Category: Energy

Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in the United States, an occasion that is now observed by just about every country on the planet. Within the past four decades, we have witnessed the price of crude oil careen from about $3 a barrel in the early 1970s to almost $148 a barrel in the summer of 2008. Yeah, prices have fallen since then. But the experience of paying more than $4 for each gallon of gasoline had a widespread and galvanizing effect on all of us. We all know which way this trend is headed, regardless of political wrangling over the science underlying projections of global warming.

That’s why I am excited to announce our next Xconomy event in San Diego, an afternoon forum on “smart energy” set for Tuesday, June 8. What is smart energy? It begins, in the broadest and most pragmatic sense, with the realization that we can be smarter—we must be smarter—in the way we use energy. For us at Xconomy, smart energy is especially about technology innovation, and we have pulled together a group of energy visionaries, industry veterans, startup CEOs, and other experts to help explain the innovations that are already underway—and also will be needed—in every sector of our energy economy.

Along with incisive keynote talks and case studies, we have organized a discussion focused on the future power grid. That will include Terry Mohn, the chief innovation officer at Balance Energy, a micro grid energy business started in San Diego by the British aerospace contractor BAE Systems; Jan Kleissl, assistant professor of environmental engineering at UCSD; and Michael Zeller, the CEO and co-founder of San Diego-based Zementis, a startup developing software analytics for the grid. Brian Kremer, the cleantech and energy analyst at Roth Capital Partners, will moderate.

The stage for this afternoon session is the 200-seat auditorium in Atkinson Hall, home of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, or Calit2, where we held our successful forum on biotech innovation in December. Calit2, which is an event co-sponsor, also has graciously lent us its founding director, Internet pioneer (and San Diego Xconomist) Larry Smarr, to serve as a keynote speaker. Among other things, Smarr is a co-principal investigator of the National Science Foundation’s GreenLight project, which is intended to develop new green energy strategies for an IT industry that is estimated to consume as much energy as the airline industry.

As it turns out, many of the technological advances that are needed to make us smarter about using energy—including new capabilities in our IT infrastructure, sensors, wireless communications, data warehousing, and software analytics—represent new market opportunities for many of San Diego’s renowned innovation clusters.

So, to round out the agenda, we have scheduled case study presentations about …Next Page »

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Earth Week is upon us, and NASA has prepared a very special gift for the blue planet: a planetary data-crunching tool that uses a 56,832-core, 128-screen supercomputer for helping scientists work together toward better climate change research. More »

Wade Roush wrote:

Most Xconomy events last only an afternoon or an evening. Barely enough time, in other words, to scratch the surface of all the amazing work technology entrepreneurs are doing around New England, in areas as varied as cloud computing, health IT, mobile commerce, smart grid technology, and the future of drug development. But our flagship annual conference, the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (XSITE), is different: it’s a chance to gather for a full day with leading innovators and investors from New England and around the country and hear all the details on what they’re doing to turn ideas into great businesses.

We’re pleased to announce that registration is open for this year’s edition of XSITE, which will be held for the first time at Babson College in Babson Park, MA (that’s next door to Wellesley, for those of you not up to speed on your suburban geography). Neighboring Olin College joins Babson as co-host of the event, and we couldn’t ask for a more appropriate venue, given the focus at Babson and Olin on entrepreneurship and engineering that meets real social and economic needs.

Babson president Leonard Schlesinger, a nationally celebrated leader in the field of entrepreneurship, will be on hand to help us kick off the event, and we’ll also hear from keynote speakers like Peter Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, who knows a lot about igniting entrepreneurship and innovation. Other featured speakers will include Rod Brooks, whose startup Heartland Robotics is reimagining the way factory workers do their jobs; Alkermes chairman and CEO Richard Pops, a national leader in biotechnology; and Bob Metcalfe, the Ethernet inventor who has made a mission of promoting “enertech” or the idea of clean, super-abundant next-generation energy technologies. We’ve posted the whole list of confirmed speakers, who already number almost 30, over at the XSITE registration page, where you can buy a ticket to XSITE at our “super saver” rate until April 29.

The theme for XSITE 2009, last June, was “The Recovery Starts Here.” We planned all of our keynote talks and panel discussions around creative ideas from New England tech and life sciences companies for lifting the country out of recession. The theme this year, “Building the Next Economy,” grows directly out of the 2009 conference—but with a crucial difference.

