"First they laugh at you,
then they ignore you, then they fight with you, then you win." -- Ghandi
"Mankind's future depends
on America's energy choices. Let's clean house and abandon the
phony solutions that result in war, environmental ruin,
poverty, hunger, hatred and disease.
We must lead. We must set the example and Build A World That
Works!"TM -- Richard D.
Masters
"We
need to set realistic targets for ethanol in the United States
instead of just throwing taxpayer money out the window."
Amy Myers Jaffe,
a senior fellow in energy studies at the
Baker Institute and one of the report's authors.
Pedro Alvarez, Joel G. Burken,
James D. Coan,
Marcelo E. Dias De Oliveira,
Rosa Dominguez–Faus,
Diego E. Gomez, Amy Myers Jaffe, Kenneth B. Medlock III,
Susan E. Powers, Ronald Soligo,
Lauren A. Smulcer
James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice
University
"We
question the scale to which ethanol can enhance U.S. energy
security by replacing oil-based fuel, and recommend
that Congress order a cost-benefit analysis that compares the
volume of renewable fuel being added to the American
transportation fuel system to the cost per gallon to the
American taxpayer to achieve this marginal addition of
non-fossil based supply. We believe that such an assessment
would find that the
extremely high costs of implementing this program outweigh the
indirect benefits to consumers of the small, marginal
reductions in U'S' oil imports. Therefore,
we do not recommend
renewing blender's credits when they expire at the end of
2009." -- Page 10,
Fundamentals of a Sustainable U.S. Biofuels Policy
US Ethanol Production Poses Economic, Environment Risks
Wall Street Journal
January 6, 2010 The report by the Rice University's Baker
Institute for Public Policy notes that in 2008 the U.S.
government spent $4 billion in biofuel subsidies to replace
2% of the U.S. gasoline supply. The average cost to
the taxpayer of those substituted barrels of gasoline was
roughly $82 a barrel, or $1.95 per gallon on top of the
retail gasoline price, according to the
study.
"This is a very
disappointing outcome.
I see nothing here that should drive
investment in low-carbon technology." Trevor Sikorski, director at
Barclays Capital
Carbon Prices Fall in Wake of Copenhagen Chris Flood and Fiona Harvey Financial
Times (UK)December 22, 2009
Leaked UN report shows
cuts offered at Copenhagen would lead to 3C rise
"I am sorry to say that
most of what politicians are doing on the climate front is
greenwashing - their proposals sound good, but they are
deceiving you and themselves at the same time. Governments are
stating emission goals that they know are lies.
Are we going to stand up and give global politicians a hard
slap in the face, to make them face the truth?
It will take lot of us
– probably in the streets. Or are we going to let them
continue to kid themselves and us, and cheat our children and
grandchildren?"
James Hansen
Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Climate Change Odds
Much Worse Than Thought New analysis shows warming could be
double previous estimates David Chandler MIT News Office
May 19, 2009 Image courtesy / MIT
Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
The new projections, published this
month in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of
Climate, indicate a median probability of surface warming of
5.2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with
a
90% probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 degrees. This can
be compared to a median projected increase in the 2003 study
of just 2.4 degrees. The difference is caused by several
factors rather than any single big change. Among these are
improved economic modeling and newer economic data showing
less chance of low emissions than had been projected in the
earlier scenarios. Other changes include accounting for the
past masking of underlying warming by the cooling induced by
20th century volcanoes, and for emissions of soot, which can
add to the warming effect. In addition, measurements of deep
ocean temperature rises, which enable estimates of how fast
heat and carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere and
transferred to the ocean depths, imply lower transfer rates
than previously estimated.
...And the odds
indicated by this modeling may actually understate the
problem, because the model does not fully incorporate other
positive feedbacks that can occur, for example, if increased
temperatures caused a large-scale melting of permafrost in
arctic regions and subsequent release of large quantities of
methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.
JOHNNY DIED FOR RUSSIA
AND CHINA?
NOW: A POLITICALLY CORRECT
OIL WAR
Iraq struck a
deal with Russian energy giant Lukoil on Saturday to develop
one of the world's biggest untapped oil fields as part of
efforts by Baghdad to dramatically ramp up its crude output.
The agreement over the West Qurna-2 reservoir with Lukoil,
which will share the project with Norway's StatoilHydro, comes
a day after consortiums led by Shell and CNPC were awarded
contracts. ...Lukoil will take 85 percent and StatoilHydro 15
percent. ...China's CNPC led a group comprising Petronas and
France's Total on Friday to capture Halfaya, also in southern
Iraq.
A monster iceberg nearly twice the
size of Hong Kong island has been spotted drifting
towards Australia in what scientists Wednesday called a
once-in-a-century event. ...The finding comes after two
large icebergs were spotted further east, off
Australia's Macquarie Island, followed by more than 100
smaller ice chunks heading towards New Zealand.
Could Nickel Replace Platinum as
a Cheaper Catalyst in Fuel Cells? Electric Electric (UK)
Dec 9 2009
A group of researchers in France, however, have
developed a new process in which nickel, a much cheaper
and prolific substance, can be used to replace platinum
as a catalyst. The tests were published this week in an
issue of Science.
From Hydrogenases to Noble Metal–Free Catalytic
Nanomaterials for H2 Production and Uptake Alan Le Goff, Vincent Artero, Bruno
Jousselme, Phong Dinh Tran, Nicolas Guillet, Romain
Métayé, Aziz Fihri, Serge Palacin, Marc Fontecave
Interconversion of water and hydrogen in unitized
regenerative fuel cells is a promising energy storage
framework for smoothing out the temporal fluctuations
of solar and wind power. However,
replacement of presently available platinum catalysts
by lower-cost and more abundant materials is a
requisite for this technology to become economically
viable.
WASHINGTON – After a thorough examination of the
scientific evidence and careful consideration of public
comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced today that greenhouse gases (GHGs) threaten
the public health and welfare of the American people.
EPA also finds that GHG emissions from on-road vehicles
contribute to that threat.
GHGs are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead
to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of
the sick, poor or elderly; increases in ground-level
ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory
illnesses; as well as other threats to the health and
welfare of Americans.
“These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history
as the year when the United States Government began
addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and
seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” said
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Business leaders,
security experts, government officials, concerned
citizens and the United States Supreme Court have called
for enduring, pragmatic solutions to reduce the
greenhouse gas pollution that is causing climate change.
This continues our work towards clean energy reform that
will cut GHGs and reduce the dependence on foreign oil
that threatens our national security and our economy.”
EPA’s final findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court
decision that GHGs fit within the Clean Air Act
definition of air pollutants. The findings do not in and
of themselves impose any emission reduction requirements
but rather allow EPA to finalize the GHG standards
proposed earlier this year for new light-duty vehicles
as part of the joint rulemaking with the Department of
Transportation.
On-road vehicles contribute more than 23 percent of total
U.S. GHG emissions. EPA’s proposed GHG standards for
light-duty vehicles, a subset of on-road vehicles, would
reduce GHG emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons
and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the
lifetime of model year 2012-2016 vehicles.
EPA’s endangerment finding covers emissions of six key
greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur
hexafluoride – that have been the subject of scrutiny
and intense analysis for decades by scientists in the
United States and around the world.
Scientific consensus shows that as a result of human
activities, GHG concentrations in the atmosphere are at
record high levels and data shows that the Earth has
been warming over the past 100 years, with the steepest
increase in warming in recent decades. The evidence of
human-induced climate change goes beyond observed
increases in average surface temperatures; it includes
melting ice in the Arctic, melting glaciers around the
world, increasing ocean temperatures, rising sea levels,
acidification of the oceans due to excess carbon
dioxide, changing precipitation patterns, and changing
patterns of ecosystems and wildlife.
President Obama and Administrator Jackson have publicly
stated that they support a legislative solution to the
problem of climate change and Congress’ efforts to pass
comprehensive climate legislation. However, climate
change is threatening public health and welfare, and it
is critical that EPA fulfill its obligation to respond
to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that determined
that greenhouse gases fit within the Clean Air Act
definition of air pollutants.
EPA issued the proposed findings in April 2009 and held a
60-day public comment period. The agency received more
than 380,000 comments, which were carefully reviewed and
considered during the development of the final findings.
China must do much
more if it is to halve per capita greenhouse emissions
by 2050 and thereby avoid a catastrophic rise in global
temperatures, but it cannot go it alone, a report
released in Beijing said on Tuesday.
The report, Going Clean: the economics of China’s
low-carbon development, by the Chinese Economists 50
Forum and SEI, says that emission reductions up to 2050
can be made for example through:
Energy efficiency gains through improved building
design, standards for electrical appliances and the
use of less energy-intensive materials
A massive shift towards the use of renewable
energy such as wind and solar energy, municipal solid
waste and biomass, and small hydropower
Electric vehicles for road transport
Using Carbon Capture and Storage technology in new
coal-fired power plants
A better international cooperation mechanism that
can channel more finance and technologies from
developed countries
The report by Chinese, Swedish,
German, British and American experts says that these
changes would also present opportunities for China to
improve its energy security and move its economy higher
up the international value chain.
The UN Copenhagen climate talks
are in disarray today after developing countries reacted
furiously to leaked documents that show world leaders
will next week be asked to sign an agreement that hands
more power to rich countries and sidelines the UN's role
in all future climate change negotiations.
RIO Tinto says it is pulling out
of a carbon capture and storage project in the United
Arab Emirates, and will focus investment in the clean
technology in California. ...The project in California
aims to provide power for more than 150,000 homes, with
a 90 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions as
most of the greenhouse gas will be captured and stored
deep underground.
The Dubai Financial Nuke
Clive Maund IBT Times
December 6, 2009
Dubai was a vast sinkhole into which western banks and
governments unquestioningly poured not just billions
but trillions of dollars which was then leveraged
enormously by means of derivatives enabling Dubai to
build itself up into a latter day Rome, with a level
of opulence and extravagance that would have made
Caesar green with envy. ..What the vast majority don't
realize is that the stupendous leverage afforded by
derivatives has in addition enabled Dubai to create an
immense global empire of businesses, most of the
elements of which are broke, having racked up
staggering levels of debt.
Abu Dhabi Hydrogen-CCS Plant Delayed
February 25, 2009 Masdar unveiled the
project in January last year, as the centre piece of
Abu Dhabi's first World Future Energy Summit. It
represents the first such facility of its type
anywhere in the world and will combine the production
of hydrogen power with carbon capture and storage
technologies.
GE Energy has signed a technology
licensing agreement with Hydrogen Energy for a proposed
250-megawatt power plant that would use integrated
gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology, a product
of ecomagination. The plant, to be located near
Bakersfield, in Kern County, Calif., would be designed
to capture up to 90 percent of its carbon dioxide for
enhanced oil recovery and sequestration in an adjacent
oil field.
“This is a homecoming of sorts for GE and IGCC technology,”
said Monte Atwell, general manager, gasification of GE
Energy. “GE technology was involved in the first IGCC
pilot plant in Barstow, Calif., and we are pleased to be
deploying the next generation of this technology to
deliver low carbon power to the people of Southern
California.”
HEI is a joint venture of BP Alternative Energy and
multinational mining company Rio Tinto Hydrogen. In
2007, GE and BP formed a global alliance to jointly
develop and deploy technology for at least five IGCC
power plants that could dramatically reduce carbon
dioxide emissions from electricity generation. The
Hydrogen Energy California County project would be the
first power plant built under that alliance.
“Offering further proof that IGCC with carbon capture and
storage (CCS) is viable commercial technology, this
plant could become a model for new power generating
facilities worldwide and help position the United States
as a leader in low carbon power generation,” said
Jonathan Briggs, regional director of the Americas for
Hydrogen Energy. “We are pleased to team up with GE
Energy, a world leader in IGCC experience, for this
milestone project, which will offer electricity
generators with a low carbon fuel option that can
contribute enormously to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions.”
IGCC plants have been deployed worldwide and have
demonstrated the capability to significantly reduce
emissions. The technology converts solid fuels, such as
coal, into a cleaner burning hydrogen-rich fuel, which
then is used by a gas turbine combined-cycle system to
generate electricity, providing a cleaner, economical
coal-to-power option. IGCC also significantly reduces
criteria emissions—sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide,
mercury and particulate matter—and decreases water
consumption by up to 30 percent (as compared to a
conventional coal plant).
The technology proposed for the Hydrogen Energy California
plant would convert petroleum coke, coal or a
combination of each into a synthesis gas (syngas).
Chemical scrubbers would filter out pollutants and would
separate CO2, leaving a hydrogen-rich fuel to power the
gas turbine combined-cycle system. The carbon captured
from the plant would be piped to an adjacent oil field,
where it would be used for enhanced oil recovery and
sequestration operations.
GE Energy has been at the forefront of IGCC technology for
more than two decades. GE technology was involved in
several milestone projects, including the pilot IGCC
plant, Coolwater, in Barstow, Calif., and the Polk Tampa
Electric IGCC plant in Florida, that helped demonstrate
the commercial feasibility of IGCC. GE also is supplying
IGCC technology for Duke Energy’s plant in Edwardsport,
Ind., that is expected to be the world’s largest IGCC
facility when it reaches commercial operation in 2012.
You wouldn’t think so by looking
at it, but grimy, smudgy coal -- the driver of world
economies, the black-carbon bane of environmentalists --
could well be the next big stepping stone in South
Africa’s clean, renewable-energy ambitions. Following in
the footsteps of the more experienced Russians, Eskom
has been running a pilot project since 2007 in which it
taps into vast but deep-lying seams of coal that
wouldn’t be mined by conventional means. Instead, in a
process known as underground coal gasification, it sets
the coal alight and extracts the resulting synthetic
gas, or syngas. Syngas is made up mainly of carbon
monoxide and hydrogen, but also contains nitrogen,
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, plus trace amounts of
other gases. But it’s the steam of hydrogen,
specifically, that interests the South African Institute
for Advanced Materials Chemistry at the University of
the Western Cape. Dr Ben Bladergroen wants to perfect
the production of hydrogen from coal and (later) other
sources.
"Fuel cell materials
are anticipated to advance at a double-digit pace
through 2013 as a result of favorable prospects for fuel
cell production as commercialization of these units
continues."
ENERGY-WATER NEXUS
Many Uncertainties Remain
about National and Regional Effects of Increased Biofuel
Production on Water Resources
Report to the Chairman,
Committee on Science and Technology, House of
Representatives
United States Government
Accountability Office November 2009
Water is crucial to many
stages
of the biofuel life cycle and is needed
for the growth of the feedstock as well as for
fermentation, distillation, and cooling during the
process of converting the feedstock into biofuel. As
biofuel production increases, questions have emerged
about the effects that increased production could have
on the nation’s water resources. ...Many experts and
officials told us that corn cultivation requires
substantial quantities of water, although the amount
used depends on where the crop is grown and how much
irrigation water is used. The primary corn production
regions are in the upper and lower Midwest.... Together,
these regions accounted for 89 percent of corn
production in 2007 and 2008, and 95 percent of ethanol
production in the United States in 2007. Corn cultivation
in these three regions averages anywhere from 7 to 321
gallons of irrigation water for every gallon of ethanol
produced....
Elizabeth Doris, Joyce
McLaren,
Victoria Healey, and Stephen Hockett
National Renewable Energy Laboratory October 2009
...provides a detailed picture of the status of renewable energy
development in each of the U.S. states using a variety
of metrics and discusses the policies being used to
encourage this development.
NREL Report Relates
State Policies to Renewable Energy Development
EERE Network News
December 2, 2009
DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently
issued a report showing that clean energy development is
spreading rapidly throughout the country, often
following public policies designed to spur renewable
energy growth. According to the report, "State of the
States 2009: Renewable Energy Development and the Role
of Policy," California led the nation in terms of total
non-hydroelectric renewable generation in 2007, while
Maine generated the largest percentage of electricity
from renewable resources other than hydropower, at
26.1%. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia
have adopted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), a
policy that requires utilities to draw a percentage of
their power from renewable energy sources. All but a
dozen states have implemented policies for connecting
renewable energy systems to the power grid, known as
interconnection, while all but eight allow customers to
earn credit for power fed back into the grid, a policy
called net metering.
The NREL report also went beyond simply tabulating data by
examining the impact of renewable energy policies using
statistical and empirical methods. That analysis found
that states that had a net-metering policy in place in
2005 had more generation from non-hydropower renewable
energy sources in 2007 than states that did not. States
that required utilities to tell their customers the
energy sources used to produce their electricity and
that also required utilities to offer "green
power"—electricity produced from renewable energy
sources—ended up with more renewable energy development.
