Ford Using Solar Power To Make Electric Vehicles

Posted on June 16, 2012 by QuestPoint

Ford just announced in its annual Sustainability Report that it has reduced the amount of energy required to produce each vehicle in its manufacturing facilities by 22 percent in the last six years. The company also announced plans to reduce usage another 25 percent on a per-vehicle basis by 2016. Decreased energy consumption during vehicle manufacturing is just one highlight of Ford’s 13th annual Sustainability Report. The report – “Blueprint for Sustainability: Accelerating Ahead” – is a comprehensive showcase of the company’s efforts to tackle a myriad of sustainability challenges in a rapidly changing world. Other successful initiatives featured include reductions in water use, waste-to-landfill and CO2 emissions as well as improvements in vehicle fuel economy and safety. “Sustainability has moved from the periphery to the center of our strategy for succeeding in the marketplace and helping to address global challenges,” said Robert Brown, vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.

“Our sustainability report is far from a bunch of tables and charts,” said John Viera, global director, Sustainability and Vehicle Environmental Matters. “Anyone who spends any amount of time with it will truly get a sense of just how committed Ford is to supporting positive change and reducing the environmental impact of its products and facilities.”Consider the drop in energy consumption: The amount of electricity used to produce each vehicle in Ford’s manufacturing facilities has been reduced by about 800 kilowatt-hours – from 3,576 kwh in 2006 to 2,778 kwh in 2011. By comparison, average households in states like California, New York, Illinois and Michigan use between 562 kwh and 799 kwh monthly.

Ford’s progress has been achieved by investing in energy-saving practices and equipment. At Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., for example, the company uses a new “three-wet” paint application that reduces electricity use along with CO2 and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions. At the same plant, a new 500-kilowatt solar panel system has been installed to generate renewable energy for production of Ford vehicles like Focus and Focus Electric. Thanks to such efforts already in place and Ford’s commitment to making further progress, the company projects a continued drop in energy consumption – 25 percent between 2011 and 2016.

New York City & IBM Creating Solar Energy Venture

Cali And Panama Conference Targets Renewable Energy

Posted on June 12, 2012 by QuestPoint

The 9th annual Global California Conference will be held at the San Jose City Hall this year on June 22nd. The topic is Panama and the Canal Expansion and its impact on California job creation. One of the presentations is about great renewable energy projects and investment opportunities in the West Coast of the U.S., Panama, Latin America, the Caribbean and the World: Massive Opportunity: Impact Capital for Renewable Energy Projects.

“Panama is poised is poised to become a key player in trade between Latin America and North America as well as Asia. Its geographic location favors a number of possibilities for players and surrounding countries” says panel guest, Rodney Alves of Alves & Associates.
“Panama’s strategic location is a major global shipping and logistics hub. The massive infrastructure improvements underway, including additional Ports and the Panama Canal Expansion, enhance the importance of the U.S.‐Panama Free Trade Agreement”, states Alvaro Cabal Lachman, President of USPAW.

Notable dignitaries from Panama as well as California will be participating in the conference, such as, former Ambassador to Panama in Washington D.C, Juan Sosa, who is now the President of USPA, U.S., will be giving the ‘keynote’ speech. The conference is produced by TradePort, the Monterey Bay International Trade Association in partnership with the United States ‐ Panama Business Council West.

Nutiva Moving To San Francisco Bay Area

NYC, IBM And CUNY Creating Solar Energy Venture

Posted on June 9, 2012 by QuestPoint

IBM is helping New York City (NYC) become a global leader in urban solar energy market analysis and sustainability through an innovative agreement with CUNY Ventures, a City University of New York (CUNY) Economic Development Corporation entity. The goal of this effort is to nourish solar adoption by developing the capability to analyze and understand key solar market indicators that can make solar system development more cost competitive. Using IBM’s Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities as the backbone, this analytics-based approach will help New York City monitor and analyze solar production and capacity through a virtual control room that will provide a dashboard view of key indicators.

The collaboration is part of ‘Solar Market Analytics, Roadmapping, and Tracking NY’ (SMART NY), a groundbreaking project supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ‘Rooftop Solar Challenge’, part of the DOE SunShot Initiative which is striving to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.

With IBM’s IOC software, CUNY Ventures will access and analyze data from the NYC Solar Portal, an inter-agency permitting and tracking solution developed by Procemx; data systems in solar empowerment zones; and the NYC Solar Map, putting in place a long-term solution designed to drive down the costs of solar deployment. Initially, five state and city entities will utilize the solar market analytics: the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, Consolidated Edison, the NYC Department of Buildings and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Full Article: IBM Smarter Cities Technology Helps NYC Envision Solar Energy Leadership through CUNY Ventures

Green News Wall

GE Opens Electric And Hybrid Vehicle Innovation Center

Posted on June 4, 2012 by QuestPoint

The first-of-its-kind center reinforces GE’s commitment to the deployment of more efficient vehicles in its fleet and in customer fleets. Showcasing the latest in a growing array of alternative fuel vehicles in electric, natural gas, propane, hydrogen and other formats, the center gives GE’s commercial customers the opportunity to learn about and test drive numerous alternative fuel cars and trucks in a single location with assistance from GE’s fleet, transportation, energy and advanced technology experts.“We believe that businesses, through their company fleets, can lead the way in putting drivers across the country and around the world into cleaner, more productive vehicles,” said Deb Frodl, chief strategy officer for GE Capital Fleet Services and global alternative fuel leader for GE. “The best way to accelerate adoption of alternative fuel cars and trucks is to experience them. Once they get behind the wheel, they can see that these vehicles are real and ready for action.”

