SunShot Shines $145 Million On Solar Technologies

Posted on September 2, 2011 by quest

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $145 million for projects to help shape the next generation of solar energy technologies and ensure that the United States remains a leader in this global market. Sixty-nine projects in 24 states will accelerate research and development to increase efficiency, lower costs and advance cutting-edge technologies. Funded through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the projects will also improve materials, manufacturing processes and supply chains for a wide range of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and components of solar energy systems. Some of these investments also support efforts that will shorten the overall timeline from prototype to production and streamline building codes, zoning laws, permitting rules, and business processes for installing solar energy systems.

“America is in a world race to produce cost-competitive renewable energy that can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, create manufacturing jobs across the nation, and improve our energy security,” said Secretary Chu. “The projects announced today under DOE’s SunShot Initiative will spur American innovation to help reduce the costs of clean, renewable solar energy and re-establish U.S. global leadership in this fast growing industry.”

The SunShot Initiative seeks to make solar energy systems more cost-competitive, without long-term subsidies, by reducing the cost of these systems about 75 percent by the end of the decade. The achievement of the SunShot Initiative goals will encourage rapid, widespread adoption of solar energy systems across the United States. The six categories of projects announced today are: Extreme Balance of System Hardware Cost Reductions – Nine projects to receive $42 million.Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency – Eighteen projects to receive $35.8 million. Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems: Advanced Concepts – Eight projects to receive $25.9 million.Transformational PV Science and Technology: Next Generation Photovoltaics II – Twenty-three projects to receive $22.2 million. Reducing Market Barriers and Non-Hardware Balance of System Costs – Seven projects to receive $13.6 million. SunShot Incubator – Four projects to receive $5.8 million.

Beyond Irene: The Future Of Hurricanes

High Desert Cali City To Go Net Zero Using Solar Power

Posted on September 1, 2011 by quest

The City of Lancaster, California has taken a historic step towards becoming one of the first “Net Zero Cities” in the world. The Lancaster City Council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Beautiful Earth Group for the development of a partnership to establish Lancaster as a Net Zero City. Net Zero Cities produce as much energy from sustainable sources, such as solar energy, as they consume. This dramatically reduces their carbon emissions. New technologies such as energy storage, supply and demand management and the “smart grid” are used to save energy and money — all good news for consumers as prices for oil and energy continue to rise.

Lancaster, known as the “Alternative Energy Capital of the World,” is well situated to benefit from the rapid increase in solar energy investment throughout the area. Applications for more than 4,000 megawatts of generation by photovoltaic (PV) electricity plants have been received in California’s High Desert / Antelope Valley region. This provides Lancaster with a wide range of options to reduce its carbon output by using clean energy coupled with energy saving techniques in the future.

Sour Away

Lancaster‘s goal of becoming a Net Zero City will encourage global investment in the city and will fulfill Beautiful Earth’s mission to supply municipalities and businesses with clean, green energy. “This important agreement will bring new jobs, energy security and a much healthier future to all of us in the Antelope Valley,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. “The Net Zero City project with Beautiful Earth Group has the potential to increase the quality of living and create thousands of new jobs focused on power conservation, systems to support the smart grid, clean energy generation, and downstream activities related to companies attracted to Lancaster for its ability to supply clean energy for their manufacturing, industrial and commercial processes.”

Pandas microbes making biofuels

Alternative Solutions To PV Solar Energy Generation

Posted on September 1, 2011 by quest

Bay Area solar manufacturer Solyndra on Wednesday announced it is was shutting its doors and laying off all its 1,100 workers. Solyndra had been visited by Vice President Joe Bidden, Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Barrack Obama. The Daily Caller reported, “Solyndra also spent $550,000 lobbying Congress in 2010. Between 2008 and 2011, the company spent more than $1 million lobbying for bills including the “American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009″ and the “Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act.”Despite Solyndra’s recent bankruptcy announcement, the Department of Energy and the White House insist the investment was not in vain. “The project that we supported succeeded,” a spokesman for the Department of Energy told The New York Times. “The facility was producing the product it said it would produce, and consumers were buying the product,” he said. “The company struggled because the market has changed dramatically.” “While we are disappointed by this particular outcome, we continue to believe the clean-energy jobs race is one that America can, must and will win,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said today in an emailed statement.

NPR reports, The Department of Energy notes that the federal loan guarantee “was pursued by both the Bush and Obama administrations.” And, DOE spokesman Dan Leistikow wrote Wednesday, “we have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed, but we can’t stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America’s leadership in the global economy. These projects, which include more than 40 other companies, are on pace to create more than 60,000 jobs.”

Solar remains the fastest growing industry in the US and opportunities for alternative energy are fluid; including developments in spray on solar and some recent advancements in Graphene and Carbon Nanotube technology.

Daryl Hannah Arrested at White House

Keystone Pipeline Not in Our National Interest

by Peter Lehner

SunPods Solar Arrays Using Digital Automation

Posted on August 31, 2011 by quest

Clean technology company SunPods Inc. is using software from Autodesk, Inc. to design and manufacture modular solar array units that help make solar power more accessible and affordable “Digital Prototyping makes it easier for young clean tech companies with limited resources to develop products that can have a profound impact on the world around us” Unlike conventional customized ground-mounted solar arrays that require extensive onsite assembly and construction, SunPods (which stands for “Sun Power on Demand”) are configured and built in a factory before being delivered to virtually any site — a process that reduces installation time by up to 85 percent.

