During the celebration, GM delivered two Chevrolet Volts to the Shanghai Expo Bureau for use as part of its VIP transportation fleet at World Expo 2010 Shanghai. The Volt will shuttle special guests to and from Shanghai’s Expo Park.

“GM has made a long-term commitment to bringing our industry-leading technology to China,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. “This is enabling us to provide the best mobility solutions for addressing the transportation challenges associated with the growth in demand for personal mobility."

The Chevy Volt has a total driving range of about 340 miles and is powered by electricity at all times. For up to the first 40 miles, the Volt drives on electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas powered engine seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 300 miles on a full tank. The short electric range for the Volt would make it ideal for short trips around town or shorter commutes (of less than 20 miles each way). The benefit of the range-extension is that the car can skip town without any range anxiety kicking in for the driver.

Like in the U.S., the Volt will be available in China with the OnStar in-vehicle safety, security and communication service.

In the U.S., GM is currently taking orders for the Chevy Volt, due out in late 2010.

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Water. Most Americans think nothing of it. Turn on the faucet and we expect clean water to flow under good pressure at the temperature of our choosing. But to make all that happen, water requires energy and lots of it. A full 3 percent of electrical power generation is used to treat, pump and distribute water in the U.S. (to say nothing of heating it). And in California, that figure is as high as 19 percent.

Imagine H2O is turning the concern about the intersection of energy and water into an opportunity by opening a $100,000 global competition to find the world’s most promising water businesses that save energy.

Innovations could focus on a number of areas including water heating/cooling, pumping and transport or low-energy treatment. Entries for this year's competition, The Water-Energy Nexus, will be accepted beginning today, September 1, through November 15, 2010.

“Opportunities for saving energy exist at every stage of the water cycle,” says Scott Bryan, Director of Operations at Imagine H2O. “Many of these innovations could be attractive to all water users from utilities down to the individual consumer.”

Imagine H2O is a non-profit company created in 2008 "to inspire and help bring to market sustainable solutions to global water problems through entrepreneurship." The Water-Energy Nexus is the second contest Imagine H2O has held for water innovation. The 2009 contest, Water Efficiency, rewarded business plans that offered the greatest promise of breakthroughs in the efficient use and supply of water in agriculture, commercial, industrial or residential applications.

Like last year, this year’s $100,000 purse includes cash as well as access to the Imagine H2O Incubator Program that helps bring the winning ideas to market. Business incubators have the ability to not only provide seed money and in-kind support for startups, they can also be pivotal in bringing products to market.

“This prize highlights a big market opportunity for entrepreneurs,” says Tamin Pechet, Imagine H2O’s Chairman. “Tomorrow's water supply system will have to be an energy-efficient one.”

Photo: Some rights reserved by Chris Happel

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If you've ever traveled on a U.S. Interstate at night, you've likely come across large numbers of trucks idling at rest areas and truck stops. Long-haul truckers are required by law to rest for 10 out of every 24 hour period. But at rest, most trucks will idle their main diesel engine to provide heating and cooling, to keep the engine and fuel warm in winter, and to provide power for electrical appliances like microwaves and TV sets without draining the batteries.

But all that resting really adds up, both in terms of cost to the truckers and trucking companies, and in terms of  environmental cost. At current fuel prices, the average long-haul truck uses $3,000-$4,000 worth of diesel every year just idling. And with some fleets as large as 10,000 vehicles, the high cost of idling cuts into already narrow profit margins.

But the bigger issue for state and municipal governments is not fuel cost, it is air pollution (the federal government has yet to enact any anti-idling laws but they have set forth guidelines for states to follow if they wish). Idling anywhere between 500 and 3,500 hours a year and burning an average of .80 gallons of diesel fuel per hour, long-haul trucks emit 11 million tons of CO2, 200,000 tons of NOx, and 5,000 tons of particulate matter into the air annually.

Trucking companies used to eat the costs of truck idling, including the cost of state and local fines. But rising fuel and fine costs have spurred companies to seek alternative solutions to truck idling because, according to some reports, it has gotten to the point where it can cost less to get a hotel room than idle a truck.

