Renewable Energy

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Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:09:00 GMT

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Record High Temperatures Far Outpace Record Lows Across US Over Last Decade

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:34:00 GMT

Daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows over the last decade across the continental United States, new research shows. Results of the research, by authors at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., Climate Central, The Weather Channel, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has been accepted for publication in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Climate change is making itself felt in terms of day-to-day weather in the United States. The ways these records are being broken show how our climate is already shifting.
?NCAR scientist Gerald Meehl, the lead author

The ratio of record daily highs to lows from 1950-2009 at 1,800 US weather stations. Credit: NCAR. Click to enlarge.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR’s sponsor, the US Department of Energy, and Climate Central.

If temperatures were not warming, the number of record daily highs and lows being set each year would be approximately even. Instead, for the period from 1 January 2000, to 30 September 2009, the continental United States set 291,237 record highs and 142,420 record lows, as the country experienced unusually mild winter weather and intense summer heat waves.

“One of the messages of this study is, you still get cold days. Winter still comes. Even in a much warmer climate, we’re setting record low minimum temperatures on a few days each year. But the odds are shifting so there’s a much better chance of daily record highs instead of lows. ”

?Gerald Meehl

A record daily high means that temperatures were warmer on a given day than on that same date throughout a weather station’s history.

The authors used a quality control process to ensure the reliability of data from thousands of weather stations across the country, while looking at data over the past six decades to capture longer-term trends.

This decade’s warming was more pronounced in the western United States, where the ratio was more than two to one, than in the eastern United States, where the ratio was about one-and-a-half to one. The study also found that the two-to-one ratio across the country as a whole could be attributed more to a comparatively small number of record lows than to a large number of record highs.

This indicates that much of the nation’s warming is occurring at night, when temperatures are dipping less often to record lows. This finding is consistent with years of climate model research showing that higher overnight lows should be expected with climate change.

In addition to surveying actual temperatures in recent decades, Meehl and his co-authors turned to a computer model of global climate to determine how record high and low temperatures are likely to change during the course of this century. The modeling results indicate that, if nations continue to increase their emissions of greenhouse gases in a business as usual scenario, the US ratio of daily record high to record low temperatures would increase to about 20-to-1 by mid-century and 50-to-1 by 2100.

The mid-century ratio could be much higher if emissions rose at an even greater pace, or it could be about 8-to-1 if emissions were reduced significantly, the model showed.

The authors caution that such predictions are, by their nature, inexact. Climate models are not designed to capture record daily highs and lows with precision, and it remains impossible to know future human actions that will determine the level of future greenhouse gas emissions.

The model used for the study, the NCAR-based Community Climate System Model, correctly captured the trend toward warmer average temperatures and the greater warming in the West, but overstated the ratio of record highs to record lows in recent years.

However, the model results are important because they show that, in all likely scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions, record daily highs should increasingly outpace record lows over time.

If the climate weren’t changing, you would expect the number of temperature records to diminish significantly over time. As you measure the high and low daily temperatures each year, it normally becomes more difficult to break a record after a number of years. But as the average temperatures continue to rise this century, we will keep setting more record highs.
?Claudia Tebaldi, a statistician with Climate Central and co-author

The study team focused on weather stations that have been operating since 1950. They found that the ratio of record daily high to record daily low temperatures slightly exceeded one to one in the 1950s, dipped below that level in the 1960s and 1970s, and has risen since the 1980s. The results reflect changes in US average temperatures, which rose in the 1950s, stabilized in the 1960s, and then began a warming trend in the late 1970s.

Even in the first nine months of this year, when the United States cooled somewhat after a string of unusually warm years, the ratio of record daily high to record daily low temperatures was more than three to two.

Despite the increasing number of record highs, there will still be occasional periods of record cold, Meehl notes.

The study team analyzed several million daily high and low temperature readings taken over the span of six decades at about 1,800 weather stations across the country, thereby ensuring ample data for statistically significant results.

The readings, collected at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, undergo a quality control process at the data center that looks for such potential problems as missing data as well as inconsistent readings caused by changes in thermometers, station locations, or other factors.

Meehl and his colleagues then used temperature simulations from the Community Climate System Model to compute daily record highs and lows under current and future atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.

Resources

Gerald A. Meehl, Claudia Tebaldi, Guy Walton, David Easterling, and Larry McDaniel. “The relative increase of record high maximum temperatures compared to record low minimum temperatures in the US”. Geophysical Research Letters (in press)

Every Year of Delaying Legislation on Climate Change Adds $500 Billion a Year Says IEA

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:04:00 GMT

The normally conservative International Energy Agency is now saying that we must act faster to prevent climate change. Not only to prevent catastrophe, but also because the longer we wait, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to achieve the greater and greater cuts that are necessary to keep worldwide temperature rise to 2 degrees Centigrade or a 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit global average.

2 C is the least we can realistically hope and aim for now. This would be less disastrous than the 4 C or the completely catastrophic 6 C (10.8 F) average worldwide temperature rise we would headed for under a business-as-usual continuation of current overall trends in carbon emissions.

