The report identifies many country-specific challenges, but findings from the report have found general teething problems exist across all countries.
Common barriers in the permitting process include regulatory requirements falling under a number of departments (though many countries are now streamlining this aspect); the party politicisation of renewables; long lead times to obtain the necessary permits, and weak spatial planning policies.
Since investment decisions are influenced by the permitting and planning of wind farms, delayed consents can increase the risk profile of an offshore wind project and affect its economic viability. Slow consenting also makes it difficult to schedule resources, and it can prohibit innovation. A slow permitting process can mean that turbine design has moved on by the time developers get around to installing turbines.
The European Offshore Wind Standards, Permitting & Markets report provides real data, fresh statistics and 100% independent analysis on helping to navigate offshore wind energy standards, permitting and markets. The report focuses on standards in Europe?s major offshore wind markets, including UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Germany and France.
A free summary of the report is available at:
http://www.windenergyupdate.com/standards/report-summary.shtml
Contact:
Tony JackWind Energy Update
+44 (0) 20 73 75 72 24
+1 800 814 3459 + Ext: 7224
tony@windenergyupdate.com
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Energy security
It has become popular to talk about climate change policy in terms of energy security. Rather than saying we need more renewables, efficient building and public transport to meet climate change targets we now say that we need them to achieve energy security.
This trend is likely to continue. In November the British Government will introduce the Energy Security and Green Economy�Bill.�Eager to influence and improve the Act, development NGOs with climate campaigns and environmental organisations will have to talk about what they want in terms of energy security. If we want to be part of the debate we will have to stop calling for cuts in emissions to protect the world's most vulnerable people. We will have to start saying we must get more energy from renewables to increase energy security.?This might appear no different. Just another way of talking about the same thing. Both could involve investing in renewables, reducing the amount of fossil fuels we burn, building efficient buildings.
But when we talk about security we mean a world of peace and stability. For us security means peace-building. It means resolving conflicts, not military intervention. It means producing our own energy rather than fighting wars to secure oil and gas from other countries. We waved our ?no war for oil? placards in the run up to the Iraq war. For us security means addressing the root causes of instability. We mean changing the things that make the world unstable and prone to conflict: climate change, competition over resources, the gap between rich and poor. When we talk to people about energy security we imagine that they share this vision.
But we forget that there are other ways of looking at security. And our vision of security is not the dominant one. The approach that most western governments have to security is the exact opposite. Stability is achieved through the vigorous use of force. ?Rogue nations? are contained by military intervention. Insurgents and rebels are contained by special forces. Access to secure supplies of energy is achieved through war. The aim is to keep a lid on instability. Not to question why that instability exists or to do anything about it. The prime example of this approach to security is the ?War on Terror?.
Perhaps we mistakenly think when we talk to people about energy security they buy into our definition of security. Let's not be naive. There is a reason they didn't listen when we talked about preventing drought, floods and disappearing islands. There is a reason they didn't listen when we talked about a just deal in Copenhagen, indigenous land rights and living within our environmental means. It?s because all of these things are inconsistent with their approach to security. In a world with a safe climate, economic justice and fair access to natural resources, their approach to security would be irrelevant.
When nowadays we talk about what we want in terms of energy security what we are actually saying is this: our vision for a renewably powered country is consistent with your vision for containing instability using violence. Our vision for energy efficient homes is consistent with your vision for military intervention. Let?s increase energy security by using renewables, but let?s also secure new energy reserves using force. Crucially we say our vision for energy security does not challenge your approach to global security. Our vision for energy security does not require you to do anything about the actually causes of instability and violence.
Without thinking we?ve given our support to an approach to dealing with the world?s problems that goes completely against our values. The situation is likely to get worse in the run up to the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill. In being forced to frame our demands for better climate policy in terms of energy security, our efforts to improve the Bill will unwittingly add force to a broader programme that is completely at odds with what we believe.
So what should we do? We must be explicit about why we want good domestic climate and energy policy. Let?s say that it is needed to achieve peace and stability. Let?s say that climate change and competition for dwindling energy reserves are both causes of instability and violence. We should make it clear that there the other causes of instability and violence - like nuclear proliferation and inequality - need to be dealt with too. Finally let?s be very clear that our vision for renewables and good domestic climate policy is totally inconsistent with the dominant approach to security.
Alex is a campaigner and activist on climate change and energy issues.
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This trend is likely to continue. In November the British Government will introduce the Energy Security and Green Economy�Bill.�Eager to influence and improve the Act, development NGOs with climate campaigns and environmental organisations will have to talk about what they want in terms of energy security. If we want to be part of the debate we will have to stop calling for cuts in emissions to protect the world's most vulnerable people. We will have to start saying we must get more energy from renewables to increase energy security.?This might appear no different. Just another way of talking about the same thing. Both could involve investing in renewables, reducing the amount of fossil fuels we burn, building efficient buildings.
But when we talk about security we mean a world of peace and stability. For us security means peace-building. It means resolving conflicts, not military intervention. It means producing our own energy rather than fighting wars to secure oil and gas from other countries. We waved our ?no war for oil? placards in the run up to the Iraq war. For us security means addressing the root causes of instability. We mean changing the things that make the world unstable and prone to conflict: climate change, competition over resources, the gap between rich and poor. When we talk to people about energy security we imagine that they share this vision.
But we forget that there are other ways of looking at security. And our vision of security is not the dominant one. The approach that most western governments have to security is the exact opposite. Stability is achieved through the vigorous use of force. ?Rogue nations? are contained by military intervention. Insurgents and rebels are contained by special forces. Access to secure supplies of energy is achieved through war. The aim is to keep a lid on instability. Not to question why that instability exists or to do anything about it. The prime example of this approach to security is the ?War on Terror?.
Perhaps we mistakenly think when we talk to people about energy security they buy into our definition of security. Let's not be naive. There is a reason they didn't listen when we talked about preventing drought, floods and disappearing islands. There is a reason they didn't listen when we talked about a just deal in Copenhagen, indigenous land rights and living within our environmental means. It?s because all of these things are inconsistent with their approach to security. In a world with a safe climate, economic justice and fair access to natural resources, their approach to security would be irrelevant.
When nowadays we talk about what we want in terms of energy security what we are actually saying is this: our vision for a renewably powered country is consistent with your vision for containing instability using violence. Our vision for energy efficient homes is consistent with your vision for military intervention. Let?s increase energy security by using renewables, but let?s also secure new energy reserves using force. Crucially we say our vision for energy security does not challenge your approach to global security. Our vision for energy security does not require you to do anything about the actually causes of instability and violence.
Without thinking we?ve given our support to an approach to dealing with the world?s problems that goes completely against our values. The situation is likely to get worse in the run up to the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill. In being forced to frame our demands for better climate policy in terms of energy security, our efforts to improve the Bill will unwittingly add force to a broader programme that is completely at odds with what we believe.
So what should we do? We must be explicit about why we want good domestic climate and energy policy. Let?s say that it is needed to achieve peace and stability. Let?s say that climate change and competition for dwindling energy reserves are both causes of instability and violence. We should make it clear that there the other causes of instability and violence - like nuclear proliferation and inequality - need to be dealt with too. Finally let?s be very clear that our vision for renewables and good domestic climate policy is totally inconsistent with the dominant approach to security.
Alex is a campaigner and activist on climate change and energy issues.
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PNNL Improving Commercial Building Energy Efficiency
January 04, 2011
Anne Haas, PNNL, (509) 375-3732
Through the Commercial Buildings Partnership, DOE?s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and several partners will work together to retrofit existing structures or design new structures that exceed current energy efficiency codes by at least 50 percent for new buildings ? and 30 percent for existing buildings. Commercial buildings account for 18 percent of U.S. energy consumption.
RICHLAND, Wash. ?
Commercial buildings account for 18 percent of U.S. energy consumption.� In an effort to significantly reduce energy use from these buildings, public and private entities are teaming as part of the Commercial Buildings Partnership to design and implement energy efficient measures.� The partnership is kicking off a three-year program, funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program, which will lead to several new or retrofitted structures across the country. DOE announced the funding in November 2010.
DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will work with Home Depot in California; Grand Valley State University in Michigan; the U.S. Army in Ft. Bragg, N.C.; U.S. General Services Administration in New England; the U.S. Job Corps in Reno, Nev.; and the Smart Grid Development in Kingstown, R.I., to help retrofit existing structures or design new structures that exceed current energy efficiency codes by at least 50 percent for new buildings and 30 percent for existing buildings.� Some buildings are attempting to use renewable energy and energy efficiency measures to produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis.�
The projects will serve as test beds and training centers for innovative building-related research and will demonstrate how energy use can be dramatically reduced in commercial buildings ? to help spur wider adoption of energy efficient building practices across the industry.
At Home Depot, for example, the team will design and construct an energy efficient prototype store in California that will require up to 50 percent less energy than current code.� This code is known as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 90.1-2007 compliant buildings.
"The program will enable PNNL to use the knowledge and skills developed over three decades of buildings energy efficiency research to help commercial building owners and operators take advantage of huge opportunities for energy savings ? and accelerate the widespread deployment of cost-effective, energy saving measures in commercial buildings across the U.S.," said Michael Baechler, senior buildings program manager at PNNL.
Each project partner will receive technical assistance valued at between $200,000 and $700,000, depending on the scope of work.� Partners also will contribute 20 percent in cost-share to each project.�
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded the work.� To learn more about DOE's Building Technologies Program visit: www.eere.energy.gov/buildings.
The mission of the Building Technologies Program (BTP) is to develop technologies, techniques, and tools for making buildings more energy efficient, productive, and affordable. BTP focuses on improving commercial and residential building components, energy modeling tools, building energy codes, and appliance standards. This Web site provides information and resources for industry professionals to help reduce the energy use of new and existing buildings and strengthen the nation's energy future.
Tags: Energy, Energy Efficiency, Smart Grid
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, the environment and national security. PNNL employs 4,900 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1.1 billion, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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EnCore spuds Catcher North appraisal well
EnCore spuds Catcher North appraisal well
Posted: 24 January 2010
EnCore Oil plc reported the Catcher North appraisal well 28/9-3 in Central North Sea Block 28/9 was spudded at 08.00 hours on Monday 24 January 2011.
The EnCore operated well is being drilled using the Transocean Galaxy II heavy duty jack-up rig and is being managed by Applied Drilling Technology International (ADTI), a turnkey drilling services provider with over 30 years' experience. The well is expected to take approximately 20 days, subject to weather and operational requirements.
The main objective of the well is to appraise the Tay and Cromarty reservoirs to the North of the Catcher discovery made in June 2010, at estimated depths of approximately 4,300 feet (Tay) and 4,500 feet (Cromarty) True Vertical Depth Sub Sea.
Catcher North is the second well in the current drilling campaign after the group took advantage of a weather window suitable for mobilisation from Varadero to the Catcher North location. Burgman will now be drilled following Catcher North.
The equity in the Catcher joint venture partnership is as follows: EnCore Oil plc (15 per cent., Operator), Premier Oil (35 per cent), Wintershall (UK North Sea) Limited (20 per cent), Nautical Petroleum (15 per cent) and Agora Oil & Gas (15 per cent).
�
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, energyme.com.
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Posted: 24 January 2010
EnCore Oil plc reported the Catcher North appraisal well 28/9-3 in Central North Sea Block 28/9 was spudded at 08.00 hours on Monday 24 January 2011.
The EnCore operated well is being drilled using the Transocean Galaxy II heavy duty jack-up rig and is being managed by Applied Drilling Technology International (ADTI), a turnkey drilling services provider with over 30 years' experience. The well is expected to take approximately 20 days, subject to weather and operational requirements.
The main objective of the well is to appraise the Tay and Cromarty reservoirs to the North of the Catcher discovery made in June 2010, at estimated depths of approximately 4,300 feet (Tay) and 4,500 feet (Cromarty) True Vertical Depth Sub Sea.
