Is Energy the Internet’s Next Killer App?
Some have called smart energy “the internet’s next killer app.” Actually it’s the other way around.
Archive for July 3rd, 2009
Is Energy the Internet’s Next Killer App?
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
KPCB Led Cleantech Venture Capital Investment Rebound in Second Quarter 2009
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
KPCB Led Cleantech Venture Capital Investment Rebound in Second Quarter 2009
Cleantech Venture Capital Investment Rebounded in Second Quarter 2009
BLM Opens Doors for SW Solar Grand Plan
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
BLM Opens Doors for SW Solar Grand Plan
Just a year and a half after a breakthrough Solar Grand Plan study was published in the January 2008 Scientific American, the U.S. government has begun plans to implement major elements of such a Plan.
Riverstone Acquires Babcock & Brown’s North American Wind Holdings
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
Riverstone Acquires Babcock & Brown’s North American Wind Holdings
Riverstone Holdings LLC and the management team of Babcock & Brown’s North American Energy Group confirmed the purchase of the wind development portfolio from Babcock & Brown LP to form Pattern Energy Group LP. Pattern Energy will be an independent, fully integrated energy company that develops, constructs, owns and operates renewable energy and transmission assets across North America and parts of Latin America.
Visit the original post at: Renewable Energy News – RenewableEnergyWorld.com
DOE Offers US $43M Loan Guarantee to Beacon Power
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
DOE Offers US $43M Loan Guarantee to Beacon Power
Beacon Power Corporation has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a loan guarantee of approximately US $43 million. The DOE’s offer outlines terms for a loan that would finance more than 60% of Beacon’s planned 20-megawatt (MW) flywheel-based energy storage plant to be located in Stephentown, New York. The plant, which will provide frequency regulation services, will help stabilize and enhance the performance of the grid.
Visit the original post at: Renewable Energy News – RenewableEnergyWorld.com
Yingli To Supply SDIC Huajing with 10 MW of Solar PV Panels
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
Yingli To Supply SDIC Huajing with 10 MW of Solar PV Panels
Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited has been selected by SDIC Huajing Power Holding Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the State Development and Investment Corp. (SDIC), to supply solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for a 10-megawatt (MW) on-grid solar plant in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.
Visit the original post at: Renewable Energy News – RenewableEnergyWorld.com
New Gamesa Prototype Unveiled
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
New Gamesa Prototype Unveiled
Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica has revealed the first prototype of its G10x – 4.5 MW product platform at the Cabezo Negro R&D wind farm located in the Jaulín local authority in the Spanish province of Saragossa.
Visit the original post at: Renewable Energy News – RenewableEnergyWorld.com
House Subcommittee Advances Bill to Restart Natural Gas Vehicle RD Program at DOE; $150M in Appropriations
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
The US House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment recently approved H.R. 1622, which will restart a natural gas vehicle (NGV) R&D program at the Department of Energy (DOE). DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory had earlier led the Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicles (NGNGV) program to develop advanced, commercially viable, medium- and heavy-duty NGVs.
H.R. 1622 directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) conduct a five-year program of natural gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration; and (2) coordinate with the natural gas vehicle industry and with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding streamlined certification of natural gas conversion systems to federal certification requirements and in-use emission standards.
Under the RD&D program, the bill calls for a focus on:
- The continued improvement and development of new, cleaner, more efficient light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty natural gas vehicle engines;
- The integration of those engines into light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles for onroad and offroad applications;
- Expanding product availability by assisting manufacturers with the certification of engines or vehicles to Federal or California certification requirements and in-use emission standards;
- The demonstration and proper operation and use of the natural gas vehicles under all operating conditions;
- The development and improvement of nationally recognized codes and standards for the continued safe operation of natural gas vehicles and their components;
- Improvement in the reliability and efficiency of natural gas fueling station infrastructure;
- The certification of natural gas fueling station infrastructure to nationally recognized and industry safety standards;
- The improvement in the reliability and efficiency of onboard natural gas fuel storage systems;
- The development of new natural gas fuel storage materials;
- The certification of onboard natural gas fuel storage systems to nationally recognized and industry safety standards; and
- The use of natural gas engines in hybrid vehicles.
Fuels supported in the program would be compressed natural gas; liquefied natural gas; biomethane; and mixtures of hydrogen and methane or natural gas.
If passed, the bill in its current state would authorize appropriations of $30 million for each of the five fiscal years of the program: $150 million in total.
