NewEnergyNews: QUICK NEWS, 7-7: MAKING TV ABOUT THE EV; SOLAR COMPANY REVENUES UP 297%; ABOUT THE GEOTHERMAL BET; HOW TO GET EFFICIENCY REBATES

NewEnergyNews

Gleanings from the web and the world, condensed for convenience, illustrated for enlightenment, arranged for impact...

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YESTERDAY

  • Holiday Weekend Reading: NEW ENERGY IN CHINA

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    THE DAY BEFORE

  • TODAY’S STUDY: INTEGRATING NEW ENERGY
  • QUICK NEWS, May 24: SO AFRICA TO BUILD A GIGAWATT OF WIND; LUCKY CORRIDOR FOR NEW MEXICO NEW ENERGY; MEGAWATT TEST OF CIGS THIN FILM

    • THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE

  • TODAY’S STUDY: THE BENEFITS OF WIND AND SOLAR TOGETHER
  • QUICK NEWS, May 23: AN ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ MOVE TO NEW ENERGY; BRAINTRUST GOES AFTER SOLAR PRICE; INTERIOR APPROVES WIND ON INDIAN LAND

    • THE DAY BEFORE THAT

  • TODAY’S STUDY: EUROPE’S PV TO 2016
  • QUICK NEWS, May 22: APPLE TURNS TO SUN; EU WIND CAN LEAD ECONOMIC RECOVERY; CHINA’S NEW GRID MAY ONLY MEET OLD NEEDS

    • AND THE DAY BEFORE THAT

  • TODAY’S STUDY: BANKS ON COAL
  • QUICK NEWS, May 21: A FIGHT FOR SUN IN TEXAS; NRG LAYOFFS HERALD FADING PTC HOPES; WHAT WORRIES GRID OPERATORS MOST

    • THE LAST DAY UP HERE

  • SUNDAY WORLD HEADLINE- CHINA STARTS WORLD’S BIGGEST TRANSMISSION
  • SUNDAY WORLD HEADLINE- SOLAR’S IMPACT ON GERMAN OCEAN WIND
  • SUNDAY WORLD HEADLINE- INDIA WIND GETS A GOLDMAN SACHS BILLION
  • SUNDAY WORLD HEADLINE- HOW KOREA IS LIKE DENMARK

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    Anne B. Butterfield of Daily Camera and Huffington Post, is a biweekly contributor to NewEnergyNews

  • Colorado's Elegant Solution to Fracking (April 23, 2012)
  • Anne Butterfield (Huffington Post via New EnergyNews)

    Eventually those local moratoriums against fracking will expire in Boulder, Longmont and Erie. And residents will worry anew about toxic fracking operations inching up on schools and neighborhoods in pursuit of a product that goes "poof" the instant it's used. Nice value ~ not.

    And it's timely that the University of Colorado at Denver School of Public Health just announced a study which finds that air pollution within a half mile of frack-ops have toxic emissions five times over federal safety standards, causing elevated life time cancer risks and respiratory and neurological effects for nearby residents. Rep. Diana DeGette is now urging the Environmental Protection Agency to consider Colorado's study as they finalize air standards for fracking.

    It has also just come out that fracking is inching up on agriculture to compete for Colorado's water. Taking only .08 of a percent per year, it's a smidge for sure, but that water gets so polluted it must be disposed in a way that removes it from the hydrologic cycle. And that's not pretty when we're looking down the craw of a new drought kicked off with an historic climate change induced heat wave plus a horrifying wildfire this season.

    Permanently voiding precious Colorado water out of the hydrologic cycle feels even worse in view the fact such water can be lost for naught when the depletion rate on fracking wells is 63-85 percent in the first year, according to Dave Hughes of the Geological Survey of Canada. This can mean fruitless water waste when drilling down the slippery slope of diminishing marginal returns.

