THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for March, 2011

Environmental justice groups who believe that a carbon tax will be more effective than cap and trade in lowering pollution sued and won in California’s lower court in February, and the case went to Superior Court in San Francisco.

Now a Superior Court judge has agreed that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) did not adequately review alternatives to cap and trade, halting implementation of AB32, due to begin next January. The Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Council have backed the cap-and-trade approach as the more effective in lowering pollution.

Ruling in favor of the Association of Irritated Residents, based in the San Joaquin Valley, and Communities for A Better Environment and four other environmental justice groups, Judge Earnest Goldsmith wrote, CARB “could have, and should have used data from existing programs, studies and reports to analyze the potential impacts of various alternatives.”

However, this objection is fairly easily disproved. If there is one thing that environmental policy wonks excel at, it is undertaking copious research studies and documenting them.

Indeed, “We completed a robust and comprehensive examination of the alternatives to cap and trade with a 500-page environmental analysis that fully addresses the concerns the court raises,” said CARB representative Stanley Young, according to Energy Prospects. “We will rely on this analysis in responding to the court’s decision.”

In fact the cap and trade portion provides only one fifth of the measures in AB32 that move California into the new clean energy economy. Yet the ruling as it stands now, broadly prevents implementation of all the measures in the plan, including new building efficiency standards and low-carbon fuel regulations.

But, reassuringly, CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols said returning to the scoping-plan process would amount to “a little bit more than a tempest in a teapot.”

“In reality it will have very little impact because the plan itself is not of any legal force,” she stated. “The cap-and-trade rule has already been adopted and in fact is already in effect.”

A cap and trade plan is superior to a carbon tax, for two reasons. Cap, and trade.

Only a cap caps pollution at a set limit, that steadily declines each year. By contrast, a tax merely makes pollution a more expensive activity, turning energy waste into a luxury for the rich, and polluter corporations are rich. So a tax does not limit pollution. Starting over, without the checks and balances of carefully written policy like the cap and trade plan, polluters can also just pass down the costs of a tax to the rest of us.

Secondly, only trade generates the auction funds that states can use to fund the rebates and efficiency measures that lower greenhouse gases. The ten Northeastern member states with RGGI cap and trade auctions have already generated almost three quarters of a billion dollars for investment in solar panel rebates and better boilers and insulation for its residents. RGGI has propelled tiny cloudy New Jersey to compete with huge sunny California in solar roof power generated.

The carbon tax is no alternative for another reason, too. In November, California voters inadvertently passed a cleverly worded voter referendum that now prevents new taxes on polluters – Prop 26.

Susan Kraemer@Twitter

Image: Artwork by Ann Duffy

Related articles:

• Australian MPs Getting Death Threats Over Proposed Carbon Tax
• Cap+Trade Pays for David Koch’s Fossil Fuel Reduction
• NRDC Corrects 10 Common Misconceptions about California Cap-and-Trade (With Puppies!)

Solar Frontier's Japan-based research laboratory achieved 17.2% aperture area efficiency on a 30 x 30cm CIS-based thin-film submodule solar cell.

A consortium of renewable energy companies is looking to put $1 billion into two wind farms in southern Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, especially its southern region, relies quite a bit on imported electricity — these projects would be a tremendous help in giving it more energy independence.

Investors are expecting that 600 MW of capacity will be created from the two wind farms (400 MW at Zhanatas and 200 MW at Shokpar). Both projects will be in the Zhambyl region and the construction time frame for the projects is expected to be about 2 years.

“Central Asia Green Power, a joint venture between Kazakh private equity company Visor Group and the Turkish subsidiary of Italy’s Relight Group, would undertake a feasibility study into the project,” Robin Paxton of Reuters reports. Central Asia Green Power and state grid company KEGOC recently signed a memorandum detailing the plans.

Kazakhstan has considerable oil and uranium resources (it is looking to develop a nuclear fuel cycle based on its uranium reserves), but it also has great areas for generating wind energy, particularly in this region of the country, which has to get a huge amount of its electricity from other areas.

