Posted by: Kory Raftery

"If you care about addressing the climate issue…or about clean air…or putting the country on a path to energy independence…or about reviving investment and job creation…then you have to be revved up about the electric car," said Chris Johns, president of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) at the outset of today’s Plug-In 2010, an international conference centered on bringing electric vehicles (EVs) to market.

Automakers, electric car component manufacturers, utilities and drivers have converged upon San Jose to discuss all things relevant to electric cars. Industry movers and shakers are sharing information and sizing up the competition before EVs start arriving in American neighborhoods. By the time the conference opens next year, folks owning vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf should be quietly pulling into their driveways and garages.

Based on the high adoption rate of hybrid vehicles in the last few years, Johns predicted that the Bay Area alone will see somewhere between 220,000 and 845,000 vehicles "plugging in" over the next decade. That’s both exciting news for an electric utility, and a huge responsibility given that a single EV can suck as much power from the grid as three homes in San Francisco.

"At the end of the day, we’re the entity charged with making sure there’s enough clean, affordable power on the grid," Johns said. ". . . And, in our customers’ eyes, we’re responsible for the quality of their experience when they bring that new vehicle home and plug it in for the first time."

PG&E isn’t new to this challenge. The utility has been working to advance clean transportation for the last 20 years or so. The company currently operates the largest utility fleet of clean vehicles in America. It was the first utility to add a Smith all-electric bucket truck to its fleet, will be the first to add Raser Technologies’ all-electric extended range pickup trucks and is awaiting delivery of nearly a dozen Chevy Volts later this year.

For current EV owners, the utility offers a special pricing plan, which gives customers a steep discount in exchange for charging their cars during off-peak hours. Making sure that new owners charge at night will be critical to avoiding the need to build new power plants to meet their demand, Johns noted.

PG&E just began a pilot project with the Electric Power Research Institute that will allow the utility to better understand the infrastructure necessary to support the future of EVs. The program will allow PG&E to examine how long different vehicles take to charge and their impacts on the electric grid at different times of the day.

"The goal is to prove that this works at scale, that it functions seamlessly for the customer and that it’s secure," Johns said. "The pilot is running this year and next year, and we see it as a critical step that can help commercialize the new technologies needed to serve the mass EV market."

As Johns underscored, "there’s an entire ecosystem that has to develop in order to support electric vehicles." And the electric utility, like the gas station of old, is a critical part of it. 

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

Google Energy will buy 114 megawatts of wind energy from a wind farm in Iowa for 20 years at an undisclosed fixed rate beginning on July 30. The deal is the first for the Google subsidiary after it received federal approval earlier this year to trade clean power on wholesale power markets. The company says it will sell the electricity on the regional spot market for renewable energy certificates to offset Google's carbon emissions. The Iowa wind farm is owned by NextEra Energy Resources LLC.

London is launching a $177 million program to develop bicycle "superhighways" to connect central London with towns outside the city. Fully developed, it would be the world's second-largest urban cycle hire system after Paris. London Mayor Boris Johnson, Barclays bank and Transport for London have opened the first two pilot routes now drawing 5,000 cycle journeys daily and aiming for 27,000 trips a day by 2013. Highly visible blue cycle lanes will have safety mirrors at junctions, stop lines at traffic lights, segregated lanes, and realignment of traffic and bus lanes to create more space for cyclists. "You have got to have a powerful and visible statement on the roads that asserts to every Londoner,  whether on two wheels or four, that the capital is a cycling city," says Johnson.

Shopping for a college with a sound environmental studies program? The 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges reports its top 10 list for undergraduate environmental degree programs: Colby College (Maine), College of the Atlantic (Maine), UC-Davis, University of Colorado, Dartmouth College (New Hampshire), Eckerd College (Florida), Evergreen State College (Washington), University of North Carolina-Asheville, Tulane University (Louisiana), and University of Washington. Some of these colleges have appeared in other  green college lists, including the Princeton Review, College Sustainability Report Card and Sierra magazine's Cool Schools list.
 

