Sugarcane to Supply Rio Buses with Renewable Energy

Posted on July 29, 2011 by quest

Amyris Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Amyris, Inc. has announced that it will supply renewable diesel during a 12-month fleet test involving 20 city buses in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The renewable fuel derived from sugarcane, known locally as Diesel de Cana, will be blended at a 30 percent rate with petroleum-derived diesel and used in Mercedes-Benz buses operated by Viação Saens Peña, a Rio-based bus operator. The Rio transportation federation, FETRANSPOR, will use the data collected during this fleet test to evaluate the engine and environmental benefits of Amyris’s renewable diesel. The results of the fleet test will be presented at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) taking place in Rio in June 2012.

“We are ready to meet the growing demand for cane-derived renewable fuels in Rio as the city prepares to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.”“We are thrilled to expand the use of our renewable diesel to Brazil’s second-largest city. This will be the first large-scale use of our Diesel de Cana at a blend of 30 percent in Brazil,” said John Melo, CEO of Amyris. “We continue to see strong demand for our renewable fuels, particularly as more engine suppliers and transport operators validate their performance.”

Lady on the Bus Sonia Braga

The city of Rio de Janeiro has more than 8,000 buses consuming about 280 million liters of diesel per year. The Rio fleet test is expected to validate the significant reduction of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions evidenced in recent Mercedes-Benz engine tests with a 30 percent blend of Amyris’s renewable diesel. “Rio’s government and public transportation authorities are committed to leading by example in addressing climate change, and Amyris—along with our partners Mercedes-Benz, Petrobras, Michelin and BNDES—is honored to play a role in addressing Rio’s transportation needs,” said Paulo Diniz, president of Amyris Brasil. “We are ready to meet the growing demand for cane-derived renewable fuels in Rio as the city prepares to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.”

Elektra One A New Solar Powered Plane

SunPower and Citi Add $105 Million To Solar Projects

Posted on July 28, 2011 by quest

SunPower Corp. today announced a new fund for approximately $105 million in residential solar lease projects. SunPower will use the fund to extend its SunPower Lease to customers in eight states, expanding the financing options available to homeowners interested in high-efficiency SunPower solar power systems. Citi is contributing $80 million to the fund. “Citi’s global financial leadership combined with SunPower’s leading technology and quarter century of experience offer customers an unprecedented level of assurance that is vitally important when a homeowner enters into a 20-year lease agreement,” said SunPower CFO Dennis Arriola. “We are proud to partner with Citi, and applaud its commitment to promoting the use of solar power.”

“This important initiative builds upon Citi’s robust track record in environmental sustainability and affirms our commitment to renewable energy finance by helping our clients provide economically attractive options for homeowners to save money and generate clean energy,” said Marshal Salant, head of Citi’s Alternative Energy Finance Group. Citi was named “America’s Greenest Bank” in 2010 by Bank Technology News and “Most Innovative Investment Bank in Climate Change and Sustainability” by the Financial Times’ Banker Magazine in 2009 and 2010 for its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability. The global financial services leader is in the midst of a 10-year, $50 billion initiative to support the commercialization and growth of alternative energy and clean technology in markets around the world. To date, Citi has directed over $30 billion as part of this initiative.

“SunPower is a leading manufacturer of rooftop solar power systems in the U.S. because our customers know they can rely on high-efficiency SunPower technology to maximize the power generated on their roof – and their monthly savings,” said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group. “Homeowners have many financing options when they choose a SunPower system, from cash purchase to loans to leases, and SunPower dealers work with customers to ensure they choose the financing option that is right for them. We are very pleased to extend the lease option to more of our U.S. customers.”Homeowners can also obtain SunPower systems through cash purchase or SunPower’s loan program, which offers a variety of low-interest loans.

Solar is the Fastest Growing Industry

Leonardo DiCaprio joins Zayed Future Energy Prize Jury

Posted on July 27, 2011 by quest

Leonardo DiCaprio joins distinguished group of international leaders in government, business, academia and renowned Green activists has been selected to join the Jury for the Zayed Future Energy Prize. The Zayed Future Energy Prize is recognized as the world’s preeminent award -driving innovation, leadership, long-term vision and impact in renewable energy and sustainability.

