3p Contributor: BC Upham
Recent Articles
Self Reporting Doesn’t Cut it: Why We Need a National GHG Measurement System
Say you’re the Mayor of San Francisco. You’re spending million of dollars every year to increase energy efficiency, install solar panels and encourage the use of electric cars — all in an effort to lower your city’s greenhouse gas emissions, in line with (hypothetical) newly-enacted Federal greenhouse gas reduction guidelines.
Meanwhile, the (hypothetical) Mayor of Sacramento, who doesn’t believe in global warming, and certainly doesn’t believe in spending a dime to reduce the city’s carbon footprint, has completely ignored the GHG guidelines, and then lied about it on self-reported greenhouse gas inventories required by the Feds.
Both cities benefit from reduced emissions, but only one is spending the money to do so. How fair is that?
Not very. Which is why Congress is currently considering a National Greenhouse Gas Observation and Analysis System. The system would consist of a network of hundreds of greenhouse gas monitors that could analyze GHG concentrations on the regional, state, and even local level.
Ecofactor Smart Thermostat System Wins Cleantech Open
A maker of thermostat data systems that claims to be able to reduce heating and cooling costs for buildings by 20-30 percent won Grand Prize at this year’s Cleantech Open, one of the leading environmental technology competitions in the country.
Ecofactor makes integrated systems that calibrate a residential or commercial thermostat for maximum energy efficiency without having any noticeable effect on comfort. The system uses information from 24,000 data points, such as local weather, typical customer behavior and the design characteristics of a home or business to control the thermostat, which is connected to the Internet via a broadband connection.
As National Prize winner, Ecofactor took home $250,000, including $100,000 in seed capital. This is in addition to $100,000 the company won as California regional finalist in October. Started in 2006, Ecofactor has raised angel funding, and currently in negotiations for its Series A round, according to Earth2Tech.
Cleantech Open runners up were: Alphabet Energy (waste-heat recapture); and MicroMidas (transforms raw sewage into biodegradable plastic). Earlier in the day, audience members at the Awards Gala voted Alphabet Energy as the People’s Choice business competition winner.
As Asia Outpaces America in Cleantech, US and China Agree to Cooperation
Obama’s recent trip to China felt like a bit of a bummer, with the Times pointedly portraying the President as a solitary figure, wandering alone on the Great Wall — and getting stone-walled by the PRC’s leadership.
But behind the scenes, hard-working diplomats hammered out agreements on what could be the basis for an important partnership between the world’s two largest polluters on clean technology, ranging from carbon capture to electric cars and more.
And it couldn’t come soon enough, as a new study calculates China, Japan and South Korea will spend $502 billion on clean technology over the next five years, $337 billion more than the US, which the authors warn is in grave danger of being left behind.
Electric Cars Should Be Customized for Different Drivers: Report
A report released recently by McKinsey and Company argues that electric car makers should consider engineering their vehicles for different market segments, rather than try and build a “one size fits all” electric car.
According to the report, the “one size fits all” model means a longer range, and thus a larger battery, than many drivers need. For instance, people who use the car mainly to drive around town use significantly less juice — less than half, according to the report — than someone using the car to commute to work on highways. (Most of that difference comes not from the increased range required by commuting, but by the higher speeds on the highway, which drain power dramatically.)
Organized Crime Mixed Up in Environmental Initiatives — Again
As goes the financial markets, so go the renewable energy markets. If there’s an opportunity to make a buck, or in this case, a euro, by ripping people off, rest assured, someone will do it.
In the latest case, two Italian businessmen are accused of involvement in a scheme to collect public subsidies for wind power by building sham wind farms. A two year investigation, dubbed “Gone With the Wind” by Italian anti-fraud police, culminated Tuesday with the arrest of Oreste Vigorito, head of the IVPC energy company and president of Italy’s National Association of Wind Energy, and Vito Nicastri, a Sicilian business associate on allegations of defrauding the government of millions in subsidies, according to the Financial Times.
Anti-mafia investigators in Sicily, where some of the wind farms are located, have launched a parallel investigation.
SolarCity CEO Says Solar Installation Biz Splitting into Big Guys and Little Guys
Solarcity CEO Lyndon Rive said in an interview Friday that he is seeing a growing market schism between the thousands of small, local solar panel installers and a “half a dozen or so” national players that can provide “a trusted brand focusing on scale and services.”
Rise of the Brand Names
Solarcity, which the 32-year old Rive co-founded in 2006, has grown to be one of the leading solar panel installers in California, and perhaps the most recognizable solar installation company in the country.
The solar panel industry is still one where success is measured in the thousands of customers, not millions or billions, however, and despite its high-profile status in the news media, solar installers are still in a very niche business.
Landmark “Electrification Coalition” Plays Down Environmental Benefits of EVs, Plays Up Oil Dependence
More than a dozen top executives ranging from Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn to David W. Crane of NRG Energy and Frederick W. Smith of FedEx Corporation jointly announced Monday the launch of the Electrification Coalition, a serious and rigorous industry-backed non-profit with the goal of having 75 percent of all miles driven in this country in 2040 powered by electricity.
The non-profit, non-partisan Coalition’s first act was to release the Electrification Roadmap, a 91-page report “detailing the dangers of oil dependence, explaining the benefits of electrification, describing the challenges facing electric cars, and providing specific policy proposals to overcome those challenges.” The Roadmap is available from the organization’s website. For anyone the slightest bit interested in the challenges and promise of electric cars, it’s required reading.