Posted by: Kory Raftery

When "Miracle on 34th Street" hit the silver screen in 1947, 8-year-old Susan Walker, played by Natalie Wood, got her holiday wish when Kris Kringle gave her directions to the new home she asked Santa Claus to deliver. If the movie were written today, Susan would probably ask for an energy efficient home with ENERGY STAR appliances and solar panels.

Like Kris Kringle, Habitat for Humanity has been making children's dreams come true since 1976. But unlike Santa, Habitat delivers presents to families year round. To date, the organization has built over 350,000 houses around the world, providing close to 2 million people with safe, affordable and now energy efficient housing.

To make these homes even more environmentally friendly, PG&E created the Solar Habitat Program in 2005. So far, as part of the partnership with Habitat for Humanity, PG&E has funded solar installations on 260 homes for hard-working families. The average solar system produces 300 kWh of clean, renewable energy each month, saving participants about $500 a year. In addition, PG&E employees have donated more than 7,000 hours of their time working on Habitat for Humanity job sites.

Just last week, PG&E volunteers, including corporate officers and CEO Peter Darbee, spent the day at a Hunters Point construction site, working on one of seven four-bedroom homes. In addition to other duties, the crews worked to install and hook up eight solar panels on one of the homes. 
 
"It's impressive to see first hand how Habitat for Humanity constructs these quality homes with the help of volunteers from the community," said Darbee. "This is an extremely organized operation that allows those of us who are volunteering to make a real contribution to the construction of these homes."

Thanks to Habitat for Humanity and its many contributors, the spirit of 34th Street lives on as families get their 21st century, energy-efficient miracles year round.

Posted by: Kory Raftery

If Jimmy Buffett were writing a theme song for PG&E's renewable energy department, his lyrics might read, "Mother, Mother Ocean: I have heard you call. I wanted to pull the power from your waters since I was three feet tall."

Looking to add to its diverse power mix, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has just signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force that will let the utility investigate the feasibility of a wave energy project off the coast of northern Santa Barbara County near Vandenberg Air Force Base. The project is part of the PG&E WaveConnect™ program, which includes a pilot study underway in Humboldt County.

PG&E has filed a preliminary permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study the southern site for three years. If findings are favorable, the utility could seek a license to install wave energy conversion devices capable of producing as much as 100 megawatts of electricity. The clean power would feed into the existing electrical grid at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which in turn is connected to the PG&E grid.

Experts believe that wave energy off the 745 mile California coastline could produce more than a fifth of the state's energy needs. The Santa Barbara County Community Environmental Council's renewable energy blueprint calls for more than eight percent of the county's future energy mix to come from the ocean. But there are many hurdles to jump before arriving at those targets, including environmental and land use concerns,  grid connections and design evolution.

"You can't develop a technology unless you can test it," said Roger Bedard, ocean energy leader with Electric Power Research Institute. "In this country, we are challenged with inferior infrastructure in testing ocean energy devices. PG&E's WaveConnect™ projects will provide the infrastructure needed to test and refine emerging technologies."

Throughout the process, PG&E will continue to work closely with local communities and elected officials to understand and address their interests and concerns. The project is expected to have no significant impact on existing coastal activities such as surfing, hiking or whale watching. Development will only move forward if technical studies support its feasibility and if environmental studies show that the project will not have significant negative environmental and economical effects.

Currently, the Earth's oceans produce roughly 300 megawatts of electricity from various devices that convert energy from water movement or the natural temperature and salinity changes into usable power. Next year that number is expected to skyrocket when a 250 megawatt seawall dam comes online in South Korea. But wave power will continue to lag other renewable technologies without development assistance.

Ultimately, PG&E's WaveConnect™ projects will help emerging technology companies develop reliable and cost-effective wave energy devices, find funding and help PG&E and other utilities bring this innovative new source of clean energy to customers.

"If a utility is going to make it happen in this country, it's going to be PG&E," Bedard said.

