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Commuter Benefits on the Rise with Employers

U.S. employers now view pre-tax commuter benefits as the number-one planned addition to their benefits packages, amidst a growing focus on the environment and supporting employee commuting, according to the 2007 TransitCenter Commuter Impact Survey. TransitCenter, Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of mass transit, independently fielded the survey to 245 U.S. human resource professionals across public, private, nonprofit and government organizations. Under Internal Revenue Code, tax-free commuter benefits programs can be offered by employers as an employee-funded pre-tax payroll deduction or as an employer-provided fringe benefit – and allow participants to set aside up to $110 a month tax-free to pay for transit and vanpool commuting costs, and up to $215 for commuter parking. Employees who participate can achieve tax savings equivalent to 30-40% of their out-of-pocket commuting expenses. Offering a commuter benefits program can also help employers lower their payroll taxes. Compared to last year, deployment of tax-free commuter benefits programs by U.S. employers in major metropolitan areas has grown 132%, jumping from 28% in 2006 to 65% in 2007. Today, it is the number-one program that employers plan to add to their benefits package in the next year, with 17% saying they intend to implement […]

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Maxwell Technologies Wins $3 Million Contract

Maxwell Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL) has won a contract valued at approximately $3 million from Astrium’s United Kingdom-based satellite unit to supply single board computers (SBC) for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) “Gaia” astronomy mission to survey more than a billion stars and other celestial bodies to trace the origin and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy. Seven Maxwell SCS750 SBCs will process images and data gathered by the two-ton satellite’s camera, which will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the duration of the five-year mission named for the Greek goddess Gaia, who was worshipped as the mythological creator of the universe. The massive volume of data to be collected and the precision of the imaging instrumentation will enable scientists to create a three-dimensional map of the galaxy and study its formation with unprecedented detail and accuracy. The satellite will be launched into an orbit at Lagrange point 2, which is 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles) into space on the “night side” of Earth so that it will be shielded from glare from the Earth, Sun and Moon that otherwise would interfere with image and data collection. Its payload will include two telescopes and a camera […]

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SatCon Wins $2 Million Contract

SatCon Technology Corporation (Nasdaq CM: SATC), a developer of power management and system architecture solutions for the alternative energy and distributed power markets, has been awarded a $2 million contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop the complete electric power conversion package for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) for special operations applications. The hybrid powertrain system will include a permanent magnet traction motor/generator and DC/AC drive system; a battery to distribution bus DC/DC bi-directional converter to provide regulated high voltage power; and an auxiliary power converter for on-board and on-station electrical loads, both 28 VDC and 120 VAC. The contract effort runs through December 2008. SatCon is teamed with Electrovaya (a North American Lithium Ion Battery manufacturer) who will develop the HEV battery system. The technology builds on SatCon’s Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) and DC/DC converter developments as well as other government sponsored advanced technology for power electronics subsystems. The goal is to develop the key system components that will enable more efficient operation of tactical vehicles while providing for the increased electrical power demands of next generation systems. SatCon is considering a range of potential vehicles for the hybrid powertrain technology. This award is a further […]

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SunPower Builds Solar Power Plant on Korean Landfill

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems, will work with Korean energy company EnE System to build a 2-megawatt solar electric power plant in Jeonju, a city in the Jeolla province of Korea. The plant, owned by Jeonju Solar Energy, is the first of its kind in Korea to be located on a landfill property. “Locating the power plant on landfill demonstrates the environmental leadership taken by Jeonju Solar Energy and EnE System on this project,” said Stanley S.K. Bae, SunPower’s general manager in Korea. “The Jeonju solar power plant will help serve Korea’s energy needs with a major source of clean, renewable solar power, generated on a site that may otherwise remain unused.” SunPower is installing its proprietary, single-axis solar tracking system at the 53,000-square-meter site. The SunPower Tracker tilts toward the sun as it moves across the sky, delivering up to 25 percent more energy than traditional fixed-tilt systems while reducing land-use requirements. “We selected SunPower based on the company’s experience with utility-scale power plant projects as well as the efficiency and proven reliability of SunPower’s technology,” said Sang Kug Moon, director of EnE System. Jeonju Solar Energy utilized a […]

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Biodiesel Boom Heading Toward Wall Street

URL: http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/25/technology/biodieselboom.biz2/index.htm?postversion=2007092609 Website: http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/25/technology/biodieselboom.biz2/index.htm?postversion=2007092609     

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