Faith Birol, the IEA Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency said that the world must speed up the reduction in fossil energy use and make a transition faster to clean renewable energy, not only because because of climate change but because of growing problems within our energy system and possible implications for the global economy.

Read more of this story »

NASA Confirms Water On Moon

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:39:00 GMT

Back in October, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding NASA's project of crashing a LCROSS satellite into the moon to determine if there is in fact water on the moon. While it was initially believed by spectators and researchers alike that the mission was a big failure, since there was no visible lunar dust or any other substances that resulted immediately from the cash; NASA says today that it actually was a success, indicating that the moon has a substantial water supply.

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EVENT: Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant: Major New Report on US vs. Asian Competitiveness in Clean Energy Technology

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:43:00 GMT

A new report by the Breakthrough Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, "Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant," is the first to thoroughly benchmark clean energy competitiveness in four nations: China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Developing better and cheaper clean energy technologies will be central to addressing climate change, securing U.S. energy independence, and creating new clean energy jobs. Increasingly, nations are seeking to gain competitive advantage in this rapidly growing, high-technology sector and the stakes for the United States are significant: will the United States largely be an importer of these clean technologies and lose the jobs related to them, or can America emerge as a global leader, driving exports and high-wage jobs?

The report analyzes clean energy investments and public policy support for research and innovation, manufacturing, and domestic demand, with a particular focus on six key technologies: wind, solar, nuclear, carbon capture and storage, hybrid and electric vehicles and advanced batteries, and high-speed rail.

Please join the Breakthrough Institute and ITIF for a discussion of the report's findings.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: Washington, D.C. - Senate Energy Committee Room, Dirksen Senate Office Building (SD-366)

Moderator and Presenter

Robert Atkinson (bio)
President, The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Presenter

Jesse Jenkins (bio)
Director of Energy and Climate Policy, The Breakthrough Institute

Michael Shellenberger (bio)
President, The Breakthrough Institute

Congressman Rush Holt (Invited)

Gary Fazzino, Vice President of Government Affairs, Applied Materials (Invited)

BASF's biodegradable plastic: from paper cups to packaging

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The German company says its new products made of renewable raw materials are expected to be introduced to the market in the first quarter of 2010.

Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Farm Gains Traction

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:48:00 GMT

A couple of events this week could bring the hope of wind farms off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia ? better known as the Delmarva ? closer to reality.

The Ocean City (MD) Dispatch reports that on Monday, Bluewater Wind, which already has an offshore wind farm project well underway in Delaware and a conceptual plan for a second one off the coast of Maryland, was taken over by NRG Energy Inc., a major player in energy production and distribution in the region. Then, on Tuesday, the governors of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a tri-state partnership for the deployment of offshore wind energy in the mid-Atlantic coastal region:

Viewed individually, each event represents a gentle nudge in the direction of future wind farms off the mid-Atlantic coast. Together, however, they represent a significant move toward the development of the alternative energy source in the three states that comprise Delmarva. First and foremost, the MOU agreed upon by Maryland Governor Martin O?Malley, Delaware Governor Jack Markell and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine on Tuesday creates a formal partnership that could pull together the region?s significant offshore wind resources.

?No one state will be able to do this independently of the other states in the region,? said Bluewater Wind?s Dave Blazer. ?There will have to be some spillover. It?s a pretty exciting development in this effort and should be beneficial for the region as a whole.?

Blazer explained the MOU essentially opens the door for the three states to partner and pool its collective resources on things like economic development, research and development and job training, for example. O?Malley agreed the MOU represents a significant step in the collaborative effort to develop offshore wind resources off the coast of the three states.

The article goes on to point out that Bluewater Wind already has a 25-year, 200-megawatt power purchase agreement with Delmarva Power and Light that has already been approved by the Delaware Public Service Commission as well as other state agencies. Maryland and Virginia are a bit further behind in their wind energy developments, but the new memorandum of understanding between the three states is expected to push their efforts forward as well.

DOE Official: Algae and Biomass Future of Biofuels

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:21:00 GMT

Oil from algae and the biomass from the green microbes could be the future for advanced biofuels? that word from a top U.S. Department of Energy official.

Biomass Magazine reports that Valerie Reed of the U.S. DOE?s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy said at the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy held this week in Honolulu, Hawaii the her agency will develop advanced biofuels faster than cellulosic ethanol:

?We learned a lot over the past 20 years, and we believe we can apply that to a faster deployment phase,? Reed said, adding that biomass-based liquid transportation fuels are going to be the only adequate displacements for jet fuel. ?This is now becoming a priority fuel we need to consider, and that?s why we?re moving into the advanced biofuels arena,? she said.

Algae has the potential to fit in our advanced biofuels scenario and has been a topic of great attention over the past couple of years, Reed said. ?Why is this important to us? It?s an extremely diverse feedstock that comes from several kingdoms?this broad scope of diversity is something that we?d like to tap into and capture.?

