Masayoshi Son Backs Renewable Energy In Japan

Posted on September 14, 2011 by quest

By Jay Alabaster – Japan’s richest entrepreneur outlined a plan on Monday to rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure in the wake of its nuclear disaster, shifting the majority of supply to natural, renewable resources by 2030. Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SoftBank, was speaking at the launch of his Japan Renewable Energy Foundation. He said Japan could shift to renewable energy sources for 60% of its electricity requirements over the next two decades, calling for a 2 trillion yen (£16.34 billion) “super grid” across the country, and underwater off the coast, that would zip electricity around cheaply and efficiently to meet demand.

“Japan is a country that is riddled by earthquakes,” Son said at a conference hall in central Tokyo. “We must minimise our use of nuclear power over the next 20 years.”The business icon spoke six months after an earthquake triggered a tsunami that ravaged a large portion of Japan’s northeast coast, flattening towns and triggering meltdowns at a nuclear power plant that supplied much of Tokyo’s electricity. The country’s power companies are still struggling to meet demand, and the government has vowed to lessen dependance on nuclear plants, though Japan has few traditional energy resources of its own.

He promised to invest in ventures that backed renewable energy and called for opening up the power industry to allow for more competition. More openness would lead to opportunities for new players like Son, who has made his fortune forcing his way into the formerly tightly run business realms of internet providers and mobile operators. The business leader has already invested 1 billion yen (£8m) of his own money to create the foundation, and announced on Monday that SoftBank would invest 10-20 billion yen in a new renewable energy business. Read the full article: SoftBank founder backs Japan’s shift to renewable energy

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Solar Powered Robotics Survey The Worlds’ Seas

Posted on September 9, 2011 by quest

The Savannah Ocean Exchange proudly announces that Liquid Robotics of Sunnyvale, CA is the recipient of the 2011 Gulfstream Navigator Award. The Gulfstream Navigator Award 2011 recognizes the best solution to positively Shape the Future of Our Coasts. Liquid Robotics’ “Wave Glider-Autonomous Ocean Vehicle” was selected by participating delegates during the inaugural Solutions Exchange, held in Savannah GA September 7-8, 2011, and was presented with the 2011 Gulfstream Navigator Award by Mr. Joe Lombardo, EVP Aerospace Group, General Dynamics, the parent company of Gulfstream. The Wave Glider solution harvests energy from the environment and is able to travel long distances, hold station, and monitor vast areas of the ocean without the need for fuel or carbon emissions. A unique two-part architecture and wing system directly converts wave motion into thrust, and solar panels provide electricity for sensor payloads and satellite communications.

Wave Glider

The Navigator Award was given to the top solution submitted as part of the annual Call for Solutions issued by the Savannah Ocean Exchange Board of Governors in February 2011. An exclusive panel of experts from multiple disciplines, chaired by Dr. Nancy Knowlton of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History, vetted solutions submitted from countries spanning the globe. The top ten solutions were developed as point solutions for the construction, defense, homeland security, marine research, robotics, coastal reclamation, energy, and shipping industries. Each finalist presented their solution to over 100 delegates who selected the award recipient.

Savannah Ocean Exchange brings together thought leaders around the world from cross disciplines that represent industry, education, research, technology, government and conservation. Led by a multi-disciplinary, 29-member Board of Governors, the organization sources and accelerates the adoption of solutions that positively impact economies and the environment. “The breadth and scope of proven, economically sustainable solutions that were submitted to compete for the 2011 Gulfstream Navigator Award were outstanding,” says Cort Atkinson, Co-Founder and CEO of the Savannah Ocean Exchange.

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Yingli Solar Joins GRID Alternatives’ Solarthon

Posted on September 9, 2011 by quest

Yingli Green Energy, a leading solar energy company and one of the world’s largest vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers, which markets its products under the brand “Yingli Solar,” announced today that its U.S. subsidiary, Yingli Green Energy Americas, Inc., is the Presenting Sponsor of Solarthon, nonprofit solar installer GRID Alternatives’ annual fundraiser that brings together hundreds of individuals, teams, solar job trainees, and corporate participants to install multiple solar energy systems in one day for low-income homeowners. The first of the five events takes place on Saturday, September 10th in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco.

“We’re pleased to have worked with GRID Alternatives to install over 250 projects for low-income families to date and are proud to be their Official Solar Module Provider,” said Helena Kimball, Head of Marketing Communications, Yingli Americas. “These unique Solarthon events are a great way to advance our mission to bring cost-effective solar power to the communities who need it most, while creating local job opportunities and growth.” “Every single GRID Alternatives home installation provides thousands of dollars in savings for working families and two days of on the job training for ten job seekers – and we average 15 home installations per week. Because of Yingli Solar’s support, we have been able to multiply this impact hundreds of times over,” said Erica Mackie, Co-Founder, GRID Alternatives.

As Presenting Sponsor and Official Module Provider of GRID Alternatives, Yingli Solar will supply solar modules for 50 participating families from neighborhoods in San Francisco, San Diego, Fresno, San Louis Obispo and Los Angeles during the five Solarthon block parties. The systems will eliminate more than 4,400 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and generate $1.3 million worth of renewable energy savings for families living on very low incomes. The sponsorship of these Solarthons is part of the collaboration between Yingli Solar and GRID Alternatives to install 1 MW of solar energy systems for 400 low-income families throughout 2011. These installations will create thousands of hands-on job training opportunities in PV installation while helping underserved families with immediate financial savings.

