The competition and fight for the strategic control of oil vs. the cooperative and independence inherent in renewable energy is an interesting comparison.
With this in mind… Anne Korin is a conservative worth listening too. She is the Co-Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security. She points out a few key questions that are missing from many discussions about climate change, oil, coal, nukes, drilling, etc.
-Does America have the time to wait for the market to provide to solutions for energy independence?
-Are there times when government should intervene, like cap and trade?
-Why are we fighting wars that we are supporting both sides of?
-What real solutions can we do right now?
–Here is part one of seven…
And so…
-Will coal become less attractive because the Supreme Court has agreed CO2 is a pollutant and must be regulated by the EPA to mitigate climate change? Cick Here
-Will government step in with Cap and Trade to give renewable more advantage over fossil fuels?
As Obama has mentioned. Click Here
-Or will new innovations come forward that are more competitive than fossil fuels?
Like this study from Ausra about how Solar thermal power could supply over 90 percent of US Grid Plus new electric vehile auto fleet.
Three initiatives to dramatically decrease reliance on oil at Automotive News Green Car Conference in Detroit
Rocky Mountain Institute to convene a summit to bring together high-profile “off-oil” plans, launch “Project Get Ready” a 20-city initiative created at RMI’s Smart Garage Summit, and establish a clean mobility project in India.
Rocky Mountain Institute announced three initiatives today, including a summit to find common ground among the best features of several plans and foster consensus on national policy recommendations. Other initiatives will help lead the automotive industry’s transition towards lightweighting and electrification.
In his keynote address to the Automotive News Green Car Conference in Detroit, RMI Vice President and Practice Leader of RMI’s MOVE team, Michael Brylawski described the automotive industry as being on the verge of its fourth major shift—a shift toward lightweighting, electrification, and advanced digital technology that will fundamentally change the industry.
“The automobile industry dramatically shifted to mass production in Henry Ford’s day and then dramatically shifted again to manufacture tanks, planes, and other materiel during World War II,” Brylawski noted. “Later, in response to oil shocks and global competition, the industry shifted toward smaller cars—despite a brief SUV respite in the 1990s. The auto industry is about to witness another dramatic shift—to lightweighting and electrification. This shift, though, is fundamentally different for the industry because it will involve other large industrial sectors, notably our utilities and our buildings.”
Brylawski told conference attendees that this fourth shift is being driven by high oil prices and carbon dioxide emissions—two looming challenges that he said are pushing harder on the auto industry than any other sector. The outcome, he suggested, will include lighter products (for greater fuel efficiency) and electrified or partially electrified vehicles that will connect to the grid via homes and offices.
At the conference, Brylawski also announced three Rocky Mountain Institute projects aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on oil: The RMI/Brookings Oil Solutions Initiative, Project Get Ready, and RMI’s India Initiative.
The RMI/Brookings Oil Solutions Initiative is an effort to find common ground among the best features of several plans and foster consensus on national policy recommendations. “Project Get Ready” will work with a number of cities to break the barriers and build the alliances necessary to accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and create an electrified, grid-tied infrastructure. RMI’s India Initiative is an effort to work with stakeholders in India to address the next generation of mobility problems with innovative design-based solutions—which would be ultimately applicable in the United States.
“The important thing to remember about this fourth shift in the U.S. auto industry is that it’s going to have some truly positive outcomes—reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and creating an entirely new American industry: green cars,” Brylawski added. “Americans are watching Detroit go downhill at the moment, but there could be a very bright lining to this economic crisis if the American auto industry can make the fourth shift.”
This is a must see video if you are at all interested in electric cars, climate change, the economy and solutions.
It is a conversation with Shai Agassi and Tim O’Reilly at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.
We live in amazing times.
Peace,
Bruce
Better Place is working to build an electric car network. using technology available today. The goals? Sustainable transportation, global energy independence and freedom from oil.
There is a solar energy movement happening that must be shared.
It is in fact much more than solar energy but an empowering paradigm shift in education… allowing individuals to shine as they are. Regardless of poverty, illiteracy, race, language, nationality or gender. Talk about a level playing field. This program is doing such good works.
Please take a moment to review the video. It will inspire you to know that even in the poorest of villages, illiterate barefoot women are studying and becoming solar engineers and then empowering their village with their new skills. Amazing.
Peace,
Bruce
The Barefoot College, in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India, is empowering women to make a difference in their communities that would never have happened by themselves. The Barefoot College is a place of learning and unlearning. It’s a place where the teacher is the learner and the learner is the teacher. It’s a place where NO degrees and certificates are given because in development there are no experts-only resource persons. It’s a place where people are encouraged to make mistakes so that they can learn humility, curiosity, the courage to take risks, to innovate, to improvise and to constantly experiment. It’s a place where all are treated as equals and there is no hierarchy.
“So long as the process leads to the good and welfare of all; so long as problems of discrimination, injustice, exploitation and inequalities are addressed directly or indirectly; so long as the poor, the deprived and the dispossessed feel its a place they can talk, be heard with dignity and respect, be trained and be given the tools and the skills to improve their own lives the immediate relevance of the Barefoot College to the global poor will always be there.”
Here’s the video…
“The rural poor must satisfy basic minimum needs like drinking water health educational employment etc. to improve their quality of life. Billions of dollars are spent every year in the name of the poor to provide these services. Colleges, research institutes, and funding organizations employ urban-trained, paper-qualified professionals to provide these services at tremendous costs. But there will always be a vested interest to keep the rural poor because thousands of jobs are at stake and poverty is big business.