“In southern parts of the country, Kazakhstan is energy deficient. They have to import energy from other parts of Kazakhstan and from the other side of the border,” said Visor Group director Imraan Mohammed.

“This project will help the region to become energy self-sufficient.”

Related Stories:

• World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Begun by China
• Wind Energy Giant Vestas Sees a Future in Romania
• U.S. Wind Energy 2010 Summary

Images via Irene2005

Today, the heavily (52-28) Democratic majority in the California Assembly voted easily to approve, by 59 to 19, one of the most ambitious renewable energy programs in the world, joined by several California Republicans. Now it goes to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown‘s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

Last month, California’s Senate voted to approve the new 33% standard, by 26 to 11 in favor of the bill, and that time, three Republican Senators joined the Democratic Senate majority on that vote.

The brave votes of these Republicans, Sam Blakslee (R-San Luis Obispo), Sharon Runner (R-Antelope Valley), and Tony Strickland (R-Santa Barbara) joining Democrats on climate legislation is in marked contrast to what we see at the Federal level. Renewable energy in California has developed to the point where it is developing a bipartisan constituency. Strickland for example, is the former head of the solar energy industries association, and the author of strong renewable energy bills.

The state’s utilities have essentially already met the 20% renewable standard that was set for 2010. (Currently 19% of California’s electricity now comes from renewable power (a definition that excludes nuclear and hydro), and contracts have been signed for purchase of the power from the remaining 1% of projects (expected to be online by 2013). But 33% renewable energy in a state with a population the size of California’s, will be revolutionary.

“As a result of the RPS program,” said Senior Scientist Peter Miller at the NRDC, “renewable energy generation in California in 2020 will be roughly equal to total current US renewable generation, and supply enough clean energy to power nearly 9 million homes”.

“While U.S. Congress stalls on America’s clean energy future, California again leads the way in energy policy. This passage of this RPS legislation reinforces California commitment to building a diverse, clean and resilient energy portfolio that minimizes the impact of fossil fuel price spikes and enhances our energy independence and security.”

Today, the long and tumultuous journey that this clean energy mandate has taken is finally over. And it seems to hold a glimmer of hope for Federal level policy, with the beginnings of Republican votes. Although it is difficult to get the bipartisan votes it takes to get sensible policy passed, perhaps it gets easier once milestones are reached.

Susan Kraemer@Twitter

Related articles:

• California Gets 33% Renewable Mandate Through Senate 26-11
• Cleantech Worldwide Breathes Sigh of Relief as California Saves AB32
• Prop 23 Has International Cleantech on Tenterhooks

A French company, Wysips, has developed a way to charge your cell phone, e-book, tablet, or similar device without having to plug it in to anything. Not only that, but it’s technology would only add about $1 to the cost of a smart phone.

Wysips states: “We have created the world’s first transparent photovoltaic film. It’s flexible, free from size constraints and has thousands of potential applications.”

Here are some more details from the folks over at Wired: the “transparent photovoltaic film covers the screen of your device, and provides 250mW of power to trickle-charge the battery. The film is thin — just 100 microns or 0.1mm — and won’t dim the screen when incorporated into the LCD panel.”

The device can actually be charged from various light sources, not only solar. Of course, the bigger the screen, the bigger the “solar panel,” meaning that it should work across many sizes and devices.

With initial versions and some technologies, you may still need to charge up using another method a bit. But with some devices, like e-books, it looks like you will really never have to plug them in to anything to keep them working.

Wysips intends to launch the product in about 12 months.

Wysips won the 2011 prize for “Green Telecom & Smart Energy Solutions, Apps & Hardware” at CTIA’s 2011 Emerging Technology, among other prizes.

More info here: Wysips product page

via Wired

Image via Laptop Mag

Related Stories:

• 3 Cool Gadgets to Help You Save Energy
• 10 More Cool Green Gadgets to Help You Save Energy
• Are E-Books Really Green? [INFOGRAPHIC]