Boulder Wind Power (BWP) announced completion of a third-party review of its wind power technologies and cost of energy (COE) model. The independent assessment analyzed the technological and commercial risks associated with BWP’s direct drive generator, and resulted in an estimated 12-22 percent cost of energy advantage relative to four of the industry’s most common drivetrains. In addition to providing …
Google Invests $80 Million in Six Solar-Power Plants
Google has made a $80 million equity investment in six solar-power plants – five located in California and one in Arizona. All six of the solar projects are expected to begin operations in January 2014 and provide enough electricity to power 17,000 homes. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP represented Google who partnered with leading private equity investor KKR & …
ABFA Launches Stories of Clean Energy Companies Videos
The Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) is playing a key role in fighting for the sanctity of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). According to Michael McAdams, president, despite misinformation being thrown about during the recent debate over the RFS, drop-in and cellulosic biofuel technology is moving from the laboratory to reality – and ABFA members are designing, purchasing and building the …
Pressure Cooking to Improve Electric Car Batteries
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have redesigned the component materials of the battery found in electric vehicles in an environmentally friendly way. The goal was to solve several problems with the technology including they take a long time to charge; the charge doesn’t hold long enough to drive long distances; they don’t allow drivers …
Cadillac ELR Leaves Detroit Smart Grid Ready
The LA Auto Show is taking place this week and the new Cadillac ELR will have some unique new features. The vehicle will leave Detroit, Michigan smart grid ready by using the extended range electric vehicle (EV) technology. Combined with OnStar’s could-based connection, the ELR will be able to communicate with the electric grid and potentially save energy. ELR owners …
World Energy Scenarios Report: More Must Be Done
COP-19 is taking place in Warsaw, Poland and today the World Energy Council (WEC) released a new report, “World Energy Scenarios: Composing energy futures in 2050.” The world is set to face several significant challenges in balancing global energy needs in addressing the triple challenge of the energy trilemma. The WEC study assesses two policy scenarios: the more consumer-driven Jazz …
Veterans Enter Fight for RFS
Two new organizations have entered the fight for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) today as concerns about the future of the RFS deepen with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed 2014 renewable fuels volumes going south. VoteVets.org and Americans United for Change held a press teleconference to announce their participation in the counteroffensive against what they are calling, “Big Oil’s …
BioEnergy Bytes
BioPower Operations Corporation, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Global Energy Crops Corporation has entered into a 50-50 joint venture agreement with Alternative Green Today, LLC to license the Joint Venture’s Intellectual Property for the production of cellulosic biofuels. Targeted companies will include oil companies, sugar companies and all other producers of ethanol and transportation fuels. Global Energy will manage …
Report: EV Charging Won’t Overload Grid
According to a recent PSR Analytics report that measured Summer 2013 vehicle charging in the nation’s highest residential concentration of electric cars, electric vehicle (EV) owners are charging their cars much less during hot summer afternoons than most behavioral models predict. The analysis, conduced by Pecan Street Research Institute, found that not only is charging behavior is much more diverse …
Project Aims to Convert Natural Gas to Butanol
A new project spearheaded by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are using their expertise in protein expression, enzyme engineering and high-throughput assays to develop biocatalyst technologies that can convert natural gas to liquid fuel or methane to butanol for transportation. The $34 million project by the Advanced Research Project Agency Energy (ARPA-E) is one of a set of 15 Reducing …