New laws spurring development of clean-idling technologies

As of July 2010, 22 states and several large municipalities including the District of Columbia have enacted anti-idling regulations that normally limit idling to no more than five minutes. And in California, anti-idling enforcement is on the rise (pdf). In 2007, the California Air Quality Resources Board issued 135 anti-idling violations for large vehicles. In 2008, this number jumped to 511.

But despite the rash of new regulations and stepped-up enforcement, industry estimates are that less than 10 percent of the 1.4 million big trucks on the road have some form of auxiliary power unit (APU) on board that allows the main diesel engine to shut down yet still provide heating, cooling and electrical power for interior lighting and appliances. And of those roughly 100,000 trucks that do have APUs, most of those still run on diesel fuel, emitting CO2 and particulates into the air. Not only that, but the more costly diesel APUs still require fuel and cost more to keep up.

Bucking this trend, several companies including Thermo King, Idle Free and Glacier Bay have developed all-electric APU and battery systems that can provide climate control and electricity for a truck cab or sleeper -- and do so while producing zero emissions.

According to Glacier Bay company spokesman Russell Castronovo, who I recently spoke with via telephone, Glacier Bay's ClimaCab can keep a truck’s cab at 75°F for 10 hours anywhere and at any time of year in the US and Canada.

The ClimaCab combines a four-battery system with advanced battery management and variable-speed compressors and blowers. The variable speed motors are critical component of maximizing battery life and performance while the truck is at rest.

"Depending on variables, an electric APU can pay for itself in 1-2 years," said Castronovo. The all-electric ClimaCab system costs $6,000-$7,000 to install on a standard sleeper-cab truck.  Castronovo also pointed out that many states have rebates and other incentives that could help reduce the cost even more.

And apparently Glacier Bay is onto something. In 2009, while the market for new trucks was down by 50 percent and the overall trucking APU market was down by 70 percent, Glacier Bay grew from a $2 million business to a $15 million business.

Photo: 'Idling trucks' Some rights reserved by C. G. P. Grey

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(Click map to expand)

New intermodal route shaves 250 miles and a day's transit time between Norfolk and Chicago.

Ten years ago, about 70 percent of the Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) international freight arrived in West Coast ports and was distributed from there. Today, however, the company's East Coast port network got a big shot in the arm as the company began running test trains on its new $261-million Heartland Corridor between the port city of Norfolk and U.S.' national freight rail hub in Chicago, including the construction of a new intermodal terminal in Columbus, Ohio.

The new corridor project, which runs on tracks already a part of Norfolk Southern's rail assets for over 100 years, will shorten the length of the trip between Norfolk and Chicago by 250 miles, thereby reducing associated fuel costs and carbon emissions.

“Our goal strategically is to provide as many opportunities for steamship partners," said Jeff Heller, Group Vice President International Intermodal at Norfolk Southern on a phone call today with reporters. Heller emphasized that they had no intention of dictating how their shipping clients should access the Norfolk Southern rail network (West Coast v. East Coast), but that providing another point of access to the network would be well received by many shippers, especially as the Panama Canal expansion begins allowing the new generation of monster freighters through its locks.

The Port of Virginia at Hampton Roads can also handle big boats because of its deep water and lack of ‘air-draft’ limitations (ship height).

"We’re going to be able to run some big honkin’ trains through there," said Heller of the new Heartland Corridor, which was built to allow the more efficient double-stacked trains along its entire route. The project involved improving the clearance in 28 railroad tunnels in Virginia and West Virginia to accommodate double-stacking.

One intermodal train can take 250-300 trucks off the highway and double-stacking allows freight rail companies like Norfolk Southern stay competitive with long-haul trucking. “Hundreds of containers on each train that will translate into hundreds of trucks” taken off the road, said Heller.

"Double-stack trains are able to ‘densify’ the movement," said Heller.

Public-private project financing

The project was made possible by a unique public-private financing partnership, one of the largest public-private rail projects in U.S. history. Of the $261 million project cost, NS was responsible for $141 million and public sector partners subsidized to the tune of $120 million. The bulk of the public sector financing came from the U.S. Government via the transportation bill of 2004. The remainder came from the states of Virginia and Ohio.