Coca-Cola Rolls Out Plant-Based Recyclable Bottles
Seemingly every day a different company announces a new greening initiative, so when Coca-Cola said this morning that it has begun distributing plastic bottles of Coke and other beverages made with up to 30% plant-based material, it might have seemed like just another press release.
In fact, consider it a milestone. The Coca-Cola cursive logo is the most recognized consumer brand in the world, and now, in some places, it will have a little green stamp on it, symbolizing not only that company’s sustainability efforts, but the degree to which green thinking has penetrated the corporate mindset.
Introducing PlantBottle
The Coca-Cola Company dubs the new packaging PlantBottle, and boasts that it is the first-to-market plant based PET plastic bottle in the industry. PlantBottle is already on the shelves in eco-conscious Denmark (in time for Copenhagen) and will be introduced in Canada in December, and San Francisco, LA and Seattle in January.
The More Climate Regulation, The Better? A Report…
A new report out of UC Berkeley argues the stricter the regulation of greenhouse gases, the better it is for state economies, from California to Connecticut, and everywhere in between.
The report, entitled “Clean Energy and Climate Policy for U.S. Growth and Job Creation,” argues that improvements in energy efficiency, as well as a government mandated shift away from fossil fuels, will result in increased income for Americans, and higher job growth, as less income is spent on energy and new technologies spur industry.
From the report:
Increasing Pessimism on Copenhagen, US Climate Bill
A bad week for climateers. Several news reports out Wednesday pour cold water on imminent climate change change.
The Wall Street Journal reports “Climate Bill Likely on the Shelf for Rest of the Year.” Obviously it’s not over until the fat lady sings, but a key Democratic senator, Max Baucus, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said “it’s common understanding that climate-change legislation will not be brought up on the Senate floor and pass the Senate this year,” according to WSJ.
Baucus’ comment was reinforced by one from Republican Senator Richard Lugar, who told the Washington Post “I don’t see any climate bill on the table right now that I can support.”
The New York Times meanwhile gossips that at a symposium Tuesday of climate change experts and representatives from China, Brazil and other nations sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, the general consensus was that achieving a broad, global agreement at Copenhagen was “very very low,” in the words of Atul Arya of BP, the British oil company.
Greenhouse Gas Accountants to the Rescue!
Lost in all the talk about whether or when nations and industries will have emissions targets, is the question of who, exactly, is going to measure those targets.
Without a pool of trained and certified professional GHG managers, climate change initiatives — from the United Nations Framework down to the sustainability plan for the shop around the corner — could stall.
Worse, a lack of accountability could turn the “greenhouse gas expert” into the snake oil salesman of the 21st century, peddling a dubious product whose ingredients change from one bottle to the next.
Enter the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute. The Institute provides professional training in greenhouse gas accounting and verification, primarily online, and its ultimate goal is to create a professional society for greenhouse gas accountants and verifiers, similar to the way other fields — architecture, law, medicine, accounting — have national or international certification bodies.
The Institute was launched in 2007 as a non-profit by Michael Gillenwater and Tom Baumann, two recognized experts in emissions measurement, who realized that there was an emerging need for standardization in their field.
California Group Blames Immigrants for Climate Change
A California anti-immigration group has created a multimedia ad campaign blaming immigrants for climate change and environmental degradation in California. Californians for Population Stabilization, or CAP, argues that immigrants, legal and illegal, increase their carbon footprint four-fold when they move to the US and “Americanize” their consumption habits, thus exacerbating climate problems.
Listen to the radio ad here.
According to CAP President Diane Hull, “Californians [have] made significant progress in energy conservation over the last couple of decades. However, the progress has been mitigated by massive population growth over the same period, driven by immigration and births to immigrants.” Hull continues:
Overheard at Opportunity Green: LA Having “Serious Conversation” About Feed-in Tariff
Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Energy and the Environment Romel Pascual said during a panel discussion at Opportunity Green 2009 that Los Angeles has begun a “serious conversation” about a feed-in tariff for the city. Feed-in tariffs, or FiTs, provide cash rebates for renewable energy fed into the grid — above the normal cost of electricity.
FiTs are popular in Europe; German has had a program for several years. But there are few places in the US with an FiT, Gainsville County, Florida, being one. If LA, the country’s second largest city, with the largest municipal electric utility, created an FiT, it would have a profound effect on the small-scale solar power market.
Pascual echoed acting Director of Los Angeles Water and Power Director S. David Freeman, who also mentioned an LA FiT at an Opp Green keynote speech this morning. The idea has come up in public meetings held to discuss LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s ambitious environmental goals. Said Pascual, “it’s on the drawing board.”
Freeman also mentioned LA possibly building large scale solar plants in the Owens River Valley, which was first reported in Triple Pundit last summer.
European Lawmakers To Give Free Carbon Credits to Heavy Industry
Satellite Image of European Air Pollution
The EU, that bastion of environmental common sense, is giving away its carbon credits. For free. To some of their biggest polluters.
Reuters reports that European Union lawmakers have approved a list of heavy industries, including metals, textiles, building materials and ceramics, that will be handed free carbon credits starting in 2013, rather than have to pay for them like everyone else. The credits will be handed out under the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, or ETS.
The lawmakers acceded to industry complaints that the cost of carbon credits would make them uncompetitive with companies operating in India, China and other nations with fewer environmental safeguards, forcing them to move operations out of the EU. The end result, industry argues, would be the same companies making the same products for the same consumers, only in a more polluting way overseas, a phenomenon known as “carbon leakage.”
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