Reed highlighted the high productivity of algae and it?s massive presence in the ocean, pointing out that if each algal cell were lined end to end there would be enough algae to reach the moon and back 15 billion times. She also pointed out that a troublesome algal bloom near the Olympic Stadium in China yielded more than 3 million tons of biomass in a three-month period. ?Their nightmare is our opportunity,? she said. ?If we can harness that type of productivity, and do so in a sustainable fashion, we can look at this in a different scenario.?

The article goes on to say that a DOE study from a few years ago shows the U.S. has 1.3 billion tons of sustainably available biomass. And Reed believes about 60 billion tons of cellulosic ethanol could be produced from that ? about one-third of what is anticipated that will be needed for transportation. She says that doesn't even count for what algae could produce, possibly 100 percent of U.S. fuel needs.

Reed admits there are some barriers, but that's where research would come in and help overcome those obstacles.

California Town to Get Two New Biodiesel Plants

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:34:00 GMT

Two new biodiesel plants are slated for opening in a Southern California town just outside of Los Angeles.

Canada-based Sunx Energy and San Diego-based Dynasty Energy will open 3.5 million-gallons-per-year and 15-million-gallons-per-year facilities, respectively, in Adelanto. The Victorville (CA) Daily Press says city officials see the two plants as paving the way for more green industries:

?It?s always good to have green industries coming to town because it encourages other green industries to come into town,? Adelanto City Manager Jim Hart said.

The plants will likely require about 5 to 50 employees each, but Hart said the companies will likely bring in some of their own workers.

No word on when either of the plants will be operational.

IBM?s water tech threefold effect

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:01:00 GMT

The company inks a $14.5M deal in Sydney, as its software aims to improve water availability in Japan, and manage resources and services in Texas.

Nissan CEO Says Their Electric Car Strategy is ?Unique? in Industry

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:20:00 GMT

In Los Angeles this morning, at the United States unveiling of the Nissan LEAF electric car?set to hit showrooms in late 2010?Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was enthusiastic and clearly proud of the position the Nissan-Renault Alliance has taken as a leader in the development of electric cars and charging infrastructure.

“The LEAF is a new paradigm of the car,” said Ghosn. “LEAF represents a totally new transformational technology that will change the way people drive, use, and power their vehicles. And the time is right for this breakthrough.”

Read more of this story »

Alstom on the hunt for CCS partners in China

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:52:00 GMT

Power and rail infrastructure provider is in discussions with several key players in China, where it has launched new, more efficient boiler tech.

Bet on Suzlon?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:47:00 GMT

India?s largest wind turbine manufacturer is riding high on news of two consecutive wind farm projects being completed ahead of schedule.

EU on Track to Meet or Exceed Original Kyoto Goals: Estimate 13.9% Below 1990

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:31:00 GMT

Kyoto legislation worked. The EU is on track to meet - and actually exceed the carbon emissions target it set of 8% reductions below 1990 levels by 2012, the Commission's annual progress report on emissions shows. The EU-15 (the first fifteen signatories) will meet and exceed their initial target to get 8% below 1990 levels and 10 of the remaining 12 member states will meet and exceed their reduction goals of 6% below 1990 levels by 2012.

This contrasted with economic growth of around 44% over the same period, through 2007. Currently, as of 2009; EU-27 emissions are now estimated to be 13.6% lower than the base year level 1990.

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Tennessee Scientists Generate Hydrogen With Photosynthesis

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:25:00 GMT

Prof. Bruce isolated the core of the photosynthetic process from certain algae, and proved that, if coupled with a platinum catalyst, it could produce hydrogen in the presence of light. Photosynthesis is at the base of our fossil fuel energy, because it comes from the plants that lived here millions of years ago - indirectly, from the Sun.

Some predictions on the forthcoming Russian-Ukrainian gas 'crisis'

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:25:00 GMT

We've recently heard more veiled threats from Putin about Ukraine being unable to pay for gas (thus presumably leading to new attempts at cutting them off), which suggests that Russia is getting itself ready to start a new crisis. That means two things:

the internal infighting between groups of powerful Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs for the control of unofficial Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine (more on this below) is still not conclusively settled, and requires "action" using official levers of State and interference with Gazprom's export deliveries through Ukraine;
Russia thinks it stands a better chance to focus European blame on Ukraine and, even more importantly, to get Europeans to buy off the Ukrainians (thereby increasing the available unofficial gas loot for the players involved).

While Russia's actions are not easily understandable when considered as those of a country, they are much easier to interpret rationally when you look at who the actual players behind the scenes are. Conversely, public European reactions which sound logical are, in fact, incredibly naive if you know the industry a bit and, given that the people involved are certainly not naive, they are other things at stake.

So let's try to make some predictions and unravel what's actually going on.