The report also found several features of RPS policies
that significantly contributed to increased renewable
energy development, but it failed to find a perfect
combination of features for an RPS policy that
correlated with significant increases in renewable
energy.
,,,This station is part of a cluster of hydrogen
refueling stations opened by Shell in New York, in
partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey, the US Department of Energy and General Motors.
The cluster of stations, located within approximately 30
miles of each other, is configured to provide New York
drivers of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with greater
flexibility and convenience.The Quantum refueling
systems use oil free gas compression technology to
deliver hydrogen at high-pressure from a variety of
sources, including high pressure cascade systems,
industrial hydrogen bottles, bulk tube trailers, and
electrolyzer hydrogen generating systems. Key features
of the Quantum hydrogen refueling systems include:
High pressure cascade storage up to 15,000 psi
(1,000 bar)
Available gas pre-chiller system to enable faster
fills
Compression capacity of up to 9.0 kilograms per
hour
Automated purge procedure for elimination of air
and particle contamination
Hydrogen sensors and safety systems including
automated continuous monitoring.
THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT THREW AWAY MORE MONEY ON BIOFUEL GIVEAWAY
PROGRAMS IN 2009 THAN WAS EVER INVESTED IN FUEL
CELL AND HYDROGEN RESEARCH
YOUR ENERGY $$
DOWN THE RAT HOLE!
THE GREAT CELLULOSIC ETHANOL FRAUD Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me!
Cellulosic ethanol continues to be a failure
The Ethanol Mandate to Nowhere Dave Juday The Weekly Standard
November 24, 2009
As then-President George W. Bush said in February 2007,
after he proposed mandating cellulosic fuel use, "we're
on the verge of some breakthroughs that will enable a
pile of wood chips to become the raw materials for fuels
that will run your car." What was lacking in all the
euphoria of the time was any common-sense scrutiny of
the product. For example, reconstructing that "pile of
wood chips" into live trees provides a completely
different perspective. It takes one 60 foot tall
softwood tree to produce about 6 gallons of cellulosic
ethanol. So, three trees that size would almost fill up
a 20 gallon SUV tank. It takes 20-30 years of growth to
get a 60 foot softwood tree, so one 15 minute fill up of
cellulosic "renewable fuel" could represent up to 90
years or more of tree growth.
The Naval Research Laboratory's Ion Tiger, a
hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV),
has flown 26 hours and 1 minute carrying a 5-pound
payload, setting another unofficial flight endurance
record for a fuel-cell powered flight. The test flight
took place on November 16th through 17th.
The electric fuel cell propulsion system onboard the Ion
Tiger has the low noise and signature of a
battery-powered UAV, while taking advantage of hydrogen,
a high-energy fuel. Fuel cells create an electrical
current when they convert hydrogen and oxygen into water
and heat. The 550 Watt (0.75 horsepower) fuel cell
onboard the Ion Tiger has about four times the
efficiency of a comparable internal combustion engine
and the system provides seven times the energy in the
equivalent weight of batteries. The Ion Tiger
weighs approximately 37 pounds and carries a 4- to
5-pound payload.
The Ion Tiger fuel cell system development team is led
by NRL and includes Protonex Technology Corporation,
HyperComp Engineering, and Arcturus UAV. The program is
sponsored by the Office of Naval Research.
This latest flight test improves on Ion Tiger's previous
unofficial flight endurance record of 23 hours and 17
minutes that took place on October 9th and 10th.
NRL has now demonstrated that PEM fuel cell technology can
meet or surpass the performance of traditional power
systems, providing reliable, quiet operation and
extremely high efficiency. Next steps will focus on
increasing the power of the fuel cell to 1.5 kW, or 2
HP, to enable tactical flights and extending flight
times to 3 days while powering tactical payloads.
A Hotter Planet Means Less on Our Plates Lester R. Brown
Washington Post
November 22, 2009
The vanishing of mountain
glaciers in Asia represents
the biggest threat to the world food supply that we have ever
seen.
The F-Cell B-Class has a range of about 240 miles and,
running on compressed hydrogen, boasts an equivalent
fuel mileage of 86.6 city-highway combined miles per
gallon. In 2010, Mercedes will make 200 production
F-Cell cars available to customers in the U. S. and
Europe, under a special lease program for real-life
testing.
The world is
much closer to running out of oil than official
estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the
International Energy Agency who claims it has been
deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of
triggering panic buying. The senior official
claims the US has played an influential role in
encouraging the watchdog to underplay the rate of
decline from existing oil fields while overplaying the
chances of finding new reserves. The allegations raise
serious questions about the accuracy of the
organisation's latest World Energy Outlook on oil demand
and supply to be published tomorrow – which is used by
the British and many other governments to help guide
their wider energy and climate change policies.
Colin Campbell's Response to the Guardian IEA
Reporting Colin Campbell Energy
Bulletin
November 16, 2009 Briefly, Regular Conventional Oil peaked in
2005. The shortfall was made good by expensive oil
mainly from deepwater fields and Canadian tar sands,
which led to rising prices. This trend was spotted by
shrewd traders who started buying contracts on the
Futures Market, while the industry maintained high
levels of storage, watching it appreciate in value at
no cost or effort. The rising prices also delivered a
flood of petrodollars to the Middle East where it
still costs on average about $10 to produce a barrel.
The surplus was in turn partly returned to Western
financial institutions, contributing to their
instability. The surge in price reached extreme levels
in mid 2008, approaching $150 a barrel, which prompted
the shrewd traders to start selling short on the
Futures Market and for the industry to start draining
their tanks before they lost value. The high prices in
parallel triggered an economic recession which
dampened demand causing prices to fall back to 2005
levels before edging up to around $75 today.
A pipe with hundreds of pounds of
pressurized hydrogen suffered a "catastrophic failure"
that started Wednesday's explosion at the Silver Eagle
Refinery, a federal investigator said Saturday. When the
10-inch pipe separated, hydrogen spewed to a furnace and
ignited.... The force of a resulting fireball, combined
with the 630 pounds of pressurized hydrogen, burst east
toward homes in a Woods Cross neighborhood. There were
no injuries, but 10 homes suffered severe damage. At
least one was blown from its foundation.
The Swedish government's venture
capital company for the automotive industry,
Fouriertransform, is making its first investment of
SEK60 million (£5.2 million) in Powercell Sweden AB,
which develops, produces and sells fuel cells, fuel
reformers and auxillary power units.
..."We are busy staffing the company and have received more
than 1,000 highly qualified applicants for our
advertised jobs," says Per Wassén. "This will make
Powercell the largest fuel cell plant in northern
Europe."
Disintegration: Greenland ice cap melt enters
6000-foot vertical shaft
Earth’s history reveals numerous cases in which ice melt
caused sea level to rise several meters per century. If
business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue the
human-made climate forcing will be much greater than the
natural forcings that caused these earlier ice sheet
disintegrations. I find it implausible that the West
Antarctic ice sheet could survive this century, if
business-as-usual emissions continue. Thus, in such an
emission scenario, sea level rise of several meters
should be expected this century, with still further sea
level rise continuing, out of control of humanity.
Intelligent Energy, the leading clean power systems
company, in partnership with Suzuki Motor Corporation,
is set to unveil their latest joint development in clean
fuel transport systems at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show –
the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter.
Having stunned the motorcycle world two years ago with the
Crosscage fuel cell motorbike, Intelligent Energy and
Suzuki have now applied this advanced fuel cell
technology to a more accessible form of two-wheeled
transportation. The city-friendly Suzuki Burgman Fuel
Cell Scooter is a demonstration of the potential for
zero emissions motorcycles to significantly reduce
emissions around the world.
The scooter is fitted with a hydrogen fuel tank which
delivers quick refueling, good riding range and a robust
frame for increased safety. The scooter uses the latest
version of Intelligent Energy’s unique and proprietary
PEM clean fuel cell engine, which are light, compact and
well-suited to mass manufacture.
“The zero-emissions Burgman scooter is the latest product of
the successful commercial relationship between Suzuki
and Intelligent Energy”, commented Dr. Henri Winand, CEO
at Intelligent Energy. “Of course, these clean fuel cell
engine powered motorcycles are not simply for motor
shows, and can be widely available to everyone in the
near future. With a mass market of about 40 million
units per annum, there is a lot to go after. As part of
this process, Intelligent Energy and Suzuki will
continue to work on clean fuel cell powered motorcycles
and plan to hold demonstrations of the fuel cell scooter
in the near future”.
more
US Performs Hydrogen Funding U-turn Senate votes to commit about $200m to fuel cell
funding, despite indications from the White House that
it would like to see green investment targeted elsewhere
Cath Everett BusinessGreen
October 22, 2009
The bill is now awaiting the signature of President
Obama, who has said that he would like to see a million
plug-in electric vehicles on the streets by 2012.
Toshiba Launches Direct Methanol Fuel Cell in Japan
as External Power for Mobile Electronic Devices Toshiba (Japan)
October 22, 2009
Toshiba Corporation , a world leader in the development
of fuel-cell technology for handheld electronic
equipment, today announced the launch of its first
direct methanol fuel-cell product: Dynario™, an external
power source that delivers power to mobile digital
consumer products. Dynario™, together with a dedicated
fuel cartridge for refueling on the go, will be launched
in Japan, in a limited edition of 3,000 units only, and
will be exclusively available at
Shop1048, Toshiba's direct-order web site for
digital consumer products in the Japanese market. Orders
will be accepted from October 22, and shipping will
start on October 29.
more
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REPORT CASTS DOUBT ON DECISION
TO PRODUCE ELECTRIC CARS IN ABSENCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
INFRASTRUCTURE
"...When the damages attributable to the other parts of
the lifecycle were included, especially the emissions
from the feedstock and the fuel (emissions from
electricity production),
the aggregate damages for
the grid-dependent and all-electric vehicles become
comparable to, or somewhat higher than, those from
gasoline."
-- page 146
DESPITE ITS
TITLE, THE REPORT OMITS THE GREATEST HIDDEN COST OF
ENERGY: THE MILITARY SECURMENT OF MIDDLE EAST OIL FIELDS
FOR U.S. TRANSPORTATION
A new report
from the National Research Council examines and, when
possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production
and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on
human health -- that are not reflected in market prices
of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity
and gasoline produced from them. The report estimates
dollar values for several major components of these
costs. The damages the committee was able to quantify
were an estimated $120 billion in the U.S. in 2005, a
number that reflects primarily health damages from air
pollution associated with electricity generation and
motor vehicle transportation. The figure does not
include damages from climate change, harm to ecosystems,
effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and
risks to national security, which the report examines
but does not monetize.
Requested by Congress, the report assesses what economists
call external effects caused by various energy sources
over their entire life cycle -- for example, not only
the pollution generated when gasoline is used to run a
car but also the pollution created by extracting and
refining oil and transporting fuel to gas stations.
Because these effects are not reflected in energy
prices, government, businesses and consumers may not
realize the full impact of their choices. When such
market failures occur, a case can be made for government
interventions -- such as regulations, taxes or tradable
permits -- to address these external costs, the report
says.
The committee that wrote the report focused on
monetizing the damage of major air pollutants -- sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter
– on human health, grain crops and timber yields,
buildings, and recreation. When possible, it estimated
both what the damages were in 2005 (the latest year for
which data were available) and what they are likely to
be in 2030, assuming current policies continue and new
policies already slated for implementation are put in
place.
The committee also separately derived a range of values for
damages from climate change; the wide range of
possibilities for these damages made it impossible to
develop precise estimates of cost. However, all model
results available to the committee indicate that
climate-related damages caused by
each ton of CO2 emissions will be far worse in 2030
than now; even if the total
amount of annual emissions remains steady, the damages
caused by each ton would increase 50 percent to 80
percent.
more
...On Thursday, the Senate agreed to restore nearly all
the money for hydrogen car research that the
administration had proposed to cut. The measure, part of
an appropriations bill previously approved by the House,
is expected to be signed by President Obama.... The
governments of Japan and Germany also are investing
hundreds of millions in the technology, with the Germans
aiming to build 1,000 stations by 2015, according to
auto industry sources. "We're grateful to the Congress
for seeing the value in continuing this work," said
Jerome Hinkle, vice president of government affairs for
the National Hydrogen Association. He added that the
administration has since seemed to moderate its
opposition to H2 cars.
The objective of
this evaluation was to independently and objectively
verify driving ranges of >400 miles from Toyota’s new
advanced Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV-adv) utilizing
70 MPa compressed hydrogen. ...
The total range
determined from the testing was 431 miles. ...The
average fuel economy from the day’s driving was 68.3
miles/kg.
Asked what
it would take to get a [United States] hydrogen filling
network going, especially
with a current administration that is openly hostile,
Ito responded "I wish I knew" but that hydrogen must be
promoted to governments and "we must be patient."
Using newly
designed hydrogen engines optimized for NH3, little
difference is expected between the performance of
anhydrous ammonia compared to gasoline or diesel fuel.
from George Thomas. BES workshop 5/13/03
Sandia National Laboratories
NH3
Roadster Steals the Show in Kansas City Richard D. Masters, ICHC
October 13, 2009
Alternative fuel advocates gathering in
Kansas City, Missouri, were treated to a first look at the
promise of ammonia's power with the no-holds-barred,
purpose-built Oxx Cart NH3 Roadster from the
Hydrogen Engine Center and Eliminator Performance.
The roadster project is a showcase
for the Hydrogen Engine Center's introduction of the
"largest spark ignition hydrogen engine yet built," a 572
cubic inch compacted graphite V8 monster, cast and
machined by Eliminator Performance and "intended
for large hydrogen-fueled electrical power generation
systems and for buses." In a unique proprietary
breakthrough, ammonia fuel is "cracked" onboard, releasing
hydrogen at controlled rates which, in turn, ignites the
pure anhydrous ammonia that burns without carbon
emissions.
The roadster project is a result of years of collaboration
between key figures in ammonia and hydrogen fuel. Engine
testing and optimization are scheduled to begin shortly.
Follow the links below for more details.
Ammonia – Carbon-free Liquid
Fuel Conference
October 12 - 13, 2009 • Kansas City, MO
PRESENTATIONS
“GM has invested
more than $1.5 billion in fuel cell technology and we
are committed to continuing to invest, but we no longer
can go it alone. As we approach a costly part of the
program, we will require government and industry
partnerships to install a hydrogen infrastructure and
help create a customer pull for the products.”
Charles Freese, executive director of GM Fuel Cell
Activities
GM Calls for Infrastructure to Justify Fuel Cell
Vehicles NGV Global News
September 30, 2009
General Motors Co. (GM) has put its hand up for
assistance with their fuel cell program in the US,
saying that Government help and industry partnerships
are needed to establish hydrogen fuelling infrastructure
to help create demand.
Provocative New Study Warns of Crossing Planetary
Boundaries The Earth has
nine biophysical thresholds beyond which it cannot be
pushed without disastrous consequences, the authors of a
new paper in the journal Nature report. Ominously, these
scientists say, we have already moved past three of these
tipping points. Carl Zimmer Yale Environment
360 September
23, 2009
Tipping Towards the Unknown Researchers propose critical planetary
boundaries, transgressing them could be catastrophic. But
there is hope. Stockholm Resilience Centre
September 23, 2009
Anthropogenic
pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where
abrupt global environmental change can no longer be
excluded. We propose a new approach to global
sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries
within which we expect that humanity can operate safely.
Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be
deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of
crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt
environmental change within continental- to
planetary-scale systems.
