Hiatus

Sorry... I have not blogged here regularly as I had hoped to. In addition to the solar roofing industry (technology, industry trends, company news, as well as public policy related to solar and other renewable energy), I have been expanding my knowledge about green buildings, energy storage, sustainability, bio-fuels, and other cleantech industries by attending various meetings and seminars and the cornucopia of information available for free on the web through blogs, Twitter, articles, and even some free reports.

So, armed with all this information, I hope to re-start blogging soon.

In the mean time, do follow me on Twitter.

Some recent tweets on the left...

..but you can also follow me at http://twitter.com/sanjeevnaik

1. In a new era of disaster planning, distributed energy can save lives when the grid fails. http://u.nu/6pd43 #RenewableEnergy10:44 PM Aug 31st from web
   
   
2. And while talking about #EnergyEfficiency, lets talk about another limited resource - water! LA Tackles Water Waste http://u.nu/4pd4310:43 PM Aug 31st from web
   
   
3. Also read old 2007 McKinsey article about Curbing the growth of global energy demand http://u.nu/2pd43 #EnergyEfficiency10:41 PM Aug 31st from web
   
   
4. On average, some homes in Austin, TX waste up to 50% of the energy delivered by the local power utility http://u.nu/7nd43 #EnergyEfficiency10:38 PM Aug 31st from web
   
   
5. “How is it that energy saving opportunities worth >$130B annually go unrealized in the US?" - McKinsey report (pdf) http://u.nu/6nd4310:38 PM Aug 31st from web
   
   
   Click here for the complete list of tweets from August.
   
   

1. RT @chloregy The Folly of ‘Magical Solutions’ for targeting Carbon Emissions http://bit.ly/q20Yy #EnergyPolicy #ClimateChange5:52 AM Jul 31st from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. “Termites are the best examples of house builders in the natural world” -- Learning #GreenBuilding measures from them! http://is.gd/1VOfx5:47 AM Jul 31st from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. U.S. #GreenBuilding Council to host Sustainable Suite Design Competition http://is.gd/1VOcz5:46 AM Jul 31st from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. BMW’s Stunning Energy-Efficient Production Plant http://is.gd/1VOaS #GreenBuilding5:45 AM Jul 31st from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Financing models for renewable energy and #EnergyEfficiency improvements through higher property taxes http://is.gd/1VO7x #EnergyPolicy5:44 AM Jul 31st from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Click here for all tweets from July
   
   

1. At www.virtualenergyforum (free) today - Keynote: Public-Private Partnerships - Transforming Energy Use of Built Environment (8-9am EST)8:04 AM Jun 25th from web
   
   
2. This hour at www.virtualenergyforum (free): Keynote: Public-Private Partnerships - Transforming Energy Use of Built Environment8:04 AM Jun 25th from web
   
   
3. Up next at 2:15pm EST #GreenBuildings - Building Information Modeling Case Study AND at 3pm #SmartGrid Technologies - Myth or Reality (IBM)1:46 PM Jun 24th from web
   
   
4. Listen now: #GreenBuilding - Smart Buildings for Maximizing Efficiency (Siemens) at www.virtualenergyforum.com - Free presentations all day1:44 PM Jun 24th from web
   
   
5. Just heard about a 1 MW power plant based on cattle manure in Ludhiana, India. (Wow! That's a lot of bulls*** :)) (Also, 6MW Muncipal Waste)1:17 PM Jun 24th from web
   
   
   
   Click here for all tweets from June 2009
   
   

1. Gobbling Up Trash With the Sun’s Power: Wirelessly enabled, #solar powered trash bins for cities, parks, zoos and schools. http://u.nu/4tr712:51 PM May 27th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. White Washing: Paint the world white - Change color of roofs, roads & pavements to reflect more sunlight http://u.nu/5nr7 #ClimateChange12:20 PM May 27th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Artificial Photosynthesis: Using sunlight to generate H2 gas that, in turn, can be used to power a cell. http://u.nu/9jr712:10 PM May 27th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. .. @jack_welch: Why companies must go green. Links to all three audio files through Fresh Green Minute - http://u.nu/3cr711:30 AM May 27th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. One minute audio blast of green thinking: @guykawasaki: Tips for green revolutionaries. @adamjackson: How to become a green influencer and..11:28 AM May 27th from web
   
   
   
   
   Click here for all tweets from May 2009
   

"Food-like substances"

Many of you may have read about Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food". I have not read it yet but have merely read the book flap and an article about it on Slate some time back.[1]

However, I keep remembering the phrase "food-like substances" each time I go to the super-market i.e.  stuff which is not really food but just looks like food. Or put another way (by Pollan), food that you think your great-grandmother may not have recognized as food! [2]

Anyways, just thought of sharing info about healthy food habits today for a change from renewable energy and other green topics when I ran into this 1989 NYT article from Pollan which asks: Why Mow?

