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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

For years, Portland, Oregon has been maintaining – and heightening – its commitment to leading the migration to clean energy and electric transportation. Here’s what they’re doing in solar chargers for EVs in public parking lots.

Not to quibble over details, but the company’s spokesperson needs to refine his language.  When he says, “The electrons created eight minutes ago in the sun were collected here on the surface of this system and put directly into your car,” he means, “The photons that left the sun eight minutes ago caused electrons to flow in this system that we put directly into your car.”

Whatever.  His heart’s obviously in the right place.  Way to go, Portland!

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I’m always interested in articles that speculate on the “electric vehicle adoption curve,” i.e., the pace at which EVs will be integrated into our transportation mix. Here’s a piece by Steven Cohen, Executive Director, Columbia University’s Earth Institute, that concludes with roughly my own belief: “I suspect that the transition to electric vehicles will happen suddenly and unpredictably; perhaps sooner than we think.”

The author comes at his conclusion by going in a few directions that I don’t feel have too much relevance: the driving habits of lifestyles of those living around New York City (where public transportation is excellent and the cost of car ownership is off the charts) and the impact of Shai Agassi’s Better Place battery swapping model (which, in the US, I think is negligible).  Having said that, there are some terrific observations:

The issue is how long will it take to overcome the momentum of sunk costs and old habits. Perhaps the cell phone provides a good model. Ask young people if they ever plan to own a landline phone. Look at the declining price per minute of phone time, and the increased use of phones, text messages and e-mail. These changes have been quite rapid and were not predicted by anyone. While an auto is far more expensive than a phone, and represents a major household investment, people seem open to new thinking about cars.

Exactly. Once this migration begins, and the common American starts talking to his neighbor and understanding how “unscary” electric transportation really is, I predict that it will be a matter of just a decade or so until we’ll find it hard to remember what all the shouting was about.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized
Now, please provide a few sentences — or more if you wish — that express your overall reaction to the idea that population growth and energy resource depletion will have dire consequences over the coming years.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

I’m happy to report that my hometown of Philadelphia has recently implemented energy efficiency technology on the trains I ride virtually every time I go back.  The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the nation’s sixth-largest public transportation system and the fifth-largest electricity user in the Philadelphia metro region, has cut a deal with Viridity Energy to install an advanced battery storage system to recapture and deploy power from the trains’ regenerative braking.

I’ve seen a variety of competitive energy storage concepts, designed to accomplish the same task, and I find it interesting that we’ve wound up, at least for now, with batteries. Notably, it appears that flywheels make sense in this environment; the angular momentum that makes them impractical in vehicles with low turning radiuses is not a significant factor on trains.

In any case, go Philadelphia!

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

A reader points out:

I feel that as long as clean energy has proponents who use words such as “elite, rich, etc”, it will continue to turn off a lot of people. I have gone to zoning meetings in which rabid proponents of clean energy have made comments on my coal to biomass developments and have provided a negative effect to the zoning.

Thanks for writing, and yes, you make a good point.

One factor that makes the migration to renewables so interesting is the many different motivations and political viewpoints one encounters. In fact, the cast of characters involved in renewables runs from business pragmatists who dispassionately want to capitalize on a solid market opportunity – all the way to “children of the 60s,” who don’t care a whit about money, but want to save the planet from the evils wrought by capitalism and the exploitation inherent in it. Most of us lie somewhere in between.

I’m not sure there is anything that you or I can do about this. Speaking for myself, I’m happy to have people onboard regardless of their motivation.

Here’s an extreme case: I met a guy the other day who was about as adamant a Global Warming Denier as one could possibly imagine. Here’s a well-educated, apparently refined businessman who referred to the theory (held by the vast majority of climate scientists) as an “evil lie” and to Al Gore as a “bastard.” Yet he thinks clean tech is important for other reasons and works hard in coaching entrepreneurs in this space (effectively, I might add) in presenting their business plans to investors.

Holy cow, I thought.  Is this guy for real?  I would have bet that such a combination of viewpoints couldn’t exist in the same human being.  In fact, I smiled when I first heard this, as I thought he was kidding.  But no, he was as serious as a heart attack. 