Authors
Johan Rockström, Åsa Persson, Björn Nykvist, Uno Svedin,
Louise Karlberg
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm
University, Sweden Will Steffen
ANU Climate Change Institute, Australian
National University, Australia Kevin Noone, Cynthia A. de Wit Dept of Applied Environmental Science,
Stockholm University, Sweden F. Stuart Chapin, III
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of
Alaska Fairbanks, USA Eric F. Lambin
Department of Geography, Université
Catholique de Louvain, Belgium Timothy M. Lenton
School of Environmental Sciences,
University of East Anglia, UK Marten Scheffer
Aquatic Ecology &
Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen U., Netherlands Carl Folke
The Beijer Institute of Ecological
Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Joachim Schellnhuber
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research, Germany Terry Hughes
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef
Studies, James Cook University, Australia Sander van der Leeuw
School of Human Evolution & Social Change,
Arizona State University, USA Henning Rodhe
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Sweden Sverker Sörlin
Div. of History of Science and Technology,
Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Peter K. Snyder
Department of Soil, Water, and Climate,
University of Minnesota, USA Robert Costanza
Gund Institute for Ecological Economics,
University of Vermont, USA Malin Falkenmark
Stockholm International Water Institute,
Sweden Robert W. Corell
The H. John Heinz III Center for Science,
Economics and the Environment, USA Victoria J. Fabry
Department of Biological Sciences,
California State University San Marcos, USA James Hansen
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies,
USA Brian Walker
CSIRO - Sustainable Ecosystems, Australia Diana Liverman
Environmental Change Institute, University
of Oxford, UK Katherine Richardson
Earth System Science Centre, Univ. of
Copenhagen, Denmark Paul Crutzen
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry,
Switzerland Jonathan A. Foley
Institute on the Environment, University of
Minnesota, USA
“By the end of this year, China will bypass [the United States] on new wind generation
so fast we won’t even see it go by.” Lester
Brown Tom Friedman
The New Sputnik
NYT
September 26,
2009
The new fuel cell system with a
fifth-generation fuel cell stack can be packaged under
the hood in about the same space as a four-cylinder
engine. By comparison, the current system (with a
fourth-generation stack) is about the size of a file
cabinet.
GM says the new system gets the same performance with 320
cells that is achieved with the 400-cell, 93-kW system
used in the Equinox. ...GM is targeting a sub-10-gram
level for the system -- less than the platinum used in a
conventional catalytic converter -- by the end of the
decade.
205 kW Fuel Cell in P3 Ballard Bus: Vancouver 2000
Hydrogen Hawaii
He thinks the Volt will fall flat, and then the government
will rush to its aid with generous subsidies so as to not look
like a bunch of fools. Nysschen would rather the government
supported more diesels since they produce fewer emissions than
an electric car that's charged by coal.
Mazda, the small Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co., is
betting it has a unique weapon in its own powertrain arsenal,
the Wankel, or rotary engine. Small, simple and lightweight,
it was once seen as a promising substitute for the piston
engine, but never lived up to its initial expectations. But
now Mazda believes the Wankel could move from a niche to
mainstream source of power, and one that could be brought to
market sooner and at a significantly lower cost than the fuel
cell vehicles and battery cars on which other manufacturers
are showering their attention —and billions in research
dollars.
The Naval Research Laboratory has completed a successful
flight test of the fuel cell powered XFC (eXperimental Fuel
Cell) unmanned aerial system (UAS). During the June 2 flight
test, the XFC UAS was airborne for more than six hours. NRL's
Chemistry and Tactical Electronic Warfare Divisions are
developing the XFC UAS as an expendable, long endurance
platform for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR).
Compared to internal combustion powered vehicles, battery
powered UAS are inherently stealthy in that they are
relatively free of noise and thermal signature, and are easy
to start, operate and maintain. However, they have poor
payload capacity and endurance. The electrically powered UAS
could have more tactical utility and be a platform for ISR if
endurance could be increased.
NRL and its fuel cell development and manufacturing partner,
Protonex Technology Corporation (Southborough, MA) have
addressed these issues by developing a hydrogen fuel cell
power plant system that greatly extends endurance and permits
increased payload capacity. The technology has been
successfully integrated into the XFC UAS, a folding wing,
expendable UAS that has a small footprint with a standard
lightweight rail launcher. The non-hybridized power plant
supports this fully autonomous aircraft and an EO/IR payload
for a flight endurance that enables relatively low cost, low
altitude, ISR missions of up to seven-plus hours in its
current configuration. In its final form, the XFC will be
capable of self-launching from a folded configuration with
loiter speed of 30 knots and a dash speed of 52 knots.
NRL's XFC UAS will be on display in booth 256 at the 2009
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
meeting in Washington, DC from August 10 - 13.
The Office of Naval Research, the Department of Defense's
Rapid Reaction Technology Office, and the Office of Technology
Transition sponsor this research program.
Warning: Oil Supplies Are Running Out Fast Catastrophic shortfalls threaten economic recovery,
says world's top energy economist Steve Connor The Independent
(UK) August 3, 2009
The first detailed assessment of more than 800 oil fields in
the world, covering three quarters of global reserves, has
found that most of the biggest fields have already peaked and
that the rate of decline in oil production is now running at
nearly twice the pace as calculated just two years ago.
...In a stark
warning to Britain and the other Western powers, Dr Birol said
that the market power of the very few oil-producing countries
that hold substantial reserves of oil – mostly in the Middle
East – would increase rapidly as the oil crisis begins to grip
after 2010.
The automaker fully expects the next iterations of the fuel
cell technology – currently used in the FCHV – to be ready to
meet all customer demands of range and operating temperature,
and it will bring the cars to market whether the refueling
infrastructure is in place or not.
Jetstream Wind Inc. officials said the $219 million plant
would use electricity from wind, solar and other renewable
energy sources to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The
hydrogen would then be burned in a turbine — similar to those
used by natural gas-fired power plants — to generate enough
electricity to power about 6,000 homes and businesses.
The Jetstream Initiative
Jetstream An economic solution for the United States utilizing
renewable energy.
Daimler Sells 4% of Tesla to
Abu Dhabi Sam Abuelsamid
AutoBlogGreen
July 13, 2009
Aabar has indicated it would be
interested in pursuing some kind of joint venture with Tesla.
The fund is controlled by the Abu Dhabi government and managed
by the International Petroleum Investment Company with the
intent of diversifying beyond oil.
Tesla Teams with Daimler
Los Angeles Times
May 20 2009
Tesla was recently unable to
complete a $100-million round of outside venture funding and
settled for a smaller, $40-million round from investors who
already had a stake in the company.
Carbon Trading on the Cheap If the United States wants
to build a market-based approach to reducing carbon dioxide
emissions, it should learn from Europe's failures. Peter Fairley MIT Technology Review
July/August 2009
A glut of pollution
credits, distributed without cost during both the first,
transitional phase of the program and the current working
phase, drove down the value of the EUAs [CO2 release
allowances]. As a result, Europe's carbon dioxide emissions
remain priced well below 20 euros per ton. With the price of
pollution so low, economists say, industries that generate and
consume energy have no incentives to change their habits; it
is still cheaper to use fossil fuels than to switch to
technologies that pollute less.
EUROPE
ASSUMES LEADERSHIP ROLE IN HYDROGEN ENERGY ABANDONED BY THE
UNITED STATES
"We
are just in time to seize the opportunity to make Europe a
leader in [hydrogen] technologies." Gijs van Breda Vriesman,
Chairman
Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking
The 29 project topics aim to put fuel cell and hydrogen energy
technologies on the market two to five years sooner than what
is estimated without the support it offers. Selected teams of
researchers will investigate bottlenecks in the whole range of
applications for these energy technologies, from cars to large
scale power plants, as well as the whole supply chain from
hydrogen production to demonstration of the market-readiness
of applications. Breakthrough research should foster the use
of hydrogen-fuelled buses and fuel cell vehicles. It will help
develop hydrogen storage and improve fuel cells' durability,
performance and the cost-efficiency to make green applications
such as power stations or laptops ready for the market. This
call is the second being launched by this EU-wide
collaborative private-public partnership whose total budget
amounts to around €1bn to be invested by 2014
...The 29 topics of the call address key issues that need to
be tackled to achieve market breakthroughs. They are divided
in 5 application areas: transportation and refuelling
infrastructure; hydrogen production and distribution;
stationary power generation; and early markets, such as
portable applications or small utility vehicles. ...The
founding members of the Joint Undertaking are the European
Commission and an Industry Grouping (the NEW IG) established
as an international not-for-profit association representing
European industry interests. The NEW IG currently has 64
companies, including major players in the automobile sector
and in the energy sector. In terms of size, the member
companies represent the whole range from multinationals to
SMEs. Most are based in the Member States but there are also
companies from Associated Countries.
The
scariest thing about geo-engineering, as it happens, is also
the thing that makes it such a game-changer in the
global-warming debate: it’s incredibly cheap. Many scientists,
in fact, prefer not to mention just how cheap it is. Nearly
everyone I spoke to agreed that the worst-case scenario would
be the rise of what David Victor, a Stanford law professor,
calls a “Greenfinger”—a rich madman, as obsessed with the
environment as James Bond’s nemesis Auric Goldfinger was with
gold. There are now 38 people in the world with $10 billion or
more in private assets, according to the latest Forbes list;
theoretically, one of these people could reverse climate
change all alone.
Chicken feather
fibers are mostly composed of keratin, a natural protein that
forms strong, hollow tubes. The breakthrough moment came when
researchers heated feathers to 700 degrees, causing a process
called carbonization that created billions of tiny pores. They
had found an ideal place to pack large amounts of hydrogen.
The new feather-based material can be produced at a small
fraction of carbon nanotubes' cost. A 20-gallon feather-based
tank would be about $100.
A Recipe for Clean, Green Hydrogen Power Kathy Gray
The Dalles Chronicle
June 25 2009
The process captures
nitrogen from the air, which is 70 percent nitrogen, hydrogen from
a commercial water source using an off-the-shelf electrolyzer. The
two elements are then combined through the early 20th century
Haber-Bosch process, which fixes one atom of nitrogen with three
atoms of hydrogen to produce anhydrous ammonia.
RELEASED
Copenhagen Report:
"Climate Inaction
is Inexcusable"
Potsdam Institute for Global
Science Research June 18,
2009
The most up-to-date report on
climate science notes that global temperatures, sea levels,
and frequency of extreme weather events are all increasing
beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our
contemporary society and economy have developed. That doesn't
bode well for the future of global economies and of
civilization itself, nor on the ecosystems that our
civilization depends on, unless global societies rise to meet
the challenge of climate change.
“If humanity is to learn from history and to limit these
threats [of anthropogenic climate change], the time has come
for stronger control of the human activities that are changing
the fundamental conditions for life on Earth,” the writing
team states in the Synthesis Report. To decide on effective
control measures, an understanding of how human activities are
changing the climate, and of the implications of unchecked
climate change, needs to be widespread among world and
national leaders, as well as among the public. The report
communicates this understanding through six key messages:
Key Message 1
Climatic Trends Recent observations show that greenhouse gas emissions and
many aspects of the climate are changing near the upper
boundary of the IPCC range of projections. Many key climate
indicators are already moving beyond the patterns of natural
variability within which contemporary society and economy have
developed and thrived. These indicators include global mean
surface temperature, sea-level rise, global ocean temperature,
Arctic sea ice extent, ocean acidification, and extreme
climatic events. With unabated emissions, many trends in
climate will likely accelerate, leading to an increasing risk
of abrupt or irreversible climatic shifts.
Key Message 2
Social and environmental disruption The research community provides much information to
support discussions on “dangerous climate change”. Recent
observations show that societies and ecosystems are highly
vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change, with poor
nations and communities, ecosystem services and biodiversity
particularly at risk. Temperature rises above 2°C will be
difficult for contemporary societies to cope with, and are
likely to cause major societal and environmental disruptions
through the rest of the century and beyond.
Key Message 3
Long-term strategy – Global Targets and Timetables
Rapid, sustained, and effective mitigation based on
coordinated global and regional action is required to avoid
“dangerous climate change” regardless of how it is defined.
Weaker targets for 2020 increase the risk of serious impacts,
including the crossing of tipping points, and make the task of
meeting 2050 targets more difficult and costly. Setting a
credible long-term price for carbon and the adoption of
policies that promote energy efficiency and low-carbon
technologies are central to effective mitigation.
Key Message 4 Equity Dimensions
Climate change is having, and will have, strongly differential
effects on people within and between countries and regions, on
this generation and future generations, and on human societies
and the natural world. An effective, well-funded adaptation
safety net is required for those people least capable of
coping with climate change impacts, and equitable mitigation
strategies are needed to protect the poor and most vulnerable.
Tackling climate change should be seen as integral to the
broader goals of enhancing socioeconomic development and
equity throughout the world.
Key Message 5
Inaction is inexcusable
Society already has many tools and approaches – economic,
technological, behavioural, and managerial – to deal
effectively with the climate change challenge. If these tools
are not vigorously and widely implemented, adaptation to the
unavoidable climate change and the societal transformation
required to decarbonise economies will not be achieved. A wide
range of benefits will flow from a concerted effort to achieve
effective and rapid adaptation and mitigation. These include
job growth in the sustainable energy sector; reductions in the
health, social, economic and environmental costs of climate
change; and the repair of ecosystems and revitalisation of
ecosystem services.
Key Message 6 Meeting the Challenge
If the societal transformation required to meet the climate
change challenge is to be achieved, then a number of
significant constraints must be overcome and critical
opportunities seized. These include reducing inertia in social
and economic systems; building on a growing public desire for
governments to act on climate change; reducing activities that
increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce resilience (e.g.
subsidies); and enabling the shifts from ineffective
governance and weak institutions to innovative leadership in
government, the private sector and civil society. Linking
climate change with broader sustainable consumption and
production concerns, human rights issues and democratic values
is crucial for shifting societies towards more sustainable
development pathways.
Published Papers from Conference on CLIMATE
CHANGE: GLOBAL RISKS, CHALLENGES AND DECISIONS
Copenhagen, Denmark
March 10–12, 2009
Hydrogen-Powered Two-Seater Unveiled in UK
Sustainable
Business/Reuters
June 16, 2009 "Many people lost track of the fact
that fuel cell cars are electric cars, since fuel cells
store and deliver electrical energy, just like
batteries--only with significantly more storable energy
per unit of weight. Batteries and ultra capacitors on
the other hand, offer more power per unit of weight, but
less storable energy. Technologies have evolved, but
more importantly, Riversimple brought them together as
one system, in a way that greatly exceeds the sum of
their individual benefits. This next generation
hydrogen-electric car brings electric vehicles into a
new stage where range, charge-time and cost are no
longer commercial barriers."
Taras Wankewycz,
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies
The vehicles employs a 6kW fuel cell made by
[Singapore's] Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies that
converts hydrogen into electricity, which is used to
power motors on each of the vehicles four wheels. These
motors also function as the vehicles brakes, and can
store regenerative braking energy in ultracapacitors for
later use.
Combine with lightweight composite materials, Riverside said
the vehicle maximizes efficiency, cutting the need for a
large hydrogen storage tank. Riverside said the vehicle
can travel 240 miles on one small tank of hydrogen
weighing only 2.2 lbs.
Riversimple is
a revolutionary transport company aiming to create a
cleaner world through the design, manufacture and
ownership of hydrogen vehicles.
Our vision is of a future where our relationship with the car
and with fossil fuels has changed dramatically for the
better, with new solutions in place for sustainable and
responsible mobility.
Our first project, an urban two-seater car, will be unveiled
in London on 16th June 2009. Powered by hydrogen fuel
cells, with a network hybrid design and made from carbon
composites, it has been designed to achieve over 300 mpg
(energy equivalent). --
Riversimple
Horizon's Fuel Cells Power the World's First Affordable
Hydrogen Car
Horizon Fuel Cells
June 16, 2009
The
networked fuel cell power-train design led to a
reduction in fuel cell power requirements by a factor
of 6 compared to other urban vehicles of similar
performance and by a factor of 15 compared to other
fuel cell prototype vehicles - an effort further
magnified by Horizon's ability to supply high power
fuel cells at greatly reduced costs.
Radical New British Small Fuel Cell Car Set for Launch Platinum Today (UK)
June 12, 2009
The car - which is being backed financially by the
grandson of Ferdinand Porsche - can reach 50 mph and
run for over 200 miles at an equivalent of 300 mpg.
...Riversimple intends to build ten prototypes
initially and will run a pilot scheme - possibly in
Cambridge or Peterborough - before rolling out the
cars on a 20-year lease.
Small Hydrogen City Car Will be Open Source Megan Treacy
Ecogeek
June 11, 2009
The
car will be about the same size as the smart fortwo,
weigh 770 pounds, reach speeds of 50 mph and have a
range of at least 200 miles. The hydrogen fuel cell
will only be 6kW and there will be electric motors in
each wheel. A bank of ultracapacitors will take the
place of a battery.
Fuel cells of this kind usually max out
at energy efficiency rates of 55-60%, but NGK Insulators'
product is offering 63%.
It’s able to continuously generate 700
watts at 800°C.
The new fuel cell is currently just a
prototype, but NGK expects a commercial version by 2012 or
2013. The company says it will first target businesses, for
example malls or convenience stores, possibly followed by a
version for homes.
