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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’ve agreed that each of my posts appear on CleanTechies.com, as it simply represents an expanded audience. Here’s my recent piece on Germany’s PV subsidies, with a couple of sharp comments from Cleantechies’ readers.

To Edward Kerr, who wrote:

It’s become painfully obvious that business and government are not going to work together toward a clean energy future. As you note, we are consequently in the cue for an enormous amount of suffering. All because we lack imagination and allow the medium of exchange to rule our lives. Pathetic.

I respond:

Edward: Profound stuff, but the fact that our lives are, in fact, ruled by the medium of exchange isn’t going to change. It’s therefore incumbent on us to figure out how to make sustainability profitable. It’s a game that we must play– and win.

Of course, the real issue is politics, and the corruptive influence of money in the political scene.  If it weren’t for this unfortunate aspect of our civilization, we’d have a fair and level playing field, in which all the producers and consumers of energy paid the comprehensive costs of their energy-related behavior. This would cause the cost of things like electricity from coal-fired power plants and access to oil made possible only via our $711 billion annual military budget to go right through the roof. 

Try to imagine what would happen if fossil fuels didn’t enjoy BOTH the tens of billions of hard-dollar subsidies, AND the soft-dollars in forbearances that total at least a full order of magnitude more.  Energy efficiency solutions and renewables would be seen as the deal of the century, and investors would be elbowing each other out of the way in a frantic effort to get there first.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

In response to my piece that rails on the environmental extremists who decry solar if it carries with it the slightest ecological downside, frequent commenter Larry Lemmert writes:

I am really proud of you Craig. I have long thought that you were in the pocket of the far left lunatic fringe. Your post here demonstrates that you are not. Hopefully there are many others like you in the environmental movement who are educated in the reality of finite resources being chased by insatiable demand.

Larry, I had to smile when I saw this.  Glad I could make you proud!

Yes, I consider myself an energy pragmatist.  A bad idea is a bad idea regardless of what side of the political fence it hails from.

We have a huge problem to solve, and it won’t go away with a blend of impractical, idealistic thinking and a bit of grandstanding.  It will, however, yield to a few really good solutions and the willingness to make tough choices.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

At the Nature Conservancy’s “Green Event for Georgetown Alumni” I attended last Thursday I received some shocking news: mainstream environmentalists really are attacking solar energy sited in the deserts of the U.S. southwest on the basis of its ecological footprint.  The presenter devoted at least 15 minutes of her talk to the idea that the solar industry and the state/federal government are aggressively short-cutting the permit process in a mad, greedy rush to deploy solar, and talked about her organization’s progress in making this cease, on the basis that the land has greater value as habitat for the desert tortoise and the cryptobiotic soil crusts. 

When I overcame my astonishment, I thought for a minute before proceeding.  I didn’t want to come off as offensive, but I realized I needed to challenge the speaker on a few points.  I began:

“Look, we’re all on the same team here, aren’t we?  We live on a small planet with a growing, energy-hungry population whose needs are largely fed by burning fossil fuels – a process that’s quickly and clearly ruining our planet.  If you want to go after something, why not pick coal?  Obviously, we’re all in favor of siting solar and wind where they will do the least damage to the environment, but your work in getting legal injunctions to stop these projects is causing far more harm than good.”

Another participant asked the speaker: “Isn’t the environmental cost of manufacturing and installing solar PV greater than the value of the clean electricity?” 

The response: “I’ve heard that; I’m not really sure.” 

The truth: Of course not.  Here’s a piece on the hazardous materials and lifecycle emissions associated with PV. 

My opinion: people speaking publicly on solar should know this stuff. 

An observation: I expect this type of disinformation from the fossil fuel industry, but to hear it from the environmentalists was shocking. 

The presenter went on to note that the soil crusts absorb as much CO2 per acre as forests do, and asked, “We wouldn’t cut down a forest to install PV, would we?”  Well, the premise is completely incorrect.  While cryptobiotic soil crusts do sequester some CO2 (and a bit more each year as the atmospheric concentrations continue to rise), this effect is microscopic compared with a forest.  Again, how hard would it have been to look this stuff up and figure out how to present it correctly and fairly?

After the event concluded and I stood mingling with the other participants, I could sense that I wasn’t the favorite person in the room.  I suppose that defending a position always comes at a cost.  A few minutes later, I called for an elevator to take me back down to the ground level. When the doors closed and I was alone, I put my face in my hands and muttered to myself, “Holy cow.  Are we doomed, or what?” 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

My thanks to 2GreenEnergy associate Annemarie Osborne for introducing me to a wonderful organization: International Coalition of Tourism Partners.  I had extended Skype calls with people in Istanbul and Brussels late last week, and signed us up as a “media friend.”

The group acts as a promotional vehicle for hundreds of destinations worldwide, while stressing “Green Growth,” i.e., low carbon and environmentally sound development.  From their website:

We will provide guidance and education to help you devise policies and programs that create progressively more sustainable travel and tourism communities, companies and related visitor actions. We will also (help) clearly identify your government’s carbon commitments, as well as provide a constantly growing set of global good practices at country, community and company levels.

Great going, folks.  I’m proud to support you in any way possible.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

I’m sad to see that climate scientist James E. Hansen, after a 46-year career at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will retire to pursue his activism on climate change.  I can only image that the federal government is happy to see Hansen go; I always imagined his extremely visible presence as something of a much-needed thorn in their side.