Catcher North is the second well in the current drilling campaign after the group took advantage of a weather window suitable for mobilisation from Varadero to the Catcher North location. Burgman will now be drilled following Catcher North.
The equity in the Catcher joint venture partnership is as follows: EnCore Oil plc (15 per cent., Operator), Premier Oil (35 per cent), Wintershall (UK North Sea) Limited (20 per cent), Nautical Petroleum (15 per cent) and Agora Oil & Gas (15 per cent).
�
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, energyme.com.
Follow energyme.com on Twitter @energyme.
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European Producers Want Credit Relief
BY JOHN W. MILLER
BRUSSELS?European ethanol producers say the extension of a U.S. ethanol tax credit for 2011, approved by Congress last month as part of the $858 billion tax-reduction bill, could prompt them to file a trade complaint with the European Union. European producers failed in lobbying efforts to halt the credit, however, the extension would apply only on sales to U.S. buyers, and not on sales abroad. The tax credit has helped fuel record production by U.S. ethanol producers. Combined with high sugar prices in Brazil and a wheat shortage in Europe, the tax credit has made mostly corn-based U.S. ethanol the ...Powered By WizardRSSMagnetic Generators Free Energy Home Home Power Generator Green Energy Green Energy Sources
BRUSSELS?European ethanol producers say the extension of a U.S. ethanol tax credit for 2011, approved by Congress last month as part of the $858 billion tax-reduction bill, could prompt them to file a trade complaint with the European Union. European producers failed in lobbying efforts to halt the credit, however, the extension would apply only on sales to U.S. buyers, and not on sales abroad. The tax credit has helped fuel record production by U.S. ethanol producers. Combined with high sugar prices in Brazil and a wheat shortage in Europe, the tax credit has made mostly corn-based U.S. ethanol the ...Powered By WizardRSSMagnetic Generators Free Energy Home Home Power Generator Green Energy Green Energy Sources
RHS urges gardeners to go green
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has urged gardeners to become more environmentally sustainable and help to combat climate change from their garden.It has issued advice to members, calling for homeowners to avoid using a hosepipe unless necessary for reducing water waste and avoid using peat as this releases greenhouse gases.Planting 'drought resistant' species will help gardeners conserve water.Speaking to the Telegraph, Roger Williams, head of science at the RHS, said: "Whether or not you accept climate change is man made there is lots of evidence that we have a more unstable climate and it is getting warmer. What will that mean for gardeners and how can we adapt to that?"Homeowners with greenhouses were advised to use climate controls and install double glazed cladding.City dwellers are also being encouraged to turn their patio into grassy garden space or plant trees to help absorb carbon dioxide emissions, while planting certain flowers can attract bees and insects to boost biodiversity.Posted by Mark Stephens Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy
For more information please see: Sustainable gardening� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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For more information please see: Sustainable gardening� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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Monday, May 30, 2011
Say Hello to Stricter TV Standards
Two years ago, I described the ENERGY STAR� designation for television sets. Last month I explained how the Federal Trade Commission is requiring manufacturers to place yellow EnergyGuide labels on all television sets beginning later this year.
This year?2011?is going to be another banner year for consumers shopping for a new television set. Standards are being tightened. No, not TV broadcasting standards, but the energy efficiency standards for television sets. If you and/or your kids watch a lot of television, this could take a nice slice off of your electricity bills when you buy a new TV.
California passed legislation last year to set higher energy conservation standards for television sets sold within the state of California. Stricter standards went into effect with the ringing in of the New Year. The new 2011 standards are estimated to reduce energy consumption of the average new television set by about a third. Stricter energy conservation standards governing maximum in-use power consumption go into effect on January 1, 2013. The 2011/2013 standards are estimated to cut total TV energy consumption almost in half compared to pre-2011 models.
As of late 2009, more than a thousand TV models met the 2011 standards, comprising all of the technologies that you've come to enjoy, including plasma and LCD. Hundreds of models already meet the 2013 standards. Manufacturers have been making a lot of effort over the past couple of years to reduce the power consumption of TVs. For example, LED (light emitting diode) technology is expected to be the leading backlight technology for LCD TV sets sold throughout the United States in 2011. This bodes well for consumers, since LED technology is much more energy efficient than the lighting source common in older sets.
The in-use power consumption, in watts, must be marked, permanently and legibly, on an accessible and conspicuous place on each new TV set sold in California that was manufactured on or after January 1, 2011. Moreover, any publication, website, document, or retail display advertising the sale in California of a television set manufactured on or after January 1, 2011, and that includes a description of the physical dimensions of the television must include the identical in-use power consumption, in watts, immediately following and in the same font and same font size as the description of the physical dimensions. Thus, consumers nationwide will be able to view this energy consumption information when surfing certain websites, making it easier to compare the energy consumption of different models.
Now, unless you live in California, or buy your television from a merchant in California, you aren't directly affected. However, there's a saying in the energy arena that goes something like this: As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. Federal regulations on energy conservation standards are coming that will help all U.S. consumers.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently taking the steps required to ensure that a test procedure and standard are modernized and established to capture the energy consumption of current television sets. After receiving and evaluating comments on the proposal, DOE may proceed with establishing a test procedure and nation-wide energy efficiency standard for television sets.
John Lippert is an employee of Energy Enterprise Solutions, a contractor for EERE. He assists with technical reviews of content on the Energy Savers website.
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Departments of Energy and Commerce Announce New Partnership to Further Cooperation on Renewable Energy Modeling and Forecasting
This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
January 24, 2011
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Commerce today announced a new agreement to further collaboration between the agencies on renewable energy modeling and weather forecasting, which will help enable the nation's renewable energy resources to be used more effectively by business and entrepreneurs. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by Acting Under Secretary of Energy Cathy Zoi and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., will encourage the two agencies to work together to develop and disseminate weather and climate information needed for renewable energy technologies that are dependent on short-term weather and longer-term climate trends. Better information on weather patterns and improved modeling of the variability of the wind, sun, water, ocean currents, and other sources of renewable energy will ultimately increase the country's ability to efficiently and reliably integrate renewable energy into the electrical grid.
"This collaboration will bring together scientists and experts across the federal government to support our efforts to integrate renewable energy into our power system," said Zoi. "By providing us with a deeper understanding of how weather impacts the generation of renewable energy, this partnership will help to more effectively deploy these important resources across America."
"Our ability to increase America's supply of renewable energy is based in part on our ability to predict and harness precipitation, wind, and cloud patterns," said Lubchenco. "Observations, forecasts, and climate information tailored to the needs of the renewable energy industry will promote growth of this vital sector."
The agreement announced today builds on reports from both agencies that recognize the need for improved meteorological, oceanic, and climatological observations, modeling, and forecasting to expand the efficient use of renewable energy sources and further integrate these energy sources into the U.S. energy system. For example, DOE's 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report identifies several key research areas, such as improved wind forecasting techniques, that would enhance electrical grid system operations. NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan states that NOAA will develop integrated environmental information services for the unique needs of weather-sensitive sectors, including solar, wind, and oceanographic information critical to the development, production, and transmission of renewable energy.
The partnership will help renewable energy system designers, operators, and electric power system administrators in improving the cost effectiveness and reliability of weather-dependent renewable energy technologies. The collaboration includes a working group from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that will identify areas for continued focus and research and help lay out next steps for improving the efficiency of renewable resources and better integrating renewable energy sources onto the electrical grid.
The group will produce an Action Plan in the coming months that will address:
Improving renewable resource characterization models and methodologies for optimizing system reliability and performance
Advancing meteorological and oceanic forecasting technologies, models and methodologies
Defining national weather and oceanic monitoring systems needed to support renewable energy
Predicting climate effects on renewable energy resources
Coordinating both public and private sector contributions to addressing renewable resource needs.
Under the partnership, both agencies agree to provide the necessary resources to coordinate or carry out the designated tasks outlined in the Action Plan.
To learn more about wind as a renewable energy source, please visit DOE's Wind Program website.
Read more on NOAA's renewable energy program.
See the full text of the Memorandum of Understanding.
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January 24, 2011
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Commerce today announced a new agreement to further collaboration between the agencies on renewable energy modeling and weather forecasting, which will help enable the nation's renewable energy resources to be used more effectively by business and entrepreneurs. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by Acting Under Secretary of Energy Cathy Zoi and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., will encourage the two agencies to work together to develop and disseminate weather and climate information needed for renewable energy technologies that are dependent on short-term weather and longer-term climate trends. Better information on weather patterns and improved modeling of the variability of the wind, sun, water, ocean currents, and other sources of renewable energy will ultimately increase the country's ability to efficiently and reliably integrate renewable energy into the electrical grid.
"This collaboration will bring together scientists and experts across the federal government to support our efforts to integrate renewable energy into our power system," said Zoi. "By providing us with a deeper understanding of how weather impacts the generation of renewable energy, this partnership will help to more effectively deploy these important resources across America."
"Our ability to increase America's supply of renewable energy is based in part on our ability to predict and harness precipitation, wind, and cloud patterns," said Lubchenco. "Observations, forecasts, and climate information tailored to the needs of the renewable energy industry will promote growth of this vital sector."
The agreement announced today builds on reports from both agencies that recognize the need for improved meteorological, oceanic, and climatological observations, modeling, and forecasting to expand the efficient use of renewable energy sources and further integrate these energy sources into the U.S. energy system. For example, DOE's 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report identifies several key research areas, such as improved wind forecasting techniques, that would enhance electrical grid system operations. NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan states that NOAA will develop integrated environmental information services for the unique needs of weather-sensitive sectors, including solar, wind, and oceanographic information critical to the development, production, and transmission of renewable energy.
The partnership will help renewable energy system designers, operators, and electric power system administrators in improving the cost effectiveness and reliability of weather-dependent renewable energy technologies. The collaboration includes a working group from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that will identify areas for continued focus and research and help lay out next steps for improving the efficiency of renewable resources and better integrating renewable energy sources onto the electrical grid.
The group will produce an Action Plan in the coming months that will address:
Improving renewable resource characterization models and methodologies for optimizing system reliability and performance
Advancing meteorological and oceanic forecasting technologies, models and methodologies
Defining national weather and oceanic monitoring systems needed to support renewable energy
Predicting climate effects on renewable energy resources
Coordinating both public and private sector contributions to addressing renewable resource needs.
Under the partnership, both agencies agree to provide the necessary resources to coordinate or carry out the designated tasks outlined in the Action Plan.
To learn more about wind as a renewable energy source, please visit DOE's Wind Program website.
Read more on NOAA's renewable energy program.
See the full text of the Memorandum of Understanding.
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UK leads Europe for off-shore wind power capacity
The UK has the largest off-shore wind power capacity in Europe, installing a total of 1,341 MW, highlighting the nation's firm position in renewable energy technology.Figures from the European Wind Energy Association show that Denmark has the second-largest capacity (854 MW), followed by the Netherlands (249 MW) and Belgium (195 MW).In addition, the statistics showed that Europe's total offshore wind power capacity has reached almost 3 GW, which could supply around three million households, while another 19 GW of offshore capacity has been consented.Peter Madigan, head of offshore renewables at RenewableUK, commented: "The UK's offshore wind roll out is continuing at full speed."He noted that the first turbines at Walney and Greater Gabbard have started delivering electricity to the grid, which once completed will see the UK generate a total of more than 2 GW nationwide."We now need to ensure that we are best poised to capture the full benefits such a massive infrastructure project offers, including increased employment and business activity," Mr Madigan said.Posted by Mark Stephens Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy
For more information please see: European Wind Energy Association figures� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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For more information please see: European Wind Energy Association figures� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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PNNL Improving Commercial Building Energy Efficiency
January 04, 2011
Anne Haas, PNNL, (509) 375-3732
Through the Commercial Buildings Partnership, DOE?s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and several partners will work together to retrofit existing structures or design new structures that exceed current energy efficiency codes by at least 50 percent for new buildings ? and 30 percent for existing buildings. Commercial buildings account for 18 percent of U.S. energy consumption.
