Largest US Solar Factory Being Built In Colorado

Posted on October 16, 2011 by quest

GE has announced plans to build its new solar panel factory in Aurora, Colorado. When completed, the advanced manufacturing facility will create 355 jobs in Colorado and will be larger than any existing solar panel factory in the country today. GE anticipates the new factory will first start up earlier than expected with the first panels coming off the line in 2012 with commercial availability in 2013. “This is great news for Colorado and further proof that our state is emerging as a center of innovation. GE’s move to Aurora takes advantage of Colorado’s clean energy resources and a collaborative business environment that is committed to helping the company succeed,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “We look forward to supporting GE as it fosters its technical innovation and research capabilities in Colorado.”

GE will locate the factory in an existing building in Aurora, just east of Denver. This location, which also is in proximity to GE’s existing solar center of excellence, enables an accelerated start-up schedule with production equipment installation beginning in January 2012. At capacity, the new factory will produce enough panels per year to power 80,000 homes and will be larger than 11 football fields. When complete, the new solar factory will highlight a $600 million investment in GE’s solar business. “I am so proud GE is building the largest solar panel factory in the nation right here in the 7th Congressional District of Colorado. This plant will create over 350 jobs and reinforces Colorado’s leading role in renewable energy. This solar technology was originally developed at NREL and further highlights how this world-class lab continues to partner with the private sector to create long-term jobs and bolster our nation’s energy security. Making things here in Colorado and America ensures we will make it in America,” stated U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

“Working with our Colorado-based solar team, we were able to achieve record efficiencies in our solar panels in record time,” said Victor Abate, vice president of GE’s Renewable Energy business. “The Colorado location will allow us to deliver our technology roadmap faster and commercialize industry-leading panel efficiencies sooner. We also look forward to continuing to build our relationships with Colorado’s local, state and federal officials who have been extremely helpful as we moved through the site selection process.” “This is terrific news for Aurora, for Colorado and for solar, and it shows the tremendous potential renewable energy holds to create jobs and power our economy,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Udall.

Lady Gaga at Clinton Climate Gig

Bioplastics Producer Expands Green Investment

Solar Car Team Revs Up For World Solar Challenge

Posted on October 12, 2011 by quest

Since the 1980s, engineers have been building, and racing solar cars. With software from Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., the University of Michigan (U-M) Solar Car Team has designed a car to compete in the World Solar Challenge in Australia this month. A six-time winner of the American National Championships, the U-M team is competing in the World Solar Challenge—and the car design is lighter and more aerodynamic than ever before. Since 2006 U-M has used SolidWorks software to become the number 1 ranked collegiate solar car team in North America. Next week they will compete on the world stage driving 1800 miles across Australia thanks to the work of over 100 students in various disciplines at U-M. Quantum, the single-seat race vehicle, will travel as far as it can until 5pm each afternoon powered by the sun and 5kW hours of stored energy (the same amount of energy that it takes to power a hair-dryer) or on the recovered kinetic energy from the vehicle.

“Only one U.S. team has ever won the World Solar Challenge,” said Chris Hilger, Business Director of U-M Solar. “This year, we believe we have a winning car design due to the improved aerodynamic shell and significantly lighter weight. SolidWorks helped us model each part to be as small, light, and effective as possible, and this contributes significantly to the car’s speed and maneuverability.”When designing the solar car, the U-M team found systems integration to be the most difficult challenge. Mechanical parts need to be small and light, in order to fit into as small an automotive shell as possible. The U-M team relied upon SolidWorks 3D CAD software to model all of the car components, and determined the amount of space needed for each component. The result is a car that is 30 percent more aerodynamic and 200 pounds lighter than the previous version.

“The U-M Solar Car Team has been able to achieve groundbreaking results with a lighter and faster car,” said Marie Planchard, director of education at Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks. “This extraordinary team is poised to take the lead at the World Solar Challenge, and we’re proud to have contributed to a stellar—and hopefully winning—design.”

Electric Vehicles Driving Energy To The Grid

Governor Welcomes Solar Maker SunEdison To Cali

Posted on October 10, 2011 by quest

California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today visited the new headquarters of SunEdison in Belmont to mark the company’s decision to establish their world headquarters in California. The company, currently headquartered in Maryland, decided to make the move following actions by Governor Brown and the Legislature to create a friendlier business environment in California.

“SunEdison’s decision to relocate to California is proof that, working together, state government and business can find ways to cut red tape, tackle our environmental problems and create jobs,” said Governor Brown. “Locating the SunEdison headquarters in California, the largest energy market in North America with a longstanding commitment to renewable energy, positions us to support better our customers,” said Carlos Domenech, president of SunEdison. “Being in Silicon Valley gives us access to a wider talent and companies that are motivated to solve the supply and demand challenges that electric power faces. California has long been a trendsetter in technology, business innovation and caring for the environment. Being here will help us to make solar a viable and meaningful source of energy.”

Video Governor Brown in Belmont California

SunEdison globally it produces more than 260 MW of solar energy capacity, has 450 operational sites, and has delivered 730,529 MW onto the grid. In California, SunEdison currently has 278 solar project sites. As a result of the move, SunEdison will bring approximately 200 employees from Maryland, adding to the existing 100 employees they currently have in California. They plan to create approximately 300 new jobs over the next five years.