According to Heller, Norfolk Southern began running test trains on the tracks today in preparation for the first double-stack train scheduled to go through the corridor on September 9.

Learn more about the coal-centric past and container-focused future of the Heartland Corridor:

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This story was written by Erica Gies with editing by by the SF Public Press and community-supported funding provided by Spot.us.

Clean-tech firms seek to reuse a variety of rare, potentially toxic materials. New businesses emerge as manufacturers prepare for modules' end of life.

In recent years the electronics industry has gained notoriety for creating an endless stream of disposable products that make their way at life’s end to developing countries, where poor people without safety gear cut and burn out valuable materials, spilling contaminants into their water, air and lungs.

Solar modules contain some of the same potentially dangerous materials as electronics, including silicon tetrachloride, cadmium, selenium and sulfur hexafluoride, a potent greenhouse gas. So as solar moves from the fringe to the mainstream, insiders and watchdog groups are beginning to talk about producer responsibility and recycling in an attempt to sidestep the pitfalls of electronic waste and retain the industry’s green credibility.

Solar modules have an expected lifespan of at least 20 years so most have not yet reached the end of their useful lives. But now, before a significant number of dead panels pile up, is the perfect time to implement a responsible program, said Sheila Davis, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

The nonprofit environmental group has been a leader in recognizing the problems of e-waste, including hazardous disposal sites in the Bay Area left by the semiconductor industry. Now it is focused on the solar boom in Silicon Valley. Last year the group published a report calling for a “just and sustainable” solar industry, and this year it issued a scorecard of solar companies. The scorecard evaluates recycling and extended producer responsibility for the product’s end of life, called takeback; supply chain and green jobs; chemical use and lifecycle analysis; and disclosure.

Vastly expanding industry

Solar energy is the most widely available resource we have. Every hour, enough solar energy strikes Earth to meet human energy needs for more than a year, according to NASA. Now the solar industry is poised for huge growth in the United States, thanks to policy changes, incentives, technological improvements and economies of scale. Solar photovoltaics have recently become less expensive than nuclear energy on a per-kilowatt-hour basis, according to a new report from Duke University. Also, solar is widely expected to reach cost parity with fossil fuels in most markets by 2013.

In 2009, Greentech Media estimated that U.S. solar demand will continue to increase about 50 percent annually through 2012. The report said the U.S. capacity installed during 2008 was about 320 megawatts, and it predicted that about 2,000 megawatts would be installed during 2012. Such growth would put U.S. capacity ahead of solar leader Spain and potentially Germany as well.

While most of the new modules will likely have a long, productive life, factory scrap, transport breakages and field failures are ready for recycling now. Jennifer Woolwich is collecting these broken solar modules in a warehouse near Phoenix.

She founded her company PV Recycling in February 2009 after estimating that she could harvest 500 panels a week from these sources. She is not yet collecting at that capacity, nor does she have enough panels to begin recycling them, but she is talking with solar manufacturers in an effort to win their recycling business.

“Of those we interviewed, 100 percent want recycling,” she said. “Eighty percent want an independent third-party doing the recycling.”

Woolwich said she has seen a quick evolution in solar manufacturers’ attitudes toward recycling: “Last year, there was kind of a ‘wait and see, we’re not sure how this is going to work’ attitude. Over the past 12 months, I’ve seen a 180. I’ve seen companies who are hiring consultants to research their whole value chain to identify waste, including the end of life of modules. We’ve received calls from consumers asking us which companies have takeback programs in place.”

Solar companies tend to be secretive about their product recipes, making some manufacturers cautious about, yet conceptually open to, third-party recycling.

“We guarantee that intellectual property will not be put at risk,” Woolwich said. “We’re not interested in reverse engineering or selling company secrets. We have certificates of destruction that we [will] provide.”

For now, though, some companies are doing their own recycling.

SolarWorld, which received an 88 out of 100 on the toxics coalition’s scorecard, has been recycling its own panels since 2003 at its main factory in Freiberg, Germany. That factory now receives broken panels from its U.S. plants in Cabrillo, Calif., Hillsboro, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash.