RICHLAND, Wash. ?
Commercial buildings account for 18 percent of U.S. energy consumption.� In an effort to significantly reduce energy use from these buildings, public and private entities are teaming as part of the Commercial Buildings Partnership to design and implement energy efficient measures.� The partnership is kicking off a three-year program, funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program, which will lead to several new or retrofitted structures across the country. DOE announced the funding in November 2010.
DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will work with Home Depot in California; Grand Valley State University in Michigan; the U.S. Army in Ft. Bragg, N.C.; U.S. General Services Administration in New England; the U.S. Job Corps in Reno, Nev.; and the Smart Grid Development in Kingstown, R.I., to help retrofit existing structures or design new structures that exceed current energy efficiency codes by at least 50 percent for new buildings and 30 percent for existing buildings.� Some buildings are attempting to use renewable energy and energy efficiency measures to produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis.�
The projects will serve as test beds and training centers for innovative building-related research and will demonstrate how energy use can be dramatically reduced in commercial buildings ? to help spur wider adoption of energy efficient building practices across the industry.
At Home Depot, for example, the team will design and construct an energy efficient prototype store in California that will require up to 50 percent less energy than current code.� This code is known as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 90.1-2007 compliant buildings.
"The program will enable PNNL to use the knowledge and skills developed over three decades of buildings energy efficiency research to help commercial building owners and operators take advantage of huge opportunities for energy savings ? and accelerate the widespread deployment of cost-effective, energy saving measures in commercial buildings across the U.S.," said Michael Baechler, senior buildings program manager at PNNL.
Each project partner will receive technical assistance valued at between $200,000 and $700,000, depending on the scope of work.� Partners also will contribute 20 percent in cost-share to each project.�
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded the work.� To learn more about DOE's Building Technologies Program visit: www.eere.energy.gov/buildings.
The mission of the Building Technologies Program (BTP) is to develop technologies, techniques, and tools for making buildings more energy efficient, productive, and affordable. BTP focuses on improving commercial and residential building components, energy modeling tools, building energy codes, and appliance standards. This Web site provides information and resources for industry professionals to help reduce the energy use of new and existing buildings and strengthen the nation's energy future.
Tags: Energy, Energy Efficiency, Smart Grid
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, the environment and national security. PNNL employs 4,900 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1.1 billion, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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United States - Oct 30
Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage.
Surging price of oil forces US military to seek alternative energy sourcesJohn Vidal, Guardian
It's a secret just how much oil the US military uses, but estimates range from around 400,000 barrels a day in peacetime ? almost as much as Greece ? to 800,000 barrels a day at the height of the Iraq war.This puts a single nation's armed forces near Australia as an oil consumer and among the top 25 countries in the world today.
Either way it is by far the world's largest single buyer of oil and the last thing any admiral, general or under secretary of defence has had to be been concerned about is whether there's gas in the tanks or that the navy's carbon emissions are a bit extravagant.
But there are signs of change. Every $10 rise in the price of oil costs the gas-guzzling US air force around an extra $600m each year. Just keeping one US soldier in Afghanistan with the world price of oil at $80 a barrel now costs hundreds of dollars a day in fuel alone. And because the US as a country imports more than $300bn worth of oil a year, fiscal reality is dawning. The US military spent around $8bn in 2004 on fuel, and probably twice that last year. Surging world fuel prices are likely to put the brakes on the US oil war machine as much as political opposition.
The military knows this. Earlier this year a Joint Operating Environment report from the US joint forces command predicted that global surplus oil production capacity could disappear within two years and there could be a shortfall of nearly 10m barrels a day by 2015.
"Peak oil", said the generals, would impact massively on the US and other economies, and the US military would be compromised.
(28 October 2010)
Navajos Hope to Shift From Coal to Wind and SunMireya Navarro, New York Times
BLUE GAP, Ariz. ? For decades, coal has been an economic lifeline for the Navajos, even as mining and power plant emissions dulled the blue skies and sullied the waters of their sprawling reservation.
But today there are stirrings of rebellion. Seeking to reverse years of environmental degradation and return to their traditional values, many Navajos are calling for a future built instead on solar farms, ecotourism and microbusinesses.
?At some point we have to wean ourselves,? Earl Tulley, a Navajo housing official, said of coal as he sat on the dirt floor of his family?s hogan, a traditional circular dwelling.
Mr. Tulley, who is running for vice president of the Navajo Nation in the Nov. 2 election, represents a growing movement among Navajos that embraces environmental healing and greater reliance on the sun and wind, abundant resources on a 17 million-acre reservation spanning Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
(25 October 2010)
Our aging water systems are long past due for a major overhaulWenonah Hauter, OtherWords
President Barack Obama recently announced plans to modernize our crumbling roads, rails, and airports while providing jobs for the construction industry. While we certainly need to fix our nation's transportation infrastructure, another crucial set of systems in the U.S. begs for attention. Water infrastructure in every state in the U.S. is woefully outdated.
A national crisis looms, but it's one we can avert through a renewed commitment to modernizing and maintaining our public water systems.
Across the nation, aging water pipes break, stranding residents and businesses without the water needed to fulfill basic needs. This happened in the Boston area earlier this year when a water main broke, prompting a boil notice for some two million area residents. The bill to repair the damages that ensued climbed to over $600,000, and the federal government contributed nothing.
The consequences of aging sewer systems can be worse. When aging sewer pipes burst, they spill untreated waste into rivers, lakes, and streams.
(26 October 2010)
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Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage.
Surging price of oil forces US military to seek alternative energy sourcesJohn Vidal, Guardian
It's a secret just how much oil the US military uses, but estimates range from around 400,000 barrels a day in peacetime ? almost as much as Greece ? to 800,000 barrels a day at the height of the Iraq war.This puts a single nation's armed forces near Australia as an oil consumer and among the top 25 countries in the world today.
Either way it is by far the world's largest single buyer of oil and the last thing any admiral, general or under secretary of defence has had to be been concerned about is whether there's gas in the tanks or that the navy's carbon emissions are a bit extravagant.
But there are signs of change. Every $10 rise in the price of oil costs the gas-guzzling US air force around an extra $600m each year. Just keeping one US soldier in Afghanistan with the world price of oil at $80 a barrel now costs hundreds of dollars a day in fuel alone. And because the US as a country imports more than $300bn worth of oil a year, fiscal reality is dawning. The US military spent around $8bn in 2004 on fuel, and probably twice that last year. Surging world fuel prices are likely to put the brakes on the US oil war machine as much as political opposition.
The military knows this. Earlier this year a Joint Operating Environment report from the US joint forces command predicted that global surplus oil production capacity could disappear within two years and there could be a shortfall of nearly 10m barrels a day by 2015.
"Peak oil", said the generals, would impact massively on the US and other economies, and the US military would be compromised.
(28 October 2010)
Navajos Hope to Shift From Coal to Wind and SunMireya Navarro, New York Times
BLUE GAP, Ariz. ? For decades, coal has been an economic lifeline for the Navajos, even as mining and power plant emissions dulled the blue skies and sullied the waters of their sprawling reservation.
But today there are stirrings of rebellion. Seeking to reverse years of environmental degradation and return to their traditional values, many Navajos are calling for a future built instead on solar farms, ecotourism and microbusinesses.
?At some point we have to wean ourselves,? Earl Tulley, a Navajo housing official, said of coal as he sat on the dirt floor of his family?s hogan, a traditional circular dwelling.
Mr. Tulley, who is running for vice president of the Navajo Nation in the Nov. 2 election, represents a growing movement among Navajos that embraces environmental healing and greater reliance on the sun and wind, abundant resources on a 17 million-acre reservation spanning Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
(25 October 2010)
Our aging water systems are long past due for a major overhaulWenonah Hauter, OtherWords
President Barack Obama recently announced plans to modernize our crumbling roads, rails, and airports while providing jobs for the construction industry. While we certainly need to fix our nation's transportation infrastructure, another crucial set of systems in the U.S. begs for attention. Water infrastructure in every state in the U.S. is woefully outdated.
A national crisis looms, but it's one we can avert through a renewed commitment to modernizing and maintaining our public water systems.
Across the nation, aging water pipes break, stranding residents and businesses without the water needed to fulfill basic needs. This happened in the Boston area earlier this year when a water main broke, prompting a boil notice for some two million area residents. The bill to repair the damages that ensued climbed to over $600,000, and the federal government contributed nothing.
The consequences of aging sewer systems can be worse. When aging sewer pipes burst, they spill untreated waste into rivers, lakes, and streams.
(26 October 2010)
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London shopping centre uses Europe's largest heat pump
A shopping centre in London has officially started to use the largest geothermal heat pump in Europe. Climate change minister Greg Barker unveiled the system, which will heat and cool One New Change in the heart of the City.The pipework is 60km long and it is hoped that it will reduce the carbon emissions of the building by at least ten per cent and save �300,000 on energy bills every year, its owners say.On opening the renewable energy technology, Mr Barker said: "This is British innovation at its best, using the earth's natural resources to solve our energy needs."Extracting warmth from the ground underneath London will help save on the building's heating bills and will cut carbon."In addition to the large-scale system, the building has solar-controlled glass, reducing the need for air conditioning, and green roof terraces to encourage biodiversity.It has also received an 'excellent' sustainability rating under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, which could signal the future of commercial buildings in achieving sustainability and reducing carbon emissions.Posted by Emily Thomas Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy
For more information please see: One New Change� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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Sunday, May 29, 2011
How Would You Use Your Mobile Device to Save Energy?
On Tuesday, Shannon told you about some mobile tools on FuelEconomy.gov that can help you find and compare fuel efficient vehicles.
More and more, people are using their phones and mobile devices to find information, whether they're on the go and need the info now or if they're just at home and choosing to use a phone instead of a computer. Whatever the reason, we know that mobile information and tools are important.
Maybe you would find an energy-saving app useful when you're in a store comparing products, or wondering if a product is eligible for an incentive. Maybe you'd like to follow do-it-yourself instructions from your phone when you're working on an energy project around the house. Maybe you'd like to use an app to conduct an energy assessment and keep track of your home energy improvements.
These are just a few ideas we've had for how mobile apps could help you save energy, but we'd like to hear yours.
How would you use your mobile device to save energy?
Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.
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Ministers approve 4.5MW hydro system in Scotland
Ministers have approved the construction of a hydro power system to be built on the Maldie Burn, near Kylestrome in Scotland.The 4.5 MW scheme will generate enough hydro electricity to power up to 2,500 homes lead and to the creation of 25 jobs.It comes after RWE Npower Renewables submitted planning in 2009 and will help Scotland achieve its goal of generating 80 per cent of its electricity demand from renewable energy by 2020, with an interim target of 31 per cent by this year.According to figures from the Scottish government, around seven GW of renewables capacity has been installed in the country, or is under construction or has been consented. This will take Scotland beyond the interim 2011 target."This is another hydro development, following in Scotland's long and proud tradition, that generates green energy from our vast water resources," commented energy minister Jim Mather." Hydro still has an important role to play in the renewables revolution and the Maldie Burn scheme is a great example of using our natural assets to create new, low carbon jobs."Posted by Mark Stephens Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy
For more information please see: Scottish government press release� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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Austin Energy's GreenChoice Program Now Green-e Certified
Austin Energy's GreenChoice green pricing program is now Green-e Energy certified. GreenChoice provides wind from around the state of Texas and landfill gas from Austin and San Antonio. The Green-e Energy certification requires Austin Energy to meet certain disclosure and truth-in-advertising requirements. The GreenChoice program will also undergo an annual verification audit to determine whether Austin Energy has purchased and/or generated enough quantity and type of renewable to meet its customer demand and marketing claims.