There’s no question now that economic recovery is underway, though it’s been slow to show up in some parts of the country, like Xconomy’s newest home city, Detroit (from whence we’ll have at least one speaker). What’s important now, as we head into this century’s second decade, is the choices we make about the kind of economy we really want. Will it be based on rusty, outdated, and wasteful approaches to energy generation, transportation, healthcare, communications, and consumer-goods manufacturing? Or will it be built around new ideas like using advanced 3D design and prototyping technologies to streamline product development, putting IT and modern communications technologies to work remove the excess costs from patient care, and managing the electric grid and our homes and offices to extract hidden efficiencies?

Obviously, we have a bias here—because we believe, at bottom, that technological progress is what drives exponential growth (that’s where the X in Xconomy comes from, after all) and that innovation is the straightest way out of the economic doldrums and toward a solid, sustainable, rewarding economy.

In addition to our plenary sessions, we’re expanding the conference this year to include four breakout tracks. Three will be the same as last year: Life Sciences, Energy, and Information Technology. The new track will be focused, like our just-announced new channel, on Health IT.

And, like last year, we’ll close out the formal sessions with a raucous XSITE Xpo, a rapid-fire series of presentations by 12 startups in life sciences, energy, and infotech with the audience voting on their favorites. An evening networking party will follow, naturally.

We’ll provide a lot more details about the conference agenda over the coming weeks…but we hope you will sign up early for what’s sure to be 2010’s most XSITE-ing celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

From Green Right Now Reports

A poll comissioned by the American Wind Energy Association shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans, 89 percent, support the development of more wind power.

A majority of U.S. citizens also want a strong Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) that would set targets and deadlines for getting more of our energy from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal power production.

The poll querying 600 likely voters was conducted in late March by two firms, Bennet, Petts & Normington and Public Opinion Strategies.

“Americans understand that an RES will mean new manufacturing jobs, less dependence on imported energy, and more pure, clean, affordable energy for our country,” said AWEA CEO Denise Bode.

The specific findings:

• 89 percent of American voters — including 84 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Independents and 93 percent of Democrats polled — believe increasing the amount of energy the nation gets from wind is a good idea.
• 82 percent of Americans believe the nation’s economy would be stronger or remain the same if we used more renewable energy sources like wind.
• 77 percent support a national Renewable Electricity Standard.  This support extends across party lines and includes 65% of Republicans, 69% of Independents, 92% of Democrats.
• 56 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing on renewable energy and 67 percent believe Congress is not doing enough to increase renewable energy sources such as wind.

Ten new customer sites across North Carolina will have solar panels installed on their building or grounds as part of Duke Energy’s distributed solar generation program, the company announced today. The Environmental Protection Agency’s facility in Durham is among the sites that will have solar equipment added.

Duke launched the program in October 2009, when roof space was leased from four large manufacturing and commercial facilities for placement of solar panels. The company said the 10 new sites will generate approximately 4.1 megawatts of emission-free direct current electricity by 2011, enough to power approximately 525 average-sized homes. The new locations are:

• Lincoln Charter School, Denver, N.C.
• Gaston County Schools, Lowell, N.C.
• Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, N.C.
• Maple View Farm, Hillsborough,  N.C.
• City of Charlotte Department of Transportation Facility, Charlotte, N.C.
• Liberty Hardware/Johnson Development, Winston Salem, N.C.
• Childress Klein Properties, Charlotte, N.C.
• Carrier Centers, LLC, Charlotte, N.C.
• Siemens, Winston Salem, N.C.
• Daimler Trucks North America, Cleveland, N.C.

When the distributed solar generation program is complete, Duke Energy will have invested approximately $50 million to construct and own a total of 10 megawatts of solar energy capacity in the state, capable of providing electricity to approximately 1,300 homes.

“Partnering with sites visible to our customers helps build knowledge and understanding of solar energy,” Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy Carolinas, said in a statement. “This innovative program brings more solar energy to our customers, and helps us meet the state’s renewable energy portfolio standard in a way that balances costs to customers.”

Duke said the sites were selected based on the organization’s interest in solar energy, ready access to the electrical grid and solar potential, in addition to other essential lease agreement criteria. Installations are under way on a few of the sites, and construction is expected to be complete by fall 2010.

North Carolina’s renewable energy standard requires each public electric utility to meet at least 12.5 percent of its North Carolina retail customers’ electricity needs through new renewable energy sources or energy efficiency measures by 2021.

