Mercedes Close to Rolling Out Luxury Electric Vehicle

Mercedes is developing a 100% luxury (what else?) car referred to as the "S-Class." It will be manufactured luxury to mid-size and will run on a lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery pack is stored under the hood. The driver will have the options of plugging it in to charge it or letting the "dynamo" device charge it while it's running.

Their tests show it was able to get approximately 105 miles before needing to recharge.

Reports indicate that Mercedes has acquired 25 patents for lithium-ion battery technology. These are to be used in their new S 400 Blue Hybrid next year. The S 300 model a year later. The general consensus is that they will be rolling out late 2010 or early 2011 if production goes according to plan.

Hybrids in 2008 go as high as $50K now so if you aim for one of these start saving your pennies now.

Feds Put 2 Year Moratorium on New Solar Power Plants

The Feds have put a moratorium on new solar power plants being built on public lands according to this New York Times article. They claim they need to assess any "environmental impact" a new solar energy plant might cause. Their estimate is that they will need two years for their studies.

The Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department cite possible causes of environmental concern such as:

• Water: most solar plants would be located in desert areas and the water needed to run them may cause problems for surrounding cities.
• Reclamation: how in the world would the feds "restore" the land after being used by a plant that has been running or 20 to 30 years. We're told it's a "big issue."
• Transmission Lines: they're wondering how much damage is going to be done to native vegetation. Also on their collective minds is just what will the "desert tortoise and Mojave ground squirrel" have to say about all this. Interviews with them will probably begin shortly.

All this has solar company executives very concerned: “The problem is that this is a very young industry, and the majority of us that are involved are young, struggling, hungry companies,” said Lee Wallach of Solel, a solar power company based in California that has filed numerous applications to build on public land and was considering filing more in the next two years. “This is a setback.”

The general thought is that yes, it would be wise to study this but not at the expense of getting these new plants up and going. Get the plants going and study the impact in real time as they progress in their development.

Editor Pat: This is what I warn about. Big government and multinational companies joining together to slow down to a crawl technology that will benefit people. How would it benefit government to have it's population independent and living off the grid? A population of strong rugged individualists would be self-sufficient and would not need a large "Nanny" government.

We can be sure that any time research and development brings progress and innovation to technology that services people better than the status quo-powerful forces will challenge it.

School District Turns to Solar for Relief

The Milpitas school district which encompasses San Jose California. has made an agreement with the Bank of America and Chevron to install Solar Panels on the roofs of schools and college campuses. Chevron and the Bank of America will be the owners of the solar panels and will sell the school district the power at a cheaper rate than Pacific Gas and Electric, the primary gas and electric company in the area.

The district's energy bill was $1.8 million a year. After the completed installation the district will be saving $1.2 million a year.

Mercury News Story Here

* Editor Pat; It's good to see the school systems embrace solar but we should be leery of the big international corporations getting their hands on solar. We DO NOT want the biggies having anything to do with any sort of regulation of solar energy, technology or equipment. Private investors and private small business has to stay in the game here and make sure solar technology doesn't go the way of all things. We don't need multinational companies grabbing solar and dictating to everyone else how the sun's energy will be used! You just know they have to be planning it. Thoughts like 'How can we monopolize this industry?' must be pouring throught their greedy little brains.

Medium and small businesses have to embrace wind and solar and start supporting private companies that do research and development in these areas. Solar Energy and Wind Power are going to very important options for our future, but we must be vigilant and handle them smartly.

Wacky USB Tie Fan!

How many of you gents out there would like to cool down while wearing a fan embedded in your necktie? You have a choice of attaching the necktie to a usb cable and powering the fan from your laptop or pc or installing 4 "AA" batteries.

This genius offering is brought to you by the folks at "Thanko"

Of course as has been pointed out, the motor of the fan could actually heat up your neck thereby cancelling any cooling effect of the fan! Oh well, better put this one back in the oven-it's only half baked.

Family Slashing Bills Using Solar Panels, Electric Bike and Clothesline

CNN has a featured story of an Arlington Virginia family who decided to take positive action to reduce their energy bills. Their energy bill went from approx. $150 a month down to less than $30 a month doing just a few simple things anyone can do.

The family's solar set-up uses "net-metering" which means the excess energy produced from the panels on their roof is fed back into "the grid." The 12 panels on the roof feed the collected energy from the sun into their "inverter" located in their basement.

To reduce their home energy costs the family has started doing simple things such as:

* Ditch the dryer and use a clothesline.

* Started cooking meals in a solar cooker.

* Use small solar panels to power their personal electronics such as their cell phones and iPods.

* Fire up their electric bike to run errands (the bike is strong enough to pull a trailer!).

The family believes the solar panel system they have will last another 30 years giving them free energy for what may amount to the rest of their lives.