Gardening, I had come to appreciate, is a painstaking exploration of place; everything that happens in my garden” - the thriving and dying of particular plants, the maraudings of various insects and other pests—teaches me to know this patch of land intimately, its geology and microclimate, the particular ecology of its local weeds and animals and insects. My garden prospers to the extent I grasp these particularities and adapt to them.

Lawns work on the opposite principle. They depend for their success on the overcoming of local conditions. Like Jefferson superimposing one great grid over the infinitely various topography of the Northwest Territory, we superimpose our lawns on the land. And since the geography and climate of much of this country is poorly suited to turfgrasses (none of which are native), this can't be accomplished without the tools of 20th-century industrial civilization—its chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and machinery. For we won't settle for the lawn that will grow here; we want the one that grows there, that dense springy supergreen and weed-free carpet, that Platonic ideal of a lawn we glimpse in the ChemLawn commercials, the magazine spreads, the kitschy sitcom yards, the sublime links and pristine diamonds. Our lawns exist less here than there; they drink from the national stream of images, lift our gaze from the real places we live and fix it on unreal places elsewhere. Lawns are a form of television.

Need I point out that such an approach to ''nature'' is not likely to be environmentally sound?

Read more at the link above.

My wife and I are SO GLAD we are no longer in the Midwest pumping pesticides, fertilizers, and sweat and blood (ok..no blood) into keeping lawns nice and green -- and for what? Just show! And occasionally going out there to throw the football or kick the soccer ball around with your kid!

Anyways...so it goes. Michael Pollan is on Cobert Nation tonight, if you are interested.

---

[1] More info about Pollan's book, mostly via a google-search, which I suppose you could also do!

Read basic info about his book or better still watch his interview on ABC's Nightline and a longer talk he gave at Google, where he summarizes his book. You can also read large excerpts of the actual book without going to the library or buying it - but merely sitting at the computer thanks to Google Books!

His previous book was also a NY Times bestseller: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meal. Here's some links to reviews of that book. in WaPo, NYT, etc.

[2] This is adapted from something a friend shared in an email discussion about food habits. (HT: Arun Simha)

Pollan's basic principle for shopping in (US) supermarkets in this: Stick to the peripheries and avoid the middle aisles. The peripheries (fresh meat, fresh veggies, etc) are typically what he calls "food" while the center aisles have "food like substances". He reminds us that when our great-grandmothers used to prepare bread, it used to comprise of whole wheat, yeast, probably milk, water and probably salt. Then he lists the ingredients of popular varieties of Supermarket bread, like Sara lee.


--x--
Pollan writes:

"Sorry Sara Lee, but your 'Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread' is not food and if not for the indulgence of the Food and Drug Administration could not even be labeled "bread".

Here's what Sara Lee bread contains:

   * Ammonium chloride
   * Artificial colors
   * *Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
   * *Bleached flour
   * *Calcium propionate or sodium propionate
   * Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate
   * Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono-and diglycerides
   * Fumaric acid
   * Hydrogenated fats
   * L-cysteine
   * Potassium bromate
   * Potassium sorbate
   * Sorbic acid
   * Vegetable shortening

--x--

Ok.. now that I have ruined your bread for you, let me get to milk and orange juice. Then after that we might well start fasting! :)

1. Wow! 6+% efficiency with organic (plastic) #solar cells! Solarmer Energy presents data at Organic PV conference http://u.nu/98i311:13 PM Apr 30th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. NPR 10-part series examining the costs, the politics & challenges of upgrading the country's electricity #grid http://u.nu/67i3 #Smartgrid10:46 PM Apr 30th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. The (electric) heat is on! San Fransisco vs Portland (or @gavinnewsom vs. Sam Adams) - Who Will Win the #EV Grid Race? http://u.nu/37i310:43 PM Apr 30th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. NYT: Smart Infrastructure Brings #Efficiency to Roads, Rail, Water, and Food Distribution http://is.gd/vvHP very very highly pertinent? ;)9:55 PM Apr 30th from web
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Reading: Interview by Gabrielle Reilly of @GlobalTownhall with T. Boone Pickens http://u.nu/6zf3 #WindEnergy1:20 PM Apr 30th from web
   
   
   
   Click here for all tweets from April 2009
   

The future is now

Speaking of electric cars, do listen to Shai Agassi's bold plan for mass adoption of electric cars - not in the distant future but in the next 2-3 years, with battery and other technology where it is today!