Originally posted on European Tribune. See also my full series of articles on earlier episodes of the Russian-Ukrainian crises here

First, as a reminder, since 1994, there have been two separate bits in the Russian-Ukrainian gas trade:

the official part, whereby Gazprom delivers gas to Naftogaz (roughly 20-25bcm/y), the Ukrainian national gas company, and uses Naftogaz's network of pipelines for its gas exports to Europe (including Turkey) - roughly 130-150bcm/y of transit; this trade roughly balances itself out, ie is settled without any ash payments. Given that gas prices are more volatile than transit prices, Gazprom regularly tries to get paid something more for the gas it delivers, arguing that it has become worth more than the transit services, and Ukraine refuses to (or can't) pay. This is the public dispute, and it is, in reality, a sideshow;
the unofficial part, whereby semi-mysterious traders like RosUkrEnergo and its predecessors deliver gas to Ukrainian clients using Gazprom's pipelines but gas formally sourced elsewhere. As I have explained in detail in this paper for the IFRI research institute, this business was created by Gazprom managers, jointly with large Ukrainian gas consumers, to get around the impossibility for Gazprom to get paid by Naftogaz under the official trade: Ukrainian gas users get gas cheaper than if they bought if from Naftogas, and the suppliers get some money from gas deliveries from Gazprom's network to Ukraine; the initial customers can then on-sell more gas to other Ukrainian users and make additional money for them and their Russian accomplices. This is fundamentally an unstable business because (i) it has to be done in the shadows, as it goes directly against the interests of Naftogas, the national company, and it uses Gazprom's network at no benefit for the company, (ii) all the major Ukrainian gas users (mainly the big steel-bashing companies in the East) want to be the privileged intermediary that gets first access to the gas and a cut on further sales, (iii) various clans within Gazprom (and their associates in the Kremlin) want their hands on that juicy business. Amongst unavoidable players in this game, you thus have the big customers in Ukraine, the people with formal authority over gas transit both in Ukraine and in Russia, the people with access to gas inside Russia or in Central Asia, and their counterparts within Gazprom...

Fights on the second front can spill on the first front, as the two businesses largely use the same pipelines and gas inside the system is fully fungible.

The West's error has been to try to interpret what's going on in light purely of the first, public, conflict. Of course, one reason this happened was that in 2006, some players in the West had very strong motivations to suddenly make a big deal of what had been a recurring, and mostly ignored, conflict. The UK government was facing the very real prospects of gas cuts as domestic production was shrinking and inadequate plans for import and gas storage were in place; the Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis offered a perfect opportunity to turn a domestic policy failure into an international conflict, with blame nicely thrown at a familiar enemy. In parallel, the US administration had cooled on Putin following the takeover of the Russian oil industry by oligarchs unfriendly to the Western majors which he oversaw; that crisis was a perfect opportunity to paint him as a dictator bent on oppressing his neighbors, especially in the wake of the "colour" revolutions in Ukraine or Georgia. Once that interpretation was pushed unto an unsuspecting public, it took hold - and the Russians, focused on the behind-the-scenes conflict, did little to behave in ways that could have changed that perceptions.

That interpretation of the conflict also had the added benefit of make the US and UK look like the defenders of freedom and markets in Europe, against the weak and compromising French, German and Italians, too cowardly or corrupt to confront the Russians, and too busy coddling their national energy companies against from the "fair competition" of more nimble markets which would otherwise spontaneously create alternatives to Russian gas imports.

By 2009, it was obvious that things were not completely black and white, and the narrative of Russia imperialistically exercising the "energy weapon" against the plucky freedom-loving Ukrainians and other neighbors was not enough to explain things. Europeans, collectively, started taking a harder look at Ukraine's behavior - but they continued to focus almost exclusively on the first conflict, which was much easier to grasp. Russia decided to push its advantage, to push the blame on official Ukraine, and hopefully get Europe to finally pay them something for the gas delivered to Ukraine - thus the much longer cuts that took place in January, and what appeared to be a successful resolution through European loans to Ukraine. But of course, as I predicted then, Ukraine failed to meet the conditions to get that loan (which, contrary to the loans extracted from Russia, they'd actually have to repay), dumping the problem once again in Russia's lap.

Fundamentally, even with the new pipelines Russia is building, Ukraine has a stranglehold over Russia's exports, and can go on not paying for its official gas deliveries, effectively offsetting these with the transit service; and it should be noted that, even with variable prices for natural gas, this is not a bad deal for Gazprom (which know it). So while there is a lot of theater around the first conflict, and continued attempts to change the stable solution that has been reached, this is not an equilibrium likely to change, unless Russians and Ukrainians (which have a common interest there) somehow manage to make the European cough up some money along the way. Thus the continues crises, and the fearmongering about Russia's "energy weapon," which is basically encouraged by Russia to some extent as it seems to give them a bit more leverage and importance in the public eye.

The second conflict is much more intractable, much less subject to the restrictions of traditional diplomacy, and its players are likely to continue to use and abuse the instruments of State they control for their private purposes, thereby creating confusion for international onlookers.

So it is likely that further crises will erupt, and that gas deliveries to Europe will be temporarily shut down, typically in January.