“Well-funded, well-organized interests from the petroleum,
food-processing, and factory-farming industries are stepping
up the paid propaganda campaign against U.S. ethanol. They
are working overtime to persuade public policymakers,
opinion leaders, and the general public that ethanol is
responsible for all the ills of the world.”
Bob Dinneen, president and
CEO
Renewable Fuels Association
Ethanol Producer MagazineJune 16, 2009
The issue came down to a simple question, says [US Energy
Secretary Steven] Chu: "Is it likely in the next 10 or 15 or
even 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen-car economy?
The answer, we felt, was no."
But many
scientists and energy experts believe Chu asked the wrong
question and, therefore, made the wrong call.
No alternative-vehicle technology will make a major impact on
carbon emissions, petroleum use, or anything else within the
next 20 years, they say, because it takes longer than that for
a new technology to displace what is already on the road.
In the long run, they say only two technologies—hydrogen fuel
cells and electric vehicles—are capable of getting the job
done. And only one variation, plug-in hybrids, will be on the
market anytime soon.
"There are uncertainties with both these technologies," says
Joan Ogden, who heads the sustainable transportation energy
program at the University of California, Davis. "So the idea
of taking one off the table seems shortsighted."
The AC electric motor drives
the front wheels and is rated at 100 kW, or 134HP, with a 189
ft-lb torque which is plenty for a car like that. Why is 134 hp
enough? An electric motor delivers 100% of its torque as soon as
it spins and the horsepower curve comes in much sooner than with
an ICE.
Oil Price Leaps to Year's High
Guardian (UK)
June 10, 2009
Predictions of $250 a barrel on fears
for oil reserves, hopes of economic recovery and hedging against weak dollar
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National organizations
representing health, environmental and energy policy interests
joined four national trade associations today in calling for the
restoration of the federal hydrogen and fuel cell research and
deployment program.
“Fuel cells are essential to achieving national goals for
energy security, sustainability and global competitiveness,” the
organizations wrote in a letter to the House and Senate Energy &
Water Appropriations Subcommittee leadership.
The seven groups are the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
(AAM), American Lung Association (ALA), Electric Drive
Transportation Association (EDTA), Union of Concerned Scientists
(UCS), The Stella Group, Ltd, the National Hydrogen Association
(NHA) and the U.S. Fuel Cell Council (USFCC).
The Obama Administration’s 2010 Department of Energy (DOE)
budget proposes to cut the federal hydrogen fuel cell research
and deployment budget by more than two thirds, or $130 million,
eliminating funds for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle program and
market transformation programs.
The organizations wrote that “attaining our national goal of
sustainable transportation will require a diverse portfolio of
advanced vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles should be part of our
portfolio.”
“Industry, academic researchers, and the Department of
Energy, working together, have achieved substantial success in
addressing technology, infrastructure and cost challenges. Real
world data collected by DOE and others confirms that fuel cell
vehicles are inherently low in smog-causing emissions, cut
carbon emissions by more than half and achieve nearly 60%
efficiency, which is two to three times the fuel economy of
comparable combustion vehicles,” they wrote.
“We need to maintain momentum in the hydrogen fuel cell
pathway…We urge you to maintain U.S. leadership in developing
and deploying fuel cell transportation by restoring fuel cell
funding to FY 2009 levels,” they wrote.
June 8, 2009
Dear Chairman Dorgan and Ranking Member Bennett:
In its FY2010 budget request, the
Department of Energy (DOE) asks for important resources to
support research and development of advanced vehicle
technologies and fuels. These are essential to achieving
national goals for energy security, sustainability and
global competitiveness.
Attaining our national goal of sustainable transportation
will require a diverse portfolio of advanced vehicles.
Fuel cell vehicles should be part of our portfolio. Yet
the Department of Energy proposed to eliminate funding for
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and for fuel cell deployment
activities, cutting the program overall by two-thirds. We
ask that you restore funding to FY 2009 levels.
Industry, academic researchers, and the Department of Energy,
working together, have achieved substantial success in
addressing technology, infrastructure and cost challenges.
U.S. and international vehicle manufacturers have hundreds
of vehicles on the road today and have made near-term
commitments to building the fuel cell vehicle fleet.
Together they have spent billions of dollars on research,
an investment many times greater than the U.S.
government’s. Real world data collected by DOE and others
confirms that fuel cell vehicles are inherently low in
smog-causing emissions, cut carbon emissions by more than
half and achieve nearly 60% efficiency, which is two to
three times the fuel economy of comparable combustion
vehicles.
Projected system costs in volume production have been cut by
three-fourths since 2002 and long term fuel cost targets
have already been achieved. Federal support in research,
technology validation and hydrogen refueling
infrastructure would build on these successes, preserve
and create green jobs and establish a durable national
energy policy.
Additional research and development are necessary in all the
advanced vehicle and fuel pathways. All the pathways have
a role to play in attaining national goals for greenhouse
gas reductions and oil-free transportation. None of the
advanced pathways are fully commercial yet. As the
National Research Council concluded in its 2008 report on
hydrogen:
At any point in time, a well-founded energy policy
would support a portfolio of improving, emerging, and
potentially revolutionary technologies, and it would
influence both established companies and entrepreneurial
ventures.
We need to maintain momentum in the
hydrogen fuel cell pathway as part of our national energy
portfolio.
We urge you to maintain U.S. leadership in developing and
deploying fuel cell transportation by restoring
fuel cell funding to FY 2009 levels.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
American Lung Association
Electric Drive Transportation Association
National Hydrogen Association
Stella Group, Ltd.
Union of Concerned Scientists
U.S. Fuel Cell Council
Singapore - AEROPAK, a next-generation fuel cell power system recently
developed by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies will increase the flight
endurance of small and stealthy electric unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by
as much as 300 percent. The fuel cell technological advancements will
bring significant enhancements to UAS, making them more effective in
persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, a
main focus area for leading defense and security organizations around the
world.
Starting evaluation shipments this summer, Horizon’s new AEROPAK brings an
immediate performance improvement over today’s best available battery
systems. Designed for high-impact and able to operate at up to 22,000 feet
(6500m), the complete system integrates Horizon’s record-setting fuel cell
technology with new refillable dry-fuel cartridges. Storing 900Wh of
usable electrical energy and weighing just 4.4 lbs (2kg), the AEROPAK
provides up to four times the endurance capability of advanced lithium
batteries currently in use. The miniaturized power system makes it very
easy to use as
drop-in replacement for battery packs currently in service, eliminating
costly airframe modifications.
According to G2 solutions, a Seattle-based market research
firm specializing in Aerospace/Defense, “The use of pervasive UAS is
increasing because the persistent ISR capabilities they bring are
unmatched.”
more
More than a dozen hydrogen-powered cars
participated in a rally race of sorts to mark the opening of a
560-kilometre stretch of highway that is conveniently lined
with hydrogen refilling stations for alternative fuel
vehicles. Statoil is looking ahead, however, and is considering linking
the highway to a similar hydrogen autobahn in northern Germany.
California and Japan are two of the other places where
hydrogen fuel stations can be found.
The Hydrogen Road Rally Hits the West Coast
Jim Motavilli The Daily Green
May 28, 2009 Both the Department of Energy and the Department
of Transportation were sponsors of last year's much longer
tour, but are absent from this one. Is the U.S. falling
behind in the hydrogen race? How about falling off the map
completely?
As Federal Government Holds Back on Hydrogen, California
Remains Bouyant The Car Connection
June 1, 2009 California has invested $24 million in hydrogen
and fuel cells since he took over the state’s top office;
that’s been matched with about $300 million per year from
the auto industry, with automakers investing up to a billion
dollars each to develop their respective vehicles.
Listening to battery enthusiasts wax
poetic about the Tesla recently - - and seeing a few of them
appearing on the streets of west Los Angeles - - I began
thinking about the old Tony Curtis film "The Great Race"
(remember every time he smiled, there was a shiny sparkle of
superiority that gleamed from his teeth?). The roads and
Holiday Inns have improved dramatically since the period
depicted in the movie, but the idea of testing the claims of
exciting new technology at the dawn of a new transportation
age is very much the same. So let's have a 21st Century "Great
Race" and pit the Tesla against the other electric car on the
market today, the Honda Clarity.
The Tesla is an electric sports car powered by batteries,
while the Clarity is an electric sedan powered by hydrogen (a
fuel cell converts the hydrogen to electricity). The range of
each is rated by USEPA-approved testing at about 230 miles.
The similarities end there however - - the Tesla is the
fastest production car ever built at zero to 60 mph, giving
the little hot rod a distinct advantage that would seem to
make a race with a Clarity anything but "great". Or would it?
The venue for the race has already been set - - in late May,
hydrogen enthusiasts are staging a road rally from BC to BC
(Baja California to British Columbia), some 1400 miles up the
west coast of North America. The idea is to demonstrate the
commercialization of numerous hydrogen vehicles and the
fueling stations along the way - - the "Hydrogen Highway" - -
that will power the 2010 winter Olympics in Whistler near
Vancouver. Already, clean electric buses powered by hydrogen
fuel cells shuttle skiers around the resorts and slopes of the
soon-to-be Olympic venue.
So all that's
needed for The New Great Race is to get a Tesla to
participate. Surely the champions of battery
technology, the undisputed 0-60 mph speed record-holders,
would accept such a challenge. Well, given that they haven't,
let's use a little math and imagination to stage The New Great
Race anyway.
Acceleration speeds aside, highway laws in the four
states/provinces along the route will limit competitors to
something around 60 miles an hour. The 1400-mile distance
means that each car will be driving for about 23.3 hours. At
230 miles range between fueling stops, the cars will also each
stop 6 times. It
takes me about 7 minutes to refuel my Honda Clarity,
so add about 40 minutes for refueling and it will take Team
Hydrogen about 24 hours to get from Tijuana to Vancouver.
Team Battery, however, will need four hours of charging time
for each battery refueling according to the Tesla
website. That's 24 hours for charging stops in addition to the
23.3 hours of driving for a total of about 48 hours to cover
the same distance. Oh well, The New Great Race isn't so great
after all. In recent
testimony before Congress, Energy Secretary Steven Chu
acknowledged that for batteries to compete with the
performance expected by consumers - - and delivered today by
the Honda Clarity and other hydrogen vehicles - - it will take
$2 billion of taxpayer subsidies (in the current energy bill
for starters) and many years of R&D. The results are
uncertain, as recent announcements by MIT researchers suggest
- - their "breakthrough" in the lab with lithium batteries
that dramatically decreased charging times is years from
commercialization and doesn't address the half ton of
batteries you still need to lug around to power a car, which
makes the battery-electric vehicle much less efficient than
hydrogen-electric vehicles. By the way, the
hype around plug-in electric/gasoline hybrids is also deflated
when examined in a distance-driving setting like this. That
technology would either make all but 40 miles of the trip on
gasoline (the range of the batteries) or stop 35 times to
recharge, adding days to the trip.
While all of these technologies are important to help us kick
our oil addiction and solve climate change, the clear winner
of The New Great Race is definitely hydrogen. Cue the
sparkling smile and roll the cameras!
The high-output Honda fuel cell powertrain
and a sleek, aerodynamic body contribute to the vehicle's
performance potential. A modular approach to fuel cell component
packaging and the electric drivetrain contribute to the FC
Sport's low center of gravity with the majority of vehicle mass
distributed between the axles, creating the balanced weight
distribution sought after in sports cars.
The ideal placement of the Honda V-Flow fuel cell stack and
related components demonstrates the benefits of a
platform-specific, hydrogen-powered fuel cell powertrain. The FC
Sport is configured to accommodate a custom-formed high-power
fuel cell stack, located between the rear seats, and a battery
pack placed low in the middle of the vehicle. The electric motor
resides just forward of the rear axle. Two fuel storage tanks,
visible from above, are located above the rear axle.
The optimal placement of fuel cell components for performance
also allows for a relatively large passenger cabin by
conventional supercar standards with enough space for three
seating positions. The interior layout focuses primarily on the
driver with a racecar-like center driving position. The enclosed
canopy opens upward from the rear to allow for entry and exit.
Two rear passenger seats flank the driver's left and right side.
"At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each
progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to
guard the past."
Count Maurice Maeterlinck, 1911 Nobel Laureate
in Literature
"Canceling support for automotive fuel cells
at the brink of commercial introduction is
a political blunder of historic proportions." Richard D. Masters
International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Commerce
"We're going to be a second-rate country." Thomas Friedman
CNN MoneySeptember 16, 2008
DOE has characterized the budget cuts as a focus on
more near-term opportunities. In fact, fuel cells, an ultra-clean and
efficient energy source, are available today. They are gaining traction in
various motive applications including buses and material handling; they are
gaining market share in backup power and large stationary combined heating,
cooling and power applications as well; and soon they will begin to replace
batteries in many portable devices. DOE’s own fuel cell market
transformation strategy recognizes that fuel cell products and services are
on the cusp of achieving commercial success in every imaginable energy
market. Clearly these budget cuts are ill-timed for the future
health of an American made technology and send a conflicting message to
commercial fuel cell markets that have been painstakingly developed for over
a decade.
In his presentation of the proposed DOE budget, Secretary Chu
stated, “The President’s budget for energy reflects his commitment
to...restoring our scientific leadership and putting Americans back to work
through investments in a new green energy economy...” There are at least
nine university programs and countless commercial laboratories in the U.S.
specifically dedicated to fuel cell and hydrogen research. They are all
pioneers in the “new green energy economy”. Not only are these budget cuts
counterproductive of that goal, but threaten our nation’s preeminence in the
fuel cell industry and open the door to possible foreign domination.
-- The Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition Speaks Out Against U.S. DOE Funding
Cuts June 2, 2009
OBAMA'S
BLIND EYE "Fuel
cells hold out the best hope, however remote, of putting GM back in the position of world
automotive leader that it once commanded."
Jonathon Fahey Hydrogen Gas Forbes April 25, 2005
This reversal on one of the most
promising clean technologies is troubling. Funding of $2.4
billion for research into gasoline powered hybrids and plug-in
hybrids was announced in March of 2009. Research in to
hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen combustion technology was
funded at a minuscule 1.5% of the level for “cleaner” fossil
fuel based transportation. If the research dollars had been
historically reversed, with 98.5% of research funds being
spent on hydrogen fueled cars, we would already be pulling up
to a filling station to buy hydrogen, not gasoline
and diesel. When Secretary Chu stated that a hydrogen
infrastructure was still 10, 15, or 20 years away, no one
could argue. The lack of funding has put the common goal of a
truly clean fuel technology just out of reach. By cutting
research funds, the Chu and the Obama administration are
putting one of the most promising potential source of clean
energy even further out, to possibly 20, 30, or even 50 years.
“I just got the Clarity, which is a wonderful hydrogen vehicle,”
Schwarzenegger told reporters at California’s first retail
station to sell both gasoline and hydrogen, in West Los Angeles.
“We’re all fighting over who is driving it. My daughters want to
drive it all the time and take it away from me.” Schwarzenegger
dropped by the Shell station, which opened last summer, to lend
his star power to the Hydrogen Road Tour, a rally designed to
highlight advances in fuel-cell technology. Seven automakers are
taking part in the nine-day, 1,700-mile trip from San Diego to
Vancouver, Canada.
The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid comes
billed as Mazda’s latest hydrogen rotary engine vehicle which
can use either hydrogen or gasoline as fuel. The dual system was
developed in the another Mazda hydrogen vehicle, the RX-8
Hydrogen. However, the Premacy, a boxy crossover vehicle, has a
more advanced system that gives it a range of 125 miles on
hydrogen alone. That's double the capability of the RX-8
Hydrogen.
A new report released today by the
Copenhagen Climate Council at the World Business Summit on
Climate Change reveals that a firm commitment to low-carbon
energy sources would create millions of sustainable new jobs
in the United States alone.
Authored by Dan Kammen and Ditlev Engel, the report, Green
Jobs and the Clean Energy Economy, demonstrates that
appropriate policy frameworks and large-scale strategic
investment in clean energy technologies will both spur greater
employment than fossil fuel investment and pay dividends for
the planet.
Based on a job-creation model developed at the Renewable and
Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California,
Berkeley, and featuring a case study of Danish wind power
giant Vestas Wind Systems, the latest installment of the
Council's Thought Leadership Series provides analytical
support for solutions that promote clean sources of energy and
job creation simultaneously.
The report reveals a combination of policy scenarios that
demonstrate that renewable energy investment and energy
efficiency measures can generate 2 to 8 times more jobs per
unit of energy delivered than the fossil fuel-based sector.
