GridPoint, Technology Pioneer 2008, Selected by the World Economic Forum

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GridPoint, Inc., a leading clean tech company whose smart grid platform aligns the interests of electric utilities, consumers and the environment, announced that it has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer 2008. The 39 visionary companies selected as Technology Pioneers 2008 were nominated by the world’s leading technology experts, including venture capitalists, technology companies, academics and media.

The final selection from 273 nominees was made by a panel of leading technology experts appointed by the World Economic Forum. Technology Pioneers 2008 are invited to participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 to be held in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23-27, 2008, and in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions to be held in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, Sept. 25-27, 2008.

“We are pleased to be recognized among hundreds of innovative companies worldwide working towards paradigm shifts in their industries. In GridPoint’s case, we are transforming the way electricity is delivered and consumed to benefit both society and the environment,” said Peter L. Corsell, President and CEO of GridPoint.

GridPoint’s innovative smart grid platform applies information technology to the electric grid to provide utilities with an intelligent network of distributed resources (e.g., advanced load control devices, batteries, solar systems) that reside at the home or business. Additionally, the platform’s modular, scaleable and upgradeable architecture enables utilities to integrate new clean energy technologies (e.g., plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cells).

During peak demand periods, the platform enables utilities to efficiently balance supply and demand by discharging stored energy or reducing loads with minimal impact on customers (i.e., controlling temperature versus shutting down air conditioners). The intelligent network serves as a virtual peaking power plant, enabling utilities to avoid the regulatory, environmental and “time-to-build” hurdles associated with building traditional power plants while fueling the mass adoption of renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions and conserving fuel, capital and land resources.

Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing market leader – and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers have included Business Objects, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Corel Corporation, Encore Software, Google, Mozilla Corporation and Napster.

The companies’ products and services include identity management on the Internet, understanding of individuals’ genetic information, robotic radiosurgery, pollution control materials, low-cost remote diagnosis solutions, virtual interface technologies, wiki-based projects and next-generation business intelligence solutions.

Twenty-three of the Technology Pioneers 2008 are U.S.-based companies. Israel and the United Kingdom each boast three; Sweden and Switzerland two each; Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands and Russia, one each. Technology Pioneers are nominated in three main categories: Energy/Environment, Biotechnology/Health and Information Technology.

“This year the World Economic Forum received a record number of applications from companies around the world to become a Technology Pioneer. From a highly competitive field, we are extremely pleased to have a community that is using innovation and technology to dramatically affect the way society and business operate and doing so in a markedly collaborative manner. We are excited to welcome the Technology Pioneers class of 2008 to the larger community of the World Economic Forum and we are looking forward to the fruits that their collaboration will bring,” said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.

The selection criteria include:

1)		Innovation. The company's technology must be truly innovative. A new version or repackaging of an already well-accepted technological solution does not qualify as an innovation. The innovation should be recent - not more than two years old. The company should invest significantly in R&D.
2)		Potential Impact. The company's technology must have the potential to have a substantial long-term impact on business and society in the future.
3)		Growth and Sustainability. The company should have all the signs of being a long-term market leader and should have well-formulated plans for future development and growth.
4)		Proof of Concept. The company must have a product on the market or have proven practical applications of the technology. Companies in "stealth" mode and companies with untested ideas or models will not qualify.
5)		Leadership. The company must have visionary leadership that plays a critical role in driving the company towards reaching its goals.
6)		Status. The company must not currently be a Member of the World Economic Forum. This criterion applies to the parent company - thus wholly-owned subsidiaries of large firms are not eligible.

GridPoint was also named overall winner by AlwaysOn GoingGreen 100 Top Private Companies for 2007 and winner of the 2007 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Green Excellence for its success in pioneering a way to harness load management and distributed generation to achieve environmental sustainability.

About the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org)

Tags: GridPoint, World Economic Forum, AlwaysOn, GoingGreen

Europe leads the fight against climate change

This detailed news report looks at one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet and how it has become a catalyst for a series of tough new policies and measures put forward by the EU.

Detail about the video could be found here.

Tags: climate change, global warming, Climate Action Network, European Commission

Green Google Paves Way For Greener Earth!

Even though Google Logo has only "L" in green, Google is traveling in the Green Energy path in a massive way. Google announced today that it is Creating renewable energy R&D group and supports breakthrough technologies. I am very happy hear that a company like Google that has such a vast reach in interested in saving our earth and spreading the words around.

"We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centers," said Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products. "We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal."

Page added, "There has been tremendous work already on renewable energy. Technologies have been developed that can mature into industries capable of providing electricity cheaper than coal. Solar thermal technology, for example, provides a very plausible path to providing renewable energy cheaper than coal. We are also very interested in further developing other technologies that have potential to be cost-competitive and green. We are aware of several promising technologies, and believe there are many more out there."

Page continued, "With talented technologists, great partners and significant investments, we hope to rapidly push forward. Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades." (One gigawatt can power a city the size of San Francisco.)

"If we meet this goal," said Page, "and large-scale renewable deployments are cheaper than coal, the world will have the option to meet a substantial portion of electricity needs from renewable sources and significantly reduce carbon emissions. We expect this would be a good business for us as well."

Coal is the primary power source for many around the world, supplying 40% of the world's electricity. The greenhouse gases it produces are one of our greatest environmental challenges. Making electricity produced from renewable energy cheaper than coal would be a key part of reducing global greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Cheap renewable energy is not only critical for the environment but also vital for economic development in many places where there is limited affordable energy of any kind," added Sergey Brin, Google Co-founder and President of Technology.

There is a blog post on Official Google Blog;

Official Google Blog: Towards more renewable energy
There is also a official press release that is accessible via this link.

Tags: renewable energy, Green Google, carbon emissions, Green Energy

Nintendo, Microsoft and Philips Are the Worst in e-Waste Ranking

The Greenpeace has issued the latest edition of their quarterly Guide to Greener Electronics, which assesses for the first time TVs and the rapidly growing games consoles market. Nintendo completely fails to show any environmental credentials and Microsoft and Philips do little better.
The sixth issue of the 'Guide to Greener Electronics' has been expanded to include televisions and game consoles. Market leaders Microsoft, Nintendo, Philips and Sharp enter at the bottom of the ranking of environmental performance with Nintendo being the first company scoring zero out of a possible 10 points. Philips and Microsoft performed little better, scoring only 2 and 2.7, respectively. Sony Ericsson has taken over the top spot from Nokia while Samsung and Sony have surged ahead to now occupy second and third positions. Below are best and the worst. To see the complete list and to get more information visit How they ranked.