Before going into predictions, an aside: gas consumption is very seasonal, with winter consumption typically double or triple summer levels, which means that quite a bit of storage capacity is needed to smooth out deliveries and ensure adequate supplies through the winter (deliveries in winter are often lower than demand). Most consumer countries - and in particular big importing countries - have significant buffers, and these are usually full at the beginning of the winter, ie when the crises happen. So, other than for a very small number of East European countries that have little storage and fully depend on Russian deliveries, Russian gas cuts have no impact whatsoever on actual gas availability for consumers in most countries, which can simply draw on their stored reserves a bit more than usual.

As a final point of background, and as I have argued many times before, electricity market deregulation in Europe has encouraged investment by players in gas-fired power plants, because they are the easiest and least risky to finance (given that electricity prices are largely driven by gas prices, as gas-fired plants are the marginal cost suppliers most of the time, gas-fired plants are almost always going to be in the market, or near enough, to be viable, as opposed to plants with high fixed costs like nuclear or wind which, unless they benefit from specific regulation, can find themselves making short term losses for longer than investors can afford, even if their long term average price is competitive). Over the past 10 years, Europe has built only two kinds of power plants: wind farms, thanks to the specific renewable energy rules, and gas-fired plants:

So, if one is worried about the gas supplies from Russia, there are two very simple steps fully under our control:

change power market regulation to eliminate its proven bias towards gas-fired power plants and limit the growth of European demand for gas, a large portion of which, in the long run, can only be supplied by Russia; pointing a finger at Russia's supposed "energy weapon" when one could very easily be less dependent on gas is a sign of incompetence or a distraction from the other priorities of such energy policies (which are, in fact, a jobs programme for City commodity traders, M&A advisors and associated parasites);
for countries that do not have sufficient gas storage capacity, urgently work on building these, or getting permanent access to friendly neighboring countries that may have more favorable locations available; lack of storage capacity may have been a valid excuse 15 years ago for many former Soviet Bloc countries which had built infrastructure predicated on Soviet deliveries, but today it should not wash - and blaming Russia for gas delivery cuts is, again, a distraction from incompetent domestic policies.

So, finally, my predictions:

there will be another gas crisis this winter as Russia senses European worries and tries to get the EU to send some money in Ukraine's way, for Russia's benefit;
Europe will, once again, ignore the real issue (that Ukraine and Russia have willfully created a parallel gas market, and that their politicians are more busy trying to grab a slice of the loot than to enact sensible energy policies, and will repeat the same tired angry platitudes about the need for Russia (and possibly Ukraine) to behave, and for Europe to be "unified" against this threat (the separate negotiations run by GdF, E.On and Snam will be called inefficient, when they are nothing but; the fact that all of Russia's pipelines go to Europe and they have no choice where to sell their gas will be under-emphasised; the very real protection brought by long term take-or-pay will be ignored - or even undermined)
there will be yet more calls for a better European gas market, for further energy deregulation (ignoring that this encourages gas consumption), and for a joint purchasing authority (see here for a recent exemple from a French politician who should know better), without any discussion of how that gas should be split, who should get the presumed (but imaginary, given that current price formulas are already market based) cost savings wrung out of Russia, and who will decide on allocation of shortages, if any;
expect shortages to appear again in selected East European countries (ie , in some cases, to be manufactured by local authorities in order to blame Russia), without any discussion of the reality of storage and the lack thereof, and conversely, dark accusations (augmented by London and Washington) about the insufficient lack of solidarity of Western Europe and its cowardice towards Russia, with associated calls for further European subsidies to build new connecting infrastructure (a not completely unreasonable idea) or new nuclear or coal-fired power plants;
Russia will play its accustomed role with its usual rigidity, alternating dark threats, accusations of unfairness from Europe, and shameless calls for Europe to pony up money; it will certainly not offer to sell its gas at Ukraine's border, which would dump the transit problem in Europe's hands, but eliminate the possibility of the second market to exist (Europe will not try to offer the same, as nobody is keen to take over Ukraine's gas infrastructure and its associated problems (underinvestment, corrupt managers at all levels, and a legacy of complex contracts to untangle));
Ukraine will be, as usual, completely confused, given that the 3 political forces that are fighting it out in Kiev de facto represent 3 of the oligarchic clans that are fighting for the loot. They WILL cut off Europe if Russia reduces deliveries, but otherwise, beyond expecting to get money from the outside, will do nothing to solve the issue or clarify it;
in the end, the crisis will come and go with no actual impact on the ground (other than temporary or manufactured ones in select countries), politicians and pundits will huff and puff and pontificate importantly, and will provide no actual solution, because none is needed for the important things (Europe does get all the Russian gas it wants), and none is available for the real loot-capture underneath, which is only to the detriment of Russian and Ukrainian citizens, but who cares about them?

Green Gas News - ENVIROTEK Signs Strategic Alliance Partnership With Magnegas

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

COSTA MESA, CA - November 13, 2009 - ENVIROTEK (Pinksheets:ENTK) today announced the company signed a strategic alliance partnership agreement with Magnegas (OTCBB: MNGA)

Global corporates looking to invest heavily in cleantech - Ernst & Young

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

San Francisco and London - November 13, 2009 - Despite ongoing uncertainty about the global economic situation, spending by the world's biggest companies of developing or acquiring cleantech solutions is robust and primed to accelerate.