“The fact is, there isn’t much to recycle,” said Ben Santarris, a spokesman for SolarWorld. “In the future we might expand recycling to our U.S. plants or contract with a third-party recycler.”

First Solar earned a rating of 67 on the scorecard. Headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., it has recycling facilities at its manufacturing sites in Perrysburg, Ohio; Frankfurt (Oder), Germany; and Kulim, Malaysia. Lisa Krueger, vice president of sustainable development, said that so far the company is primarily recycling manufacturing scrap.

“It’s our intention that there would be other recycling facilities worldwide as you get into those volumes,” she said.

Materials of interest

Solar modules employ a variety of technologies, and even models within the same technology can have different ingredients. These materials may or may not be classified as toxic depending on who is regulating them.

Dustin Mulvaney is a scientist who works on solar issues at the University of California, Berkeley, and serves as a consultant to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. He has analyzed solar modules currently on the market and has outlined for each its key ingredients, including potentially toxic elements and materials that would be valuable to recover in recycling.

Used in SolarWorld modules, crystalline photovoltaic is the oldest and most widespread solar technology in the United States, holding 57 percent market share in 2009, according to Greentech Media. “As far as hazardous materials go, you’re primarily talking about lead,” Mulvaney said.

A thin film technology called cadmium telluride makes up about 21 percent of the U.S. market. First Solar panels use this technology.

Cadmium may be carcinogenic. Exposure affects the lungs and kidneys and can be fatal. “It’s gene toxic and a mutagen, so it has the ability to affect DNA, meaning it could affect reproduction and future generations’ DNA,” Mulvaney said. (Continued...)

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In the last few years, computing and electronics giant, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), has established itself as a company with a strong green gene -- and that focus on sustainability extends to making advancements in materials and packaging.

In December 2008, Dell announced a plan to transform computer packaging. And in that time, the company has increased the amount of recycled content in its packaging by approximately 32 percent, including the introduction of bamboo packaging. To achieve the company's larger packaging goals of increasing recycled content in its packaging by 40 percent by 2012 the company is implementing a strategy based on the three Cs: Cube, Content and Curbside.

“Establishing these packaging goals has transformed my team from great packaging engineers to inspired environmental champions,” said Dell’s senior manager of Global Packaging, Oliver Campbell.

Dell outlines the three Cs strategy in their recently released 2010 Corporate Responsibility Summary Report (pdf):

Cube

Reducing the size of product packaging has required changes ranging from putting fewer items in the box, which allows for smaller packaging and a simpler "out-of-box" experience for customers, to using engineering tools to run various “what if” scenarios.

Using these tools, Dell says it has optimized its Inspiron 15 laptop packaging so that 63 laptops fit on each shipping pallet, up from 54 before the retooling. More laptops on each pallet means fewer shipping vehicles and a smaller environmental impact from shipping

Content

As mentioned above, Dell has increased the amount of recycled content in its packaging. For heavier products that require sturdy support, the company has stepped up the use of recycled foam versus using virgin product.

Dell has also increased its use of post-consumer recycled plastics, integrating the equivalent of more than 9.5 million half-gallon milk jugs into its packaging.

In 2008, Dell embraced bamboo as a strong and compostable alternative to the molded paper pulp, foams, and corrugated cardboard often used in packaging. Starting with its Inspiron Mini 10 and 10v netbooks, the company now uses bamboo packaging in its new 5-inch hybrid device, Streak, and for several of its Inspiron laptops.

Curbside

A critical part of any sustainable packaging strategy is closing the loop. Ensuring its product packaging is curbside-recyclable is part of that commitment. To reach its goal, Dell increasingly selects recyclable materials for its packaging, including PCR plastics and molded paper pulp.

While bamboo is still not accepted by many municipal recyclers for curbside pickup, Dell is teaming with Georgia Pacific, Unisource Global Services and Environmental Packaging International in an effort to certify its bamboo packaging for recycling.