7.7	Sony Ericsson - New leader due to improved takeback reporting, new models PVC free, but falls down on takeback practice.
7.7	Samsung - Big improvements, with more products free of the worst toxic chemicals. Loses points for incomplete takeback practice.
7.3	Sony - More products free of toxic PVC and improved reporting on recycling and takeback especially in the US.
7.3	Dell - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals.
7.3	Lenovo - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals.
4.7	Sharp - New to the guide - some plus points on toxic chemicals elimination but poor takeback policy and practice.
2.7	Microsoft - New to the guide - long timeline for toxic chemicals elimination (2011) and poor takeback policy and practice. More
2	Philips - New to the guide - no timeline for toxic chemicals elimination and zero points on e-waste policy and practice. More
0	Nintendo - New to the guide - first global brand to score zero across all criteria! More

HP Expands Renewable Energy Use Globally

HP today announced relationships with two renewable energy providers, SunPower Corp. in the United States and Airtricity in Ireland, as part of the company’s strategy to reduce its global carbon footprint.

Under a power purchase agreement with SunPower, HP will install its first-ever, large-scale solar power installation at its San Diego facility.

The contract with Airtricity will ensure that nearly 90 percent of HP’s energy use in Ireland is renewable, exceeding the company’s 2007 target for carbon emission reductions.

“Switching to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power makes both environmental and business sense,” said Pat Tiernan, vice president, Social and Environmental Responsibility, HP. “These advances are just part of HP’s comprehensive energy-efficiency program, which we believe is the most aggressive in the technology industry.”

Wind technology in Ireland

HP’s contract with Airtricity, a renewable energy company developing and operating wind farms across Europe and North America, is for the supply of renewable wind energy to a number of its facilities in Ireland for fiscal year 2008. The electricity supplied by Airtricity is generated by both onshore and offshore wind farms.

Through the contract, HP will purchase more than 80 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy. It is estimated that the agreement will save HP approximately $40,000 over the year-long contract. There are also significant environmental benefits – HP will save the release of more than 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to taking 9,600 cars off the road for one year.

Solar advances in the United States

HP’s agreement with SunPower covers installation of a 1-megawatt solar electric power system and required maintenance of the system for the next 15 years. HP will buy back solar power at a reduced, locked-in rate under the SunPower Access™ program. The HP solar electric system will be financed and owned by a third-party financier, which allows HP to take advantage of the environmental and financial benefits of solar with no upfront capital costs.

Initial estimates indicate that the project will save HP approximately $750,000 in energy costs during the next 15 years. HP also will earn renewable energy credits as the installation will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1 million pounds per year, or nearly 16 million pounds during the next 15 years.

With this project, HP is taking advantage of incentives provided under the California Public Utilities Commission’s California Solar Initiative, which aims to increase solar energy use statewide.

HP will extend the benefits of solar power beyond its facilities to employees by creating a solar employee purchase program in the United States. Employees will receive a rebate of up to $2,000 from SunPower when using the SunPower Premier Dealer network for the installation of a solar power system for their homes. In addition, HP will match the SunPower rebate of up to $2,000 per installation.

At HP’s San Diego site, the SunPower installation will include 5,000 solar panels atop five of the seven buildings. The panels, which are made up of photovoltaic cells, will convert the sun’s light energy into approximately 1,676,000 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per year – enough to provide more than 10 percent of HP’s energy use at the San Diego facility.

HP and the Environment

For decades HP has worked to manage its environmental impact by adopting environmentally responsible practices in its product development, operations and supply chain. The company strives to be a global leader in reducing its carbon footprint, limiting waste and recycling responsibly.

HP has implemented a series of environmental advancements in the areas of product development, internal operations and supply chain management aimed at instituting energy-efficient operating practices worldwide, including: In 2007, HP began encouraging all of its logistic and carrier partners to join SmartWay, a voluntary partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the freight industry aimed at reducing fuel consumption, greenhouse gases and other air emissions through better transportation technology. HP’s goals include committing to use more SmartWay carriers, creating a two-tiered authorized vendor list and using HP’s position to educate more carrier partners about SmartWay. In 2006, HP purchased 11 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy for use in its operations. HP also joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Purchase program – a challenge to Fortune 500 companies to double their renewable energy purchases by the end of 2007. HP plans to increase renewable energy purchases by more than 350 percent by procuring 50 million kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity during 2007. Also in 2006, HP embarked on a joint initiative with the World Wildlife Fund-US to establish an absolute reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions from HP’s operating facilities worldwide, explore efficiency goals for products, educate and inspire others to adopt best practices for climate change initiatives and use HP technology in conservation efforts around the world by 2010.

More information about the company’s environmental programs is available at www.hp.com/environment.

Tags: Renewable Energy, SunPower Corp, Airtricity, carbon emission reductions, Wind technology, wind farms, California Solar Initiative, SmartWay

City of Rocklin, The First ClimateSmart City

ROCKLIN—Joined by the Mayor, city staff, community leaders and local elementary school students, Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced that the City of Rocklin, located in Placer County, is California's first municipality to officially enroll in the voluntary ClimateSmart™ program. By joining, the City of Rocklin will offset more than 1.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide every year or more than 4,600 pounds every day. The ClimateSmart program enables customers to voluntarily neutralize greenhouse gas emissions associated with their energy use.

"By signing up for ClimateSmart, the City of Rocklin is setting a great example for other communities and demonstrating to its residents that it's committed to protecting the environment," said Greg Pruett, senior vice president of corporate relations of PG&E Corporation. "We look forward to working with Rocklin and other local governments in northern and central California to combat climate change with our portfolio of smart energy solutions."

The City of Rocklin signed up all of its 218 electric and natural gas metered accounts. These accounts include all city buildings, including the fire and police departments, the city's community center and all city parks and sports fields. Each city building will have on display a certificate from PG&E recognizing that building as carbon neutral.

"Partnering with PG&E in the ClimateSmart program is an outstanding addition to Rocklin's ongoing effort to protect and preserve the city's natural resources," Rocklin Mayor Kathy Lund said. "We are proud to work with PG&E, residents and local businesses on this and other important environmental protection initiatives."

PG&E launched the ClimateSmart program in June 2007 and already more than 13,000 customers have signed up. ClimateSmart is a voluntary program which enables PG&E's residential and business customers to fund environmental projects aimed at removing greenhouse gases from the air or avoiding the emissions in the first place. Customers who enroll will pay a separate amount on their monthly utility bills to remove or avoid the equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with their energy use – thus making them "climate neutral."

PG&E has enrolled as the first participant in ClimateSmart by committing more than $1.5 million of shareholder funding over the next three years to make the energy use in the company's offices, service centers, maintenance facilities and other company buildings completely climate neutral. When a customer enrolls in ClimateSmart, PG&E will calculate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the customer's electricity and gas usage. For the average residential customer, PG&E estimates the cost will be less than $5 per month. For the City of Rocklin, approximately $8,100 per year will be spent on neutralizing the carbon emissions produced by all city facilities.

