Alternative Energy = solar power, wind energy, and bio fuel issues
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California Driving Course for Sustainable Transportation
In San Francisco City Hall today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with the Mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, joined together with the Bay Area Council, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Better Place of Palo Alto to announce a sweeping plan to reinvigorate the state and region’s competitive advantage in innovative technology through public-private investments in electric vehicles and other elements of “green” infrastructure. This new approach challenges conventional assumptions that economic and environmental recovery are at odds with each other, and aligns them, instead.
“California is already a world leader in fighting global warming and promoting renewable energy,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This type of public-private partnership is exactly what I envisioned when we created the first ever low carbon fuel standard and when the state enacted the zero emissions vehicle program. This partnership is proof that by working together, we can achieve our goals of creating a healthier planet while boosting our economy at the same time.”
“The Silicon Valley Leadership Group is strongly committed to accelerating action on
climate change and we view the move to sustainable transportation as a critical step
forward for the region. As part of this commitment, we will continue our efforts to help
accelerate commercialization of EV technology, working with leading companies like
Better Place and offering EV adoption programs. Increasing the number of EVs on the road
is one of the ten action areas in our Bay Area Climate Change Compact, which we have
developed in partnership with the three Mayors here today as well as the four regional
agencies — ABAG, BAAQMD BCDC, and MTC. We look forward to driving this change in
the coming years.” — Barry Cinnamon, Board Member, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
In conjunction with the news, Better Place, the world’s leading sustainability mobility operator, announced that it would enter the US market with California as its first state, beginning in the Bay Area. Better Place will work a similar infrastructure investment model as it has in Israel, Denmark and Australia. Network planning and permitting will begin in January 2009 with infrastructure deployment beginning in 2010.
Mass market availability of electric cars is targeted for 2012, and Better Place estimates the network investment in the Bay Area will total $1 billion when the system is fully deployed. The Better Place model is an open network model built on industry standards, allowing for fixed battery and battery exchange electric vehicles to operate on the network.
“At Better Place, we believe that the systemic issues facing our country today – climate change, economic downturn and the ongoing geopolitical struggle between energy rich and energy poor nations – all tie back to our addiction to oil,” said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place. “We believe the successful solution includes a confluence of leadership involving California’s strength in technology and innovation coupled with Michigan’s automotive manufacturing might, with the right policy and national project leadership from Washington. We are grateful for the support from Governor Schwarzenegger, whose policies have enabled this ‘blue ocean’ opportunity. If we tackle these issues through an integrated approach among cities, states and nations, the world wins.”
“America has to end its addiction to oil and find a global solution to climate change. With
this announcement, the Bay Area truly becomes the electric vehicle capital of the United
States.” ,R. James Woolsey, Former Director, CIA & Venture Partner and Senior Advisor, VantagePoint Venture.
(never thought I would be quoting a former CIA director about electric vehicles…)
California now joins Israel, Denmark and Australia as the world’s leaders in seeking to reduce their dependence on oil.
Thin Film Solar Panels are made up of a lightweight and flexible material which can be rolled up and easily transported. Thus, they are very useful as a source of portable solar power.
The following are some basic facts about Thin Film Solar Panels:
Any person who has ever used a solar-powered calculator has had "hands on" experience with Thin Film Photovoltaics. This technology has been with us for years, creating the solar cell strips which are used to power calculators
Thin film technology has now evolved to a point where we can mass-produce solar panels, through the use of machines not unlike printing presses.
The substance used to "print" thin film solar panels is called solar ink.
Solar ink can be made in any color. In fact, it is possible to design the inks in such a way as to make use of different parts of the light spectrum.
Solar presses print thin film solar panels called solar rolls. A solar roll is 13 inches wide and can be up to 2400 feet long.
A solar roll can be cut to the required size after the solar ink has been printed onto it.
The electrical connections in a solar roll are automatically welded in by laser. This takes away a lot of the time which is required to construct our "conventional" solar panels.
Once solar technology reaches a cost effectiveness, of $1.00 per watt, its prices will be competitive with conventional fossil fuels. TFPV is rapidly approaching this benchmark and could possibly beat this in the near future.
Solar ink can be printed onto fabrics, plastics and metals, allowing one to design solar panels for a wide range of products, each tailored to their specific needs.
Thin film photo voltaic solar panels are not as effective as solid solar panels. It's the fact that it is so much cheaper and lighter than conventional solar panels, that gives it the "edge".
The U.S. military is extremely interested in the development of thin-film technology, and spent 1.7 million dollars at one laboratory last year in order to facilitate the development of thin film photovoltaics. It's interested in using thin film photovoltaics for troop communication devices and to reduce the heat signatures when troops using conventional generators.
Solar shades and tents are now available, using thin film photovoltaics, that provide up to 2kw of power. This allows them to operate laptops, communication devices, TVs and much more.
