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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

For some reason, I’m always somewhat surprised to read comments about conservation – they’re numerous, and they’re heartfelt. Frequent commentor Dan Conine writes:

The first alternative energy project that should always be funded is CONSERVATION. THEN whatever we do, won’t cost so much to implement. It is always easier to conserve first, so that we don’t have to make up lost ground for over-consumption in order to survive.

All this is perfectly true, of course. But I’m worried that we, as a race, simply don’t have the stomach for it.

I don’t claim to have a read on the consciousness of those outside the US — but I do think I understand Americans. I’m reminded of Jimmy Carter with his cardigan sweater, addressing a national audience on television in the late 1970s, asking us to turn our thermostats down. Let’s just say that this didn’t resonate.

A bit later he was voted out of office in a humiliating landslide, replaced by Ronald Reagan whose platform was essentially the opposite: America is tough. We don’t need sissy solar panels on the White House. Tear ‘em down. We’re strong, rogue wildcatters who drill for oil of which there is in infinite supply underneath our fruited plains which God Himself blesses. Reagan, you’ll recall, was one of the most popular presidents in history; we would have elected him king if we could have.

I’m afraid that this same mentality still lies at the core of the American psyche. Witness the backlash against the theory of global warming and the support for “drill-baby-drill,” nuclear energy, and the expansion of the war in the Middle East. We’re tough, we drill, and we fight.  We take no crap.  And regardless of how backward and insensitive our policies, God still smiles on us. 

And mostly, witness the fact that Americans do not support austerity in any form. We’ll run up our national debt exponentially, but we will absolutely not (neither Republicans nor Democrats) confront the financial pain that is inexorably headed our way.

Dan: Conservation may sound like a good idea to you and me, but I’m afraid it’s a non-starter on a national scale.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketThe blog I posted on Renewable Energy World yesterday on cold fusion has already gotten a few insightful comments. The common theme seems to be the sad fact that politics, rather science in its dispassionate purity, is the leading driver of the technology that we as a society ultimately adopt. As I’ve written abundantly elsewhere, I think the evidence for this is overwhelming — and I see no way around it today or anytime in the future.

To me, this suggests a “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach. I.e., if the good guys win, that is, if clean energy ultimately replaces fossil fuels while we still have a habitable planet on which to live, it will happen only because you and I told the story to enough people and developed a sufficient groundswell of opinion. Let’s never stop.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

PhotobucketMy blog at Renewable Energy World is, ironically, more visible that this one at my own site. Yet this is understandable; after all, they’ve been at it for 11 years, and boast the human bandwidth to cover the subject of clean energy at great depth. That is why, I think, my first post there created such a large influx of new readers back here – many of whom have existing or imminent businesses in the clean tech sector, and are looking for helping in establishing and expanding those businesses.

This has necessitated our expanding our range of thinking regarding the services that new clear energy business need. In particular, many of my recent conversations with entrepreneurs in this space concern breakthrough ideas that need to be developed. Typically, I’ve noticed that inventors have visions of owning billion-dollar manufacturing facilities on five continents – yet perhaps that’s not what’s best for them at all. Often, the best thing for a hot new idea is a buyer of that idea – or perhaps a licensee of that idea. Great inventors are not necessarily great manufacturers, marketers, or distributors.

To this end, we are in the process of building out our capability of helping entrpreneurs monetize their ideas – not by carrying them all the way to fruition, but my making solid, win-win deals with others who can do so for them. Soon, you’ll be seeing more 2GreenAssociates in business development, technology licensing, and mergers/acquisitions.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Amir Mikhail, Senior Vice President of Engineering for Clipper Windpower, in an effort to develop my chapter on wind for my upcoming book on renewable energy.  This talk was full of interesting nuances about the physics and engineering aspects of cutting-edge the technology for extracting energy from the wind and converting it to mechanical – and ultimately to electrical energy.  And, as suggested by today’s photo, we began with some fascinating history on the subject.

But Dr. Mikhail raised a few basic points about the renewables industry in general that I thought I would share in this post:

The issue of energy storage is – for the US at this point at least – something of a red herring.  With 2% overall penetration of clean energy (across all forms of renewables) the fluctuation associated with the intensity of the wind – even locally — is of essentially no consequence to overall energy availability levels whatsoever.  Moreover, by the time the penetration rate increases to anywhere resembling that of Europe, we will have developed smart grid technologies that will enable far better real-time control of large sections of the grid.  E.g., if the wind is not blowing strong in area A, let’s see what it’s doing in area B, C, or D.