The belief of the Barefoot College is that development programs do NOT need urban-based professionals because para-professionals already exist in the villages whose wisdom, knowledge and skills are neither identified, mobilized nor applied just because they do not have an educational qualification.
This belief was put into practice 33 years ago in all the development program dealing with improving the quality of life.”
Here is the founder of Barefoot College, Bunker Roy…
Skoll Foundation Visit to Barefoot College Tilonia
2:00 p.m. EST Nov. 5, 2008
NORTH EAST, Md., Nov 05, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Blue Square Energy, a developer and manufacturer of low-cost silicon solar cells, today announced that it has produced a 14.6 percent efficient solar cell with its patent-pending Bright Point technology. BSE’s efficiency result is one of the highest in the world on upgraded metallurgical grade (UMG) silicon and has been verified independently by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
“What we’ve been able to accomplish is a major milestone towards achieving our goal of creating low-cost solar energy for homes and businesses,” said Joseph Babin, CEO of BSE. “This proves that inexpensive silicon typically considered unsuited for the solar industry can be utilized to create solar energy that is price accessible for most Americans. Solar modules made with our Bright Point technology will soon be the best choice for those who care about our environment and their wallets — and want to save both.”
BSE’s Bright Point technology is unique because of its two part structure: a fine layer of high-grade silicon is placed on top of 4N UMG silicon, which differs significantly from the solar industry’s silicon norm by way of cost and availability. Bright Point technology is possible because of BSE’s proprietary engineering and scientific discoveries.
UMG silicon has drawn a great deal of industry attention as companies seek substitutes to traditional and rare solar grade silicon in the fabrication of their solar cells. However, most UMG technologies being developed focus on blending low percentages of inexpensive UMG silicon with expensive solar grade silicon. This results in a minimal cost reduction. Through Bright Point, Blue Square Energy uses 100 percent 4N UMG silicon, which results in a significant cost reduction relative to other UMG silicon solar cell products.
Creating low-cost solar cells is the first step in BSE’s goal of eventually manufacturing the world’s highest efficiency, lowest cost solar cell. This Bright Point II technology is currently in research and development.
About Blue Square Energy
Blue Square Energy is a developer and manufacturer of high-performance silicon solar cells headquartered in North East, Maryland. Its proprietary Bright Point solar cell technology utilizes upgraded metallurgical grade silicon to produce low-cost solar cells for use in homes and business. More information about Blue Square Energy can be found at http://www.BlueSquareEnergy.com.
SolFocus, a maker of concentrator photovoltaic systems, has signed a $103 million (80 euro) deal with Empe Solar, a Spanish group that promotes solar energy use.
SolFocus panels, made of mostly aluminum and glass, are 95 percent recyclable.
(Credit: SolFocus)
Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems typically use lenses and mirrors to concentrate light on solar cells to maximize the amount of electricity they can generate.
SolFocus plans to install over 10 megawatts of CPV systems across southern Spain for Empe Solar between now and 2010 as part of the deal.
SolFocus has already completed three utility-scale projects in Spain.
The 10-megawatt installation would collectively generate enough energy to supply a town of 40,000 residents, and eliminate 27,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year if used to replace traditional fossil fuel energy generators.
PRESS RELEASE
TGI Solar Appoints Wolney Mendes to VP Business Development for Latin America
Last update: 10:32 a.m. EST Nov. 4, 2008
NEW YORK, NY, Nov 04, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — TGI Solar Power Group Inc. (PINKSHEETS: TSPG), a full turn key supplier of vertically integrated systems for a variety of applications from Solar Parks (solar to grid) to commercial markets announces the appointment of Wolney Mendes to VP Business Development for Latin America.
For nearly thirty years, Mr. Mendes has been involved with full life cycle project development, e-Commerce, internet and intranet applications, process redesign, architecture, CRM and ERP systems, access control and electronic security, hardware and firmware, He has built high-performing teams, designed and developed software solutions aligning technology projects for IBM, BASF, Eli Lilly, Philips, and The World Trade Center. As a consultant for the United Nations, Mr. Mendes created and implemented web-based, tax filing system for State Government of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Most recently he has been the Director of Technology for the Acme Group a specialized firm in electronic security.
— The Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA Nanoscience) is collaborating with the University of Hamburg in the development of composite materials based on semiconductor nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes as functional materials for efficient light emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices.
Semiconductor nanocrystals or also called quantum dots exhibit outstanding optical properties compared to organic dyes. Due to the quantum confinement their emission color can be continuously tuned from the ultraviolet to the near infrared range by changing the size and chemical composition. They exhibit a broad absorption spectrum, a narrow emission band and large absorption cross sections.
Panasonic eyes Sanyo; bets on solar power, hybrid cars
Reuters - Tue Nov 4, 2008 1:37pm EST
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp, the world’s top plasma TV maker, is betting on a green future of solar power and hybrid cars as it negotiates a price for rival Sanyo Electric Co that analysts say could be up to $8.7 billion.
A key driver for Panasonic is Sanyo’s auto batteries business that powers increasingly popular hybrid and electric vehicles, but it would also secure a foothold in the solar cell industry, another with strong growth potential amid concern about global climate change.
SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An anticipated Democratic U.S. election sweep is thrilling solar and wind power investors because that outcome is seen as a big step toward establishing federal requirements for alternative power generation.
Analysts said a national mandate for generating renewable power would be a relatively easy first step in any “green” agenda because dozens of states already have such policies, and the cost to a cash-strapped government would be negligible.
Our site is powered completly by solar, wind and renewalbe energy to tune of 130% of the datacenter power consumption, so we're not only neutralizing our carbon footprint, but also pumping an extra 30% of green energy back into the power grid! Very nice and very green!
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