Becoming the first city to join the ClimateSmart program aligns with the City of Rocklin's vision of being an environmental leader with a focus on conservation and resource management. This February, the city installed a 143 kilowatt solar system at its new state-of-the-art police station, which generates 40 percent of the electricity required to operate the facility. The city's solar commitment resulted in a $429,000 solar rebate from PG&E. Additionally, in September; the city was recognized by Placer County for Rocklin's success in preserving open space. Between 1952 and 2003, as the city was developing, tree canopy coverage increased by 63 percent, from 11 percent to 18 percent overall.

The City of Rocklin has also set aside a large portion (approximately 19 percent) of city land area as open space and park land, and adopted an oak tree protection ordinance in 1997. The city has also partnered with the Placer County Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), which supports recycling of residential household and business waste. Residents are able to throw away cans, bottles, paper, cardboard, wood and other materials into one common trash can, which is later separated at the MRF and diverted from the landfill and recycled.

PG&E proudly provides its customers with among the cleanest energy in the nation. On average, more than 50 percent of the energy delivered to its electric customers is carbon free and the company is well on its way to reaching 20 percent renewables under contract or delivered by 2010. Through its leading energy efficiency and demand response programs, the company has helped prevent more than 125 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, while saving its customers nearly $20 billion.

City of Rocklin.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company's ClimateSmart program, please visit our website at www.pge.com/climatesmart.

Tags: ClimateSmart, City of Rocklin, renewable energy, PG&E, carbon emissions, greenhouse gases

Solar Power 101- A Community Education Series in Tucson, Arizona.

A monthly series aimed at educating the community about solar power will kickoff from 6-8 pm on Wednesday, November 28, at the Woods Memorial Branch Library, 3455 N. First Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719.

U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will present her new solar legislation, while a representative of Defenders of Wildlife will talk about global climate change and the need to develop alternative energy sources. Homeowners can also learn about the basics of financing and installing a residential solar energy system.

The series will continue monthly through May 2008, with each workshop held at a different library branch. Topics will include information about solar energy technology, the economics of solar, the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative, solar research at the University of Arizona and state regulations.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative (Which is worth of a separate article)

The mission of the Solar America Initiative is to help lower the cost of solar electricity so that it is cost-competitive across all U.S. market sectors by 2015. The Solar America Initiative ensures domestic production of solar technologies. Decentralized energy supplies such as photovoltaics (PV), diversifies the nation's electricity portfolio, enhances grid reliability, and reduces the impact of a failure of the U.S. centralized electricity infrastructure. The Solar America Initiative also brings significant environmental gains and reduced water consumption by avoiding fossil fuel, nuclear, and natural gas generation.

By 2015, photovoltaics will:

• Provide 5-10 gigawatts of new electric capacity (enough to power 1-2 million homes) to the U.S. grid
• Avoid 10 million metric tons per year of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions
• Employ 30,000 new workers in the PV industry.

For Schedule of the series of lectures could be obtained here.

Tags: Solar America Initiative, solar energy, solar education, photovoltaics, solar technologies, the economics of solar

Solar Utility ( Pirelli Ambiente and Global Cleantech Capital) Provide clean Solar energy for Alessano

Milan - 23 Nov 2007 14:50 CET
The agreement with Solar Utility will allow for production for 30 years in the town of Alessano (Lecce) of a quantity of solar energy equal to the consumption of more than 600 families

Milan, 23 November 2007 - Solar Utility SpA , a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and the fund Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) , signed today a convention with the town of Alessano (Lecce) for the realization and management of photovoltaic plants , with an investment of about 5.5 million euros , in line with the business plan. The company has already guaranteed supply of the photovoltaic modules needed for realization of the project.

The solar panels will be installed on buildings and lands owned by the town of Alessano, thanks to a thirty year agreement. The total power installed will amount to about 1.1 MegaWatts and will allow for the annual production of "clean" electricity for more than 1,600,000 kiloWatthours, equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 600 families .

The investment in Alessano will accelerate Solar Utility's forecast growth plan. With this agreement, Solar Utility launches its program for investment in South Italy, where there is a high level of solar exposure.

The agreement with Solar Utility will allow the town of Alessano to reach significant economic savings, such as cutting to zero the electrical bills of municipal buildings, thanks to the large size of the panels installed, and recognition of a royalty on the production of electricity, without using any public money.

Solar Utility is a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and Global Cleantech Capital which invests in photovoltaic plants destined to owners of public, commercial and industrial buildings, supplying them in exchange with "green" energy at competitive prices. In addition, Solar Utility can assign photovoltaic plants to investors interested in stable returns in the long run, as guaranteed by the Italian incentive scheme "Conto Energia" of 19 February 2007.

Pirelli Ambiente is the Pirelli Group Company operating in the business of providing solutions for the environment and for sustainable development . Pirelli Ambiente can offer to the market a vast range of solutions with low environmental impact and high-tech contents of the highest order. The company is focused on products and processes that are increasingly eco-compatible and on innovative solutions.

Global Cleantech Capital is a leading investor in the energy and cleantech sectors in Europe and North America. GCC focuses on solar energy, green buildings, wind energy, bio-energy and advanced materials in efforts to grow renewable energy production capacity, as well as energy efficiency, thus driving the decrease in carbon footprint.

Tags: solar energy, Alessano, Lecce, Solar Utility SpA, Pirelli Ambiente, Global Cleantech Capital, solar panel

China Sheds Light On Solar Panel Manufacturing.

When I read about the report The "China Sourcing Report: Solar Panels" that shows majority of suppliers would decrease or keep prices stable, although the current polysilicon shortage is expected to continue until 2009, I was a bit surprised. I knew that China has major solar panel manufacturing capability but unaware of the numbers. I think it is a good report for anyone who is interested in Solar Energy field.

The EU remains the primary export destination of China-made solar panels, followed by Asia and North America. Demand comes mainly from Germany, Spain, Japan, Belgium and the US, which together absorb more than 60 percent of exports. Combined shipments to these countries exceeded US$1.5 billion in 2006.

China has secured its position as one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world, with production soaring at impressive rates in the past several years.

The country turned out 460MW of photovoltaic modules in 2006. Exports were estimated to account for 90 percent of output, although exact figures are not available. Solar panel shipments are counted together with PV cells, LEDs and photosensitive semiconductor devices.

Growth projections for 2007 are quite modest, with output placed at 565 to 570MW. This leaves a significant portion of capacity underutilized, since the industry's manufacturing capability is expected to reach 2,000MW this year.

The insufficient supply of solar cells worldwide continues to be the main factor hindering China's even higher production of PV panels. The shortage stems from the inability of polysilicon suppliers to meet the huge demand for their product, which is the main raw material for solar cells and wafers. The supply situation is expected to improve, albeit gradually, as more facilities in the upstream industries become operational.