Solar Quotes

* “the Internet; changing the energy cycle from petroleum-based to solar-electric; and moving into space.” - Elon Musk

* “Spots are on the surface of the solar body where they are produced and also dissolved, some in shorter and others in longer periods. They are carried around the Sun; an important occurrence in itself.” - Galileo

* "We need to drive the cost of solar energy down to where it's competitive for bulk power generation." - Jim DiPeso

MOOOOO-Solarizing Cattle!

It's going to take a little while, but in the future cattle are going to hear the whispers of cowboys singing to them or a ranch foreman telling them to get into their corral. This technology can also provide an irritating noise to the cow's ear that will motivate them to Not go somewhere similar to an electronic "fence."

The cattle will be sporting wireless headsets and be able to hear entertainment or commands while out roaming around. All this as the result of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence labs research that has produced the technolory and prototype. Its a small electronics package for DVF devices and is Solar Powered. Its small enough to fit into these miniaturized wireless headsets they are thinking of using on cattle.

I can just see the cows chill'n to Slim Whitman tunes!

More Info Here at Science Daily

Green Plug: Universal Power Adaptor

Appliance and electronics manufacturer Westinghouse has just announced that they will back an alternative power adaptor company whose name and product is called "Green Plug." This new electronic adaptor aims to be your new single hub for your devices such as laptops, cells, digital cameras-anything requiring a "wall wart." Green Plug would allow several electronic devices to share one ac connector. It will be able to monitor each device and shut off the power supply when it's disconnected or finished charging.

Progress will depend on the well known electronics manufacturers jumping on board to add Green Plug's Firmware to their devices. Also needed are semiconductor makers to build Green Plug's technology into chips needed that will go into the universal adaptors. It will cost an estimated $2 per device for manufacturers to integrate this technology into their products.

It's expected to be a hard sell as a lot of electronics biggies don't want to be seen shipping products without the standard connector in the package. Add to that the reluctance of the big box electronics stores dropping the adaptors and losing that profit stream.

Studys show that Americans throw out (retire/recycle) 434 Million electronic devices each year and that naturally includes all the power adaptors. By developing and using this type of Green Plug technology we wouldn't be polluting the landfills with as many adaptors.

Here's the rest of the story at PC World

Jobs In Solar: ASSEMBLER-PANELS (LAS VEGAS, HENDERSON)

Reply to: kandie.berry@c1sf.com
Date: 2008-06-11, 10:03AM PDT

Energy Efficient Building company looking for assemblers.

Duties:

Assemble solar panels

Training will be provided.

This is an immediate hire.

Location: LAS VEGAS, HENDERSON
Compensation: 10.00 per hour
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 716106314

Clean Energy Patents Took a Dip in 1st Quarter of 2008

A study done by law firm "Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C." has found that in the first quarter of '08 clean energy patent approval had dipped a little. In the first quarter there were 220 patents as compared to 228 approved in the first quarter and 227 in the last quarter of '07.

This study found that wind, tidal/wave and geothermal patent approvals are on the rise while solar, hybrid/electrical vehicle patents are dipping.

Honda Motors had the most "clean air" patents with 16 issued followed by General Electric and General Motors with 11 issued. The study found that auto companies claimed 6 of the study's top ten spots.

100 MPG Solar Powered Car On Tap

If you have an extra money lying around and would like to plug 'n play your car then you'll love what the researchers have done to a Toyota Prius. According to The Rocky Mountain News, The Renewable Energy Laboratory folks in Golden Colorado have placed a solar panel on top of the Prius and put an extra large lithium-ion battery in the trunk.

After testing, the car got approx. 100 mpg for the first 60 miles without a gas engine. The car can conveniently be charged by connecting it to a normal household or business electrical outlet.

Bad news is that the car is $40K, the panel is $2500 and after they installed all the bells and whistles on it the price shot up to $70K. But, it's only a research model and nowhere near ready for retail.

It will probably be years before Detroit gets ready to market something like this at affordable price. But there are individuals who have already experimented with this technology. If you go to the "Solar Vehicle" section of Solar Power Videos you'll see examples of guys who have been experimenting with creating solar powered cars:

Solar Power Videos

Solar Cooking and Recipes

Solar cooking works but you do have to be patient and make adjustments according to current weather conditions. All cooking times vary according to what type of solar cooker you have and how it's constructed.

Just about any recipe you can make in a crock pot you can also make in a solar cooker. Many have found that using multiple smaller containers to cook smaller portions works better than throwing the whole recipe in a large container.

Water takes longer to heat than individual ingredients. Some recipes call for little or no water as they are relying on the moisture in the ingredients.

Try always to cook in dark colored containers. People have experimented with this and found that the darker the outside of the container the better and faster the food cooks. Some solar cooking afficianados use almost any type of container to cook in: mason jars and sauce jars. They even paint the outside (not the inside!) of the container black so as to draw in the heat better. Naturally you can buy dark colored roasters and cooking dishes.