    But Colorado will need all the more gas, as the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act requires Xcel Eenrgy in Colorado to soon retire 900 megawatts of coal burning capacity. The act also requires that the natural gas used for recouping that coal-fired capacity comes from in state (see page 18 here). That puts upward pressure on fracking all over the state. This means more tangles between fracking and populated areas, and more permanent loss of precious Colorado water. It seems like Colorado may have backed itself into a box canyon, where residents are cornered with fracking risks to land, air, water and health.

    But there's an elegant pathway to reducing Colorado's need for natural gas -- by using the sun in a familiar technology that is at least two times more efficient than solar photovoltaics. It's good old fashioned solar thermal - those rooftop panels that heat water.

    Colorado could amend the CACJA to promote solar thermal as a jobs intensive domestic energy supply that works with natural gas to heat homes, buildings, water and industrial processes. This could free drilling companies to sell excess Colorado gas out of state for much higher prices (see page 8 here), possibly gaining crucial industry support for this intrusion of renewables into their market. Higher profitability, less contentious drilling and more renewable energy jobs is the hope.

    In all of North American, Colorado is "ground zero" for the best conditions for producing huge benefits from solar thermal. It's the sunshine, cold ground water, high heating loads, renewables-savvy population and existing industry that can, if the state takes on robust targets, lead the nation in an industry that swaps jobs and skills in place of burning money. And burning money is what we do when we burn costly fuels that go poof the instant they're used.

    A robust Colorado plan for solar thermal could put the clean air and clean jobs back into the so-called, gas-friendly Clean Air Clean Jobs Act.

    And in case anyone has forgotten ~ there are huge economic risks with shale gas, a.k.a. the fracking boom, as the resource is almost certainly not as profitable, resourceful or as clean as hyped by industry. On deeper review, it's promising to be an economic bubble.

    Fracking is supposedly going to make our nation 100 years of cheap gas, as, amnesiac members of Congress and the President are wont to say. But various geological experts such as the Potential Gas Committe have poured cold water all over that flaming hype, detailing how the supply could be as little as 21 or even 11 years. And Arthur Berman, a widely regarded petro-geologist has commented that the industry reminds him of the sub prime mortgage mess and wrote, "U.S. shale plays share many characteristics with the gold rushes.... Both phenomena result from extreme promotion. Anyone can join. Every participant believes that they will get rich. Great amounts of capital are destroyed as entrants try to get a position. The bonanza is exhausted sooner than most expected and few profit in the end."

    So if you are one of the thousands of Coloradans who are waking up to the nightmare of fracking in your community - go online and read the Colorado Solar Thermal Roadmap. Then find every political leader you can to talk about it. Colorado would be wise to use its natural solar resources to hedge against an over-reliance on gas, one that shall expand as the CACJA requires. And coal with its rising prices is on the wane nationwide as well, which means the demand for gas will be a pressure cooker loaded with risk for our energy security, economy, and environment.

    Author's note: Want to support my work? Please "fan" me at Huffpost Denver, here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-butterfield). Thanks.

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    Anne's previous NewEnergyNews columns:

  • Colorado's Elegant Solution to Fracking (April 23, 2012)
  • Shale Gas: From Geologic Bubble to Economic Bubble (March 15, 2012)
  • Taken for granted no more (February 5, 2012)
  • The Republican clown car circus (January 6, 2012)
  • Twenty-Somethings of Colorado With Skin in the Game (November 22, 2011)
  • Occupy, Xcel, and the Mother of All Cliffs (October 31, 2011)
  • Boulder Can Own Its Power With Distributed Generation (June 7, 2011)
  • The Plunging Cost of Renewables and Boulder's Energy Future (April 19, 2011)
  • Paddling Down the River Denial (January 12, 2011)
  • The Fox (News) That Jumped the Shark (December 16, 2010)
  • Click here for an archive of Butterfield columns

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    Some details about NewEnergyNews and the man behind the curtain: Herman K. Trabish, Agua Dulce, CA., Doctor with my hands, Writer with my head, Student of New Energy and Human Experience with my heart

    email: herman@NewEnergyNews.net

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    Your intrepid reporter

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      A tip of the NewEnergyNews cap to Phillip Garcia for crucial assistance in the design implementation of this site. Thanks, Phillip.