News Release - Green-e Energy Certifies Austin Energy's GreenChoice Program
Contact: Jeff Swenerton, CRS, 415-561-2119; Carol Harwell, Austin Energy, 512-322-6562
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Large-scale wind farms generate first energy to the grid
Two of the UK's largest offshore wind farms have begun generating energy for the grid for the first time this weekend.Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) announced on Friday (January 14th) that the wind turbines at Greater Gabbard, which is situated off the coast of Suffolk, and one turbine at the Walney wind farm, located offshore at Barrow-in-Furness, are now in operation.Three of the 140 wind turbines at Greater Gabbard are now generating electricity and sending it back to the grid, although once fully operational the site will generate up to 500MW of wind power.Meanwhile one 3.6MW turbine at Walney was switched on.SSE and Dong Energy, which both have a share in the Walney site, said that the remaining 50 turbines will be in full operation over the coming months and by the end of the year, the 102-turbine farm will be complete and producing power, BusinessGreen.com reported.Both sites are expected to produce a significant amount of power, which will in turn aid the UK in reaching renewable energy targets.Posted by Mark Stephens Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy
For more information please see: Walney site� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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Saturday, May 28, 2011
Global Clean Energy Investment Reaches Record in 2010: Bloomberg
This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
January 19, 2011
New investment in global clean energy reached $243 billion in 2010, driven by China's clean energy spending, expansion of European offshore wind, and installations of rooftop photovoltaics in Europe, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The research company noted on January 11 that this annual total is up 30% from a revised figure of $186.5 billion in 2009, making 2010 the strongest year so far for investment in clean energy. The 2010 total is nearly five times that of 2004, when $51.7 billion was invested. The report included investment in renewable energy, biofuels, energy efficiency, smart grid and other energy technologies, carbon capture, as well as storage and infrastructure for clean energy.
Among the highlights: small-scale, distributed generation projects surged by 91% last year to $59.6 billion, propelled by rooftop and other small-scale solar projects, notably in Germany but also in the United States, the Czech Republic, and other European countries; China's spending on clean energy grew 30% to $51.1 billion in 2010, making it the country investing most in clean energy; research and development by companies and governments hit record levels, with governments contributing $21 billion of the $35.5 billion in R&D outlays; and venture capital and private equity rebounded to post a 28% gain over 2009 by reaching $8.8 billion in deals.
In terms of clean energy technologies, overall investment in wind gained 31% to reach $96 billion, with almost 40% of that amount claimed by China or by large European offshore wind projects. On the down side, biofuels had a nearly flat year, with funding down to $7.9 billion from $8.1 billion in 2009, while biomass and waste-to-energy funding dropped to $11.6 billion from $12 billion. See the Bloomberg New Finance press release.
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January 19, 2011
New investment in global clean energy reached $243 billion in 2010, driven by China's clean energy spending, expansion of European offshore wind, and installations of rooftop photovoltaics in Europe, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The research company noted on January 11 that this annual total is up 30% from a revised figure of $186.5 billion in 2009, making 2010 the strongest year so far for investment in clean energy. The 2010 total is nearly five times that of 2004, when $51.7 billion was invested. The report included investment in renewable energy, biofuels, energy efficiency, smart grid and other energy technologies, carbon capture, as well as storage and infrastructure for clean energy.
Among the highlights: small-scale, distributed generation projects surged by 91% last year to $59.6 billion, propelled by rooftop and other small-scale solar projects, notably in Germany but also in the United States, the Czech Republic, and other European countries; China's spending on clean energy grew 30% to $51.1 billion in 2010, making it the country investing most in clean energy; research and development by companies and governments hit record levels, with governments contributing $21 billion of the $35.5 billion in R&D outlays; and venture capital and private equity rebounded to post a 28% gain over 2009 by reaching $8.8 billion in deals.
In terms of clean energy technologies, overall investment in wind gained 31% to reach $96 billion, with almost 40% of that amount claimed by China or by large European offshore wind projects. On the down side, biofuels had a nearly flat year, with funding down to $7.9 billion from $8.1 billion in 2009, while biomass and waste-to-energy funding dropped to $11.6 billion from $12 billion. See the Bloomberg New Finance press release.
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Chevron and Kyushu Electric sign LNG deal
Chevron and Kyushu Electric sign LNG deal
Posted: 24 January 2010
Chevron Corporation reported its Australian subsidiary has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Kyushu Electric Power Co for a portion of Chevron's offtake of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon Project.
Under the binding agreement, Kyushu Electric will receive 0.3 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG from the Gorgon Project for up to 20 years beginning in 2015.
"We are pleased to have reached this milestone with Kyushu Electric, one of the leading companies in the world's largest LNG market, and we look forward to expanding this relationship in the future," said John Gass, president, Chevron Global Gas.
Kyushu Electric and Chevron Australia also have existing Heads of Agreements in relation to LNG and equity sales from Chevron's Wheatstone Project.
The Kyushu agreement was also welcomed by Jim Blackwell, president, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company. "Both the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects are positioned to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the Asia-Pacific region. Gorgon is more than a year into construction and remains on track to produce first gas in 2014. We expect to make a final investment decision on Wheatstone in 2011."
Chevron is the operator of the Gorgon Project and has an approximate 47 percent interest.
The initial Gorgon Project development, in northwestern Australia, will include a three-train, 15 MTPA LNG facility and a domestic gas plant.
�
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, energyme.com.
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Posted: 24 January 2010
Chevron Corporation reported its Australian subsidiary has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Kyushu Electric Power Co for a portion of Chevron's offtake of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon Project.
Under the binding agreement, Kyushu Electric will receive 0.3 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG from the Gorgon Project for up to 20 years beginning in 2015.
"We are pleased to have reached this milestone with Kyushu Electric, one of the leading companies in the world's largest LNG market, and we look forward to expanding this relationship in the future," said John Gass, president, Chevron Global Gas.
Kyushu Electric and Chevron Australia also have existing Heads of Agreements in relation to LNG and equity sales from Chevron's Wheatstone Project.
The Kyushu agreement was also welcomed by Jim Blackwell, president, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company. "Both the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects are positioned to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the Asia-Pacific region. Gorgon is more than a year into construction and remains on track to produce first gas in 2014. We expect to make a final investment decision on Wheatstone in 2011."
Chevron is the operator of the Gorgon Project and has an approximate 47 percent interest.
The initial Gorgon Project development, in northwestern Australia, will include a three-train, 15 MTPA LNG facility and a domestic gas plant.
�
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, energyme.com.
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Searching for a Diamond in the Muck
January 14, 2011
Text version
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Industry calls for EPC graphs to be shown on sales particulars
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) graphs must be displayed on the sales particulars of a property before it is listed for sale, the Property and Energy Professionals Association (PEPA) has said.It is calling for a revision to be made to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive after claiming that since the suspension of the home information packs some estate agents have not been providing homebuyers with information on a property's energy efficiency.This, PEPA claims, is pushing energy efficiency "off the agenda" for buyers."The potential benefits of improving the energy efficiency of our homes are widely acknowledged," commented Brian Scannell, chairman of PEPA."It is therefore hugely disappointing that we seem to be going backwards in providing consumers with the information they need about energy efficiency."Research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that EPCs can increase the value of a property.It found that in the Netherlands – one of the earliest adopters of EPCs - the certificates have led to a 2.8 per cent premium on house prices for properties with an A, B or C rating.Posted by Mark Stephens Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy
For more information please see: Energy Performance Certificates� The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited � and do not represent the views or opinions of the Energy Saving Trust.
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2011 US Energy Legislative Preview
We look for the following topics to dominate the 2011 energy debate:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations: The EPA?s plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in lieu of a cap and trade system would indirectly benefit cleantech. However, the Courts and Congress are presently questioning the Agency?s authority and funding. Even if those hurdles are cleared, we are still concerned that executing the regulations will be hindered by EPA?s culture and limited resources.�
Energy bill: Cap and trade and Renewable Energy Standard (RES) are dead; a Clean Energy Standard (CES) is potentially the new centerpiece. The CES is an RES with the additions of nuclear, natural gas, and coal with carbon sequestration. Additional components of an energy bill may include incentives for natural gas vehicles, nuclear energy loan guarantees, and offshore drilling regulations.
Deficit reductions: Republicans are planning budget cuts which challenge extensions of the upstream renewable electricity manufacturer?s tax credit (MTC), the downstream renewable electricity cash grant program expiring in 2012, and the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) expiring in 2013. It may also challenge unspent stimulus funds in the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) which particularly benefits utility-scale solar.
Variables that will impact the debate include:
President Obama on nuclear and natural gas: The Administration compromised in March 2010 by offering offshore drilling incentives and nuclear loan guarantees in exchange for RES and cap and trade. However, embracing a CES with minimal climate change provisions would be a more radical policy shift. If this occurs, prospects improve for an energy bill and small cleantech provisions that can piggyback.
Courts and Congress on EPA regulations: A final court ruling may take years and come from the Supreme Court, but there will be various lower court rulings impacting the debate in the near-term. In Congress, the House Republicans will attempt to defund the EPA and Senators from coal states will move to strip the Agency?s authority. The proposals would face a veto threat, but still pressure the Administration to at least delay the regulations.
Crude Oil prices: Increasing gasoline prices pressure Congress to diversify our energy portfolio. In the summer of 2008, voters were more concerned with energy policy than the War in Iraq. If oil spikes again, all renewables would benefit from the attention, even though natural gas is the relevant commodity for electricity generation technologies like wind and solar.�
While scenarios exist for passing 2011 cleantech legislation, we are not particularly optimistic. Deals in the previous Congress were hindered by extreme partisanship and though the election shifted power, it did not replace any of the party leaders. Furthermore, we believe job creation and deficit reduction will dominate the 2011 agenda.�
Robert Lahey is the Senior Legislative Analyst at Ardour Capital Investments, LLC, and can be reached at rlahey@ardourcapital.com. Founded in 2002, Ardour Capital is the leading research and investment-banking firm exclusively focused on energy technology, alternative energy and power, and clean & renewable technologies. Ardour Capital publishes in-depth company coverage and industry specific research. Ardour Capital offers private and public companies a full range of corporate finance, investment banking and capital market services. Ardour Global Indexes is a family of pure play alternative energy indexes that is the primary measure of cleantech equity performance.
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations: The EPA?s plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in lieu of a cap and trade system would indirectly benefit cleantech. However, the Courts and Congress are presently questioning the Agency?s authority and funding. Even if those hurdles are cleared, we are still concerned that executing the regulations will be hindered by EPA?s culture and limited resources.�
Energy bill: Cap and trade and Renewable Energy Standard (RES) are dead; a Clean Energy Standard (CES) is potentially the new centerpiece. The CES is an RES with the additions of nuclear, natural gas, and coal with carbon sequestration. Additional components of an energy bill may include incentives for natural gas vehicles, nuclear energy loan guarantees, and offshore drilling regulations.
Deficit reductions: Republicans are planning budget cuts which challenge extensions of the upstream renewable electricity manufacturer?s tax credit (MTC), the downstream renewable electricity cash grant program expiring in 2012, and the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) expiring in 2013. It may also challenge unspent stimulus funds in the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) which particularly benefits utility-scale solar.
Variables that will impact the debate include:
President Obama on nuclear and natural gas: The Administration compromised in March 2010 by offering offshore drilling incentives and nuclear loan guarantees in exchange for RES and cap and trade. However, embracing a CES with minimal climate change provisions would be a more radical policy shift. If this occurs, prospects improve for an energy bill and small cleantech provisions that can piggyback.
Courts and Congress on EPA regulations: A final court ruling may take years and come from the Supreme Court, but there will be various lower court rulings impacting the debate in the near-term. In Congress, the House Republicans will attempt to defund the EPA and Senators from coal states will move to strip the Agency?s authority. The proposals would face a veto threat, but still pressure the Administration to at least delay the regulations.
