Solar Energy ‘Zones’ Mapped Out in the Western U.S.-

The Obama Administration recently announced its new ‘roadmap’ for large-scale solar projects, opening 285,000 acres of desert in the western United States and 20 million acres of the Mojave for solar development. The solar ‘map’ will distinguish the inadequate areas unfit for large projects and establish the better spots which have already passed environmental specifications and thus will guarantee a faster permitting process. Altogether, there are 17 solar energy ‘zones’ mapped out in six western states that were determined to be accessible since their environmental surroundings were not in jeopardy and no cultural sites were located on or around the areas. Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industry Association, comments on the administration’s policy, “While we are still reviewing all of the details in this proposal, there are some significant areas of concern, siting flexibility and access to transmission are key to the financing and development of utility-scale solar power plants. Both aspects must be reflected in the final” project.

Energy Secretary Chu Approves Loan Guarantee to Record Hill Wind Project

U.S. Energy Secretary Chu has announced the Department of Energy’s $102 million loan guarantee to Record Hill Wind, LLC has been approved. The loan, to be given in combination with an investment by the Yale University Endowment, will support the Record Hill wind project – a 50.6 megawatt wind power plant near the town of Roxbury, Maine. The new project will not only supply green energy to thousands of residents but will fund 200 construction jobs. “This innovative project creates jobs in Maine while boosting domestic wind generation in order to achieve the Administration’s goal of doubling clean energy produced in America by 2035,” said Secretary Chu. “Clean energy is a major driver of American competitiveness, and investments like these are essential to secure our position as global leader.” The Record Hill project will use 22 turbines and new transmission lines to connect with the local power utility. Innovative Turbine Load Control (TLC) technology will be used to install the turbines, which involves a system that will reduce wear on the turbines, preserve the lifetime of turbine components, as well as reduce operation and management costs.

Secretary Chu Announces Landmark Investment to Develop Advanced Vehicles-

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced more than $170 million to fund the development and deployment of advanced vehicle technologies. The cash will aid 40 projects in 15 states and will work to enhance fuel efficiency in next gen vehicles. Projects include better fuels and lubricants, longer-lasting and cheaper EV batteries and components, more efficient engine technologies, lighter weight materials, and more. President Obama announced fuel efficiency standards boost for light cars and trucks, as well as a new standard for work trucks, buses and other heavy duty vehicles. The administration promises that the new standards will save American businesses who own and operate these commercial vehicles roughly $50 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of the program. “The Department of Energy is investing in new advanced technologies that will significantly improve vehicle fuel economy, save consumers money, and create skilled jobs for Americans,” said Secretary Chu. “Investments in the next generation of autos will strengthen our economy and lead to a more fuel-efficient, clean energy future.”

Ontario Makes Seed Money Available to Develop EV Charging Infrastructure-

In an effort to spur EV development, Ontario, Canada has announced $80 million in funding for companies who will work to advance recharging technology and expand facilities around the area. The seed money aims to ensure that charging stations will be readily available to consumers in order to get more EVs on the road. The province currently offers car buyers incentives to choose electric cars, including up to $8,500 and “green license plates” which allow drivers to use the network of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. “We’re taking the next step to ensure car-charging stations are in the right place to power the next generation of vehicles. Just as we worked hard to become North America’s number one producer of cars, we’re working hard to become number one in North America when it comes to clean energy. Today’s announcement takes us one step closer to our vision,” said Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario. The announcement is part of the Ontario government’s development plan, in which it will invest more than $35 billion into the province’s infrastructure over the next three years. In similar news, large scale auto manufacturer Toyota has recently announced it will begin manufacturing its newest RAV4 EV in Woodstock, Ontario.

New Initiative Will Save Roughly 20,000 Trees in One Year-

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Office Depot now offers its delivery customers the choice between paper bags or cardboard boxes when shipping their orders – a move that the company hopes will prevent millions of pounds of paper waste. Its GreenerOffice Delivery Service program was a huge hit – with 90 percent of eligible customers voluntarily opting in. The company says it will be able to replace around 4.5 million pounds of cardboard boxes with approximately 0.9 million pounds of paper in the first 12 months of the program based on the test rates – saving roughly 20,000 trees! The switch from boxes to bags will also reduce the company’s use of plastic air pillows, a petroleum intensive and hard-to-recycle filler. To boot, the bags used will contain 40 percent post consumer recycled materials. “Office Depot’s material footprint from cardboard use is significant,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, director of environmental strategy for Office Depot. “This program, championed very effectively by our Supply Chain team, delivers a triple win: our customers win because the paper bags are more convenient to open and recycle; Office Depot wins because we continue to enhance our environmental leadership; and the ecosystem benefits because fewer materials are needed, and less waste ends up in our landfills.”

Collaboration Will Give a Boost to EV Charging Infrastructure-

GE and Urban Green Energy (UGE) have announced its newest collaboration called the Sanya Skypump, an electric vehicle charging station that combines both GE’s WattStation and UGE’s Sanya hybrid wind/solar streetlamp technology. The station will provide consumers with green power to charge their EVs which will help to sustain America’s sometimes unreliable electricity grid. EVs are rapidly growing in popularity, seeing that they are an excellent alternative to gas guzzling, high maintenance automobiles. However the main problem still, and the reason that most people in America still don’t own one as of yet, is due to the lack of a sufficient charging infrastructure. “Our collaborative efforts with GE Energy have resulted in the breakthrough Sanya Skypump, which is powered by the energy available in both the wind and the sun,” said Poul Heilmann, head of business development at UGE. “Consumers’ concerns for a more environmentally friendly form of transportation include the source of power for the electric car. The Skypump uses a UGE-4K wind turbine along with solar panels to offset a significant amount of the usage of a commercial charging site,” he continued. “We are thrilled to be partnering with GE Energy in bringing innovative and elegant design to enhance the adoption of renewable energy technology while minimizing the impact on the environment.” Beginning this fall, UCE will begin installing first Skypump stations in New York, Beijing, and Barcelona while the global installations will begin in early 2012. “Building upon the success of the GE WattStation™, GE continuously is seeking evolutionary EV solutions,” said Michael Mahan, product general manager at GE Energy Industrial Solutions. “By marrying the elegant design of UGE’s Sanya Streetlamp with the GE WattStation™, we have enabled the further adoption of electric vehicles by making access to renewable power easier.”