Despite the shortage, outlook in the solar panels industry remains generally bright. More makers are entering the line, as evidenced by the 17 percent growth in the supplier base. Furthermore, companies are investing in manufacturing systems that will enable them to make solar cells and wafers in-house. Others are expanding into PV power application products where silicon cells do not account for a significant portion of outlay.

The following are some of the key trends we see in China's solar panels industry:

•	Overall capacity will continue to grow in coming months as suppliers prepare for the anticipated surge in domestic and overseas demand. Expansion, however, will average only 20 percent, as production capability at many companies remains mostly untouched.
•	Prices will remain relatively stable for the next six months despite a polysilicon supply gap. Most makers will opt to absorb additional costs, if any, and keep adjustments within 10 percent to boost sales and strengthen their foothold on a particular market.
•	Suppliers will continue to target the EU, focusing on countries such as Spain and France where the use of PV technology is growing. Consequently, export growth will remain strong, despite the drop in demand from Germany, currently the largest market for China-made solar panels.
•	With the shortage in polysilicon projected to continue for the next two years, makers are gearing R&D efforts toward thinner wafers or cells to minimize the use of the material in PV modules.

This report covers the three types of solar panels produced in China. In the Products & Prices section, mono- and polycrystalline, and amorphous panels are described in terms of the solar cell they use. The key factors affecting pricing and market positioning are discussed here as well.

Tags: solar panel, photovoltaic, PV panels, China Sourcing Report, polysilicon, polycrystalline, Solar Energy

Solar Toothbrush will allow you to toss tooth paste!

SASKATOON -- Toss the toothpaste. The future of oral hygiene is solar.

University of Saskatchewan dentistry professor emeritus Dr. Kunio Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak are recruiting 120 teens willing to brush with a prototype light-powered toothbrush and sit in a dentist's chair for a few extra inspections.

The manufacturer, the Shiken company of Japan, is paying the researchers to investigate whether the brush, which causes a chemical reaction in the mouth, does a better job of eliminating plaque and bacteria than a conventional toothbrush.

Komiyama's first model, which was described 15 years ago in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, contained a titanium dioxide rod in the neck of the brush, just below the nylon bristles. It works when light shines on the wet rod, releasing electrons. Those electrons react with acid in the mouth, which helps break down plaque. No toothpaste is required.

Now Komiyama's back with a newer model, the Soladey-J3X, which he says packs twice the chemical punch compared to the original. Protruding from the base of the brush is a solar panel, which transmits electrons to the top of the toothbrush through a lead wire.

It won't work in the dark, though - the brush needs about as much light as a solar-powered calculator would to operate.

In the lab, Komiyama tested the newer brush on cultures of two types of bacteria which are major culprits in periodontal disease.

"You see complete destruction of bacterial cells," he said.

At the FDI Annual World Dental Conference in Dubai last month, the team's poster describing the lab research won first prize out of 170 entries, which gives Komiyama confidence there is scientific merit to the brush.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

© CanWest News Service 2007

Tags: solar, science, solar toothbrush, World Dental Conference, Soladey-J3X, Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Shiken

Mass Production Solar Cells Reaches Average Efficiency Rates of 17.5%, with Selective Emitter Cells

NANJING, China, Nov. 19 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- China Sunergy Co., Ltd. ("China Sunergy") (Nasdaq: CSUN), a specialized solar cell manufacturer based in Nanjing, China, announced today that it has started mass production of its selective emitter cells after successfully commissioning recently arrived production equipment.

Commercially produced selective emitter cells yielded an average efficiency rate of 17.5% during the first few days of mass production.

Prior to starting mass production, China Sunergy achieved 18.2% conversion efficiency on some of its pilot runs in early November.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Jianhua Zhao, CTO of China Sunergy, said: "I am delighted that we have managed to develop and commercialize these high-efficiency cells in less than a year, and am confident that as we refocus our R&D resources we will be able to achieve similar success with other high- efficiency cell products. As we continue to optimize our selective emitter cell equipment and technology, I also believe that we should be able to achieve average efficiency rates of 18% on future commercial batches of these cells."

Commenting further, Dr. Allen Wang, CEO of China Sunergy said: "I have always believed in the technological advantage China Sunergy holds and this is strong evidence that our R&D efforts are starting to pay off. We will continue to drive further efficiency from these cells going into 2008 and will be adding an additional four production lines during the second-half of the year, as we look at ways to expand our margins going forward."

Tags: solar industry news, China Sunergy, high-efficiency solar cells, selective emitter solar cells

China Sunergy signs Canadian supply deal, ramps output

China Sunergy signs Canadian supply deal, ramps output

NANJING, China, Nov. 19 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- China Sunergy Co., Ltd. ("China Sunergy") (Nasdaq: CSUN), a specialized solar cell manufacturer based in Nanjing, China, announced today that it had entered into various sales agreements (the "Agreements") with Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar").

The Agreements with Canadian Solar are for a total volume of 25MW of solar cells for 2008. Under the Agreements, China Sunergy will supply approximately 12MW and 13MW of solar cells to Canadian Solar in the first and second half of the year respectively. The Agreements will be denominated in both Chinese yuan and US dollars, with approximately 24% of the volume being based on fixed pricing terms and the remainder being determined on a quarterly basis.

Commenting on the Agreements, Allen Wang, CEO of China Sunergy said: "Following on from this and the recent agreement with aleo solar of Germany, I am very pleased with our ability to expand sales both domestically and abroad. This latest Agreement signifies a substantial development in our relationship with Canadian Solar, one of the leading China-based module manufacturing companies, and is a positive example of how we are developing our high quality global customer base while further enhancing our brand recognition within the industry."

Commenting further, Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO of Canadian Solar, added: "We are pleased to have added China Sunergy to our list of partners, and continue to demonstrate the ability of CSI to establish win-win relationships with companies across the solar value chain. This announcement provides further visibility to the supply contracts we had in place in order to support our 2008 business plan. We look forward to working closely with China Sunergy as a part of our long-term supply chain strategy, which includes continued direct purchasing from a selected number of long-term strategic cell suppliers in addition to our internal solar cell production."

