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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It seems that affection for renewable energy often breaks down across political (conservative vs. liberal) lines. I’m not sure I understand how this can be. Obviously, everyone cares about the quality of the planet we live on and leave to our descendents. So I’m guessing the fundamental issue is the cost of renewables.

But, as Tom Rooney points out in his recent article Why Conservatives Are Bad on Energy, the financial analysis of clean energy is largely based on misconceptions. A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal referred to photovoltaic solar energy as a “speculative and immature technology that costs far more than ordinary power.” The author went on to point out that the only thing holding the industry together were subsidies. Didn’t this guy get the memo? A few weeks ago, the International Energy Agency said worldwide, fossil fuels receive $550 billion in subsidies a year — 12 times what alternatives such as wind and solar get. (more…)

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

A group of fuel advocates is pushing the Senate to include their Autogas in the tax break provisions of the upcoming Energy Bill expected for natural gas vehicles and infrastructure. Propane Autogas is derived from the refining of natural gas. Autogas is an alternative fuel used by private fleet vehicles and some public vehicles.

The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) and Autogas for America have asked their members and industry to flood Senator Reid’s offices with letters in favor of Autogas for the Energy Bill. “Senator Reid is moving this [Energy Bill] along so quickly that we’re afraid they may not include Autogas,” said Rick Roidan, president of NPGA. “It will be a tremendous oversight by the Senate…”

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I just got off the phone with the John Gotthold, the Chief Technology Officer of HySolGenics, Inc., a San Jose CA start-up that is developing low cost electrolyzers and portable hydrogen refueling stations – largely for rural, off-grid applications. They’re looking for angel funding, and, although this is not the kind of thing the investors I know try to cultivate, it sounds like an interesting opportunity.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Readers here know that I generally refrain from taking cheap shots at the oil and gas industry. I try to keep in mind that, whether we like it or not, fossil fuels make up the vast majority of the world’s energy supply, and that until we can come together as a civilization and make them obsolete, we rely on them every days of our lives.

Having said that, I think it’s imperative to ensure we never lose sight of the dangers. To that end, I call attention to the fact that the federal government is warning residents in a small Wyoming town with extensive natural gas development not to drink their water, and to use fans and ventilation when showering or washing clothes in order to avoid the risk of an explosion. It seems that EPA researchers found benzene, metals, naphthalene, phenols and methane in wells and in groundwater.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

One of the keys to successful product launches is finding a niche that’s bound to be successful, and using that success to tell the story to a broader audience. Nowhere is this more important than in the introduction of electric transportation. Fortunately, as demonstrated in this article about the introduction of the Nissan Leaf in Hawaii, this niche-marketing concept is not lost on these folks. 

When you think of an environment whose attributes make EVs a slam dunk, it’s hard to imagine better circumstances than most of the island nations – or, in this case, island states: low speeds, expensive gasoline – and, best of all, finite ranges that are easily accommodated by a reasonably sized battery pack. If Leaf drivers get anywhere close to 100 miles on a charge, there will be very little range anxiety to dampen the Aloha spirits of native Hawaiians and their tourist customers.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I try to read VentureBeat whenever I can, to see what’s happening in the world of capital formation for start-ups in green tech.  Here’s an article that offers a summary of renewable energy trends that you may find useful.

It’s interesting how  many different prognostications there are about the adoption curve for renewables.  One reads some some really wild stuff.  I’m finishing up another white paper along the “tough realities” theme, which concludes with 10 top questions — none of which is really amenable to a hard and fast answer.

To me, all this  shows that the answer truly is “blowin’ in the wind.”  I.e., it’s a function of how fired up we get and demand solutions.  I’m reminded of Henry Kissinger recent statement, “If it weren’t for the wrath of the American people about our presence in Vietnam, we’d STILL BE THERE.”  (emphasis added) That’s an amazing thing for a political leader to admit, isn’t it?

Never think for a minute that you have no voice.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Both of yesterday’s lead stories in the WSJ re-assert Rupert Murdoch’s ultra-right-wing position that the public sector needs to refrain from setting energy policy that would affect private enterprise – even as the ecological toll of business-as-usual continues to escalate. In particular:

The front-page lead story “Climate Panel Faces Heat” is another in a long-running series suggesting that global warming is a hoax, engineered presumably by greedy climate scientists all grabbing for grant money.

“US Wants Report Card for Cars,” is the headline story in the second section, (“Marketplace”). It begins, “The government proposed labeling each new passenger car with a letter grade from A to D,” and points out how the plan is criticized in that the government is making a judgement as to the value of cars.

Wasn’t there a time a when newspapers just reported the news?

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

from biomass

by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

A friend of mine who is trying to raise public or private money for his extremely well-conceived electric vehicle start-up just wrote to me with words that ring true:

[We’ll be attending the] upcoming Annual Congressional Business Summit, and this is a point of focus for me right now. I don’t know what they will do, other than to hear them say, “Wow what a neat idea.”　 I guess I shouldn’t be a cynic, but the last 14 months have opened my eyes as to the two-facedness of Congress.　 They like to talk about how small business is the source of 80% of the new jobs, and then promptly deliver money to the large corporations that spend most of their time trying to make sure small businesses evaporate.　 Millions in campaign support and a veritable army of lobbyists seems to be working just fine.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

In response to my white paper on The Tough Realities of Marketing and Sales, a reader points out a few of the economic realities that, in his mind, supersede the points I make in the report. In particular, he notes that there is currently no true market economy for things like biofuels:

All Sustainable businesses have a particular feature: they are always evaluated on a payback or IRR basis. We are in an oil based economy and not on a Sustainable Economy. Biofuels and energy are not marketable by any company but the utilities or distribution companies in each case. You can get biofuels from many technologies, but at the gas station you buy oil, not biofuels. Probably if you look, you will find a huge law on biofuels and how they can be marketed that is everything but compelling for biofuels to be used. Taxes alone make the business tough and customers are wary about using biofuels even in low percentages … Either taxes are on the side of biofuels or they always need incentives and subsidies to be competitive.

The reader goes on to point out that the same lack of liquidity exists for electricity: (more…)

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