STUFF

GSPI to build 2M gal/y cellulosic ethanol plant - largest yet.

Republicans in Congress voted against 8 new tax cuts for small biz this yr, called for repeal of small biz tax cuts in health bill (repeal of total bill), and had blocked the small biz jobs bill to be signed this coming week as long as they could. I'm starting to think let's give the Democrats 2 more years. Though, truly, votes should be cast for whom we think the best person in each contest. Let's do that. Let's see how that works. Yep, takes a lot of paying attention to. Let's do it for our fighters in Afghan and Iraq and elsewhere. Hoowah.

GE's Immelt says we have to have an energy policy. We need a price on carbon and a clean E policy open to all clean E techs. He praised the stimulus effort on its clean E provisions and the new DOE. He said we need to tighten up research foci and is critical of regulatory framework between FERC and states.

California approved 33% share by '20 for clean E.

A fleet management comp, EDF and Green Driver combining to reduce fleet GHG emissions 20% next 5 yrs. 3M vehicles in corp fleets. Would reduce emiss 10M metric tons. Transportation is 28% GHG emiss (US).

Hitachi and Panasonic are forming a smart grid alliance. Smart grid mart to grow to ~$10B by '15. $5.6B in '10.

Upgrades to Ohio River dams for el to cost >$5/W. 3 underway. Can increase turb efficiencies ^10% while reducing fish death. 13-17 blades now. Research on 3 blades now but will probably end up 4-7. A 300MW project in Peru for run of river (no dam).

Japan gave in to China's rare earth materials cutoff and gave back the ship captain. The dispute is over fishing grounds off contested islands. I don't think we've seen the last story of those rare earth elements and China's monopoly of them.

Illuminex' crystalline silicon nanowire solar equipment gets efficiencies comparable to current solar @ 50-75% less cost. Still in lab.

Solazyme delivered 20k gal algae diesel to Navy on '09 contract and announced contract for 150k gals more in '10 and '11. NASA looking at $10M, 2-yr project with Navy to R&D offshore algaefuel production.

Hertz to roll out EV rental programs, full-scale deploy in '11.

Kuwait and Russia signed a memo of co/op for nuke E. Um. Didn't the US liberate some country back a while ago?

China utility-scale solar plants breaking through 15 cents/kwh. >70% winning bids won by government-controlled enterprises.

Germany's newest offshore wind farm installed. 21 2MW turbines. Plan to develop 10GW offshore by '20, 25GW by '30. New farm w/ 80 5MW turbines under construction. 30 farms have received approval. No room left onshore.

IKEA building Colorado's largest single geothermal building.

Lots of clean E commitments thru Clinton Global Initiative this past week. I guess we miss the budget surplus and amazing growth in wealth of the late 90's and give Bill the personification. Of course, he had the end of the cold war and the invention of the internet at his back. But however the clean E revolution comes, Godspeed.