“The Zayed Future Energy Prize serves as a catalyst to sustainable development. For us, going carbon neutral is not just the right thing to do; we believe it is in our economic self-interest. Countries that have the foresight to green their economies today, will be the winners of tomorrow” We welcome to the Prize highly accomplished individuals who bring together a multi-faceted set of experiences in the industry along with a shared passion and commitment to advancing renewable energy and sustainability around the world,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize. “We will greatly benefit by each of their specific areas of expertise and participation.”Newly-selected members of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Jury are: HE Mohammed Nasheed, President of the Republic of the Maldives, Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, Minister of Energy for South Africa, Hon. Timothy Wirth, President of the UN Foundation and Better World Fund, Andre Agassi, Founder of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Grand Slam Tennis Champion and Hon. Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation.The new Jury members will join continuing members: HE Olafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland; HE Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of Masdar; and Dr. Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“Our appreciation is also extended to the exiting jury members whose efforts have laid the foundation and created the momentum for the prize in its inception phase. We recognize their efforts and are confident that they will continue to support the prize as its ambassadors.” he added. The Zayed Future Energy Prize aims to incentivize, encourage and become a catalyst for the ongoing development of renewable energy and clean technology.The Jury will convene later this year as the final judging panel in a four-tiered open process that selects the prize winners and finalists who will be honoured in an Awards Ceremony in Abu Dhabi on 17 January 2012. The annual Zayed Future Energy Prize is open to individuals, large companies, entrepreneurs, small- to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and NGOs in the field of renewable energy and sustainability.The prize organization has developed a multi-tiered evaluation procedure to ensure consistency throughout the judging process. Participants can win up to $1.5 million.

The 11th Hour

Solar Satellites Key To Green Energy

CLEAN LA Solar Investing $2 Billion In Rooftop Solar

Posted on July 25, 2011 by quest

LABC President Mary Leslie, a former LADWP commissioner, joined hundreds of solar industry leaders and public officials at a major conference today at UCLA, where she thanked Governor Brown for his leadership in seeking to make California the clean-energy leader. Leslie also said the nation’s largest municipal utility has the wherewithal to implement the CLEAN LA program now, after more than two years of evaluation of CLEAN LA and other sustainable energy plans.With solar industry leaders and public officials working to meet Governor Edmund G. Brown’s ambitious state-wide goals for local, renewable power, the Los Angeles Business Council and a broad coalition of supporters today called on the LADWP to implement the CLEAN LA Solar Plan, which would produce 600 MW of locally generated rooftop solar power, create thousands of local jobs and spur as much as $2 billion of private investment. The plan enjoys huge support among the public, with an opinion survey showing that more than eight in 10 local voters are in favor.

“Governor Brown’s vision enables communities across the state to create renewable energy programs that meet local needs. Here in Los Angeles, we’ve designed the CLEAN LA solar plan to create jobs, foster private investment and take advantage of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal tax credits,” Leslie said. “We call on the LADWP to deliver on the promise of a meaningful local rooftop solar program that is great public policy and a terrific economic development initiative.”The CLEAN LA plan meets important city needs at a reasonable cost, especially when considering federal tax credits available to offset the costs for business owners, the lack of meaningful solar production in the city to date, and the looming state requirements for clean energy. Further, newly released figures show that the solar proposal actually produces cost-savings for the utility’s ratepayers over the course of its 30-year life. LABC, in conjunction with top researchers at UCLA and USC, has conducted several in-depth studies showing that the plan would create as many as 18,000 job-years, while spurring private investment of as much as $2 billion. One job-year is economic investment sufficient to employ one person for one year. Important to the success of the program is taking advantage of federal tax credits, set to expire at the end of 2016, which could finance as much as $300 million of the program.