Our guest blogger today is Erin Pierce, who works for the Communications office at Department of Energy.

One thing I’ve learned since my start at the Department of Energy (DOE) is how important it is for individuals to get involved in protecting the environment. Innovative technologies are being developed—from alternative fuel sources that cut greenhouse gasses to wind turbines that power every home in Milford, Utah.

All of these technological advances are key to ensuring a sustainable future. But we can’t look forward to clean, toxic-free neighborhoods without the help of communities across America.

President Obama says, “As we continue to tackle our environmental challenges, it’s clear that change won’t come from Washington alone. It will come from Americans across the country who takes steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that change happen."

So what can you do to help?

Enter Earth Day. April 22, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary. It’s a day to celebrate, volunteer and learn how we can do our part to conserve energy.

Take action in your home! Use energy-efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL’s), unplug electronics not in use and invest in ENERGY STAR® Appliances. You’ll conserve energy and save money at the same time.

Students at the University of Central Florida made changes like these in their dorms and saved a whopping $27,000.

Visit the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Earth Day website for energy saving tips. Also visit our interactive Earth Day animation, where you can learn ways to save at home, how energy is being used efficiently in communities and how different energy sources are used across the country.

You can find Earth Day activities in your state on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Earth Day website. Visit Serve.gov for a listing of year-round volunteer activities focused on the environment.

And remember to Make Every Day, Earth Day!

Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge

One of our readers who has been following the 30-Day Challenge, recently wrote to me about her healthy eating transformation. Cayra’s email was so inspiring, I felt I had to share it with you here. But first, if you’ve missed our other posts on the … Read more

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This coming weekend, my fellow students and I will be on the National Mall in Washington, DC to exhibit our award-winning P3 (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) project—developing white, reflective roof coatings.

Our research aims to develop new materials for building surfaces that have low solar gain—surfaces that do not absorb much of the sun’s energy. The ultimate goal is to understand how to develop common building materials that exhibit low solar gain characteristics.

The roof coatings we’ve been developing are designed to reflect visible and infrared radiation, cutting down on heat gain, which in turn would cut energy costs and mitigate the “heat island effect” that makes urban areas significantly hotter than nearby rural areas.

Heat islands pose an increasing risk to the environment and contribute to higher energy costs in urban centers, especially during peak demand times.

It is especially important that city planners and municipalities understand how the balance between built surfaces and vegetation can achieve a lower heat “footprint.” Then, they can use zoning laws, which have the power to affect building practices across the country, to prevent the heat island effect. I’d like to see zoning laws updated to account for energy and environmental factors—such as heat islands—rather than for form and appearance. My team’s research could help inform such innovative zoning laws.

Our work with roof coatings and the Drexel Smart House aims to provide information and potential strategies for mitigating heat islands through alternative roofing systems such as cool roofs and green roofs,  (which have the added benefit of reducing storm water runoff, too).

About the author: Eric Eisele is a graduate student studying Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University, and is a member of a P3 Phase II research team developing cool roof coatings. Eric and his team will be at the National Sustainable Design Expo and P3 Award Competition in Washington, DC on April 24-25.

Editors Note: Come see this and other innovative designs for a sustainable future at the 6th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall, April 24 -25.
For more information and directions

Wade Roush wrote:

Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates visited MIT today as part of his College Tour, a three-day trip to universities across the United States. In his talk, Gates emphasized the importance of getting more bright young people to innovate in critical areas such as global health, education, and energy—all areas where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is already investing or considering investing.

I’m going to post a writeup about the talk later this afternoon, but for now, here’s a podcast recording of Gates’s talk, for anyone who wasn’t able to get to MIT (or squeeze into Kresge Auditorium) for the event.

Please try to ignore the typing sounds in the recording—that’s me taking notes.

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Given that the prospects for passage of the climate legislation being drafted by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) rest on the shoulders of a few moderate Republican senators, this news from CQ (subs. req’d) isn’t good for environmental advocates:

Two moderate Republicans long courted by authors of a Senate climate change bill have disengaged from talks ahead of next week’s unveiling of the legislation and are working on a narrower, competing bill.

