R.E.preneur

SolarCity makes electric cars an even smarter investment | Grist

“It’s our feeling that if we really want to make a difference, we have to start changing our infrastructure,” says Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s chief executive. “Combine EV with PV, and we can really lead a clean lifestyle.”

via www.grist.org

I knew SolarCity was a great company that is growing very fast. And I knew that they had convinced smart people to invest in their company, such as Elon Musk and the executives at First Solar (and kudos to both companies for leading the charge of thin film glass on glass solar in residential applications).

But until I read this article, I had no idea just how visionary the Rive brothers, co-founders of SolarCity truly are.

Their vision of combining EVs and PV and growing their business through residential and commercial charging stations that are solar-powered, is a remarkable step forward in the progress of the EV industry.

EVs have historically been discredited for their limited range and fueling ability. But its not hard to see how adding a small fleet of well-placed electric charging stations (which isn't rocket-science unlike that hydrogen highway BS) could really open California up to be the market that launches EVs!

I look forward to the day I can drive my PV-powered EV!

Business Rules of Thumb . com: Peter Drucker Rule of Thumb

Peter Drucker Rule of Thumb

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.

via businessrulesofthumb.com

My good friend and mentor Jim Jindrick writes this fabulous blog with tons of great quotes for entrepreneurs and high-achievers.

This quote from Peter Drucker is one of my favorites and is closely related to one of my own Business Rules of Thumb: Stop wishing and wanting... Start Acting!

I find that no matter what idea I have or business I want to investigate, the fastest way to make progress, is to start RIGHT NOW.  That's how I started this blog.  That's how I started my career in renewable energy.  

Whatever you want to do, without hard work, you've only got good intentions.

290-MW CSP Project for APS Terminated 290-MW CSP Project for APS Terminated - Renewable Energy World

Phoenix, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Arizona utility, APS has received notice from Starwood Energy Group Global LLC that it is terminating the long-term purchase power agreement the two companies signed in May 2009.

Lockheed Martin, the project developer, cited the size and the final risk profile of the engineering, procurement and construction contract, among other factors as the reasons decided not to go forward.

This ends plans for Starwood Solar I, the 290-megawatt (MW) concentrating solar plant (CSP), which was to be located in the Harquahala Valley, 75 miles west of Phoenix.

via www.renewableenergyworld.com

The luster continues to fade from the CSP star. For most of the last decade Concentrating Solar Power (using the Sun's thermal energy to heat a fluid and create steam to drive a conventional power generating turbine) has been the lead horse in the rise of utility-scale solar power.

Those days are now behind us as thin film photovoltaics are proving to be the stronger technology due to the lack of large-scale water usage (in barren deserts), more sustainable land impacts, and a much more achievable downward sloping cost curve.

Utility-scale Photovoltaics are THE answer that will solve every utility's need for more predictable, bankable renewable energy.

First Solar to sell 20MW Ontario PV project to Enbridge; solar company also joins S&P 500 - Photovoltaics International

First Solar and Enbridge have signed a deal for the Canadian energy company to buy a 20MW solar farm that the PV firm has developed and is building near Sarnia, Ontario. The project, which will be the largest PV installation in Canada when it's completed by the end of the year, is being built by First Solar under a fixed-price engineering, procurement, and construction contract and will use more than 370,000 of the company's CdTe thin-film modules.

via www.pv-tech.org

This marks the first utility-scale sized PV project built under the OPA's former RESOP program. Its great to see market leader First Solar being able to capitalize on the former program, something other developers with RESOP contracts (~560 MW worth) have as yet been unable to do.

The new OPA FiT rules are looking questionable at best. The province's local content rules are making the industry question whether any projects will be built with the current rules. In my opinion, if the government is serious about building renewable energy in the province, they need to lower the local content rules to allow more flexibility for developers to source product from the most economically-efficient suppliers.

But that's just my C0.02.

Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit: Brand Awareness

So much of public policy is either right or left.  It's hard to find someone who can make intelligent points that appeal to both sides of the spectrum.  Take a few minutes this weekend and watch this video by Stewart Brand.  Not only is it extremely interesting but it's also likely to change your perspective. 

via www.espressopundit.com

Blogger Greg Patterson points us to a great video via Ted Talks from Stewart Brand. Brand, a pioneer of the environmental movement never stops evaluating the difficult choices our Planet faces going forward.

If you're interested in Arizona politics and assorted other topics, Greg writes a very entertaining blog which is always worth reading.