Green Jobs further indicates that in the United States alone a
national Renewable Portfolio Standard of 25% in 2025 coupled
with a 0.5% annual electricity growth rate would generate more
than 2 million jobs, and further increasing low-carbon sources
by around 50% would generate more than 3 million jobs. This
would result in a massive 90% of U.S. electricity supply
coming from renewable or low-carbon sources.
"This report dramatically illustrates the growth and real
employment power of green energy jobs not just in the future,
but today. Who would not want to replace foreign debt for
energy for investing in a trained and innovative workforce?,"
says Professor and Co-Director of the Berkeley Institute of
the Environment Daniel M. Kammen.
The report highlights the pivotal role that the public sector
must play if we are to de-carbonize our electricity supply and
embark on a sustainable path. An example of this is the E.U.'s
consistent record of progressive regulation that has spurred
decades of innovation.
One such example of entrepreneurial sustainability is Vestas'
visionary investment in green tech. Ditlev Engel, CEO of
Vestas, explains: "This report shows once again that the wind
energy industry provides jobs on a massive scale and engenders
economic development. The recipe for growth and sustainability
is very simple: long-term commitments for greenhouse gas
emission reductions plus investment in power generation
infrastructure.
"This will drive the market on a sustainable business
platform; at Vestas we call that simply – Modern Energy," he
adds. In 2005, Vestas employed 10,000 people worldwide. Today,
this number has risen to nearly 20,000 employees in 62
countries."
...Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said he
was “stunned” by the flat funding for hydrogen, calling it a
“significant mistake” that was “not a smart thing to do.” He
said he will “do everything we can to restore the program.”
...More to the point, J. Byron McCormick, GM’s former
fuel-cell chief, resigned from a DOE hydrogen advisory group
when the funding cut was announced.
Hydrogen Shortchanged at the Department of Energy Congressman Joe Pitts The Phoenix
(PA) May 23, 2009 Secretary Chu has decided to choose electric cars
over hydrogen fuel cell cars in an unnecessary and unwise
zero sum game for federal research dollars.
San Francisco International Airport Boosts Hydrogen Highway Katie Worth San Francisco Examiner
(CA) May 24, 2009 California has only 250 hydrogen-powered cars
rather than the 2,000 the administration had envisioned by
2010, and just 26 fueling stations have been built. But the
hydrogen movement has not completely dragged to a halt.
Though plans for proposed hydrogen fuel stations in Menlo
Park and San Carlos have been dropped, San Francisco
International Airport is moving forward with plans to
construct a hydrogen fuel station in Millbrae by the end of
the year. It will become the third hydrogen station in the
Bay Area, after Oakland and Milpitas.
"I do think that among
investors there are a lot of expectations that there will be
the equivalent of Moore's Law in the battery industry, but
that is not going to happen.
You can only get so many electrons out of a given atom." Jonn Peterson, Fefer Petersen &
Cie
Rechargeable Batteries:
Small Advances Rather Than Large Strides TMCNet May 23,
2009
...battery power has been doubling about every other decade
-- and there is some question as to whether even that pace can
be maintained. ...Lithium-ion battery performance can improve
only a few percentage points per year, most observers agree.
Climate Change Odds
Much Worse Than Thought New analysis shows warming could be
double previous estimates David Chandler MIT News Office
May 19, 2009 Image courtesy / MIT
Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
The new projections, published this
month in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of
Climate, indicate a median probability of surface warming of
5.2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with
a
90% probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 degrees. This can
be compared to a median projected increase in the 2003 study
of just 2.4 degrees. The difference is caused by several
factors rather than any single big change. Among these are
improved economic modeling and newer economic data showing
less chance of low emissions than had been projected in the
earlier scenarios. Other changes include accounting for the
past masking of underlying warming by the cooling induced by
20th century volcanoes, and for emissions of soot, which can
add to the warming effect. In addition, measurements of deep
ocean temperature rises, which enable estimates of how fast
heat and carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere and
transferred to the ocean depths, imply lower transfer rates
than previously estimated.
...And the odds
indicated by this modeling may actually understate the
problem, because the model does not fully incorporate other
positive feedbacks that can occur, for example, if increased
temperatures caused a large-scale melting of permafrost in
arctic regions and subsequent release of large quantities of
methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.
THE GREAT ETHANOL
FRAUD
WELFARE-FRANKENSTEIN ETHANOL STATES THREATEN CLIMATE BILL
Ethanol Rebellion Building in
Congress House Ag chair says he'll 'bring this
climate bill down' over indirect land use Dan Looker Agriculture Online
May 16, 2009
Next week, Peterson
expects the House Energy and Commerce Committee, headed by
Representative Henry Waxman of California, to pass a climate
change bill. But he thinks he may have enough votes to defeat
Waxman's bill when the full House votes on it. Peterson's bill
that reins in the EPA has the backing of his committee's top
Republican, Representative Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, all 29
Democrats on the committee, and by Monday, probably most of
the Republicans. As of Friday his bill had support from a few
other House Democrats, with 42 co-sponsors joining Peterson
and Lucas in opposing the EPA. House Republicans are expected
to vote as a block against the climate bill, anyway. So
Peterson said he'll need 37 Democrats to defeat the climate
bill.
Ethanol Eyes Only
Minnesota's Collin
Peterson is evidently willing to throw climate-change
legislation under the bus to coddle an unsuccessful industry.
Craig Cox, Midwest VP for the Environmental
Working Group
Minneapolis StarTribune (MN)
May 20, 2009
On
Friday, Peterson's anger turned to threats in comments to
Agriculture.com that included: "... If they don't fix this,
I'm going to bring this climate bill down," a reference to
legislation he introduced the day before to strip the
science-based analysis of biofuels from the Renewable Fuel
Standard. Apparently,
the
chairman intends to hold critical climate-change legislation
hostage unless corn ethanol receives yet another free pass.
On the heels of the Obama
administration’s announcement that it will move away from
hydrogen fuel cell funding,
Volkswagen confirmed
that it remains committed to building fuel cells for
hydrogen-powered vehicles. ...Currently, the
automaker’s fuel cell efforts are housed under the sheet metal
of Chinese-spec Passat Lingyus, which were built primarily for
the 2008 Beijing Olympics. VW gave scientists at Tongji
University in China free rein to create, implement and refine
the fuel cell components within them. All 22 Passat Lingyus
are roadworthy, with a range of 186 miles per hydrogen top-up.
Volkswagen's Fuel Cell Vehicle Aaron
Gold About May 22, 2009 ...they were noisy, unrefined and slow. The
Passat's fuel cell produces just 55 kilowatts (compared to
100 kW for the FCX Clarity), and stepping hard on the
accelerator brought a series of warning beeps from the car
and a thickly-accented admonishment from the engineer in the
back seat. Contrast that to the guys at Honda, who sent me
out with one simple instruction: "Just drive it like a
regular car."
The technology not only efficiently uses
pricey platinum, but is
two-to-five times more
effective than commercial catalysts. Xia told the
Cleantech Group the novel technique—developed through a
partnership between material scientists at Washington
University in St. Louis and the Brookhaven National
Laboratory—could
enable a cost effective fuel cell technology. ...Xia
said his team would provide samples to ITM for testing.
Going Platinum: New Catalyst Could Boost Cleaner Fuel Use Tony Fitzpatrik Physorg
May 14, 2009 At 60 C (the typical operation temperature of a
fuel cell), the
performance almost meets the targets set by the U.S.
Department of Energy. The Department of Energy
has estimated for widespread commercial success the
"loading" of platinum catalysts in a fuel cell should be
reduced by four times in order to slash the costs. The
Washington University technique is expected to substantially
reduce the loading of platinum, making a more robust
catalyst that won't have to be replaced often, and making
better use of a very limited and very expensive supply of
platinum in the world.
WIND
INDUSTRY THREATENS TO FLEE U.S. AS BIG ENERGY'S CONGRESSIONAL PROXIES
HIJACK CLEAN ENERGY ACT
"The U.S. cannot expect manufacturers to continuously commit
to new manufacturing facilities and take the risk of investing
billion of dollars in wind facilities when the U.S. itself is
not willing to commit to renewable energy. ...America
is on the verge of losing the wind manufacturing industry to
Asia and Europe." Victor Abate, Vice President for Renewables, GE
Energy
Jan Blittersdorf, President and CEO, NRG Systems
Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association
Steve Dayney, CEO, REpower USA
J. Cameron Drecoll, CEO, Broadwind Energy
Victoria M. Holt, Senior VP, Glass and Fiber Glass, PPG
Industries Steve Lockard, President and CEO, TPI Composites
Michael Peck, Media, Institutional & Labor Relations, Gamesa
Roby Roberts, Senior VP of External Relations, Vestas Americas
David Willett, Vice President, Manufacturing, Clipper
Windpower
The bill's RPS is less than one-half the
level proposed by President Obama and Chairman Markey’s
original proposal. In response to this weakening of the RPS
measure, the American Wind Energy Association and a group of
representatives from major wind industry companies released a
letter to key members of Congress calling on them to
strengthen the RPS.
“We are concerned that the significantly lower renewable
targets currently being discussed, as compared to proposals
from President Obama, Chairman Bingaman and Chairman Markey,
will severely blunt the signal for companies like ours that
manufacture turbines and components to invest billions of
dollars to expand production and our workforces in the U.S.,”
the letter said.
Now it seems that mining uranium, which
nuclear power depends on, could be even less environmentally
friendly and more costly than critics say, according to a new
analysis led by Gavin Mudd, an environmental engineer at
Monash University in Australia.
On average, supplies of high-quality uranium ore have been
steadily declining worldwide for the past 50 years, and will
likely to continue to wane in the mid- to long-term, Mudd
said. Any new uranium deposit is likely to be deeper and
harder to extract, and getting uranium from lower-quality
deposits involves digging up and refining more ore, according
to their analysis of government and industry reports.
This suggests that in the future, uranium mining could
require more energy, water and industrial chemicals such as
corrosives, and release more greenhouse gases.
"Over
time, as ore grades decline and more energy is required for
uranium production, this will lead to a higher carbon
intensity for nuclear power, eventually becoming similar to
gas-fired electricity, though this may be a few decades
away and difficult to quantify precisely," Mudd said.
Suit Challenges New Uranium Exploration That Threatens the
Grand Canyon Center for
Biological Diversity
May 8, 2009 The Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon
Trust, and Sierra Club today amended their lawsuit against
the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the
Interior to challenge newly authorized uranium exploration
near Grand Canyon National Park. The new uranium projects
are located within a 1-million acre area that was required
to be immediately withdrawn from new mining claims and
exploration by a June 25, 2008 emergency resolution of the
U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. Today’s amendment
challenges new uranium projects authorized by the Bureau of
Land Management on April 23 and April 27, 2009. While the
Bureau initially denied that new uranium exploration
activities had been authorized, it has since acknowledged
that exploration on the lands in question could begin
whenever the companies wish.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Henry
Waxman, D-Calif., announced Tuesday evening the outlines of a
deal that they said would ensure the legislation will please
both environmental and industry groups and have the support of
moderate Democrats on the House Energy Committee. To do so,
they have lowered targets for renewable energy, will require a
smaller reduction by 2020 in the emissions blamed for global
warming, and will give away valuable permits to release
pollution to electricity distribution companies and auto
manufacturers.
FUEL CELLS VS. THE GREAT
ETHANOL FRAUD
OBAMA AND CHU EXPOSED AS BIOFUEL BIGOTS
"It takes a lot of land to make a
small amount of energy. Academic studies have concluded that
if the world gets even 10% of its energy from these new
kinds of crops, most tropical forests will probably
disappear."
Tim Searchinger, Princeton
Earlier studies exposed corn ethanol as
a carbon catastrophe; the EPA had to use extremely generous
assumptions to produce scenarios in which it's even remotely
attractive as a fuel alternative.
...Study after study suggests that
growing fuel could be a disaster for the planet, while raising
global food prices and promoting global food riots. The amount
of grain it takes to fill an SUV with ethanol could feed an
adult for a year; we need every acre of farmland to feed the
world. President Obama
never claimed to be a reformer when it came to ethanol, and he
and Vilsack have been big supporters of next-generation
biofuels.
The Clean Energy ScamMichael
Grunwald Time March 27
2008 Several new studies show the biofuel boom is
doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended:
it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling
the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always
environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally
disastrous. Even
cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass
...looks less green than oil-derived gasoline.
"Let us set as our national goal, in the spirit of Apollo, with
the determination of the Manhattan Project, that by the end of
this decade we will have developed the potential to meet our own
energy needs without depending on any foreign energy source." -
Richard Nixon November 7, 1973
YEARS OF
U.S. TAXPAYER INVESTMENT BEAR FRUIT?
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY IN BRAIN CELL CRISIS!
Europe &
Japan Assured Global Dominance as U.S. Retreats
The Energy Department will continue to
pay for research into stationary fuel cells, which Dr. Chu
said could be used like batteries on the power grid and do not
require compact storage of hydrogen.
“This is a strange turn
of events.
We are very close to the tipping point.
To stop that now is
a waster of taxpayer dollars.” Shannon Baxter-Clemmons
Executive director of the S.C. Hydrogen & Fuel Cell
Alliance
"We should go to
Washington
and make the case that not funding
the long-term solution is short-sighted.” Mayor Bob Coble, Columbia, S.C.
Obama’s Cuts Deal Blow to S.C. Hydrogen Economy Jeff Wilkinson The State
(SC) May 9, 2009
"As I thought about the
decision, how it was worded, and the fact that the budget was
zeroed, I didn’t feel I could in any way appear to be
supportive. ...And quite honestly, I didn’t want to put my
energy into debating people who ...have never touched real
hardware, tried to build businesses in this area or dealt with
real customers using real products.” J. Byron McCormick
former executive director of General Motors’ fuel-cell
program
Fight for Hydrogen Funding Jim Motavalli New York
Times May 12, 2009 Some
critics of the Energy Department’s decision are personalizing
this sudden loss of confidence in the fuel-cell transportation
future, seeing it as
a misstep by Mr. Chu, whose work at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory centered on biofuels.
“The vehicles have been
invented.
The issues are infrastructure
and how do we reduce cost.” John Hanson, Toyota
“Hydrogen is a key to
solving the nation’s mid- to long- term issues of energy
security, reduced petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions
as well as being part of the reinvention of General Motors.”
Larry Burns, GM
Honda, GM Stick to Fuel-Cell Plans as Obama Guts Hydrogen
FundsA. Ohnsman, T. Seeley Bloomberg May 11, 2009 The policy shift is “very disappointing,” said Dan Sperling,
director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the
University of California, Davis and a member of the state’s
Air Resources Board. The agency has authority to set
environmental rules for carmakers and other industries
rivaling the federal government’s.
“It’s unclear how we’re going to get big reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions without hydrogen,” Sperling said.
“Hydrogen is the most challenging in terms of implementation
because of the need for new fueling infrastructure.” That could be created
in 10 to 15 years at less cost than the “$6 billion to $10
billion” the U.S. provides annually in subsidies for corn
ethanol, Sperling said.
Washington DC----The National Hydrogen Association
(NHA) and U.S. Fuel Cell Council (USFCC) issued the
following joint statement regarding the Obama
Administration's FY 2010 budget request for the U.S
Department of Energy.
"The cuts proposed in the DOE hydrogen and fuel cell program
threaten to disrupt commercialization of a family of
technologies that are showing exceptional promise and
beginning to gain market traction.
"Fuel cell vehicles are not a science experiment. These are
real vehicles with real marketability and real benefits.
Hundreds of fuel cell vehicles have collectively logged
millions of miles.
"Both the National Academy of Sciences and NHA's recent
Energy Evolution report conclude that a portfolio of
vehicle technologies is needed to achieve the nation's
energy and environmental security goals and that
hydrogen is essential to success. Hydrogen also advances
the Obama Administration's goals of greener power
generation and a smarter power grid.
"The newest fuel cell vehicles get 72 miles per gallon
equivalent with no compromise in creature comforts. Fuel
cell buses operating in revenue service achieve twice
the fuel economy of diesel buses. Hydrogen production
costs are already competitive with gasoline. Projected
vehicle costs have been reduced by 75%. These are
accomplishments of the Department's own program in
partnership with industry. It would truly be a
government waste to squander them by walking away just
as success is in sight.
"The National Academy recommended a portfolio approach and we
are frankly puzzled at the Energy Department's decision
to ignore that recommendation even as the Department
uses other material from the same report to justify its
proposed cut.