Tags: solar industry news, Sunergy, Canadian Solar, China Sunergy

PUC 'S (CPUC) APPROVAL OF EDISON/CALPINE SETTLEMENT LEADS CALIFORNIA TOWARDS ANOTHER STEP TOWARD STATE'S RENEWABLE ENERGY AND RESOURCE ADEQUACY GOALS

SAN FRANCISCO, November 16, 2007 - The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today approved a settlement agreement between Southern California Edison, Calpine Energy Services, and Geysers Power Company that, among other things, approves a Power Purchase and Sale Agreement for 225 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power and 714 MW of Local Resource Adequacy (Local RA) capacity. The new agreements replace the last year of an existing power purchase agreement for renewable power and Local RA capacity between the parties. In addition, the new agreements add an incremental 25 megawatts of renewable capacity and 514 MW of Local RA capacity and extend the two agreements another 3-10 years. The renewable power agreement is equivalent to about 2.35 percent of Edison's forecasted 2010 retail sales and will contribute to the statewide target of 20 percent renewables by 2010. In addition, the Local RA capacity agreement will contribute to Edison's System and Local RA obligations. The table below provides a brief explanation of the Geysers and Pastoria projects

The new power purchase agreements were negotiated in part from Edison's 2005 renewable energy solicitation and in part as a result of Calpine's attempted rejection of the existing Power Purchase Agreement in its bankruptcy proceeding. The approval of the entire settlement will resolve a motion filed by Calpine in Bankruptcy Court to reject the existing power purchase agreement. In addition, the PUC's approval of the settlement and underlying Renewables Portfolio Standard and Resource Adequacy agreements represent an important step towards Calpine's emergence from bankruptcy, expected either by the end of 2007 or in the first quarter of 2008.

The PUC's Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires investor-owned utilities, Energy Service Providers, and Community Choice Aggregators operating in California to obtain 20 percent of their retail sales from renewable energy sources by 2010; the PUC's Resource Adequacy program requires the same companies to purchase sufficient generation capacity to meet their forecasted peak load with planning reserves including requirements to purchase capacity within transmission constrained Local Areas.

The proposal is available at

http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/COMMENT_RESOLUTION/74250.htm.

Tags: Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.RPS, PUC, CPUC, Southern California Edison, Calpine Energy Services, Geysers Power Company

PG&E and Ausra Announce 177 Megawatt Solar Thermal Power Agreement

PG&E earlier this month announced that they will be teaming with Ausra Inc., to build a plant to be located in San Luis Obispo County in California that will generate 177-megawatts of solar thermal power capacity. The facility is slated to go online in 2010. Ausra has filed its Application for Certification for this plant with the California Energy Commission, which must grant approval before construction begins. The project will use Ausra’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector technology to create steam that will power steam turbine generators.

News Release;

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Nov. 5, 2007—Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced that it has entered into a 177 megawatt solar thermal power purchasing agreement with Ausra Inc. The project, to be located in central California, is being developed by Ausra.

"Today's agreement between PG&E and Ausra highlights how clean energy will create jobs in California while delivering a reliable source of renewable energy," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I'm pleased to see California companies rising to the challenge of AB 32, California's historic initiative to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Clearly, California continues to lead the nation in clean energy research, development and generation."

The plant, to be located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., is expected to begin generating power in 2010. Ausra has filed its Application for Certification for this plant with the California Energy Commission, which must grant approval before construction begins.

"Solar thermal technology provides our customers with a reliable source of clean renewable energy that is ideally suited to meet peak energy loads," said Fong Wan, vice president of energy procurement, PG&E. "By partnering with Ausra, we are taking another significant step in providing our customers with some of the cleanest energy in the nation."

Ausra projects that the power plant will create over 350 skilled jobs on-site during construction, and an additional 100 permanent jobs in the area. The plant will burn no fuel, use minimal water, and have no air or water emissions. At 177 megawatts of capacity, the project will use only one square mile (640 acres) of land due to the exceptional area efficiency of Ausra's collector technology.

"This 177-megawatt plant is the first manifestation of Ausra and PG&E's shared vision of competitively priced, large-scale solar electric power," said Glen Davis, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Ausra. "We're excited to be partnering with PG&E to deliver clean power at hours of peak demand."

Ausra's new Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar technology utilizes the heat from the sun's rays to create steam. Solar collectors boil water at high temperatures to power steam turbine generators, in much the same way as traditional fossil-fuel power plants, but without use of fuels or emissions.

At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September, PG&E and Ausra announced separate commitments to build and purchase 1,000 MW of solar thermal power over the next five years.

The agreement filed today with the California Public Utilities Commission is the latest example of PG&E's commitment to solar thermal technology. PG&E currently has 553 MW of solar thermal power under contract and is seeking regulatory approval of these purchasing agreements.

PG&E's solar thermal commitments are part of the company's broader renewable energy portfolio. PG&E currently supplies 12 percent of its energy from qualifying renewable sources under California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program. PG&E continues to aggressively add renewable electric power resources to its supply and is on target to exceed 20 percent under contract or delivered by 2010. On average, more than 50 percent of the energy PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating sources that emit no carbon dioxide, providing among the cleanest energy in the nation.

California's RPS Program requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by one percent of load per year to achieve a 20 percent renewables goal by 2010. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California's Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company, please visit the company's website at www.pge.com. and Ausra Inc., at www.ausra.com

Tags: solar thermal power, California Solar Initiative, renewables, Renewable Portfolio Standard, RPS, PG&E, PUC, Clinton Global Initiative, AUSRA, Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector, CLFR

Another California First" "PUC ADOPTS LOW-INCOME SOLAR INCENTIVE PROGRAM"

SAN FRANCISCO, November 16, 2007 - The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today adopted an unprecedented $108 million program that delivers incentives to low-income, single-family homeowners under the California Solar Initiative program. The California Solar Initiative Single-Family Low-Income Incentive Program is the first statewide low-income solar program to be implemented at this scale.

The California Solar Initiative's goal is to drive the installation of 3,000 megawatts of high-performing new solar installations in the state over the next 10 years, moving the state toward a cleaner energy future. In adopting the California Solar Initiative, the PUC allocated 10 percent ($216.7 million) of the program's total budget for the installation of solar systems on low-income residences. Today's decision adopts the program that will provide incentives for those installations on single-family, owner-occupied homes. The remaining $108 million is reserved for the low-income program for multi-family residences, which is currently under development.

"California has the second largest solar incentive program in the world. Through the Single-Family Low-Income Incentive Program approved today, our goal is to provide low-income homeowners access to solar photovoltaic systems, to decrease electricity usage and reduce bills without increasing monthly expenses," said PUC President Michael R. Peevey. "By enabling low-income households to purchase photovoltaic systems, this program will help ensure that all Californians have an opportunity to avail themselves of the benefits provided by the clean energy technologies this Commission so ardently supports, including solar."

"As a member of the PUC's Low-Income Oversight Board, I am pleased that we are reaching out to those Californians who are otherwise unable to participate in the state's solar initiative," said Commissioner Dian M. Grueneich. "A key piece of this program is the requirement for applicants to enroll in the PUC's Low-Income Energy Efficiency program and have energy efficiency measures installed prior to receiving the solar incentives."

"This program will make sure that low-income single family owners can help save money and save the earth by becoming their own generators of solar energy," commented Commissioner Rachelle Chong. "I encourage our outreach to low-income families be conducted in non-English languages such as Spanish and Chinese."