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    Pay a visit to the HARRY BOYKOFF page at Basketball Reference, sponsored by NewEnergyNews and Oil In Their Blood.

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    • Wednesday, July 07, 2010

    QUICK NEWS, 7-7: MAKING TV ABOUT THE EV; SOLAR COMPANY REVENUES UP 297%; ABOUT THE GEOTHERMAL BET; HOW TO GET EFFICIENCY REBATES

    MAKING TV ABOUT THE EV
    Lights, Camera, EV Action!
    Forbes Black, July 4, 2010 (EV World)

    "…[A] series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) highlighting the benefits of electric vehicles versus their gasoline-powered counterparts…[was shot by Plug-in America volunteers and] co-producer Alexandra Paul…

    "…[The] day was an exciting mixture of schlepping… filming, and hanging out with other EV enthusiasts. Hollywood glitterati mingled with hardcore EV engineering nerds…and everyone bonded over [a] common dedication to the electric vehicle cause."

    Actress/activist Collette Divine snaps Deone Lucas and a Tesla Roadster. (photo by Jennifer Gill – click to enlarge)

    [Alexandra Paul, PSA co-producer and EV advocate:] “It was a wonderful coming together of over 50 EV enthusiasts, volunteering their time and expertise to create these seven spots…We hope these spots will educate Americans on the benefits of plug-in cars. We tackle issues like range anxiety, battery recycling, greenwashing
    and EV efficiency with humour, educating viewers with a wink and a smile.”

    Click thru to follow the progress of plug-in vehicles

    [Eric Swenson, PSA director:] “I have been in the industry for 20 plus years and it was the first time I had ever worked with an entire crew of volunteers. It was an amazing feeling to be in a room full of film and TV production professionals who just wanted to work on something they cared about. There were also a lot of ‘just want to help’ people who donated a piece of their lives to produce these films. They knew nothing about shooting but they wanted to make a difference. I know it's cliché, but the feeling was electric…”

    "All production volunteers have been sworn to silence regarding the content of the PSAs…[It is only known that] Hollywood stars will appear in them…[and] they will be funny, educational and a bit surprising…"


    SOLAR COMPANY REVENUES UP 297%
    Acro Energy Reports 297 Percent Increase in Year Over Year Quarterly Revenues
    July 1, 2010 (Business Wire via MarketWatch)

    "Acro Energy Technologies Corp…a leading U.S. solar integrator…completed the second quarter of 2010 with record gross revenues of $5.4 million for the three-month period ending June 30, 2010.

    "The Company's second quarter 2010 gross revenues were a 297 percent increase compared to the gross revenues of the Company for the three-month period ending June 30, 2009. During the three-month period ending June 30, 2010, Acro Energy's southern California subsidiary, Energy Efficiency Solar, Inc. (EES), achieved gross revenues of $3.0 million, which is greater than the revenues achieved by EES during the entire 2009 calendar year…"



    "Acro Energy is entering the historically busy sales season in the third quarter with a backlog of approximately $5 million in committed, financed contracts…The second quarter of 2010 is the second full quarter of operations for Acro Energy that includes results for all three solar installation companies acquired and integrated in 2009…

    "Acro Energy Technologies Corp. is focused on the consolidation and growth of renewable energy companies, primarily in the United States residential solar energy installation market…As a high end system integrator, Acro Energy offers quality products from leading solar module manufacturers such as Suntech and Sharp and residential solar financing plans from SunRun, the nation's leading provider of home solar financing…"


    ABOUT THE GEOTHERMAL BET
    Geothermal Energy: A recession-proof resource? Geothermal is a natural resource with plenty of benefits and the industry continues to see significant growth in usage and revenue
    Andrea Marino, July 6, 2010 (EnergyDigital)

