Withheld report was requested and funded by Congress.

^{[1]   Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue}

ROCHELLE, ILLINOIS, AUGUST 2010: The Illinois River Energy biofuels plant in Rochelle releases plumes of steam at sunrise. The ethanol plant processes over 40 million bushels of corn into 115 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol annually. The plant is one of hundreds around the country transforming corn into ethanol. It takes nearly 1,000 gallons of water to produce a gallon of ethanol from irrigated corn: four gallons from unirrigated corn.

By Keith Schneider  Circle of Blue Posted On September 7, 2010 @ 9:58 pm

Original source: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/energy-department-blocks-disclosure-of-road-map-to-relieve-critical-u-s-energy-water-choke-points/

A far-reaching federal program of research and analysis, funded by Congress and designed to help the nation anticipate and temper the mounting conflict between rising energy demand and diminishing supplies of fresh water, has been brought to a standstill by the Department of Energy, according to government researchers involved in the project.

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The research program, known as the National Energy-Water Roadmap and ordered up by Congress as part of the 2005 Energy Security Act, was meant to provide lawmakers and the executive branch two studies of the impending collision between energy and water, and what to do about it.

The first, completed by a team of federal scientists in December 2006 and made public a month later, described the serious consequences the nation is already encountering as the United States encourages more energy production, the second largest user of water, but gives scant consideration to water supplies, which are in retreat in most regions of the country.

Meanwhile the second and final report that Congress commissioned, a comprehensive research agenda to better understand the nation’s energy-water choke points and begin developing real world solutions, has been held out of public view for more than four years.

22 Rewrites

Michael Hightower, an energy systems analyst at Sandia National Laboratories and a co-author of the report, said the first draft of the study on research needs was delivered to the Energy Department in July 2006. Energy Department reviewers have since called for 22 rewrites, the last of which was delivered in May 2009, Hightower said.

Since then the five-member team that co-authored the study has not had any communication about the report with the two primary reviewers, Samuel F. Baldwin, chief technology officer in the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Nicholas B. Woodward in the DOE Office of Science.

“I don’t know why they are holding up the report,” said Hightower in an interview with Circle of Blue. “I can only conclude we don’t know how to write or they don’t like the report. I think we have done a nice job in collecting the data. Maybe the quality is in question.”

Neither Baldwin nor Woodward responded to email messages from Circle of Blue. Ebony Meeks, an assistant press secretary, offered this explanation by email and did not respond to follow-up questions: “When developing a comprehensive technological road map it is imperative that all the data is thoroughly reviewed for accuracy and concurred upon by the multiple participating programs. We plan to release the road map as soon as possible.”

The Energy Department’s decision to prevent the report’s public release could also prove embarrassing. Read more

Sep 4 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – J.M. Brown – Jbrown@santacruzentinel.Com Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.

Original source: http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=16865236

City leaders want to help 5,000 homes go solar, cut citywide water use 10 percent and reduce in-town vehicle trips 30 percent, all within a decade. Now, residents, business owners and city officials get to weigh in on how to realize those goals.

After nearly three years of study and planning, the city’s climate change action coordinator, Ross Clark, will present findings Tuesday that tally the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and provide a road map for how to cut the community’s emissions 30 percent from levels seen in the mid-1990s. The report was published Thursday on the city’s website.

By 2020, the city wants to reduce annual emissions by about 69,000 metric tons. A metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions equals about 3,100 kilowatt hours, which is how much electricity is used to power a medium- to large-sized home every month.

While the report lays out ways energy can be saved through innovations in transportation, land use, construction design, water conservation and solar installations, Clark also spells out everyday steps consumers can take to reduce emissions, such as shopping at local stores and farmers markets and taking kids to school by bicycle or by walking. The report calls for the creation of more local, high-paying jobs and higher-density housing growth designed to support public transportation and reduce over-the-hill commuting. Read more

By TODD WOODY September 6, 2010, 10:24 am

Original source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/when-it-comes-to-car-batteries-moores-law-does-not-compute/?ref=energy-environment

Silicon Valley may be an epicenter of the nascent electric car industry, but don’t expect the battery revolution to mimic the computer revolution, one of I.B.M.’s top energy storage scientists advises.

“Forget Moore’s Law — it’s nothing like that,” said Winfried Wilcke, senior manager for I.B.M.’s Battery 500 project, referring to the maxim put forward by Gordon Moore, an Intel founder, that computer processing power doubles roughly every two years.

“Lithium ion, which clearly is the best battery technology today, is flat, completely flat since 2003,” Mr. Wilcke said last week at a gathering in San Francisco attended by executives from I.B.M. and Better Place, a Silicon Valley electric car infrastructure company.