The CLEAN LA program has a simple design: residents and building-owners would be paid a set rate of return for power generated by rooftop solar panels. UCLA’s studies have found that building owners can be incentivized to participate by having LADWP pay them a slight premium for the power that is generated. This, in turn, grows the amount of local, clean power in Los Angeles. As a result of the economics of energy costs – falling prices for solar panel installation and natural gas prices that are expected to rise over time – the plan actually saves ratepayers money over its 30-year life. The significant environmental benefits come without the high price tag of some other energy programs. The CLEAN LA solar plan would produce 600 MW of locally generated solar energy – enough to power 137,000 typical Los Angeles homes – while providing a significant step toward meeting the state-mandated requirement that local utilities generate 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

Top Artists To Perform For Solar and Renewable Energy

Solar Report Unveils Additional $5 Billion In California

Posted on July 25, 2011 by quest

SunRun, a San Francisco based home solar company, today unveiled a new study from the economic consultancy AECOM showing that simpler solar permitting processes could generate over $5 billion in additional growth for California, an increase in nearly 20 percent relative to the status quo.”These findings are tremendous for local governments because they offer a low-cost way to add billions to the economy,” said SunRun Director of Government Affairs Ethan Sprague. “Solar permitting guidelines already exist and it’s just a matter of putting them to use. Governments that streamline their permitting processes sooner will generate a bigger economic impact in the long run, more permanent local jobs, and allow more families to save money by switching to solar.”

In January SunRun issued a report, “The Impact of Local Permitting on the Cost of Solar Power.” That report showed local solar permitting and inspection processes add an average of over $2,500 per home installation. It also helped inform the Department of Energy’s (DOE) recently-announced SunShot Rooftop Solar Challenge to make solar affordable for more Americans. This new report from AECOM is a follow-on analysis that calculates the economic and fiscal benefits of streamlined permitting for the state of California to help further the goals of the SunShot initiative’s pilot program, as well as the related Senate Bill 1108. The AECOM forecast also indicates that failure to adopt more efficient home solar permitting processes could jeopardize the already expected $30 billion economic gain from natural solar market growth in California.

“A critical aspect of these findings is they apply beyond California,” added Sprague. “Any local government can boost the economic impact of solar through streamlined permitting, and there’s a funding opportunity from the DOE to help make it happen.” “Local solar energy creates jobs and helps America move away from dirty and increasingly expensive coal-fired power,” said Bill Corcoran, western regional director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “An essential step to giving more Americans access to the benefits of local solar energy is streamlined permitting. We hope the report’s findings will encourage governments across the country to reform permitting processes and accelerate our nation’s necessary transition to reliable renewable energy.”

Kenyan Eco Entrepreneur Turns Trash Into Treasure

Elektra One A New Solar Powered Plane

Posted on July 25, 2011 by quest

SolarWorld, a large U.S. manufacturer of solar panels, will showcase the maiden U.S. appearance of a zero-emissions electric aircraft at EAA AirVentureOshkosh 2011 in Oshkosh, Wis., starting Monday. The single-seat Elektra One is designed for more than three hours of flight, a range of more than 250 miles, a cruising speed of more than 100 mph and zero emissions. With 1,400 propeller rotations a minute at cruising altitudes, Elektra One is nearly silent. The plane weighs 440 pounds, including battery, and can carry a payload of 220 pounds, including pilot.

Elektra One is emblematic of a future in mobility that relies on efficient and environmentally sound electric vehicles,” said Frank Asbeck, CEO of SolarWorld. “We need to stop depending on fossil fuels – and their dirty, noisy use of scarce resources – to get from one place to another. Solar power, abundant and pervasive, is the obvious choice for travel in the skies.” The Elektra One made its maiden flight in March in Augsburg, Germany, where Gologan’s vision of marrying the aircraft with a solar-charging hangar was conceptually demonstrated. PC Aero will begin taking orders for the aircraft in Europe and the U.S. in 2012. Gologan intends for a complete system – solar-equipped airplane combined with a hangar – to be priced around $145,000, or 100,000 euro.

SolarWorld and Germany’s PC Aero are working together to pioneer the world’s first comparatively affordable electric aircraft system complete with solar-equipped aircraft and solar-charging hangar. PC Aero’s Calin Gologan will make several speaking appearances at AirVenture, which is expected to attract more than 500,000 people. Gologan will outline his vision of electric flight, including a talk as part of the SolarWorld-sponsored World Electric Aircraft Symposium on Friday, July 29. Elektra One will be on display in AirVenture’s Innovation Hangar, except at midday Wednesday, July 27, when it is expected to fly. SolarWorld and PC Aero are developing a new aviation filling station and hangar fitted with the company’s high-performance solar panels to service small aircraft, including the Elektra One, which also will bear SolarWorld photovoltaic cells to extend its range up to 30 percent.