Industrial and Environmental Biotech Weekly Blog Roundup

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:05:00 GMT

In industrial biotechnology this week the Wall Street Cheat Sheet says algae is the next great thing.

?Algae could be the most promising candidate yet for the future of the biofuels industry.

Although algae-based fuels won?t be commercially available for several years, algae offers several advantages over other first-generation renewable fuels, such as corn and soybeans. For example, algae grows faster, requires less resources, can be used as jet fuel, can use existing distribution systems, and absorbs carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.?

The post closes with,

?All of this syncs up neatly with a White House concerned with climate change and looking to develop ?green energy? technologies with long economic coattails.

While it may be too early to call algae the clear winner in the biofuels race, at least for now, the future of algae-based biofuels looks bright.?

The Biofuels Digest

writes about BIO?s recent Pacific Rim Summit,

?In Hawaii, at the BIO Pacific Rim Summit, Joule Biotechnologies announced that it has achieved direct microbial conversion of CO2 into hydrocarbons via engineered organisms, powered by solar energy.

Joule?s Helioculture process mixes sunlight and CO2 with highly engineered photo synthetic organisms, which are designed to secrete ethanol, diesel or other products.

However, unlike algae and other current biomass-derived fuels, the Helioculture process does not produce biomass, requires no agricultural feedstock and minimizes land and water use. It is also direct-to-product, so there is no lengthy extraction and/or refinement process.?

Sounds interesting, guess we?ll have to stay tuned.

Yesterday the DOE and the USDA announced,

?projects selected for more than $24 million in grants to research and develop technologies to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Of the $24.4 million announced today, DOE plans to invest up to $4.9 million with USDA contributing up to $19.5 million. Advanced biofuels produced through this funding are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent compared to fossil fuels.?

Nissan and Reliant Energy Partner on EVs

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:39:00 GMT

Nissan and Reliant Energy of Houston, Texas, one of the major competitive electricity providers in the nation, are collaborating to advance electric mobility in the United States. Reliant is a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. one of the largest electricity generators in the United States.

Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn announced the agreement today at the kickoff of the Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, marking the first North American appearance of Nissan LEAF.

As part of the agreement, Nissan and Reliant Energy will develop plans to promote a charging infrastructure for electric cars that encourages home and workplace charging, as well as a public charging infrastructure. The companies will work to coordinate the establishment of policies and help streamline charging infrastructure deployment. Nissan also has agreed to make available a supply of electric vehicles to Reliant and in its areas of operation.

The Los Angeles debut marked the first stop on a nationwide tour of LEAF. The Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour will make stops in 22 cities, in 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Vancouver, Canada, offering the opportunity for interested drivers, media, civic partners, businesses and university students to learn more about Nissan LEAF and the benefits of zero-emission driving. Los Angeles-area stops also include Santa Monica, Glendale and the University of Southern California campus. Details can be found at www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car.

Nexans: Wired for wind

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:25:00 GMT

WindEnergyUpdate speaks to Nexans’ wind energy team about the future direction of the wind market and some of the challenges – and solutions – in bringing offshore wind power online.

By Rikki Stancich

California?s Green Car Roadmap to 2050

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:22:00 GMT

One hundred percent of car sales will be zero emission vehicles in 2050. That?s the vision of the California Air Resources Board, explained in a meeting in late October to review the state's zero emission vehicle (ZEV) strategy. At the meeting, the agency outlined the roadmap for getting there.

According to CARB's baseline scenario, in 2020, 3 percent of sales will be plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and 1 percent will be battery electric vehicles (BEV). Conventional hybrids (HEV) completely phase out in 2040. Electric cars and fuel cell vehicles (FCV) take over in 2050.

What?s the basis of the CARB plan? It?s not an estimate of how rapidly ZEV technologies like battery and fuel cell-powered vehicles are likely to develop. Nor is it based on likely prices, or expected market acceptance, of those cars and trucks. Instead the agency calculated where the statewide vehicle fleet should be to meet the state?s greenhouse gas reduction targets in 2050. Then it worked backwards to the present to factor how quickly these nascent technologies would have to grow.

The Roadmap

Three easy steps:

Current hybrid vehicles?currently about 4 percent of the market?need to grow to 40 percent of the market in the next 10 years, and then taper off, completely disappearing in 2040.
Plug-in hybrids?promoted as a solution by Al Gore, ex-CIA director Jim Woolsey, many others?will be introduced next year and will rapidly rise to 40 percent of the market by the mid-2030s.
Zero emission electric and fuel cell vehicles will be introduced over the next five years and rapidly accelerate to become 100 percent of the new vehicle market by 2050.

This scenario also assumes the state will shift to low carbon biofuels, as well as shifting mostly to renewable sources to produce electricity.

The only problem with this aggressive ?base scenario? for our automotive future?other than ignoring market and technology realities?is that it isn?t good enough to get the state to its greenhouse gas goals. So CARB staff created a ?faster scenario? that triples the adoption rate of zero emission vehicles to 30 percent of sales by 2025. That?s a quantum leap above current mandated levels.