Republicans George V. Voinovich of Ohio and Richard G. Lugar of Indiana are developing an energy-only bill that would mandate new renewable and nuclear power production without imposing cuts on carbon emissions. […]

Voinovich has long been considered a prime target of their appeal to moderate Republicans. Unlike some Senate Republicans, Voinovich is not a skeptic about man-made global warming, which he has called “one of the most serious problems of our time.” In addition, his impending retirement from Congress at the end of the current session makes him immune from election year political pressure.

But in an interview, Voinovich said he views a slimmed-down and more pragmatic energy-only bill as the only chance for addressing climate change this year.

“I’d like to get something done,” he said. “But I’m not sure it would meet the standards of the environmental groups or what Sen. Kerry would like to get done. I’d like to do the doable — move it down the field while I can.”

China is clearly taking a lead on solar and wind energy. However, in the smaller but growing field of marine energy, it has been somewhat invisible. That is changing now.

Israeli marine renewables firm SDE Energy has announced that it will be completing construction of a 1MW marine power plant in China by the end of April. But there is much more in the pipeline.

(more…)

Phillip Sharp wrote:

Developing the economy of Detroit and surrounding areas is going to take some significant time. Thus, some entrepreneurs and innovators need to take the long view by engaging with the research universities, institutions and medical centers to develop people and new innovations for the future.

This would include working with leaders of these institutions to encourage public, local, state, and federal resources. It would also involve including promising leaders from these organizations in new startups and established businesses.

Since many of the major challenges of the future such as sustainable energy, food, environment, and health care at a sustainable cost are related to life sciences, this field of science should not be overlooked for investment and development. The convergence of life sciences with engineering, physical sciences, and IT is an emerging opportunity that will help generate many exciting future jobs.

[Editors note: To help launch Xconomy Detroit, we’ve queried our network of Xconomists and other innovation leaders around the country for their list of the most important things that entrepreneurs and innovators in Michigan can do to reinvigorate their regional economy.]

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

French startup McPhy Energy may be making a fortune soon due to a hydrogen storage system it has just developed that could solve problems posed by the intermittent nature of renewable energy.

(more…)

From Green Right Now Reports

The Princess Kathleen ran aground at Lena Point, Sept. 7, 1952. Photo: Alaska State Library – Historical Collections

A sunken passenger ship that wrecked in Alaska nearly six decades ago is becoming a novel source for fuel oil – albeit a high-maintenance one.

The Princess Kathleen ran aground on Point Lena, north of Juneau, on Sept. 7, 1952 en route from Juneau to Skagway, Alaska. Now, a plan to vacuum oil trapped within the vessel could salvage 34,000 gallons or more. The removal process began April 17.

Already, divers have estimated the presence of between 14,000 and 34,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil in 10 tanks. Four more tanks will be assessed after enough silt is removed to allow access. The vessel is set at an angle on its port side, its depth ranging from 52 feet at the bow to 134 feet at the stern.

Since the ship sank, occasional fuel spills and oil sheens have plagued the nearby area. Officials with the Unified Command comprised of the Coast Guard and State of Alaska decided to explore ways of recapturing the rest of the oil before the leaks worsened or the ship broke up completely.

Global Diving & Salvage, Inc., will attempt to remove the oil using a method called “hot-tapping.” The thick, heavy bunker oil will be warmed by a hot water heat exchanger, allowing the oil to be suctioned out through a hose and pumped to a barge above. The Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization will have oil recovery vessels on hand during the fuel recovery operations.

In addition to the oil in the starboard and port tanks, Global estimates that between 1,500 and 3,000 gallons is trapped within the structure of the vessel. Divers have installed temporary patches over exposed portholes to keep this oil from escaping and will use suction wands to remove the oil.

“It’s 36 percent more efficient to grow grain for food than for fuel,” said the lead author of a paper that looked at 17 years worth of data to help settle the food versus fuel debate.

“The ideal is to grow corn for food,” said Ilya Gelfand , a Michigan State University postdoctoral researcher, “then leave the leftover stalks and leaves on the field for soil conservation and produce cellulosic ethanol with the other half.”

“It comes down to what’s the most efficient use of the land,” said Phil Robertson, University Distinguished Professor of crop and soil sciences and one of the paper’s authors. “Given finite land resources, will it be more efficient to use productive farmland for food or fuel? One compromise would be to use productive farmland for both — to use the grain for food and the other parts of the plant for fuel where possible. Another would be to reserve productive farmland for food and to grow biofuel grasses — cellulosic biomass — on less productive land.” (more…)