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Alliance to Make Algae-to-Biocrude by 2010

LiveFuels Inc. announced that a national alliance of scientists have come together to produce biocrude oil by the year 2010. Funded by LiveFuels, the scientific alliance will be led by Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory. The alliance is expected to sponsor dozens of labs and hundreds of scientists by the year 2010. Algal oil is similar to soybean oil but can be grown on marginal lands unsuitable for food crops. Thriving on sunlight and CO2, algae can be grown in fresh or brackish water. This makes algae an ideal solution for farmers dealing with issues of agricultural run-off. Moreover, a shortage of vegetable oil has been predicted within 3 to 5 years in the United States, and algal oil could fill the gap for non-edible uses like biofuels. In order to make biocrude for less than $60 a barrel, algae must be high in fats or oils. Commercially-grown algae like Spirulina are high in protein and starch but low in fat. A few high-fat species of algae like Haematococcus are promising, but the fats — at prices around $1,200 a pound — are too expensive to fuel America’s vehicles today. “Fat algae” doesn’t sound like […]

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Climate Shift Blamed for Mass Die-Off

URL: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d2934362-9c7b-4023-943e-acc351e0c276&k=52559 Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d2934362-9c7b-4023-943e-acc351e0c276&k=52559     

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The Energy Mandate

by Thomas L. Friedman, October 13, 2006 James Carville, the legendary Clinton campaign adviser who coined the slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid,” knows a gut issue when he sees one. So when Mr. Carville contacted me the other day to tell me about the newest gut issue his polling was turning up for candidates in the 2006 elections, I was all ears. “Energy independence,” he said. “It’s now the No. 1 national security issue. … It’s become kind of a joke with us, because no matter how we ask the question, that’s what comes up.” So, for instance, the Democracy Corps, a Democratic strategy group spearheaded by Mr. Carville and the former Clinton pollster Stan Greenberg, asked the following question in an Aug. 27 survey of likely voters: “Which of the following would you say should be the two most important national security priorities for the administration and Congress over the next few years?” Coming in No. 1, with 42 percent, was “reducing dependence on foreign oil.” Coming in a distant second at 26 percent was “combating terrorism.” Coming in third at 25 percent was “the war in Iraq,” and tied at 21 percent were “securing our ports, nuclear plants […]

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Ford E85 Cars Under Scrutiny

An auto industry watchdog group accused Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) Thursday of selling more than 200,000 Taurus and Sable cars with faulty ethanol-capable fuel systems, asking the federal government to impose $136 million in fuel economy penalties and force Ford to change its advertising. Ford contends the vehicles meet all federal standards, and denies it has misled either the government or buyers. It also defended its use of fuel economy credits, saying the program has worked as Congress intended to create demand for E85, the blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Ethanol-capable vehicles have been the top environmental talking point for Ford and other Detroit automakers this year, as all three have committed to doubling their output of E85-ready vehicles to 2 million annually by 2010. Public Citizen said in a complaint to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that Ford Tauruses and Mercury Sables from the 2003 to 2005 model years ran so poorly on 85% ethanol-blended fuel that they should not be considered flex-fuel vehicles, which earn extra credits under federal fuel economy standards. The program assumes flex-fuel vehicles run on E85 half the time, even though many such vehicles never see a drop of E85 in […]

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Report: PV Incentive Programs in the U.S.

Programs offering financial support for residential and commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are using a variety of innovative approaches to ensure that these systems perform well, according to a new report released today by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA). The report describes the strategies currently being used by 32 state and local PV incentive programs in the U.S. and provides recommendations to help guide program design efforts going forward. “Ensuring that PV systems perform well is critical to maintaining the rapid growth in this market,” explains Galen Barbose of Berkeley Lab. “This report provides the most comprehensive examination to-date of the full range of options available to PV incentive programs for advancing this objective.” The report comes on the heels of major new solar legislation recently enacted in California and a re-design of the state’s PV incentive programs, both of which take aggressive steps towards ensuring that PV systems installed in the state perform well. A key element of the new programs will be the transition to incentive structures based on actual and estimated energy production ­ often referred to as performance-based incentives and expected performance-based incentives, respectively. “Organizations offering financial support for […]

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Kyocera, SunPower Achieve World Records in Solar Cell Efficiency

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) and Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) both announced new records in solar cell efficiency. SunPower announced that its newest solar panel offers significantly higher power output and conversion efficiency than its current products. The new SPR-315 solar panel uses its new 22-percent-efficient Gen 2 solar cells and carries a rated power output of 315 watts – breaking the 300 watt barrier. The new design enables customers to generate up to 50% more power per square foot of roof area with half as many panels, maximizing energy production while reducing installation costs. A typical 4 kilowatt (AC rating) solar system requires 30 conventional 160 watt panels and covers 410 square feet of roof space. The new SPR 315 panels produce an equivalent amount of power using only 15 solar panels on 265 square feet. Kyocera announced it has achieved a new world record of 18.5% energy conversion efficiency for a 15cm x 15cm multicrystalline silicon solar cell. Prior records for energy conversion efficiency in multicrystalline cells of this size were also set by Kyocera, including 14.5% in 1989, 17.1% in 1996, and 17.7% in 2004. Kyocera’s other recent efficiency benchmarks were achieved both by optimizing the cell’s grid-line configuration […]

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Evergreen Solar Gets $100M Contract

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), a manufacturer of solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost String Ribbon(TM) wafer technology, announced it has entered into a four-year supply contract with Mainstream Energy, LLC, which has systems integration and distribution subsidaries involved in the sales, distribution and installation of residential and commercial solar electric systems nationwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Evergreen Solar will ship approximately $100 million of photovoltaic modules to Mainstream Energy over the next four years. “We continue to align ourselves with recognized leaders in the solar industry,” said Terry Bailey, Evergreen Solar’s Senior VP Marketing and Sales. “Mainstream Energy will play a significant role in our effort to further penetrate the U.S. marketplace. The size of the deal also reflects our confidence in achieving our current expansion plans and is further affirmation of the prospects for our String Ribbon technology.” “Evergreen Solar represents an important strategic partner for us,” stated David Katz, President of AEE Solar, a Mainstream Energy subsidiary. “We value their commitment to innovation and long-term vision for the industry. We view them as a solar technology pioneer that is making considerable strides in improving cell efficiencies and more importantly, lowering the overall costs of […]

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