I’ve added a hot new business plan to the list I’m now featuring. I spoke yesterday with Joe Speace, CEO of “Project Renewable Energy” near Kansas City, whose raising capital for a wind farm that will feature compressed air energy storage (CAES). This looks quite strong.
Storage will be a big deal soon, as the
I recently learned of a compelling instance of U.S. government-funded clean tech research translating into widely commercialized technology through green patent licensing.
Argonne National Laboratory announced last month that LG Chem and General Motors had completed licensing agreements
The 2012 Department of Energy budget submitted to Congress on Monday includes a 20-page section on Vehicle Technologies (VT), and nearly every word of it refers to vehicle electrification. In language of funding dollars, the VT budget jumps by 80 percent from $325 million to $588 million.
The majority ($229 million) of the VT
The new year brings some good pieces of news on the energy storage front. If the first week of 2011 is any indication of trends to come over the next 12 months, there’s much to look forward to in the area of utility-scale energy storage.
Perhaps the biggest news (not in terms of scale but in terms of significance) is that the first utility-scale battery storage system in
While renewable energy is openly embraced by many in the world there are plenty who are willing to heap criticisms upon the many facets of the energy type. One of the most common forms of criticism for types of renewable energy like solar, wind, or tidal and wave based energies is that the power source is unpredictable and never constant, meaning that any area utilizing renewable
As Argonne National Laboratory Director Eric D. Isaacs noted in his recent Huffpo op ed, the U.S. must have a 21st-century energy grid if clean, renewable energy technologies like solar are to thrive.
The Argonne Lab is one of 21 laboratories operating under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to identify,
Chinese company BYD will bring its electric and plug-in vehicles to North America in 2011 as one part of a threefold strategy for exporting technology. BYD’s first plug-in car, the F3DM, has arrived in California where it will be used in a pilot project by the Los Angeles Housing Authority. The F3DM has 40-60 miles of electric range and 300 miles of gasoline range, and in a unique
Aviation is responsible for an estimated 2 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and many believe they could be even more damaging because they release these pollutants high in the atmosphere.
Despite the immense challenges involved
On September 30, California’s Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2514 into law, which sets mandatory targets for energy storage systems in the utility sector. Groups such as the California Energy Storage Alliance have been working hard to promote this bill, the first of its kind.
Energy storage is being championed as
A reader points out that in talking about utility scale solar, only mature technologies are used — usually 20 to 30 years mature or more. He observes how long it’s taken PV to be seriously considered for plants over 10mW. But he goes on to talk about the Stirling Dish System, noticing that the system holds the efficiency world record for sun to grid electricity at 31.5%, and has
With all the talk about lithium ion batteries, and the unprecedented investment occurring in this area, it is easy to forget the most prevalent utility-scale energy storage technology, pumped hydro. Pumped hydro is the most mature and largest storage technology available. Worldwide, there are over 150 pumped hydro facilities with a total capacity of over 100 GW. In the United States, there are 38 pumped hydro facilities
Given the intermittent nature of wind and solar, it is becoming increasingly clear that these technologies need a side-kick known as energy storage in order to get the full value of these renewable sources. Energy storage allows electricity produced by wind and solar, during off peak demand times, to be better matched when the electricity is needed. A major driver of growth of both the wind and solar industries has been favorable tax credit treatment. Acknowledging this fact, Congress has been working on game changing legislation aimed at the energy storage industry. On July 20, U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced The Storage Technology of Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010 Act (STORAGE Act 2010 – S. 3617) revision to the Storage Act introduced in 2009.
There are signs that 2010 could be the coming out party for Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES). With the onslaught of large wind and solar deployments that will be added to the grid to meet state renewable portfolio standards requirements, there is a lot of buzz about the need for energy storage systems, particularly bulk energy storage. Bulk
One significant trend in the electric utility market that is beginning to gather momentum is residential energy storage (RES). Like many renewable initiatives, California is the trailblazing state for RES. In 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law the so-called California Solar Initiative. The plan calls for a million solar roofs which will add 3 gigawatts of clean