We also discussed the tough choices forced upon us a we migration  to renewables.  The wind industry takes seriously the issue of environmental damage associated with its farms, and conducts ongoing research to ensure that the size of turbine rotors and the hours of operation are creating a minimum of negative impact.  In the early days of commercial wind, the primary issue was large raptors; now, decades later, the focus is on bats, whose tiny lungs cannot handle the differential in air pressure around the turbines.  The industry also is making an effort to build farms in areas that already have a significant human footprint, recognizing the imperative to preserve the true wilderness wherever possible.

However, Dr. Mikhail points out that there are no existing clean energy technologies that come with zero environmental impact.  We do have to make choices, and each of these choices will represent some level of sacrifice.  “The people in a coal mining state back east were offered a choice of either putting wind turbines on a local mountain, or chopping off the top of the mountain, pulling the coal out of it, and burning it.  Craig, do you realize that they chose the latter?  There are choices.  We simply have to make the best ones.”

Again, Dr. Mikhail, thanks for the insights.

 

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Reader Jacob Silver writes:

Non-absorbed carbon in the atmosphere is thickening the carbon filter of solar energy. With the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of forest cut down in Indonesia and Brazil, the result is a gap of 25% non-absorbed carbon. This has already created an atmospheric carbon index of 390 ppm, with an increase of 2 ppm each year.

It’s coincidental that you mention the importance of the rainforests.  As it turns out, my wife, who recently exited with the world of horse breeding, will soon be speaking with the good people of Amazon Watch re: a new career as environmental guardian.  I truly hope it works out, as advocating for eco-stewardship is a great chance to make the big bucks.  (Just kidding.)

I’m reminded of the magical night I had in Los Angeles a few months ago at a screening of the movie Crude (which I heartily recommend), and meeting a few of the filmmakers. It was a great honor to hang out with people who have dedicated their lives to such an honest and beautiful cause. I’m reminded in particular of Amazon Watch’s Atossa Soltani (pictured here) whom I’ve described as “a fierce but kind fireball of passion and energy for the cause of the Ecuadorian people.”

For those who may not be aware of the story, Crude is a documentary that lays out the history of one of the world’s most horrible tragedies – tragic mostly insofar as it did not have to happen. In brief, oil giant Texaco began looking for oil in Ecuador in 1964 and pursued that goal for decades, with dirty, low-cost processes that would have landed anyone associated with them in jail had they been performed in the US. The company knowingly ruined a huge part of the rainforest, resulting in the sickness and death of tens of thousands of innocent indiginous people. Now, Chevron, who acquired Texaco in 2001, has focused its throng of lawyers on the task of evading responsibility for the crimes.

Those wishing to learn more can do so at Amazon Watch. It would certainly be a happy day for us at the Shields family to have one of on the staff of such a fabulous team of people.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

PhotobucketI deeply appreciate the hundreds of comments to the posts that my guests and I have written this year.  Here are the five posts that received the most comments: 

The True Cost of Fossil Fuels

Big Energy and Campaign Finance Reform

Renewables and Cutting-Edge Physics

The True Cost of Electric Power

The “Business of Plugging In” Conference

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

A reader writes:

What about the Quantum vacuum, which isn’t a vacuum at all. Zero Point energy is available now.

To which I respond:

I’m very interestested in this, but most people tell me it’s poppycock.  (I.e., zero point energy is real, of course, but the idea that it’s available for use is poppycock.) Can you point me to a website that presents this in a clear and compelling way? 

It’s true that a particle at absolute zero still has some energy, due to the Heisenberg Uncertainly Principle.  I.e., if a particle had no momentum, we’d know exactly where it was, which is impossible.  However, is there any possible application of that in terms of harnessing useful work?  Most people, and I’ve spoken with a heck of a lot of extremely senior and fair-minded people, say no.

