Effect of Ending Green Energy Credits

Here's a short opinion piece from Green Energy News. The article quotes a joint statement of the National Hydropower Association, Geothermal Energy Association, Solar Energy Industries Association, and American Wind Energy Association, reporting that 6000 Megawatts of renewable energy came on line in 2007, and that the industry created many many good jobs for Americans. However, the statement then points out that the number of new project starts is declining now because federal credits for renewable energy expire at the end of the year. The article urges action by the federal government now to renew those credits.

I'm led to wonder to what extent individual states will try and pick up some of the slack. For example, here's a report the other day from the Associated Press that Massachusetts will be implementing a program to support residential solar panel use. The article points out the Massachusetts will be basing its plan on those in New Jersey and California.

Exploring Alternate Solar Possibilities

This article reports on a new invention -- the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Conversion System or JTECS -- that the inventor claims will convert solar energy to electric at 60% efficiency. It's an unusual system that works with heat differentials and a type of hydrogen cell to produce the electricity. It works as a closed system with no waste, input or output of any kind, other than the heat produced by the sun. The article also says this system, which is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, could potentially be used to produce electricity from waste heat produced by internal combustion engines, and perhaps any other source.

Compressed Air Car

This new car runs on compressed air, with no pollution or emissions other than air. It fuels in minutes for a couple dollars, and it will be marketed for about $7000 in France and India perhaps by the end of the year. There is an associated video with the story, all of which can be found here.

Solar Surges Ahead

This blog entry on Grist Environmental News and Commentary points out that Nanosolar has shipped its first panels, and that the company means business. Its new factory in San Jose will be producing more panels than all other companies in the US combined. These panels are printed thin-film cells. Significantly, the commentator points out that the price of these panels will undercut the price of new coal production. Read about it here.

Transportation Developments

Here's a fun article about a guy who's a motorhead with a talent for hotrodding big vehicles to be both more powerful and more efficient--often with the ability to run on a variety of fuels. For example, he's modified a Hummer to get twice the mileage with twice the power using a diesel motor which can run on grease as well. He's cut CO2 emissions, too, by as much as 80% in some of the cars he's messed with. In many cases he uses 90% factory parts, and he wonders why the big boys can't do this stuff themselves. The article suggests they're starting to take notice. Read all about the Motorhead Messiah here.

Then, this story reports on a company that's promoting the use of giant parachute kites for reducing energy needs in ocean shipping. Computer chips are used to measure winds and maximize efficiency of these systems. The company aims to equip 1500 ships by 2015. Read about the Football field-sized kites for ships here.

Being Green Can Produce Jobs

With the US economy on the rocks or near to it, some look to the green business sector for hope. In the book Natural Capitalism (which I couldn't recommend more highly) Hunter and Amory Lovins and Paul Hawken argue--for one thing--that there's huge money to be made and limitless work available in the field of fixing the planet.

Here's a story from Time Magazine which makes the same point. Van Jones (pictured above) is promoting programs that "Give the work that most needs to be done to the people who most need the work." The article says his message is to "solve two pressing problems--pollution and poverty--at once."

Other pertinent ideas:

"For the environmental movement, embracing Jones' message means recasting global warming not just as an existential threat but as an enormous economic opportunity."

"A study by the Cleantech Network, which tracks green investment, found that for every $100 million in green venture capital, 250,000 new jobs could be created."

By my math, that's just $400 per job. Hmmm...

It's a short article. Go read it all.

Wind Energy Plus (in Minnesota)

While this article is specific to Minnesota, where it is believed that wind in particular holds some of the best promise for meeting renewable energy mandates, it also covers a range of other technologies that are being tried, and it highlights some of the challenges of introducing new methods of energy production, one of them being not enough transmission lines to carry electricity from wind turbines.

Some of the other alternative energy methods mentioned are converting coal to oil, burning turkey litter to generate electricity, converting grass seed waste into an energy source, and using electricity derived from wind to produce hydrogen.

Read the story here.