    "While the natural heating and cooling from the earth’s core is the oldest source of energy in history, the use of geothermal energy has been experiencing significant global growth…[O]verall growth was 20 percent from 2005 to 2010. Another 70 nations have geothermal projects currently in the works, which is a 52 percent growth over the last three years…

    "Geothermal energy is one of the best existing natural resources for energy…[and] there is little to no harmful impact on the environment. Geothermal emits less carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur and nitric oxide than [fossil fuels]...Since energy is developed from the earth, the supply is unlimited. Additionally, no power storage is required and geothermal is one of the cheapest forms of energy that exists…"

    click to enlarge

    "Despite the economic recession impacting the world in recent years, geothermal energy continues to grow. The Obama administration has recently announced plans to aggressively increase geothermal development in the U.S…In addition to geothermal expansion in the U.S., the potential to tap into the geothermal energy resource is huge worldwide…[W]ith five geothermal plants accounting for roughly 24 percent of [Iceland’s] power…[and] 87 percent of all buildings…heated from geothermal energy…Iceland is attempting to move toward being a 100 percent fossil-free nation…

    "Ormat Technologies, a U.S.-based company that operates over 520 MW in owned geothermal power plants, and over 1300 MW around the world, reported a first quarter 2010 total revenue of $82.7 million. Though this is a 6.5 percent decrease from total revenues from the first quarter of last year, the outcome for the remainder of the year looks positive…"

    click to enlarge

    "Within the next two years the Germany-based companies Hörmann Energie und Umwelt and Geysir Europe are going to invest more than €70 million in a geothermal project. More than €8 million has been invested in the project so far, amongst others for the construction of the drill pad…Drilling will start in June 2010.

    "Africa is a prime location for generating geothermal energy…Kenya was the first African country to really expand on its geothermal resources. With three plants, built by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), further expansion at all locations are in the works. Kenya received a $293 million loan from Japan and a $94 billion loan from China for plant expansion."


    HOW TO GET EFFICIENCY REBATES
    5 things to know about energy rebates
    Sarah Max, July 6, 2010 (Money Magazine via USA Today)

    "1. Federal appliance rebates are going fast ...The government's Cash for Appliances program, which lets you score rebates for about $50 to $500 swapping energy guzzling appliances for more efficient models, has gotten lots of attention…[But the] incentives, which are administered through the states, are typically doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, and in many locales the money is already gone. Florida's program, for example, closed just 36 hours after it opened. But some states, such as Michigan, still had plenty of cash in their coffers at the end of May, and other initiatives didn't launch until June...[Check here]…

    "2. ... But most states offer their own programs too…Even if you can no longer qualify for a Cash for Appliances rebate, you may still be able to get cash back from the more than 600 programs run by utilities and over 100 state programs that offer incentives for boosting your home's energy efficiency…[In Oregon] you can get a $75 rebate on an Energy Star washer, and $30 for recycling an old fridge…    [check here]…"

    click thru for complete info

    "3. And you may have two more chances to get federal funds…Through the end of 2010, you can claim a $1,500 federal tax credit for up to 30% of the cost of many energy-related improvements…[Cash for Caulkers] was passed by the House in May and could soon become law. It would give homeowners hefty rebates on a variety of energy saving projects…"

    click thru for complete info

    "4. Before you grab a rebate, do the math…Getting cash back might help you justify the purchase of, say, that snazzy new stainless-steel fridge…But other projects may give you greater savings…A comprehensive home energy audit, which will pinpoint your leaks, runs about $400. But some states or utilities conduct basic audits for free or will reimburse some of that cost.

    "5. Don't forget that small projects can still pay big…There are plenty of ways to save energy without spending a lot. Every degree you go up or down on your thermostat will knock 2% off your annual heating and cooling costs; replacing your five most frequently used bulbs with compact fluorescents can lop $70 a year off your energy bill…ditching that old fridge you've relegated to the garage for storing extra drinks will save about $200 or more a year…[which could] justify an appliance upgrade…rebate or not."

    posted by Herman K. Trabish @ 5:39 AM

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