High Desert Cali City To Go Net Zero Using Solar Power

SolarCity Goes Solar Strong

Posted on September 8, 2011 by quest

SolarCity took a major step in an initiative that could double the number of residential solar photovoltaic installations in the United States. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a partial guarantee of a $344 million loan to help secure financing for SolarCity’s “SolarStrong” project. As part of the project, SolarCity plans to partner with the country’s leading military housing-privatization developers to install, own and operate up to 160,000 rooftop solar installations on as many as 124 military housing developments across 33 U.S. states. The project is expected to create more than $1 billion in solar projects and 371 megawatts of new solar generation capacity. USRG Renewable Finance, a subsidiary of U.S. Renewables Group, will serve as the lead lender for the project in partnership with BofA Merrill Lynch.

“Thanks to the Energy Department’s leadership and resolve, we can now bring an unprecedented opportunity to privatized military housing across the U.S.” “We’re extremely grateful to the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, in addition to our partners, U.S. Renewables Group and BofA Merrill Lynch. Without this group, we would not have been able to make the economics of this project work,” said Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s CEO. “Now the solar industry has a debt model that can make distributed generation affordable on a massive scale.” SolarCity, which currently employs more than 1,200 people in 11 states, will create new jobs and help jumpstart the renewable energy industry in up to 22 additional states, some of which have very little solar generation capacity today. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratories’ (NREL) Jobs and Economic Development Impact model, the SolarStrong installations would be expected to create nearly 6,000 direct job-years related to the installation and ongoing maintenance of the systems. SolarCity hopes to fill as many of the jobs as possible with U.S. veterans and military family members.

The SolarStrong projects will likely include installing solar on other privatized buildings on military bases, such as community centers, administrative offices, maintenance buildings and storage warehouses. The first SolarStrong-eligible project — a coordinated effort between real estate developer Lend Lease and SolarCity — is already underway at Hickam Communities at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. When completed, that project alone will provide renewable power to more than 2,000 military family homes.

How Apple could revolutionize solar

Solar Powered Farming Takes Root With Cali Growers

Posted on September 7, 2011 by quest

By Kate Campbell – With harvest in full swing, trucks laden with bell peppers, watermelon and onions unloaded at a rapid pace last week at Morada Produce near Linden. Crews washed and packed the produce into boxes before a chain of forklifts carried the market-bound food to coolers. Harvest activity is being played out across California right now, but there’s something different about Morada Produce: The company’s energy-intensive packing and cooling activities are costing a fraction of what electricity bills totaled in the past.

Skip Foppiano, owner of Morada Produce, pointed to a newly installed two-acre, 390 kilowatt solar energy system outside his office. The once-unpaved employee parking lot is now shaded by four canopies of solar photovoltaic panels that measure more than 40,000 square feet. The company spent nearly a year researching solar technology to determine the best system for its needs and carefully analyzed the investment decision to determine cost benefits and eventual payback. Foppiano said the new system supplies 60 percent to 70 percent of the energy needed for the farm’s packing and cooling activities.

Company owner Skip Foppiano said the system helps the company hedge against increased energy costs, is good for the environment and provides shaded parking for company employees. The solar energy is delivered from the onsite system when utility rates are at their highest, he explained. “Our family has been farming here since the Gold Rush,” Foppiano said. “We’ve always tried new technology to stay competitive. Solar helps us do that and it’s the right thing to do for the environment.” Foppiano said the farming operation worked very closely with Pacific Gas and Electric Co., county government and the equipment vendor to complete the project. An investment tax credit and historically low interest rates helped make the system “pencil out,” he said, adding that payback will take about nine years—or less—depending on future energy prices. An increasing

Hertz To Rent Electric Vehicles With BYD In China

Solar Adding Green Jobs Says US Labor Secretary

Posted on September 5, 2011 by quest

By Hilda L. Solis: IT IS time to dispel a myth. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of manufacturing’s demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, manufacturing in America is not only alive, it’s thriving. America’s manufacturing industry is expected to grow by 6.2 percent this year, outpacing the overall economy. Last year, the auto industry’s Detroit Three of Chrysler, GM, and Ford gained U.S. market share for the first time since 1995. And this July, motor vehicle and parts manufacturing jumped by 5.2 percent over the year-ago month, a direct contributor to the increase in factory outputs of 0.6 percent that month.

Better yet, this industrial growth has spurred job growth. In July alone, manufacturers created 24,000 jobs. Since December, 2009, the manufacturing sector has created more than 289,000 jobs — more than 1 in 10 of all jobs created during our recovery. GM announced this summer that it is creating 4,000 jobs at 17 facilities, including at least 250 at its Powertrain plant in Toledo. It is investing $204 million there.

Solar at Work

In all sorts of industries, manufacturers are making investments that hold great promise for American workers and our economy. Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC is spending more than $85 million to set up a manufacturing hub that will retrofit a vacant 416,000-square-foot plant into a center that will create more than 260 jobs. Then, there’s the ripple effect. For every job created in the manufacturing sector, four to seven jobs are created in the broader economy. The auto industry supply chain now employs three times as many workers as auto companies themselves. This supply chain accounted for almost 3.5 million workers last year. This growth contributes to gains in other industries, from retail to hospitality to tourism. That’s good news for every small business near the Powertrain facility — from Craig’s Flowers & Gifts to The Original Gino’s Pizza on West Alexis Road… America working its way back