Mercedes-Benz to Launch ML450 HYBRID 4MATIC in US on 16 November

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:22:00 GMT

Mercedes-Benz will launch the ML450 HYBRID (earlier post) in the US on 16 November. Mercedes-Benz will offer the two-mode ML450 HYBRID as part of a special lease only option (no purchase) for a monthly lease price of $659 per month for 36 months and $549 per month for 60 months.

The new Mercedes-Benz ML450 HYBRID uses a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine, optimized via the Atkinson cycle, and the two-mode hybrid system to produce 46% better fuel economy than a comparable V8-powered ML550 model. EPA rating is 21 mpg city, 24 mpg highway.

Integrated within the modified automatic transmission, each of the two electric motors serves a specific purpose. Dedicated to pulling away under electric power, the motor on the transmission output shaft generates 80 hp (60 kW) and 192 lb-ft (260 N&iddot;m) of torque. Located closer to the gasoline engine, the second electric motor is set up specifically for acceleration and is rated at 83 hp (62 kW) and 173 lb-ft (235 N&iddot;m) of torque. Working with both electric motors when full power is needed, the ML450 HYBRID has a total system performance of 335 hp (250 kW) and 381 lb-ft (517 N&iddot;m) of torque.

The electric motors are powered by a liquid-cooled, 2.4 kWh 288-volt NiMH pack that’s enclosed under the rear cargo floor.

During parking and low-speed operation, the ML450 HYBRID runs on the electric drive only. The ML450 HYBRID can drive solely on electric power up to a maximum speed of 34 mph.

Sanyo to Begin Mass Production of Li-ion Systems for Power Storage and Light Electric Vehicle Applications

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Sanyo Li-ion systems for power storage (left) and light electric vehicle (right) applications. Click to enlarge.

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. has developed two new lithium-ion battery systems and will begin mass production of the new products in March 2010. Initial monthly production for each system will be 500 units.

The Standard Battery System for Electric Motors (EVB-101) can be used to power light electric vehicles that are in the R&D or small-scale mass production stages. The rack-mountable Standard Battery System for Energy Storage (DCB-101) can be easily incorporated into existing systems as part of hybrid schemes using solar cells, to store electricity generated by wind power, or for electrical output stabilization. It can also be used as a back-up power source for servers or mobile phone base stations.

Both systems are based on 18650-size cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (18 mm in diameter x 65 mm in height). Sanyo has developed parallel and series battery control technologies for the basic components of the new products, based on its experience with laptop battery packs. The company has also added more of its own technologies to ensure additional reliability and thermal management.

The voltage and capacity of the products can be customized, as multiple units are connected in parallel and series, according to the application.

Sanyo Li-ion Systems
	Standard Battery System for Electric Motors EVB-101	Standard Battery System for Power Storage DCB-101
Format	14 in series, 6 in parallel, 18650-type	13 in series, 24 in parallel, 18650-type
Output voltage	50.4 V (42.0 V to 57.4 V)	Average 48V (39V to 52V)
Battery capacity	10.8 Ah	33.6Ah
Charging voltage (max)	57.4 V (4.1 V / cell)	52V
Power generation	544 Wh	1,613 Wh
Max. output	5.2 kW (peak) / 1.5 kW (continuous)	Approx. 1.5kW
Max. discharge current	120 A (peak) / 35 A (continuous)	30A
Size	366 × 213 × 66 mm (approx. 5.2 L)	438 × 386 × 80 mm (approx. 13.5 L)
Weight	Approx. 7 kg	Approx. 19 kg

Panasonic Corp. launched its tender offer for Sanyo Electric Co. on 4 November?which the Sanyo board supported. Three major shareholders?US-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.?have already agreed to sell a combined 50.13% stake in Sanyo, so the tender offer is effectively a done deal. Sanyo is likely to become a Panasonic unit as early as mid-December.

Verticle Turbine Powers Cell Phones

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:33:00 GMT

Helix Wind's The S322 vertical wind turbine

Cell phone towers may have a new friend here soon as Helix Wind Corporation gave an update today on its efforts to provide cost-effective renewable energy solutions to telecommunications companies. Specifically, Helix?s wind turbines are ideal ways to lower the costs of operating expenses associated with cell phone towers in remote locations. These solutions are ideal for telecom infrastructure providers worldwide dealing with cell towers that are remote or off-grid and utilize unreliable or expensive energy sources. Depending on the configuration, Helix turbines can produce enough power to pay for themselves in as little as six months.

Helix hopes to have test sites installed in the U.S. and West Africa by late November. The company will deliver its first test turbines to Eltek NSG in Nigeria in late October for installation at one of two identified test sites. Pending successful testing and subsequent rollout to several operators in the region including Zain and MTI, Helix?s relationship with Eltek NSG could potentially mean several hundred sites over the next few years and eventual implementation in other African nations, and is the result of work performed by CP Pumps & Systems FZCO, Helix?s distributor in Dubai.