"All Californians should have the opportunity to generate clean energy from solar photovoltaics. Not only will this program bring solar to the homes of low-income communities, but it's my hope that it will provide job training and wealth enhancement opportunities for the very same communities," said Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon, who will join with The Willie Brown Jr. Institute on Politics & Public Service to host a symposium in January 2008 on investments and green jobs.

The program will provide incentives that range from $4.75 to $7 per watt, as compared to the general market California Solar Initiative program, which began with subsidies of $2.50 per watt. The incentives will subsidize roughly 50 to 75 percent of the photovoltaic system, and they are expected to be available to approximately 5,000 qualifying homeowners. The Single-Family Low-Income Incentive Program Manager will help incentive recipients find loans and grants to cover the remaining cost of the system. Unlike the general market California Solar Initiative program, the incentives will not decline as the number of megawatts installed grows.

The program will also reach out to California's lowest-income households who cannot afford to take out loans to cover the cost of the system by providing fully-subsidized, 1kW photovoltaic systems for qualifying homeowners with incomes up to 50 percent of the area median income. The program will provide these fully subsidized systems to approximately 1,800 qualifying households.

The California Solar Initiative Single-Family Low-Income Incentive Program will be managed by a single, statewide entity with a history and knowledge of serving low-income communities. The Program Manager will be contracted through the investor-owned utilities, and will be chosen through a competitive Request for Proposal process. An independent program evaluator will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the program's management and execution every two years.

For more information on the PUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.

Tags: photovoltaic, California Solar Initiative, Low-Income Solar energy Incentive Program, CPUC, PUC, cleaner energy

Canadian Solar Expands In Eutope

JIANGSU, China, Nov. 16 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("the Company'', or ''CSI'') (Nasdaq: CSIQ) announced that it has signed a new contract with German City Solar Group to deliver 60MW of solar modules for a series of solar power station projects in Spain. Shipment will start immediately. Installations are expected to be completed by the Summer of 2008.

CSI has recently completed the delivery of 11.7 MW solar modules to City Solar for three large-scale solar power projects in Germany. The new 60 MW contract will expand the collaborations between the two companies from Germany to Spain, one of the fastest growing and strategically most important solar markets in the world.

CSI expects to introduce its PC200 new module type with City Solar. This new module product is capable of delivering 200-240W of output per unit and is specially designed to promote the maximum performance of City Solar's state- of-arts solar tracker systems.

Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO of CSI, commented, ''The expansion of our collaboration with City Solar is the latest example of the repeat orders we are winning from key customers in an important market segment. The combination of CSI's high- performance modules in City Solar system designs and project management has quickly gained market recognition for our two companies as one of the top- notch one-stop shopping solutions for high performance solar power plants.''

Mr. Steffen Kammler, CEO of City Solar, AG, commented, ''City Solar is one of the leading solar plant project management companies in Europe. City Solar's vast experience in large-scale solar plant project development, planning, implementation and financing arrangement has brought turn-key solutions to commercial renewable energy investors. We have developed unique solar tracking technologies to maximize solar module performance. We have so far implemented several solar farm projects in Germany using CSI modules and we are much impressed by CSI's superior module quality, after service technical support and its highly efficient and effective management team. We will continue to work closely with Canadian Solar for our future projects.''

Tags: City Solar, PC200, solar market, Canadian Solar Inc

gridtech: First Ever Green500 List Released at SC07

It is good to see that even super computers could go green. (These could reach 500KW!).
gridtech: First Ever Green500 List Released at SC07

Tags: super computers, supercomputing, Green500

POET WIll Power Ethanol Plant Expansion with Alternative Energy Source, Solid Waste Fuel Boiler

More than half of the ethanol plant’s natural gas usage will be replaced by fuel generated from waste
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (November 15, 2007) - An expansion of a POET ethanol plant includes a technology that will allow ethanol production to double without increasing fossil fuel usage. POET Biorefining - Chancellor, an ethanol production facility near Chancellor, S.D., is undergoing an expansion that will increase production capacity from 50 to 100 million gallons per year. The expansion includes construction of a solid waste fuel boiler, an alternative energy source that will generate enough steam to produce more than half of the expanded plant’s power needs. Mueller Pallets of Sioux Falls, S.D. will supply woodchip fuel for the boiler.

"The solid waste fuel boiler will allow us to double our production capacity without increasing our natural gas usage," said Rick Serie, General Manager of POET Biorefining - Chancellor. "We’ll be reducing our operating costs by using a green fuel source to produce a domestic, green transportation fuel for America."

Waste wood from pallets, construction sites and area landfills will be the primary fuel source for the solid waste fuel boiler. POET Biorefining - Chancellor has contracted with Mueller Pallets of Sioux Falls to provide 150-350 tons of wood per day. The company, long a recycler of used transport pallets, has increased operations to accommodate POET’s woodchip needs. Not only has Mueller begun acquiring and grinding waste wood from area landfills, but the company is also reaching out to tree services companies, contractors and other private sources to acquire and re-cycle waste wood at no charge to the providers.

"It’s a win-win situation. By recycling instead of disposing of waste wood, companies, cities and towns in the region will together save hundreds of thousands of dollars in landfill costs yearly," said Margie Mueller, president of Mueller Pallets. "And while saving raw materials from disposal, the fuel product we process will help reduce the need for natural gas."

POET Alternative Energy Engineer Jim Geraets said the solid waste fuel boiler will be outfitted with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment that exceeds state and federal standards and continuously monitored. "Ethanol is one of the best tools we have to fight pollution from vehicles," said Geraets, "and at POET we’re always looking for ways that we can make the ethanol production process even more environmentally-friendly."

POET Biorefining - Chancellor started operations in March, 2003. Last year, the facility produced 51 million gallons of ethanol and 160,000 tons of Dakota Gold Enhanced Distillers Nutrition products. The facility is in the midst of an expansion that will increase the production capacity to 100 mgpy. Construction on the expansion is expected to be completed in Q1 2008 and the solid waste fuel boiler is expected to be complete in Q3 2008. The construction will necessitate the hiring of approximately 20 additional employees for the facility, which is already the largest employer in the town.

Tags: Biorefining, alternative energy, POET, used transport pallets, ethanol, Dakota Gold Enhanced Distillers

Santa Cruz City School System Awards 950 kW Solar Project to UPC Solar

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UPC Solar, a leading solar power development company, today announced an agreement to build solar crystalline PV systems for seven Santa Cruz City Schools totaling 950 kW of installed capacity. Won in a competitive bidding situation, UPC Solar was awarded seven of the 9 schools on which Santa Cruz City Schools will have solar power systems built.

The project will be designed, installed, owned and operated by UPC Solar under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Santa Cruz City Schools District. The systems will provide 90% of each school’s total annual electricity requirements and 100% of the most expensive “peak demand” requirements. Importantly, the projects will avoid annual greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions by 1,774,008 pounds, Nitrogen Oxides (NO_x) emissions by 613 pounds and Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) emissions by 91 pounds.