The bill was authored by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) and co-sponsored by Full Committee Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX).
To transform our nation’s energy sector we must explore a diverse range of fuels and vehicle technologies. While only a piece in very complex puzzle, natural gas can potentially provide us with an option that is both cleaner than petroleum and domestically available.
—Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA)
Voice-Controlled Electric Car Can Be Summoned by Phone
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
Voice-Controlled Electric Car Can Be Summoned by Phone
Picture the scene – the sun is shining and the idea comes into your head that it might be quite nice to go for a scenic drive through the countryside. You dial a number on your mobile phone and within seconds a car appears outside your house.
You climb in, recline the seat back as far as it’ll go and quietly whisper ‘drive.’ Then, as the car glides smoothly along, you pour yourself a long cold drink and admire the scenery, occasionally barking out the odd instruction like “left at the lights,” “faster,” or “turn the MP3 up.”
Sounds like a nice dream? Well, if Dutch-US design team Mike and Maaike have their way that dream could one day be within the reach of every driver.
The duo have created an all-electric concept vehicle, known as the ATNMBL, (short for ‘Autonomobile’) that could revolutionize the way we interact with our cars, by controlling them with our voices (more pics after the jump).
Daily News—07/03
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
South Africa looks to promote biodiesel
GREEN REVOLUTION : The Greenhouse Project is transforming an urban park into a seedbed for sustainable living by integrating green building and design, efficient and renewable energy, recycling and organic farming.
SOUTH African motorists could in the near future drive vehicles that run on cooking oil and peculiarly “smell of fried chips”.
This will be made possible by the use of biofuel, particularly biodiesel, say enthusiasts.
Biofuel is a form of fuel derived from “recently living” organisms, replacing fossil fuels such as those derived from coal.
It is usually produced using crops such as mielies, sugar beet and sunflower seeds, though the recycling of used cooking oil is the favoured option.
I enjoy reading articles like this one which view biodiesel as a totally new concept, as though we never heard of it. That’s OK. Everyone has to start somewhere, and just think how much biodiesel S.Africa can grow.
Northwest biodiesel troubles based on misinformation, according to John Plaza
John Plaza, CEO of Imperium Renewables
The president of Seattle-based refiner Imperium Renewables John Plaza despairs at what he calls rampant “misinformation.”
John Plaza: “There can be issues on both sides whether it's good, whether it's bad. But the facts prove that biofuel significantly reduces greenhouse gases. The facts prove that it is a tremendous economic engine for the state, the region, and the nation.”
Imperium owns the biggest biodiesel refinery in the region.
Small article reminds us once again that the NW area of the U.S. is not part of the rainforest, and here, biodiesel can work without starving anyone or destroying the wonders of nature. Just the opposite.
General Biodiesel buys Seattle Imperium plant
Image from: http://www.generalbiodiesel.com/
On June 24, General Biodiesel Seattle, LLC, announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Seattle biodiesel facility from Imperium Renewables. Imperial Renewables is a Seattle-based commercial biodiesel refinery operating a 100mm gallon per year facility in Grays Harbor.
General Biodiesel is converting the facility to produce biodiesel from waste oils such as recycled cooking oil and animal fat.
CEO and founder Yale Wong is primarily focused on making biodiesel oil from waste oils instead of the traditional virgin materials, such as soy or canola oil. Wong advocates using recyclable goods, such as animal fat, instead of using soy or canola, which can be domestically consumed in other ways
That is one great thing about biodiesel—you can switch to many different sources for the basic veggie oil, including, as in this case, a switch to waste oils and fats, something we already need to get rid of.
Florida has a new oil baroness and she is banking on Jatropha
Teri Gevinson, the new oil baroness of Delray Beach, FL
Teri Gevinson thinks money grows on trees.
That's why she's planted 9,500 jatropha trees in Delay Beach, on land where pepper and tomato farmers had long since packed up their hoes and gone home in disgust. The jatropha is the next big thing in agrofuel (switchgrass is so last year), another save-the-planet strategy to help us wean ourselves from fossil fuels. The tree, whose leaves look like a cross between pot and poison ivy, produces an oil-rich seed, and that oil has been used as gas for planes, trains, and automobiles — some trains in India run just fine on the stuff, even when loaded down with extra passengers and live chickens.
This is the human interest angle of the same story we covered earlier, biodiesel is all about believing in a dream of independence and freedom from the OTHER oil barons.