"We are also concerned that the Department appears to be
walking away from its Market Transformation activities,
which support fuel cell deployment in early commercial
applications. This Congressionally-mandated program is
demonstrating the ability of fuel cells to provide a
competitive and green alternative to battery-based
systems in vehicles and in power supply.
"Finally, we are concerned that the Department has proposed
to cut funds for the Solid State Energy Conversion
Alliance (SECA). SECA success could dramatically lower
the cost of carbon sequestration, improve power plant
efficiency, and enable a virtually pollution-free coal
plant in the future. Additional funding will hasten SECA
progress."
The NHA and USFCC collectively represent more than 200
companies and organizations.
CONTACT:
NHA: Patrick Serfass, 202-223-5547, ext. 366 serfassp@HydrogenAssociation.org
Energy Department Slashes Hydrogen Transportation Funding in
Proposed BudgetGreen
Car Advisor May 7, 2009
Chu's belief that it is best to cut hydrogen spending and
divert the funding elsewhere isn't necessarily shared by
Congress, which must approve the budget, said Patrick
Serfass, the National Hydrogen Association's vice president
for technology. ...Serfass worries that
if the Obama administration turns its back on hydrogen
fuel-cell vehicles, the
automakers will take their research and development programs
to Europe or Asia and the U.S. will lose the lead in
technology that will be a critical part of an
oil-independent future.
Auto Workers Pulling for Fuel Cell Jobs Bud LowellWXXI March 2, 2009 General Motors has its main
fuel cell development center in Honeoye Falls, and Delphi
has its fuel cell center in Rochester. Rochester labor
officials say with GM coming hat-in-hand to Washington
looking for a bailout, they believe one of the strings
attached may well be a Rochester fuel cell plant.
HYDROGEN FUEL CELL CARS WOULD
CUT GLOBAL FOSSIL FUEL USE BY 50%
STUDY SLAMS ALL ALTERNATIVES TO
HYDROGEN
"We conclude that
even if all FCVs use hydrogen from natural gas, the impact on natural gas
resources would be minimal on a global scale, and the slight decrease in
natural gas consumption is more than offset by the larger increase in oil
resources. The net effect is to partially improve the balance between
natural gas and oil consumption while cutting total fossil fuel use in
half."
Norway moves to transition to
an electric economy before the North
Sea Oil runs out. Above:
HyWind deep off-shore wind turbine.
Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon
fills tank of hydrogen car at opening of both hydrogen
filling station in Oslo and the Hydrogen Road between Oslo and
Stavanger. To right of Prince Haakon are StatoilHydro New
Energy head Alexandra Bech Gjørv and Norwegian Minister of
Transportation and Communication Liv Signe Navarsete.
Photo: Erlend Aas, Scanpix
Norway opened a
350 mile "hydrogen highway" on Monday with more than a dozen
hydrogen-powered cars rallying along a scenic route between
its capital city Oslo and North Sea oil hub Stavanger.
...StatoilHydro sells hydrogen in Norway at around 40
Norwegian crowns ($6.28) per kilo, which it says is roughly
equal in energy terms to the price of petrol. The company
seeks to keep its hydrogen clean by using energy from Norway's
vast
hydropower-plants to split water into oxygen and hydrogen
gas.
StatoilHydro and the HyNor partnership are pleased to announce
the official opening of the Norwegian hydrogen highway, HyNor,
at StatoilHydro's new hydrogen station at Økern
in Oslo. HyNor was opened by Norway's transport minister, Liv Signe
Navarsete.
HRH Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway joined the first
stage of the EVS Viking Rally, from Oslo to Lier, together
with internationally renowned racing car driver Henning
Solberg.
The first hydrogen station was opened at Forus in Stavanger
in 2006, the second in Porsgrunn in 2007, and now the two new
stations are open in Oslo and Lier. HyNor has some 50 partners
and manages a fleet of more than 50 hydrogen vehicles made by
Mazda, Toyota and Think.
"We are very pleased to open up this
hydrogen infrastructure for testing and demonstrating hydrogen
cars. By doing this, we nurture our ambition to help implement
hydrogen as a fuel in the transport sector," says StatoilHydro's head of new energy, Alexandra Bech Gjørv.
The EVS Viking Rally vehicles are the first to drive the
Norwegian hydrogen highway. The rally commences with Prince
Haakon racing together with the famous Norwegian racing car
star Henning Solberg.
Fourteen hydrogen vehicles, two plug-in hybrid cars and 14
battery electric vehicles are starting in Oslo and will reach
the beginning of the EVS (Electrical Vehicle Symposium) 24 in
Stavanger on 13 May.
Events will take place along the way in Porsgrunn, Grimstad,
Arendal, Kristiansand, Lyngdal and Egersund. Another 10
battery electric vehicles will join the rally in Egersund.
Hydrogen may grow significantly as an alternative
transportation fuel and stored stationary energy source. One
of hydrogen's big advantages is that it can be produced from
many power sources, and can be efficiently produced and used
without emitting any pollutants. In addition, hydrogen cars
possess many of the same qualities found in today’s
conventional automobiles.
"As a future clean transport alternative, hydrogen and
fuel-cell technology have big potential. Hydrogen is
potentially a game changing transportation fuel," says Ms Bech
Gjørv.
EVS Viking Rally 2009 is an
international rally for hydrogen cars, electric cars and plug
in-hybrid cars. Starting in Oslo and finishing in Stavanger,
it consists of transport stages and special stages; the latter
are run either on track or road and include regularity tests,
hill race stages, acceleration tests and auto slalom.
The rally is organized in accordance with International
Sporting Regulations (ISR), The Norwegian Sports Regulations (NSR)
and Regulations for the event.
Competition length
Hydrogen Cars: 743,34 km
Electric Cars: 641,48 km
Plug in-hybrid Cars: 743,34 km
Minirally: 69,55 km
Mazda’s first Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicle was
developed specifically for participation in HyNor,
Norway’s national hydrogen project. HyNor will establish
a network of hydrogen filling stations along a 360-mile
stretch of highway between Stavanger and Oslo. Mazda and
HyNor began their collaboration on the project in
November 2007 and started validation of the RX-8
Hydrogen RE’s driving performance on Norwegian public
roads in October.
NORWAY
PROPOSES ENDING OIL DEPENDENCE THROUGH LEGISLATION
International Business Times
Alister Doyle April
27, 2009
Under her proposal, carmakers could only
sell new cars from 2015 that run fully or partly on fuels such
as electricity, biofuels or hydrogen. Hybrids using fossil
fuels and electricity, for instance, would still be permitted.
...Chu's comments followed meetings with
environmental ministers attending the fifth Summit of the
Americas. He did not shy away from the most perilous
predictions about the potential effects of global warming. He
said global temperatures have already risen by 0.8 degree
Centigrade, that another 1 degree increase was certain to
occur and "there's a reasonable probability we can go above 4
degrees Centigrade to 5 and 6 more."
"...If you look at, you know, the Bay Area, where I came
from, all three airports would be under water. So this is --
this is serious stuff. The impacts could be enormous," he
said.
A hydrogen fuel-cell car
built by Cicero-North Syracuse HS students averaged 1,431.3
miles per gallon on Saturday. The students drove the car 15 mph
on the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California....
The slow-speed but high-mileage performance was enough to
place the C-NS Performance Engineering Team's car second in the
2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition.
"It was beyond belief," said an ecstatic Ted Kliszczewicz, of
Carrier Corp., one of six adults who accompanied the students.
"The kids are beside themselves."
The students started meeting in September
with mentors -- five engineers from Carrier, Lockheed Martin and
WMB Enterprises -- who guided them in the design process and
educated them about the electrical and mechanical aspects of the
vehicle, said Steve Grimaldi, a mentor and service engineer for
Carrier. JPW Fabricators also donated their services by welding
the vehicle's frame together, Miner said. ...Last year's winning
team, Penn State, averaged 1,668.3 miles per gallon.
PHOTOS
An artist's concept of a Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority (RTA) bus at the hydrogen fueling
station located in downtown Cleveland at the Great Lakes
Science Center. The fueling station will generate hydrogen
from Lake Erie water for use in a RTA bus powered by fuel
cells. Image: Greater Cleveland RTA
CLEVELAND -- NASA's Glenn Research Center is leading a team of
industry and university partners in demonstrating a prototype
of a commercial hydrogen fueling station that uses wind and
solar power to produce hydrogen from water. This initial
installation will produce hydrogen from Lake Erie water to
fuel a mass transit bus powered by fuel cells.
The demonstration, featuring a unique, high-capacity
electrolyzer that separates water into its elemental
components of hydrogen and oxygen, is part of an economic
development program in the Cleveland area. Local workers will
design and build the electrolyzer using commercially available
components.
The Glenn-led collaboration will customize the electrolyzer
for the prototype fueling station, and design the circuitry
needed to use renewable energy sources to power the
electrolyzer and fueling station.
"The project is more than a key technology demonstration,"
said project team member Valerie Lyons, chief of Glenn's Power
and In-Space Propulsion Division. "It will be a great
educational tool for the public and will serve as a catalyst
to inspire new ideas and initiatives that can generate many
new jobs and manufacturing opportunities in Ohio."
Great Lakes Science Center
The hydrogen fueling station will be located in downtown
Cleveland at the Great Lakes Science Center on the south shore
of Lake Erie, where it can be powered from the science
center's existing wind and solar power sources. The fueling
station will generate hydrogen from Lake Erie water for use in
a Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority bus powered by
fuel cells. The transit authority will operate the bus in
revenue service.
Cleveland State University's Nance College of Business
Administration will work alongside the collaborators to
develop a business template for the electrolyzer and station.
The designs for both will be treated as intellectual property
and placed in a trust benefiting Ohio citizens.
The build-up of the electrolyzer, a major step toward the
reality of the fueling station, is funded by the Ohio
Aerospace Institute through a $310,000 grant from The
Cleveland Foundation. The initial funding is $110,000, with an
additional $200,000 to be provided for milestone progress.
The goals of the economic development program include
engaging Ohio's supply chain manufacturers and retraining a
skilled work force for clean energy jobs. The project will
demonstrate the viability of clean energy systems for
transportation and stationary power and boost regional
economic development.
Other collaborators include Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Consultants of Brecksville, Ohio; the Center for Automotive
Research at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; Parker
Hannifin and Technology Management, Inc. of Cleveland; Sierra
Lobo of Milan, Ohio; Hamilton Sundstrand of Windsor Locks,
Conn.; the University of Toledo; and the Earth Day Coalition
of Cleveland.
WASHINGTON, DC - To expand the use of clean and renewable
energy sources and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil,
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $41.9 million in
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for fuel cell
technology.
These efforts will accelerate the commercialization and
deployment of fuel cells and will create jobs in fuel cell
manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and support services.
The new funding will improve the potential of fuel cells to
provide power in stationary, portable and specialty vehicle
applications, while cutting carbon emissions and broadening our
nation’s clean energy technology portfolio.
“The investments we’re making today will help us build a
robust fuel cell manufacturing industry in the United States,”
said Secretary Chu. “Developing and deploying the next
generation of fuel cells will not only create jobs – it will
help our businesses become more energy efficient and productive.
We are laying the foundation for a green energy economy.”
The $41.9 million will support immediate deployment of nearly
1,000 fuel cell systems for emergency backup power and material
handling applications (e.g., forklifts) that have emerged as key
early markets in which fuel cells can compete with conventional
power technologies. Additional systems will be used to
accelerate the demonstration of stationary fuel cells for
combined heat and power in the larger residential and commercial
markets.
The increase in manufacturing volume in key early markets
will also bring costs down and encourage the growth of a
domestic supplier base. A variety of technologies will be
developed and deployed, including polymer electrolyte, solid
oxide and direct-methanol fuel cells.
The funding includes:
$41.9 million from President Obama’s American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act to fund 13 projects to deploy fuel cells –
helping to build a consumer base for U.S. fuel cell
manufacturers.
Approximately $72.4 million in cost-share funding from
industry participants—for a total of nearly $114.3 million.
This cost share demonstrates private sector commitment to
developing and deploying these clean, energy efficient
technologies.
Arkansas
FedEx Freight East (Harrison, AR)
This project will deploy 35
fuel cell systems as battery replacements for a complete fleet
of electric lift trucks at FedEx’s existing service center in
Springfield, Missouri. Success at this service center will lead
to further fleet conversions at some or all of FedEx’s other 470
service centers.
$1.3 million
California
Jadoo Power (Folsom, CA)
Jadoo, together with
Acumentrics Corporation, NASCAR Media Group, Lynch Diversified
Vehicles, California's Police and Fire Departments of the City
of Folsom, and Airgas, Inc., will establish the environmental
and cost benefits of using a 1-kW fuel cell power system to
generate electricity, as opposed to traditional gas/diesel
generators and lead acid battery power sources. This
demonstration will provide operating data from each field unit
at customer sites, as well as degradation analysis and projected
system lifetime.
$1.8 million
PolyFuel, Inc.
(Mountain View, CA) The
objective of this project is to further integrate and
miniaturize the components of PolyFuel’s portable power system
for use in mobile computing, and analyze failure modes to
increase durability. Polyfuel will also conduct a design for
manufacturability and assembly review to ensure that the systems
meet the cost targets for commercialization.
$2.5 million
Colorado
Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, MO)
Anheuser-Busch will deploy 23 fuel cell systems as battery
replacements for a complete fleet of electric lift trucks at
their facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, demonstrating the
economic benefits of large fleet conversions of forklifts from
lead-acid batteries to fuel cell power units. Success in this
project will lead to further fleet conversions at some or all of
Anheuser-Busch’s other 11 U.S. facilities.
$1.1 million
Massachusetts Nuvera Fuel Cells
(Billerica, MA) To
accelerate market penetration of fuel cells, East Penn
Manufacturing (an industrial and automotive battery
manufacturer) and Nuvera will deploy 10 fuel cell forklifts in
East Penn’s facility in Topton, PA. Fuel will be supplied by
Nuvera’s natural gas reformer, storage, and dispensing system.
$1.1 million
Michigan
Delphi Automotive (Troy, MI)
Delphi will develop, test and
demonstrate a 3- to 5-kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) auxiliary
power unit (APU) for heavy duty commercial class 8 trucks. The
demonstration will improve upon Delphi’s current generation SOFC
technology by increasing net output power and fuel processing
efficiency, decreasing heat loss and parasitic power loss, and
establishing diesel fuel compatibility.
$2.4 million
New York
MTI MicroFuel Cells (Albany, NY) To accelerate fuel cell use in consumer
markets, MTI will demonstrate a one-watt consumer electronics
power pack. The project will focus on improving reliability to
meet the standards required by the electronics market and will
include testing of individual components, subsystems and
complete direct methanol fuel cell systems. MTI will also
develop manufacturing processes to improve product yields and
reduce overall costs.
$2.4 million
Plug Power, Inc. (Latham, NY)
This demonstration project
will validate the durability of Plug Power’s 5-kW stationary
combined heat and power fuel cell system and verify its
commercial readiness. Plug Power will carry out a three-year
project to test its units in residential and light commercial
applications in California.
$3.4 million
Plug Power Inc. (Latham, NY) This
project will demonstrate the market viability of the GenCore®
rack-mounted fuel cell product that provides clean and highly
reliable emergency backup power. Plug Power will install and
operate new systems in real-world applications at
geographically-diverse sites, providing for as much as 275 kW of
backup power.
$2.7 million
Pennsylvania
GENCO (Pittsburgh, PA) This
project will deploy 156 fuel cell systems as battery
replacements for fleets of electric lift trucks at six of
GENCO’s existing distribution centers (South Carolina,
Pennsylvania - 3 locations, and Ohio - 2 locations). Success at
these distribution centers will lead to further fleet
conversions at some or all of GENCO’s other 109 distribution
centers. $6.1 million (six awards)
Texas
Sysco of Houston (West Houston, TX)
Sysco will deploy 90 fuel cell
systems as battery replacements for a fleet of pallet trucks at
Sysco’s new distribution center in Houston, Texas, due to open
in August 2009. This installation will be the first ever green
field installation in the world without battery infrastructure
for a pallet truck fleet. Success at this distribution center
will lead to further fleet conversions at some or all of Sysco’s
other 169 distribution centers. $1.2 million
Virginia
Sprint Communications (Reston, VA)
Sprint Nextel will demonstrate the viability of packaged 1-kW to
10-kW fuel cell systems with 72 hours of on-site fuel storage
for backup power to communication infrastructure used by state
and local first responders and by public safety answering points
(911 centers). Sprint will address siting and permitting issues,
and will benchmark the lifecycle costs, performance, and
operational characteristics against the incumbent technologies
(batteries, generators, and diesel fuel).