There are homemade and commercial solar cookers available. Many people now are using the black backrounds instead of the silver foil and aluminum cookers. They not only paint the inside of the cooker black but some also put a black garbage bag underneat the cooking containers to draw more heat in.

* Easier Foods To Solar Cook:

cereals, rice, a lot of egg dishes, fish, ribs, most poultry, pudding, cookies, brownies, chops, fruit, vegetables

* Foods That Need More Effort:

potatoes, turnups, beans, gingerbread, medium-sized roast, buns, lentils, black beans, souffles

* More Difficult Foods:

most beans, most peas, whole turkey, stews, cakes, garbanzo beans, if the water if brought to a boil before solar cooking it's easier to cook stews, soups and beans.

What works best is to try and get the heavier dish(es) into the solar cooker in the morning at around 8am. Some light recipes will only take an hour or two to cook. On a fair to good sun day the recipe should be cooked at around 2pm or 3pm. The larger and denser the food being cooked naturally the longer it will take. A cool breeze is nice to cool us off but it also cools the food in the solar cooker so you have to add approx. 15 to 20 minutes on to your cooking time when it's windy.

Recipes:

"Corn Bread"

1 package Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
1 chopped green onion
1 egg
Buttermilk

Mix first three ingredients with enough buttermilk to get the right consistency. Bake in preheated solar oven at 325º for approx. 70 minutes or until done.

*********

"Tamale Pie"

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 cup corn, frozen
1 8-oz. can stewed tomatoes (drained) or fresh tomatoes
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
2/3 cup Bisquick baking mix
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

Place ground beef and onion in dark pan. Cover and cook for one hour. Drain. Add seasoning mix, corn and tomatoes. Beat together the remaining ingredients and pour over the ground beef mixture. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Optional: 1 8-oz. can of dark olives, 3 tablespoons of taco sauce and 1 cup cheddar cheese may be added.

Remember that cooking times will be approximate according to the weather, type of solar oven you have and the containers you're cooking with. Of course adjust the optional ingredients to your taste.

By using a solar oven you save a little money on electricity and also get "off the grid" as some people aim to do as much as possible. You have a little more independence when you solar cook or have other solar based items in your home such as a roof array or solar heater.

Jobs In Solar:

Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-06-02, 9:49AM PDT


Reuters Insight is an independent research consultancy that provides customized solutions to decision makers and corporate leaders. We connect our clients, which are primarily investment funds in North America, Asia, and Europe, with topic area experts for paid consultations.

We are seeking renewable energy professionals with broad understandings of all renewable offerings (biogas/biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, sustainable design) and insights from diverse specialty areas and geographies to join our consultant network—the Reuters Insight Community of Experts. This community is comprised of professionals drawn from the private sector, public sector, and academia.

Joining the Community of Experts will provide you with opportunities to leverage your experience through paid consultations with our clients.

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Our proprietary screening process assures that members are only matched with requests that appropriately leverage their expertise, and participation is always voluntary. Members of the Community of Experts participate in surveys, one-on-one consultations, group meetings, and Reuters Insight events, solely at their discretion.
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Reuters Insight offers fact-based, unbiased research solutions configured to reflect our clients’ specific knowledge needs. Uniquely configured to deliver the most valuable attributes of both the expert network and traditional research models, Reuters Insight is capable of surfacing timely, highly relevant industry insight. Our collaborative approach is anchored by teams of experienced sector specialists who provide a powerful, guiding interface between clients and our rich reserve of proprietary primary content, our network of experts, and Reuters’ unparalleled global assets. We are an independent service that does not make investment recommendations, generate maintenance research or create earnings forecasts.

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Keywords
renewable offerings, biogas/biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, sustainable design, heat transfer, reactor design, gasification and steam, solid & material handling, utilities, plant process operations, resource management, cash flows, contract management, renewable energy credits, carbon offsets, Foreign Oil, E10, E85, Carbon Monoxide, Oxides, Nitrogen, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Vehicle, Drilled ,Pumped, Lowering Fuel Costs, Protecting the Environment, “Flex-Fuel”, “Dual-Fuel”, Conventional Gasoline, Reduces Air Pollution, Policy, Clean Air Act, switch grass, miscanthus grass, Plant-Derived Material, Flexible, Efficient, Cost Effective, Scalable, Modular, Portable, Mobility, Biorefinery, Devolatilizing, Torrefaction, Gasifying, Pyrolysis, Oxidizing, H2/CO, Optimization, Methanol, Fischer-Tropsch, Compression, Purification, Production, Molybdenum, C1–C4 Alcohol, Sulfided, Sulfur, Cobalt, Carbon Dioxide Removal, Aerodynamic Wind Turbine Rotors, Solar Photovoltaic Systems

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PostingID: 704790777