Crude Oil prices: Increasing gasoline prices pressure Congress to diversify our energy portfolio. In the summer of 2008, voters were more concerned with energy policy than the War in Iraq. If oil spikes again, all renewables would benefit from the attention, even though natural gas is the relevant commodity for electricity generation technologies like wind and solar.�
While scenarios exist for passing 2011 cleantech legislation, we are not particularly optimistic. Deals in the previous Congress were hindered by extreme partisanship and though the election shifted power, it did not replace any of the party leaders. Furthermore, we believe job creation and deficit reduction will dominate the 2011 agenda.�
Robert Lahey is the Senior Legislative Analyst at Ardour Capital Investments, LLC, and can be reached at rlahey@ardourcapital.com. Founded in 2002, Ardour Capital is the leading research and investment-banking firm exclusively focused on energy technology, alternative energy and power, and clean & renewable technologies. Ardour Capital publishes in-depth company coverage and industry specific research. Ardour Capital offers private and public companies a full range of corporate finance, investment banking and capital market services. Ardour Global Indexes is a family of pure play alternative energy indexes that is the primary measure of cleantech equity performance.
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Vaclav Smil's ?Energy Myths and Realities? - A review
Vaclav Smil, professor of Environment and Environmental Geography at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, has written a new book called ?Energy Myths and Realities.? In the book, he looks at a number of things he considers myths:
1. The future belongs to electric cars
2. Nuclear electricity will be too cheap too meter
3. Soft-energy illusions (local generation, etc.)
4. Running out: Peak oil and its meaning
5. Sequestration of carbon dioxide
6. Liquid fuels from plants
7. Electricity from wind
8. The pace of energy transitions
Smil is well-respected in the world of energy, so I think it is also worthwhile looking at what he has to say. I think that it is even worthwhile looking at what he has to say about peak oil, because it may give us some insights as to where our thinking needs to be refined, or better explained, if it is to be understood by the ?mainstream?.
I might note that Smil is not entirely in disagreement with peak oil. He says,
It is fairly probable that its [conventional crude oil?s] extraction will peak within the next two decades, and it is inevitable that its share of the world?s primary energy supply will continue to decline.
A major point he makes in the peak oil section is that he is not convinced that peak oil will have a terrible impact, even if the decline does occur in the near future?something that quite a number of Oil Drum readers would agree with.
Let?s look at a few things Vaclav Smil has to say:
Electric Cars
Smil points out that electric cars have been around a long time and are still expensive compared to internal combustion cars. But his major concern seems to be that the amount of additional electricity required would be more than could reasonably be added within a short time frame. And, given the limitations of renewables, there would probably need to be a big ramp-up in fossil fuel use, to accommodate the additional cars.
According to Smil:
An electric car whose size would correspond to today?s typical American vehicle (a composite of passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks) would translate to 3 MWh of electricity consumption.
In 2010, the United States had about 245 million passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks; hence, an all-electric fleet would call for a theoretical minimum of 750 TWh/year. . . The charging and recharging cycle of Li-ion batteries is about 85% efficient, and about 10% must be subtracted for self-discharge losses; consequently, the actual need to be close to 4 MWh/car, or about 980 TWh of electricity per year. This is a very conservative calculation, as the overall demand of a midsize electric vehicle would be more likely around 300 Wh/km or 6MW/year.
But even this conservative total would be equivalent to 25% of US electricity generation in 2008, and the country?s utilities needed fifteen years (1993-2008) to add this amount of new production. As this power for electric cars would have to come on top of the demand growth by households, services, and industries, it would be exceedingly optimistic to expect such an increment could be in place in less than twenty years.
He later goes to explain how much fuel would be needed for all this.
The average source-to-outlet efficiency of U. S. electricity generation is about 40 percent, and adding 10 percent for internal power plant consumption and transmission losses, this means that 11 MWh (nearly 40 GJ) of primary energy would be needed to generate electricity for a car with an average annual consumption of about 4 MWh.
This would translate to 2 MJ for every kilometer of travel, a performance equivalent to about 38 mpg (9.25L/100 km)?a rate much lower than that offered by scores of new pure gasoline-engine car models, and inferior to advanced hybrid designs or to DiesOtto designs. . .
He explains that there would be no CO2 savings in all of this, unless renewable sources were used for all of the additional energy required. He also notes that a European report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment called How to Avoid an Electric Shock offers analogical conclusions. A complete change to electric cars in the EU would increase European electricity consumption by 15%, and would not lower CO2.
Wind Power
Smil?s conclusion regarding wind is
Conversion of wind?s kinetic energy by large turbines by large turbines can become an important contributor to the overall electricity supply, but, except for relatively small regions, it cannot become the single largest source, even less so the dominant mode of generation.
One of the limits he sees on wind power is the quantity of roads needed to service all of the wind power sites. He says:
But even when assuming a large average turbine size of 2?3 MW, the access roads (which are required to carry heavy loads, as the total weight of foundations, tower, and turbine is more than 300 tons per unit) needed to build roughly 2 million turbines and new transmission lines to conduct their electricity would make a vastly larger land claim than the footprint of the towers; and a considerable energy demand would be created by keeping these roads, often in steep terrain, protected against erosion and open during inclement weather for servicing access.
He also sees wind intermittency as a limiting factor. He says that many studies have shown that these variations do not cause any unmanageable problems as long as the total power installed in wind turbines is no more than about 10% of the system?s overall output.
He quotes P. A. Ostergaard, in the 2008 Energy article ?Geographic Aggregation and Wind Power Output Variance in Denmark,? saying:
Drawing on the Danish experience, he finds, predictably, that demand and wind variations in different areas help even out fluctuations and reduce imbalances in systems with high reliance on wind power, and that exploiting these variations allows for reductions in reserve capacity in other modes of electricity generation. But, no less predictably, he also finds limits to what can be done: The average requirement for the reserve thermal capacity may drop, ?but the same is not generally the case with the maximum required condensing mode capacity. . . . There will simply be times with wind production in neither of the interconnected areas.?
He is also concerned about the high installation rates that would be required to reach high penetrations, and the fact that at this point we cannot be certain of average life spans of wind turbines and of their need for maintenance and replacement requirements, particularly in harsh and offshore environments.
Peak Oil and Its Meaning
In the chapter ?Running Out: Peak Oil and Its Meaning?, Smil starts by looking at individual peak oil predictions that turned out not to be exactly correct. He argues that contrary to the assumptions of Richard Duncan in his Olduvai Gorge theory, average per capita energy consumption did not peak in 1978. Instead, based on BP data for all types of energy and UN population figures, world per capita energy consumption was 10% higher in 2008 than in 1978. He also says,
but even a lower rate would not signify anything catastrophic; because of steadily falling energy intensity?the energy consumption per unit of economic product?of the global economy, it could be a sign of progress for the world to use less energy.
It would seem to me that this is one area where there is considerable additional work that needs to be done. Is oil a limiting factor on all other forms of energy use, or will efficiency and other changes lead to higher GDP relative to energy use? There is probably room for a range of views on this subject.
Smil also points out that the predictions of M. King Hubbert, Andrew Flower, Collin Campbell, Kenneth Deffeyes and others were not exactly right, partly because the estimates of ultimately recoverable oil were not correct and partly because the deterministic approaches being used were too simple. Smil says:
The fundamental problem with the notion of predicting a peak for oil extraction is that it rests on three simple assumptions?that recoverable oil resources are known with a high level of confidence, that they are fixed, and that their recovery is subsumed by a symmetrical production curve?which happen not to be true. These three claims mix incontestable facts and sensible arguments with indefensible assumptions, and they caricature complex processes and ignore realities that do not fit preconceived conclusions. There is, obviously, a finite amount of liquid oil in the earth?s crust, but estimates of this grand total remain uncertain.
He mentions Adam Brandt?s 2007 article ?Testing Hubbert? from Energy Policy. Smil says regarding Brandt?s article, ?the symmetrical model of oil extraction is just one of many possibilities, and we now have a rigorous quantitative proof that it is not either a dominant or a modal choice.?
He also mentions R. Nehring?s conclusion,
The task facing us now is not to continue to use an obsolete and irrelevant method [that is, Hubbert?s model] but to develop further understanding of recovery growth.
Smil also has sections on untapped resources and non-conventional oil reserves.
The point of all of Smil?s analysis is that the amount of oil available could very well be considerably more than what an analysis simply using a Hubbert curve would project. But I think an equally valid argument could be made in the other direction?the amount of oil that can actually be extracted may prove to be considerably less than what a Hubbert curve would project.
It seems to me that Hubbert curves are valuable as giving a first-order approximation to what may happen in the future. In that regard, Hubbert curves have been helpful in saying that the peak in conventional oil production is about now. Smil mostly agrees with this?he says that there is a high probability that conventional oil production will peak in the next 10 to 20 years.
But it seems to me that Smil is correct in saying that Hubbert curves really don?t tell us precisely what lies ahead. Smil lays out the favorable scenario, where untapped resources, nonconventional oil reserves, and higher percentages of oil recovery act to increase the total amount of oil available to society. But Smil never looks at what the real limiting factor is. It seems to me that this limiting factor is declining energy return from the oil that is extracted, and the impact that this has on the world economy and the ability to do reinvestment. After a certain point, net energy obtained is so low that it is not possible to justify the ever-higher energy investment required to maintain production.
If net energy is the limiting factor, one would also expect that Hubbert curves are, as Smil says, not very helpful in predicting what is likely to happen in the future. In the case of net energy being the limiting factor, the result could well be that the downslope is more severe than a Hubbert curve would suggest.
Perhaps we do need to back away from Hubbert curve as a primary way of estimating what will happen in the future. While that approach was valuable as a rough approximation in the past, now that we are approaching the down slope, maybe we need to be looking at other approaches, to give a more refined understanding of what limits we are really up against, and how these can be expected to affect the entire process. More refined approaches are also likely to give us more credibility with the non-peak oil community, who see Hubbert curves as discredited, and see analyses of demand as important as analyses of supply.
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1. The future belongs to electric cars
2. Nuclear electricity will be too cheap too meter
3. Soft-energy illusions (local generation, etc.)
4. Running out: Peak oil and its meaning
5. Sequestration of carbon dioxide
6. Liquid fuels from plants
7. Electricity from wind
8. The pace of energy transitions
Smil is well-respected in the world of energy, so I think it is also worthwhile looking at what he has to say. I think that it is even worthwhile looking at what he has to say about peak oil, because it may give us some insights as to where our thinking needs to be refined, or better explained, if it is to be understood by the ?mainstream?.
I might note that Smil is not entirely in disagreement with peak oil. He says,
It is fairly probable that its [conventional crude oil?s] extraction will peak within the next two decades, and it is inevitable that its share of the world?s primary energy supply will continue to decline.
A major point he makes in the peak oil section is that he is not convinced that peak oil will have a terrible impact, even if the decline does occur in the near future?something that quite a number of Oil Drum readers would agree with.
Let?s look at a few things Vaclav Smil has to say:
Electric Cars
Smil points out that electric cars have been around a long time and are still expensive compared to internal combustion cars. But his major concern seems to be that the amount of additional electricity required would be more than could reasonably be added within a short time frame. And, given the limitations of renewables, there would probably need to be a big ramp-up in fossil fuel use, to accommodate the additional cars.
According to Smil:
An electric car whose size would correspond to today?s typical American vehicle (a composite of passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks) would translate to 3 MWh of electricity consumption.
In 2010, the United States had about 245 million passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks; hence, an all-electric fleet would call for a theoretical minimum of 750 TWh/year. . . The charging and recharging cycle of Li-ion batteries is about 85% efficient, and about 10% must be subtracted for self-discharge losses; consequently, the actual need to be close to 4 MWh/car, or about 980 TWh of electricity per year. This is a very conservative calculation, as the overall demand of a midsize electric vehicle would be more likely around 300 Wh/km or 6MW/year.
