Alt-E: The Valley of Death
12/02/08 14:43
We admit Alternative Energy isn’t our usual topic - however it is a crucial component of the energy equation. Alt-E companies from startups to General Electric wind turbines have three new challenges which is not good news unless you’re a fossil fuel company.
1. Project Finance has largely dried up. The construction & operating loans that builds wind farms, solar arrays or biofuel refineries that sell electricity (or biofuel) to electric utilities or fuel distributors are gone to the twin victims of credit-crunch, lower energy purchase prices and lower energy demand...Read On...
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Federal Loans For Tesla Motors?
12/01/08 11:49
The New York Times announced today that Tesla Motors, the pioneering Silicon Valley electric car company, wants a $400 million (1.6%) slice of the $25B federal government loan program for building efficient cars. We think the government has no choice...Read On...
Generational Efficiency Breakthroughs...
11/30/08 22:22
Big efficiency gains remain available in all kinds of technologies, but Volvo’s 30% fuel efficiency gain is remarkable. Volvo did this by “thinking different” at the system level and created many additional advantages including maneuverability, speed and quietness.
Volvo Penta’s new IPS (Inboard Power System) marine engines get an Efficiency Technology of the Year award - the story is remarkable.Read On...
Bullet Trains in America?
11/29/08 16:30
OK, we admit it - this is the coolest video we have seen in a long time. And it’s going to happen, thanks to California voters passing a $10B bond measure. The Environmental Impact Statement is complete and it’s supported by the Sierra Club.
Electric high-speed trains are five times more efficient than flying and three times better than driving. We think the timing and technology couldn’t be better...
Read On...
At Last: EU Ends The CFL Tariff...
11/28/08 14:51
The headline
news was the EU ban on incandescent bulb
sales beginning in
2010... The more important but unreported news was
the EU quietly letting its usurous
66% import tariff on Chinese-made
CFLs lapse...Read On...
"$80 to $100 Is A Fair Price For Oil..."
11/26/08 21:40
According to our
“friend” President Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela at today’s press
conference with Dmitry
Medvedev “President” of Russia: "Let's
look for a band between $80 and $100; we're thinking
about that," Chavez said Monday. "We think that
price would be a fair price for oil." Venezuela
& Russia are seeking OPEC production cuts...
Read On...
The Ten (Energy) Commandments
07/07/08 16:47
I’m
not the President, King, or a holy deity. But if I
were, here are my 10 Commandments of
Energy.
I’d love feedback - what SHOULD the energy 10
Commandments look like?1. Nations such as China, India, Mexico and Iran should stop government fuel subsidies that increase global oil usage up to 15%, drive up energy prices and hurt government financial stability. Read On...
Recycling Energy on a massive scale
05/23/08 12:11
Companies
like Recycled Energy
Development are leading a
“recycled energy”
revolution. Recycled energy
means turning waste heat from factories like steel
mills and oil refineries into electricity. Countries
like Denmark get over 50% of their electric power
this way, but we get only 8% of our electricity this
way...Read On...
$135 Oil: Over our own barrels...
05/22/08 09:39
We are in
favor of drilling for oil in our own backyard. Yes, you
heard right, “drill baby drill” is spot on.
California, and subsequently the U.S. banned offshore oil drilling in 1970 after a well blowout off Santa Barbara in 1969 created a major oil spill. Forty years later, offshore oil production is clean and safe in far more challenging waters like the North Sea off Norway and far offshore in Brasil. Read On...
California, and subsequently the U.S. banned offshore oil drilling in 1970 after a well blowout off Santa Barbara in 1969 created a major oil spill. Forty years later, offshore oil production is clean and safe in far more challenging waters like the North Sea off Norway and far offshore in Brasil. Read On...
Water, water, nowhere??
05/21/08 08:21
40% of the water we use in our homes goes down the sink, shower and washer drains as "grey water." With a little low-cost on-site treatment, grey water can be made crystal clear (Grade A) and usable to flush toilets, water gardens & vegetables and wash cars. Smart states like Arizona and now Los Angeles, see grey water as a source of water. Here's how...
Read On...