An artist’s rendition of the Sanya Skypump collab:

New Technology Looks Past the Grid for EV Charging-

Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. have developed a new EV charging station powered solely by the sun. The charging station is powered by 96, 175W solar PV modules from Mitsubishi Electric and supports CHAdeMO-compatible EVs like the soon-to-drop Mitsubishi i. Its capable of charging up to four cars at once, and boasts three different types of chargers (Level 1, 110v; Level 2, 220v; and Level 3 quick charge). “This project will build awareness of solar power’s versatility and efficiency,” said Katsuya Takamiya, president and chief executive officer, Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA. “As electric vehicles’ popularity grows, we expect to see more charging stations at large employers, automobile dealerships, shopping centers and schools, where cars can charge while people work, shop or study.” MMNA President Yoichi Yokozawa said, “We hope that our dealers, learning institutions, and municipalities will look to this technology with a keen eye towards the future, and bear in mind that the gradual acceptance of the pure-EV transportation will be aided by increasing the number of facilities like this one.”

Exploring the Different Options for EV Owners with Today’s Seemingly Weak Infrastructure-

With EVs increasing in popularity thanks to steadily rising gas prices, businesses are flocking to cash in on the budding electric revolution. While many gas stations are installing Level 3 (440V) express charge stations to allow consumers a quick “stop and go” experience, Level 2 (240V) stations seem to be more common in shopping malls and public centers since people tend to spend more time parked in one location. SAE J1772-compatible Level 2 charging stations are the most widely used, seeing that the technology serves a wide variety of EV/plug-in hybrid models available today – like the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, and Tesla Roadster, to name a few. Level 3 stations only take about 30 minutes to reach a full charge, while Level 2 takes up to roughly 8 hours if the battery is fully drained.

For longer trips along routes where the EV charging infrastructure has not yet been established, there are companies like U.S.-based Better Place that offer consumers the option of exchanging their old battery out for a new, fully-charged one. For those still worried that purchasing an electric car isn’t feasible with today’s insufficient charging options, rest assured that the U.S. government is working to handle that by offering Recovery Act funds to companies looking to develop such an infrastructure. ECOtality, for one, has been given over $230 million toward the installation of their Blink Level 2 stations in 16 cities throughout the U.S. AeroVironment is yet another company currently in the works with Oregon’s Department of Transportation (DOT) to install an undisclosed amount of Level 3 chargers between the California/Oregon state border and the Willamette Valley off the I-5 freeway. Ultimately, AeroVironment will develop charging stations along the busiest areas of the I-5 corridor running from San Diego to Northern Washington. The way things are progressing (despite obvious opposition), it seems like only a matter of time until EVs become the standard mode of transportation in America.

Project Will Secure EV Quick Charging Stations for I-5 Travelers in Southern Oregon-

In an effort to boost charging infrastructure for electric vehicles on the West Coast, the Oregon Department of Transportation has partnered with AeroVironment to install a numerous (yet undisclosed) amount of 480-volt Level 3 chargers between the California/Oregon state border and the Willamette Valley. “Fast charging stations along high-traffic transportation corridors will help make driving electric vehicles between communities a viable option for Oregonians,” Oregon Department of Transportation Director Art James said in a statement. The project aims to eventually reach across the entire I-5 corridor with EV chargers from Southern California to Northern Washington. AeroVironment has already collaborated with major players in the EV industry, such as NRG Energy for its eVgo Network, Nissan for its LEAF debut in the U.S., BMW for its ActiveE project and General Motors for the 1980′s EV1 project. CNET reports that drivers should look out for charging stations in So. Oregon as soon as fall 2011. The project is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Department of Energy Collaborates with Industry Experts to Accelerate Advanced Green Technologies-

Steven Chu of the Department of Energy has announced a collaboration with industry experts to speed up the development of technologically advanced green vehicles, dubbed U.S. DRIVE. Formerly called the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, U.S. DRIVE – Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability – will bring leading tech experts from the DOE, the national laboratories, and industry partners together to develop strategic goals and evaluate a wide variety of advanced vehicle and energy infrastructure technologies. “Government-industry partnerships like U.S. DRIVE can quicken the pace at which affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles reach and succeed in the commercial market,” said U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “By bringing together the best and brightest in government and the automobile, electric utility, and fuels industries, we can develop promising, innovative technologies that move rapidly from the lab into cars on the road, along with the infrastructure to support them.”

The full list of U.S. DRIVE partners include:

·Electric utility industry – DTE Energy, Southern California Edison, and the Electric Power Research Institute

U.S. DRIVE partners promise to collaborate on an in-depth analysis of advanced automotive and energy infrastructure technologies, including but not limited to battery and electric drive components, fuel cells, hydrogen technologies, advanced combustion engines and more efficient materials. A DOE press release states, “Not only will the efforts under the partnership contribute to reducing our nation’s dependence on oil, they will also lower carbon pollution and help to secure U.S. leadership globally in the development of innovative, clean energy technologies for the transportation sector.” While I’m not entirely sure as to what role big oil and gas companies could possibly play in an endeavor toward conserving resources, it will be interesting to see how this pans out.