“This agreement represents an important contribution to the environment as well as an important cost savings to the school system,” noted Richard C. Moss, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services Santa Cruz City Schools. “The Santa Cruz City School system is also providing an important leadership message regarding the environment to the students, parents, school staff and the local community. We’re excited to have the Santa Cruz City School system as one of our long-term green energy customers,” said Morten Sissener, President and CEO, UPC Solar.

Tags: UPC Solar.solar energy, Santa Cruz City School system

Telephony Companies Go Green

GUILDFORD, UK - Extreme Networks® and Avaya today announced that its combined Go Green IP telephony solution is set to reduce UK businesses carbon footprint through dramatically reducing electricity usage of its phones, with energy savings between 50 and 75 percent compared to the current solution.

In addition, for the second year, Extreme Networks scooped the Technology Partner award at Avaya’s yearly EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) BusinessPartner Conference recently held in Paris. The company was recognised with this award for its advanced data equipment and business performance throughout 2007.

The new Go Green solution--built around Extreme Networks’ ExtremeXOS™ Universal Port Automation technology and Avaya’s Power over Ethernet (PoE) efficient Gigabit Ethernet Deskphones-- powers down phones when not in use, offering the potential for significant cost and environmental savings.

“With companies rightly looking to reduce their carbon footprint, solutions such as Go Green from Extreme Networks and Avaya are highly relevant and sought after,” explains Extreme Networks Regional Director, UK and Ireland, Paul Phillips. “Through the automated power down of a block of IP phones in areas of the building not regularly used at night or weekends, companies can save money and do their bit for the environment in one go.”

The Go Green solution is easy to manage and provides the speeds required by today’s bandwidth intensive users. Once the edge policies have been created and the power saving criteria chosen, the ExtremeXOS™ Universal Port Automation powers off the IP handsets outside of these time boundaries, resulting in power savings on both the switch ports and the phones themselves.

For a typical company with 200 non-essential phones that are powered down outside of normal office hours by the Go Green solution between 17:00 each evening and restarting at 09:00 each working morning, there can be a 75 percent reduction in costs associated with running network connected IP phones.

Industry leaders in network infrastructure and intelligent communications respectively, the Extreme Networks and Avaya alliance was formed in 2003 to offer secure and best-of-breed, converged network solutions for enterprises to optimise voice, data and video applications on an easily managed robust infrastructure. The relationship consists of providing jointly developed product and technology solutions as well as Avaya single point of accountability for complete end-to-end networks.

Extreme Networks products offer secure, highly available connectivity for voice, video and data. Its high performance fast Ethernet Summit® series switches used as the backbone to the Go Green solution are based on its revolutionary ExtremeXOS, a highly resilient, modular operating system that can provide high performance, manageability and operational efficiency at an affordable price.

Avaya provides the industry’s broadest selection of IP Deskphones that support a range of functionality and price point requirements, ensuring they meet a variety of user profiles. Avaya’s Gig Ethernet models are already the most power efficient on the market, requiring an estimated half the wattage of comparable competing models. Through implementing the Go Green solution, companies can save even more energy, reducing their electricity bills and carbon footprint at the same time.

“Avaya’s Deskphones provide one of the ultimate voice communications experiences available today and Extreme Networks one of the most intelligent core-class operating systems,” adds Nick Roullier, Country Manager, Avaya, UK “By working together with Extreme we have developed the Engaged Network, an integral part of Avaya’s Intelligent Communications offering that can become an integral part of UK Business’ green initiatives, encouraging responsible use of resources while delivering real energy cost savings.”

Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.co.uk

Exterme Networks:http://www.extremenetworks.com

Tags: Green News, Go Green IP telephony, Avaya, Extreme Networks, Deskphones, Avaya alliance, ExtremeXOS

San Francisco Bay in Peril, when are we going to be ready for oil spills?

All of you know that there was a big oil spill in the bay. A cargo ship Costco Busan, touched a bay bridge column. The impact did not damage the bridge, but it opened a 90-foot gash in the hull of the ship and ruptured its fuel tank, dumping 58,000 gallons into the bay, fouling miles of coastline and killing dozens of shorebirds.
A lot of people are cleaning it up, shore line and the sea birds. This has interrupted many a life 's needs around the bay. Politicians came, Cost guard was already there! Our own good people in San Francisco and surrounding cities, like fire fighters were not able to help because of bureaucracy. There were volunteers that have help rebelliously because of the same bureaucracy.
One way or the other, this is incompetency in our way of handling a small incident like this. Why can't we handle this type of spills better. Can't we surround the spill with tubes that usually used in spills. I think this is something that we really need to improve on. Emergencies like this should be handled in a better manner.
I am very saddened and I have not even really read about the Prussian spill yet!

Tags: Oil Spill, costco busan, san francisco, san francisco bay

Alternative Energy Blowing Towards Wind?

According to Wall Street Journal, more and more investors are snapping up wind energy properties, in USA and the investors are also coming from Europe. For instance In October, Germany's E.On AG announced the acquisition of $1.4 billion of North American wind assets from Airtricity, an Ireland-based wind-farm operator.
Southern California Edison made three recent demand-response deals, with Comverge, EnerNOC Inc. of Boston and privately owned Energy Curtailment Specialists Inc. of Buffalo, N.Y. EnerNOC's deal to manage approximately 160 megawatts of capacity for SoCal Edison was its largest to date, valued at $50 million to $75 million. Comverge and Energy Curtailment each struck deals to manage 50 megawatts of SoCal Edison's power.
But Solar power also getting more attention in cases. Ausra Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., plans to build at least 1,000 megawatts of solar thermal power plants at a cost of roughly $3 billion, says David Mills, the company's chairman and chief scientific officer. Ausra is benefiting from ambitious solar-thermal investment plans on the part of electric power provider FPL Group Inc., which said recently it plans to invest $2.4 billion over several years in solar-thermal and renewable energy projects.
The WSJ Article; Power Plays

Tags: wind energy, Wind power, energy investments, solar thermal projects

Solar Energy On the Rising Edge

Sun Rises on Solar Energy
According to Credit Suisse, The heat is on solar energy these days as concern about global warming and rising oil prices prompts more countries to launch programs to promote solar power. In doing so, they are helping this relatively young industry to boost innovation and achieve growth rates of which other sectors can only dream.
Although it is estimated that enough solar energy reaches the surface of the earth in less than two hours, to satisfy the entire energy needs of the world’s population for a full year. But so far we have only managed to use about 0.1% of that energy by converting through solar cells. Therefore The potential for generation of energy, growing business enveloping the phenomenon is vast. Taking in the adoption by major political powers to be energy independent.

The US is also getting serious about the sun. At the state level, California leads the pack, having just made 3 billion US dollars available to support solar installations.