I post this to stimulate conversation on the subject; I hope readers will please feel free to add clarification.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketI have to say that I’m quite happy to be part of the Renewable Energy World blog.  They’re in their 11th year, and their community is quite large — the site’s subscriber base numbers in the hundreds of thousands and grows daily.  I’m being quite sincere what I write about their journalistic breadth and excellence; I’m honored to be part of such high-level company. 

Here’s something else I notice:  they’ve kept the whole discussion about renewables quite completely positive; they advocate for clean energy, and against….nothing. 

I see nothing wrong with that; in fact, I see a great deal of value in keeping the whole discussion positive.  But readers here know that I’ve taken a different tack; I’m vehemently against a lot of things (read: corruption), and I’m more than willing to say so — at the admitted expense of turning many people off.  My mother told me when I was a little boy that you can’t please everyone, and she sure nailed that one.  I got an “unsubscribe” yesterday from someone yelling that I had no common sense and that I did not live in the real world.  It comes with the territory. 

Unfortunately for us all, regardless of our political persuasions, the “real world” is chock full of forces that are quite indifferent (at best) to your and my happiness, health, and safety.  Want an example?

Until the (GW) Bush Administration was taken to task for it a  few years ago, the Bureau of Land Management formalized a policy that made cleanup at oil and gas drilling sites purely voluntary for the corporations that drill on public lands. Cleanup at drilling sites, known as “offsite mitigation,” had previously been required. 

Want 50 or so more? Here you are. Take your pick.

Sorry if I’m off the beam re: common sense, but I’m afraid that if no one notices things like this, these forces will bite us in the backside.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

PhotobucketNot to harp on the obvious, but without vigorous grassroots efforts to the contrary, the migration to renewable energy and clean transportation will be slow and arduous. In news that underscores this point, Toyota unveiled its new plug-in hybrid, promising sales in 2011 at an “affordable” price. Executive vice president Takeshi Uchiyamada told an eager audience that Toyota’s plug-in travels 14.5 miles as an electric vehicle on a single charge.

Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I find this product — and the timing of its launch — a considerable snooze. Toyota could have had a plug-in hybrid with 30 – 50 mile electric-only range in the market many years ago. Why didn’t they? Because it wasn’t in their interest to do so. They were already perceived as “green” (with the Prius), and there was nothing in it for them to move this along until they absolutely had to.

This offering is good for Toyota in every way. The small battery pack will be easy to build, support, sell – and ultimately replace with new technology as soon as it comes along. The fact that most drivers will be disappointed in that they will continue to use gasoline on a daily basis is apparently not a significant part of the equation.

I’m reminded of shopping at Costco, the experience of which always leaves we thinking: I’m not buying what’s good for me; I’m buying what’s good for Costco to sell me – whatever they can source inexpensively, and sell in quantities that are almost always far greater than its customers want. Need a canister of salt? Think you can get it at Costco? No, if you want salt, you get a 25-pound sack – sufficient to last a family of four about 30 years.

But is it fair to expect altruism from Toyota — or any other corporation, when their sole purpose is to make money? Today’s corporate titans think of themselves as “customer-focused,”  though that’s for business reasons, not out of true concern for fulfilling customers’ needs.  If that weren’t the case, we woudn’t have planned obsolescence — products that are built to wear out and fall apart, necessitating replacement by new ones. 

The bottom line is this: at the end of the day, electric transportation will not come from the “push” of the OEMs; the only thing we have going for us is the “pull” from customers like me (and, I hope, like you) who simply refuse to buy another 25 MPG planet-buster.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketI don’t think too many of us had high hopes for definitive negotiations emanating from Copenhagen. Today we learned of China’s announcement that the developing world won’t commit to greenhouse gas emissions reductions until the developed world leads the way – a stalemate that is regrettable but hardly surprising.

What is perhaps more interesting is the timing of ExxonMobil’s purchase of domestic oil and gas giant XTO Energy for $31 billion. In the media, it was reported as a bet on natural gas (as a lower emission energy source than oil), showing that Exxon anticipates growing restrictions on CO2 emissions. To me, it looks like the precise opposite – i.e., a bet that Copenhagen will not produce a binding result, and that fossil fuels will remain alive and well for the foreseeable future.

In any case, I think we all need to be aware of the fact that, without vigorous grassroots efforts to the contrary, the migration to renewable energy will be a slow and arduous one.