His recent talk at TED was posted this month

 
And links to some other recent talks/interviews:

•  A Moment of Transformation? - Shai Agassi Speaks in Washington, DC - 25:26 - Mar 12, 2008 
•  Web 2.0 Summit 08: Shai Agassi (Better Place) talks to Tim O'Reilly
  

I first heard of Shai Agassi when Thomas Friedman wrote about him and his company, Better Place, in his columns. (For eg: see this column from about a year ago. TF called him the Jewish Henry Ford!)

My thinking, till recently, was that electric vehicles (EV) were still far away from mass adoption because of battery life/cost issues but after some recent reading and lots of news press [1] about EVs, I realize that it may become a common option for many (in Europe for sure, but even in US to some extent) in the next 3-4 years even! Like the Prius helped hybrids make a significant dent into the overall market share [2] in the last 5 years, the next 5 years will see EVs on the road quite a bit if some of these plans come into play.
 

[1] In the news, just this week...

CT & MA could get EV charging network http://is.gd/sopk

Chicago gets first solar powered EV charging station

And last week..

PDX & SFO battle for electric car domination

London mayor pledges 100000 EVs & 25000 charge points

China Vies to Be Leader in Electric Vehicles

[2] I will have to dig out the numbers to see how significant the impact of hybrids has been s in terms of #s but it certainly made a dent on the attitudes of car companies. The success of Prius made all car companies sit up and take notice. Many have come up with their own hybrid versions now, though none have achieved the success of the Prius. Also, Detroit, in its infinite wisdom, has come up with versions of "hybrid SUVs", which to a "green ogre" like me sounds like "clean coal" i.e. an oxymoron! ;)

In fact, it is not just Detroit. Just this week, I read that Mazda also had taken a typical ostritch-with-head-in-sand approach regarding hybrids and EV. Now, they are also changing tunes, and hope to play catch-up and deliver hybrids & EVs by 2015. 

My feeling is that the current woes in the auto industry will be good for it. The innovative forward looking companies will survive. Innovation and car2.0 will be what we will gain, once the ostrich-head-sand car companies roll over and die! The "Innovate or Die" adage (now almost cliched) applies to all industries but the car industry is perhaps a living (dieing?) example of this!

I'll leave you with two key questions I still have regarding EVs:

a) How much more efficient (GHG emission wise) is it to run cars on electricity when most of the electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. I believe there are some reports about this which I plan to hunt down and read soon.

b) Can the grid take it, if every one had an EV and came home and not only turned on their ACs and other house equipment but also plugged in their car. The answer, not merely for EVs but also to accomodate solar, wind, and other renewables into our energy bin is to have a major overhauling of the grid. But this post is about EVs only and I'll leave the little I have read about Smart Grid Technology to another post some day.  

That's all for today. You can now go read more about plug-in transportation in the cover article of March's Solar Today.

Coming to roads near you soon

Looks like most of us may skip the Car1.5 generation (hybrid) and go from Car1.0 (gasoline) to Car2.0 (EV) directly. Seems quite a few EV models may be coming to roads near you soon!

A gallery of pictures and some details via Guardian.

OK.. maybe some of them are just models - I didn't bother to read notes under each picture. So,  who knows when some of them will be made commercially; maybe they're just showing some of them off at auto shows for now to show they also do-EV!

But this much is clear -- this will be widely adopted in many EU countries before it makes a big impact in the US; some coastal cities like NYC, BOS, SFO notwithstanding.

Somehow, I do not see Texans driving a car that looks like this :)

G-Wiz L-Ion Lastest upgrade to the familiar 2-seater electric runabout Top speed 51 mph Range: 75 miles Available in May Cost: £15,795 This is the newest edition of the car that Jeremy Clarkson loves to crash-test. While the last upgrade added a Lotus-designed safety cage, the current incarnation extends the battery range from 48 miles to a more commuter-friendly 75 miles. Deliveries of the £15,795 electric runabout start in May

They will drive this of course but who has 100K for a Tesla! (Other than Ferrari driving mid-life crisis ridden millionaires in Silicon Valley, that is. Maybe some Texas oil billionaires?)