But even this conservative total would be equivalent to 25% of US electricity generation in 2008, and the country?s utilities needed fifteen years (1993-2008) to add this amount of new production. As this power for electric cars would have to come on top of the demand growth by households, services, and industries, it would be exceedingly optimistic to expect such an increment could be in place in less than twenty years.
He later goes to explain how much fuel would be needed for all this.
The average source-to-outlet efficiency of U. S. electricity generation is about 40 percent, and adding 10 percent for internal power plant consumption and transmission losses, this means that 11 MWh (nearly 40 GJ) of primary energy would be needed to generate electricity for a car with an average annual consumption of about 4 MWh.
This would translate to 2 MJ for every kilometer of travel, a performance equivalent to about 38 mpg (9.25L/100 km)?a rate much lower than that offered by scores of new pure gasoline-engine car models, and inferior to advanced hybrid designs or to DiesOtto designs. . .
He explains that there would be no CO2 savings in all of this, unless renewable sources were used for all of the additional energy required. He also notes that a European report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment called How to Avoid an Electric Shock offers analogical conclusions. A complete change to electric cars in the EU would increase European electricity consumption by 15%, and would not lower CO2.
Wind Power
Smil?s conclusion regarding wind is
Conversion of wind?s kinetic energy by large turbines by large turbines can become an important contributor to the overall electricity supply, but, except for relatively small regions, it cannot become the single largest source, even less so the dominant mode of generation.
One of the limits he sees on wind power is the quantity of roads needed to service all of the wind power sites. He says:
But even when assuming a large average turbine size of 2?3 MW, the access roads (which are required to carry heavy loads, as the total weight of foundations, tower, and turbine is more than 300 tons per unit) needed to build roughly 2 million turbines and new transmission lines to conduct their electricity would make a vastly larger land claim than the footprint of the towers; and a considerable energy demand would be created by keeping these roads, often in steep terrain, protected against erosion and open during inclement weather for servicing access.
He also sees wind intermittency as a limiting factor. He says that many studies have shown that these variations do not cause any unmanageable problems as long as the total power installed in wind turbines is no more than about 10% of the system?s overall output.
He quotes P. A. Ostergaard, in the 2008 Energy article ?Geographic Aggregation and Wind Power Output Variance in Denmark,? saying:
Drawing on the Danish experience, he finds, predictably, that demand and wind variations in different areas help even out fluctuations and reduce imbalances in systems with high reliance on wind power, and that exploiting these variations allows for reductions in reserve capacity in other modes of electricity generation. But, no less predictably, he also finds limits to what can be done: The average requirement for the reserve thermal capacity may drop, ?but the same is not generally the case with the maximum required condensing mode capacity. . . . There will simply be times with wind production in neither of the interconnected areas.?
He is also concerned about the high installation rates that would be required to reach high penetrations, and the fact that at this point we cannot be certain of average life spans of wind turbines and of their need for maintenance and replacement requirements, particularly in harsh and offshore environments.
Peak Oil and Its Meaning
In the chapter ?Running Out: Peak Oil and Its Meaning?, Smil starts by looking at individual peak oil predictions that turned out not to be exactly correct. He argues that contrary to the assumptions of Richard Duncan in his Olduvai Gorge theory, average per capita energy consumption did not peak in 1978. Instead, based on BP data for all types of energy and UN population figures, world per capita energy consumption was 10% higher in 2008 than in 1978. He also says,
but even a lower rate would not signify anything catastrophic; because of steadily falling energy intensity?the energy consumption per unit of economic product?of the global economy, it could be a sign of progress for the world to use less energy.
It would seem to me that this is one area where there is considerable additional work that needs to be done. Is oil a limiting factor on all other forms of energy use, or will efficiency and other changes lead to higher GDP relative to energy use? There is probably room for a range of views on this subject.
Smil also points out that the predictions of M. King Hubbert, Andrew Flower, Collin Campbell, Kenneth Deffeyes and others were not exactly right, partly because the estimates of ultimately recoverable oil were not correct and partly because the deterministic approaches being used were too simple. Smil says:
The fundamental problem with the notion of predicting a peak for oil extraction is that it rests on three simple assumptions?that recoverable oil resources are known with a high level of confidence, that they are fixed, and that their recovery is subsumed by a symmetrical production curve?which happen not to be true. These three claims mix incontestable facts and sensible arguments with indefensible assumptions, and they caricature complex processes and ignore realities that do not fit preconceived conclusions. There is, obviously, a finite amount of liquid oil in the earth?s crust, but estimates of this grand total remain uncertain.
He mentions Adam Brandt?s 2007 article ?Testing Hubbert? from Energy Policy. Smil says regarding Brandt?s article, ?the symmetrical model of oil extraction is just one of many possibilities, and we now have a rigorous quantitative proof that it is not either a dominant or a modal choice.?
He also mentions R. Nehring?s conclusion,
The task facing us now is not to continue to use an obsolete and irrelevant method [that is, Hubbert?s model] but to develop further understanding of recovery growth.
Smil also has sections on untapped resources and non-conventional oil reserves.
The point of all of Smil?s analysis is that the amount of oil available could very well be considerably more than what an analysis simply using a Hubbert curve would project. But I think an equally valid argument could be made in the other direction?the amount of oil that can actually be extracted may prove to be considerably less than what a Hubbert curve would project.
It seems to me that Hubbert curves are valuable as giving a first-order approximation to what may happen in the future. In that regard, Hubbert curves have been helpful in saying that the peak in conventional oil production is about now. Smil mostly agrees with this?he says that there is a high probability that conventional oil production will peak in the next 10 to 20 years.
But it seems to me that Smil is correct in saying that Hubbert curves really don?t tell us precisely what lies ahead. Smil lays out the favorable scenario, where untapped resources, nonconventional oil reserves, and higher percentages of oil recovery act to increase the total amount of oil available to society. But Smil never looks at what the real limiting factor is. It seems to me that this limiting factor is declining energy return from the oil that is extracted, and the impact that this has on the world economy and the ability to do reinvestment. After a certain point, net energy obtained is so low that it is not possible to justify the ever-higher energy investment required to maintain production.
If net energy is the limiting factor, one would also expect that Hubbert curves are, as Smil says, not very helpful in predicting what is likely to happen in the future. In the case of net energy being the limiting factor, the result could well be that the downslope is more severe than a Hubbert curve would suggest.
Perhaps we do need to back away from Hubbert curve as a primary way of estimating what will happen in the future. While that approach was valuable as a rough approximation in the past, now that we are approaching the down slope, maybe we need to be looking at other approaches, to give a more refined understanding of what limits we are really up against, and how these can be expected to affect the entire process. More refined approaches are also likely to give us more credibility with the non-peak oil community, who see Hubbert curves as discredited, and see analyses of demand as important as analyses of supply.
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NREL Employees Significantly Increase Their Community Support
News Release NR-4510
Charitable Giving Campaign Sees Second Record Breaking Year
December 17, 2010
For the second year in a row, employees of the U.S. Department of Energy?s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) pledged significantly more to community organizations during its annual charitable giving campaign this holiday season.���For 2011, employees have committed more than $430,000 to the Partnership for Colorado and Mile High United Way, a significant increase over the $328,000 donated by employees in 2010.� The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, which manages NREL for the Department of Energy, will contribute another 10 percent to the agencies, for a total contribution of $473,000.�?I am impressed by the continued generosity of the NREL staff during a time when many families across the state are struggling financially,? said NREL Director Dan Arvizu. ?I want to thank and acknowledge the hard work of our campaign co-chairs, Mike Pacheco and Susan Hambleton. Their efforts, along with a committee of NREL volunteers, inspired NREL employees to easily surpass the aggressive goal we set for ourselves of raising $400,000.?The more than $100,000 boost in employee charitable giving follows a banner year in 2010 when employee donations increased 57 percent over 2009.?We began our campaign with the message that there had never been a better time for us all to ?give something back? to our communities,? said Mike Pacheco, Vice President of Deployment and Market Transformation and campaign co-chair. ?NREL?s employees have always demonstrated the highest levels of generosity and commitment to our communities in the past. This year?s campaign results, again, surpassed all our expectations.?Human Resource representative and campaign co-chair Susan Hambleton added, ?This year, NREL has continued to grow and we are fortunate to have many new employees.� With our communities in such dire need during these difficult economic times, NREL employees clearly felt it was a good time for us reach a little deeper and share our blessings with those in the community who need our help.?NREL allows employees to designate their funds to any agency served by Partnership for Colorado or the United Way, or to any nonprofit agency of the employees? choice.� �Employees designated about two-thirds of their gifts to community service agencies under the Partnership for Colorado banner, and the remaining money to United Way agencies and other specified charitable organizations.Donations have been pledged primarily through payroll deduction for 2011 and will be delivered to the agencies periodically through the year.Partnership for Colorado is a nonprofit coalition of the Black United Fund of Colorado, Community Health Charities of Colorado, Caring Connection and Community Shares of Colorado.� The partnership represents more than 200 local nonprofit agencies.�Mile High United Way represents 80 local agencies to help people in the metro Denver area.NREL is DOE?s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.###�Visit NREL online at�www.nrel.gov�
For further information contact NREL Public Relations at 303-275-4090.Subscribe to receive new NREL releases by e-mail. Subscribe to RSS feed. About RSS.
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First Solar Powered Brewery in New Hampshire
Construction will soon be underway on a 126-panel solar electric system from groSolar, a national solar company that has been installing solar for more than a decade in New England. When completed, the solar panels will be in full view of the pub?s main dining room along with expansive views of Mount Kearsarge.groSolar was one of five companies bidding on the project.
?The decision had to do with company experience and depth, value-added components, and price,? said Tom Mills, owner of the Flying Goose. ?The hard part was choosing one from the five companies, all of which gave good, qualified proposals.?
The installation will lower the Flying Goose?s rising $24,000 annual electric bill by 25 percent with an expected Return on Investment (ROI) of five to eight years.
The solar installation is only part of the brewpub?s $250,000 renewable energy investment, which includes air sealing, insulation, kitchen air balancing, lighting, and compressor motor upgrades. The Flying Goose also just completed a 25-panel solar hot water installation from Clean REsolution and Bright Light Solar.A 30 percent federal cash grant and New Hampshire State rebates were motivation for Mills to make the investment, which he funded with a business loan from his bank.
?The environmental benefit is significant, but we would not be making a $250,000 investment unless it made good business sense,? said Mills.
Mills also plans to use his investment as an educational tool by working with the installation companies to offer solar education seminars and providing a kiosk that shows the real-time performance of the solar power systems that will incorporate a feature provided by groSolar called ?groEnergy Watch.?
?It?s truly commendable for an establishment as well known and respected as the Flying Goose to take the lead as the first solar electric powered brewery in the state,? says Jeff Wolfe, CEO, groSolar. ?We look forward to a long-term partnership with Tom and his management team to help educate businesses and homeowners in the Upper Valley and across New Hampshire about the benefits of going solar.?
About groSolargroSolar is North America?s premier distributor, installer and integrator of solar energy solutions for residential and commercial installations. Founded in 1998, groSolar is the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned distribution company in the solar industry and is a leading national installation company. The company has offices and warehouses across the US, distributing solar electric and solar hot water systems from offices in VT, NJ, NY, CT, MA, MD, PA, NC, and CA. groSolar integrates components from leading solar manufacturers including Solar World, Astrongery, Canadian Solar, Yingli, SMA, Enphase, Fronius, PV Powered, Zep Solar, QuickMount PV, UniRac and others into simple solar energy solutions for customers that generate clean, reliable energy for decades. groSolar is a mission-driven company dedicated to providing high quality solar energy solutions and whole energy appreciation. groSolar?s venture capital investors include NGP Energy Technology Partners, SJF Ventures, and Calvert Social Investment Fund. Learn more at groSolar.com or call 800.374.4494.