The most progressive nation in Asia is South Korea, which promotes the construction of solar energy plants with low-interest loans and guarantees a payment of 0.58 euros per kWh for 15 years.

Meanwhile in Japan, which currently accounts for 17 percent of solar energy installations worldwide, solar power hardly attracts further subsidies. Against a backdrop of generally high electricity prices, however, demand remains steady, especially as solar plants can be integrated cost-effectively into new-build homes.

Also the new direction of technology and research aids us in reaching our goals according to Credit Suisse article published today. The Nobel Prize-winning invention of conductive polymers paved the way for organic solar cells that can be produced from cheap, flexible plastic and wound around structures or even painted on. Their low resistance to ultraviolet (UV) light and rel-atively low efficiency have so far proved to be drawbacks, although US scientists recently achieved an efficiency of 5.2 percent. What’s more, in the future ultra-thin nanotechnology based structures from new types of materials should make it possible to produce windows which can generate electricity.
Artificial photosynthesis is another exciting development. Here, light is used first to ionize organic molecules before the electrical charge that this generates is passed to a cathode or anode.

Tags: global warming, solar energy, Solar Cell

Clean Energy Stocks Rallying all around.

More than 100 companies attended the Pacific Growth Equities clean-technology conference in San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday, catering to an eager audience of fund managers, venture capitalists, private-equity firms and even large industrial players searching for ways to broaden their businesses. First Solar rallied more than 30% on better than expected earnings and the rest followed perhaps feeling the heat from rising oil prices.
Here is a Video From the conference, courtesy of Market Watch!

Tags: Green Stocks, Clean energy, Pacific Growth Equities, clean-technology conference, First Solar

Berkeley Approves Solar Power Financing Program, First in the Nation

The Berkeley, California, city council Tuesday night approved a new green initiative, a solar power loan program that would be the first of its kind in the nation. The initiative will pay for the installation of solar panels and solar hot water systems for any homeowner or commercial building owner. The owners of the home or the Business building will retain ownership of the solar systems, by paying back the cost over 20 years through an assessment on their annual property tax bill.
Mayor Bates explained the value of the move; "A lot of people say, 'I�d love to go solar but I�m not planning to be here the rest of my life,' When they sell, they get the benefit. The new owner will take over the obligation. So, it�s a big giant win-win."
Please don't run to the city office planing to get a loan and have that Solar Power or Solar Hot water system On you roof or your yard yet. City will spend the next 6 to 8 months working out financial, legal and tax details and should have a proposal for final approval of the council by next summer. Cisco DeVries, Bates’ chief of staff who devised the municipal solar financing proposal, said the city hopes to start signing up homeowners by June 2008. The city will likely float a bond to obtain millions in bank financing to pay for the initiative.

Not only home and commercial building owners in Berkeley stand to win, there are others that supports Berkeley's Solar Power Initiative. Bates mentioned that other cities have approached him about replicating the initiative. The city also has the backing of utility PG&E, which itself if promoting green energy. The others, the solar industry has, not surprisingly, been enthusiastic about the program that promises to expand the market for solar panels and Solar Water heaters. Manufacturers, dealers and installers stand to gain.

Way to go Berkeley! and You can go here to learn more;
www.cityofberkeley.info/sustainable

Tags: Berkeley, Berkeley Solar Initiative, green initiative, solar power loan program, solar panels, solar hot water systems

EPA opens public comment period for Big West of California refinery project

U.S. EPA opens public comment period for Big West of California refinery project

Release date: 11/05/2007

Contact Information: Marc Mowrey, (415) 972-3324

SAN FRANCISCO - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened the public comment period on a proposed air permit for the construction of a Clean Fuels Project at the Big West of California, Bakersfield refinery.

Air emissions from the proposed project are subject to federal air pollution permitting laws for new emission sources under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations of the Clean Air Act.

The proposed project would consist of new process units and supporting equipment at the existing Bakersfield refinery for the conversion of intermediate products into gasoline and diesel fuel that meets California Air Resources Board gasoline and diesel fuel specifications.

The public comment period for the proposed air permit opens today. Interested parties may submit comments on the permit now through December 12. An open house and public hearing have been scheduled as follows:

Date: December 5

Time: Open House: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Public Hearing: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Location: Discovery Elementary School, Multipurpose Room
9500 Vaquero Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93308
For more information about the project and proposed permit, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/air/permit/r9-permits-issued.html

Tags: EPA, public comment, Air emissions, Clean Fuels Project, Big West of California, Bakersfield refinery

Save Energy and the Earth with gPC, a low poer Low Cost PC

Google and Everex together with Open Source Community has a Low Power, Low Cost, complete PC, gPC loaded with gOS and OpensOffice and other software to be marketed by WallMart, For <$200. Geemodo: Under all the noise, gPC Arrives in Wallmart from Google and Everex.

Tags: gPC, gOS, gEEmOdO

DOE Looking for 2008 Solar America Cities

10/29/2007 – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the release of a funding opportunity that will create partnerships between DOE and a new round of Solar America Cities. The 2008 Solar America Cities program will fund up to twelve cities that demonstrate their commitment to building a sustainable solar infrastructure.

Subject to negotiation of final terms, DOE will provide up to $2.4 million in financial assistance to the competitively selected, cost-shared, two-year projects. Additionally, DOE will provide up to $3.0 million over two years in hands-on technical assistance from technical and policy experts to help cities integrate solar technologies into city energy planning, zoning, and facilities; to streamline city-level regulations and practices that affect solar adoption by residents and local businesses; and to promote solar technology through outreach, curriculum development, and incentive programs. Including cost share, the value of the awards is expected to be up top $7.8 million.

Solar America Cities have been identified as large cities with high electricity demand, and represent a diverse geography, population, and maturity of solar infrastructure. To be eligible for a Solar America Cities award, cities must have a population of 100,000 or more, as the DOE attempts to promote solar in America’s electricity load centers. The efforts of the Solar America Cities will improve the ability of citizens and businesses to adopt solar technology locally and provide a model that other cities across the country can follow.

Awards will be made competitively and are subject to both evaluations by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, as well as to congressional appropriations.

DOE is also announcing the selection of two Solar America Showcases. Solar America Showcases are large-scale, replicable installations of solar technology that DOE will support with technical assistance. DOE will assist the Northeast Denver Housing Center in overcoming barriers to the installation of solar photovoltaics on 80 permanently affordable housing units. Additionally, Montclair State University will receive technical assistance in support of the 280 kW “solar farm” at its New Jersey School of Conservation.

For additional information on applying to become a 2008 Solar America City or a Solar America Showcase visit: http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/index.html.

The 2007 Solar America Cities are: Ann Arbor, MI; Austin, TX; Berkeley, CA; Boston, MA; Madison, WI; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Tucson, AZ.

Tags: 2008 Solar America, DOE, solar technology, solar farm, photovoltaics