Tesla Roadster Top speed: 130 mph 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds Range: 244 miles Available in Europe next year Cost: $100,000 Probably the sportiest-looking electric car on sale today. This sports car accelerates from 0-60mph in four seconds and has a top speed of 125mph. Already on sale in the US, people in Europe will be able to buy them next year for €100,000. A new "affordable" €5,000 family car called the Model S is also in the pipeline

There is a typo there! The "affordable" Model S costs  $50,000 (after $7,500 tax rebate) .. not €5000. But that didn't stop people from booking more than 500 Model S Reservations in one week after it was announced earlier this month. [Also this note via Slashdot: "At a recent alternative energies rally, the Tesla Roadster managed to cover 241 miles on a single charge, with another 38 miles of juice still left in the battery."]

Tesla Motors's 4-door 7-seat all-electric sedan- 160 mile driving range and rapid charging at 440V, allowing a full charge in 45 minutes. 

This one I would buy!

Based on French design There are over 1,500 on British roads Range: up to 50 miles Top speed 40 mph Cost: £14,175 Although the previous dealer for this two- or four-seater electric car went into administration last year, it's since been picked up by Aixam Mega and the car - based on a French design - is on sale in the UK for £14,175. Like the G-Wiz, this is one of the few real-world success stories - there are over 1,500 of the Mega City cars on British roads today

I've actually seen a few of the "Smart Cars" here in Boston since they started selling a few here in the US last year. When it first came, there was a report I had read that it was gathering attention on Newbury St. like Ferraris parked there outside the Armani store once used to! :)

Oh no..an update: It did not do so well after all!

'Orphan' Smart cars pile up as buyers back out - 3/23/2009 

Tiny Smart cars are stacking up at some of the 75 US Smart dealers because people who ordered them are refusing to take delivery.

It seems last year, shortly after it was launched in the US, Vogue magazine asked: "In a nation where your supersized car is your castle, is the Smart too mini for a man".

I guess it is! :(

Our Tanks Are On Full

The focus on renewable energy getting too much to bear for the "Drill, baby, Drill" crowd?

Our Tanks Are On Full

The energy crisis is an artificial one, created by bad policies.

By Newt Gingrich | Newsweek

From the magazine issue dated Apr 13, 2009

Also in Newsweek this week..

Zakaria: How to Achieve Energy Independence

Interview with Thomas Friedman

Friedman may spout cliches and sound like a broken record (after the first few times) but the message is not a wrong one, even if you tire of the messenger!

Make a fist

The Psychology of Global Warming - Best-selling author and Professor Dan Gilbert on our reaction to threats & our reaction to global warming.

The human brain is the only object on the known universe that can predict its own future and tell its own fortune. The fact that we can make decisions even as we foresee their disastrous consequences is the great, unsolved mystery of human behavior. When you hold your fate in your hands, why would you ever make a fist?
– Daniel Gilbert

The Restructuring Business

David Brooks writes in his oped piece in the NYT this week:

For 30 years, G.M. has been restructuring itself toward long-term viability.
...

There are many experts who think that the whole restructuring strategy is misbegotten. These experts think that costs are not the real problem. The real problem is the product. The cars are not good enough. The management is insular. The reputation is fatally damaged.

But if you are in the restructuring business, you can’t let these stray thoughts get in the way of your restructuring. After all, restructuring is your life. Restructuring is forever. Restructuring is like what dieting is for many of us: You think about it every day. You believe it’s about to work. Nothing really changes.

But this time Mr. Change (Obama) wants change. And he wants it NOW, not later.

Read the Brooks article if you want to read his quibbles about how Obama's "March’s menacing threat will lead to June’s wobbly wiggle-out"... but I think it is up to the Big 3 in Detroit to decide what change they want to bring about in their business. Whether they survive for decades depends on their outlook about the type of product they want to deliver to the market. Otherwise, this ends up with yet another trip up to DC asking for tax-payers $s in another few years or even months!

In the end, what Brooks writes is true -- it is not about restructuring, not about global warming, not about Japanse and Korean car manufacturer's hourly wages & pension load versus Detroit's....  but the real problem is the product they sell. So, stop whining and get your act together, Detroit....or like all other badly run companies that do not have products that sell well (compared to your competition), roll over and perish and die.