R.E.preneur

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.

Simplifying Global Energy Consumption

Many people have difficulty conceptualizing exactly how much energy the world uses and from what sources that energy comes from. 

With so many metrics for measuring energy such as kilowatt-hours, BTUs, barrels of oil, cubic feet of gas etc, it can be hard to understand what the big picture is. 

Hew Crane of SRI International created a new, more simple metric.  Its called the cubic mile of oil (CMO).  In 2006 the world consumed roughly 3 CMO's of energy. 

credit: SRI International

Michael Kanellos wrote an informative article on CNET expanding the picture of global energy consumption.  He paints a fairly grim picture for weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels, as in, nice thought but it won't happen anytime soon.

Fortunately, he also ties the subject to other important issues such as the coming water crisis which is already beginning to impact the global population.  Water is one of the clearest areas where the effects of global warming can be seen. 

Global warming, caused by the fossil fuel emissions creating the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, means that although we may not run out of fossil fuels anytime in the next century, is it ethical to continue accelerating the rate at which we use them?

There is the contention that fossil fuels with carbon capture technology must play a key role in providing energy for a growing world, and I generally agree with that. 

Here's the problem though: we can roughly quantify exactly how much time each fossil fuel that was created over millions of years will provide us.  Each year we use more of those precious fuels than we did last year.  By most estimates we may have 100-150 years worth of all fossil fuels to feed us.  Which will only be valuable to us if we find away to remove the greenhouse gases that are associated with burning fossil fuels. 

So we can see the end-point from here. We have the knowledge that the task to develop renewable energy is formidable, seemingly unfathomable.  Where is the balance between pursuing carbon capture technologies in order to clean up our growing fossil fuel appetite and an all out abandonment of fossil energy in pursuit of and mass investment in developing economies and societies that are fully dependent on energy that is renewable, sovereign, independent, and clean?

I understand that the solution to growing energy needs is a cornucopia of technologies applied to each energy source existing and being developed now.  However, I feel like all of the energy expended in cleaning up fossil fuels is energy taken away from renewable energy.  So while those efforts had good intentions, in the end they leave us worse off than we were before.  Deeper into our fossil addiction.

Are You An Enviropreneur? Opportunity of A Lifetime

If you are a student, or someone who consistently pursues learning, resources abound to educate yourself at no cost to you. 

Here's a few great examples.

PERC (Property & Environment Research Center) offers a host of competitive summer seminars for undergrads, grads, and enviropreneurs. See classroom below.

What is PERC?

   

PERC - Property and Environment Research Center is the nation's oldest and largest institute dedicated to original research that brings market principles to resolving environmental problems. Located in Bozeman, Montana, PERC pioneered the approach known as free market environmentalism, which is based on the following tenets.
Private property rights encourage stewardship of  resources. Government subsidies often degrade the environment. Market incentives spur individuals to conserve resources and protect environmental quality. Polluters should be liable for the harm they cause others.

For undergrads, (and a few grads) there is the one week full scholarship to attend the Free Market Environmentalism seminar. 

For graduate students, thrice yearly graduate fellowships including stipends.  Fellows generally are working on significant environmental capitalism projects.

Enviropreneur's clearly have the largest selection of opportunities.  You can be a part of Enviropreneur (& Executive Enviropreneur) Camps, a unique two week (or three days) experience to equip yourself with all the tools to be a more effective Enviropreneur.  See website for other opportunities. 

There are also programs for journalists, professors, teachers, and environmental practitioners.  Most involve paid expenses, plus stipends and the opportunity to spend some of your summer in beautiful Bozeman, Montana (some programs include a stay at Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch). 

Many people are observing the environmental trend and are unsure of how to get involved.  Hear me loud and clear: THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.  I would encourage all REpreneurs to take a moment and read over the application process (thorough but not exhaustive) and consider whether this is an opportunity that is right for you.  Kevin, this includes you.

(Hat tip: Google Adwords & Gmail)

Yucca Mountain: Last Resort? Best Option? Doomed to Disaster?

America has not built a new Nuclear plant in over a decade. But, currently there are 30 applications for new nuclear generating facilities permits (A process which takes 12 years).