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?The decision had to do with company experience and depth, value-added components, and price,? said Tom Mills, owner of the Flying Goose. ?The hard part was choosing one from the five companies, all of which gave good, qualified proposals.?
The installation will lower the Flying Goose?s rising $24,000 annual electric bill by 25 percent with an expected Return on Investment (ROI) of five to eight years.
The solar installation is only part of the brewpub?s $250,000 renewable energy investment, which includes air sealing, insulation, kitchen air balancing, lighting, and compressor motor upgrades. The Flying Goose also just completed a 25-panel solar hot water installation from Clean REsolution and Bright Light Solar.A 30 percent federal cash grant and New Hampshire State rebates were motivation for Mills to make the investment, which he funded with a business loan from his bank.
?The environmental benefit is significant, but we would not be making a $250,000 investment unless it made good business sense,? said Mills.
Mills also plans to use his investment as an educational tool by working with the installation companies to offer solar education seminars and providing a kiosk that shows the real-time performance of the solar power systems that will incorporate a feature provided by groSolar called ?groEnergy Watch.?
?It?s truly commendable for an establishment as well known and respected as the Flying Goose to take the lead as the first solar electric powered brewery in the state,? says Jeff Wolfe, CEO, groSolar. ?We look forward to a long-term partnership with Tom and his management team to help educate businesses and homeowners in the Upper Valley and across New Hampshire about the benefits of going solar.?
About groSolargroSolar is North America?s premier distributor, installer and integrator of solar energy solutions for residential and commercial installations. Founded in 1998, groSolar is the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned distribution company in the solar industry and is a leading national installation company. The company has offices and warehouses across the US, distributing solar electric and solar hot water systems from offices in VT, NJ, NY, CT, MA, MD, PA, NC, and CA. groSolar integrates components from leading solar manufacturers including Solar World, Astrongery, Canadian Solar, Yingli, SMA, Enphase, Fronius, PV Powered, Zep Solar, QuickMount PV, UniRac and others into simple solar energy solutions for customers that generate clean, reliable energy for decades. groSolar is a mission-driven company dedicated to providing high quality solar energy solutions and whole energy appreciation. groSolar?s venture capital investors include NGP Energy Technology Partners, SJF Ventures, and Calvert Social Investment Fund. Learn more at groSolar.com or call 800.374.4494.
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Energy 101: Cool Roofs
This edition of Energy 101 takes a look at how switching to a cool roof can s...
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Online Solar PV Design & Installation Training
SLI proudly announces the launch of our new Online Training Program, a highly interactive and� innovative approach to learning� based on the curriculum offered in our popular in- person courses. Now you can get the same high quality professional training that SLI is noted for through this convenient and lower cost new medium. New online courses in PV Sales and Marketing will be released later this spring.Master the essential knowledge and skills needed to jump-start your career in the growing Solar Industry. Whether your career track is management, installation, finance, sales, marketing, customer service or administrative support, this eCourse provides a solid foundation to build your career.COURSE FEATURES��� � Click for a�DEMO
Continuous enrollments, register and start today.
Fifteen interactive, scenario-based eLearning modules with practice activities, integrative exercises and assessments.
Take eight (8) weeks to complete the course on your own schedule; apply for additional extensions if you need more time.
Access the course for review and reference for 12 months at no additional charge.
?Ask the Expert;? get your questions answered quickly by expert instructors through email and webinars.
Apply your learning in a challenging state-of-the-art PV Simulation.
Other features include: discussion forums, chat room, peer networking, PV installation videos, topical webinars, electronic notepad and useful reference resources.
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Continuous enrollments, register and start today.
Fifteen interactive, scenario-based eLearning modules with practice activities, integrative exercises and assessments.
Take eight (8) weeks to complete the course on your own schedule; apply for additional extensions if you need more time.
Access the course for review and reference for 12 months at no additional charge.
?Ask the Expert;? get your questions answered quickly by expert instructors through email and webinars.
Apply your learning in a challenging state-of-the-art PV Simulation.
Other features include: discussion forums, chat room, peer networking, PV installation videos, topical webinars, electronic notepad and useful reference resources.
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Offshore wind turbine permits go through teething problems
The report identifies many country-specific challenges, but findings from the report have found general teething problems exist across all countries.
Common barriers in the permitting process include regulatory requirements falling under a number of departments (though many countries are now streamlining this aspect); the party politicisation of renewables; long lead times to obtain the necessary permits, and weak spatial planning policies.
Since investment decisions are influenced by the permitting and planning of wind farms, delayed consents can increase the risk profile of an offshore wind project and affect its economic viability. Slow consenting also makes it difficult to schedule resources, and it can prohibit innovation. A slow permitting process can mean that turbine design has moved on by the time developers get around to installing turbines.
The European Offshore Wind Standards, Permitting & Markets report provides real data, fresh statistics and 100% independent analysis on helping to navigate offshore wind energy standards, permitting and markets. The report focuses on standards in Europe?s major offshore wind markets, including UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Germany and France.
A free summary of the report is available at:
http://www.windenergyupdate.com/standards/report-summary.shtml
Contact:
Tony JackWind Energy Update
+44 (0) 20 73 75 72 24
+1 800 814 3459 + Ext: 7224
tony@windenergyupdate.com
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Common barriers in the permitting process include regulatory requirements falling under a number of departments (though many countries are now streamlining this aspect); the party politicisation of renewables; long lead times to obtain the necessary permits, and weak spatial planning policies.
Since investment decisions are influenced by the permitting and planning of wind farms, delayed consents can increase the risk profile of an offshore wind project and affect its economic viability. Slow consenting also makes it difficult to schedule resources, and it can prohibit innovation. A slow permitting process can mean that turbine design has moved on by the time developers get around to installing turbines.
The European Offshore Wind Standards, Permitting & Markets report provides real data, fresh statistics and 100% independent analysis on helping to navigate offshore wind energy standards, permitting and markets. The report focuses on standards in Europe?s major offshore wind markets, including UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Germany and France.
A free summary of the report is available at:
http://www.windenergyupdate.com/standards/report-summary.shtml
Contact:
Tony JackWind Energy Update
+44 (0) 20 73 75 72 24
+1 800 814 3459 + Ext: 7224
tony@windenergyupdate.com
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Fits and Starts: Ontario's Green Energy Growth
Since the launch of the FIT program in October 2009, several big wind and solar manufacturers have announced plans to set up or expand their operations in the province to capitalize on growing demand for Ontario-made products. Global manufacturer Canadian Solar is building a new facility in the town of Guelph that will be capable of manufacturing 200 megawatts of modules a year and create around 500 jobs. Some sixty miles down the road, Siemens is establishing Canada?s first wind turbine blade factory in Tillonsburg, representing a $20 million dollar investment and the creation of 300 jobs. South Korea?s Samsung is, of course, the largest foreign investor in the market to date with its $7 billion contract from the Ontario government to develop the province?s wind and solar industries.
Through the FIT program, Ontario is becoming a hot bed of green energy development, manufacturing and job creation. In December, Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid said he?d recently announced 1,700 clean energy jobs across the province.
The solar business in particular is seeing a surge in activity with new local content rules driving partnerships and investment. �Starting this year, solar projects must meet a 60% domestic content requirement. Suppliers and manufacturers have responded by developing products and alliances to allow developers to meet the steep local content threshold. SunEdison, for instance, has begun deploying a locally-produced racking system for solar rooftop installations across the region. The company is also manufacturing fully-bankable solar PV panels in Newmarket, Ontario and has doubled production since December due to high demand.
According to data from Toronto-based ClearSky Advisors, prior to FIT?s launch, there were three solar manufacturers in the Ontario market: 6N silicon, SolGate and SatCon. Today, there are 18 module manufacturers, three of which are manufacturing through a local contract manufacturer and 15 inverter manufacturers, six of which are using local contractors. In addition, there are numerous racking/mounting manufacturers that have sprung up since the program?s debut.
Developments on the wind side are slower with many OEMs and suppliers looking for more certainty about the long-term viability of the program before investing. Along with Siemens, Vestas and GE Energy are very active in the region. In terms of new manufacturing facilities, India?s Suzlon Wind Energy is said to be eyeing the province as a possible venue but nothing definitive has been announced. Current wind manufacturing capacity in Ontario will not allow for developers to meet the increased local content requirement of 50% which kicks in next year. So the market needs more OEMs to set up and form partnerships with local manufacturers and service providers.
The big elephant in the room for Ontario?s green energy industries is the upcoming provincial election set for next October. The opposition Conservative party is currently leading in polls and has been making negative comments in the press about the future of the FIT program, which was passed by the current Liberal government. Ontario taxpayers are being subjected to diametrically opposed narratives in the media about the potential impact FIT will have on the provincial economy with critics blaming the program for energy rate hikes while supporters point to job creation and investment. Experts say some of the big players are waiting to see what happens next fall before making a sizable investment in the market.
The other big question is grid capacity. Developers and manufacturers are very concerned about the timing and extent of the province?s transmission expansion plans to accommodate renewables. There are over 250 renewable projects awaiting approval from the OPA which was supposed to begin a testing process last August. The Economic Connection Test (ECT) will determine which grid expansion plans will go forward allowing projects to connect. The timing for this test remains uncertain and with expansion projects requiring long lead times, developers are wondering when or if their projects will get a greenlight.
Despite this uncertainty, Ontario?s green energy industry is continuing to grow and there are plenty of opportunities for wind and solar manufacturers and service providers to play a role in building the local supply chains. The next few months are critical as FIT projects seek financing, transmission expansion plans become clearer and supplier arrangements are finalized. While the future of FIT will not be entirely certain until after the election, the future looks bright for Ontario?s renewable energy industries.
Adrienne Baker is a director of Canadian Clean Energy Conferences and produces the Ontario Feed-in Tariff Supply Chain Forum which takes place April 19-20 in Toronto.�
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Through the FIT program, Ontario is becoming a hot bed of green energy development, manufacturing and job creation. In December, Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid said he?d recently announced 1,700 clean energy jobs across the province.
The solar business in particular is seeing a surge in activity with new local content rules driving partnerships and investment. �Starting this year, solar projects must meet a 60% domestic content requirement. Suppliers and manufacturers have responded by developing products and alliances to allow developers to meet the steep local content threshold. SunEdison, for instance, has begun deploying a locally-produced racking system for solar rooftop installations across the region. The company is also manufacturing fully-bankable solar PV panels in Newmarket, Ontario and has doubled production since December due to high demand.
According to data from Toronto-based ClearSky Advisors, prior to FIT?s launch, there were three solar manufacturers in the Ontario market: 6N silicon, SolGate and SatCon. Today, there are 18 module manufacturers, three of which are manufacturing through a local contract manufacturer and 15 inverter manufacturers, six of which are using local contractors. In addition, there are numerous racking/mounting manufacturers that have sprung up since the program?s debut.
Developments on the wind side are slower with many OEMs and suppliers looking for more certainty about the long-term viability of the program before investing. Along with Siemens, Vestas and GE Energy are very active in the region. In terms of new manufacturing facilities, India?s Suzlon Wind Energy is said to be eyeing the province as a possible venue but nothing definitive has been announced. Current wind manufacturing capacity in Ontario will not allow for developers to meet the increased local content requirement of 50% which kicks in next year. So the market needs more OEMs to set up and form partnerships with local manufacturers and service providers.
The big elephant in the room for Ontario?s green energy industries is the upcoming provincial election set for next October. The opposition Conservative party is currently leading in polls and has been making negative comments in the press about the future of the FIT program, which was passed by the current Liberal government. Ontario taxpayers are being subjected to diametrically opposed narratives in the media about the potential impact FIT will have on the provincial economy with critics blaming the program for energy rate hikes while supporters point to job creation and investment. Experts say some of the big players are waiting to see what happens next fall before making a sizable investment in the market.