Currently such towers are powered by diesel generators, which are viewed as bad for the environment and extremely expensive to operate. Anywhere the power grid is unreliable, expensive or simply non-existent, wind is an ideal renewable energy resource able to power these towers and reduce their operating cost. Helix Wind is excited to be entering the test phase of our solution for this promising new market.

EPA Decision of E15 May Be Delayed

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:20:00 GMT

Thousand of Americans and ethanol industry groups may have to wait longer for a response from EPA on whether they will allow an increase in the blend of ethanol in gasoline from 10 to 15 percent (E10 to E15). On March 6, petitions were filed by industry groups and supporters of industry groups, that will allow for the increased blend. EPA has 270 days, or until December 1, to grant or deny the request. Rumors have recently circulated that EPA will not meet this deadline.

This week, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told Reuters that the agency still has has work to do and may have to do this past the December 1 deadline. EPA must review tests on how E15 will affect engines and evaluate emissions.

?We are concerned about any delay in acting on the Growth Energy Green Jobs waiver to raise the blend wall from 10 to 15%,? said Growth Energy spokesman Chris Thorne. ?Every day that EPA delays the decision is another day of preventing our nation from reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs here in America and delaying the development of next generation feedstocks like cellulose. The lack of a decision creates uncertainty, and without certainty of a market, investment in cellulose ethanol production is put on hold. Our nation has been held hostage to foreign oil for too long. It is time to move forward,? he continued. ?We could wait forever for more tests, which will only prove what we have known for a long time ? it is time to raise the blend wall,? Thorne added.

?We do believe the data will ultimately support the waiver. We also think EPA can act now to approve E12, based on existing authority and tolerances,? said Bob Dineen of the Renewable Fuels Association through a Twitter chat.

Saft Confirms Location for Li-ion Battery Factory in Jacksonville, Florida

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:15:00 GMT

Following receipt of a $95 million grant from the US Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and successful negotiations between Saft, the state of Florida, and the city of Jacksonville, construction will soon begin in Jacksonville for a lithium-ion battery factory.

The total estimated cost of the project is around $200 million.

To be located at Cecil Commerce Center, Saft’s new facility will be a high-volume manufacturing plant building advanced Li-ion cells and systems for military hybrid vehicles, aviation, smart grid support, broadband back-up power and energy storage for renewable energy.

Construction is scheduled to commence within the next few months and be completed before the end of 2010.

Lexus HS 250 h falls short on luxury?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Just stick with a loaded Prius?

This week MotorTrend has been providing notes on its car reviews for the 2010 Car of the Year.

Unfortunately, it's not looking good for hybrid cars. Earlier this week, MT staffers were critical of the Honda Insight.

Today, MT claims that the Lexus HS 250 h falls short on luxury. Ultimately, while the HS 250 provides better overall performance and a nicer drive at high speeds compared to the Toyota Prius, MT staffers felt the Prius is a better deal for the money.

ODAC Newsletter - Nov 13

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:33:00 GMT

The IEA 2009 World Energy Outlook, the report which informs energy policy for 28 nations, was released on Tuesday in London. The report?s key focus this year was climate change...

Renewable Energy

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Record High Temperatures Far Outpace Record Lows Across US Over Last Decade

Every Year of Delaying Legislation on Climate Change Adds $500 Billion a Year Says IEA

NASA Confirms Water On Moon

Online now: Renewable Energy Quarterly, Fall 2009

EVENT: Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant: Major New Report on US vs. Asian Competitiveness in Clean Energy Technology

BASF's biodegradable plastic: from paper cups to packaging

Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Farm Gains Traction

DOE Official: Algae and Biomass Future of Biofuels

California Town to Get Two New Biodiesel Plants

IBM?s water tech threefold effect

Nissan CEO Says Their Electric Car Strategy is ?Unique? in Industry

Alstom on the hunt for CCS partners in China

Bet on Suzlon?

EU on Track to Meet or Exceed Original Kyoto Goals: Estimate 13.9% Below 1990

Tennessee Scientists Generate Hydrogen With Photosynthesis

Some predictions on the forthcoming Russian-Ukrainian gas 'crisis'

Green Gas News - ENVIROTEK Signs Strategic Alliance Partnership With Magnegas

Global corporates looking to invest heavily in cleantech - Ernst &amp; Young

Industrial and Environmental Biotech Weekly Blog Roundup

Nissan and Reliant Energy Partner on EVs

Nexans: Wired for wind

California?s Green Car Roadmap to 2050

The Roadmap

Three easy steps:

Mercedes-Benz to Launch ML450 HYBRID 4MATIC in US on 16 November

Sanyo to Begin Mass Production of Li-ion Systems for Power Storage and Light Electric Vehicle Applications

Verticle Turbine Powers Cell Phones

EPA Decision of E15 May Be Delayed

Saft Confirms Location for Li-ion Battery Factory in Jacksonville, Florida

Lexus HS 250 h falls short on luxury?

ODAC Newsletter - Nov 13

Global corporates looking to invest heavily in cleantech - Ernst & Young