New biodiesel pipeline is the first of its kind in U.S.
Plantation Pipe Line Company
The first commercial shipment of biodiesel coursed through pipelines operated by the Plantation Pipe Line Company, a joint venture of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Exxon Mobil. Plantation’s system of pipelines is shown above.
A commercial shipment of biodiesel has moved through a pipeline in the United States for the first time, according to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a pipeline company.
A 5 percent biodiesel blend moved from Mississippi to Georgia, and also from Mississippi to Virginia, via the Plantation Pipe Line Company, which is owned jointly by Kinder Morgan with a 51 percent stake, and Exxon Mobil with 49 percent. Last December, Kinder Morgan announced that the nation’s first ethanol pipeline had begun service.
Interesting story about the first biodiesel pipe line, and the various problems posed by such a concept. Now we’re talking, let’s ship biodiesel via pipe line all over the country. It is a valuable product and growing more valuable by the day.
VC Investment in Green Tech Up to US $1.2B in Q2
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
VC Investment in Green Tech Up to US $1.2B in Q2
Greentech Media Inc. this week released quarterly data showing that venture capital investment in green technologies totaled US $1.2 billion in 85 deals in the second quarter of 2009. This is up from $836 million in 59 deals in the first quarter of 2009.
Nation’s First Wastewater Biodiesel Plant Being Planned
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
Nation’s First Wastewater Biodiesel Plant Being Planned
In what’s being touted as a first of its kind for the country, a city in Georgia says it will use its wastewater to grow algae to make into biodiesel.
The Daily Citizen of Dalton, Georgia reports Dalton Utilities plans to build a pilot project to use with its land application system along the Conasauga River:
“We are working on the design now,” said Mark Marlowe, Dalton Utilities’ vice president of water and wastewater engineering. “We hope to start construction in the fall or winter of this year, and complete construction in fall or winter. The startup will take several months. But it should be fully operational by the spring of 2010.”
The pilot facility will be about an acre in size, capable of treating roughly 200 to 500 gallons of wastewater a day with algae that will feed on the nutrients in the water.
The utility has partnered with the University of Georgia in the effort. And K.C. Das, director of the university’s Biorefinery and Carbon Cycling Program, says the facility will be the first of its kind in the nation…
Das said they expect to get about 430 to 450 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year to start. And larger facilities may be able to make even more.
“The target is 2,000 gallons (per acre per year),” Das said.
DU officials say they the algae will eat the phosphorous in the water, removing it from the wastewater… growing fuel while cleaning up the environment!
Florida to Get Jatropha, Algae Biodiesel Plant
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
Florida to Get Jatropha, Algae Biodiesel Plant
A Southern Florida biofuel refiner has plans to build a 15 million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant that will use oil from the jatropha plant and algae as its feedstocks.
This article from the Miami Herald says Ag-Oil, based in Delray Beach, is putting up the $20 million pilot-scale biodiesel production facility thanks to some federal stimulus dollars:
Teri Gevinson, CEO of Ag-Oil, said the company has planted 20 acres of jatropha, a fast-growing plant with seeds that contain oil, to make biodiesel. The biorefinery will use a patented technology to convert jatropha seeds, algae and related by-products into fuel.
The company, the recipient of a $2.5 million state renewable energy grant, is working with United Environment and Energy, Horseheads, N.Y.; Argonne National Laboratory, a federal energy lab in Argonne, Il., the University of Florida and the University of Southern Illinois. It has also applied for federal American Recovery and Investment Act funds.
Once operational sometime in 2011, the facility and plantation on 103 acres will maintain an estimated 128 direct jobs and 915 indirect jobs, the company said.
Other farmers in South Florida will also be growing jatropha for the plant.
Bridgedale Adds Bamboo Socks And Reduces Global Warming
Author: EcoFriendlyJul 3
Bridgedale Adds Bamboo Socks And Reduces Global Warming
The other week I was sitting in a medical waiting room reading, as you do, a copy of Reader Digest. There was an intriguing article about Jackie Heinricher, her Booshoot company, and the plan to bring large scale bamboo cultivation to North America. At the time I thought I should follow up on that story.
So I was very surprised to come home and find in my email inbox a missive regarding outdoor sock company Bridgedale’s connection with Booshoot and their Plant A Boo campaign. It seems once upon a time the US had 5 million acres of bamboo under crop. The Plant A Boo project is looking to reinvigorate this swift growing g…
Visit the original post at: TreeHugger
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