Thin film photovoltaic devices are now widely available on the consumer market. A good example of this is the flexible Brunton SolarRoll which comes in several sizes.
A thin film flexible solar panel weighing less than a pound is capable of recharging a laptop. Due to its flexibility, it can be rolled up and transported easily.
Thin film photovoltaics are also a realistic source of emergency power. This makes them a handy and economic addition to emergency preparedness kits and wilderness survival kits.
Current research on thin film photovoltaics is aimed at increasing the power output of thin film solar panels, should it achieve this goal there is a very good possibility that we will have solved the problem cheap clean renewable energy.
biodiesel can extend the life of your engine whether it is in your diesel equipped auto, truck, tractor, bus or highway rig. biodiesel can increase the longevity of your engine by up to 100 %. Costs are reduced - whether it be for maintenance or vehicle replacement. The engine last longer , breaks down less frequently resulting in longer vehicle life spans , greater reliability and overall less vehicle costs - again be it diesel equipped auto , car, truck ,tractor or highway rig.
How can this be so? The improved lubrication properties of biodiesel over regular vehicle diesel fuel results in increased parts longevity by up to 100 %. As a result commercial vehicles may be used for decades as well as travel millions of miles. Increased engine longevity translates into reduced maintenance costs, longer life spans and overall increases in reliability.
Biodiesel is a renewable fuel derived from vegetable oils, animal fats and cooking oils that are processed so that it can be added to diesel fuel as an additive. You cannot just mash up these fats and mix them with your diesel fuel. It is not as if any old Alvero character can make biodiesel in his garage at home. If the biodiesel is not prepared properly in a qualified industrial process - the contaminants of water, glycerols and other trace elements can well clog up your fuel injectors or even an expensive injection pump. Properly done biodiesel is a safe and beneficial fuel additive - now being routinely recommended and touted by major vehicle and diesel engine manufacturers.
Prepared properly in a commercial setting. and bought commercially you can be assured that not only will the biodiesel will be safe for your engine to use - but will even give the benefits of much greater engine life , enhanced reliability and lower maintenance costs overall.
Biodiesel is added to the regular diesel fuel. The percentage added depends on the climate the vehicles or autos will be used in. In warmer climates - such as tropical or Florida type climates - a percentage mixture of up to 20 % can be used. A 20 % biodiesel percentage in a truck driven up North to Edmonton Canada in the cold of winter will thicken up in the cold Alberta winter weather.
In such a cold winter temperature a biodiesel mixture ratio of 5 % would probably be used. To increase the blends of biodiesel used commercial vehicles such as trucks and busses can have fuel heaters installed - either inline fuel heaters of fuel tank heaters.
Why go to all this trouble for biodiesel ? First of all biodiesel is a renewable resource - crops such as soybean oil or canola can be used instead of scarcer and more expensive petroleum oil based products. Using biodiesel doe mean that we use less regular diesel, however the percentages of biodiesel use are relatively small. For example most diesel manufacturers recommend only 5 biodiesel (B5 mixed wit 95 % regular diesel. Of course again in colder climates such as Edmonton Alberta the percentages may be eve less. Biodiesel is also good for reducing emissions and pollution levels of sulphur, carbon monoxide as well as overall tailpipe smog pollutants.
However as with most good things in life there are disadvantages to the use of biodiesel as a vehicle fuel additive. First biodiesel has slightly less energy than regular diesel fuel, so that the larger the percentage content of the Biodisel in the fuel - the less power the engine will have to deliver. Fortunately at the low percentages of biodiesel being used as a fuel additive this is not a major issue.
In addition biodiesel spoils with time. If the biodiesel is too be stored for a long period of time - then additional additives must be added.
As a result of its benefits to reducing petroleum oil use and increasing engine life and reliability biodiesel has a bright and emerging future in our transportation and automotive industries.
The use of biodiesel - an alternative renewable fuel, is fast on its way up.
Nice article on Always On today in which Mark Zanoli, managing director at J.P.Morgan comments on the state of solar investing, which of course will determine the course of this industry on the cusp. He is the head of clean tech investing at his firm and he focuses on emerging technologies.
He does not see a shakeout in the solar industry ala the dot com bust due to recent market fluctuations but rather he sees the demand for solar fueling its rise in the market over the next few years.
He’s bullish on solar right now. A froth of over-eager financing in the last few years pushed valuations of unproven solar firms too high and a shakeout of weaker firms is inevitable, he said.
But voracious energy demand and the technology’s flexibility ensures plenty of solar firms will nonetheless succeed, according to the investor.
Businesses are gravitating towards solar as a way to keep operating costs down, he said. The cost of solar installation may be above market electricity rates today, but amortizing it over 25 years makes solar pricing competitive. Instead of facing volatile private energy prices, corporate bookkeepers get predictability, Mr. Zanoli said.
In San Francisco City Hall today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with the Mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, joined together with the Bay Area Council, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and 