The other big question is grid capacity. Developers and manufacturers are very concerned about the timing and extent of the province?s transmission expansion plans to accommodate renewables. There are over 250 renewable projects awaiting approval from the OPA which was supposed to begin a testing process last August. The Economic Connection Test (ECT) will determine which grid expansion plans will go forward allowing projects to connect. The timing for this test remains uncertain and with expansion projects requiring long lead times, developers are wondering when or if their projects will get a greenlight.
Despite this uncertainty, Ontario?s green energy industry is continuing to grow and there are plenty of opportunities for wind and solar manufacturers and service providers to play a role in building the local supply chains. The next few months are critical as FIT projects seek financing, transmission expansion plans become clearer and supplier arrangements are finalized. While the future of FIT will not be entirely certain until after the election, the future looks bright for Ontario?s renewable energy industries.
Adrienne Baker is a director of Canadian Clean Energy Conferences and produces the Ontario Feed-in Tariff Supply Chain Forum which takes place April 19-20 in Toronto.�
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March Comes In Like A Lion For Solar Training In Rocklin, California
[WizardRSS: unable to retrieve full-text content]Solar training topics for Solar Energy International's three March workshops range from grid-direct solar PV systems and the National Electrical Code (NEC) to solar sales and marketing.Powered By WizardRSSGreen Energy Sources Magnetic Generator
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NREL Solar Scientists Epitomize Teamwork
December 22, 2010
Enlarge image
NREL scientists Ki Ye and Joe Berry peer into the glass siding of a deposition instrument to view the latest results of an experiment with a new material.
Credit: Dennis Schroeder
A Colorado carpenter's son, an African American from Indiana, a post-doctoral researcher from Senegal, and a young woman from China are working together to solve one of the most important problems in solar-cell efficiency.
When they're not laughing with each other, or meeting with a group of 20 to share strategies, the foursome of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory is trying to control semiconductors' band gaps to make solar cells less expensive and more efficient. And along the way they're attempting to solve fundamental scientific questions about the nature of new opto-electronic materials.
They're the new face of science ? collaborative and diverse, living proof that the age of the solo scientist shouting "Eureka!" has been replaced in the 21st century by multi-disciplinary teams with complementary skills.
David Ginley, the son of a carpenter, who grew up in suburban Denver near NREL's Golden, Colo., campus, leads the team.
He is joined by Joe Berry, a senior scientist, who hails from Indiana; Yi Ke, a graduate student from China who is doing her doctoral dissertation work at Colorado School of Mines and is experimenting with materials in NREL's Pulse Laser Deposition (PLD) lab; and Paul Ndione, the post-doc who oversees the PLD.
NREL Team Searching for Better Top Layer
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From left, Ph.D. student Ki Ye, Research Fellow David Ginley and Senior Scientist Joe Berry work in the Plasma Deposition Lab. They're using sophisticated deposition techniques to find better materials for solar cells.
Credit: Dennis Schroeder
Despite tremendous gains made in processing and developing solar cells, most arrays on individual rooftops or in grid-connected solar fields still operate well below the nearly 30 percent theoretical conversion efficiency possible for a single absorber device.� There are many opportunities to significantly improve the existing efficiency, sometimes while reducing the cost.
That means any breakthrough to add a percentage point or two to that efficiency is huge, and a big step toward making clean solar energy competitive with fossil fuels.
Most solar photovoltaics are composed of an active semiconductor absorber that absorbs the light, a junction to turn photons into charge carriers, and contacts to efficiently remove the carriers without blocking light. To accomplish this, the top layer, the one facing the sun, needs to be both transparent and able to conduct electrons with very little loss.
It's that top layer that is the subject of the NREL team's work. Lately, solar manufacturers have been using indium tin oxide for that transparent conducting oxide layer. However, indium is difficult to extract and is very expensive. So, scientists are searching for alternatives.
Zinc oxide is a promising candidate because it is both highly transparent and conductive, as well as being much more abundant, Ke said. It is also about 1 percent of the cost of indium tin oxide. �
Ginley and his team want to add magnesium to the zinc oxide to improve its transparency and then to dope the ZnMgO with another material to boost its conductivity, all in the name of developing more efficient and more cost-effective solar cells.
Searching for an Elusive Element
They're rarely without their deluxe-model periodic tables called up on their iPads or iPhones, searching for that elusive element that can best pair with zinc oxide and magnesium to boost the number of electrons that can conduct electricity. This impurity only need be present at less than 1 percent and should not significantly change the structure of the ZnMgO, but it adds the electronic carriers (doping) that are so critical to getting the photogenerated charges out of PV devices without significant loss.
In the transparent conductive semiconductors, most electrons (carriers) are in the conduction band, which means they're free to move and carry an electric current.� The valance band in the material is a lower energy state in which carriers are not as mobile
Between the conduction band and the valence band is the energy gap, or band gap. It's this gap that is so intriguing to scientists, who think they can change the size of the bandgap and simultaneously but independently control the electronic conductivity by doping with an appropriate impurity.
Ginley, Berry and Ke are looking for the best doping agents to push electrons from the atoms in the ZnMgO material to the conduction band of the semiconductor, where they would be in a free electronic state and can help improve the efficiency and lower the cost of PV devices.
When the NREL team finds a promising material, as with the addition of magnesium, the resulting semiconductor layer has a larger band gap and would be more transparent. However, the materials that dope the ZnO do not add electronic carriers to the Mg substituted materials as well. So, this drives the search to look for new dopants.
"As you crank that gap open, you basically make something that is increasingly transparent," Berry said. "That means you can look through it, and for solar that's what you need.
"The fact that you can change the sensitivity to color at which this thing responds means you can make a detector or window that's selective for a particular wave length," Berry said. "Being able to tune that gap is useful in terms of optoelectronics."
The trick is to get the electrons moving without changing the fundamental nature of the semiconductor material.
"What's cool in this system, you can crank substantial amounts of magnesium into ZnO and it basically stays zinc oxide," Ginley said. "You change the electronic properties, but nothing else changes. It� gets much more transparent and its electronic properties are better."
To explore these systems the group uses pulsed laser deposition.� Inside the PLD chamber, they aim lasers at ceramic targets containing the chosen material, inducing tremendous energy in the atoms on the surface. �What erupts is a plasma plume of partially ionized gas that knocks out some atoms and moves some of the electrons from those atoms to a higher energy state.
Imagine a Water Pistol and Some Mud
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This pulse of light is a unique signature for the success of a new material. The NREL team is experimenting with yttrium, manganese, zinc and other materials to get more efficiency out of solar cells.
Credit: Dennis Schroeder
A bright light forms in the plasma plume, as those excited electrons release energy while relaxing back into a lower energy state.
Meantime, the fast-moving ions and atoms in the plasma stop abruptly when they run into the plate (or substrate) for the materials being deposited. They solidify into a thin film suitable for incorporation into a next generation of solar cells.
A down-to-earth analogy? "Imagine using a powerful water pistol to shoot at a mound of mud," Ke said. The resulting slurry "sprays on your beautiful clothes."
The water pistol is the laser, the clothes the substrate. The slurry of mud and water is akin to the plasma of atoms and ions, "except the plasma is much more gorgeous and interesting," Ke said.
"For a dopant we're looking at yttrium, scandium, and titanium as possible replacements for the conventional aluminum used to dope zinc oxide," Berry said. "In the magnesium-substituted materials, the question is can you restore the critical ability to dope by going to new dopants."
"If you can control the band gap, while controlling the doping, you can have a huge impact on organic photovoltaic, organic LEDs, silicon, copper indium gallium, PV as a whole," Ginley said. "It would have an immense applicability."� A number of other technologies such as flat panel displays and transparent electronics also depend on these same materials, Ginley said.
Forming a Scientific Team
Ginley says one if his major duties is hiring good people.
"You should hire people that scare you, they're so good," Ginley said, "people who are more likely to replace you than anything else. You shouldn't be timid when you hire. With grad students, we look for people with outstanding potential who have good communications skills and some indication of being able to be team players.
"The era of the lone scientist is over," Ginley said. "The kinds of problems we deal with, you just don't have the horsepower to do it by yourself. That's an increasing realization nationwide. Look at the Energy Frontier Research Centers. These new centers are a reflection of that. People are realizing that big problems take critical-mass teams."
"We don't know enough on our own," Ginley said. "It's that shared knowledge base and experience base that makes things go faster."
Joe Berry, the African American son of a professor, whom Ginley plucked from the National Institute of Standards and Technology up the road in Boulder, concurred. The breadth of the solar cell project, together with the collegiality of the team, gave him a new enthusiasm for his work. "When I was at NIST, I was doing something by myself at a bench," he said. "But the number of people who cared about what I was doing, or who would be impacted by what I was doing, was equally as large."
From China with Aspirations
Ke got her undergraduate degree in China, majoring in electrical engineering. "I started feeling enthusiastic about solar cells" during her college years, she said. "They're things that can really help humans, can give utilities the power to solve a lot of problems. I figured out I could have a great career trying to move that along."
Ke applied to graduate school in the United States because "it has the best higher education in the world," she said. "I feel so fortunate to be here and working with NREL. They have the best scientists, the best mentors ever.� Graduate work here is more challenging that in China."
The chance to work at NREL was the main reason she applied to the Colorado School of Mines, Ke said. "I got accepted at Stanford, but my advisor at Mines talked about the possibility of joining this group and working at NREL. He mentioned Dave, I looked him up and I came here for an interview. I was very lucky to get it."
Ke would be very content working in photovoltaics and renewable energy the rest of her career.
"I really want to be a person who understands the science and the R&D," she said. "But also someone who can apply the technology to industry so I can make some difference. To let people use this and become less dependent on fossil fuels."
She sees herself living part time in the United States, part time in China. "A greener future in both America and China can lead to cooperation between the two countries."
Senegal to France to Quebec to NREL
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NREL post-doc Paul Ndione and NREL scientist Joe Berry spend a great deal of their work lives in the Pulsed-Laser Deposition laboratory where they set up experiments to find the ideal materials to gain more efficiency in solar cells.
Credit: Dennis Schroeder
Ndione, the post-doc who hails from Senegal, earned his undergraduate degree in Bordeaux, France, and got his doctorate in Quebec, Canada.
Just a thin slice of Senegal's population is college-educated, and to specialize in certain specific areas, a Senegalese has to leave the country. "Now, there are more opportunities for scientists in Senegal," Ndione said. "But to specialize in a field that includes semiconductors and lasers is difficult. We have to go abroad to do it.
"This is what I love," Ndione said, while setting up for another experiment. "The aim in the future is to adapt this technology to our realities in Africa and also, to promote intensive collaboration between the USA and Africa in the field of renewable energy."
Finding a Life of Science
Berry got his undergraduate degree at Goshen College in Goshen, Ind., where his father was a political science professor.
Science and math always suited Berry. It might have suited his father as well, but the elder Berry grew up in the segregated south, the first in his family to get a college degree. "Back then, it was one thing for an African American to learn how to read, quite another to learn how to do trigonometry or calculus," Berry said. "I don't think he ever had the opportunities to do that. He might have been inclined."
The son took the next step, cultivating his love for the sciences. Berry's dad helped him with his homework until high school chemistry, after which he was on his own.
Berry went on to get a doctorate at Pennsylvania State University in condensed material physics, specializing in photon detection.
"These kinds of band-engineering things are meat and potatoes to a semiconductor device physicist," Berry said. "But they're much more challenging than the ones we considered challenges in graduate school.
"NREL being NREL, there's this balance between what we do on the fundamental level and the need to find a way to produce these things at low cost and at scale," Berry said. "NREL is one of those places you always think that it would be nice to work here," Berry said. "I didn't know whether I had the appropriate skill set. But there was an opening and I applied. Dave in his infinite wisdom decided I'd be a reasonable fit for his group. It's been four years. I've been happy as a clam ever since."
Learn more about NREL's photovoltaic research.
? Bill Scanlon
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