$7.3 million
Washington
ReliOn Inc. (Spokane, WA)
ReliOn will add reliability to
a utility communications network where no backup power was
previously available at 25 sites throughout central and northern
California. They will deploy 180 fuel cells with a new
refillable 72-hour fuel system to locations across the AT&T
Mobility Network. This project will provide DOE with
installation, fueling logistics, and operating data for fuel
cells in voice and data communications networks in mountain,
desert, and urban locations.
$8.6 million (two awards)
"Oil is not responsible," the producer
group's Secretary General, Abdullah al-Badri, told reporters on
Thursday on the sidelines of the International Oil Summit in
Paris. "It is the industrialised countries which are making all
this pollution in the world". ...Badri criticised the subsidies
developed countries offer to promote renewable energy sources
such as solar and wind.
The National Hydrogen Association, whose
members include GM, Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Daimler
AG and BMW AG, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu Feb.
27 asking him to allocate up to $700 million from advanced
energy research grant programs for hydrogen-related research.
The government and automakers "have made significant technical
progress over the last few years in proving that hydrogen and
fuel cells offer a critical component of the domestic, oil-free
high efficiency very low emissions industries we all seek," said
the letter signed by Jerry Hinkle, the group's vice president
for policy and government affairs. Hinkle said Tuesday the
association had more work to do to convince the Obama
administration. "Part of
the rap is that hydrogen is a left-over Bush administration
idea, and that's baloney," he said.
Study Finds Plug-In Hybrids With Lots of All-Electric Range
Won't Be Cost-Effective John O'Dell Green Car
Advisor February 26,
2009
In a report sure to be a blow to GM's hopes for its
upcoming plug-in hybrid, researchers at Carnegie Mellon
University have found that
the extra cost and
weight of the batteries a vehicle such as the Chevrolet Volt
must carry to achieve its targeted 40 miles of all-electric
range make it too expensive to be cost-effective
transportation for most people.
Impact of Battery Weight and Charging Patterns on the Economic
and Environmental Benefits of Plug-in Hybrid VehiclesC. Shiaua , C. Samarasb, R. Hauffea
, J. Michaleka Carnegie Mellon University/Energy Policy
February 2009
...larger
PHEV40 and PHEV60 are not cost effective in any scenario...
The dominance of the small-capacity PHEV over larger-capacity
PHEVs across the wide range of scenarios examined in this
study suggests that
government incentives designed to increase adoption of PHEVs
may be best targeted toward adoption of small- capacity PHEVs
by urban drivers who are able to charge frequently.
Swapping Peak Oil for Peak Lithium?
Hybrid Cars
Oct 31 2009
Because of a limited number of sources for processed
lithium, the potential for market disruption or manipulation
is greater even than what is seen with oil and OPEC, according
to some observers.
“Could we not be
swapping dependence on one depleting natural resource, oil,
for another? Analysis shows that a world dependent on lithium
for its vehicles could soon face even tighter resource
constraints than we face today with oil.” William Tahil
research director, Meridian International Research
Now 28 and the president
of the Northwest chapter of the
American Hydrogen Association, [Abe]
Fouhy hopes to parlay his passion into a career. ...Fouhy
has converted three cars to run on hydrogen; built a fuel
injection system from scratch; built fuel cells and hydrogen
production devices; and developed classes on alternative fuels
for the University of Montana. This fall, he plans to teach a
similar class at Clackamas Community College. ...The institute
will have 40 spots in its renewable energy program this fall and
already has 400 applicants....
"This new twist of
outside ownership -- particularly by an oil company --
really blurs the lines of oil vs. corn." Sarah Janecek, Politics in
Minnesota
What Does Big Oil Want With Corn Refineries? Tom Webb
Pioneer Press/Soya Tech Feb 10, 2009
WAS THE GREAT ETHANOL
FRAUD
JUST A PLOY TO TRANSFER THE MASSIVE BUILD-UP OF AMERICA'S
TAXPAYER-FINANCED AGRICULTURAL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE TO BIG OIL?
Valero will pay $350 million for a group
of five plants in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota and an
Indiana development site, Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based
VeraSun said Tuesday. Valero also will purchase an Iowa
production plant for $72 million, a Nebraska facility for $55
million and other assets.
Shell will no longer invest in
renewable technologies such as wind, solar and hydro power
because they are not economic, the Anglo-Dutch oil company said
today. It plans to invest more in biofuels which environmental
groups blame for driving up food prices and deforestation.
THE FAILURE TO DIVERSIFY ENERGY
IS A GROSS FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP.
FOR YEARS BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS HAVE LEGISLATED
HUGE INCENTIVES FOR BIG ENERGY WHILE
CREATING BARRIERS
FOR NEW, CLEAN AND AFFORDABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES. THEIR ACTIONS
COULD SOON CULMINATE IN ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE. ENRAGED AMERICANS
SHOULD REPLACE THESE FOOLS WITH FISCALLY-RESPONSIBLE VISIONARIES
WHO CAN RECOGNIZE AND FORCEFULLY IMPLEMENT THE MOST
COST-EFFECTIVE DOMESTIC ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
-- SPECIFICALLY WIND POWER, BIOMASS, AND SOON, SOLAR.
-- Richard D. Masters, ICHC
February 2006
RELEASED
Why Exxon Is
Wrong About Hydrogen by David Haberman
Mountain States Hydrogen Business Council
"One of the most
important, frank, visionary and impassioned observations on
the strategy for hydrogen energy that I have heard in the
past 35 years. David Haberman's call for coal and water as
the immediate answer to the chicken and egg dilemma of
hydrogen is going to raise debate at the highest levels of
government in this brave new energy world."
Richard D. Masters. Director,
Hydrogen Hawaii
The International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen
Commerce is pleased to announce that the 18 minute video of
David Haberman's address to the Laramie Hydrogen Conference
is available for free download. This is a very large 130.4
MB MPEG-4 video file that will play on Quick Time and
iTunes, and is suitable for full screen video projection to
educational groups.
Contact
webmaster@hydrogencommerce.com for more information.
The Mountain States Hydrogen
Business Council (MSHBC) is a national non-profit based in Santa
Fe, New Mexico. The MSHBC Charter is to promote the success of its
members in their efforts to build hydrogen energy based
businesses. We have members from 22 states and have been active
for five years. ACORE challenged us to put forward a near term
(3years) plan to increase renewable fuel production and use.
Obviously we interpret this in regards to H2. The following
approach is offered in the context of managing the risks of
technology, market penetration and financing.
Refocus the nation’s approach toward
hydrogen fueling infrastructure by supporting a coal to hydrogen
pathway. Rather than
subsidize the expansion of the oil refining & industrial gas
business model of using natural gas to produce hydrogen it is
essential that national policy switch to using coal power to
transform water into hydrogen. Natural gas should be prioritized
for use in peak power production because natural gas combined
cycle plants are the only stationary power generation which can be
built quickly in the U.S. with acceptable risks. Natural
gas is subject to extraordinary instabilities due to market
manipulations, cartel actions and current demands for industrial &
home use. It is nonsensical to build the foundations of a new
energy system (hydrogen) on the wildly unpredictable future of an
already stressed resource (natural gas). Coal, an abundant and
economical resource, keeps the lights on in America and dependable
coal based electricity at off-peak hours is the basis of a viable
value chain that transforms a water feedstock into a competitive
H2 fuel source. Splitting water
(electrolysis) is a proven technology that can be energized using
undervalued (off-peak) electricity. Since this electricity comes
primarily from the base loaded coal fired power plants this
approach effectively creates value because the pure hydrogen is a
flexible fuel that can be sold into existing and future markets.
This approach is environmentally neutral since the coal plants are
operating anyway. In order to increase
the use of hydrogen fuel it must be priced competitively against
gasoline and diesel. Since only $.02 worth of water is necessary
to make a kilogram of H2 (equivalent to 1 gallon of gasoline)
there is no uncertainty in positioning of H2 to compete.
Electrolysis is a method that assures the H2 fuel purity demanded
by the vehicle and fuel cell manufacturers to warranty their
equipment’s performance and life. The use of electrolysis and grid
electricity assures a freedom of placement for hydrogen generation
that allows distribution of dispensing in proximity to users.
In the near term, this pathway produces hydrogen fuel at the
locations of opportunity without the burden of replicating the
large capital expenditures of reformation based industry including
pipelines and diesel truck fleets.
The implementation of the coal to hydrogen pathway will
involve many states whose economies rely on coal. By illuminating
the economic opportunity of “H2 gives coal legs” there will be a
broader public acceptance of the hydrogen vision. This expansion
of the hydrogen stakeholder community to encompass the large
amount of American’s vested in the coal economy will translate to
a faster penetration of H2 fuel use since H2 fuel will be
available in places other than in two urban areas in California.
This advantage combines with a H2 supply stability based on a
transparent value chain which is not susceptible to instantaneous
changes in the natural gas economy.
This is a national transition strategy to stimulate the
production and use of hydrogen fuel in the near term. As other
electrical generation technologies achieve a scale of economy
(e.g. wind and solar) they will compete as the basis for
electrolysis. The hydrogen economy will only succeed if there is a
broader public experience of the benefits of hydrogen and this
marketing necessity will not wait.
Hydrogen must compete
against biofuels now. The placement of small, scalable production
and dispensing facilities (infrastructure building blocks) in
major cities will enable lead adopters to proceed with hydrogen
energy verifications now because they have access to a dependable
low cost pure H2 fuel supply.
On August 17-19, 2009 the MSHBC will hold its
5th Annual Hydrogen Implementation Conference in Charleston, West
Virginia. This conference coincides with the opening of a new
generation hydrogen production and dispensing facility at Yeager
Airport. See www.mountianstateshydrogen.com
David Haberman is the President of the Mountain
States Hydrogen Business Council. He is the co-Founder and Past
President of the California Hydrogen Business Council. As the
co-Founder and Chairman of DCH Technology (AMEX:DCHT) Mr. Haberman
commercialized hydrogen energy systems, sensors and fuel cells. He
has served as an expert witness on hydrogen in testimony to
Congress and on the Secretary of Energy’s Hydrogen Technology
Advisory Panel. Over the last twenty years Mr. Haberman has
contributed to hydrogen energy activities in 22 states and in 13
countries.
ExxonMobil - Their "Hydrogen Plan" for Us
Steve Parker Huffington Post
March 10, 2009 See, ExxonMobil's hydrogen-fueled fuel
cell system depends on gasoline, so the world can continue to
lead lives blackmailed for everything from money to blood for as
long as possible.
HYDROGEN MINING
SEEN AS A NEW BRIDGE TO HYDROGEN
ECONOMY
"Game-Changing" Technology Provides Renewed Impetus for Hydrogen Economy
and U.S. Energy Security
HYDROGEN-FROM-COAL
IN-SITU TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVELY
QUADRUPLES U.S. COAL RESERVES!
Process pulls hydrogen-laden gas from unreachable
and unminable coal seams without risk to miners or harm to the environment
More energy in US coal than top 10 oil-producing
countries!
Vast Amounts of Hydrogen
Could be Drawn from American Coal
Using Environmentally Benign
In-Situ Technology from National Lab
-- NO SHAFTS, OPEN PITS OR MINING --
"AUTOMATIC" SUBTERRANEAN REACTION
RELEASES SYNGAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS
OR HYDROGEN IS PRODUCED
CARBON IS CAPTURED; CO2 IS SEQUESTERED Richard D. Masters International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Commerce
July 27, 2008
When Dr. S. Julio Friedmann
informed the participants of the Laramie conference that the 50 billion
tons of minable coal reserves in Wyoming's Powder River Basin could be
increased by a factor of six,
to 307 billion tons, you could hear a pin drop. When he said this could be
done without actually mining the coal, without gasifiers, without
significantly disturbing the environment; that it could be financed for
only three-quarters of the typical capital expense of coal plants and
operated for only half the usual costs; that the process would essentially
cut pollution in half, dramatically reduce the release of mercury, use no
industrial acid processes, greatly reduce water consumption, avoid
contamination of water tables, result in no CO2 pollution by
employing carbon capture and sequestration; that the actual energy
extracted would be greater than any conventional mining technology and the
most prized commodity would be cheap, essentially unlimited synthetic
natural gas -- jaws dropped. A particularly poignant observation was that
one of these power plants incorporating partial carbon sequestration would
always be cheaper to build and operate than a conventional coal plant
without carbon sequestration, resulting in cleaner emissions than a
natural gas power plant -- another nail pounded firmly in the coffin of
conventional, dirty coal power.
Low-Cost, zero carbon H2 production: Underground Coal
Gasification with Carbon Capture & Sequestration
Dr. S. Julio Friedmann, Carbon Management Program, LLNL
...BUT WILL CO2
SEQUESTRATION WORK?
WARNING ISSUED
ON CARBON SEQUESTRATION PLANS
If CO2 leaks out, it can lead to leaching of
dangerous trace elements in freshwater aquifers due to lowering of the pH
and can impact soil chemistry. Clearly, massive quantities of CO2 would be
sequestered during a century's-long production of liquid fuels from coal.
Sustainable Fuel for the Transportation Sector March 20, 2007
Rakesh Agrawal, Navneet R. Singh, Fabio H. Ribeiro, and W. Nicholas
Delgass
School of Chemical Engineering and Energy Center at Discovery Park, Purdue
University
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America
Now that the $787
billion stimulus package has become law, a key emphasis is “green
jobs” and energy rescue. But the single most important program in
becoming energy independent and regaining financial health is
never mentioned in the massive Congressional text. ...That
undiscovered program is vehicle “retrofitting” to create a
Retrofitting Revolution. ...Compressed
natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen are waiting to sweep into America’s
garages. Neither CNG nor hydrogen needs a neighborhood gas station
infrastructure. Auto makers who say that are continuing to
mislead. Home or office refueling devices, such as those now under
the control of Honda and largely kept off the market despite
surging demand, convert ordinary household oven gas to fuel. Even
T. Boone Pickens was unable to purchase the technology to bring
these simple home and office refueling devices into common use.
...CNG and hydrogen possibilities dazzle the mind. GM’s hydrogen
fuel cell Equinox uses simple electrolyzed water to create the
hydrogen gas that powers the car. The Hydrogen Equinox, which has
no engine or motor, drives like any other car. So does Honda’s
exquisite Hydrogen Clarity....
Overview of Renewable Energy Provisions in the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 American Council
on Renewable Energy
February 2009
This massive $800 billion
spending bill, being truly unprecedented in modern times, will
drive new national strategies in renewable energy, smart grid,
transmission, advanced vehicles, energy efficiency, and many other
aspects of energy, environment, climate and sustainability that
were at the heart of the 2008 Presidential election.
The NRC correctly diagnosed something was
amiss at Davis-Besse, but had no idea
the plant's old reactor head
was weeks away from bursting and allowing radioactive steam to form
in containment of a U.S. nuclear plant for the first time since the
half-core meltdown of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor in 1979.
A crisis was barely averted when the plant was shut down on
Feb. 16, 2002, six weeks later than what the NRC had originally
proposed. Siemaszko and his supervisor, David Geisen, were indicted
on five felony deception charges for withholding vital information
from the government agency after a two-year grand jury probe.
NATIONAL
MEDAL OF SCIENCE RECIPIENT DECLARES CO2 DAMAGE "IRREVERSIBLE"
"It is
sometimes imagined that slow processes such as climate changes
pose small risks, on the basis of the assumption that a choice
can always be made to quickly reduce emissions and thereby
reverse any harm within a few years or decades. We have shown
that this assumption is incorrect for carbon dioxide emissions,
because of the longevity of the atmospheric CO2 perturbation and
ocean warming. Irreversible climate changes due to carbon
dioxide emissions have already taken place, and future carbon
dioxide emissions would imply further irreversible effects on
the planet, with attendant long legacies for choices made by
contemporary society." -- Dr. Susan Solomon et
al.
The severity of damaging
human-induced climate change depends not only on the magnitude
of the change but also on the potential for irreversibility.
This paper shows that
the climate change that takes place due to increases in carbon
dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for 1,000 years
after emissions stop.
NOAA Scientist Susan Solomon Receives Highest Scientific HonorNational Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration News January 31,
2000
The White House today named Susan Solomon, a leading
atmospheric scientist at the Commerce Department's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado, to
receive the 1999 National Medal of Science.