Yucca Mountain was billed as the solution to the nuclear storage issue, but after being originally scheduled to open in 1998, the facility's current opening date of 2017 has been put on hold after the federal government slashed the facility's 2008 budget from $494M to $386M. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) led the fight against Yucca Mountain. State and Local Las Vegas authorities have also joined the legal battle against the project.

Should Harry Reid be to blame in the coming years when the federal government has to start paying U.S. utilities between $300-$500 million per year of taxpayer dollars in order to deal with the storage issues that the government themselves has failed to agree on.

What are the REALISTIC, or at least semi-realistic solutions? I only want to hear "shoot it into the sun" if it is feasible, economical, and moral.

To join in on the debate visit my LinkedIn question about the issue. I'll post the best answers here.

Resources:
Recent Las Vegas Review Article

Department of Energy: Office of Nuclear Energy

EUEC 2008 Renewable Energy Track: Abbreviated Notes, Info Bites and Loose Ends

I promised more insight from the Electric Utilities Environmental Conference 2008 conference so here it is.  These are my rough notes of any insightful info gleaned during a speaker's presentation or Q & A.

Jeffrey Michel, Ing.-Büro Michel, Germany
The United States has 460 different sets of regulations for solar power – Can you keep track?  Quoted from E & Y annual RE study.
    Believes that America needs designated solar energy parks where transmission can support a large amount of renewables located in the right places.

Jordan Fruge, NewPoint Energy:
A solar PV system in the U.S. costs an average of $7.84/watt installed
    - 50% of that is module cost, 20% is Balance of Systems, and 30% is Installation & Commissioning
    - Germany, who has 35K trained workers in solar has a lower installed cost despite higher module pricing
    - Emphasis is need for broad-based support to educate cleantech workforce

Return on Energy Investment:
    Silicon: 1.6 years
    Thin Film PV: 1 year
    Wind: Less than 1 year
    Palo Verde Nuclear: 14 years of energy out = the amount of energy used to build & fuel it

Allen Jay St. Clair, Windstone Capital Partners
    2.2B in private equity into cleantech in 2007, up 46%
    Green Construction is a $15B industry growing at 50%/year
    2007 brought America’s first reduction in miles driven since 1973

John O’Donnell, Ausra
    Ausra’s CLFR (compact linear fresnel reflector) technology uses 1-5% the water of conventional power generation
    They can produce energy right now at $0.12/kWh, with storage at $0.09/kWh
    31-33% efficiency @ converting solar thermal energy
    Two areas of innovation:
        40x concentration of the sun, 550 degree saturated steam
        Energy stored as pressurized water & “other”
    CA: Peak is Noon to 8pm
    16 hours of energy storage at a 60% capacity factor
    1 positioner controls 300-400 m2 of glass
    Glass is 8’ off the ground: size is 60’ x 8’
    The company’s Australian factory produced 1 module every 2.5 hours
    The company’s claims their Las Vegas factory using robotic construction will produce one module every 10 minutes
    Their glass covers 75% of the total land area

Xavier Baldwin, Burbank Water & Power
    PHEV Benefits:
    Reduce GHG, dependence on foreign oil, provide peaking capacity and reserves, help integrate (shape) wind power into the resource mix, improve system efficiency and load factor.

    Smart (Grid) means ability to communicate both ways.  Charge-up your PHEV at off-peak rate of $0.05/kWh.  Grid gets 8 kW of “spinning” reserve per PHEV. 

    How can we make this a reality?
-    Develop and integrate a Grid Control System
-    Plus a PHEV charging system
-    And a Smart Grid Communication System
-    Finish it off with a cross utility accounting system

Any entrepreneurs interested in building some solutions?

New Company V2Green partnered with Xcel Energy to test VCM on Ford Escape PHEV
The Cascadia Institute is working on smart grid technologies and applications

Interested in PHEV’s? You must read FERC Commissioner John Wellinghoff’s paper on PHEV’s. 

Thomas Jensen, Sonnenschein, Nath, & Rosenthal LLP
    Ocean Renewables: 800x denser than air @ sea level
    Not an intermittent power source
    The federal laws for ocean energy are a MESS!  It’s a public lands issue, since there are no private sites