Having said that, I understand his reasoning, i.e., that his position within the space agency limited his ability to use the law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as government employees cannot testify against the government.  And I suppose it’s safe to assume that we’ll be hearing more – not less – from Dr. Hansen and his aggressive criticism of U.S. inaction on the subject.  In particular, there is no reason to think that he’ll be less conspicuous at public protests on climate-related issues, at which he’s been arrested on numerous occasions.  “At my age (72),” he quipped, “I am not worried about having an arrest record.”

Among other things, Hansen plans to lobby European leaders — who are among the most concerned about climate change — to impose a tax on oil derived from tar sands, since its extraction results in greater greenhouse emissions than conventional oil.  Great concept, btw: identify something that we really want to make go away and make it financially unattractive.  The idea certainly has my full support.

Thanks to Dr. Hansen for his service, and best wishes for his continued success.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Given that solar and wind are intermittent, our usual notion of these most common forms of renewable energy is that they create grid instability – perhaps even blackouts – stemming from unpredictable clouds covering the sun or changing patterns in the winds in a given region.  But according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) in Kassel, Germany, these fears may be unfounded; when better understood, a high penetration of solar and wind may actually prevent power outages.

 

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I probably won’t attend this “Creating Climate Wealth” workshop due to the commitment of resources it would require, but it sure would be interesting.  I very much admire The Carbon War Room and its concept of using market capitalism and wealth creation to build a more ecologically responsible way of life.  Who but Richard Branson would have developed the idea?

If we have any readers who plan to attend, we’d all appreciate a guest-post when you return.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I’m always amused when I see articles on subjects within the energy space that show that the author hasn’t the foggiest idea what he’s talking about.  I’m reminded of my 6th grade course in meteorology, when one of my bottom-of-the-barrel classmates wrote his final exam essay on meteors.

Here’s a feature article in Global Energy World whose author, writing on fuel cells, begins:

Investments in Fuel Cells R&D is rising all over the world as the technology has (a) lot of growth potential and has various advantages over other renewable energy sources like solar, wind etc. 

A fuel cell is not a source of energy, any more than the engine in your car; a fuel cell is a device that converts a chemical fuel into another chemical, releasing electrical energy in the process.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

I wrote this post yesterday, when I was a few minutes early for the start of an event at the downtown Los Angeles office of the Nature Conservancy. I had come into the city for four separate meetings, of which this was my third. 

The day started with an update from my friends at Green Motor Company, a group that is developing a low-cost and power-dense electric motor.  The application that may come immediately to mind could be electric transportation, but, believe it or not, that’s not as attractive as one might have thought.  As my friend Tom Gage, former CEO of AC Propulsion (developers of the electric drive train for the BMW Mini E) told me, “You could have a 99.9% efficient motor that’s the size and weight of a ping-pong ball, and you tell me I could have it for free, and that wouldn’t mean too much in this space.”  He was, of course, referring to how incredibly important the size, weight, and cost of batteries are in comparison to everything else.

So, if not EVs, exactly what?  Well, there are many hundreds of applications in our homes, office buildings, and industrial settings where the cost, size, weight, and efficiency of motors are extremely important. Think of pumps, especially for large volumes of water.  Of course, this may be more obvious to me as I live in California, and such a percentage of our overall energy expenditure is made in moving water from one place to another. Water-related energy use in California  consumes approximately 20 percent of the state’s electricity, and 30 percent of the state’s non-power plant natural gas (i.e. natural gas not used to produce electricity). 

In any case, good news from Green Motors, and more to come, I’m sure.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

All home-owners are always searching for something that would bring down their bills. Be it something that would help you with the electricity bill, or the water bill, investing in an appliance or some simple device that would increase the energy efficiency of your home is a very smart move. There are various products that can save you a lot of money, and make your house more eco-friendly.

Programmable Thermostat

These devices are some of the most highly-recommended products when it comes to energy efficiency. With the help of a programmable thermostat, you can have a complete control over how much energy is being used in your household, and adjust the temperature at all times. Since a lot of energy is being wasted while you are away on holiday, or during the night when everyone is sleeping, a device like this that can adjust a thermostat when you are not at home. So, with it, you can program the thermostat so that it turns the heating on or off whenever you want to, which is pretty convenient. You can find such devices for about $20-30, and buying one would help you save at least $200 a year.

Cellular Shades

This is not some high-tech green product, but a useful one, nonetheless. These shades are made of two separate layers of fabric, that are pretty soft, and prevent your room from getting too warm, by allowing only a minimum amount of heat to go through, and during the winter, you’ll house will stay warm as they won’t let the heat produced by your heating system to go out. This is a very good solution to all your energy loss problems, and with these shades you can reduce your energy losses for about 15%, saving as much as $150 a year, an investment that should be paid back in a couple of years, as fitting all your windows with cellular shades could cost you at least $900 – 1,000, depending on how many windows there are in your house.

Outdoor Motion Sensor

This is a relatively cheap solution, that can save a lot of money in energy expenses. You can purchase an outdoor motion sensor for $70, and you can expect to get your investment back in no more than a year. There is a rechargeable battery, where the energy saved during the day is stored. When the device detects motion during the night, it turns the light on. This way, you can save over a $100 a year.

So, paying a couple of hundreds of dollars for these products can turn out to be a wise investment, considering that you can save thousands of dollars in the next couple of years that way.

Jordan Perch is an active promoter of the new developments in the automotive industry. He is an author of many how-to articles related to DMV, safe driving, buying/selling vehicles, auto insurance etc.

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