MORE NEWS, 5-13 (INNOVATIVE SOLAR MAKER IN NEW MEXICO; REDFORD FOR NEW ENERGY; CASH FOR CLUNKERS COMPROMISED)

INNOVATIVE SOLAR MAKER IN NEW MEXICO
Unique solar power factory dedicated in N.M.; Company building photovoltaic panels as well as tubes for solar farms
May 12, 2009 (AP via MSNBC)

"Schott Solar has formally dedicated its flagship U.S. manufacturing plant — the first in the world capable of producing both photovoltaic panels for homes and businesses and thermal receivers for large-scale solar power plants.

"The latter are for a growing industry segment: solar thermal farms that use huge parabolic mirrors to harness the sun. The receivers sit at the focal point of the mirrors. Fluid inside the receivers is heated and then flows to a heat exchanger, which creates steam. The steam spins a turbine, creating energy with no carbon emissions."

PV panels outside the new Schott facility. (click to enlarge)

"Company officials and state leaders see the plant as a model as the nation looks to expand renewable energy production and curb emissions from electricity generation…

"…As one of the company's largest operations in the U.S., the [the 200,000-square-foot plant on the city's southern edge] has hired more than 300 workers and plans to be operating at full capacity in the next two months…Schott has invested more than $100 million in the local economy with the construction of the plant and plans to quadruple its size and work force over the long term with additional investments of up to $400 million…"

The New Mexico sun is waiting wealth. (click to enlarge)

"Gov. Bill Richardson said the investment bodes well for New Mexico's efforts to attract other companies, particularly those involved in the advancement of renewable energy…[O]fficials said they are ecstatic about Schott's success given that other companies have been forced to postpone projects and lay off workers in recent months due to the economy. Schott planned and financed the new plant long before the economic downturn…

"…[G]uests toured the plant Friday as workers inspected materials and large robotic arms moved solar panels and receiver tubes made of specially coated glass and steel through the production process…House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, watched as workers prepared some of the solar panels for shipping at the end of the production line…saying the state's work to offer incentives to companies like Schott is beginning to pay off…"


REDFORD FOR NEW ENERGY
harnessing Nature’s Power
Robert Redford, May 11, 2009 (Salt Lake Tribune via Huffington Post)

"…Nature's power is so obvious that you have to wonder why we've mostly ignored it as a source of energy to run our homes and businesses, and to propel our cars and trucks…[I]f we did a little more to harness that power, we could begin to solve some of our most pressing environmental and economic challenges…reduce global warming pollution, protect public health with clean air and water, create jobs in Utah and ultimately bring down energy prices.

"We know that burning fossil fuels is destabilizing the atmosphere and acidifying the oceans. We know that our dependence on oil shackles us to dangerous foreign regimes and to the escalating prices they'll inevitably charge as demand outstrips supply. But we also know how to break our dependence and free ourselves from this destructive cycle…"

Utah is rich in sun. (click to enlarge)

"Dollar for dollar, investing in clean energy creates more jobs than investing in traditional energy sources like oil and gas. That really matters, especially when you consider that more than 30,000 Utah workers lost their jobs last year.

"We've got tens of thousands of windy acres here in Utah, sites for geothermal energy abound, and the southern part of the state has tremendous potential for solar power. We will have to carefully pick renewable energy sites that don't endanger critical habitat and wilderness quality land, but the opportunity is vast…"

Only Nevada has better geothermal resources than Utah. (click to enlarge)

"Right now Congress is working on a landmark clean energy jobs plan that would boost the amount of wind, solar and other clean energy our country produces. The American Clean Energy and Security Act will also make our vehicles, appliances and buildings more efficient, and update our antiquated electricity grid…

"It's true that the economic and environmental challenges we confront are serious. But Americans have never encountered a challenge of any kind that we couldn't overcome by working together and applying our ingenuity…The only missing ingredient is a spirit of innovation, cooperation and resolve amongst our political leaders…[O]ur leaders need to reconsider their allegiance to the dirty fuels industry, stop their bickering, and act boldly to move America towards a new energy economy…"


CASH FOR CLUNKERS COMPROMISED
Vehicle Scrappage Program Needs Repair
May 6, 2009 (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy)

"House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats have announced agreement on a vehicle scrappage program that would offer vouchers of $3,500 or $4,500 for consumers to retire their vehicles and purchase new ones. Unlike the scrappage bill introduced in January, which aims to accelerate the modernization of the U.S. fleet to a more fuel-efficient one, the program just announced aims primarily to clear Detroit’s unsold inventory…"

Illustration by David G. Klein from the NY Times. (click to enlarge)

"While a vehicle to be purchased under the new program would be required in most cases to meet a fuel economy threshold, the thresholds are low. A standard pickup could qualify with a sticker value of only 15 miles per gallon, well below the current corporate average fuel economy standard for trucks. 'I can’t see using taxpayer dollars to sell a Hummer H3T,' said ACEEE Transportation Program Director Therese Langer. 'We would welcome incentives to retire gas guzzlers and encourage the purchase of efficient vehicles, but the proposal just isn’t there yet.'

"'Federal incentives should promote vehicles with above-average fuel economy…so that American consumers are better prepared for the higher gasoline prices that are likely to return once the current recession ends,' said ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel. 'We encourage the full House and the Senate to tighten up the criteria for this program…'"