with: Alan Shaw, alternate fuel vehicles, biofuels, biomethane, biomethane becomes cost-effective, BYD Motors Inc. eBus plant, California Air Resources Board, Calysta Energy LLC, cleaner than hydrogen, cleanest alternative fuel on the market, Coda Holdings bankruptcy, Codexis Inc., impossible to economically turn crop waste wood switchgrass into vehicle fuel, Jon LeSage, mining lithium, natural gas, remediation, Waste Management, well-to-wheels

Discussing the Value of a Career in Renewable Energy with Jillian Seymour

craigshieldsPosted on May 6, 2013 Posted in Renewables - Science

Jillian Seymour, a 2GreenEnergy supporter and college student living in Lyon, France called me the other day, as I had agreed to an interview in which I would provide my advice on careers in renewable energy. In the course of the talk, she asked a number of really good questions, including perhaps the most critical: Do I find this to be personally rewarding? I assured her that she’d search hard to find a career in which she would be helping so many people, and yes, I personally find this immensely rewarding.

I went on to explain that I routinely help folks in three distinct categories: (more…)

Tagged with: careers in renewable energy, cleaner planet, Jillian Seymour, Lyon France, non-silicon PV substrate, synthetic fuels

Renewable Energy and a Clash of the Titans

craigshieldsPosted on May 5, 2013 Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s an article that communicates the truth of the clean energy scene i.e., that fossil fuels have more than enough clout in this world to have survived the short-term threat to their existence, and will remain prominent in the global energy picture for at least the coming few decades. The article argues that this is a function of the past few years’ financial results, in which the ROI associated with solar and wind disappointed investors.

To be fair, I suppose there were some people who expected these new technologies to be hugely profitable right out of the chute, though there is certainly no precedent in world history for results like that. Personally, I think the issues are more wide-reaching, and include the following: (more…)

Tagged with: carbon trading schemes, clean energy, energy storage, environment heat up, fossil fuel energy artificially cheap, global climate change, global energy picture, level playing field for renewable energy, Master Limited Partnerships, MLPs, put a price on carbon, renewable energy credits, smart grid, solar and wind cost tools to raise capital, solar energy, solar wind ROI disappointed investors, subsidies to oil industry, Wind Energy

Taxing Electrical Vehicle Drivers

craigshieldsPosted on May 4, 2013 Posted in Electric Vehicles

A friend sent me this piece on taxing electric vehicle drivers, and wrote:

I haven’t seen anything that has gotten me this angry in a while. This is insane! And the comments so far seem to be reflective instead of saying how irresponsible this is. It is obvious to me that the authorities who, understandably, need road money have to go back to the vehicle manufacturers, the military (who encouraged the Interstate Highway system), the utilities and the oil companies. But making the electric car owners pay extra, after they’ve paid their electric bill? Maybe 40 years from now after the encouragement period is over.

I don’t think this approach makes sense either, (more…)

Tagged with: Electric car, electric vehicle, Nissan Leaf, Nissan Motors, Paul Scott

Is There a Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax In Our Future?

craigshieldsPosted on May 3, 2013 Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s an article on various proposed “carbon taxes” that I offer to stimulate conversation. It really has some nasty holes in it, which I’ll point out in advance:

• The tables are useless, as they represent the grossest of double-counting. They list energy end-users as: consumers, commercial businesses, industrial enterprises, transportation, and power. The first three are end-users; the last two are ways that the first three use energy. It’s like counting fruit and apples; you’d be double-counting the apples. (more…)

Tagged with: carbon tax, carbon tax is regressive, investment in clean energy, renewable energy bargain, Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax

Tribune Company: Tell The Koch Brothers To Take a Hike

craigshieldsPosted on May 3, 2013 Posted in Renewables - Politics

Now that the regulations on centralized control of news media have all but disappeared, we face the inevitable: multi-billionaires clamoring for ownership of the largest media outlets. Case in point: the Koch Brothers, worth about $50 billion, are attempting to buy the Tribune Company, whose assets include the Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and a host of other papers across the country.

What’s to fear? Well, at a minimum, it is a steady stream of poisonous lies about energy and the environment. (more…)

Tagged with: Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Koch family, Los Angeles Times, Peter Liguori, Tribune, Tribune Company, United States

Electric Power Utilities Face Tough Times

craigshieldsPosted on May 2, 2013 Posted in Renewables - Business

I don’t claim to know about what the utilities are really talking about behind closed doors. Reading between the lines, I would have to think the level of stress is starting to build, as numerous industry trends seem to militate against them. In particular:

• Large customers are leaving. (more…)

Tagged with: distributed generation, electric power utilities, from individual rate-payers; utilities blamed for outages, large customers leaving utilities, power from cleaner sources, solar energy, utilities ecologically insensitive, utilities price-gouging, utilities take public relations hit, Wind Energy

Talking Up Eos Energy Storage at the Energy Efficiency Summit

craigshieldsPosted on May 2, 2013 Posted in Energy Storage

I’m taking a break from the activities at this, the second and last day of the University of California at Santa Barbara’s annual Energy Efficiency Summit to write this short note.

My friends at Eos Energy Storage would have been thrilled if they could have seen me in action this morning. (more…)

Tagged with: energy, energy storage, Lead–acid battery, Steven Chu, storage, technology, University of California, zinc-air battery