“Through our Vehicle Innovation Center, we are committed to sharing alternative fuel vehicle technologies and solutions with our customers and helping them put more of these vehicles on the road.” Located on the campus of GE’s fleet management business headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., the center features a private half-mile driving course and a vehicle center that includes alternative fuel vehicles from 20 automotive manufacturers. With 6,000 square feet of classrooms and showrooms, the center also allows visitors access to a variety of products and solutions from GE’s ecomagination portfolio, including solutions for the smart grid, Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in a Box, fuel savings mobile applications, and other advanced energy and infrastructure technologies.

The center supports GE’s broader ecomagination business strategy – to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology though innovation and R&D investment. GE Capital Fleet Services will run the center in collaboration with other GE businesses and GE energy and transportation experts around the world.“The city of Eden Prairie is delighted and proud to be the home of GE’s Vehicle Innovation Center, “ said Nancy Tyra-Lukens, mayor of Eden Prairie. “This is truly a world-class facility and we are pleased to have GE working on the future of sustainable transportation right here in our own community.

Fukushima Fallout (2012)

Sidwell Friends, SolarCity and Common Cents Solar Saving Energy

Posted on June 4, 2012 by quest

Sidwell Friends School is generating its own electricity from sunlight and reducing its impact on the environment and utility grid thanks to 224 new solar panels. The new 53-kilowatt system is the result of a unique partnership between the school, SolarCity and Common Cents Solar. The new solar system will generate clean solar electricity and create thousands of dollars in electricity bill savings for the school over its lifetime.”Solar electricity offers Sidwell Friends the environmental benefits of carbon free energy production, financial savings and rich teaching opportunities,” said Michael Saxenian, Assistant Head of School and CFO of Sidwell Friends School.

SFS worked with Common Cents Solar, a local non-profit that facilitates solar projects, to launch a program of community-based “solar bonds”. The bonds will be repaid over about ten years after which the SFS community members may donate the system to Sidwell Friends, providing free energy for the remaining life of the system, estimated at 20 years or more. In 2010, the school and CCS installed a 120-panel system on the SFS Lower School gym roof using a similar financing model.

“Nonprofits have an underutilized financial gem—their own dedicated community. Involving their community in the move to solar has a multiplying effect– exposure, sense of ownership, collective pride, increasing awareness of the viability of solar,” said Ketch Ryan of Common Cents Solar.“Schools can go solar today and start saving on utility bills tomorrow, and free up additional funds for student services,” said Leon Keshishian, Mid-Atlantic Vice President for SolarCity. “A lot of schools are feeling the budget crunch and solar can be an answer—I think a lot of school administrators would be surprised at how inexpensive and easy making the move to solar can be.”

Do it Yourself Renewable Energy

California Leading US Clean Energy Revolution

Posted on May 31, 2012 by quest

Clean Edge’s third annual State Clean Energy Index, released today, provides the industry’s most comprehensive and objective analysis of how all 50 states, and the individuals, businesses, and organizations that operate there, compare across the clean-energy spectrum. According to Clean Edge’s assessment and ranking of more than 70 different indicators in technology, policy, and capital, the top 10 states in the nation this year are California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, New York, Illinois, New Mexico, Vermont, and Minnesota.

Clean Edge managing director Ron Pernick said,“Against the backdrop of partisan attacks and general inaction within Congress, the state-level scene shows a diversity that crosses political boundaries and regions. The next decade will determine which nations, states, and cities lead in clean tech, and our State Index provides critical insights on the dramatic shifts and best practices that are leading the way within the U.S.” Key market indicators tracked by Clean Edge via its State Clean Energy Index subscription service include total electricity produced by clean-energy sources, hybrid and electric vehicles on the road, clean-energy venture and patent activity, and policy regulations and incentives. The 2012 State Index paints an important and insightful picture of the U.S. clean-energy landscape. For example; California’s clean-energy venture capital dollars in 2011 exceeded the total of all the other 49 states combined. The number of registered hybrid cars in the U.S. grew to nearly 2 million while all-electric vehicles neared the 50,000 registered-vehicle milestone. Six states, twice as many as last year, now generate more than 10 percent of their utility-scale electricity from wind, solar, and/or geothermal.

An executive summary of this year’s State Index is available. The executive summary provides a glimpse at topline findings from the State Clean Energy Index report, the centerpiece of a larger advisory subscription service. Along with access to the full State Index report – containing detailed Index results, comprehensive data tables, and individual state report cards – subscribers receive custom presentations, clean-tech company database access, and advisory hours.