Government A Backer Of Innovation And Clean Energy

Chicago Approves Urban Farm and Nature Preserve

California Colleges Flow With Renewable Energy

Posted on October 6, 2011 by quest

The University of Southern California announced today that a partnership led by Caltech, UCLA and USC have been selected to receive a $360,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a national business plan competition for young cleantech entrepreneurs. The winning proposal is one of six awarded regionally as part of a three-year, $2 million program, funded by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to develop competitions that inspire students to come up with innovative business plans involving clean-energy technology. Called First Look West (FLoW), the partnership will also include Chapman University, the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, energy company OnGreen, Inc, and student leaders from campus groups, such as eClubs, Net Impact, Engineers for a Sustainable World and NOBE, the National Organization of Business and Engineering. FLoW builds on First Look LA, a program organized by Caltech, USC, and UCLA that showcases research and innovation to investors and has been successfully nurturing academic entrepreneurship in Southern California for five years.

The regional contests will be completed by May 1, 2012. Regional winners, selected by a panel of judges, will each receive $100,000 from the DOE and a chance to compete for a National Grand Prize in the final competition held at the DOE in Washington, D.C. in early summer 2012. The competition is part of Startup America, the Obama Administration’s campaign to inspire and promote entrepreneurship. The purpose of this national initiative is to provide student participants with the skills needed to start new businesses, and transform promising energy technologies into innovative energy products that will create jobs, boost American competitiveness, and strengthen the economy.

“Creating new industries in clean-energy technology is a necessity for Los Angeles and an opportunity that cannot be missed,” said Dean Yannis C. Yortsos of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. “In today’s global economy, which is based more than ever before on the creation of intellectual property, the Los Angeles area needs the entrepreneurship ethos and the intellectual capital and dynamism offered by our three partner institutions. The USC Viterbi School of Engineering is very excited about engaging young engineers and entrepreneurs in this field and looks forward to the development of a flourishing innovation ecosystem in the area.”

20,000 Rally To Occupy Wall Street

The Language of Solar – Solar Dictionary

Electric Vehicles Driving Energy To The Grid

Posted on October 6, 2011 by quest

NRG Energy, Inc. is partnering with the University of Delaware to take electric vehicles (EVs) to the next level with eV2gsm, a company commercializing new technology that will enable EV owners to sell electric storage services from the batteries of parked EVs to help stabilize the electricity grid. Pioneered by UD professor Willett Kempton, this patented leading-edge vehicle-to-grid technology has garnered worldwide attention and holds promise to transform the future of the electricity supply. With investments in solar, wind and nuclear power, as well as electric vehicle infrastructure, NRG is working to help America transition to a clean energy economy.

“As more electric vehicles hit the road and charging stations—such as those provided by NRG’s eVgoSM network in Texas—continue to proliferate, EV-to-grid technology is the next logical step in the electrification of our transportation network,” said Denise Wilson, President of NRG’s Alternative Energy Services. It’s one more way EV owners can commit to a sustainable energy future and get paid for it at the same time.””Energy research, including grid-integrated vehicles, is an important priority for the University of Delaware,” said David Weir, Director of UD’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships, which oversees the University’s knowledge-based assets from licensing to commercialization. “The energy storage inherent in automobiles is staggering. If all the automobiles in the U.S. were electrified it would be enough to power the entire U.S. for half a day.”

Electric grid operators rely on resources that can help provide or absorb short bursts of energy to keep the grid running smoothly, and parked and plugged-in EVs are ideal for helping to fill that role. Balancing the grid this way generates no additional emissions and can lead to a decrease in electricity costs over the long term by delaying or supplanting the need to build new generation facilities. EVs—powered by electricity generated from cleaner domestic fuels—have the potential over time to reduce air emissions dramatically and begin to put the brakes on the ongoing transfer of American wealth to oil-producing nations. America spends approximately a billion dollars a day for imported oil and transportation accounts for more than a quarter of America’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Barack Obama On Steve Jobs

‘He Was Among The Greatest Of American Innovators’

Sustainability

ASU Expands Green Global Sustainability Programs

Posted on October 5, 2011 by quest

In an effort to further advance the transition to a sustainable economy in Mexico, Arizona State University (ASU) and Tecnologico de Monterrey have jointly launched the Latin America Office of the Global Institute of Sustainability. This extension of ASU’s Global Institute at Tecnologico de Monterrey will conduct applied transdisciplinary research, offer an innovative curriculum, and develop business solutions that accelerate the adoption of a sustainable culture. The Latin America Office of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability will offer academic programs to educate future leaders in the transition to a green economy. “This new extension office of the Global Institute of Sustainability will be a catalyst by creating synergies among the several sustainability initiatives currently underway at Tecnologico de Monterrey,” said Rick Shangraw, director of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability. “It is a unique, highly-collaborative model that is garnering great interest by companies, government, and environmental organizations in Mexico and Latin America that are committed to sustainable development.”

ASU has pioneered a new model for higher education called the New American University, where sustainability is a fundamental precept underlying its teaching, learning, research, and business missions; it is a place where knowledge informs decision making, research and study transcend academic disciplines, students learn from the world around them, and local solutions have a global impact. Its Global Institute of Sustainability, the hub of ASU’s sustainability initiatives, advances research, education (through its School of Sustainability), and business practices for an urbanizing world.

Can you say Sustainability?

“This partnership with ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability is an ambitious and avant-garde joint initiative that seeks to fulfill the 2012 mission of the Tecnologico de Monterrey,” said Arturo Molina, president of Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Metropolitan Region.The joint venture will train a new generation of entrepreneurs to create businesses that combine a rational use of natural resources with environmental stewardship.