ART CENTER SUMMIT 2009, 2ND SESSSION (NEW ENERGY ON THE GRID & IN PERSONAL TRANSPORT)

Later in the morning, New Energy declared its exciting presence.

Suzanne Hunt, President of Hunt Green LLC, described BioenergyWiki, a just-about-to debut user-generated website on biofuels and land use, and a series of other online initiatives she hopes will change the way land is used and biofuels are developed.

Paul Gipe, scientist/engineer/New Energy pioneer/founder, Wind-Works.org presented A Challenge Worthy Of North America , a wonderful overview of what’s happening in New Energy. Gipe’s presentation, upbeat and inspiring, was no doubt welcome to the youthful audience battered by preceding speakers’ descriptions of the daunting challenges before them.

click to enlarge

Gipe did not belittle the size of the problems. He talked about global climate change, crumbling infrastructure, an inadequate grid and waning fossil fuel supplies. Then he ran off a serious of statistics on energy demand and New Energy capacities, concluding that Al Gore was wrong when he said the U.S. could move to 100% New Energy sources in 10 years. It would take, Gipe smiled, 12 years.

Gipe declared that the building of New Energy was a big task but “North Americans are capable of great undertakings…Who would have thought, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, that a black man would be President of the United States? …Who would’ve thought just 10 years ago that we’d be in a conference hall like this and not one person would be smoking? ... We are capable of great national undertakings…”

Gipe was especially animated as he concluded his talk by describing at length what he calls Advanced Renewable Tariffs, more widely known as Feed-in Tariffs (FiT). He proudly described how the call for FiTs is a growing trend, a movement he had a big part in starting when he helped push his home province of Ontario to adopt North America’s first FiT just a few years ago. (See EVERYBODY LOVES NEW ENERGY) Because it is the New Energy incentive that most directly rewards system installers, Gipe sees the FiT as the policy measure that will lead New Energy to dominance in the power generation field.

click to enlarge

The morning concluded with a presentation by Bill Wylam, President, Indy Power Systems. Wylam, the man who created the battery for the infamous and ill-fated EV1 (the star of Who Killed The Electric Car?), reviewed the history of the electric vehicle. He described the change from nickel metal hydride batteries to lithium ion batteries, the change that is facilitating the emergency of battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

click to enlarge

Wylam was more low key than Gipe, but no less affirmative in his belief that a change is coming, this one not in energy but in personal transport.

Bill Wylam talks about the EV1. From electriccar2 via YouTube.

The Art Center Summit 2009: Expanding the Vision of Sustainable Mobility
February 17, 2009 (Art Center College of Design)

WHO
Suzanne Hunt, President, Hunt Green LLC; Paul Gipe, scientist/engineer/New Energy pioneer/founder, Wind-Works.org; Bill Wylam, President, International Energy

WHAT
The Art Center Summit 2009: Expanding the Vision of Sustainable Mobility. Presentations in the 2nd session of the 1st morning promised the U.S. has the capacity to meet its power generation needs with New Energy and will develop a battery powered personal transportation technology to replace its liquid fuel-dependent system.

click to enlarge

WHEN
Second morning session: March 17, 2009

Al Gore and Paul Gipe agree - it is within our reach. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
Pasadena Convention Center, Green Street, Pasadena, CA 911 (626-

WHY
- Gipe’s calculations suggest it would take 2,500,000 megawatts from wind to meet the power generation and passenger vehicle needs of North America, 120 times today’s capacity. Based on the existing manufacturing capacity of heavy truck manufacturing, figuring a heavy truck and a wind turbine to be approximately the same manufacturing task, it could be done in 12 years.
- Gipe also asserted North America can cut its energy consumption 50% with energy efficiencies, bringing an entirely New Energy economy even closer.
- Wylam described how electric vehicles have been around since the beginning.
- He talked about the successes and failings of the 1990s EV1.
- He concluded by saying BEVs will happen and the newest technologies, including lithium ion batteries and lightweight materials will do things not done before in personal transportation.

click to enlarge

QUOTES
- Gipe: “We’re overly dependent on liquid fuels for transportation.”
- Gipe: “It’s exciting to see the growth in renewable energy here in North America but I’m here to tell you it’s nowhere near the meet the needs we have hear in the United States. Complacency is not a policy and inaction in no longer an option.”
- Gipe: “We can cut our energy consumption by 50%…to that of a typical Northern European with the same standard of living..[but the only way we’re going to do it is with new policies…”
- Gipe: “Advanced Renewable Tariffs can deliver more renewable generation capacity more quickly and more importantly more equitably than any other policy mechanism because it gains the participation of people like you, people like your parents, people like your community, because everybody can participate…because by using these feed-in tariffs we can turn every farm, home and business into new entrepreneurs producing renewable electricity for sale to the grid as we move from a nation of consumers to a nation of producers. This is an idea whose time has come…”
- Wylam: “[battey powered personal transportation] will happen…37% [of 12-to-17-year old kids] don’t want a gas-powered car [in 10 years]…Whether or not it deals with the climate situation has a lot to do with how they get their electricity. In any case, it will replace imported oil. Why is that important? Two of the reasons why: The U.S.S. Cole and the World Trade Center.”
- Wylam: “Even though private investment is down…People still consider this a sweet spot, renewable energy, clean energy, hybrid vehicles, battery technology…A lot of funds that don’t want to invest in anything else still seem to want to focus on this technology…”