In any case:  Do I understand him? Nope. Do I want him around? Every day of the week.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I want to thank the 500+ respondents out there who participated in May’s survey regarding the migration to clean energy, and offer you — and all our subscribers — the free report I wrote on the subject.

It’s true that the world is moving to clean energy, but at a far slower rate than many people would like to see. But why, exactly, is it so slow? I have my own opinions, but I’m constantly looking for accurate answers to this incredibly important question, and I’m very grateful to the more-than-500 of you who shed a heck of a lot of light on the subject.

Of course, there is a profound difference between opinion and fact. But when enough people share the same opinion, that level of agreement becomes an important fact on its own. That’s the reason for a survey like this. In some cases, perception is reality.

Here’s the report summarizing the project:

THE IMPEDIMENTS TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Alex C. writes in:

We need to migrate to MORE fossil fuels and nuclear because they are the most economical. The Tea Party movement in the USA will assure in 2012 that we elect DRILL BABY DRILL candidates and we end the insanity of the extreme green movement and progressive socialists. $$ will always flow to the most economical and practical sources of energy. Using the rule or law and force does NOT justify the green movement. Respect the free market and let the most economic energy sources win. The green movement will end come November 2012. No more free handouts. Time for many parasites to get a real job rather than spending taxpayers’ money that we don’t have.

It’s cool that 2GreenEnergy caters to readers with divergent viewpoints. But holy smokes!

A couple of points:

Let’s assume for a moment we should cast off all concerns about the costs to our health and safety, and that we have no obligation to preserve a habitable environment. Nuclear STILL won’t happen for the precise reason you name, i.e., it’s expensive. The actual cost of building these plants is almost never anywhere near the projected budget. Readers may want to Google “nuclear plant cost overrun,” and read a few of the 54,700 articles they’ll find on the subject. Here’s one that refers to a certain nuclear project as “satanic,” based on the actual amount of the overrun ($6.66 billion). The Florida utility, FPL Group, now estimates the cost of building a new nuclear power plant at over $9 billion, nearly double their previous estimate.

Also, I’m not so sure about the Tea Party in 2012. I’ll grant that voters are extremely displeased with big, wasteful, corrupt government. But the poll numbers surrounding the Tea Party are strikingly negative (currently favorable 32%, unfavorable 47%).

　

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I spent most of the day with a couple of my partners from our recently minted Bermuda corporation “Island Green.”  This is a start-up dedicated to bringing electric transportation to the tony island nation — then to the Caribbean and wherever else the trade winds may blow.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while may think that you’ve seen this post, as I’ve been mentioning our group and its mission for some time.  But I’m sure you’ve heard the idiom “island time,” commonly used to describe the leisurely pace of life in these tiny, idyllic nations that don’t seek to challenge that of New York City (thank God). And yes, that’s the case here.

So, while we haven’t been moving with the speed of Roadrunner, it remains true that Bermuda is the most perfect place on Earth for electric vehicles: expensive gasoline, a total of 125 miles of roads, and an eco-friendly population of very high net worth per capita people. As I’ve said before, if Bermudians won’t buy EVs, it’s hard to imagine who will.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

The webinar we’re planning for Wednesday, June 29th is entitled: “Renewable Energy: Let the People Speak.”  Craig Shields will discuss the results of a recent survey, in which more than 500 people weighed in on the issue: What Are The True Impediments to Renewables?

The world is moving to clean energy, but at a far slower rate than many people would like to see. But why, exactly, is it so slow? Less than one-third of those interviewed cite “cost” as the big reason. So what’s going on here?

I hope you’ll be able to join us on Wednesday, June 29th, 2011, at 1 PM EDT. 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I have put “The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-first Century” on my summer reading list, as I want to learn more about the quest to provide the world with an adequate supply of fresh drinking water.

I find myself compelled by this description:

“This comprehensive account, reflecting exhaustive research that took (its author) Prud’homme across the country, contains a series of dramatic stories and colorful characters that highlights the degradation of the nation’s once pure and abundant waters.”

Of course, what’s happening outside the US with respect to potable water is even more dire. Our planet faces extra-ordinary challenges in that space now; 1.5 billion people, about 20% of the Earth’s population, are denied this basic right. And, by all accounts, the situation is expected to worsen through the coming decades.

I’ll post a write-up when I’m finished the book. In the meanwhile, readers may want to check it out for themselves.

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