Mr. Wilcke’s team at the Almaden Research Center of I.B.M. in San Jose, Calif., is trying to develop a new battery technology called lithium air that could allow a car to go 500 miles on a single charge. Most electric cars coming onto the market this year have a range of around 100 miles. Read more

By KATE GALBRAITH  September 5, 2010

Original source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/business/energy-environment/06green.html?ref=energy-environment

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Spanish trains whisk passengers from Madrid to Barcelona in little more than two and one-half hours. Japan has bullet trains. China is building a vast network of high-speed rail routes, including the recently opened line between Guangzhou and Wuhan, which covers 1,070 kilometers at the world’s fastest average speed.

Soon, perhaps, the United States, with the world’s largest economy will also clamber on board. So far, the United States — in spite of or perhaps because of its vast size — has virtually no fast trains capable of moving swiftly enough over a long distance to compete with airplanes.

That could change over the next decade. President Barack Obama has declared high-speed rail to be a priority. He is interested, he has said, in “innovations that change the way we travel in America” through the creation of cleaner, energy-saving options. The economic stimulus package provided $8 billion toward the development of high-speed rail. Another $2.3 billion in government awards should be announced this autumn, using money from the budget.

Soon, the U.S. government will publish its first-ever national rail plan, laying out a vision for the future of freight and passenger rail. It is supposed to be released by Sept. 15, but a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, Warren Flatau, said in an e-mail that Congress had recently requested an “additional level of specificity in the document,” and the agency is studying how to proceed to provide a thorough and timely report. Read more

Ethanol’s a bargain—until you do the math.

Michael Kanellos: September 1, 2010

Beware the sticker price.

Propel Fuels, which wants to build 75 alternative fuel gas stations in California, unveiled one in Oakland yesterday, according to several news reports. The company already operates stations in Oakland and Seattle.

One of the big problems with ethanol has been the availability of pumps dispensing E85, the 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gas blend. While General Motors and others have sold thousands of flex fuel cars, the U.S. only has a handful of ethanol stations. In 2008, there were 1,400 compared to 170,000 gas stations. Propel is trying to solve that problem by installing and paying for the pumps, tanks and other infrastructure (it can run up to $150,000) itself. Gas station owners mostly just have to have available real estate for Propel to do its work.

To read the entire article go to: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-problem-with-ethanol-californias-new-ee-standard-and-more-the-head-chee/

By Onell R. Soto, UNION-TRIBUNE  Friday, September 3, 2010 at 12:03 p.m.

Original source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/03/canada-to-mexico-on-one-tank-of-fuel/

A Washington State man who built his own fuel-efficient car 25 years ago repeated his feat of driving border-to-border on a single tank of diesel this week.

“I smashed my old record,” Craig Henderson said shortly after arriving at an Otay Mesa parking lot just across the Mexican border Wednesday.

He said the aerodynamic car, which he calls Avion, averaged 119 mpg on its journey from Canada to San Diego. His old record was 103.

The key was an aerodynamic, lightweight design and tires with low rolling resistance from Goodyear, which sponsored the trip.

The car weighs 1,500 pounds and has an 18-gallon fuel tank. To achieve the high mileage, Henderson drove 55 to 60 mph.

Henderson, of Bellingham, Wash., initially built the car hoping he could get a manufacturer to produce a commercial version.

Find this article at:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/03/canada-to-mexico-on-one-tank-of-fuel

Predictability makes buses more attractive to electrify than cars, argues Proterra.

Michael Kanellos: August 31, 2010

A new electric vehicle will hit the streets of Southern California later this week that has a larger battery pack than a Tesla Roadster and which can be fully charged in ten minutes or less.

It also holds up to 68 passengers.

Foothill Transit, a public transportation agency serving San Gabriel and Pomona, has purchased three EcoRide BE35 all-electric buses and two charging stations from Proterra. If the initial launch goes well, Foothill may expand to a fleet of 12 electric buses. San Antonio will also soon put Proterra buses on its streets. Contracts with transportation agencies in North and South America may follow by the end of the year.

To read the entire article go to: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-electric-bus-hits-the-road/

By BETTINA WASSENER September 7, 2010

Original source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/business/energy-environment/08ship.html?ref=energy-environment

HONG KONG — Aiming to reduce noxious fumes in one of the most densely populated parts of Asia, the Danish shipping giant Maersk Line said Tuesday that its ships would switch to low-sulfur fuel when at berth in Hong Kong — a move it hopes will help speed up much-needed regulation in Asia.

Maersk, which makes about 850 port calls annually to Hong Kong, said the voluntary switch from cheap, polluting bunker fuel to the cleaner fuel, which costs about $250 more per ton than bunker fuel, would cost the company an extra $1 million per year.

“We feel this is a good investment to get the ball rolling,” Tim Smith, chief executive of Maersk Line’s North Asia operations, said in an interview. “The wheels of government turn very slowly here, and we hope that our initiative will help accelerate regulation and prompt others to follow suit.”

