US hybrid sales up 5.2% over last June, and 3% of all cars sold
By MB-BigB | July 3, 2009
The June ‘09 numbers are out, and they contain good news for hybrids. In an overall disappointing month for US car sales, hybrid sales increased 5.2% in units sold over June 2008. Overall, hybrids represented 3% of all vehicles sold, which makes the fourth straight month of increasing market share.
Green Car Congress has lots more data on the June 2009 car sales figures, including lots of nifty graphs showing comparisons over the last 4 years.
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US Interior Department sets aside twenty four federal solar zones for study
By MB-BigB | July 3, 2009
The US Department of Interior (DOI) announced this week that they have identified twenty four sites in the western United States to be considered for utility scale solar plants. The sites are all on Federal land administered by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM). What’s interesting about this announcement is that all sites are being removed from consideration for other uses and that there will be a single environmental review for all twenty four sites. According to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, if the sites are approved and plants are actually built, the plants could produce almost 30 percent of current US residential electricity use.
One of the biggest issues with the process to get approval for utility plants (both fossil fuel and alternative power plants) is the confusing and conflicting regulations that exist at the federal, state, and local levels. The new program, called a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement eliminates some of the issue by pre-identifying the sites and performing the environmental impact assessment all at once. If the sites are approved, then Interior will start taking applications from companies to actually build the plants.
The twenty four sites, which cover about 670,000 acres across six western states (Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah - you can look at the maps here), all met certain criteria. The sites all receive more than 6.5kWh/m2 of sunlight energy per day, have less than a 5 degree slope, and are near existing roads and transmission equipment. Several other sites were eliminated from consideration because they were considered endangered species habitats, wildlife corridors, recreation areas, or were subject to Indian tribal concerns.
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U.S. awards its first exploratory leases for offshore wind power
By MB-BigB | June 28, 2009
The US Department of the Interior has awarded the first leases for exploration of offshore wind development. The leases to three companies, Deepwater Wind LLC, Babcock and Brown Bluewater Wind LLC, and Fisherman’s Energy of New Jersey LLC, will allow the three companies to build meteorological towers between 6 and 18 miles off the New Jersey and Delaware coastlines so that they can gather data on wind speeds and conduct environmental studies to judge the viability of building wind farms. The proposed wind farms would consist of up to 100 turbines each, and would be situated between 16 and 20 miles offshore.
In announcing the leases, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, ”Wind energy off the Atlantic coast is a very significant resource. The technology is proven, effective and available, and can create new jobs for Americans while reducing our expensive and dangerous dependence on foreign oil.”
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ABC News highlights 7 solar sensations
By MB-BigB | June 25, 2009
If you’re interested, head on over to abcnews.com and check out 7 new “solar sensations” that they’re highlighting. The 7 sensations range from a solar powered aircraft expected to go on its first test flight shortly, to a solar powered bus station scheduled to be deployed in Italy in October, to a thin-film solar cell covered electric car made by Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg that was shown at this years Geneva Motor show.
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Using hybrid American Chestnut trees to capture carbon
By MB-BigB | June 21, 2009
Professor Jacobs has developed a strain of American Chestnut tree that is resistant to the chestnut blight by crossing the American Chestnut with blight resistant Chinese Chestnut trees, and feels that the new crossbreed trees could be ready to plant in the next decade, either in existing forests or former farms that are being returned to forested lands. According to Jacobs, trees currently absorb about 1/6th of the carbon emitted globally each year, and by increasing the amount of trees, you could see a significant increase in absorption.
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Cash for clunkers bill passed by US Senate
By MB-BigB | June 18, 2009
If you want to trade in your gas guzzler for a new more fuel efficient car, there’s a good chance you can get a substantial cash voucher for your old car. The US Senate today passed their version of the cash-for-clunkers bill - it will give rebates to new car buyers buying more fuel efficient cars. The way it will work is that if you have a car that is newer than 1984 and gets a combined EPA rating of 18 mpg or less and you trade it in for a new care rated at least 4 mpg higher, you’ll get a government voucher for $3,500. Buy a car that gets 10 mpg higher, and the check will be for $4,500. It’s a similar deal for SUVs, pickups and minivans - 1984 or newer with a combined 18 mpg or less - it’ll be $3,500 if the new vehicle gets 2 mpg more, and $4,500 if it gets 5 mpg more. You must have owned the older car for more than a year, and dealers will have to provide evidence that the old car is scrapped.
The current bill limits the program to $1 billion and it will expire Oct 1st of this year. President Obama has already said that he will sign it.
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World’s first floating wind turbine installed
By MB-BigB | June 13, 2009
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Wind Turbines to be sold in your corner hardware store
By MB-BigB | June 9, 2009
Earthtronics has just signed a deal with ACE Hardware stores to sell their new 2-kW Honeywell Wind Turbine. The new turbine is sized for individual houses and can be mounted on the roof, where it can generate electricity at wind speeds as low as 2 mph all the way up to 45 mph. If you live in a Class 4 wind resource area (i.e. lots of wind), the Honeywell Wind Turbine will generate up to 2,000 kilowatt-hours in a year - that’s roughly 15 to 20% of the average electricity consumption for the average US home. ACE Hardware will sell the Earthronics Honeywell turbine for $4,500 - installation can run another $1,500. But then US homeowners can tap into the 30% investment tax credit offered by the federal stimulus bill, along with any local or state tax breaks for wind power.
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Will the GM bankruptcy affect the Chevy Volt?
By MB-BigB | June 3, 2009
With the GM Chapter 11 bankruptcy announcement this week, one of many unanswered questions swirling around concerns the Chevy Volt - the plug-in hybrid that GM had planned to start producing around November of 2010. While there’s certainly a great deal of uncertainty regarding what will happen to GM and what the “new GM” will look like when it emerges from bankruptcy protection, Rob Peterson, manager of Electric Vehicle Communications at GM, says that, “There is no impact,” from the bankruptcy. In fact, last week, GM invited the press to test drive several vehicles loaded up with the current Volt power train system.
GM is saying that the reborn company will focus on four core brands (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC) and will invest heavily in energy saving technology. The company remains fully committed to the Volt, according to GM president and CEO Fritz Henderson. “From day one, the New GM will be well-positioned to capitalize on the award-winning vehicles we have developed and launched during the past few years, and on our investments in exciting new technologies like the Chevy Volt.” By 2012, GM expects to have 14 hybrid models in production.
via: Reuters and Energy Efficiency News
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Toyota seeing huge demand for its 2010 Prius
By MB-BigB | May 31, 2009
So far, Japanese demand for the new Toyota 2010 Prius, the 3rd generation of the Prius hybrid, is greatly exceeding Toyota’s expectations. Toyota had set a sales goal of 100,000 cars in Japan by December - right now it looks like they’re going to meet that goal this summer. With so much initial demand, Toyota originally thought that they would cut US deliveries until they could catch up on production, but now Toyota has increased production at both its Prius facilities in order to bring annual production up from 400,000 to 500,000 cars. The new Prius goes on sale here in the US in early summer.
There’s been some talk in the press about how now that the cost of gasoline has dropped so much from last year (although its now on its way back up), hybrid sales in the US have been in the tank. They point to the drop in Prius sales as the example. But I think they don’t realize is that most people who have been interested in buying a new Prius (me included) have decided to wait until the 2010 models come out. After all, why would you buy a 2009 model when the 2010 models get better mpg, have more power and interior space, and cost the same?
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