THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for April, 2010

Worldwide, investors put $1.9 billion into clean tech startups in the first three months of 2010. That is an 83% increase from the same quarter last year and a 29% increase from the fourth quarter of 2009. Additionally, the number of deals hit a record high.

This is what a new report from Cleantech Group and Deloitte shows.

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Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection announced new guidelines relating to mountaintop removal coal mine permits, and the coal industry promotion group FACES of Coal was right on the case.  FACES promptly issued a blistering press release lambasting the EPA for attacking the Appalachian economy with “as dangerous and threatening an action as this region has ever seen.”

Now, it’s no surprise that a group like FACES of Coal would come out with both guns blazing, considering its mission to promote the coal mining industry.  But seriously, “dangerous and threatening?”  After all, it’s not like the EPA is proposing to blow up hundreds of mountains and bury thousands of miles of mountain streams right here in the U.S.A. – or is FACES of Coal arguing that Appalachia needs more mountains blown up?  I’m so confused!

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Almost 50 years ago, Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore came up with a little idea called Moore’s Law, which basically says that computer processors roughly double in efficiency every two years due to advances in technology along with affordability.  So how much smaller, faster and cheaper can computers go?  Lots, if graphene, the nanomaterial of the new millennium, has anything to say about that.

Discovered just a few years ago, graphene is only the thickness of one atom but it scores on strength and it can function as a conductor.  One difficulty to overcome, though, is manipulating “raw” graphene on an atomic level to create a useful material.   With support from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the University of South Florida have accomplished a breakthrough of sorts by developing a way to form precise graphene “nanowires” that are just a few atoms across.

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Colorado’ s largest utility, Xcel Energy is shutting down 900 MW of coal plants and replacing them with natural gas power plants. This move by just one utility will reduce the entire Colorado coal power fleet by a staggering 30%. What prompted this rather dazzling move?

The Colorado Clean Air – Clean Jobs Act just passed. Badda bing.

All new (or re-powered) electric power plants may not emit more than 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour, effectively ruling out coal burning (without CCS).

All utilities in the state must find a way to achieve the goal. They can replace or re-power coal plants with natural gas or add energy efficiency measures such as combined heat & power, or they can switch to renewable energy sources.
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In the last two years, with the 20% by 2010 Renewable Energy Standard deadline looming, California utilities had to look well outside the California border to buy some last minute wind power.

Over 11 GW of California projects are still stalemated by bureaucracy. So all three major utilities added last minute wind power from Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and even as far North as Washington. (more…)