Bunker fuel, widely used by the shipping industry, has high nitrogen and sulfur contents, making it significantly more noxious than other types of fuel.

Emission control regulations force ships to use far cleaner fuel while they are in waters around much of Europe, including the North Sea and the English Channel, and a similar policy will come into force along the U.S. and Canadian coastlines in 2012.

However, no such regulations apply along Asian coastlines, in part because of the complex research and international liaison work that is needed to bring about a coherent framework for the industry. Read more

September 03, 2010

Original source: http://www.californiaenergycircuit.com/

Later this year, General Motors plans to deliver its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, to customers. Those who lease the Volt get an electric charging device to install in their homes to fill up the vehicle’s batteries.

The Volt–which can travel 40 miles on an electric charge before using an onboard gasoline engine for longer trips–presses the question of whether the grid is ready for the extra load that electric vehicles present.

As the California Public Utilities Commission and utilities prepare for the coming onslaught of plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles–like the Nissan Leaf slated for delivery late next year–one of the key questions is how to meter the vehicle chargers installed in homes.

At issue is a dynamic tension between hindering the early acceptance of the new electric vehicles versus making the long-run preparations to optimally integrate battery-powered vehicles into the grid.

Grappling with the dilemma, CPUC staff issued a white paper on metering electric vehicles August 30. It outlines alternative approaches and makes both short- and long-term recommendations.   Read more

Sep 2 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – Chrissie Thompson Detroit Free Press

Original source: http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=16849729

The first of about 500 free electric-vehicle charging stations destined for southern Michigan homes and businesses now stands outside the headquarters of NextEnergy in TechTown near the Wayne State campus in Detroit.

Coulomb Technologies is providing its charging stations as part of a plan to install 4,600 chargers in key U.S. markets. The charging station equipment is free but those who get one must pay for installation.

The $37 million program, which includes $15 million of U.S. stimulus money, comes ahead of the launch of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle and the Nissan Leaf EV late this year. Read more

Sep 02 – The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Original source: http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=16845210

General Motors said yesterday it will bring 20 hydrogen-powered vehicles to Hawaii later this year as part of a partnership with the Gas Co. to grow the state’s green-energy automobile market.

The Gas Co., which will supply the hydrogen for the fleet of Chevrolet Equinox SUVs, is moving ahead with its plans to install the first nonmilitary hydrogen fueling station at its Kamakee Street facility in Kakaako. The Equinox and other hydrogen-powered vehicles use fuel cells rather than internal combustion engines as their motor.

“We’ll be able to start fueling vehicles on an experimental basis in town by mid-November,” said Jeff Kissel, president and chief executive officer of the Gas Co.

Kissel and GM executive Joe Mercurio, speaking at the 2010 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Expo, provided more details of the partnership first announced in May.

Oahu is the latest market where GM has taken its “Project Driveway” initiative to test its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

GM, which built about 100 hydrogen Equinox SUVs two years ago, hopes to begin large-scale production of the vehicle in three to four years, Mercurio said.

Yesterday’s news is the latest in a series of announcements made in Hawaii this year by companies promoting vehicles that use renewable sources of power.

Nissan used the Clean Energy Expo as a venue to unveil its first Leaf electric car in the islands. The first Leaf shipments are expected to arrive here in January.

Meanwhile, South Korea-based CT&T in May said it plans to build a $200 million assembly plant on Oahu that would turn out two-seat electric cars and other vehicles and employ as many as 400 people.

Kissel said the Gas Co. has the capacity to produce up to 7,000 gasoline-equivalent gallons of hydrogen per day to power the fuel cells of up to 15,000 vehicles.

The hydrogen, which the Gas Co. generates as part of its production of synthetic natural gas, would be delivered to fueling stations on Oahu via the company’s network of 1,000 miles of underground pipelines on the island, Kissel said. Hydrogen would be delivered to the neighbor islands in tanks.

Mercurio said GM’s long-term plan is to work with 25 of the 170 gas stations on Oahu to sell hydrogen delivered via the Gas Co. lines.

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To see more of The Star-Advertiser, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.staradvertiser.com/.

Sep 2 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – Mohammad Ghazal Jordan Times, Amman

Original source: http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=16844756

Starting next year, several electric cars will be introduced to public agency fleets as part of the country’s commitment to adopt eco-friendly practices, the government said on Wednesday.

The Nissan LEAF, manufactured by Nissan Motor Co., Lt., will be introduced in the public sector in 2011 to help the Kingdom reduce carbon dioxide emissions, preserve the environment and cut expenditures on fuel, Minister of Environment Hazem Malhas said in a press conference yesterday to announce the measure.

“I believe that we have an obligation to future generations to take the necessary actions towards a greener and better world,” Malhas said, noting that the cars will be exempted from custom fees. Read more