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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biofuels

In June’s webinar, I interviewed Robert Orr, CEO of Landhi.  The manure from 400,000 buffaloes in a tightly confined area of Southern Pakistan is creating one of the worst ecological disasters and threats to human health on the planet.  A talented team of people stands ready to expand their pilot plant that is currently creating small but predictable amounts of compost, liquid fertilizer and biogas up to the scale necessary to tackle the problem, while generating an income stream of over $100 million annually. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Frequent commenter and old friend Arlene Allen writes:

Long cycle events don’t get the attention of the vast majority of us humans. We’re too used to being able to mitigate a situation in real time.

That’s precisely right. We’re not good at long-range planning on our best day, and this is not even a half-decent day, with moneyed interests aggressively distracting us from the grim realities we face.

It would be nice if our leaders would actually lead in this arena, but that’s impossible for two reasons:

1) They’re put into power by those moneyed interests; they’re simply doing what they’re told, and

2) Even if that weren’t the case, the electorate has no appetite for pain. Even absent of the corruption, they will not elect someone whose platform calls for austerity. The party will continue until the liquor runs out.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Duke Brooks asks:

Renewable/green energy without question is the future; the question is: When, exactly, does that future begin?

Here are a few ways I would choose to frame this:

The vast majority of our scientists tell us that climate change is already manifest, evidenced by the startling increase in extreme weather events, the melting of the glaciers, the measurable rises in the sea levels, etc. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

There’s plenty of bad news in the world, and maybe I should think twice before offering more.  But those of us following the legal proceedings around the U.S. Supreme Court decision “Citizens United” were disappointed by yesterday’s high court ruling shooting down Montana’s attempt to re-assert some level of fairness and democracy to the laws of the land. Linked above is a good article on the subject.

Though this may appear to be off-topic from our conversation on renewable energy, I urge readers to look more closely. To the degree that the mega-corporations can spend as much money as they choose to influence our elections, none of the major issues that threaten big, immediate profits, whether they’re in energy, food, pharmaceuticals, or whatever, stand a snowball’s chance in hell.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

I always look forward to the Storage Week show each June, as the whole enterprise of energy storage is so important and so multi-varied. Over 95% of the world’s installed energy storage is pumped hydro, but there are a dozen or so chemical (e.g., battery), mechanical (e.g., flywheels) and thermal (e.g., molten salt) approaches to the problem. In fact, part of the problem that we as a society have in dealing with storage is the fact that it, in all its forms, provides no fewer than 22 different benefits to the four main energy stakeholders: generation, transmission, distribution, and load. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Duke Brooks sent me this piece that attempts to answer the question: What Kills Tech Start-Ups.

I believe that good ideas often need expert timing, something that is not easy to predict.  If you’re one step ahead of the market, you’re a pioneer; you get the best land, and before you know it, that land is worth a fortune.  This problem is this: If you’re two steps ahead of the market, you get barbecued. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

I’m up in San Jose for the 5th Annual “Storage Week,” a show I eagerly anticipate each year.  Not only do I like to keep up on the technologies that are important to integrating renewables into the grid mix, but for some reason, this is an extremely fertile environment for making new contacts in the industry. 

At lunch, I sat next to an attorney whose firm has over 600 clients in emerging technologies, a huge swath of which are venture-capitalized start-ups in clean energy.  Before I had my napkin in my lap, I had learned that he has an enormous number of connections to the investor world.  By the time I reached for my salad fork, he had expressed an interest in the work we’re doing in supporting a few business plans and “moving good ideas forward.” 

Not a bad contact to have made, and just one of several.

Great show, cool ideas, wonderful contacts.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

After a quick cup of strong coffee, I’m off to the energy storage show, the 5th Annual “Storage Week” in San Jose.  It’s only a bit over three hours from here, and it’s really worthwhile.  I’ll post something from the show that I think is worth-while, and that won’t be hard; traditionally, I’ve found that there are some magnificent new concepts presented each year.  

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

As I’m sure you’re aware, clean energy is under attack from the traditional energy industry; the oil and coal companies are spending a fortune on their PR firms and lobbyists to discredit the competition, i.e., renewable energy. And unfortunately, this has been quite effective, as evidenced by:

• The dramatic increase in the number of educated Americans who question (or ignore) the peril in which we’ve placed our civilization via our ever-expanding use of fossil fuels, and (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

I really can’t understand why more people, regardless of their political leanings, aren’t calling for the resignation of U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). Haven’t his antics gone far past the point of our normal political theater? Inhofe is in office because of huge campaign contributions from the oil companies, and he’s trying to shut down the US military’s interest in alternative fuels. He wants Congress to enact legislation that would make it impossible for the US military to purchase alternative fuels if they cost a penny more than gasoline and diesel.

While I’m not a huge fan of war as a tool to resolve international differences, let me point out that our military: (more…)

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