QUICK NEWS, 2-7: THAT DAMNED POLICY PROBLEM; CUTTING-EDGE WIND FUNDED; TENNESSEE EPA LIKES SUN; THE CAR BUYER AND THE EV

THAT DAMNED POLICY PROBLEM
Give me the green light
Derek Thompson, February 3, 2011 (Washington Post)

"Businesses respond to signals, not speeches. High unemployment tells companies to hold off on production, and low interest rates tell companies to borrow, but State of the Union addresses don't have the power to tell companies to do anything.

"So when the president says he's committed to green energy, that's fine. But the U.S. isn't giving alternative energy companies the green light…[but] something more like a ruddish-yellow light, as if to say: Go ahead if you'd like, but proceed at your own caution."

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"Ask Eric Spiegel, CEO of Siemens USA, who told me his company is held back by the United States' reluctance to pass a carbon tax or make permanent the solar tax credit…Ask J. Bryan Ashley, chief marketing officer at Suniva, a celebrated solar cell manufacturer out of Georgia, who told me his company exports 80 percent of its products partly because there's so little demand for solar at home…

"The White House doesn't want to oversee a mass exodus of alternative energy companies to China. That's why it put $151 million in experimental clean energy grants in 2009…[and announced] the ‘Better Buildings Initiative’…to get commercial buildings to retrofit themselves with government money."

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"…[W]hat a small step. Total R&D spending in green energy is miles behind biosciences and IT, which together make up two-thirds of total research spending in the U.S. Private-sector investment in energy research amounted to barely half what Merck or Microsoft put to R&D in 2009…If you're betting on the future of America's innovation engine, what reason is there to put your chips on green?

"…[But] world events might force our hand…In the recession and the recovery, the price of oil plummeted, and wind-power installations fell…[But] it's beginning to look like 2007 again. The price of a barrel of oil cracked $100 this week. Speculation and organic demand from Asia and Latin America could drive up the price even further. One way or another, alternative energies will replace the dirty and unstable supply of fossil fuels. We can either get serious about sending the right green energy signals or accept that the United States won't lead this particular revolution…"


CUTTING-EDGE WIND FUNDED
Boulder Wind Power raises $8 million
Alicia Wallace, February 3, 2011 (Boulder Daily Camera)

"Boulder Wind Power, a Boulder-based company, raised $8 million in a preferred stock financing designed to help the firm prove and flesh out its ‘radically different’ direct drive wind turbine generator technology.

"New Enterprise Associates, a global venture capital firm with $11 billion in committed capital, led the Series A round, which included participation from individual investor James J. Maguire Jr…[Analysts say] the investment reflects the continued strength of the clean energy sector despite some difficult recent years…"

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"The $8 million will help the 25-employee Boulder Wind Power make significant advancements on the technology that was the basis for the company's founding, said Sandy Butterfield, chief executive officer and co-founder. Butterfield, a scientist with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the past 25 years, founded the firm in 2009 with Jim Smith and Matt Jore, the developers of the technology."

The direct drive transmission is a major advance on the the traditional generator. (click to enlarge)

"Having a direct drive generator and eliminating a gear box, would represent a simpler, more cost-effective way to make utility scale wind turbines, he said…Boulder Wind Power…[will now] pursue the proof of concept; further develop the design; and finalize the business plan…[while holding] discussions with wind turbine OEM suppliers and other potential partners that might not currently have a stake in the wind industry…

"Although the utility-scale wind power installations dropped by nearly 50 percent in 2010 from 2009, Butterfield said the broader trends surrounding renewable energy and pushes away from fossil fuels spell optimism for the future…"


TENNESSEE EPA LIKES SUN
West Tennessee Solar Farm Receives Environmental Approval; U.S. Dept. of Energy Issues Finding of No Significant Impact, Project Moves Forward
February 3, 2011 (University of Tennessee Media Resources)

"…[T]he U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has completed its environmental review for the West Tennessee Solar Farm in Haywood County and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which means the project complies with all applicable federal regulation for environmental protection. The review was conducted under guidelines specified in the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] and was part of the requirement for utilizing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the project. The finding allows site preparation and installation to begin on the five-megawatt solar array…

"…[The West Tennessee Solar Farm will sit on 200 acres of land adjacent to Interstate 40 in Haywood County and will be one of the largest solar installations in the Southeast U.S…[T]he Solar Farm…[will have] more than 21,000 silicon-based photovoltaic modules producing more than 7,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Development of the Solar Farm is being managed by the University of Tennessee which has contracted with Chattanooga-based Signal Energy as the project’s design/build firm…"

Tennessee is building sun, (click to enlarge)

"In addition to the solar arrays, the Solar Farm will also be home to a welcome center in which visitors will be able to view and learn more about the capabilities of solar power generation. Approximately 9 million vehicles pass the Solar Farm annually.

"The West Tennessee Solar Farm is part of the Volunteer State Solar Initiative, created to benefit the Tennessee economy by using federal ARRA dollars to create jobs and provide support to a growing solar industry…"

Every state CAN build sun. (click to enlarge)

"…Under the VSSI, $31 million in ARRA funds will be used to install the Solar Farm and the Tennessee Solar Institute will use $23.5 million to issue grants from the Solar Opportunity Fund, a program designed to underwrite the installation of next generation energy efficiency systems by Tennessee businesses and to provide training, technology and technical assistance to companies in the solar industry value chain…

"…When fully implemented, programs associated with VSSI will have made possible the installation of at least 12 megawatts of renewable energy generating capacity in Tennessee. In addition to broadening the adoption of new clean energy technologies, the VSSI is also designed to facilitate the training of Tennesseans in new skills and the sharing of ‘best business practices’ across Tennessee’s burgeoning renewable energy industry…"


THE CAR BUYER AND THE EV
Study: Obama's electric car goal hits roadblock
Erika Dimmler, February 3, 2011 (CNN)

"President Barack Obama's goal of putting 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015 could run into a huge roadblock -- the American consumer.

"According to a report…by researchers at Indiana University, automakers are unlikely to manufacture enough cars to reach the president's goal because of a potential lack of buyer demand."

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"Nissan and General Motors, makers of the Leaf and Volt, respectively, already have the capacity to produce enough cars to meet the goal. Serious questions remain, however, about the level of desire among potential buyers worried about cost, ease of use and likely resale value."

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[Gurminder Bedi, retired Ford Motor Co. executive/report co-author:] "[The President] has really jump started the market…[T]here will be more electric vehicles by 2015 than there would have been if that initiative hadn't been started…[but after] the early adopters, what is going to motivate the mainstream people to buy the vehicles?…Buying an electric vehicle just by itself, because it's better for gas mileage, will be a good factor. But that's not going to be sufficient."

"In 2008, there were nearly 57,000 electric cars on U.S. roads, according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The administration has created a number of incentives for consumers to purchase electric cars, including a $7,500 tax credit to first-time buyers."