Antarctic Ice Shelf Set to Collapse Due to Warming Alister Doyle Reuters
January 19, 2009
"We've come to the Wilkins Ice Shelf to see its
final death throes," David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the
British Antarctic Survey (BAS), told Reuters after the first --
and probably last -- plane landed near the narrowest part of the
ice.
US Must Take the Lead to
Avert Eco-disaster Robin McKie The
Observer (UK)
January 18, 2009
That is the stark assessment of Nasa scientist
and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who last week warned only
urgent action by the new president could halt the devastating
climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, that action
will have to be taken within Obama's first administration, he
added.
“There will be a revolution
in this country.
It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line
and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for
it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall
Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions
continue to worsen.” Gerald Celente, CEO
Trends Research Institute
Jean Ziegler
UN Special Rapporteur
on the
Right to Food
"This is silent mass murder.
We have a herd of market traders, speculators and financial bandits who have
turned wild and constructed a world of inequality and horror.
We have to put a stop to this."
(reportedly to the Austrian newspaper, the Kurier am
Sonntag)
SOURCEApril
2008
Who The Hell Do We Thank? As we witness the
financial system of the free world in collapse, there are striking
similarities between the rapacious behavior of the energy
companies and the rapacious behavior of the financial
institutions. Commentary by Richard D. Masters, ICHC November 14, 2008
Here at the
International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Commerce, we tend to look
at things from the viewpoint that pretty much everything that
happens in the world is a result of energy choices.
Overwhelmingly bad energy choices, fabricated ones, since
there can be no real energy crisis in a world so rich with natural
energy.
But we are not talking about energy choices that you make.
We are talking about energy choices that are made for you
by the powerful centralized energy corporations that have used
their vast wealth to usurp democratic principals to guide the
strategic policy of formerly free countries, as well as to
purchase the control of corrupt, tyrannical ones. This enables the
highest profit from resource plundering with the bonus of
non-accountability.
This is nothing less than a war and a coup on what was the
United States of America, the principles she was founded upon and
her grossly unaware population. During the past eight years, it
has changed the face of America in the eyes of the greater part of
the world from friend to foe, creating a much more dangerous world
where military and financial adventurism, corrupt media, national
pride and terrorism can be manipulated in the shadows to establish
inflated commodity prices and a vastly effective market
instability designed to steal wealth away from virtually every
assumed safe haven - from your mutual funds to your 401k to your
life insurance to your savings account.
The people doing this to you are of the same ilk as the oil
corporations the government has allowed to despoil lands of people
in Africa and South America to supply you with cheap gasoline for
grossly oversized vehicles. They are of the same ilk as those in
congress who concocted the Great Ethanol Fraud, a zero-sum game
that, in concert with rising oil prices, drove food prices beyond
reach of many of the world's poorest to reward political primary
states, agricultural campaign donors and wealthy investors in a
host of erupting companies now going bankrupt.
Meanwhile, research and support for true renewable energy
went begging. Companies with years of taxpayer funded investment,
with promising technologies on the verge of fruition, went
bankrupt or were acquired by foreign nations - or soon will be.
This was the true flower of our national energy investment.
Wind, solar, geothermal, wave, hydrogen and a few others.
The oilmen threw them away.
From the vantage of our current precipitous and accelerating
decline into economic chaos, recession and likely depression and
eventual total domination by OPEC, it is clear that a terrible and
catastrophic seed was planted long ago, when corporations were
first granted charter. A responsibility for the well-being of the
earth, upon which we humans live, was not considered. A
requirement for compassion and respect for human beings was left
out. The only mandate was profit, preferably uncontrolled,
unregulated profit (Enron). And this profit was and is greatly
enhanced by ignoring ethical concerns and disastrous
environmental, therefore anti-human, impacts. These costs and
consequences were and are brutally dumped on powerless
non-consumer populations or absorbed by consumer populations who
have been taught to accept them as a necessary part of economic
life. For the corporations, the only concern, the only goal, is
higher profit. Human beings have value as consumers of their
goods. But if they cannot consume, or if they get in the way of
profit, they are swept aside like spilled garbage.
We have been led to justify the belief, through
our educational institutions, government policies and financial
markets, that global fossil energy resources are simply a
commodity suitable for sale to the highest bidder. Yet in America
we call these deposits a "precious national resource."
There is an obvious contradiction in this. A dichotomy.
It would be logical to expect every geographical segment of
mankind to hoard whatever fossil reserves it was blessed with to
enable emergence from poverty into technological prominence,
creating high-tech industry and high-tech jobs, ending hunger and
disease, and most importantly, laying the foundation for the next
step: the necessary transition from anti-human, centralized,
depletable, dirty fossil energy to pro-human, distributed,
sustainable clean energy. What would follow then is surely of
higher promise.
No population would willingly give up this God-given
opportunity for a better future. No, it would have to be taken
from them, stolen from them by force. By surrendering democracy
for corporate energy rampage in the name of democracy, the United
States, by wielding its military might to seize oil states and
pipeline routes to the West, has lost its credibility with
much of the world.
And with this light extinguished comes a dire foreboding of
more darkness to come.
Many hold out hope that the election of Obama will turn
around the dark and fearful momentum of Energy Imperialism. Others
see the two party system as nothing but two sides of the same coin
held in the grip of corporate/military/media overlords that are
much too powerful to confront.
Fossil energy exploitation
made America a wealthy, modern and powerful nation. We utilized
our own fossil deposits to achieve this, creating modern postwar
America with little importation of oil. It was not until the
middle 1960s, when our cheap oil peaked, that our dependence on
Middle Eastern oil began in earnest.
This was the time when our government first incentivized the
move to domestic energy. Although this effort toward
sustainability was encouraged by Nixon (nuclear) and made
significant headway under Carter in the 1970s (synthetic fuels
from coal), in the 1980s it was halted by Reagan (decontrol), who
was too preoccupied with his brilliant economic assault on the
Soviet Union to understand the dire consequences of his
failure to continue the struggle for energy self-reliance.
The Reagan Era marked the beginning of the War on
Renewable Energy by the centralized energy corporations. Big
Oil and natural gas, now freed from the price controls they had
struggled under since Nixon's extraordinary break with
conservative economic theory, along with Big Oil's centralized
energy cohorts from nuclear and coal, began to funnel their
new-found profits toward the cravenly palm-up members in the U.S.
Congress, gradually subverting the basic principals of democracy
and, following the abject ethical failure of the Republicans to
follow through with their Contract for America in the 1990s,
ultimately buying up the influence of the entire Republican Party.
In less than 20 years, the Republicans were voting as a block in
concert with the oil companies' wishes over 90% of the time.
The U.S. government and the oil companies had, in effect,
become one. While a great show between the political parties
seemingly raged in Congress, the 911 atrocity by Arab nationalists
seeking to drive existing U.S. military entrenchment out of the
Middle East backfired, ultimately resulting in the seizure of the
Iraqi oil fields and oil pipeline routes from the Caspian Sea to
the Indian Ocean. This could never have been achieved without
complete control of the dominant political party and proxies at
the top of the Executive Branch who handed Big Oil our armed
forces on a silver platter.
In much the same way that
IBM viewed the nescient PC, the expansion of renewable energy was
denigrated and regarded by centralized energy as a relatively
insignificant but easily managed threat. For many years, low crude
and coal prices presented an insurmountable barrier to wind power
expansion. Then, as turbines became more robust, Production Tax
Credits were allowed to pass to level the playing field between
upstart wind and established energy, but never were they permitted
to extend for the sufficiently long period that banks would find
attractive for financing the capital expenditure that would make
wind a potential competitor.
The nuclear and coal industries ran decades-long
disinformation campaigns against wind power, secretly recognizing
the threat but publicly dismissing it. Big Oil spent millions on
disinformation on the effects of pollution on climate change,
possibly the greatest threat mankind will ever face, delaying the
potential solution and loading the atmosphere with countless tons
of carbon dioxide and pollutants.
Awash in money, the U.S. educational system was allowed to
deteriorate as the populace was bombarded with disinformation from
every side.
Why?
Because stupid people are so easy to manipulate.
So very easy.
Richard D. Masters is a former Ayn Rand
Objectivist and Republican Central Committee member who once
believed that corporations created opportunity.
Professor Deems Science of Bond Film "Irresponsible"
Boxwish Blog
December 22, 2008
Is the New Bond Movie Anti-tech?
Candace Lombardi
CNET November
17, 2008
As the scene played out, I could
hear the groans from thousands of scientists and engineers as they
watched years of effort to educate the public--and temper its
association of hydrogen with the Hindenburg disaster--go up in flames
in just a few minutes of Hollywood magic.
1) Michael
Mariotte
OBAMA BUDGET SAID TO TRIPLE NUCLEAR LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.
ACT NOW!
TELL OBAMA AND CHU: NO TAXPAYER BAILOUT FOR
DIRTY REACTORS
January 29, 2010
Dear Friends,
We apologize for clogging your mailbox this week, but a lot
has been happening. Thank you to the thousands of you who already have
taken actions this week. But we're all facing our biggest challenge yet.
We learned this morning that President Obama's FY 2011 DOE
budget will triple the taxpayer loan guarantee program for new reactor
construction, to $54 Billion.
The budget is not finalized and not yet submitted. A strong
public outcry can still stop this outrage!
Send your letters to President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu here.
Here is a link to a
Business Week article
confirming the $54 billion figure.
And, if you missed it in an earlier e-mail,
here is a link to a video of Candidate Obama promising no taxpayer subsidies
for nuclear power.
Tell President Obama to
keep his campaign promise, and stop subsidies for nuclear power, not
increase them!
Just in the past couple of weeks, two more reactors (in
Vermont and North Carolina) have been discovered to be leaking radioactive
tritium, bringing the total number to more than 20 leaking reactor sites.
Far from being safe and clean, nuclear power is proving itself to be
dirtier and more dangerous than ever.
It would be not only good policy, but good politics for Obama
to abandon the nuclear loan guarantee program.
Check this article from USA Today,
which shows that Obama's nuclear/offshore oil statement in his State of
the Union message was the least popular part of his speech--dramatically
so--among Obama's base: MoveOn members.
Please act today, and please help us get the word out.
Forward this Alert as widely as possible.
Post the action page link:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1688
everywhere you can. Use Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, whatever networking
tools you have. The FY 2011 budget is supposed to be announced on
Monday--that doesn't give us much time. We need the loudest possible
public outcry right now.
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org
Follow us on Twitter--we
add frequent updates there. If you've ever wondered how effectively we
spend your contributions,
check our new donor information page.
We greatly appreciate your support and do our best to use your donations
as efficiently as possible.
2) Steve Kretzmann
Founder and Director Oil Change
International
Outrageously, the US spends more than
$10 billion of taxpayer money per year on subsidies to fossil fuel
companies. That number doesn't even count money from the US Export-Import
Bank, which just last week gave Exxon $3billion. Exxon!!!
Meanwhile, the Copenhagen climate talks are on the
brink--because developing countries will need help greening their
economies, and what's on the table now is peanuts (the US is currently
offering the world roughly half of what they gave Exxon last week)
compared to the long-term need. But there are solutions, one of the most
obvious is shifting fossil fuel subsidies to cover some of our
contribution to long term climate finance.
Please
send an email now urging President Obama to shift fossil subsidies to
climate finance -- this could be the gamechanger that breaks the climate
deadlock and unleashes a clean-energy future.
This isn't rocket science. In fact, thanks to Obama, the
leaders of the G20 countries declared this fall to eventually phase out
their fossil fuel subsides.-- and I'm hearing that Obama has been weighing
whether to use that money for climate finance. We need President Obama to
put a date on that commitment here, and to pledge to use the savings for
climate finance.
But with the oil and coal industry's lobbying operation
operating on red alert right now, Obama must feel that there is public
support before he will commit to such a move.
It's win-win-win: this won't add to any budget deficits. It
will reduce consumption of climate-wrecking fossil fuels. And it will help
developing countries build a clean path out of poverty -- and to cope with
climate change already caused.
Send an email right now, and forward this message to everyone you
know: End fossil fuel subsidies -- and use the money to lead the world to
a strong treaty in Copenhagen!
George Monbiot
Pretending the Climate Email Leak
Isn't a Crisis Won't Make It Go Away George Monbiot Guardian
(UK) Nov 25 2009
The greatest tragedy here is that despite many years of outright
fabrication, fraud and deceit on the part of the climate change denial
industry, documented in James Hoggan and Richard Littlemore's brilliant
new book Climate Cover-up, it is now the climate scientists who
look bad. By comparison to his opponents, Phil Jones is pure as the driven
snow. Hoggan and Littlemore have shown how fossil fuel industries have
employed "experts" to lie, cheat and manipulate on their behalf. The
revelations in their book (as well as in Heat and in Ross Gelbspan's book
The Heat Is On) are 100 times graver than anything contained in these
emails.
NARRATION: PETTY OFFICER 2ND BRIAN COVERLEY
PETROLEUM-BASED FUELS POWER THE MACHINES WE RELY ON EVERY DAY, FROM
MOTORCYCLES TO JETS, FROM THE MASSIVE TO THE MUNDANE. AND ALTHOUGH PETRO-FUELS
AND COMBUSTION ENGINES AREN'T GOING AWAY ANYTIME SOON, THE NAVY IS
EXPERIMENTING WITH MORE-EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVE-FUEL SOURCES TO LESSEN THE
NAVY'S CARBON FOOTPRINT WHILE REDUCING OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. ONE
OF THOSE ALTERNATIVE FUELS IS HYDROGEN; A FUEL SOURCE THAT TRIES TO MAKE
THIS LOOK MORE LIKE THIS.
Karen Swider-Lyons, Material Science Engineer
Naval Research Labratory
THE NAVY IS INTERESTED IN HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS BECAUSE THEY OFFER CLEAN,
EFFICIENT ENERGY.
NARRATION: PETTY OFFICER 2ND BRIAN COVERLEY
THE OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH AND THE NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY ARE TESTING
ZERO-EMISSION HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS, BUT HOW EXACTLY TO THEY WORK?
Karen Swider-Lyons, Material Science Engineer
Naval Research Labratory
IT'S A VERY SIMPLE REACTION. IT'S HYDROGEN PLUS OXYGEN EQUALS WATER. WHAT
WE DO IS IN THIS CASE TAKE HYDROGEN, AND THE ELECTRONS COME OFF IT. IT'S
STRIPPED BY WHAT'S CALLED A CATALYST. THEN THEY GO AROUND TO THE OTHER
COMPARTMENT WHERE THERE IS AIR, AND THE ELECTRONS RECOMBINE WIT THE OXYGEN
AND THE AIR, AND THEY MAKE WATER.
NARRATION: PETTY OFFICER 2ND BRIAN COVERLEY RESEARCH ON HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS IS
RESEARCH INTO BECOMING A MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY NAVY, BUT THERE ARE
ALSO IMPORTANT TACTICAL BENEFITS. TAKE THE ION TIGER FOR EXAMPLE.
Karen Swider-Lyons, Material Science Engineer
Naval Research Labratory
THE ION TIGER IS A FUEL CELL POWERED UNMANNED AIR VEHICLE , AND IT'S
DESIGNED TO FLY FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS AND CARRY A FIVE-POUND PAYLOAD.
Michele Anderson, Program Officer
Office of Naval Research
SO IDEALLY THAT MEANS THE UAV CAN STAY OUT ON STATION LONGER, OR IT CAN
TRAVEL A FARTHER DISTANCE, AND IT KEEPS THE WARFIGHTER OUT OF HARM'S WAY
AND GIVES THEM CRITICAL INFORMATION IN ORDER TO DO THEIR JOB. AND THE
OTHER FEATURE OF ION TIGER IS BECAUSE IT'S SO QUIET, IT CAN FLY AT LOW
ALTITUDES UNDETECTED. WHEREAS VERSUS SOME OF THE ENGINE TECHNOLOGY, YOU
HAVE TO FLY AT MUCH HIGHER ALTITUDES. SO THERE IS SORT OF THE CONSUMER
SIDE OF IT WHICH IS VERY CLEAN EFFICIENT ENERGY. AND FOR THE NAVY, WE TAKE
THAT AND TURN IT INTO DOING MISSIONS THAT WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW WITH THE
PRESENT TECHNOLOGY. AND SO, AS THE
"We
are just in time to seize the opportunity to make Europe a
leader in [hydrogen] technologies."