According to Dell's Campbell, “The progress we’ve made has kept a lot of materials out of landfills, made responsible packaging disposal easier for customers and is making Dell a more environmentally responsible company.”

via: Greener Packaging

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With 38 million going to U.S. landfills annually, should single use plastic water bottles really be winning awards?

When Nestlé first launched their "Eco-Shape" PET plastic water bottle a few years back, the 15 percent reduction in plastic used (as compared to the average for .5 liter plastic bottles) in the bottle was hardly enough to garner the "eco" prefix. In fact, I thought the bottle--and the marketing campaign that went along with it--was a laughable and blatantly transparent example of greenwashing.

So when Nestlé announced it would be receiving an award for the Eco-Shape bottle, I must admit that I threw up in my mouth a little.

But the 2010 Gold Connecticut Quality Improvement Award's Innovation Prize was not given to Nestlé for the old 12.3-gram Eco-Shape bottle introduced in 2007, it was given for the new-and-improved second generation Eco-Shape bottle, which weighs an average of 9.3 grams and uses 25 percent less PET plastic than its predecessor and 60 percent less PET than the company's pre-Eco-Shape PET bottle. The new bottles use 30 percent less PET than other bottle designs of the same size.

But considering that 80 percent of plastic bottles are never recycled and 38 million plastic bottles go to the dump annually in the U.S. alone, I'm not comfortable with an "eco" designation being attached to any plastic bottle, even if the bottle is lighter, and uses less plastic and paper than other bottles of the same size.

Now I'm not necessarily knocking Nestlé for the packaging "advancement." In fact, the company claims that the Eco-Shape is credited with reducing Nestlé Waters' carbon emission equivalents by more than 356,000 tons since 2007. The company also boasts the fact that the new bottle's label is 35 percent smaller than the previous label, saving nearly 10 million pounds of paper annually.

Taken at face value, the advancements in material efficiency in the new Nestlé bottle are a good thing. But just because the package uses less plastic--and is cheaper to produce and transport--does not mean Nestlé should be slapping an "eco" on it.

And it definitely doesn't mean they should be winning any awards.

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This article was written by Jane Dudman, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 12th August 2010 10.33 UTC

The idea of burying charcoal produced from microwaved wood to tackle global warming is still beset with scientific uncertainties, says the UK government's first report on "biochar".

The warning comes as a separate international study published this week said that as much as 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions could be offset by biochar.

Biochar involves burying cooked charcoal so that the carbon dioxide absorbed during the tree's growth remains safely locked away for thousands of years. The technique could remove billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. But it has divided environmentalists, with backing from Gaia theorist James Lovelock and Nasa scientist James Hansen, but opposition from critics who say there is not enough to land carry out biochar on a large scale.

The report, commissioned by the government, looks at the stability and potential benefits of biochar in soil, as well as at the risks, including the danger of contaminants getting into soil. In addition to economic and logistical challenges, the report noted there are many scientific uncertainties about the role biochar might play. It is not clear how long the carbon would stay trapped in the soil or whether it enhances the quality of the soil as supporters claim, said Saran Sohi, leader of the University of Edinburgh's UK Biochar research centre and one of the report's authors.

However, the report concludes "biochar has a high carbon abatement efficiency" and calls for more pilot schemes that could potentially "advance rapidly the science, engineering, regulation and socioeconomic evaluation of biochar systems in the UK context".

The other study, Sustainable biochar to mitigate global climate change led by scientists in the UK, US and Australia, paints a more positive picture. Biochar could offset 1.8bn tonnes of carbon emissions annually in its most successful scenario, it said, without endangering food security, habitat or soil conservation.

"These calculations show that biochar can play a significant role in the solution for the planet's climate change challenge," said the study's co-author Jim Amonette, a soil chemist at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "Biochar offers one of the few ways we can create power while decreasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. And it improves food production in the world's poorest regions by increasing soil fertility. It's an amazing tool."

Separately, biochar experts said last week that global sustainability efforts are being hampered by an emphasis on English language research.

At a seminar in Tokyo, Professor Shinogi Yoshiyuki from Kyushu university, said researchers into sustainable technologies around the world needed to share information.