The combination of Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD software has helped SunPods to design and model its arrays without the need for physical prototypes or on-site testing. During the product development process, the company was able to test and evaluate 23 different digital prototypes. Additionally, Autodesk Showcase software enabled SunPods to more effectively demonstrate the innovative concept to customers by creating realistic animations placing the ideas in context. “At SunPods, we want to provide sun power on demand,” said Michael Gumm, managing partner and cofounder of SunPods. “At every stage, Autodesk software has helped us turn that vision into a reality and speed up our progression from ‘good idea’ to great product.” Modular Array Design Reduces Installation Time Up to 85 Percent, Increases Affordability of Solar Energy

As a member of the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program — which provides software to emerging clean tech companies in North America, Europe and Japan — SunPods gained access to a variety of Digital Prototyping tools to speed the development of its modular power unit. Autodesk reseller, KETIV Technologies, helped provide training and support to enable SunPods to more quickly implement Digital Prototyping into the design process. Each of the pre-manufactured, self-contained units is capable of generating up to 3.82 kilowatts of power — enough for a small residence. Thanks to its modular design, multiple units can be connected to one another to scale energy needs to power larger projects. The marketplace has embraced the company’s innovative ideas: SunPods have now been deployed for commercial, residential, educational and agricultural projects across the United States. A cluster of three SunPods generates 750 kilowatts per month for a private home in Hollister, Calif., for example, while a cluster of 25 SunPods generates 10,000 kilowatts per month for a high school in Presidio, Texas. “Digital Prototyping makes it easier for young clean tech companies with limited resources to develop products that can have a profound impact on the world around us,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “The work SunPods is doing is incredibly important and we’re glad Autodesk software can help play a role in making the transition to solar energy more financially accessible to more people.”

News perspectives on going green

Solar Solutions The Bright Spot In The Economy

Posted on August 31, 2011 by quest

“The U.S. solar energy market continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak economy. As the global solar industry continues to grow and evolve, the U.S. is seen more and more as a leading market – both in installations and in exports. Solar is a showcase industry of U.S. ingenuity. In 2010, we grew by over 100 percent, we achieved a significant positive trade balance, and we exported more goods and services to China than we imported,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. “Solar energy is an industry invented in the U.S. that is helping our country reclaim our manufacturing leadership and creating tens of thousands of jobs. But to maintain our competitive advantage, we need innovative, proactive solutions from policymakers to match the investments being provided overseas to grow robust solar supply chains. Doing so will result in new jobs and opportunities for communities that have seen their factories close up shop in recent years.” A new report shows that the U.S. is central to the global solar supply chain according to SEIA and GTM Research’s U.S. Solar Energy Trade Assessment 2011. Photovoltaic (PV) components accounted for more than 99 percent of the year’s exports, with solar heating and cooling (SHC) claiming the remainder of the positive balance.

“Until now, the finished module was the industry’s benchmark for judging the health of the PV manufacturing sector,” said Shayle Kann, Managing Director of Solar at GTM Research. “However, the PV market is more complex than meets the eye. To completely understand solar trade flows, this report looks both at earlier steps in the value chain and at the non-panel components of a solar PV system. As our research shows, the U.S. remains a focal point in global PV manufacturing, thanks largely to the domestic manufacturing of feedstock and manufacturing equipment.”

According to the U.S. Solar Energy Trade Assessment 2011, a significant portion of the domestic value generated by the PV industry resides beyond manufactured components; site preparation, labor, permitting, financing and other industry ‘soft costs’ comprised nearly 50 percent of total solar revenue in 2010. The report found $4.4 billion of domestic revenue accrued last year from U.S. solar installations. This domestic value originated from both local and foreign firms employing U.S. resources on the ground for solar goods and services. According to the report, for every dollar spent on a U.S. solar installation in 2010, $0.75 accrued to the U.S.

Game Pioneering Ideas In Solar Energy & Business

Hertz To Rent Electric Vehicles With BYD In China

Posted on August 30, 2011 by quest

BYD, the largest Chinese domestic auto brand and The Hertz Corporation, the world’s largest general use car rental brand, recently announced a strategic partnership to promote new energy applications to propel the development of the EV markets in China. In addition, as part of the partnership, Hertz will rent BYD’s e6 electrical vehicle (EV) to Chinese consumers, municipalities and government agencies. Mark Frissora, Chairman and CEO of Hertz stated, “Hertz is once again first to market with innovation. We are the first global car rental company to offer EVs in China for businesses and consumers to rent. With our partnership with BYD, we can offer a complete solution including rental and sales – another first for our industry.” Chuanfu Wang Chairman and CEO of BYD stated, “Innovation is a consistent theme for Hertz and innovation is also the core of BYD’s continuous fast growth — pure EVs for car rental in China is an innovative step for new energy industry development. This joint innovation for our two large enterprises in the field of pure EVs will certainly bring ‘green’ transportation to the forefront for the world to admire.”

“Hertz is once again first to market with innovation. We are the first global car rental company to offer EVs in China for businesses and consumers to rent. With our partnership with BYD, we can offer a complete solution including rental and sales – another first for our industry.”

As part of this agreement, the BYD’s e6, a 5-seat, pure-electric vehicle with the driving range of more than 186 miles (240 km) will be introduced into the Hertz China’s rental fleet making BYD’s e6 the first pure EV for rent in China. The core technology of the e6 FE battery boasts the highest safety, longest service life and most environmentally-friendly rechargeable chemistry (containing no heavy metals or toxic/flammable electrolytes). BYD’s e6 will serve in Hertz’s fleet for multiple groups of Hertz consumers including urban drivers, university students, travelers, and corporations, while bringing them a brand-new environmentally-friendly, EV driving experience.