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

General Motors will launch the Chevrolet Volt "extended range" electric car in California next year with some of the vehicles going to utility fleets in two-year demonstration projects at PG&E, Southern California Edison, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and also the Electric Power Research Institute. The demonstration project also aims to set up 500 charging stations. The Volt is designed to drive 40 miles on electricity; when the lithium-ion battery runs low an engine/generator extends driving range to more than 300 miles.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will set up an electric vehicle infrastructure to lure battery and charging station manufacturers, create green jobs and become "the capital of the electric car." The city and partners plan to update 400 existing charging stations and add 100 more around the region to be ready by fall 2010. Partners include Southern California Edison, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Southern California Power Authority, automakers and other cities.

Hybrid garbage trucks soon may be lumbering down your street. New York and a few other cities are testing diesel-electric hybrids, with companies like Freightliner, Navistar, Mack, Crane Carrier and Peterbilt joining with electric motor developers Azure Dynamics and Eaton. New York is testing a 36-ton garbage collector built by Mack Trucks and three other hybrids from Crane Carrier. After a year of testing, the city's sanitation department will pick a winner and begin buying 300 trucks a year with fuel consumption cut by about 30 percent.

Posted by: Kory Raftery

Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:

The world's two largest polluters have agreed to work together to lessen their greenhouse gas emissions. A joint statement released this week claims that U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineers will join forces to speed the widespread use of electric cars, energy efficient buildings, and "coal-fired plants that don't pump out gases that cause global warming." The agreement left out how much each country will contribute to emissions cuts.

A recent University of Saskatchewan study asserts that roughly 12,800 years ago, it only took six months to turn Europe's climate from warm and sunny into an ice age. Researchers previously believed the freeze took place over a much longer period. Lead researcher William Patterson put the new findings into perspective by saying the temperature change would equate to "taking Britain and moving it to the Arctic over the space of a few months."

Can you imagine an Italy without pasta? A report released by the British Meteorological Office can. The five-year study on the impact of global warming on eating habits in Europe predicts that increasing temperatures and decreasing rain will cause Italy's durum wheat crop to disappear in the second half of this century. The same report warns that Polish wheat and potato crops, French champagne and Spanish fruits and vegetables could also be at risk.

The Forest Service claims our nation's forests can be used as a "carbon sink" where trees absorb carbon dioxide to help slow global warming. Currently, forests store enough carbon to offset about 16 percent of the nation's fossil fuel emissions. But Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told the Senate Public Lands and Forestry Subcommittee that the number could change. "Disturbances such as fire and insects could dramatically change the role of forests, thereby emitting more carbon than currently sequestered by tree stands across the country," Tidwell said. 

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

Here are some last-minute tips for a green, affordable Halloween Saturday night, courtesy of Treehugger: Ignore the Halloween superstores and recycle stuff around your home -- clothes, cardboard, aluminum foil, boxes and paint -- to craft nifty costumes like skunks, spiders, fish, face masks and more. Select a walking neighborhood for trick or treat and carry a reusable paper bag or a pillow case for your treats and a second bag for litter. After the big night, host a costume swap party or donate costumes to a children's hospital for dress-up days. Happy Halloween!

Jeans giant Levi Strauss & Co. wants you to treat their clothes with the environment in mind. Working with Goodwill stores, Levi Strauss will sew tags into all of its clothing instructing buyers to donate the items when they're no longer needed, Green Inc. notes. The tags will also encourage customers to wash their clothes in cold water and dry them on a clothesline when possible to save energy. Clothing makes up a significant portion of the 23.8 billion pounds of textiles in U.S. landfills each year.

More on clotheslines: There is no longer a U.S. manufacturer of wooden clothespins; we import them from China and sell them as novelty products. Eighty percent of U.S. households have a tumble dryer and millions more go to the laundromat. Dryers account for 3 percent of household power, not including laundromats, hospitals, colleges and so on. The Project Laundry List organization figures we could save 10 percent on energy costs if we did the laundry the old green way -- cold water, line dry, no bleaching or ironing. Maybe Project Laundry List can team up with Levi Strauss and Goodwill.