"This is a global issue and we need to create a global network [of information]," he commented. Yoshiyuki is vice-president of the Japan Biochar Association, which was set up last year to highlight the results of 30 years' research into biochar technology in Japan.

Sohi, who was at the seminar along with sustainability experts from the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change, said his team's visit to Japan was "a real opportunity to collaborate and link up research".

He acknowledged that his report was based largely on English-language biochar research, but said there has been a willingness in both Japan and the UK to collaborate in researching the technology further.

• Jane Dudman's travel expenses in Japan were paid for by the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations. They had no say in the content of this article.

• This article was amended on 17 and 18 August. The original referred to a separate US study published this week. This has been corrected.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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US private equity firm Blackstone has decided to invest $300 million in one of the leading solar PV companies in India, Moser Baer (Private) Limited.

Moser Baer (NSE: MOSERBAER) has a diversified portfolio ranging from manufacturing of computer peripherals to fabrications of solar panels. While their computer hardware business is very well established, the company is looking to expand its solar panel fabrication capabilities.

The solar fabrication firm of the company was established in 2007 when crystalline silicon and thin film solar cell manufacturing assembly lines were set up. Both the assembly lines are part of Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Limited which holds the record of fabricating the world's largest thin film solar panel measuring 2.6 meters x 2.2 meters and having generation capacity of up to 390 watts.

The company has a thin film assembly line with an annual capacity of 40 MW. The company also has several manufacturing facilities around the country and exports solar panels to Germany, Italy in addition to setting up solar installations within the country.

Moser Baer has supplied solar panels to various rooftop and ground-mounted installations in Germany, Italy and Netherlands. A 7 MW capacity solar farm at Nordendorf, Germany is its largest project while a 1 MW capacity power plant in Maharashtra is its largest project in India.

The investment by the Blackstone group is a wise move given the impending solar energy revolution in the wake of the National Solar Mission which aims to install 20,000 MW of solar power capacity by 2022.

The government recently released a set of guidelines for the first phase (ending 2013) of the National Solar Mission which would see installation of 500 MW of solar PV capacity. According to the guidelines, the project developers will be eligible for premium tariff rates only if they use solar cells and other equipment fabricated by Indian companies.

India has been predicted to be one of the drivers of solar energy installations in the coming few years. With a perspective order book of tens of MW of solar panels, Moser Baer PV certainly looks an intelligent investment move for the Blackstone group.

Hat tip: Economic Times
Image: Amaresh S K at Flickr/Creative Commons

The views presented in the above article are author’s personal views and do not represent those of TERI/TERI University where the author is currently pursuing a Master’s degree.

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So, you've been thinking about taking the leap and putting some of your hard-earned money into solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Well, guess what? It's not nearly the leap it used to be. Several innovative financing structures have emerged in the last few years that allow more people to get into solar than ever before -- and for less money than ever before.

1. Solar Leasing

Do you want solar panels on your roof but you’re afraid about making the financial leap to full ownership? Leasing solar panels might be the best option for you, especially if you have an above average solar resource, lots of extra roof space and little to no money to put down.

Solar leasing, also known as a Solar Power Purchase Agreement, is a pretty simple (and cheap) option. Each month customers make a lease payment which covers the solar power system that produces some or all of the electricity you use in your home or business. If you consume more than you produce, the remainder of your electricity is purchased from the utility. Unlike other rooftop solar ownership models explored here, a third-party developer owns, operates, and maintains the solar PV system.

Like most other leasing programs (eg. cars, office equipment), servicing and repairing your solar system is done by the solar lease provider, usually at no cost to the customer. As such, you will not be eligible for the 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit. But--and here’s the kicker--solar leases usually require no upfront cost. Some companies will charge a $1,000 upfront fee for service. But the more money you put down upfront, the less your monthly lease payment will be.

Most solar leases have a 10 to 20 year contract period, normally transferable to a new owner of the home. If you stay in your home and your panels are still pumping out the watts by the end of the lease period, most companies will give you an option to buy.

Several companies have jumped into the solar leasing game including Sungevity, Solar City and groSolar, but do some research to learn which ones have had success operating in your area and whether solar is the right choice for you economically. (Continued...)

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