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

San Francisco may install dozens of wind turbines to help the city achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Wind turbines could be built in Golden Gate Park, on Twin Peaks, the Civic Center, Ocean Beach and other locations to help educate residents about the renewable energy source. A city wind power task force recommends developing a wind map to indentify the best sites. Other big cities also are eyeing wind programs. Boston has turbines at Logan Airport and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has talked about installing them on skyscrapers.

A partnership between the California Department of Education and PG&E has selected Berkeley High School to establish a New Energy Academy within the school to help prepare students for the growing field of green energy. The Academy will include math, science, technology and engineering in addition to other subjects. The new program will also be offered at Edison High School in Fresno, Foothill High School in Sacramento, Independence  High School in Bakersfield and Venture Academy in Stockton. The utility industry also could benefit from the program. Forty percent of PG&E's 20,000 employees are eligible to retire within the next five years, and it wants to make sure it will be able to replace those workers.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a real bear on energy conservation at home. "I have major fights with my kids," he said in a recent talk. Recalling his experience growing up in Austria after World War II, he said everyone was careful to save electricity and water. His children, however, like to take 15-minute showers. So he warned if they showered beyond five minutes, they will be grounded. His final penalty: if they sneak past the deadline, the governor promises to install a device which only allows you to shower for five minutes and then it turns off automatically. Listen to Dad!

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

A solar installer company and the Dutch bank Rabobank are jointly building battery charging stations on Highway 101 between San Francisco and Los Angeles for Tesla Motors' electric roadsters. The $109,000 sports car has a range of 250 miles. Five charging stations set up by SolarCity will be at Rabobank branches in Salinas, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and Goleta. The bank will pick up the tab for the electricity, about $4 for a full charge.

Update on the bag wars: The San Jose City Council votes to outlaw most plastic and paper shopping bags and calls on other cities in Silicon Valley to support the ban. The ordinance, which would take effect in 2011, would prohibit stores from giving out free plastic bags but would allow paper bags with at least 40 percent recycled materials, but only for a fee. Meanwhile, Ireland, the first nation to tax plastic bags, plans to double the charge to 44 euro cents (59 U.S. cents) per bag to reinforce the deterrent.

The California Energy Commission proposes the nation's first energy efficiency standards for televisions, effective in 2011 with tougher standards to follow in 2013. The rules would save about $8.1 billion on Californians' electricity bills over 10 years, or $30 a year per household. The CEC is concerned about the growing demand for electricity-guzzling, big-screen sets. TVs account for 10 percent of the state's residential power use.

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

Engineering and construction giant Bechtel Corp. is moving into the solar energy business, joining with BrightSource Energy to build a 440-megawatt project to supply electricity to PG&E and Southern California Edison. Bechtel Enterprises will take an equity stake in the Ivanpah Solar Electricity Generating System and handle engineering, procurement and construction. The project is expected to get underway in 2010.

Search engine giant Google plans to develop a mirror technology to lower the cost of building solar thermal power plants. The company aims to cut the cost of making heliostats, the fields of mirrors that track the sun, by a least a factor of two, "ideally a factor of three or four," says Bill Weihl, green energy czar at Google. The company also is working on running gas turbines on solar energy rather than natural gas to reduce the cost of electricity.

The first "Global Cleantech 100" list of private clean technology companies "regarded as having the potential and likelihood to achieve high growth and high market impact" arrived this week, with the U.S. topping the list with 55, followed by the U.K. with 13 and Germany 10. The list was organized by San Francisco-based Cleantech Group LLC and Britain's Guardian newspaper and represented "the collective opinion of hundreds of leading experts from cleantech innovation and venture capital companies." Northern California companies included BrightSource Energy, Imara Corp. Silver Springs Networks, Serious Materials and Tesla Motors.